Thursday, during an appearance on FNC’s “America’s Newsroom,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) discussed what lies ahead for the Republican Party as Donald Trump has exited the stage.
While he didn’t declare that Trump was still the leader of the party, he said he thought the former president had the ability to lead.
Partial transcript as follows:
HEMMER: Who do you believe is the current leader of the Republican Party?
MCCARTHY: Well, I think we found that this President Trump has been able to move us in the right direction making America continue to build. What we find today is that Republicans as a whole listen to those voices that no one would listen to before. That’s what we have to continue. The people are the leader of the Republican Party.
As long as those Republicans who are elected listen to that voice that others would not hear. And I will tell you, yesterday with Joe Biden, he wasn’t listening to them. He was laying them off with the pipeline.
He was telling them who are out of work, that an illegal immigrant is more important than they are. He was telling them that the priorities that he had to go back to World Health Organization that lied to us, that brought COVID or that he had joined the Paris Accord, that he is not going to stand up to China. That is the wrong approach.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Understood. But —
(CROSSTALK)
MCCARTHY: And as long as Republican leaders listen —
HEMMER: Back to the question, the leader is President Trump. Is that what you’re saying?
MCCARTHY: Well, I think President Trump continues to have that ability —
HEMMER: So it’s not what you’re saying?
MCCARTHY: — to lead this party and unite. Yes, President Trump has the ability to lead —
HEMMER: OK.
MCCARTHY: — this party continually.
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