USA TODAY International Edition
McConnell, McCarthy split on Carlson
Minority leader hits host’s false depiction
WASHINGTON – Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s airing of footage from the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, has deepened the fissures between two key Republican leaders: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
McCarthy has faced mounting pressure this week after giving Carlson more than 41,000 hours of video footage from the insurrection. Some of that pressure has come from U. S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger and McConnell.
The speaker defended giving the security camera footage to Carlson as an act of “transparency,” telling reporters he was providing an opportunity for people to “see what went on that day.”
“My concern is how it was depicted, which is a different issue.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell On Fox News’ airing of Jan. 6 footage
Manger, McConnell and other critics say Carlson has falsely depicted what happened on Jan. 6 by describing it as “mostly peaceful chaos.” The Capitol Police chief said Carlson’s conclusions were “offensive and misleading.”
What McConnell said about McCarthy and the Carlson tapes
McConnell, at a news conference Tuesday, backed Manger’s assessment: “It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that’s completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.”
The minority leader didn’t answer whether it was a mistake for McCarthy to give Carlson access to the tapes.
“My concern is how it was depicted, which is a different issue,” McConnell said.
McConnell and McCarthy show different approaches to former President Donald Trump
The top two Republicans in Congress have long taken different approaches to Jan. 6 and Trump’s election lies that preceded the deadly insurrection.
That’s partially because of the different political realities in the House and Senate.
McCarthy, who has a more raucous and further- right flank to manage, sought Trump’s approval during the midterms and in his bid for speaker.
In fact, it was a phone call on the House floor from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R- Ga., to Trump that helped McCarthy clinch the speakership on the 15th round of voting.
McConnell, meanwhile, has publicly lambasted the former president and said there is “no question” Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking” the Jan. 6 riot.
But he did vote to acquit Trump after the House impeached him.
Also, McConnell in recent months has described Trump as “diminished” in power after many of his political picks and proteges lost in the midterms. McConnell noted he would seek more qualified candidates to back in 2024 Senate races.