Former House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) slammed the Democratic Party over its internal fractions, comparing the battle between figureheads to a “civil war.”
“The party we are watching today, Democrat, is a civil war. It’s the reason why there are no leaders of the party,” McCarthy said during a Friday morning appearance on Fox News.
“If there was a leader, this wouldn’t be going on,” he added.
Democrats have struggled to identify their next leader and unite around a cohesive message since President Trump returned to the White House as the party faces growing calls for generational change.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg has turned heads within the party in recent weeks after he decided to launch a $20 million effort to primary safe House Democrats through his group Leaders We Deserve.
Newly elected chair Ken Martin criticized the attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, urging party officials to stay neutral.
McCarthy said this divide ultimately illustrates the significant cracks in the party’s ability to move forward on one accord. The ousted House Speaker went on to cite the Florida State Senate Minority Leader’s decision to ditch the party earlier this week as the most recent example of the divides.
“He quit the party, became an independent and said the Democratic Party is ‘dead.’ This is a real concern,” McCarthy said about Jason Pizzo, who changed his registration to no party affiliation.
“But also, if you are a [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer [(D-N.Y.)] or a [House Minority Leader] Hakeem [Jeffries (D-N.Y.)], you are not a strong enough leader, they want somebody else,” he continued.
The former House Speaker said Democrats are in an “internal fight” and need someone to “capture” the party.
McCarthy mentioned Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as popular members of the party, but dismissed them as “so far left they’re outside of the party.”