It appears soon-to-be former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is finally saying what many Republican voters expected all along.

In a newly-surfaced video, McCarthy said Democrats are the party that resembles America.

“When you look at the Democrats, they actually look like America. When I look at my party, we look like the most restrictive country club in America,” McCarthy said.

WATCH:

Here’s a Rumble backup via Trending Politics:

The Washington Post reports:

On Wednesday, this truth tour brought him to the New York Times’s DealBook event, where he discussed his party and politics with interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin. McCarthy was hyping his success rate as his party’s leader from 2019 until a few months ago — gaining seats in 2020 and 2022 — when he articulated an unexpected electoral priority.

“I became leader when we took the minority, and this was a turning point for me,” McCarthy said, describing having attended the 2019 State of the Union address.

“I’d just become leader and I’m excited and President Trump’s there. And I look over at the Democrats and they stand up. They look like America,” he told Sorkin. “We stand up. We look like the most restrictive country club in America.”

According to McCarthy, it was at that moment that he decided he was either “going to be the leader of a declining end of a party or I have to change the opportunity in this party.” He told Sorkin that diversifying the party’s presence meant ensuring that more women and non-White candidates won Republican primaries (since “the November election is not their tough election”), so he took a more active role in influencing primary outcomes.

This is an unexpected admission! It’s not uncommon for Democrats to note that their party better reflects America’s diversity or that the Republican Party looks like a country club, but it is uncommon for the former head of the House Republican Party to do so. That the party has struggled to appeal to non-White voters and women is well-established; in the wake of the 2012 presidential election, there was a brief push to expand the party’s appeal.

McCarthy announced his resignation from the House of Representatives earlier this week, saying he’ll depart Congress by the end of December.

Per NBC News:

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who this fall became the first speaker to be ousted from power in the middle of a congressional term, said Wednesday he will resign from office at the end of this month.

His exit is a blow to his successor, Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Republicans, further cutting the already narrow GOP majority and making passing legislation in 2024 even more challenging.

“No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing. That may seem out of fashion in Washington these days, but delivering results for the American people is still celebrated across the country,” McCarthy, R-Calif., wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.

“It is in this spirit that I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways. I know my work is only getting started,” he said.

With the sudden resignation of McCarthy and expulsion of Rep. George Santos, Republicans have an extremely narrow House majority going into 2024.

“Republicans had a 4 vote majority in the House— without George Santos its a 3 vote majority. Without Kevin McCarthy in Congress, Republicans will have a 2 vote majority. And in February Bill Johnson is vacating his seat, leaving the GOP with a 1 seat majority,” Benny Johnson explained.

“If Republicans open up the floor on a day when even just one GOP member is absent or sick, Democrats can file a motion to vacate the chair and have their own Speaker election to hijack the House. It’s a very dangerous situation to be in,” he continued.

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.


We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.