CNN
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Former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that “everyone should accept” the results of the upcoming presidential election.
“I believe Hillary Clinton should accept the 2016 election,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju on “Inside Politics,” though Clinton did concede her 2016 defeat, saying the Constitution requires a peaceful transfer of power.
In early 2021, McCarthy, then House Minority Leader, gave the green light to conservative lawmakers’ efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory, ultimately voting in favor of overturning the election results of two states after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
However, several months later, in a press conference, McCarthy repeatedly denied any notion that he was trying to overturn the election results, claiming that he had only challenged two states, Arizona and Pennsylvania, which ultimately did not change the outcome.
McCarthy also supported a lawsuit filed in Texas in 2020 that sought to invalidate millions of votes, another attempt by Republicans to tilt the election in Trump’s favor.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
McCarthy has previously said he believes Trump will win the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 and would support the former president seeking a second term, including as a potential member of his administration.
