8 Republicans who kissed Trump's ring after criticizing him: From Kevin McCarthy to Chris Sununu

Top Republicans who once criticized Donald Trump and then publicly backed him

For years now, Republicans have been willing to condemn Donald Trump, just not in front of the public. Multiple well-known Republicans have slammed the former president's iconoclastic personality, multiple personal scandals, antagonistic manner, accusations that the 2020 election was rigged, and more behind closed doors, on now-deleted social media posts, and occasionally even in public. However, as Trump keeps using his influence to energize the Republican base, they are now eager to follow him in the hopes of receiving a crucial endorsement or being given a chance to serve in a future government. Following are some Republicans who once criticized Trump and then publicly backed him.

1. Kevin McCarthy

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blasted Trump for his involvement in the Jan 6 assault on the US Capitol, but before the month was out, he showed up at Mar-a-Lago to make amends, replete with a picture of the two of them. This is arguably the most dramatic illustration of the dynamic. McCarthy told Republican lawmakers after the riot, "I’ve been very clear to the president — he bears responsibilities for his words and actions. No if, ands or buts." He added, "I asked him personally today: Does he hold responsibility for what happened? Does he feel bad about what happened? He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened, and he’d need to acknowledge that." McCarthy now supports Trump's bid for presidency in 2024, even if Trump didn't help him keep his speakership.

2. Mike Johnson

In 2015, the Louisiana Republican who rose to the position of Speaker of the House last autumn expressed his disapproval of Trump on Facebook, writing that the politician had 'a hot head by nature' and that he 'would break more things than he fixes'. He wrote on Facebook, "The thing about Donald Trump is that he lacks the character and the moral center we desperately need again in the White House." Since then, he has supported Trump's bid for president in 2024 and claimed that his remarks were made before he knew the former president personally.

3. Elise Stefanik

Elise Stefanik used to be a centrist member of the House who believed Trump was a 'whack job'. She claimed that Trump's language was 'tapping into the fear today of our security situation' and that his proposed Muslim ban was 'not who we are as a country' during his first presidential campaign. Having firmly accepted Trump's erroneous allegations of election fraud, Stefanik, the current chair of the House Republican Conference, is among the chamber's most ardent supporters of the former president.

4. Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz, one of Trump's primary rivals in 2016, was the target of many of the fast-rising candidate's taunts on the debate platform and on X. In return, Cruz referred to him as a 'sniveling coward', a 'big, loud New York bully', a 'pathological liar', and other derogatory terms. He said about Trump, "He combines it with being a narcissist, a narcissist at a level I don’t think this country’s ever seen. Donald Trump is such a narcissist that Barack Obama looks at him and says, 'Dude, what’s your problem?'" The Texas senator, however, now wants everyone to understand that the back and forth was only primary politics.

5. Kristi Noem

The governor of South Dakota, who is regarded by some on the right as one of the nation's strongest female governors, had doubts about Trump's first presidential bid, particularly after he started advocating for a ban on Muslims. Noem told a local radio station in 2015, when she was still in Congress, "He’s not my candidate. People came to this country for religious freedom, so I believe his statement was un-American. And I don’t agree with it." Before supporting Trump in the presidential election, Noem had previously backed Marco Rubio in his 2016 campaign. Trump has Noem's 'full and complete endorsement' for his 2024 campaign. Not only that but she's been mentioned as one of the top candidates to be his vice president.

6. Kari Lake

During Trump's inauguration in 2017, Kari Lake, who later ran for the Senate as a moderate, posted a meme on her Facebook page that described the president as 'not my president'. She wrote, "Will you be protesting the inauguration? If so, which of these suggestions will you adopt? Will you boycott TV coverage? Wear black? Donate money the ACLU, NAACP or Planned Parenthood? Use the hashtag #NotMyPresident? Will you unfollow Donald Trump?" In any case, Lake, who has acknowledged publicly that she supported Obama and has given money to Democrats, has maintained repeatedly during her campaign that the message originated from her time as a TV anchor when she used to engage people by posting questions on social media. 

7. Bill Barr

Donald Trump was compared to 'a defiant nine-year-old kid who’s always pushing his glass toward the end of the table, defying his parents to stop him from doing it', by former Attorney General Bill Barr. Barr described Trump's attempts to hold onto power as 'despicable', 'nauseating', and 'detached from reality'. Someone 'shouldn't be anywhere near the White House who engaged in that kind of bullying about a process that is fundamental to our system and our self-government', he said. However, he has now indicated that he would vote for him, citing Trump's commitment to secure the southern border, reduce inflation, and roll back the 'woke' agenda of Democrats.

8. Chris Sununu

Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire said that Trump 'absolutely contributed' to the uprising at the Capitol and that his effort to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election was 'absolutely terrible'. In 2022, Sununu said that Trump is '[expletive] crazy … I don’t think he’s so crazy that you could put him in a mental institution. But I think if he were in one, he ain’t getting out.' Nevertheless, Sununu declared that he would support Trump 'because it's about having a Republican administration, not so much about him'.