Donald Trump is now losing elections he’s not even running in - by receiving a single vote for House speaker

You know Donald Trump is a special kind of loser when, in addition to losing a presidential election and his dignity while flogging digital trading cards, he’s lost an election he hasn’t even put himself forward for: speaker of the House.

The vote to determine the next speaker of the House of Representatives after Nancy Pelosi is – incredibly – still ongoing after 11 rounds of voting, which means it’s the longest election process for a House speaker since 1855.

It comes amid a continued conflict amid Republican representatives over who they think should get the job, as while 200 politicians backed Kevin McCarthy, far-right Republicans such as Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz are refusing to lend him the support he needs to hit the magic number of 218 votes.

And it’s thanks to Mr Gaetz, the representative for Florida’s first congressional district, that former president Mr Trump received just one nomination for House speaker on Thursday.

The Republican was also the only representative to vote for the former Potus in the seventh round of voting, prompting boos from those in the House.

It's rather awkward, seeing as Mr Trump is likely more focused on his bid to become president again in 2024, using a post on his Truth Social platform to call on fellow Republicans to “vote for Kevin, close the deal [and] take the victory”.

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On the same day that he declared he was voting for Mr Trump, Mr Gaetz said he would resign as a representative if a more moderate Republican is elected as the leader.

He told Fox News on Thursday evening: “If Democrats join up to elect a moderate Republican, I will resign from the House of Representatives. That is how certain I am, I can assure your viewers that won’t happen.”

Though the one, single vote for Mr Trump sparked ridicule from Twitter users, given just how “Sad!” it all looks.

“So funny that he’s relegated to the ‘others’ category,” joked one.

Ben Wexkler, a writer and producer, added: “I like that Donald Trump is branching out into losing elections he didn’t even run in.”

“So technically, Trump lost two more elections today because of Matt Gaetz,” noted a third.

Even Mr Trump himself appeared to mock Mr Gaetz’s vote for him, sharing an edited picture on Truth Social of him sticking his tongue out behind Joe Biden while he addresses the House.

The House of Representatives is set to return at 12pm ET (5pm GMT) on Friday.

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