Liz Cheney claims in her upcoming book that former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told her the reason he secretly scurried down to Mar-a-Lago to visit Donald Trump just three weeks after the Jan. 6 insurrection is the ex-president was “depressed” and “not eating.”
In excerpts of Oath and Honor first published by CNN, Cheney details what she calls the “cowardice” of the Trump-era Republican Party, describing her former congressional colleagues as “enablers and collaborators” who were “willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty” to Trump after the 2020 election.
Cheney, a former Wyoming congresswoman who was drummed out of GOP leadership and eventually the House over her criticism of Trump’s election lies, specifically accuses McCarthy of charting a “craven” path by embracing the twice-impeached ex-president.
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At one point, she recounts how she was shocked to discover McCarthy had clandestinely traveled to Mar-a-Lago to get some face time with Trump. This occurred just a few weeks after McCarthy had publicly stated that Trump bore some responsibility for inciting the Capitol riots.
McCarthy, who feared losing out on fundraising by distancing himself from Trump, apparently told Cheney that he only went down to Mar-a-Lago out of pity.
“Mar-a-Lago? What the hell, Kevin?” Cheney asked.
“They’re really worried,” McCarthy responded, according to Cheney. “Trump’s not eating, so they asked me to come see him.”
“What? You went to Mar-a-Lago because Trump’s not eating?” Cheney fired back.
“Yeah, he’s really depressed,” the GOP leader allegedly replied.
Cheney also details how other GOP lawmakers were “angry and disgusted,” going so far as to compare the infamous photo of Trump and McCarthy to Tom Cruise’s character in Jerry Maguire delivering his famous “you complete me” line to Renée Zellweger.
