The Los Angeles Times reports:
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that former President Trump’s words at a rally did not incite the violent mob that invaded the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, contradicting his previous comments that Trump bore responsibility for the insurrection that resulted in five deaths.
“I don’t believe he provoked it if you listen to what he said at the rally,” McCarthy, a Republican who represents Bakersfield, said during a news conference. Eight days earlier, during a Jan. 13 House debate on whether to impeach Trump, McCarthy said the president was to blame for the violence, though he voted against impeachment.
The Huffington Post reports:
In an interview airing Sunday on Gray Television’s “Full Court Press With Greta Van Susteren,” McCarthy insisted he wasn’t changing his tune. “No, I have not changed in that,” he said.
He stood by his assertion that Trump does bear some responsibility for what happened. But, he added, so does every other person around the country. “I also think everybody across this country has some responsibility,” he said.
McCarthy then started pointing to Democrats who opposed Trump, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), people who are rude on social media and law enforcement authorities who didn’t prepare for the attack as some of the people who were somehow responsible.
Trump lies and screams that the election was rigged and people need to do what it takes to reverse it. Republican elected officials echo Trump or stay silent. Trump supporters assemble in D.C. at his urging, where he further incites them.
McCarthy: Who’s to say who’s responsible? https://t.co/psze3VurLT— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 23, 2021
Re flip-flopping Kevin McCarthy: ““Keep in mind, Kevin doesn’t have a moral conscience.”https://t.co/ODR5XzSNzT
— Steve Lopez LA Times (@LATstevelopez) January 22, 2021