House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has made a prediction about who he believes will win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination: The 45th President of the United States.

During an appearance on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, McCarthy expressed confidence that Donald Trump would prevail over all others in the nomination race.

“I think he will be the nominee,” McCarthy said about Trump. “The thing is, President Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016 or 2020, and there’s a reason why. They saw the policies of what he was able to do with America – putting America first, making our economy stronger.”

“We didn’t have inflation. We didn’t have these battles around the world. We didn’t look weak around the world,” he added.

“Well, it looks like Ron DeSantis is now trying to work with your colleagues who are pushing for a shutdown,” Bartiromo countered.

“I don’t think that would work anywhere. A shutdown would only give strength to the Democrats,” McCarthy noted, citing the political disadvantages he sees of an inability to fund the government. “It would give the power to Biden. It wouldn’t pay our troops. It wouldn’t pay our border agents.”

“I actually want to achieve something, and this is where President Trump is so smart — that he was successful in this.” McCarthy continued. “President Trump is beating Biden right now in the polls. He is stronger than he has ever been in this process, and, look, I served with Ron DeSantis – he’s not at the same level as President Trump by any shape or form. He would not have gotten elected without President Trump’s endorsement.”

WATCH:

Kevin McCarthy stands behind President Trump 100% and says that DeSantis isn’t on Trump’s level in any shape or form💥

“President Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016 or 2020… I served with Ron DeSantis. He’s not at the same level as President Trump by any shape or… pic.twitter.com/366zn5ylmM

— TheStormHasArrived (@TheStormRedux) September 17, 2023

Fox News noted further:

While McCarthy’s comments do not amount to an official endorsement of Trump, they are a clear message of friendship to the former president. McCarthy had previously offended the Trump campaign with another television appearance in June.

In that instance, he told CNBC that he was not sure whether Trump was the best candidate to defeat Biden. He soon apologized to Trump and recanted, sending out an email fundraiser declaring Trump to be “the STRONGEST opponent to Biden.”

According to the most recent surveys, Trump is continuing to gain on President Joe Biden and has even surpassed him in some polling.

Not only has Trump’s polling numbers rocketed since he was hit with four indictments in New York, Washington, D.C., Fulton County, Ga., and southern Florida, but he is now moving past Biden in critical swing states, according to a new survey.

“The states that had the narrowest margin of victory for either candidate last cycle were Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, with Biden winning all but North Carolina. Across those key swing states, Trump is ahead of Biden 41% to 35%, and 24% of voters remain undecided, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll,” The Daily Caller reported.

“Among independent voters, the former president also held a slight advantage over Biden, according to the poll. Trump received 32% support among independents compared to Biden’s 30%, and 38% were undecided. Uncertain voters favored Biden over Trump at 49% to 38%,” The DC noted, citing the survey.

In a hypothetical head-to-head contest for the 2024 election, Biden and Trump are deadlocked at 39%, as per the survey. Many voters cited concerns about the president’s age, along with worries about the economy and crime, as significant factors influencing their choice.

Meanwhile, Trump was leading his likely Democratic rival in several swing states, according to polling data from Echelon Insights in July.

The survey “found that 48% of respondents in swing states would probably or definitely vote for Trump, compared to just 41% for Biden. Though Biden is narrowly favored overall by likely voters, with 43% favoring him compared to 42% for Trump, the Republican front-runner could win 270 Electoral College votes by seizing the swing states,” the Washington Examiner reported.