After a CNN reporter attempted to instigate a rift between him and Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy masterfully avoided taking the bait. Without ever losing a step, McCarthy instead managed to hit at both Romney and Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California.
Romney was questioned by CNN’s Manu Raju on Wednesday over a conversation he had with troubled Republican Rep. George Santos of New York on Tuesday evening.
In response, Romney attacked Santos with the kind of fury he usually reserves for Republicans. After the State of the Union address, he claimed Santos had no business mingling with senators and the president. Romney was then asked if he was disappointed that McCarthy was sticking by Santos, to which he replied, “yes.”
Asked Mitt Romney if he’s disappointed that Speaker McCarthy hasn’t called on George Santos to resign.
“Yes,” he said.
Santos “should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the President and people coming into the room,” Romney said. pic.twitter.com/obpaYD8v1x
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 8, 2023
Romney said that Santos “should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the President and people coming into the room.”
“Look, he says that he embellished his record. Embellishing is saying you got an A when you got an A-minus. Lying is saying you graduated from a college you didn’t even attend,” Romney said of Santos.
Romney calls on Swalwell to resign after his much-reported tryst with a Chinese spy, at no point during the interview. But Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is a Democrat who has in the past lied about fighting in the Vietnam War, which he did not. Despite this, Romney did not call for him to resign.
Sadly, this is what we’ve learned to anticipate from Romney. He is quick to blame everyone but his Democratic colleagues and is usually ready for a soundbite for the mainstream media. The fact that Romney does not feel Santos is dignified enough to speak to President Joe Biden, which is telling, as he made it obvious from what he told CNN.
And without a great deal of effort, Raju got his Romney soundbite. As McCarthy fired back, “Romney should be disappointed that Swalwell hasn’t resigned,” when he refused to get baited into Republican infighting; after Raju informed the speaker that Romney had expressed disappointment in McCarthy’s refusal to call on Santos to resign.
Asked McCarthy about Romney saying he was disappointed that the speaker hasn’t called on Santos to resign. “Romney should be disappointed that Swalwell hasn’t resigned,” McCarthy said pic.twitter.com/Gp5U81efHD
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 8, 2023
McCarthy hit two birds with one stone, and he somehow managed to do it in stride, a mic-drop moment, indeed.
Sources: WesternJournal, DailyCaller, TrendingPoliticsNews