GOP leader McCarthy stuns CNN reporter by arguing that Trump’s attempted election steal doesn’t count
The Republican Party would like to simply pretend that the January 6th insurrection never happened. The leader of their party, the man they elevated to the presidency, incited his conspiracy theory-poisoned followers to storm the halls of American democracy, resulting in several deaths and a shattering of the sacred American tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.
If they had any moral courage, any principles at all, Republicans would have joined with the Democrats to impeach him and supported efforts to prosecute. Instead, they want to convince us that an attempted coup is simply no big deal. The reason why they refuse to condemn Trump even now is twofold.
One, they’re afraid of alienating the MAGA base which is now the most powerful voting bloc within the GOP. Two, there were several Republican senators and congressmen—notably Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Josh Hawley—who fueled Trump’s lie that the election was stolen in the days leading up to the insurrection. In their lust for partisan influence, they tried to help overturn a free and fair election. Any indictment of Trump then is also an indictment of those who tried to help him retain power.
Add your name to call on prosecutors to ARREST DONALD TRUMP for his crimes!
Today, CNN’s Manu Raju asked House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy about the Republican attempts to overturn the election. According to The Dispatch’s Haley Byrd Wilt, McCarthy responded in a “patronizing” fashion to Raju’s valid question and argued that since the Republican attempts to overturn the election were futile, they don’t really count.
That’s like saying because your attempted murder was unsuccessful you shouldn’t be held accountable for it. It’s like saying that because you didn’t get away with the money after robbing a bank then you didn’t really do anything wrong. It’s patently absurd at face value and this level of shamelessness demonstrates how little Republicans like McCarthy think of voters.
.@mkraju asked Kevin McCarthy an entirely valid question during his press conference about the GOP effort to overturn the presidential election. McCarthy was patronizing and nonsensically argued that because the challenges were futile, they don't really count.
— Haley Byrd Wilt (@byrdinator) March 18, 2021
The "reality isn't real and we didn't do what we did" line here was annoying on its own but especially so when paired with condescension toward a great reporter
(also, Manu sometimes provokes this response from both party leaders. It's because he asks questions they don't like.)
— Haley Byrd Wilt (@byrdinator) March 18, 2021
McCarthy tried to argue it wasn't an effort to overturn the result b/c GOP only objected in PA and AZ.
It's revisionist history: Rs were going to object to other states, like Georgia, before riots prompted senators (besides Hawley) to abandon challenges https://t.co/RgmG0plg9y https://t.co/Xe0fEJHzA0
— Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) March 18, 2021
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