The House of Representatives voted in October to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker, with eight Republicans joining Democrats to vote in favor of the resolution. McCarthy was a staunch supporter of Donald Trump and Trump backed McCarthy’s initial bid to become Speaker, but the former president left the California congressman out to dry in his time of need last month, with Rolling Stone reporting that he told allies it was up to McCarthy to save himself.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump and McCarthy spoke on the phone after the latter’s ouster, and that the call … did not go well. Trump reported explained to McCarthy why he didn’t step in and convince the eight rogue Republicans to get in line, while criticizing him for failing to have his two impeachments expunged or endorsing his 2024 campaign.
“Fuck you,” was McCarthy’s reply, or so McCarthy has told other people in separate conversations, according to the Post.
McCarthy’s relationship with Trump can perhaps best be summed up in a photo of the pair smiling together at Mar-a-Lago in January 2021. McCarthy was livid at Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, railing in leaked audio about how the then-president was responsible for the carnage, and even telling fellow Republicans, “I’ve had it with this guy,” according to additional audio reviewed by The New York Times. And yet, McCarthy was in Palm Beach to kiss Trump’s ring a few weeks later, and has been defending him at every turn ever since — including against the Jan. 6 Committee’s investigation into the events leading up to the riot.
Liz Cheney one of two Republicans on the Jan. 6 Committee, wrote in her new book that McCarthy told her that he was called down to Mar-a-Lago in part because Trump was “depressed” and “not eating” after his efforts to remain in power failed.
McCarthy has seemed a little on edge since he was voted out of the Speakership, even outside of throwing expletives at the former president. Earlier this month he reportedly shoved Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on Capitol Hill. “I got elbowed in the back and it kind of caught me off guard […] I turned back and there was Kevin,” Burchett said after the shove, which McCarthy claimed was incidental. “For a minute I was kind of ‘what the heck just happened’ and then I chased after him of course.”
Burchett was one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy.
Read More:Kevin McCarthy Says He Told Trump ‘F-ck You’ After Ouster: Report
2023-11-30 14:35:41
