'What?!': Kevin McCarthy aide stuns a CNN host with his excuse for not wanting to investigate Jan. 6

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is vehemently opposed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's select committee on the January 6 insurrection, even going so far as to threaten that Republicans who participate will be stripped of their current committee assignments. Republican Mike Shields, a McCarthy aide, defended the House minority leader during an appearance on CNN this week — and the interview went off the rails when Shields implied that most Americans couldn't care less about the violent January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.

Shields told CNN's Poppy Harlow, "If the Democrats want to run in '22 on January 6 — which affects no one's lives in this country every day — Republicans are going to run on securing the border."

That's when Harlow, sounding flabbergasted, jumped in — saying, "What?!.... Hold on! January 6 affects no one's lives in this country?!"

Shields responded, "This commission is not going to affect people's lives. No, of course not. It's not going to put people to work. It's not going to help them with their taxes."

Harlow pushed back against Shields' claim that January 6 doesn't matter, forcefully telling the McCarthy aide, "Mike! An ongoing life, a life-or-death threat, according to DHS and the FBI."

Shields, at that point, tried to claim that January 6 should be left to the FBI, not probed by members of Congress — as if one rules out the other.

"That's why the FBI is investigating it," Shields told Harlow. "Political theater has no bearing on that."

Here are some reactions to Shields' CNN appearance: