6 Months Later, Kevin McCarthy Has Not Changed

In a talk to college students, the former House speaker showed his charm, his unwillingness to forget, and his ability to always ask, ‘What about…?’

Bakersfield, California, product Kevin McCarthy may no longer be in the House speaker’s chair, but the traits that got him there — and arguably also resulted in him being the first speaker ever ousted — remained on display Tuesday night.

In an hour-plus talk before a Georgetown University student audience six months after he was unceremoniously stripped of the House’s top job, McCarthy was by turns charming, a tad bitter, and still eager to challenge critical questions with a handy dose of whataboutism.

The talk, entitled “How Strong Is Our Democracy,” allowed questions only from Georgetown students, not members of the press.

And the students had some good ones: In one of the most direct challenges, a student asked McCarthy if he had turned his back on democracy by rehabilitating former president Donald Trump, infamously taking a photo with him at Mar-A-Lago only weeks after he had publicly blamed him for the Jan. 6 sacking of the U.S. Capitol and saying Trump should lead the party.

Once applause for the questioner died down, McCarthy said he had to challenge the premise. “If I let your question stand and just answer it the way it was, then people would think what you said was true,” he said.