Jonathan Nicholson covers Capitol Hill and campaigns for HuffPost. His Twitter is @JNicholsonInDC.
Bakersfield, California, product Kevin McCarthy may no longer be in the House speaker’s chair, but the traits that got him there — and arguably also resulted in him being the first speaker ever ousted — remained on display Tuesday night., McCarthy was by turns charming, a tad bitter, and still eager to challenge critical questions with a handy dose of whataboutism.The talk, entitled “How Strong Is Our Democracy,” allowed questions only from Georgetown students, not members of the press.
“Thirty minutes later, The New York Times has it. I thought I was going to go by and no one was going to know about it,” he said. Trump asked him if McCarthy or his staff had leaked it, and McCarthy said no. He asked, McCarthy said, if he thought Trump’s staff had leaked it. McCarthy said no.“And he looks at me, and he goes, ‘Well, it’s good for both of us, you know.’”
“Challenging something doesn’t mean you’re overturning something. A challenge is a challenge,” he said. “A challenge is, ‘Is there something wrong here? Can you answer the question?’”McCarthy also blamed fellow former Speaker Nancy Pelosi for politicizing so much during her final tenure from 2019 to 2023, including, he said, the reaction of the House sergeant-at-arms, who is partially in charge of security for the Capitol, to Jan. 6.
But McCarthy also showed a softer side. He blamed the proliferation of news outlets for the rising tribalism in American institutions, including politics. Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.
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