House Speaker Kevin McCarthy did not immediately explain why in the world he agreed to give Fox News’ Tucker Carlson exclusive access to Jan. 6 security footage, but in time, the California Republican shed some light on his perspective.
In comments to The New York Times a few weeks ago, McCarthy tried to justify his deal with the controversial television personality by saying, “I promised.” The GOP leader appeared to be referring to post-election negotiations he had with his own members, and the side deals McCarthy felt the need to strike in order to get the speaker’s gavel.
But did he think through what would happen after making, and apparently keeping, the promise? The Washington Post’s Paul Waldman made a good point this week:
Certain political leaders inspire grudging respect or even fear from their opponents, but let’s face it: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is not among them. His latest political gambit, a ham-handed attempt to rewrite the history of the Capitol insurrection in collaboration with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, was not just a spectacular faceplant. It turned out to be a service to all of us.
We’ll probably never know what the House speaker expected to happen after giving Carlson exclusive access, or whether McCarthy expected anything at all. But we now know exactly what happened: After the Republican congressman handed the Fox host matches and lighter fluid, Carlson set a fire that was widely condemned by Democrats, Republicans and law enforcement, all while being discredited through independent analysis.
At the same time, the gambit put coverage of the Jan. 6 attack back on front pages — reminding the public anew about the pro-Trump insurrectionist violence — which didn’t do the GOP any favors, all while doing fresh damage to the reputation of a cable outlet Republicans rely on.
Did McCarthy know all of this would happen? Perhaps not. But should he have known this would happen? A little foresight should’ve made this series of events obvious, since they were inevitable. Making matters worse for the House speaker, this keeps happening. When he was told he couldn’t appoint far-right extremists to the Jan. 6 committee, McCarthy acted instinctively and announced a GOP boycott of the congressional investigation. He hadn’t thought this through, and the move quickly backfired. More than a year later, McCarthy thought it’d be a good idea to commit to a plan that balances the budget within 10 years without raising taxes or touching Social Security and Medicare. The Republican thought this would satisfy his members and advance his ambitions, but again, he failed to think this through, didn’t realize that arithmetic makes the goal effectively impossible, and he’s now realizing that he has no idea how to honor his vow. McCarthy has earned a reputation as a chess player who can’t think more than one move at a time.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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