House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy denied having any qualms over President Trump’s conduct during the 2016 campaign, despite Robert Mueller stressing during his testimony Wednesday that he did not exonerate Trump.
Declaring that it is time to move on from the 2016 election, the California Republican urged people to now focus on putting “America first.”
“You’re asking do I have concerns about this president? He’s created millions of jobs, he has the strongest economy we’ve had in more than 50 years,” McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill after the special counsel completed two hearings regarding his federal Russia investigation.
“There was no collusion, so how do you get to obstruction?” the leader said. “This president has not done anything wrong in this process, so no, I do not have a problem with this president.”
McCarthy spent time with Trump and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows at the White House after Mueller appeared before the House Judiciary Committee in the morning. Mueller, 74, faced questions from the House Intelligence Committee in the afternoon.
“He was very upbeat,” McCarthy said of Trump. “I’ve watched this president be upbeat almost every single day. With President Trump, his cup is always half-full. To think what this poor president had to go through. If you sat for three years and hear somebody say a lie about you, with each turn of the corner, you get proven correct.”
In fact, Trump later told reporters he felt it was “a very good day” for the Republican Party,
McCarthy urged House Democrats “to close the chapter on this book they’ve tried for three years,” saying the session uncovered no new information.
“It’s time to put America first,” he said. “It’s time to get over the 2016 election.”
