WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 03: U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) waits as the House of … [+]
As Republicans in Congress failed on Tuesday to elect a Speaker of the House, cable news hosts from MSNBC to Fox News were largely united in their criticism. “House Republicans now are on the verge of becoming a total clown show if they’re not careful,” said Fox News host Sean Hannity. “But despite the cheering and elation from Democrats and the mob and the media, it’s not a dire situation—yet.”
But on Wednesday morning, with no indications that Republicans had settled on a path forward, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough declared the GOP’s first day in the majority as “bush league.”
“You don’t wing it. You don’t wing it while the whole world is watching and your career is on the line, but that’s exactly what happened yesterday,” Scarborough said on Morning Joe:
Over at Fox News, the hosts opened Fox & Friends laughing at the chaos that unfolded in the House chamber as Rep. Kevin McCarthy failed to receive enough votes to become Speaker on three separate votes, as right-wing Republicans refused to back McCarthy—the first time in more than 100 years that the selection of a Speaker went to more than one ballot.
“It was a disaster for the Republicans,” said Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy:
McCarthy vowed “I’m staying until we win,” telling reporters “I know the path.” But that path was not clear as the House prepared to go back into session Wednesday, with many looking back to the last time the House failed to elect a Speaker on the first roll call vote—in 1923, when the voting required nine separate ballots.
House Republicans represent 222 seats in the new Congress, and a vote for Speaker requires 218, leaving many political analysts convinced McCarthy can’t win. And—whether this will help him or hurt him—former President Donald Trump posted a message to his Truth Social platform, urging Republicans to “vote for Kevin” and “close the deal,” saying that to do anything else would risk turning “a great triumph into a giant and embarrassing defeat.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2023/01/04/cable-news-hosts-call-gop-chaos-a-total-clown-show-as-trump-urges-vote-for-kevin-close-the-deal/