The January 6th Hearings are being televised and they make for some fascinating TV time. Even Donald Trump is watching them, and he’s angry that he doesn’t have any defenders on the committee, which he blamed on Kevin McCarthy. It is McCarthy’s fault, and I love that he’s getting blamed (because he’s such a massive asshole) which is nicely summarized by Punchbowl News:
Let’s be abundantly clear: The decision to boycott these hearings was House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s to make. Speaker Nancy Pelosi barred GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Jim Banks (Ind.) from serving on the panel, and McCarthy – in a difficult position – refused to allow any Republicans to take part in response.
By sitting it out, Republicans thought they could make it seem like a one-sided, one-party witch hunt – despite the presence of Reps. Adam Kinzinger(R-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on the panel.
Republicans also argued that Americans carried more about the price of gas and the state of the economy than Trump’s actions. The reality, though, is that Americans can care about the state of the economy and the state of their democracy simultaneously.
One of the most notable critics of McCarthy’s strategy now is Trump, who has both enormous personal interest in the outcome of this probe, as well as outsized sway over the next phase of McCarthy’s career.
Trump complained to a conservative radio host that McCarthy made a “very, very foolish decision.” And CNN’s Melanie Zanona, Gabby Orr and Zachary Cohen catalogued some of this Mar-a-Lago ire in a piece posted yesterday.
We spoke to Trump Tuesday afternoon about how he feels about McCarthy’s call. Trump is definitely unhappy:
Trump added there’s “not even a question” that McCarthy should’ve put Republicans on the select committee.
I love that Trump is pissed about this. The situation also indicates that Republicans are in disarray and not in agreement on how to go forward – with or without a badly damaged Trump? If they had any common sense at all they would dump Trump, but Republicans don’t have any sense at all, just hatred for everything good in the world that would help people. Next up: What Luttig said. Republicans testifying at these hearings are bad people, but some of them are having a shining moment or honor, like the self-important Judge Luttig.
