Tapes have emerged revealing sharp criticism from House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for some of his fellow Republicans including then-President Donald Trump in the aftermath of last year’s attack on the Capitol. In one tape, McCarthy told fellow GOP leaders that he would tell then-President Trump regarding his post-riot impeachment: “I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign.” McCarthy denied that initial reporting on those comments was accurate — but the remarks were, it’s since been revealed, captured on tape. And McCarthy also singled out Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in private conversations, remarking of the Florida Congressman’s pro-Trump agitation: “He’s putting people in jeopardy… And he doesn’t need to be doing this. We saw what people would do in the Capitol, you know, and these people came prepared with rope, with everything else.”
Kevin McCarthy spent a year debasing himself only to be possibly brought down by the one time he considered doing the right thing.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 27, 2022
And did McCarthy stick by these initial acknowledgements of the gravity of the situation? Nope. Instead, he’s essentially maintained a public about-face regarding the whole thing. Not long after the riot last year, he even met with Trump at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. McCarthy, in his position of prominence within the GOP, could have helped lead the charge for a break from Trump in the wake of the former president’s incitement of violence. McCarthy did no such thing. In a new appearance on CNN, former D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone — who helped defend the Capitol during last year’s Trump-inspired attack — shamed McCarthy for his cowardice. As Fanone observed:
‘Unfortunately, rather than pursuing that moment, McCarthy opted to do some political maneuvering… I think that Kevin McCarthy’s interests are solely in himself and attaining the speakership. So rather than doing what was best for the country, what was best for Americans and our democracy, he did what was best for Kevin McCarthy to attain the speakership.’
Just asked Rep Tom Massie (R-Ky) if he still supports GOP leader Kevin McCarthy. He walked off without answering
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) April 27, 2022
McCarthy could become House Speaker if Republicans retake the House, and his actions have repeatedly seemed to point to his ambitions to assume that position. He has, for instance, seemed wary of taking substantive action against even the most extreme members of his party, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who was caught having expressed apparent support on social media for the executions of prominent Democrats. Asked about issues including McCarthy’s denials he made comments that were, in fact, captured on tape and the fact that GOP leaders were essentially saying different things in public and behind-the-scenes, Fanone added:
‘Kevin McCarthy can deny those things, and people’s distrust in — I don’t know if you call it mainstream media — will allow for a good part of this country to believe that McCarthy never said those things… I don’t expect anything less from McCarthy or from GOP leadership for that matter. You know, the Kevin McCarthys and Mitch McConnells of the world, I don’t think they care about individual Americans. They care about their political careers. They’ve repressed any ability to experience real human emotion. And that’s unfortunate.’
Former USCP Officer Michael Fanone responds to new audio of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy from days after 1/6:
"The McCarthys and McConnells of the world, I don't think they care about individual Americans…. They have repressed any ability to experience real human emotion." pic.twitter.com/kc5FTO2wPZ
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) April 27, 2022
