Trump says he 'never claimed responsibility' for Jan. 6 and reaffirms support for Kevin McCarthy after a leaked call revealed he criticized the former president

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Donald Trump.

Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times/POOL/Getty Images

• Trump reaffirmed his support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Friday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
• Recently released audio recordings reveal McCarthy criticized Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
• Trump also denied he'd claimed responsibility for Jan. 6, as McCarthy asserted in the audio clips.

Former President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday following the release of a leaked call in which the representative criticized Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.  

"He made a call. I heard the call. I didn't like the call," Trump told The Wall Street Journal of the recordings. "But almost immediately as you know, because he came here and we took a picture right there — you know, the support was very strong."

McCarthy, who was recorded saying Trump's behavior on Jan. 6 was "unacceptable" and that he would encourage the then-President to resign, called The New York Times' initial reporting of the tapes "totally false and wrong."

In the tapes, McCarthy can also be heard saying that Trump acknowledged "some responsibility" for the attack.

"I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened? Does he feel bad about what happened?" McCarthy told House Republican lawmakers during the January 11, 2021 call. "He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And he needed to acknowledge it."

Trump denied he'd acknowledged his role in the attack on the Capitol to The Wall Street Journal, saying: "No, that's false. I never claimed responsibility." 

Representatives for Rep. McCarthy and former President Trump did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

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