The California Republican has been in touch with key Republican members all Friday and spoke to Trump on the phone Thursday night, according to a number of Republicans. So far, he has calmed nerves in the House National Assembly’s National Party Conference and prevented a public revolt on his right flank that could jeopardize his path to the speakers if Republicans win the House – depending on the size of their potential majority. – His close advisers are trying to expand to avoid problems.
“He called. I heard the call. I didn’t like the call. But almost immediately – as you know, because he came here and we took a picture right there – you know, the support was very strong, “Trump told the Journal, referring to McCarthy as he descended on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. Florida, weeks after Jan. 6, and posed for a photo with Trump in an attempt to return to his good graces.
Trump continued, “I think it’s a big compliment, to be honest,” referring to Republicans who initially criticized him after Jan. 6, but quickly changed their tune. “They realized they were wrong and they supported me.
McCarthy – whose office did not respond to numerous requests for comment on why he lied or where he is on Friday – finally broke his public silence in the dispute on Friday night, speaking to local reporters after a school ceremony for students in California.
McCarthy tried to explain his comments by saying that he had just considered potential scenarios for Trump’s fate and had not advocated for any of them.
“In a phone call immediately after January 6, Liz Cheney asked me about the 25th Amendment and to explain what else would happen,” McCarthy told reporters. “I just went through different scenarios. That’s all that happened. I think the phone call is an exaggeration.”
McCarthy has also repeatedly told reporters that he never asked Trump to resign. But The New York Times did not report that McCarthy had asked Trump to step down; The Times reported that McCarthy told other Republican leaders that he planned to advise Trump to do so, which McCarthy falsely and categorically denied on Thursday.
“No, I never asked the president to resign. “I never thought he should resign,” McCarthy said when asked if he ever believed Trump should resign. “What I was asked during a phone call was about the process, the 25th Amendment, whether anyone has been impeachable. We looked at “if”, “and” and “but”. It was never in the process of asking Trump to resign. “
McCarthy was expected to speak at the conference
McCarthy is expected to speak at a conference on the issue when Republicans meet in private next Wednesday, hoping to overcome controversies that revealed his personal views on Trump soon after the January 6, 2021 attack, comments he initially denied making. just to have the secret records categorically contradict his public claims.
Some Republicans have predicted that there may be fireworks at Wednesday’s closed-door meeting as McCarthy is forced to answer awkward questions about his past remarks, but ultimately believe the dispute will end.
“People will talk and some knives will be taken out, but that is the nature of Congress. At the end of the election cycle, we will regain the majority. Kevin’s leadership will be a big part of the reason this happened,” he said. Kelly Armstrong, a North Dakota Republican. “It makes no sense to throw the man who took all the incoming two years under the bus, just when we get control of the steering wheel.”
The key to McCarthy’s ability to tame a potential reaction is that he told Republican lawmakers that Trump was not upset about the bombing and audio clips from The New York Times in which McCarthy was heard telling other leaders. to the Republican Party that it plans to advise Trump to resign, among other things. McCarthy never told the then president to step down, however, which is part of the reason Trump did not offend him, Republican sources told CNN.
McCarthy hinted to his allies that he believed he was acting in Trump’s best interests – given the two parties’ insistence on impeachment and sentencing him after Jan. 6 – and that it would be easier for the then president to simply resign, according to Republican. who spoke with the Republican Party leader on Friday.
A senior Republican in the House of Representatives told CNN on Friday that he spoke with McCarthy, who told him “Trump is fine.”
“The only one who matters is Trump,” the Republican told CNN. “And if Trump is okay, that’s not a problem.”
In addition, McCarthy’s initial criticism of Trump after Jan. 6 was already widely known and shared by many others at the GOP conference. Weeks later, McCarthy returned to Trump’s embrace, reducing his role in the attack and working hard to remain at his mercy.
Members and contributors also say the fact that McCarthy first issued a statement vehemently denying that he was considering asking Trump to resign just to face Thursday night’s audio recording hardly matters to most Republicans. in the House of Representatives, which also has difficult relations with the press. In fact, some argue that this probably stimulated McCarthy at the conference; a Republican aide said the lie to The New York Times could be seen as a “badge of honor.”
Yet several other Republicans have acknowledged that public lies about his interaction are a political issue he will have to clear up.
“Obviously this is a problem,” one member of the management team told CNN. “The only currency we have with the media is our trust.”
McCarthy hasn’t come out yet
Republicans are preparing to drop another potential shoe. The Times also reported that days after the uprising, McCarthy privately complained that Twitter should take away Twitter accounts of other Republican lawmakers; audio from this conversation has not been released yet.
Lawmakers and GOP officials say the conversation could be the most dangerous and problematic for McCarthy, as it runs counter to the party’s crusade against Big Tech and their calls to end alleged conservative censorship, and McCarthy faces questions about its support for Silicon Valley in the past.
What McCarthy could ultimately save is the size of the Republican majority next year if the Republican Party wins the House in November. A smaller majority would give more power to Trump sworn in the conference to overthrow him, but a larger majority – about 20 seats – would neutralize that wing.
McCarthy’s allies are already planning to throw record sums to reclaim the House and build what they call a “ruling majority”.
“We are working to expand the map deep into Democrat-controlled territory to provide a large majority for the Republican Party, where future President McCarthy can adopt a conservative governance agenda and get things done,” said Dan Conston, president of the Leadership Fund. of Congress, Super PAC, aligned with McCarthy.
Following the Times report, there was little public criticism from Republicans in the House of Representatives, except for Conservative MP Matt Goetz of Florida, who has long openly criticized McCarthy. Congress is also out of session for the Easter holidays and will not return until next week.
But many Republicans defended McCarthy after the sound. A senior Republican from the House of Representatives said they even sent an email to McCarthy just to let him know “how much I appreciate his leadership and friendship” and that he has my full support.
“Republicans will regain a majority in November, and when we do, Kevin McCarthy will be our spokesman,” said new representative Ashley Hinson, an Iowa Republican.
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