Former GOP Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy told Fox News' Charlie Hurt that Republicans have consistently "walked away" from "very bad" candidates. McCarthy's comments came in response to new allegations against Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner reported by Politico on Monday.
McCarthy stated:
"Look, we’re celebrating 250 years, the one thing I know about Republicans, when we had a very bad candidate and found out, we didn’t vote for that person."
You can watch McCarthy's comments here:
McCarthy added:
"We walked away. When [Florida Republican Representative] Matt Gaetz came forward, we got rid of him."
But the GOP didn't "walk away" from Gaetz, who was being investigated for sex trafficking a minor that he justified having sex with because of Florida's age of consent, like McCarthy claimed.
Instead, Gaetz resigned before an ethics report about his misconduct could be released, then he was nominated by MAGA Republican President-elect Donald Trump to head the Department of Justice as Attorney General.
When the scope of the allegations against Gaetz was leaked, he withdrew from consideration, but the GOP never walked away from him.
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Instead, Republicans "walked away" from GOP Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, and most recently Thomas Massie of Kentucky for trying to hold insurrectionists, sex offenders, and corrupt government officials accountable.
Texas Republicans rejected incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a GOP primary runoff to choose their candidate for his Senate seat.
Instead, the Texas GOP selected state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was indicted for criminal state securities fraud in 2015 but avoided conviction through a 2024 pretrial diversion deal; faced with federal civil fraud charges in 2016; accused by former staff members of taking bribes; impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives; exposed for adultery by his wife; and accused of abusing his office to help a donor who allegedly gave Paxton’s mistress a job in return.
The GOP walked away from McCarthy, too. The former California Representative, who left office in December of 2023, was forced out as Speaker in October of 2023 by a coalition of eight MAGA Republicans, led by Gaetz, who worked with Democrats to secure a 216-210 vote to vacate the speakership.
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The GOP also never rejected a convicted felon with a history of fraud, who bragged about assaulting women on a hot mic, and with over 25 accusations of sexual assault against him.
Instead of walking away from the convicted felon and adjudicated rapist, the GOP nominated and voted for Trump as President three times: 2016, 2020, and 2024.
People gave McCarthy a reality check over his version of Republican integrity regarding "very bad" candidates.
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r/Politics/Reddit
r/Politics/Reddit
While Republican hypocrisy was called out, Platner wasn't being given a free pass.
The Maine oyster farmer was an early frontrunner to be the candidate to face off against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins in November. But as the primary campaign neared the end, Platner's opponents released accusations against him regarding a tattoo he got while serving in the military and old social media postings.
A military veteran, Platner attributed his online behavior to his age at the time and PTSD. The tattoo he attributed to military culture.
Despite the problematic behavior, Platner still won the Democratic primary, defeating Governor Janet Mills, fueled in part by endorsements by prominent progressives.
The latest allegations regarding a 2021 incident with a former girlfriend, published Monday by Politico, were not disclosed until one week before the July 13 deadline for removing and replacing Platner on the ballot.
The current Democratic candidate has denied the latest allegations, but announced he would be pausing his Senate campaign to "reflect on the best path forward." The Maine DNC has asked him to withdraw from the race now, so another Democrat can be put on the November ballot before the filing deadline.
