House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy: My Goal Is Not To Go Make Kevin McCarthy Speaker, We Have To Make Sure Nancy Pelosi Is Not The Speaker

House Majority Leader Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) spoke with Brian Kilmeade today about being the next Speaker of the House, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo saying America was never that great and fighting to keep republicans in the majority in the House. When asked about his strategy to become the next Speaker of the House, McCarthy said “My goal is not to go make Kevin McCarthy speaker, it’s to make a republican have the ability to become speaker and let the conference decide who has done the best and who can unite the conference and lead it.” McCarthy went on to say ” I’m not focused on being speaker and I didn’t run for Congress to be speaker” and “We have to make sure Nancy Pelosi is not the speaker.”

Listen here for the full interview:

BRIAN KILMEADE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Kevin McCarthy, leader McCarthy welcome to the Brian Kilmeade show.

KEVIN MCCARTHY, HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Brian thanks for having me on.

KILMEADE: You know when you decide to live in California and run for office, you’re going to be swimming up stream and things like that would happen, so set the scene for us.

MCCARTHY: Well I was doing this speech in Sacramento and it is a 500 person, it’s a – they give you questions, I’ve done it three, four times before. It’s PPIC poll, it’s kind of a non partisan, there’s democrats, republicans in the room and I’m sitting there talking about what we need to do to protect the border. The things that republicans have done and republicans have voted for where democrats have done nothing on this immigration issue.

So, this erupts in the middle of it and then I have another lady who protest me, she stands up with a sign who says, “repel Trump’s tax cut.” And what they’re trying to do, I show in the contract, who we are in the federal government. We reduce taxes, we’ve got the economy growing at 4.1 percent, a place no one thought we could be. We’ve got unemployment at some of the ultimate lowest levels. We’re in such a stronger position and contracting what’s Sacramento is doing, raising your gasoline tax.

They’re telling you at the DMV to not even go there, they can’t even handle the line. I mean, and the democrats in Sacramento won’t even audit the DMV, they vote not to know what the problem is. And I was just showing the contrast of how do you move the country in the right direction and then in the opposite direction. Remember, California elected Ronald Reagan as governor that came forth, it was a golden state. Now, their affordability is a major challenge of what’s happening.

KILMEADE: Listen, Congressman, you have more people, democrats, republicans have to do exactly what you do. Now I know you live in California, you’ve got to do it but you’ve got to start getting in front of people that don’t agree with you. And as astounding as it is because you have a logic to your argument, and I’m bias to logic. Not everything that conservatives said makes sense, or democrat.

But like what you’re saying is the things that should be automatic. So, if they can’t say well in this case President Trump is on the right track, I didn’t vote for him but here’s what bothers me, we can’t have a conversation. People show up they chant, they protest, they complain but politicians have to do what you do and that is, get in front of people who you know are at least skeptical of your beliefs and if you are sure in your answers you might be able to begin to win people over.

MCCARTHY: Take the contrast of this, while they’re sitting there protesting – I just talked about being opposed to the sanctuary state, which those in Sacramento tried to impose upon us. You know we funded part of building the wall all ready and we’re building that in California, which I’m very proud of. But the FBI is arresting Omar Ameen, Omar Ameen got approved as a refugee to come to America under the Obama administration, he doesn’t come directly to America. He first goes to Iraq because he’s a part of ISIS and Al-Qaeda and he kills a police officer, then comes to California. This is the contrast where I’m sitting up saying we need a secure border. The FBI is arresting the individual in Sacramento and their protesting wanting a border less wall. They will want – they will abolish ICE, they want to impeach this President. When they say they don’t, they voted on it twice on the floor, Tom Steyer’s from California has spent $30 million dollars, he brags that he has more – a larger list than the NRA, this is what their goal is. And then think about what they want to do our health care, they want to destroy Medicare because they want to take away all the employer heath care and they want to put everybody into one system.

KILMEADE: Great, listen I hear what you’re saying, we did a – we had one of these reporters from the Prager Institute come on our show yesterday, on Fox and Friends and he went to California and he asked people what’s a bigger danger to the people of California, illegal immigrants or plastic straws. They laughed at him, they said of course its straws. And we asked yesterday, did you just pick out the people that just said that, he said no, everyone thinks straws are a bigger threat than illegal immigrants. And that’s when they were chanting, have a heart. But what bothers me is insincerity, if you don’t like what Kevin McCarthy has to say, you can not question is sincerity. I don’t like where Senator Schumer, Brian Kilmeade doesn’t, on immigration. But in 2009, I want you to hear Senator Chuck Schumer on immigration.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER: When we use phrases like undocumented workers, we convey a message to the American people that their government is not serious about combating illegal immigration. Now they like to use the word undocumented because it’s more political, I don’t use that word, they’re illegal immigrants. They came over illegally, some are wonderful people and they’ve been here for awhile, they’ve got to go out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILMEADE: Kevin, what happened to 2009 Chuck Schumer, why is he agreeing with Donald Trump in 2009 and Bill Afimey(ph) in 2018?

