Donald Trump is already stupidly screwing up the next Republican Speaker of the House battle

Donald Trump very loudly endorsed Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House, so House Republicans instead nominated Steve Scalise. Then once Jordan did finally end up with the nomination, House Republicans quickly tanked it. There are a large number of House Republicans who still listen to what Trump says, but there are obviously also a large number of House Republicans who think Trump is dead weight and are instead just running their own cons.

But that’s not keeping Trump from continuing to try to convince himself that he’s influential. At least eight House Republicans have now thrown their hats into the ring for Speaker. But it appears that Kevin McCarthy and some other prominent House Republicans are trying to rally around Tom Emmer. So naturally, Trump is reportedly calling around telling people not to vote for Emmer.

What does Trump hope to gain here? Nothing. He can’t decide the Speaker of the House. If he could, Jim Jordan would be Speaker right now. But by meddling in the process, Trump gets to tell himself that he’s still influential. Even if all he’s really doing is making a mess for his own side. The more Trump keeps crapping all over the process, the harder it’ll be for House Republicans to elect a Speaker at all.