New audio reveals Kevin McCarthy said Donald Trump should resign after the Capitol riots.

Shannon Longworth Reporter

NYT audio: McCarthy said Trump should resign following Capitol riots

Apr 22, 2022

Shannon Longworth Reporter

By Shannon Longworth (Reporter), Ben Burke (Producer/Editor)

According to audio published by The New York Times, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said on a House Republican Leadership call that former President Donald Trump should resign following last January’s Capitol riots. The call reportedly happened on Jan. 10, 2021, just four days after the riots.

“It would be my recommendation that he should resign,” Rep. McCarthy can be heard saying on the call, referencing the former president. “That would be my take, but I don’t think he would take it. But I don’t know.”

McCarthy’s comments in the call came in response to a question from Rep. Liz Cheney, who serves on the House committee investigating the riots. He also touched on the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office at the time, saying, “I think it will pass.”

The New York Times’ reporting began Thursday morning with a story describing the call. McCarthy responded with a statement on Twitter, calling the story “totally false and wrong.”

“It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda,” McCarthy said in the statement. “The past year and a half have proven that our country was better off when President Trump was in the White House and rather than address the real issues facing Americans, the corporate media is more concerned with profiting from manufactured political intrigue from politically-motivated sources.”

The audio was posted following McCarthy’s statement. His spokesperson Mark Bednar did not immediately respond to questions after the audio’s release.

With McCarthy potentially in line to take over as House Speaker in 2022, the audio of him saying Trump should resign could threaten to fracture Republican party leadership if Trump runs in 2024. However, McCarthy has staunchly defended Trump and his election fraud claims since the riots. This includes duking it out with current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) over the formation of the Capitol riots committee.

The Washington Post reported Friday that McCarthy and Trump spoke on the phone following the audio’s release Thursday night. According to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation, Trump was not upset about the audio and was glad McCarthy didn’t follow through on pushing Trump to resign.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy | (R) California: “I do not want to get into any conversation about Pence pardoning. Again the only discussion I want to have with him is I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation that he should resign. I mean that would be my take but I don’t think he would take it. But I don’t know.”
Shannon Longworth: That’s brand-new audio provided by the New York Times – in which you can hear House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy seemingly recommend former President Donald Trump resign.
It’s from a call that reportedly happened just four days after the Capitol riots.
During the call, McCarthy can *also* be heard saying he thought the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office following the riots would be successful.
McCarthy released a statement on Twitter saying quote “the New York Times’ reporting on me is totally false and wrong.”
His spokesperson also denied that he told colleagues he would urge Trump to resign.
With McCarthy potentially in line to take over as House Speaker in 2022 — the leaked audio could threaten to fracture Republican party leadership if Trump runs in 2024.
It’s important to note that McCarthy has staunchly defended Trump and his election fraud claims since the riots.