Matt Gaetz lashes out at Kevin McCarthy over leaked Trump recordings

Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) lashed out at Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Friday after MSNBC's Rachel Maddow played a recording of the House Minority Leader telling GOP members "I’ve had it with this guy,” when talking about Donald Trump back in January 2021, and then adding he would push the former president to resign before Joe Biden's inauguration.

In a tweet on his personal account, Gaetz -- who has indicated previously that he might oppose McCarthy becoming speaker if the GOP reclaims the House in the 2022 midterms -- claimed McCarthy had it all wrong and lacks his "instincts."

According to Gaetz, "While I was rallying in Wyoming against Liz Cheney… Kevin McCarthy was defending Liz Cheney among House Republicans… While Liz Cheney was secretly recording Kevin McCarthy for the New York Times," adding, "@GOPLeader - you should have trusted my instincts, not your own."

Although Gaetz claimed it was Cheney who handed over the damning tape after McCarthy issued a statement bluntly claiming he made no such comments, the Wyoming Republican who has become a pariah within her own party for voting for Trump's impeachment, issued a statement of her own claiming, "The select committee has asked Kevin McCarthy to speak with us about these events but he has so far declined. Representative Cheney did not record or leak the tape and does not know how the reporters got it.”

You can see the Gaetz tweet along with Cheney's statement below:

While I was rallying in Wyoming against Liz Cheney\u2026\n\nKevin McCarthy was defending Liz Cheney among House Republicans\u2026\n\nWhile Liz Cheney was secretly recording Kevin McCarthy for the New York Times. \n\n@GOPLeader - you should have trusted my instincts, not your own.pic.twitter.com/teTxIvUAUt

— Matt Gaetz (@Matt Gaetz) 1650627229

Rep Liz Cheney (R-WY) spokesman:\n\n\u201cThe select committee has asked Kevin McCarthy to speak with us about these events but he has so far declined. Representative Cheney did not record or leak the tape and does not know how the reporters got it.\u201d

— Scott MacFarlane (@Scott MacFarlane) 1650625298