Emotions were running high on the day of the Capitol insurrection, especially within the Senate chambers. While the rioters were infiltrating the Capitol building on Jan. 6, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was reportedly engaged in a shouting match with former president Donald Trump.
On Friday (Feb. 12), CNN reported that McCarthy was heard screaming at the former president after he demanded Trump to call off the rioters. During the profanity-laced call, 45 asserted that the rioters cared more about his future in the White House than McCarthy did. “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Trump said according to lawmakers who are familiar with the call.
The initial smug retort from the former prez appeared to set off McCarthy. Later in the call, the House Minority Leader told Trump that his supporters had broken into his office through the windows. “Who the fuck do you think you are talking to?” McCarthy shouted at the former president.
McCarthy’s tense exchange with Trump was confirmed by another Republican in the House, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state. The newly-surfaced details about the call shed light on what Trump’s mindset was during the insurrection. Herrera Beutler also called upon other high-ranking witnesses like former Vice President Mike Pence to speak up before the impeachment trial against Donald Trump ends.
“You have to look at what he did during the insurrection to confirm where his mind was at,” Herrera Beutler told CNN. “That line right there demonstrates to me that either he didn’t care, which is impeachable, because you cannot allow an attack on your soil, or he wanted it to happen and was OK with it, which makes me so angry.”
As of this report, neither Trump nor McCarthy have not commented on the tense phone call.