Maddow Airs Audio Of Kevin McCarthy Saying Trump Should Have Resigned Over Jan 6 (Video)

Maddow played the recording proving McCarthy lied when he denied doing this on Thursday’s episode of her MSNBC show

Kevin McCarthy
Getty Images

On Thursday, Kevin McCarthy, leader of Republicans in the House of Representatives, angrily denied a New York Times report that he was among Republicans who thought Trump should resign over his role in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Turns out, McCarthy was lying, as an audio recording obtained by Rachel Maddow proved, just hours after McCarthy’s denial, that he said exactly what the New York Times said he did.

So earlier Thursday, the New York Times published an excerpt from Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin’s “This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future.” Which, yes, is yet another example of political reporters holding back crucial information for a lucrative book deal, instead of reporting it as the news it is. But whatever.

The excerpt said that in a phone call with other Republicans on Jan.10, 2021 — Just 4 days after the deadly riot Trump incited in an attempt to overthrow the 2020 election — McCarthy said he thought Trump should resign.

“What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that and nobody should defend it. I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign,” the excerpt quotes McCarthy as saying.

In response, McCarthy issued a blistering denial, saying in part that ”The New York Times’ reporting on me is totally false and wrong,” that the NYT was “doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda,” and that “our country was better off when President Trump was in the White House.”

But as we said above, McCarthy wasn’t accurately describing what he did or didn’t do. The proof came just hours later when someone leaked audio of McCarthy speaking to fellow Republican Liz Cheney, and Maddow played it on Thursday’s episode of her MSNBC show.

In the clip, McCarthy can clearly be heard saying exactly what “This Will Not Pass” quoted: “The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign.”

McCarthy also told Cheney he was “seriously thinking” of advising Trump to resign.

Listen for yourself below right now:

Perhaps unrelated to this leak is the fact that McCarthy allowed Republicans to strip Cheney of of her position of leadership — she used to be the third ranking Republican in the House — because she refused to go along with the lie that Joe Biden didn’t win the 2020 election.

Comments