Kevin McCarthy Rips Trump Behind His Back: 'Atrocious And Totally Wrong'

Newly released audio shows House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) once again attacking former President Donald Trump behind his back in the days after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“What the president did is atrocious and totally wrong,” McCarthy said in the audio released by New York Times reporters Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin, authors of the new book “This Will Not Pass.”

McCarthy has since defended and praised Trump and ostracized those within his party who are critical of the former president.

But the audio shows McCarthy was in a much different frame of mind after the assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters. He said in the Jan. 8, 2021, recording that removing Trump via the 25th Amendment would take too long, and that impeachment could further divide the nation.

McCarthy also indicated he wanted to reach out to Joe Biden, who at the time was president-elect, to show there would be a smooth transition.

CNN broadcast the audio from a GOP leadership call as well as a discussion with the authors:

Last month, Burns and Martin reported that McCarthy told members of his conference he would urge Trump to resign. McCarthy denied it until the audio was released.

McCarthy then insisted that he never actually asked Trump to resign, and Trump himself released a statement in support of McCarthy.

It’s not yet clear how the former president will view this new audio release.

McCarthy initially said publicly that Trump “bears responsibility” for the insurrection; however, he quickly changed his tune, saying days later he didn’t think Trump provoked the attack.

McCarthy also made a pilgrimage to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to smooth things over, and has since worked to push out Republicans critical of Trump and reward those who’ve remained in his corner.