Kevin McCarthy on veepstakes: Trump’s gonna play this like ‘The Apprentice’

LOS ANGELES — Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy has a blunt prediction on the effort to oust his successor, Mike Johnson: “It’s not gonna happen.”

Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, McCarthy waded into political punditry, throwing cold water on insurgent Republicans’ attempt to remove the second House speaker in seven months and forecasting that former President Donald Trump will look beyond the obvious front-runners to make his vice presidential pick.

The Bakersfield Republican was in good spirits for a brisk and wide-ranging interview with Wall Street Journal Editor at Large Gerard Baker, speaking to a well-heeled audience of finance, tech and policy bigwigs.

He was bullish that Johnson would survive the brewing motion to vacate effort by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican — the same procedure that cost him the speakership in October.

“This won’t be successful. Democrats will protect Mike so the vote will never happen. If it gets called, it’ll get tabled and that’ll be it,” McCarthy said, adding that he was personally opposed to the procedure.

Not long after, Greene appeared to back off her threat to press ahead with an imminent vote, telling reporters it was up to Johnson on whether she follows through.

McCarthy laced into Rep. Matt Gaetz, who led the rebellion against him last fall, repeating an allegation that the Florida Republican was trying to stymie a House ethics investigation into whether he slept with a 17-year-old.

“That’s what he wanted to stop, and he was willing to risk the House for it,” McCarthy said.

This time around, McCarthy said the lack of an obvious successor also will doom the ouster attempt.

“Most people will question, ‘OK, if not him, who?’ Because the other people after me that could do the job got knocked out,” McCarthy said. “Mike got selected after all that transpired, and people don’t want to go through that now before the election.”

McCarthy was equally definitive when asked if he would accept the vice presidential post if Trump offered.

After a loud laugh, the former speaker stated, “It’s not me.”

But he did throw out a number of contenders he thought could be strong picks for the presumptive GOP vice presidential nominee.

“Tim Scott would add a lot. People talk about Marco Rubio, but I think they don’t know our Constitution. You can’t come from the same state,” he said.

He told the audience to keep an eye on North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who ran a long-shot bid for the presidential nomination.

“Trump really likes him. He’s successful in business — he admires that. Not going to upstage him. Stable,” he said.

Another possibility he raised was Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as press secretary in Trump’s White House.

“I think Trump’s gonna play this like ‘The Apprentice.’ He’s going to play it out. He’s going to make you join Truth [Social]. ... And whoever you think’s in the lead, somebody’s going to come up from behind,” McCarthy said. “It’s going to make great television.”