McCarthy Said Trump Admitted Some Responsibility For Jan. 6, Audio Reveals

Topline

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on a call with House Republicans in the days following the January 6 riot at the Capitol that former President Donald Trump admitted he bears some responsibility for the attack, according to new audio released Friday on CNN.

Key Facts

McCarthy said on the call on January 11 that he asked Trump if he felt bad about what happened, and that Trump told him he does have some responsibility, according to audio obtained by two New York Times reporters and played on CNN.

According to audio from a separate call the day before, McCarthy said “I’ve had it with this guy” and what Trump did was “unacceptable.”

McCarthy said at the time he planned to tell Trump he should resign once it became clear House Democrats were moving to begin impeachment proceedings against the former president, according to a Times report on Thursday and subsequent audio recordings released the same day, though ultimately McCarthy did not call for his resignation.

Prior to the audio being released, McCarthy had said in a Thursday statement in response to the article that the Times’ reporting was “totally false and wrong.”

Representatives for McCarthy and Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.

The Times report is based on portions of an upcoming book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future.

Tangent

Trump told McCarthy on a phone call on Thursday evening that he was not upset about the leaked audio tape where McCarthy said he planned to tell Trump to resign, the Washington Post reports. Trump reportedly said he was glad that McCarthy never followed through with his plans, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the call. Trump has yet to respond to the newest audio recordings.

Key Background

McCarthy was among a number of top Republican leaders who were reportedly furious with Trump in the days following January 6. The Times reports then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told several advisors over lunch on January 11 “the Democrats are going to take care of the son of a b***h for us,” referring to the upcoming impeachment vote in the House. Early plans to punish Trump were never pursued, as GOP leadership began to fear retribution from his base, which had not broken away with him over the riots, the Times reports. McCarthy did not vote to impeach Trump, and McConnell voted to acquit him of the impeachment charge, though seven other Republican senators voted to convict Trump. McConnell said during an interview in February 2021 he would support Trump if he became the presidential nominee in 2024, and McCarthy was pictured with Trump at Mar-a-Lago soon after he left office.

Crucial Quote

“Let me be very clear to all of you, and I have been very clear to the president: he bears responsibilities for his words and actions,” McCarthy said on the January 11 call. “No if, ands or buts.”

Further Reading

McCarthy Blasts Report He Planned To Push For Trump’s Resignation After Jan. 6 Attack (Forbes)

McConnell and McCarthy’s Jan. 6 Fury at Trump Faded by February (The New York Times)