House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was finally forced to comment on Trump’s dinner with Nick Fuentes, and he dodged and didn’t condemn Trump.
Video:
Don’t be fooled. Kevin McCarthy never criticized Trump for having dinner with Nick Fuentes. Instead, he repeated the Trump excuse that he didn’t know who he was, “I think President Trump came out four times and condemned him and didn’t know who he was.” pic.twitter.com/eZlrfoHhTn
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 29, 2022
McCarthy said, “I don’t think anybody should be spending any time with his influence. He has no place in this Republican party. I think president trump came out four times and condemned him and didn’t know who he was.”
A reporter corrected McCarthy, “He just said he didn’t know who he was. He didn’t condemn him.”
McCarthy tried to clean it up, “I condemn his ideology. It has no place in society.”
Too many people in the corporate press are giving Kevin McCarthy a free pass without examining what he said.
McCarthy never said that Donald Trump was wrong for having dinner with Fuentes. He never criticized Trump for the dinner. Instead, he chose to repeat Trump’s excuse that he didn’t know who Fuentes was and falsely claimed that Trump condemned Fuentes.
Donald Trump has not condemned Nick Fuentes, and Kevin McCarthy hasn’t criticized Donald Trump.
The reason why McCarthy can’t condemn Trump is that he is planning to elevate Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who spoke at a white supremacist gathering organized by Fuentes:
The actual incentives here: McCarthy never took any disciplinary action against GOP lawmakers who shared the stage with Fuentes, and is preparing to reinstate Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments if he takes power in January https://t.co/nGV6vQ3DEL https://t.co/8AsH3QKM2J
— Todd Zwillich (@toddzwillich) November 29, 2022
Kevin McCarthy is still looking for the 218 votes that he needs to be the next Speaker of the House, so he can’t condemn Trump while elevating Greene, so he stages a performance full of outrage that doesn’t show any leadership or take a stand that might anger Trump and Greene.
Kevin McCarthy is Jell-O.
What some in the media describe as forcefulness is a cover for his cowardice.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association