Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), leader of the House Republicans, doesn’t seem to be having a great time politically speaking — recently, tapes have emerged of conversations he had after last year’s Trump-inspired attack on the Capitol, revealing the wannabe House Speaker to have been sharply critical (in private) of Trump and some of his allies in Congress in the wake of the violence. McCarthy even said he’d encourage Trump to resign. And yet, McCarthy has publicly maintained what basically amounts to an about-face regarding the whole thing. He’s refused to distance himself from Trump, even as the former president spins basically out-of-control in la la land, and he’s even refused to take certain substantive actions against some of the most extremism-inclined members of his party, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger: "Kevin McCarthy giving two different messages is nothing new."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 28, 2022
The contradiction between McCarthy’s documented private sentiments and what he’s saying and doing publicly depicts a GOP leader who seems primarily concerned with getting ahead politically. There’s no consistent through-line in McCarthy’s sentiments, it would seem, besides political ambition — if it’s trendy, it seems like he’s interested in going along with it, and the opposite also stands. A new video from The Lincoln Project blasts McCarthy for his flip-flopping on serious issues. In the video, a narrator says as follows:
‘Kevin McCarthy doesn’t think Trump supporters and MAGA Republicans are stupid. He knows it. He’s been fooling them all. Laughing at them. Kevin tells rich liberal RINO mega-donors he needs their money so he can block Donald Trump’s candidates. But this week, he was caught promising Liz Cheney he’d tell Donald Trump to resign. He’s laughing about Trump behind closed doors and blames Trump for January 6. All to stop the Trump agenda. Kevin McCarthy. The Republican Speaker?’
Watch below:
There's two Kevin McCarthys: Kevin on the phone, and Kevin in person. Neither will be Speaker of the House. pic.twitter.com/wHgAdhUDwF
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) April 28, 2022
McCarthy could become Speaker if Republicans win control of the House in this year’s midterm elections — and it’s this year’s midterms that will decide control of both houses of Congress that’ll be in place when the next presidential election unfolds. The existential tumult that accompanied the last process of Congressionally certifying the presidential election results makes clear that having someone who’s as much of a stooge as McCarthy leading the House could threaten to lead to some pretty disastrous results for democracy. What if Trump runs again, loses again, and then once again pushes his allies in Congress to vote against certifying certain electoral votes, despite the individual state outcomes to which they’re tied having been shown to be legitimate? Should observers really expect Kevin McCarthy to take the morally right stand? McCarthy — the guy who won’t stick to criticism of a GOP House member who posted an edited, partly animated video depicting himself murdering a colleague?
Breaking news: NY judge says Cushman & Wakefield violated its own rules to help the Trump Org lie about property valueshttps://t.co/1EYXPdvj1C
— Jose Pagliery (@Jose_Pagliery) April 27, 2022
Photo via Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons License
