NPR's Claudia Grisales first tweeted out the details of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy hitting Rep. Tim Burchett from behind, and now, Burchett confirmed the incident with CNN's Manu Raju. Republicans are hitting each other, you guys.
"Well, I was doing an interview with Claudia from NPR, a lovely lady, and when she was asking me a question at the time, I got elbowed in the back, and it kind of caught me off guard 'cause it was a clean shot to the kidneys," he explained. "And I turned back, and there was Kevin."
"For a minute, I was - what the heck just happened - and then I chased after him, of course. As I've stated many times, he's a bully with $17 million and a security detail," he added. "You know, he's the type of guy that when you were a kid would throw a rock over the fence and then run home and hide behind his momma's skirt."
A chase ensued.
Burchett then looked back at me and said, "jerk" referring to McCarthy. I asked if he had done that before, Burchett said "no."
That's when the chase ensued. Burchett took off after McCarthy and his detail. I chased behind with my mic.— Claudia Grisales (@cgrisales) November 14, 2023
McCarthy then denied doing that thing everyone saw him do:
