House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) says former President Donald Trump agreed to help Republicans take back the House and Senate in the 2022 mid-term elections.
Trump was reportedly considering starting a third-party called the “Patriot Party.” However, he apparently decided against the move as it appeared there would be few Republican senators voting to convict him on the charge of “incitement of insurrection.”
Now, the former president has reportedly agreed to help Republicans regain control of Congress next year.
In a statement after the meeting, McCarthy said, “Today, President Trump committed to helping elect Republicans in the House and Senate in 2022. A Republican majority will listen to our fellow Americans and solve the challenges facing our nation.”
“Democrats, on the other hand, have only put forward an agenda that divides us — such as impeaching a President who is now a private citizen and destroying blue-collar energy jobs. For the sake of our country, the radical Democrat agenda must be stopped,” he continued.
McCarthy added, “A united conservative movement will strengthen the bonds of our citizens and uphold the freedoms our country was founded on.”
McCarthy also shared a picture of him standing next Trump:
Meanwhile, at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/7dUoXiLQ0M
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) January 28, 2021
The Republican leader reportedly angered Trump in recent weeks after he blamed the former president for the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol — a stance he has since walked backed.
During a speech on the House floor on January 13, McCarthy said, “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”
He also shot down claims that the left-wing counter-protest organization Antifa was behind the riot.
But just over a week later, McCarthy told reporters that he does not believe Trump “provoked” the mob the storm the Capitol.
And in an interview that aired on Sunday, he argued that Trump has “some responsibility” for the riot due to his response to the violence. However, he added, “I also think everybody across this country has some responsibility.”
“Think about four years ago after the President Trump was sworn in. What happened the very next day? The title was resist with people walking in the streets. […] So I think there’s from a whole nation, we should take this moment in time to find how we can correct ourselves.”
“But President Trump said ‘peacefully.’ What I said on the floor was that President Trump could have responded faster when the riots first started. I thought his video, the second video, was a very good video. I wish that was the first one,” McCarthy said.
