Kevin McCarthy criticized for saying ‘Everybody Across This Country’ is to blame for the Capitol attack

Republican minority leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, was criticized for saying in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he feels that “everyone in this country has some responsibility” for the deadly Capitol riot on January 6.

At the Full Court Press interview, a transcript of which Newsweek he did, presenter Greta Van Susteren asked the California congressman who he felt was responsible for the turmoil, noting that although he had pointed to former President Donald Trump at first, he later seemed to step back. McCarthy said he has not changed that position. Later in his response, he said Trump should have responded earlier, and released a video in which he asked for calm earlier.

“I thought the president had some responsibility for the response. If you hear what the president said at the rally, he said, ‘demonstrate peacefully’. And then I had a question later about whether he incited them. I also think that everyone in this country has some responsibility, “he told Van Susteren

McCarthy then noted the division in the country and the protests that followed Trump’s inauguration four years earlier. “What do we write on our social networks? What do we say to each other? How do we disagree and still disagree even when it comes to an opinion?” he said.

McCarthy also raised questions about the response to the riot, saying the FBI was aware that the invasion was planned. He asked who else knew and what was known, observing unanswered questions. “When we had a meeting the day before, they said they were prepared for all this. I think that’s what we have to find out, and when you start talking about who has responsibilities, I think there will be a lot more questions, a lot more answers that we have to have in the future, “he said in the interview.

In the past, McCarthy has made similar calls for less political division. On January 8, he released a statement denouncing the Capitol disturbances two days earlier, calling for “minor[ing] the temperature and unit[ing] the country to solve America’s challenges, “also arguing that Trump’s impeachment would further sow the divide.” We all have some responsibility here too, what our rhetoric has been, the different language people have used, what you said on social media. We increased these temperatures a lot. At the last opening, we started with ‘resist’. We have members of Congress saying that we should get in touch with other people. We need to lower the temperature. We need to understand that we are all Americans and we need to start respecting differences of opinion, “he said in a video posted on his Facebook page on January 16.

Ahead of Full Court Press In an air interview, McCarthy defended himself on Twitter on Saturday afternoon, writing: “From the minute the Capitol was attacked, I asked the troublemakers to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and repeatedly said that it is the responsibility of all people in America to help lower the temperature of our political discourse. “

A McCarthy spokesman replied in an email to Newsweek Saturday when the legislator’s part of the interview was misinterpreted: “I understand that some may want to interpret McCarthy’s comments as if they are spreading the guilt of the real protesters to everyone, but that is simply wrong. He has stated since the attacks that everyone we have a responsibility to lower the political temperature across the spectrum that has been growing for years and to join the Americans – this is not the first case of political violence. “

But several people have already responded negatively to McCarthy’s answer “everyone in this country”, many sharing a HuffPost article that reported his response. Some saw this as an abdication of who was really responsible for the turmoil and placed the blame directly on the ex-president and some Republicans. Others, including Jaguar actor Kirk Acevedo and Will and grace the star Debra Messing, blamed McCarthy. “You refused to claim Biden as the winner / president-elect. You were quiet in the face of calls for a coup,” wrote Messing.

Some politicians also tweeted about McCarthy’s response. Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts asked him to “take it over” and quoted Liz Cheney, chairman of the GOP Conference of the House: “The president summoned this mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame for this attack. All that followed was work his”. California congressman Ted Lieu also quoted Cheney and blamed Trump for the riot.