During a wide-ranging interview on Thursday’s “The Richard Beene Show,” Rep. Kevin McCarthy dismissed rumors that he’s headed toward the West Wing of the White House, and praised the military’s decision to drop a massive bomb in Afghanistan.
McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) said that the Air Force’s decision to drop a 21,000-pound bomb, the nation’s largest conventional weapon outside of its nuclear arsenal, was going to send a clear message to ISIS, which, according to reports, has holed itself up in the mountainous cave systems of Afghanistan.
“We don’t want to turn this over to ISIS,” McCarthy told host Richard Beene, who also pressed McCarthy about what the bombing says to the rest of the world.
McCarthy’s response that the administration of President Obama had failed to maintain a strong position in Iraq and Afghanistan and the rest of the world, which allowed Iran and Russia to emerge as opposing voices to U.S. interests abroad.
“I think with President Trump now, he’s very clear, not just to (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) but the rest of the world but to the rest of the world,” McCarthy said via telephone. “It is a message to North Korea, and others, that his word means something, and you better not push the envelope. You better not try to disrupt the entire world.”
Beene also asked McCarthy about the swirling Washington, D.C. rumors that he may be the person who takes on a new role at the White House, including Chief of Staff. Some media outlets have speculated that McCarthy could be in the running to replace current Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
“I like the job that I have,” McCarthy said.
Listen to the entire interview:
