Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson eviscerated Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as a “puppet of the Democratic Party” after audio surfaced of the House Minority Leader criticizing former President Trump and some of his staunchest allies in Congress.
McCarthy initially denied reports that he had a conversation with other GOP leaders about encouraging former President Donald Trump to resign over the Capitol riot, prompting two reporters for the New York Times to release audio to the contrary.
“The only discussion I would have with him is that, I think this will pass,” he told Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), referencing the Senate impeachment trial. “And it will be my recommendation you should resign.”
Recording of Kevin McCarthy talking about Matt Gaetz: “I’m getting a briefing, I’m going to get another one from the FBI tomorrow—this is serious sh*t,”
Steve Scalise: “Yeah, that’s – I mean it’s potentially illegal what he’s doing.”pic.twitter.com/o1olhAPQhA
— Brad Beauregard Jr ?? (@BradBeauregardJ) April 27, 2022
The reporters followed that up by releasing subsequent clips of McCarthy speaking with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise regarding concern over fellow Republicans – particularly America First Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Mo Brooks (R-AL) – ‘putting other lawmakers at risk’ with their comments about the 2020 election.
“Well, he’s putting people in jeopardy, and he doesn’t need to be doing this,” McCarthy said of Gaetz. “We saw what people would do in the Capitol, you know?”
McCarthy claimed that America First Reps. referring to other Republicans who weren’t going to fight the election results as “anti-Trump” was “serious stuff” that “has to stop.”
“Can’t they take their Twitter accounts away, too?” the California Republican would later ask.
Don’t forget the other bombshell reported on @maddow: Kevin McCarthy told GOP leaders during that same Jan. 10 conference call that he wished big tech companies would strip some of his members of their social media accounts.
“Can’t they take their Twitter accounts away, too?”
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 22, 2022
RELATED: DeSantis Signs Bill To Create Election Police Force In Florida To Investigate Voter Fraud
Tucker Carlson Slams McCarthy as Democrat Puppet
Tucker Carlson, in commentary on his Tuesday show, took Kevin McCarthy to task over the suggestion that big tech censorship was the way to go in dealing with fiery Trump supporters.
“Donald Trump, the sitting president, had already been silenced by those companies. But McCarthy wanted the tech oligarchs to do more, to force disobedient lawmakers off the internet,” a seething Carlson told viewers.
“Quote, ‘Can’t they take their Twitter accounts away too?’ Those are the tape-recorded words of Congressman Kevin McCarthy, a man who in private, turns out, sounds like an MSNBC contributor.”
????
Tucker Carlson Calling Out Democrat Party Puppet @GOPLeader
“In a phone call reported today by the NYT, Congressman Kevin McCarthy told his close friend Liz Cheney that he hoped the social media companies would censor MORE Conservative Republicans in Congress.” pic.twitter.com/HRQMzaVva5
— The Columbia Bugle ?? (@ColumbiaBugle) April 27, 2022
Carlson went on to warn that unless something changes, McCarthy may very well be the House Speaker following the midterm elections. And how would that be any different than what we’re seeing now, he wondered?
“That would mean you would have a Republican Congress led by a puppet of the Democratic Party,” he contends.
“So, you wouldn’t know any of this list unless it was leaked. And you can start to see why the people in charge oppose transparency and fervently support censorship on both sides.”
Tucker Carlson: “Unless Conservatives get their act together right away, @GOPLeader or one of his highly liberal allies like @RepStefanik is very likely to be Speaker of the House in January. That would mean we would have a GOP Congress headed by a puppet of the Democratic Party” pic.twitter.com/e26M88EYcJ
— The Columbia Bugle ?? (@ColumbiaBugle) April 27, 2022
RELATED: Mitch McConnell Was ‘Exhilarated’ That Trump ‘Committed Political Suicide’ On January 6
Gaetz Slams McCarthy as Weak, More Concerned About Protecting Liz Cheney
Gaetz also slammed Kevin McCarthy and Scalise regarding the conversation, describing them as “weak men” more concerned with protecting Never Trump Republicans Cheney and Representative Adam Kinzinger from criticism.
“Rep McCarthy and Rep. Scalise held views about President Trump and me that they shared on sniveling calls with Liz Cheney, not us,” Gaetz hammered. “This is the behavior of weak men, not leaders.”
“While I was protecting President Trump from impeachment,” he continued, “they were protecting Liz Cheney from criticism.”
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) April 26, 2022
Gaetz referenced McCarthy’s objection to calling people who are anti-Trump ‘anti-Trump.’
“They deemed it incendiary or illegal to call Cheney and Kinzinger ‘Anti-Trump,’ a label both proudly advertise today,” he pointed out.
McCarthy’s call for Big Tech to rain down hellfire on Trump supporters stands in stark contrast to comments he made in May of 2021 when he vowed action against these social media platforms specifically referencing Facebook’s ban of Trump.
“If they can ban President Trump, all conservative voices could be next,” he said at the time. “A House Republican majority will rein in big tech power over our speech.”
Just maybe not the Trump supporters, especially when the heat gets turned up by the media.
