1A Remaking America: The McCarthy tapes, the GOP, and the 2022 midterms

WAMU 88.5 | By Avery Kleinman

Published May 4, 2022 at 4:39 PM EDT

The New York Times published audio recordings that reveal House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke differently in private than he did publicly in the days after the Capitol Riot. But do voters care?

The Midterm elections are six months away and the most recent polling suggests Republicans have an early edge.If they take the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy is likely to become the majority leader.

He garnered attention in the past two weeks when The New York Times released audio of private phone calls and meetings he had with other GOP leaders. They were recorded in the aftermath of the Capitol riot and they tell a very different story than what he said publicly.

In the leaked tapes, McCarthy is critical of Donald Trump’s role in the insurrection and other members of his caucus.But do Republican voters care?

We listen to the sound with one of the reporters who broke the story before heading to McCarthy’s district to get a response from his community.

This conversation is part of our Remaking America collaboration with six public radio stations around the country, including KVPR, NPR for Central California. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.