Senate Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says when it comes to inflammatory rhetoric about fellow members of Congress, both sides, Republicans and Democrats, need to be civil and apologize to each other when necessary.
The conversation in a press conference stems from the recent riff between Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Republican Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., in which Boebert described Omar, a Muslim born in Somalia, a member of a “jihad squad” and said it was safe to ride with her in a Capitol elevator if she was not wearing a backpack. Boebert called Omar last week to apologize for the comments, but Omar wasn’t having any of it.
McCarthy was asked by a reporter, “Why do you have such a hard time condemning something that is so clearly wrong?” To which McCarthy replied:
“Let me be very clear,” McCarthy said. “This Congress is for anyone who creates freedom and supports religious liberty. I called Lauren Boebert and, as we talked, I know she apologized publicly and personally. We need to lower the temperature of this Congress. We should work together and talk to one another. If you have disagreements and something goes astray, you apologize for it, which is exactly what Lauren Boebert did.
“What’s interesting to me is, did any of you raise the question on your side of the aisle when it was said of me that I work with the Ku Klux Klan, which was referring to Republicans?” McCarthy asked. “Did anyone on your side of the aisle talk about Omar when she said the only reason I support Israel is about the Benjamins? I never got a public apology or a phone call. Did anyone on your side of the aisle, and I think you might ask Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi on this one, when Congresswoman Omar referred to America and the Taliban as equal? I don’t remember Speaker Pelosi denouncing her for that.
“So, I think when somebody does something wrong, they should apologize, and Lauren Boebert did that,” he said. “In America, that’s what we need to do, and then move on the real issues that need to be talked about.”
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