MCCARTHY: They just try to shift or I can go back to Bill Clinton’s speech as president on the floor, what he wanted to do about protecting the borders. Why do they shift now? That’s the thing that gets me. They do not give this president an opportunity. He has proven in a short amount of time that he could change the direction of this country and the world. That we have become safer because of him. Look, I go to the heart of the hardest democrats right in there in Sacramento and we stand up to them. And now I’m on the road because you know history is against them in this election. History says the party and power, the party that wins the White House on average in that first election loses 32 seats, 23 seat is our majority. So, I left Sacramento, I went to Indianapolis for Jim Beyer, a new member, Vietnam veteran, then I was just in Minneapolis for Jason Lewis, an amazing member who won last time just by two points, he’s back in the battle. I’ll be in Des Moines, Iowa at the state fair today for Dave Young and then I’ll be over in Omaha, Nebraska for Congressman General Don Bacon. You should come on the road with me because we’re going to go everywhere, we’re going to fight for this majority, we’re going to protect this majority because the next century is ours. Think of the fundamental difference. I believe in the exceptionalism of America, Cuomo believes America was never great, that is not who we are. We are better than this and we have proven it and it’s worth fighting for.

KILMEADE: You know what, Eric in New York, I’m in D.C. today, just found Bill Clinton 1996 talking about immigration, let’s listen.

MCCARTHY: Exactly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, 42ND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All American’s, not only in the states, most heavily affected but in every place in this country are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants, the public service they use impose burdens on our tax payers. That’s why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more, by hiring a record number of bording guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before. By cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILMEADE: What happened? Was he lying then, or is he lying now? What – they have to believe what they were saying then and what changed in this period?

MCCARTHY: They’re just playing politics and one thing, this country is so great and one of the things that makes us great is the rule of law. And if you will break society down if you do not stand up to the rule of law. That means that we have borders, we have legal immigration in the process. This is what they used to be for and no longer. That’s why the democrat party is no longer the Democratic Party. And some of them are being very honest, they’re socialist going forward, they’re registering as socialist. But the thing that struck me so funny, they put a bill across the desk that said, let’s abolish ICE and they got people to co-sponsor it in Congress, so as majority leader I said, well I’ll bring that bill up on the floor. No, no, no, don’t do that, we won’t vote for it, that’s just a trick, no it’s the bill they put in. So, I put another bill up that just talked about what ICE has done. Think of a number of kids we saved from human trafficking, think of all the fetanyl that it stopped coming across that border. Think of the number of MS-13 gang members that aren’t in your communities because they stopped them anywhere within the country where ICE has been able to work. And then we said we’re opposed to abolishing ICE, 163 democrats voted present. I’ve never had one person, either they agree or disagree with me, told me to go to Congress, fight hard and make sure you vote present. That is what their leadership is about.

KILMEADE: They got Barack Obama to presidency, they did – the 538 did a poll and they forecast the house race. I’m sure you’ve seen it, it looks like the democrats have a 75 percent chance as of right now, middle of August, of taking the House. You guys have a 25 percent chance of keeping it, would you say that this poll backs up what you see right now? I know you don’t want this to be the answer, but do you sense that this could be the answer?

MCCARTHY: No, because listen, and I don’t know the exact number but I think they had it a little hirer that Hilary Clinton would win the presidency than Donald Trump. Listen, I know Nate Silver, I think he’s very smart, he’s a statistician and all that, but each week to week, I watched the generic ballot, a week ago the exact same number it was the day before we voted in 2016 and we won the majority. This is going – I give it that history is against us and I know our battle is tough, but this is going to be week to week and that’s why I’m going to be on the road to make sure that we keep the majority. Because you know what, this economy no body can argue with the numbers. Think of this, in the last 49 years in America, unemployment has only been below four percent eight months. Eight months in 49 years that it’s ever been this good and three of those eight months have been this year. And you know why, it’s the work we’ve done about regulation and it’s also what we did about economy and tax bill. And not one democrat voted for that, or what about what we did with the VA? The GI bill is no longer, you only have 15 years to use it or you lose it, it’s not for a life time. Or what about those 100,000 children that get trafficked every year in America, they say 70 percent of that happens because it’s online. Well you know what, I was in the oval office when the President signed that bill with some of those survivors, back pages not only shut down they’re being prosecuted. Craigslist doesn’t have it any more, a DE told one of our members 82 percent of that is now gone. We’re making this country safer, we’ve got the ability to do it, but all of that will be reversed if they win the majority.

