Signalling a capitulation to Donald Trump — or least an acceptance of his actions, including the instigation of the Capitol attack — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pays tribute in a visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

After the April 6 assault by Trump followers, threatening the lives of legislators confirming President-elect Joe Biden, McCarthy had a “tense” and “aggressive” phone conversation with Trump. He then rejected Trump’s conspiracy theories: “Stop it. It’s over. The election is over.”

But on Thursday, McCarthy journeyed to Mar-a-Lago. The two men discussed a strategy for winning a Republican majority in the House in the 2022 midterm election, according to Trump’s political action committee Save America.

Behind that announcement was the apparent payoff to McCarthy: a withdrawal of Trump’s threat to run his loyalists against Republican incumbents in the 2022 primaries. The Save America statement said of the “cordial” meeting:

They discussed many topics, number one of which was taking back the House in 2022. President Trump’s popularity has never been stronger than it is today, and his endorsement means more than perhaps any endorsement at any time.

McCarthy posed with Trump, who has said little in public after leaving Washington on January 20 for Mar-a-Lago, in publicity photos. He expressed loyalty in his own statement:

Today, President Trump committed to helping elect Republicans in the House and Senate in 2022. A Republican majority will listen to our fellow Americans and solve the challenges facing our nation.

The statement also retracted McCarthy’s criticism over the Capitol attack to assail Democrats for “impeaching a President who is now a private citizen” and to declare that “the radical Democrat agenda must be stopped”.

It returned McCarthy to his long-standing position as a Trump enabler. Nicknamed “my Kevin” by Trump, the California representative joined a Texas lawsuit to overturn the election, an effort rejected by the Supreme Leader. Even after the Capitol attack, he was one of 138 GOP Representatives — about 70% of the Republicans in the House — that objected to President-elect Biden.

GOP Capitulation

McCarthy’s visit comes amid a rapid retreat by GOP leaders, from drawing a line against Trump’s actions — and Trumpists within the Republican Party — to protecting and even acclaiming him.

Only two weeks ago, the Senate top Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, blamed Trump’s “lies” for provoking his followers to attack the Capitol. The former Majority Leader indicated that he might convict Trump in his forthcoming impeachment trial, bringing the 17 Republican votes needed to ensure conviction.

But on Tuesday, McConnell — and 45 of 50 GOP senators — backed the motion of Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky to dismiss the trial and its charge of “incitement to insurrection”, signalling that they will stand against conviction when proceedings begin February 9.

45 of 50 GOP Senators Vote to Dismiss Trump’s Incitement of Insurrection

Trump’s long-time friend Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on January 6 after the attack, “Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey….All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.”

But in the past week, Graham has been one of Trump’s most devoted servants over the impeachment trial. He boasted on Wednesday, after the mass Republican vote to dismiss proceedings: “He’s very interested in the outcome of the trial and I talked to him yesterday, and I told him the vote yesterday is a sign of things to come.”

Nikki Haley, Trump’s former UN Ambassador — and a possible Presidential candidate — said after the Capitol attack that Trump’s “actions since Election Day will be judged harshly by history”.

But on Monday, she told Fox TV that Trump was the victim in the episode:

[Democrats] beat him up before he got into office and they’re beating him up after he leaves office. I mean at some point, give the man a break.

A “longtime Republican operative” said of Trump, citing conversations with pollsters, lawmakers, and major donors, “We’re stuck with him.”

While signalling Trump’s victory after inciting the Capitol attack, McCarthy’s visit did provide a comedy moment, with a mischievous MSNBC employee using a clip from Jerry Maguire to represent the Florida encounter: