- House minority leader Kevin McCarthy had a tense phone conversation with President Trump on Monday in which he told the president that the election was “over”.
- After Trump said the Capitol uprising was the work of antifa, McCarthy said, according to Axios: “It’s MAGA. I know, I was there,”
- McCarthy, a longtime Trump supporter, voted against the election certification in Arizona after the Capitol siege.
- The California representative now argues against accusation, saying “it will only divide the country more.”
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House minority leader Kevin McCarthy had a tough call with President Trump on Monday and the president apparently said his fight to stop the 2020 presidential election was “over”.
McCarthy apparently got upset with the president after he continued to complain about election fraud.
“Stop it. It’s over. The election is over,” an anonymous White House official told Axios.
In a 30-minute call that was sometimes “strained” by participants, McCarthy slammed the president for blaming the January 6 uprising in the Capitol on ‘antifa’. The FBI categorizes antifa as an ideology, not as an organization.
“This is not antifa, this is MAGA. I know. I was there,” McCarthy reportedly told Trump.
Trump and his followers, including Rep. Matt Gaetz, unjustifiably claimed that the Capitol violation was led by antifa members posing as Trump supporters.
On Thursday, hours after the Capitol uprising was suppressed, Gaetz told his associates’ some of the people who violated the Capitol today were not Trump supporters. . “
Rep. Paul Gosar makes similar remarks Twitter, who noted that the uprising ‘had all the characteristics of an antifa provocation’, although the FBI found ‘no indication’ that members of antifa were in any way involved in the violent uprising at the Capitol.
In a letter sent Friday to his fellow Republicans’ representatives, McCarthy said there was “undisputed” no evidence of antifa’s involvement, and that he had expressed frustration over dealing with the crisis.
“After talking to so many of you, I know we all take time to process the events of the day. Please know that I share your anger and your pain,” he wrote.
However, he stops short to encourage Trump’s accusation, on Twitter too late that ‘the president’s accusation will only spread over our country in just 12 days.’
McCarthy was a strong supporter of President Trump and repeatedly and without justification claimed that Trump won the presidential election.
On January 3, McCarthy told The Hill that he supported the challenges for Biden’s election.
“I think it’s right that we have the debate,” he said. “I mean, you see now that senators are going to object, the House is going to object – how else do we have a way to change the election problems?”
Following the January 6 uprising, McCarthy, along with other GOP members, voted in favor of declaring Arizona’s election results, a measure that failed.