House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has drawn little fire from his Republican colleagues since audio recordings revealed that he blamed President Donald Trump for the Capitol riot.
On Wednesday, McCarthy got a standing ovation after defending himself in a meeting with House Republicans, The Washington Post reported.
But now, billboards erected in McCarthy’s district are sending the California Republican a different message — and it’s coming from within his own party.
The billboards were paid for by the Republican Accountability Project, a conservative group critical of members of the GOP who have supported Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.
“We’re just trying to at least inform the people that vote for him that he lies and continues to lie,” Barry Rubin, a spokesman for the group, said of McCarthy. “When he goes back home, there are going to be some people that question him about it.”
Placed at six locations around Bakersfield, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, the billboards will stay up for at least two weeks, Rubin said. “Most people aren’t aware of what’s going on in politics,” he said, adding that he hoped the billboards would prompt some scrutiny of McCarthy. He could not immediately provide The Post with the total cost.
Last week, the New York Times published audio recordings of a Jan. 10, 2021, call among House Republican leaders in which McCarthy said he planned to urge Trump to resign after the president’s supporters stormed the Capitol....
Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them. Please support us by becoming a premi...