As coronavirus spread across the United States in 2020, Trump routinely praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping and China for their handling of the virus. Top Trump-loyalist “My Kevin” McCarthy stayed silent on the issue even as experts increasingly sounded the alarm on the looming pandemic.
Now, more than one year later at a press conference, Rep. McCarthy claimed that Republicans are the ones seeking to hold China accountable for the COVID-19 crisis. Here’s a timeline of Rep. McCarthy’s blatant hypocrisy:
NOW: KEVIN MCCARTHY NOW CLAIMS THAT THE GOP WANTS TO HOLD CHINA “ACCOUNTABLE” FOR COVID-19
2021: Kevin McCarthy Wants To Hold China “Accountable” For Covid-19. “As of June, more than 600,000 Americans and 3.8 million people have died worldwide as a result of Covid-19. The unfortunate reality is that countless friends and family members could have been saved had it not been for the deception of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A March 2020 report by the University of Southampton found if interventions in China could have been conducted one, two, or three weeks earlier, cases could have been reduced by 66 percent, 86 percent and 95 percent respectively. Evidence continues to indicate that the CCP intentionally hid information and lied about what it knew to be true about the virus. [ [Kevin McCarthy Letter to House Republicans, 6/21/21]
2021: McCarthy Blames Biden For Refusing To “Take Any Action Against China For Their COVID Coverup.” “The President of the United States has refused to take any action against China for their COVID Coverup. Republicans have a comprehensive plan and a clear message: there will be consequences for harming Americans and misleading the world.” [@GOPLeader, 6/23/21]
THEN: TRUMP REFUSED TO BLAME CHINA FOR THE CORONAVIRUS, CLAIMED XI WAS HANDLING THE PANDEMIC “REALLY WELL”
January 2020: Trump: “On Behalf Of The American People, I Want To Thank President Xi” For Working To Contain The Coronavirus. “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” [@realDonaldTrump, 1/24/20]
January 2020: Trump Refused To Criticize China Because He Didn’t Want To Anger Them Or Blame Beijing For The Situation. “ ‘Hopefully, it won’t be as bad as some people think it could be, but we’re working very closely with them (Chinese) and with a lot of other people and a lot of other countries,’ he said. ‘We think we have it very well under control.’ Trump described the handful of U.S. cases as a ‘very little problem’ and said those people were “recuperating successfully.” ‘But we’re working very closely with China and other countries and we think it’s going to have a very good ending for us. That I can assure you,’ he said. Trump also has discussed the situation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. ” [Associated Press, 1/30/20]
February 2020: Trump Said President Xi Has Handled Covid-19 “Really Well.” “I just spoke to President Xi last night, and, you know, we’re working on the — the problem, the virus. It’s a — it’s a very tough situation. But I think he’s going to handle it. I think he’s handled it really well. We’re helping wherever we can.”
[Donald Trump, Remarks at North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, Charlotte, NC, 2/7/20]
February 2020: Trump Praised President Xi For “Strongly Leading” The Fight Against Covid-19, Claimed The U.S. Was “Working Closely” With China. “Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus. He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days … Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!” [@realDonaldTrump, 2/7/20]
February 2020: Trump On The Chinese Response To Covid-19: “I Think They’re Doing A Very Good Job.” “Late last night, I had a very good talk with President Xi, and we talked about — mostly about the coronavirus. They’re working really hard, and I think they are doing a very professional job. They’re in touch with World — the World — World Organization. CDC also. We’re working together. But World Health is working with them. CDC is working with them. I had a great conversation last night with President Xi. It’s a tough situation. I think they’re doing a very good job.” [Donald Trump, Remarks Before Marine One Departure, Washington, DC, 2/7/20]
February 2020: Trump: China Is “Working Very Hard” And “They Have Everything Under Control.” “I think China is very, you know, professionally run in the sense that they have everything under control,” Trump said. “I really believe they are going to have it under control fairly soon. You know in April, supposedly, it dies with the hotter weather. And that’s a beautiful date to look forward to. But China I can tell you is working very hard.” [“Trish Regan Primetime,” Fox Business, 2/10/20]
February 2020: Trump: President Xi Is “Doing A Very Good Job” On Coronavirus. “I think President Xi is working very, very hard. I spoke to him. He’s working very hard. I think he’s doing a very good job. It’s a big problem. But President Xi loves his country. He’s working very hard to solve the problem, and he will solve the problem. OK?” [Donald Trump, Press Gaggle, Ahmedabad, India, 2/23/20]
February 2020: Trump Had A “Great Talk” With President Xi And Said He Was “Working Hard” On Covid. “I spoke with President Xi. We had a great talk. He’s working very hard, I have to say. He’s working very, very hard. And if you can count on the reports coming out of China, that spread has gone down quite a bit. The infection seems to have gone down over the last two days. As opposed to getting larger, it’s actually gotten smaller.” [Donald Trump, Press Conference, Washington, DC 2/26/20]
KEVIN MCCARTHY IS AN EXTREME TRUMP LOYALIST WHOSE “MAIN JOB” IS KEEPING TRUMP HAPPY
2017: Kevin McCarthy Is An Extreme Trump Loyalist Who Trump Refers To As “My Kevin.” “The day before his inauguration as president, Donald Trump scanned the ballroom during a celebratory luncheon at his Washington hotel: ‘Where’s Kevin?’ he asked. ‘There’s my Kevin.’ It was a brief but telling acknowledgment of a behind-the-scenes political relationship between two GOP power-brokers on opposite ends of Pennsylvania Avenue — Trump and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — that has set the stage for a rapid legislative blitz in the early months of the Trump administration.” [Washington Post, 2/5/17]
2020: Kevin McCarthy’s “Main Job” Is Making Trump Happy. “For now, that may be his main job: making the president happy. ‘Where is Kevin McCarthy, the great Kevin McCarthy?’ Mr. Trump demanded last week at a China trade event at the White House. When it was clear the minority leader was in the House, preparing for the vote to send articles of impeachment to the Senate, the president added: ‘Kevin McCarthy, as you know, left for the hoax. Well, we have to do that; otherwise, it becomes a more serious hoax.’” [New York Times, 1/22/20]
2021: Even After He Left Office, McCarthy Is “Reasserting Himself As Trump’s Man In The House.” “Republican Kevin McCarthy is leading his party to an inflection point, preparing to dump Rep. Liz Cheney from the No. 3 House leadership position and transform what’s left of the party of Lincoln more decisively into the party of Trump. […] But in tossing aside Cheney, the daughter of the former vice president and as close as it gets to GOP royalty, and promising a ‘big tent’ to win back power, McCarthy is hollowing out a cadre of lawmakers intent on governing while he is elevating the people and personalities most loyal to Donald Trump. In one stroke, he is amplifying the former president’s false claims about the election and seeking to mend his own tattered relationship with Trump, reasserting himself as Trump’s man in the House. It’s a transformational moment for McCarthy, who resurrected his political career by attaching himself to Trump — who called him ‘My Kevin’ — and is now on a glidepath to become House speaker, second in line to the presidency, if Republicans win control in next year’s elections.” [Associated Press, 5/7/21]