PALM BEACH, Fla. >> President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he planned to attend former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral in Washington next week, ending speculation about his presence at the memorial for a predecessor whom he had often criticized.

In wide-ranging remarks to reporters as he entered a flashy New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago, his private Florida estate and club, Trump also predicted that House Speaker Mike Johnson would retain his post and reiterated his support for visas for high-skilled immigrants, doubling down in a fight that has divided his supporters.

Trump declined to say whether he had spoken to the family of Carter, who died Sunday at age 100. Though attendance at the funeral of a predecessor would be virtually automatic for any other president-elect, Trump has sometimes skipped memorials for other political titans. And it could put Trump near his living predecessors, three of whom — Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and President Joe Biden — have been deeply critical of him.

With what could be a chaotic House leadership election approaching Friday, Trump amplified his support for Johnson, saying he is “the one that can win right now” in a narrowly divided chamber where Republicans have few votes to spare.

The president-elect endorsed Johnson on Monday, two weeks after undermining a bipartisan spending deal that the speaker had negotiated with House Democrats, imperiling his standing with his Republican colleagues. Trump had debated letting Johnson sink but ultimately decided he was the best option to get the 218 votes needed.

Johnson still faces a tough road, with at least one House Republican publicly saying he will not vote for him. But Trump said he would make calls on Johnson’s behalf if necessary and predicted that “we’re going to get a successful vote.”

“Almost everybody likes him,” Trump said of Johnson. “Others are very good, too, but they have 30 or 40 people that don’t like them, so that’s pretty tough.”

Trump evaded a question about whether he had new thoughts about handling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, instead pivoting to Biden’s handling of immigration and crime in cities.

Asked whether he planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump seemed confused about the question and appeared to refer to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with whom he met recently in France.

“There’s a traditional meeting,” Trump said. “Some people say we already had that. You know, we met a week and a half ago. But if it’s appropriate, I’d like to, you know, like to do that.”

Trump was also asked why he had changed his mind and decided to support H-1B visas for high-skilled immigrants, siding with his political patron Elon Musk in a fight that Musk was having over the visa program with some of Trump’s hardest-right supporters.

Trump, whose administration tried to suspend the issuing of H-1B visas in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, insisted that he had not changed his mind.

“I’ve always felt we have to have the most competent people in our country,” he said, “and we need competent people. We need smart people coming into our country, and we need a lot of people coming in.”

Trump spoke briefly with reporters who were placed behind a red velvet rope line near the entrance to Mar-a-Lago shortly after 8:30 p.m. A large crowd dressed in black tie had already poured in for the ticketed event, which nonmembers have had to pay hundreds of dollars for in previous years.

Guests included Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha; casino magnate Miriam Adelson; former boxing promoter Don King; Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida, who will be Trump’s national security adviser; financier Omeed Malik; actor George Hamilton; Trump’s longest-serving political adviser, Roger Stone; Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and his wife, Heidi; and Musk, whose mother and young son X were with him.

Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, who had been mentioned as a possible choice for speaker, and Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri were also spotted walking into the event.

The guests walked a red carpet into the event, greeted by violin versions of rock songs like “Livin’ on a Prayer,” with women in black tie playing the instruments at various stations.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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