Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), deflected on Sunday when asked by Fox News’ Jon Scott about the leaked audio tapes of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) saying he planned to tell former President Donald Trump to resign after Jan. 6.
The Fox News interview began on the topic of illegal immigration and the Biden administration’s plans to end Title 42, a Trump-era border policy in which migrants can be turned away due to Covid-19.
While Emmer had lots to say about the southern border and Democrat-favored policies, when Scott brought up the McCarthy tapes — not so much.
Scott played the McCarthy tapes in which the minority leader said he planned to tell Trump “it would be my recommendation you should resign.”
Scott noted that McCarthy ultimately never had that conversation — a move which Trump, according to the Washington Post, viewed as a “big compliment” because McCarthy and other GOP lawmakers who initially criticized Trump in the wake of Jan. 6 “realized they were wrong and supported me.”
The Fox News host then asked Emmer for his thoughts, prompting a quick deflection.
“Why are we talking about this a year and a half after it happened?” Emmer replied. “This is not the issue, Americans don’t care about this kind of nonsense. This is being generated by journalists who refuse to report things like
“They’re not talking about the crime issue that is a direct result of the Democrat party’s ‘defund the police,’ ridiculous policies,” he continued. “They’re not talking about the border, they’re not talking about the things that Americans care about. And, frankly, as the chair of the Republicans’ campaign operation in the House, our job is to stay focused on the issues that matter to Americans most, and that’s where I think we should be.”
Scott did not ask for any elaboration on Emmer’s view of the McCarthy tapes, and instead thanked him for coming on and wrapped up the segment.
Watch above, via Fox News