House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says he called Rep. Paul Gosar last week over a controversial anime clip posted to his Twitter account.
McCarthy said he called Gosar about the clip, which featured him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and assaulting President Joe Biden. While the California Republican did not explicitly condemn the clip, he said Gosar said he wasn’t advocating violence against the elected leaders.
“He took the video down, and he made a statement that he doesn’t support violence to anybody. Nobody should have violence [against them],” McCarthy told CNN Monday. “I called him when I heard about the video, and he made a statement that he doesn’t support violence, and he took the video down.”
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Gosar, who said he’s “entitled to speak to the people and to do so in a manner that is engaging” and argued that his video spoke to “the younger generation in this country,” maintained he does not “espouse violence or harm towards any Member of Congress or Mr. Biden.”
“The video depicts the fight taking place next week on the House floor and symbolizes the battle for the soul of America when Congress takes up Mr. Biden’s massive $4 trillion spending bill that includes amnesty for millions of illegal aliens already in our country and was not meant to depict any harm or violence against anyone portrayed in the anime,” he continued. “This video is truly a symbolic portrayal of a fight over immigration policy.”
Ocasio-Cortez predicted last week that Gosar would “face no consequences” because McCarthy “cheers him on with excuses.”
Democrats introduced a resolution to censure Gosar over the clip, arguing “vicious and vulgar messaging can and does foment actual violence,” likely referring to the Jan. 6 riot.
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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also tweeted there should be an investigation into Gosar’s remarks and implored McCarthy to condemn Gosar’s actions.
Gosar has previously drawn criticism for appearing at several events hosted by the far-right commentator Nicholas Fuentes. Fuentes has engaged in Holocaust denialism and organized anti-vaccine protests.
