Washington DC - House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been doing damage control after his slight criticism of Donald Trump sparked massive backlash from the MAGA world.

McCarthy sat down for an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, and when asked if Trump could beat President Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election, he gave a predictable answer of "Yeah, he can win that election."

But when asked if Trump was the "strongest" to win the election, McCarthy made a stunning admission: "I don't know that answer."

The Republican's softball response caused many Trump allies to question his loyalty, pointing out that he has yet to endorse the former president's 2024 re-election bid.

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Yet the House speaker swiftly made a turnaround.

Only a few hours later, McCarthy did an exclusive interview with Breitbart, where he claimed Trump is "stronger today than he was in 2016."

He also blamed the media for taking his comment out of context and "attempting to drive a wedge between" Trump and House Republicans.

In his last desperate efforts to fix his mess, several sources told The New York Times that McCarthy personally called Trump to apologize, and sent fundraising emails and texts to supporters that read "Trump is the STRONGEST opponent to Biden!"

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The strife between the two politicians demonstrates that Trump still has a powerful hold on not just the Republican base, but the party itself.

The Trump campaign reportedly got wind of the fundraising messages and immediately demanded they be taken down, as McCarthy's team did not get approval to use Trump's name and likeness.