“I do. I'll be there. We were invited,” Trump said, declining to say whether he had spoken to any of Carter’s relations since his death.

At the black-tie gala, attended by billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, Senator Ted Cruz and other supporters, Trump was also asked what message he had for Republicans who didn’t follow his lead and the speaker's re-election of the House of Representatives didn’t support Johnson.

The House of Representatives is scheduled to elect a speaker on Friday after the brand new Congress is sworn in. Trump's support of Johnson on Monday was seen as key to Johnson's hopes of retaining the office he assumed in October 2023.

“I think they will support Speaker Johnson,” Trump told reporters. “He is the one who can win now. Almost everyone likes him. Others are very good too, but there are 30 or 40 people who don’t like them.”