when you are sort of frantically surveying the house impeachment conference after after this audio, this was almost having like a ptsd listen to that audio, because that is exactly where the conference was at the time. there were discussions about the fifth amendment, people were very upset with trump. and when minority leader mccarthy didn t actually go down to mar-a-lago, that now pizza picture of two of them, chasing came out, it was a bit of whiplash for many in congress. kurt, you are a republican strategist, and listening to how we see mccarthy flip flop when it comes to trump, it s almost a reminder of people saying that, putin-owned trump, and trump is now finding the exact same thing, but now he owns mccarthy. is that true? and what is the calculation of the republican party, by saying so close to some of that clearly wanting to overthrow the government? i don t think that there isn t is a strategy anymore.
trump only used the pardon to pardon political allies by and large for committing crimes! steve bannon pardoned for the felonies. the whole idea that mccarthy didn t want to talk on january 10 or 11 not a pence pardon. assuming that trump would be gone and pence would have to deal with a pardon for the ex-president. it is corroborated by reporting by jackie s colleagues. the white house counsel s office sat there expecting that donald trump would be charged with crimes. complicity and participation and i think it s why there s a bursting exasperation that they continue to glide bo the rule of law. you used the phrase that
said? mccarthy s top priority now is damage control with one man who holds the keys to his speakership ambitions in the palms of his hands, that is trump. what my republican sources are saying is if donald trump is angry with kevin mccarthy and turns on him, his speakership ambitions are over. so far there is no sign that donald trump is angry. he s got a good thing going with kevin mccarthy in terms of the power dynamic. he reference a level of deference that he didn t get from paul ryan, the last republican speaker of the house, and he has been forgiving with people who said bad things about him but who turn and end up being firmly loyal to him. that is going to be the test. and there are several things that we are waiting to hear from donald trump on about how he feels regarding things mccarthy is on tape saying. the first, of course, is mccarthy s suggestion that he would ask trump to resign. the second is a suggestion that mccarthy didn t want to get into questions of pence pardon
couple of days. from what i know of him, i mean, you guys all know him, too, do you think he d ever back away? the only discussion i will have with him is that i think this will pass and it would my recommendation you should resign. i mean, that would be my take, but i don t think he would take it. but i don t know. republican sources tell cnn mc car think is saying that trump called him about that leaked audio last night and the sources say mccarthy didn t seem worried and has said, quote, trump was fine. out front now jonathan martin one of the authors of this new book titled this will not pass, trump, biden a and the battle for america s future. good to see you. thank you. mccarthy says, according to sources that trump was fine and a top republican told cnn mccarthy didn t seem worried about his political future after this. do you think, do you sense that kevin mccarthy should be
rocking washington. but as uk imagine, the smoking gun tapes, first aired on tv last night, which revealed so much of this, are quickly stoking other developments and questions about whether mccarthy can hold on to his job leading trouble can party in the house. they re months out from midterms, where he could be in line to become the next speaker if they take back the house. and the headlines are roaring across washington all day today about whether kevin mccarthy is already toast. the facts show that mccarthy was so concerned about trump leading the insurrection that he thought trump should be ousted before the biden inaugural on january 20th. and he was actively discussing and exploring ways to do that. he was blasting trump s actions as unacceptable and, quote, indefensible. he was discussing if trump would try to get a criminal pardon, which shows us that in those tense first days before politics, bias, or self-interest clouded his judgment again, that in private mccarthy didn t t