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President Joe Biden on Friday blasted the Republican Party after newly-released audiotapes showed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy privately said he'd urge President Donald Trump to resign over the January 6 Capitol riot. McCarthy has denied making statements that have since been revealed on the tapes.
"This ain't your father's Republican Party. Not a joke. All you got to do is look at what's being played this morning about the tape that was released," Biden said during a speech about Earth Day in Seattle, Washington.
"All kidding aside, this is a MAGA party now. These guys are a different breed of cat. They are not like what I served with for so many years," added the president, who was a senator for 36 years before he became vice president to former President Barack Obama.
New York Times reporters Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin released audiotapes of phone calls they obtained in which McCarthy was recorded slamming Trump following the Capitol riot last year and telling Republican lawmakers that he would ask Trump to resign.
"I've had it with this guy," McCarthy said of Trump during a call with House Republicans on January 10 2021, according to the tape. "What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it."
In another call on January 11, 2021, McCarthy told his fellow Republican colleagues that Trump privately said he bore some responsibility for the riot, according to the tape.
The audio appears to contradict McCarthy's public support for and allegiance to Trump shortly after the Capitol riot and since the former president left office. McCarthy has since visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach, Florida, and stood by Trump amid attacks from other Republicans.
Biden, in his remarks, called out what he described as a fear that has permeated the GOP because of Trump's stronghold on the party.
"The people who know better are afraid to act correctly because they know they'll be primaried," the president said Friday.
The commander-in-chief also noted that so far during his presidency, several congressional Republicans have privately informed him that they had wished to back some of his policies, but wouldn't because of the potential political backlash.
Republicans who are openly critical of Trump, including Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, have been rebuked by their party members. Cheney, along with five other House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of "incitement of insurrection" last year, are facing primary challenges from Trump-backed opponents.
