California Republican Kevin McCarthy’s performance as House speaker has been a mixed bag. Perhaps inconsistency is inherent in the nature of the role, as a legislative leader of a caucus with factions ranging from MAGA to RINO.
McCarthy’s often blunt handling of the media, however, is a consistent bright spot. He’s demonstrated the ability to cut through establishment media spin with direct, forceful statements.
The speaker did it again in a Breitbart interview published on Tuesday. McCarthy basically turned the tables on the narrative fake news built that suggested McCarthy downplayed Donald Trump’s chances in the 2024 presidential election.
“Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016,” McCarthy told Breitbart.
He cited a Morning Consult poll reported by Breitbart on Tuesday that showed Trump not only dominating the Republican field, but also ahead of President Joe Biden in a head-to-head contest.
Breitbart ran McCarthy’s remarks after other news sources manipulated the speaker’s earlier messaging. McCarthy’s follow-up on Breitbart made his actual comments even clearer.
On Tuesday, CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes tweeted a deceptively edited version of statements McCarthy made on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
Kevin McCarthy says he thinks Trump could win the GOP nomination, but doesnt know if Trump is “strongest” candidate for his party.
“Can he win that election? Yeah he can…the question is, is he the strongest to win the election, I don’t know that answer,” McCarthy says on CNBC
— Kristen Holmes (@KristenhCNN) June 27, 2023
“Kevin McCarthy says he thinks Trump could win the GOP nomination, but doesn’t know if Trump is ‘strongest’ candidate for his party,” Holmes wrote in the Twitter post.
“‘Can he win that election? Yeah he can…the question is, is he the strongest to win the election, I don’t know that answer,’ McCarthy says on CNBC.”
As the Breitbart article described, “McCarthy was not, as Holmes framed it, saying he doubts Trump in a general election—he was answering two separate questions, first about a primary and then about general election viability.”
Like the politician he is, McCarthy was being cautious about assuming the outcomes in advance, and offered theoretical examples.
The full video did show McCarthy affirming Trump could beat Biden, as well as noting Biden could beat some other candidates — unnamed — people as well.
“Can Trump beat Biden? Yeah, he can beat Biden,” McCarthy said.
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When asked if it would be good for the Republican Party if Trump were the nominee, McCarth was unequivocal.
“I think if you want to go sheer policy to policy, it’s not what’s good for Republicans, it’s what’s good for America,” he said. “Trump’s polices are better, straightforward, than Biden’s.”
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McCarthy not only talked about Trump, he indicated to Breitbart that he sees through the games of both the media and the Biden administration.
“As usual, the media is attempting to drive a wedge between President Trump and House Republicans as our committees are holding Biden’s DOJ accountable for their two-tiered levels of justice,” McCarthy said.
“The only reason Biden is using his weaponized federal government to go after President Trump is because he is Biden’s strongest political opponent, as polling continues to show.”
Earlier in June, McCarthy chastised the establishment media for the tone of their coverage.
I worry about the constant negativity of the media. But I keep them in my prayers, and I hope one day they’ll start rooting for America to succeed! pic.twitter.com/eqTv5ceERf
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) June 15, 2023
McCarthy posted on Twitter, “I worry about the constant negativity of the media. But I keep them in my prayers, and I hope one day they’ll start rooting for America to succeed!”
How effective McCarthy is as House speaker is debatable. He brought us the awful debt ceiling deal. And even with all the evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors, he is reportedly slow-walking a potential Biden impeachment.
Still, McCarthy also seems willing to start addressing Biden’s corruption through impeachment hearings on Attorney General Merrick Garland. He also removed serial liar Adam Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee, and allowed a successful censure vote.
While he might be many things, Kevin McCarthy’s public persona is far from being the anti-Trumper the establishment media wish to portray.