KILMEADE: Couple of things, and I know there will be a phase two if you don’t. Couple of things, there was a report in the Washington Post today and I can’t lie with the numbers, I can’t do the math I don’t have access to the data but this bothers me. The top executives in America’s biggest companies, so their average annual pay surge to 18.9 million dollars, where the average works salary barely picked up because a lot of these incentives are built on stock prices and the stock markets going up. I mean my goodness, you do not need 200 million dollars when your workers are making so much less, I am not for socialism but this is an abuse of the system. The President give a tax cut so CEO’s can get richer and buy island. The bulk of – so this is something the President could easily talk to these guys just like he did the pharmaceutical companies and look at these numbers and make them deny it and say that’s not the way you build a company and that’s not why you did tax cuts to get rich people richer. I know that’s not what you believe.

MCCARTHY: No, and that’s why when you watch when we did the tax cuts, all those bonuses that Nancy Pelosi thought were crumbs, but what they were mattering, when I was out in the street in my district, I’ve had one worker come up to me you know $100 a a week is a lot for my family, it’s not a crumb. And that’s what we see, good leadership does not do that. Good leaderships invest in the people that make the company great and that’s the workers. And when you look at the history of President Trump, that’s where he’s always been. He’s the one within the highlights, he was down with the workers helping them build the buildings. Those are the people – you go on the road.

KILMEADE: Right, I mean those are the people that voted for him Kevin. Kevin, they voted for him. I’m just saying that he could make a couple calls, say do you need two zillion dollars? Because you have the average American worker went from $53,400 to $54,600 and at the very least if they’re building the company they should have some type of balance. Because you guys cut the corporate tax rate almost in half, so that of course helps management unless they do the responsible thing and help the whole company.

MCCARTHY: Exactly, the other story today too, if you look at where unemployment has gone, it’s even helping the young people.

KILMEADE: Sure.

MCCARTHY: It’s one of the lowest levels it’s been in 50 years before parents were worried, we were worried that our kids go away to college and go come back and live with you. No, they’re entering one of the best work forces, let’s make sure their wages are going up at the same time. And this is something the President has always fought for.

KILMEADE: Leader McCarthy, if you guys hold on you want to be speaker McCarthy, we know that Jim Jordan a couple of weeks ago said I want to be speaker as well, have you spoken to him since or what is your strategy because you both want the same job?

MCCARTHY: Look Jim Jordan and I came into office together, we’re very good friends. My goal is not to go make Kevin McCarthy speaker, it’s to make a republican have the ability to become speaker and let the conference decide who has done the best and who can unite the conference and lead it. I don’t think the race for speaker should be now, because it’s too critical as you said. I’m not focused on being speaker and I didn’t run for Congress to be speaker, I ran for Congress to change this country and that’s what we’re doing and we can have that debate afterwards. But I think there will be others too will be great, but we have to make sure Nancy Pelosi is not the speaker.

KILMEADE: I’m going to leave you with this, cut 25.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GOV ANDREW CUOMO: We’re not going to America great again, it was never that great. We have no reached greatness, we will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KILMEADE: Good cover. Have you ever seen a more offensive statement from a prominent politician, number one, and I am concerned that people agree with him. Last Kevin, your thoughts.

MCCARTHY: To me it’s disgusting, believe in exceptionalism of this country. We were conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal. There has never been a country like ours. I was sitting in the rotunda one day and Shimon Peres, he was President of Israel of the time ’92 has since passed away. He’s looking at us and he goes, America’s the greatest country that’s ever lived on the Earth, no in his lifetime, in the Earth. He said, but what your greatness comes from is not what America will take but what America will give. America will give the ultimate sacrifice of their own life for another country to have freedom and with that freedom becomes human rights. The same reason why America was great when we stood up to Hitler and the others, there’s so many – when we landed on the moon where we not great? When we helped these other countries, are we not great? When we give an opportunity that somebody comes into this country as an immigrant, born in this country, and rises to the very top or has that education, are we not great? I don’t understand how this man can be elected or how he can think this way.

KILMEADE: He’s going to run for president. Kevin McCarthy, thanks so much, I know you’re going to be on the road this weekend, make sure you facetime your family.

MCCARTHY: All right my man.

KILMEADE: OK, thanks.