House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy slams Biden admin for inflation, crime
Rep. Kevin McCarthy weighs in on a new poll that showed that Biden’s approval rating hit a new low and a another that revealed that GOP voters are only slightly more inclined than Democrats to back their candidate in their House district.
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., argued on Sunday that Democrat policies are to blame for high inflation, "the national security crisis" at the southern border, and the increase in crime in cities across the country.
McCarthy made the argument during an exclusive interview on "Sunday Morning Futures" reacting to the latest Fox News survey, which found that both Democrats and Republicans are equally motivated to vote, and that if the midterm election were today, 41% of voters would back the Democratic candidate in their House district and 44% the Republican.
The survey released last week offered the insight three days before it was revealed that President Biden’s approval rating hit a new low, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll.
The survey showed that Biden's approval rating among Americans has dropped to 31%, with 28% saying they approve of the president’s handling of the economy, while 66% disapprove of his job thus far.
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The poll found that the biggest concern right now is inflation, as costs continue to rise and inflation last month reached a 40-year high of 9.1%.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy blames Democrats and the Biden administration for several issues in America. (Fox News)
Fox News host Maria Bartiromo asked McCarthy why Republicans haven’t been polling better given Biden’s ratings at all-time lows.
"What is wrong with the Republicans that you cannot capitalize on such a moment in time where virtually everything is going wrong?" Bartiromo asked the GOP leader.
McCarthy responded by pointing to last month’s historic win by Republican Mayra Flores, who defeated Democrat Dan Sanchez in a runoff election.
Flores, who was born in Mexico and is married to a Border Patrol agent, won the South Texas seat held almost exclusively by Democrats for more than 100 years. Republicans said the win is indicative of a new trend for Latino voters, while Democrats argued the election was just a fluke.
"Mayra Flores has never run before, but she’s a member of the U.S. Congress right now, and it’s along the border, so Republicans are doing quite well," McCarthy noted. "And I think when the American public sees the commitment to America, it is a plan of a new direction to put America back on track."
He then blamed Democrats for creating the "pain" associated with inflation.
"If a person is paid on a salary, they have just lost an entire month of work for free because of the Biden Administration," McCarthy told Bartiromo.
The Labor Department announced earlier this month that inflation accelerated more than expected to a new four-decade high in June as the price of everyday necessities remains painfully high, exacerbating a financial strain for millions of Americans.
The consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries and rents, rose 9.1% in June from a year ago, according to the department. Prices jumped 1.3% in the one-month period from May. Those figures were both far higher than the 8.8% headline figure and 1% monthly gain forecast by Refinitiv economists.
The data marked the fastest pace of inflation since December 1981.
Price increases were extensive: Energy prices rose 7.5% in June from the previous month, and are up 41.6% from last year. Gasoline, on average, costs 59.9% more than it did one year ago and 11.2% more than it did in May. The food index, meanwhile, climbed 1% in June, as consumers paid more for items like cereal, chicken, milk and fresh vegetables.
McCarthy also blasted Democrats for the situation at the southern border, arguing that the Biden administration has "done nothing, but make it worse."
"Then when you look at the crime within our streets, you look what happened to Lee Zeldin, that’s a direct effect of what the Democratic policies are," the House minority leader argued.
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Zeldin, who is running for New York governor as a Republican, was giving a speech on Thursday about bail reform at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Fairport when the alleged attempted assault took place.
McCarthy stressed that the midterm elections in November present an "opportunity" for Americans to go in a "new direction" in "the commitment to America."