Earlier, a released tape of a telephone call obtained by The New York Times that allegedly took place between Kevin McCarthy and House Republican Liz Cheney in the wake of the US Capitol riot on 6 January 2021 suggests that the House GOP leader planned to advise then-President Donald Trump to resign despite previously denying such reports.
Ex-President Donald Trump insists he enjoyed a good relationship with Kevin McCarthy, after a recording emerged of the House minority leader telling other top GOP lawmakers in a call on 10 January that he would advise Trump to resign, days after the riot at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
“He made a call. I heard the call. I didn’t like the call”, Trump said, interviewed on Friday by The Wall Street Journal at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.
However, Donald Trump claimed the Republican never ultimately advised him to quit. According to the 45th POTUS, the California politician changed his stance “when he found out the facts”, and was then able to fully support him.
“But almost immediately as you know, because he came here and we took a picture right there—you know, the support was very strong”, said Trump, pointing out exactly where McCarthy took a photo with him at the time.
“I think it’s all a big compliment, frankly. They realized they were wrong and supported me”, Trump said, referring to McCarthy and other Republicans who lambasted him after the Capitol events.
On 6 January, protesters breached the US Capitol building following a rally held by Donald Trump outside the White House, at which he alleged that Democrat Joe Biden won the November 2020 election fraudulently.
The attack on the Capitol disrupted a joint session of Congress that was counting electoral votes to formalise Biden’s victory. At the time, while the rioters gained entry to the national legislature, they failed in their ultimate goal of overturning the results of the vote. Five people, including a Capitol police officer, died in the wake of the events.
With the Democrats insisting that Trump’s claims of voter fraud incited the so-called insurrection, the ex-POTUS, who vehemently rejected the accusations, was later impeached by the US House of Representatives.
He was subsequently acquitted by the US Senate.
When pressed in the WSJ interview whether he still supported McCarthy as speaker, Trump said:
“Well I don’t know of anybody else that’s running and I think that I’ve had actually a very good relationship with him. I like him. And other than that brief period of time, I suspect he likes me quite a bit”.
Leaked Audio on Capitol Events
The audio of an alleged call between McCarthy and House Republican Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) in the aftermath of the 6 January 2021 events was aired by The New York Times on Thursday. The tape was obtained by the outlet’s journalists, Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, who wrote the upcoming book “This Will Not Pass”.
The reported telephone call suggests that McCarthy intended to advise then-President Donald Trump to resign, despite previously denying such reports.
In the audio, referencing the impeachment proceedings triggered by the Democrats against Trump, a voice resembling McCarthy’s said:
“We know it’ll pass the House. I think there’s a chance it’ll pass the Senate.…The only discussion I would have with [Mr Trump] is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign”.
In their upcoming book promising to shed light on the events of 6 January 2021 and set for release on 3 May, the journalists claim that GOP leaders in both chambers of the Congress blamed Trump at the time and considered urging him to resign.
There is no clarity on whether the House Republican leader actually engaged in such a discussion with Trump and if he advised the president to step down.
On 13 January 2021, three days after the alleged call, Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. Kevin McCarthy, while voting against impeachment, stated in the House that Trump bore “responsibility for Wednesday’s attack by mob rioters”.
A spokesperson for Liz Cheney denied she recorded or leaked the tape released on Thursday.
In the WSJ interview, Donald Trump also denied ever accepting responsibility for the events of 6 January. This would appear to contradict Kevin McCarthy’s claim to House GOP members in another call, ostensibly made on 11 January 2021. According to audio from that call, similarly obtained by New York Times reporters and released by CNN on 22 April, McCarthy said he had asked Trump whether he bore responsibility for what happened.
“He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened”, a voice appearing to resemble that of McCarthy can be heard saying.
“No, that’s false. I never claimed responsibility”, Donald. Trump said in the interview for The Wall Street Journal.
The publication of the tape came after Kevin McCarthy dismissed the New York Times journalists’ reports about his actions in the wake of the US Capitol riot as “totally false and wrong”.
The recording has also triggered speculation regarding whether it might threaten the Republican’s ambition to become speaker if the GOP wins control of the House in November’s midterm elections.
Meanwhile, McCarthy and Trump spoke on Thursday night, and the ex-president did not appear to be “angry”, according to sources cited by the outlet. Kevin McCarthy’s aides had reportedly been making calls to GOP House members since Thursday night, seeking to reassure them that the California Republican remains on good terms with Trump. It was also added that the two men planned to meet early in May as part of a regularly scheduled meeting.
If the GOP secures a House majority in November’s midterms, Kevin McCarthy would need the support of 218 Republicans in a House floor vote to become speaker.
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source https://www.infowars.com/posts/trump-touts-good-ties-with-mccarthy-as-leaked-call-reveals-house-gop-leader-wanted-him-to-resign
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