Is Kevin McCarthy 'afraid' of Donald Trump? Donna Brazile and Chris Christie spar over GOP leader's future

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile pushed back against former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) on Sunday after he insisted that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy would not be held accountable for his lies about Jan. 6, 2021.

During a panel discussion on ABC's This Week program, host Martha Raddatz asked Christie if McCarthy would be damaged by tapes that prove he lied when he denied saying that former President Donald Trump acknowledged some responsibility for the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"No, I don't think it hurts him," Christie insisted. "And the reason I don't think it hurts him is, first off, voters don't care. I don't think any voter is going to care."

"And in the end, all Kevin McCarthy cares about is getting to 218 or above [Republican House members] after the elections in November," he continued. "And then he'll worry about how he handles getting the votes he needs to become the Speaker. And we're sitting here now in April. Believe me, I don't think this is what we're going to be talking about in late November when they're going to have a vote on the Speakership."

Brazile disagreed.

"I think he's terrified of Trump," she explained. "I think he's terrified of telling the truth in terms of what he did in those 5-7 days following the mob attack that everyone knows that former President Trump inspired when he assembled that group at the Ellipse and said, I'll meet you down there, go down there."

"Look, Kevin McCarthy is afraid of Trump," Brazile added. "He needs Trump in order to become Speaker of the House and he's afraid of turning off his base."

Brazile also speculated that Republican members like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Matt Gaetz (FL) and Madison Cawthorn (NC) are furious at McCarthy for saying that they should be banned from social media platforms.

"That's the real story," she said.

"He wasn't getting their votes anyway!" Christie exclaimed. "OK? Those three people that you just mentioned aren't voting for Kevin McCarthy unless he's the only candidate on the ballot and even then they might not vote for him. So he's not worried about them."

Watch the video below from ABC.

Donna Brazile shreds Chris Christie's defense of Kevin McCarthyyoutu.be