Kevin McCarthy sparked push back online after claiming the Republican Party knows when to walk away from a bad candidate amid the Democrats’ Graham Platner controversy.
The former House speaker shared his hot take on the drama during an appearance on Fox News Monday, where the sexual assault allegations against the Maine Senate hopeful were front and center.
“The one thing I know about Republicans, when we had a very bad candidate and found out, we didn’t vote for that person,” McCarthy said. “We walked away. When Matt Gaetz came forward, we got rid of him.”
McCarthy’s comments came as a new scandal surfaced in the embattled Democrat’s campaign to remove incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) from her seat. As McCarthy seemingly implied, Platner has faced a number of scandals prior to Monday’s sexual assault allegation – and only just recently faced widespread calls to exit the race.
However, many were quick to fact-check McCarthy’s remark, as the former House speaker has stood by President Donald Trump despite his many controversies, including being found civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.
Kevin McCarthy on Platner Allegations: That one thing I know about Republicans is when we had a very bad candidate, we didn’t vote for that person. We walked away. pic.twitter.com/wkm65CCGHb
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 7, 2026
Left-wing commentator Hasan Piker even hit back on X Monday, “TRUMP IS THE F–KING PRESIDENT WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!?! THE MFING SECRETARY OF WAR HAS THE EXACT SAME RAP SHEET AS GRAHAM PLATNER!! HE WAS A HOST ON THE NETWORK YOURE CURRENTLY SPEAKING AT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Khary Penebaker, a former representative for the Democratic National Committee, responded: “Wait. What? Did he completely forget about Trump? He is a terrible candidate and a terrible human being. And they all fell in line.”
Bill Kristol, former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, quipped, “Kevin, you should meet Donald Trump.” While Fox News’ own Jessica Tarlov even chimed in with, “This can’t be real life.”
Platner has yet to exit the Senate race in Maine, but shared in a video message Monday afternoon that he was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love.” He also took a moment to outright deny accuser Jenny Racicot’s allegations as “troubling, serious and false.”
Some of Platner’s most prominent supporters have since urged him to drop out, including the “Pod Save America” hosts, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and more.
The post Kevin McCarthy Claims Republicans Know When to Walk Away From Bad Candidates Amid Graham Platner Controversy appeared first on TheWrap.
