'On his knees': Conservative explains that Trump has Kevin McCarthy exactly where he wants him

Donald Trump won't likely cut House minority leader Kevin McCarthy loose, according to one conservative, because he's got the GOP leader right where he wants him.

The California Republican was caught in a blatant lie when a recording surfaced showing that he intended to ask for Trump's resignation after the Jan. 6 insurrection, for which he said the former president accepted some blame, but conservative Charlie Sykes told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that McCarthy would likely remain in his leadership role.

"Well, you know, what's interesting about Kevin McCarthy's groveling and lying about this particular incident is the nature of his lie," Sykes said. "I mean, think about this. What he's saying is, you know, 'No, I didn't really have a moment of decency, principle and duty, I never did anything about it, and I got over it very, very quickly.'"

"Not only does he have to continue to lie about it, he has a pretend that one of those brief moments where he had some clarity about what was right and what was wrong needs to be memory-holed," Sykes added. "So, yes, the Republicans have created an alternative reality."

Sykes said the GOP's corrupt path was apparent as soon as Trump took over the party, but he said it's gotten even worse than he expected.

"Things have gotten much, much worse than I expected, and I was not an optimist back then," he said. "It's accelerated because Donald Trump keeps raising the ante. I think he likes this, he likes this as an instrument of humiliation. 'How far can I push people? What can I get you to say? What can I get you to apologize for?'"

"So it's not surprising that we wake up on Monday morning and find that Donald Trump is completely happy to have the next speaker of the House of Representatives, possibly, on his knees, apologizing to him and acknowledging that he has no political future except by believing and repeating Donald Trump's lies," Sykes added. "This is exactly the way Donald Trump wants Republicans to behave right now. Republicans are more than willing to go along with this."