Kevin McCarthy Tries To Clarify Comment After Blaming The Nation For Capitol Riot

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has attempted to clarify his comment after blaming the nation for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that resulted in five deaths.

In a clip of an interview that will air on Gray Television’s “Full Court Press With Greta Van Susteren,” the Republican revealed he stood by his belief that Trump didn’t provoke his supporters to attack the Capitol.

Although McCarthy believes Trump played a part in the insurrection, he thinks the rest of the nation is just as responsible.

“I also think everybody across this country has some responsibility. Think about four years ago after President Trump was sworn in. What happened in the very next day? The title was resist with people walking in the streets, (Rep.) Maxine Waters saying to confront people, confront them in the restaurants. We had people poor, (Rep.) Steve Scalise got shot,” he said, referencing the 2017 shooting of Scalise and others at a Republican congressional baseball practice.

Following his comments, McCarthy came under fire on Twitter Saturday over his comments and attempted to further clarify his thoughts through tweets.

“From the minute the Capitol was attacked, I called for the rioters to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and have repeatedly said that it is incumbent upon every person in America to help lower the temperature of our political discourse,” he tweeted.

Instead, McCarthy blamed the press for misconstruing his words. “It’s a call to look up from our screens and think about what we say. Unfortunately, many in the media continue to ignore this to drive clicks and push their own partisan agenda. The distortions of my comments are completely disingenuous,” he tweeted.

Trump is facing impeachment over inciting the Capitol riot. Although McCarthy believes the blame for the riot falls on the nation, he has voiced his support for fellow republican Liz Cheney, who has voted to impeach the former president.