Meet the Press: Kevin McCarthy

Interview

The crazy eights led by Gaetz, the amount of damage they have done to this party and to this country is insurmountable.

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Thank you. Thanks for having me on.

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Well, that's embarrassing. And you've got to understand why we are here. Eight Republicans, lead by Gaetz, have created this chaos by joining every single Democrat in voting to shut down one branch of government. Look, I would do the exact same thing again. Could you imagine if we were having this discussion right now with the American government shut down, with our troops in the Middle East wondering when they'll ever get paid again? Keeping the government open was the right decision to make. And I'd make it again, each and every day. Now, the two men, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, they could have done the job as speaker. Unfortunately, the chaos has continued. We need to solve this problem. We've got a wide-open Southern border. We've got crushing inflation. We've got war in the Middle East. This is not a moment in time to play around with learning on the job. We need someone who understands how to do this job. I believe Tom Emmer, our whip, he's been in the room with all of our successes, from our bills to secure the border, from Parents Bill of Rights, from cutting $2 trillion getting work requirements. He knows how to do the job across the street at the same time, helping us win the majority. He sets himself, head and shoulders, above all those others who want to run. We need to get him elected this week, and move on, and bring not just party together; but focus on what this country needs most.

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Well, that deal has been with every speaker in the house. The only person who changed it is Nancy Pelosi, but no other party -- I had the power to make this motion against Nancy Pelosi, but I never did because I believed in the institution of the House. All of the other Democrat leaders believed they never should be able to raise this issue. Remember, as we go forward in the next decade, if the majority changes, no one's going to have a big majority. So what Hakeem Jeffries has just done, changed the institution itself to say, "It's okay to always make a motion to try to shut down one branch of government," so--

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From my perspective, what Matt Gaetz has done here, think about this, he has chosen, with no plan, concerned about an ethics complaint that was registered against him in the last Congress, to try to go and move and shut it down. This is the wrong approach. It's brought chaos. The Democrats went along with it, and they have blame, too. But I would sit back. I'll take whatever blame needed. But if the blame is on me for keeping government open and voting for the troops, I would do that again tomorrow.

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You don't have that choice. You have 218 votes to pass a rule. No Democrat would vote -- they all voted just like they did to throw me out. They all voted against that rule, as well. So they wouldn't help at that time. So I believed moving forward is the best, like every other speaker has had.

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I do. I believe -- it's going to be an uphill battle. But if you simply look at what's the chaos right now, a wide-open Southern border, I'm concerned about a cell sitting inside America today. We just caught 18 people, just last month, on the FBI terrorist watch list, coming across our border. More than 160 have done it this year, a record breaking. When we're looking around the Middle East and the uprisings popping up around Europe and others, they could be sleeper cells right now in America. But this administration has done nothing to change what's happening on the Southern border. We've got government funding, where our troops wouldn't be paid, sitting here in a month. Tom Emmer has been a part of our successes, from not just winning the majority, but being in the room to help us pass a border security bill, to make us energy independent, Parents Bill of Rights, to stand up when the Democrats wanted to defund the police and decriminalize so many of those laws. And he has been successful. This is not a time for a learning experience as speaker. Tom would be able to walk into the job and do it on day one.

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Well, I think why wouldn't that be the case that I'd still be in the job. Unfortunately, we have eight people, led by Gaetz, that put something different in their beliefs. I don't know why they would follow Gaetz about his ethics complaints. I don't know what's in it. I legally can't be involved in it, must be rather serious to put this much jeopardy into this nation. I would have hoped that everyone would come together, put the country before the politics, and actually solve this. Steve Scalise would have done an excellent job. I supported him. Jim Jordan would have. I just know this is not a time to play games. This is embarrassing for the Republican Party. It's embarrassing for the nation. And we need to look at one another and solve the problem.

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Look. I don't need the title. I'm going to help in any way I can.

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Look, I know you have your job. I'm supporting Tom Emmer. But I'm going to tell you, I am still a member of Congress and I am going to lead in any capacity I can help to protect America. I'm going to work to secure our border. I'm going to work to stop the inflation. I'm going to make sure war does not break out in Israel and that Israel has every resource they need to defend themselves. But most importantly, I'm going to press this administration. We have to destroy Hamas, but you cannot do it without confronting Iran. They need to change their policies. Iran only had $4 billion in the foreign exchange when they took office. They now have $70 billion. Iran only produced 400,000 barrels of oil a day when Biden took office. They now produce three million. They're getting billions of dollars to fund terrorism around the world. And you cannot stop Hamas, you cannot get the American hostages back without confronting Iran. And they cannot make the same mistake they did in Afghanistan. We have to be very clear. Every single American has to come home. No one will be left behind. And I can do that as a congressman. I can do that as a citizen. And I will do it and stand up for the American people.

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Look. We will look at exactly what they put up. We're a different branch of government. We'll make sure there's no bloating in here. But the one thing this administration has to know, from the day I became speaker, they have to stop ignoring the Southern border. Israel should have their money right now. They are at the brink of war. There are more Americans dying on our Southern border than they are in Ukraine. Ukraine has $9 billion right now. So let's sit down and let's look exactly what weaponry they need. Israel, let's not dither around the--

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Let's send that tomorrow. And then, let's make sure.

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Let's make sure our Southern border is secure.

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That's right.

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Oh yeah, but let me be very clear --

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No. Because I would not want to delay any aid for Israel. I would have already sent aid to Israel. If I was still speaker today, I would have done a number of things. We wouldn't even be talking about it today. First and foremost, I would have made sure that no longer are we paying for American hostages, that there would be consequences for any American, and no one's going to get left behind. I would have already sent the aid to Israel. I would have stood up to the antisemitism that's coming across the aisle, the lies that are being said by the Democrats, where Hakeem just says, "There's no statement." I would have made sure that we had looked at our own border, that we don't have any sleeping cells here, that we would actually stop these terrorists coming across our own border. And I would have made sure, from that perspective going forward, that Israel had every sophisticated weapon they needed to defend themselves.

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So, no. Then, we would have brought up Ukraine aid at the same times we were talking about our own Southern border. And we would have been able to get the job done.

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Look. No. I think the individuals themselves can make their decisions. Tom Emmer has the ability and shown the ability, not only can he pass the very difficult bills; he can help win the majority. He is the best person for the job. I've watched what we've been able to do just in these nine months. Think about this: we have passed a bill that makes us energy independent. We have passed the most Conservative border security bill that would secure our border. We have passed the Parents Bill of Rights. We have cut $2 trillion of wasteful spending. We have brought in a work requirement at the same time. We were passing appropriation bills, some that have never been passed by Republicans in 16 years. Unfortunately, eight Republicans, led by Gaetz, have brought us this chaos.

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We need to make sure that we make that correction and move forward.

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Well, the campaign is still going. There's a very good chance I would endorse President Trump.

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Well, you know what? Because I've got a Southern border wide open, I have war in the Middle East, I've got things I'm focused on right now. I believe President Trump will be our nominee. And I believe President Trump will get reelected.

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Think about what Biden has done. You know what? I am a Conservative Republican from the beginning to the end. And that's what I've always been. You can try to phrase different names to people. But I'm proud of who I am.

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Thank you for having me.

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