In April, the New York Times reported that Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, had told his Republican colleagues that he planned to ask then-President Donald Trump to resign for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
McCarthy denied the Times report, prompting reporters to reveal audio tapes confirming his story and revealing he was a blatant liar. This would possibly have embarrassed McCarthy, but it didn’t hurt his chances of fitting into the next Speaker of the House. Nor did he charge Trump’s support.
Trump endorsed McCarthy on Saturday on his social media site, Truth Social: “He is working incredibly hard to prevent inflation, provide water responses, and hold Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi accountable for their catastrophic disasters and dereliction of duty,” he wrote.
This approval, while theoretically tied to McCarthy’s re-election bid in California, may prove useful in McCarthy’s efforts to align the right for a presidential bid if Republicans gain strength in the House next year, as they are the frontrunners.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Trump’s audience for McCarthy comes just days before the House election committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 attack held the first in a series of highly anticipated televised hearings on the unrest and Trump’s unprecedented effort to use false statements of voter fraud. to stay in office. McCarthy, eager to retain the Republican electorate that was still unfazed by Trump, worked to undermine the bipartisan panel and indicated he would kill him if he ended up running for Speaker of the House.
In a Jan. 13, 2021, speech, McCarthy said, “The president is doing his duty for Wednesday’s attack on Congress through the rioters. He immediately denounced the crowd when he saw what was happening.
But when the base stuck with Trump, McCarthy, who didn’t ask him to resign, rushed back online. He flew to Mar-a-Lago and was given a photo that Trump distributed. McCarthy refused to form a bipartisan commission to investigate the insurgency. He then attacked the elected committee set up by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and robbed Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo. ) of her leadership position after agreeing to serve as one of two Republicans on the committee.
“President Trump has agreed to work with Leader McCarthy to help the Republican Party with the majority at home. ” pic. twitter. com/aTwUW1nAuB
– Jenn Franco KESQ (@jennfranconews) January 28, 2021
Trump has already made it clear that his for McCarthy is a direct compliment for his loyalty, for his swift removal of Trump’s guilt on Jan. 6. “I didn’t like the call,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal, referring to the recording. phone. call, the Times had revealed. ” But almost immediately, as you know, because it came here [Mar-a-Lago] and we took a picture right there, you know, it was very strong. “
Trump and McCarthy appear to have reached an agreement: McCarthy refrains from blaming Trump for attempting a coup or inciting an attack that has endangered his congressional colleagues and Vice President Mike Pence. In return, McCarthy gets Trump’s “full and general approval. “I hope it’s of value.
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