House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy criticized reporters who tried to focus on former President Donald Trump after a Republican sweep in Virginia.
McCarthy took questions at a Wednesday press conference celebrating Republican wins in the state of Virginia – from the gubernatorial race to control of the House of Delegates – and he pushed back when reporters only appeared interested in talking about Trump. (RELATED: They Had Seen This Coming’: Kevin McCarthy Says ‘Wokeism’ And Biden Policies Behind Democratic Defeat)
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McCarthy was clearly amused when the very first question invoked Trump by name, saying, “I guess I can’t be surprised the morning after Republicans win across the nation, the media wants to try to find division.”
McCarthy went on to say that in the months since President Joe Biden took office, he had watched the Republican Party grow and become more unified in opposition to Democratic policies that were unpopular.
He then pivoted to address the reporter directly for bringing Trump into it, saying, “I think that’s just another political ploy.”
A second reporter asked a question, provoking an immediate reaction from McCarthy.
“So a second question about Trump,” he said. “Okay, so your question is about Trump after we just held an election where inflation is higher than we’ve ever been a part … We watched this president change, by executive orders, the border – where the security is now gone. We watched parents come to school board meetings craving to have input. A father getting arrested when his daughter was molested in a bathroom.”
McCarthy continued to lay out a number of Biden policies that he said were hurting Americans, adding, “This is about policy, this is about a united party. This isn’t about division, and I don’t agree with your question to start out with.”
“To me, if there’s anything the press should learn, we should learn from Terry McAuliffe, all he talked about was Trump as well,” McCarthy concluded.