


A Republican strategist and prominent Never Trumper refused to let former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy get away with an accusation against Joe Biden at a recent event.
During a panel at the DealBook Summit in New York City last week, McCarthy claimed that the key to Trump’s victory was that “Independents [believed] the greatest threat to democracy was Joe Biden getting reelected.”
He added: “And that was Independents, not Republican or Democrat. So what you say, you can believe, but that’s not what the American public believes.”
That led to a fiery response from Sarah Longwell, a GOP strategist and publisher of The Bulwark.
She pointed out that McCarthy’s comment reflected the “disconnect between what the American people are alleging and what’s true,” and then brought out facts to her fellow panelists, who included Trump supporters Kellyanne Conway and Jason Miller.
“Donald Trump lied about an election being stolen and then sicced the mob on the Capitol,” Longwell said, while noting McCarthy’s reaction to her points. “And it’s funny that you roll your eyes at this, Kevin, because you’re the one who went down and resurrected him.”
Longwell then spoke truth to power.
“You want to know what happened just now in the 2024 election, is we elected the most dangerous criminal human being, corrupt human being that America has ever elected,” she said. “And, Kevin, you helped him. You’re the one who went and got him.”
McCarthy sarcastically responded with, “You’re welcome,” but that didn’t stop Longwell.
“Yes, sure. Thank you. OK. And in doing so ― and in doing so, you enabled this,” she said before chiding his claim that “Joe Biden’s Justice Department is the problem here, as opposed to Donald Trump and the fact that he tried to overturn an election.”
“I don’t know if people let you get away with that in rooms all the time, but you should never be allowed to get away with it,” Longwell added.
Although her comments probably didn’t please many of the pro-Trump panelists at the event, they did strike a chord with many people on social media.
Democracy In The Balance
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