Top Republican in House Rips QAnon

McCarthy, Pence, and Cheney reject conspiracy theory
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 21, 2020 2:39 PM CDT
McCarthy Sees 'No Place' for QAnon in the GOP
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, shown last month on Capitol Hill.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Under pressure after a conspiracy theorist won a GOP primary in Georgia, the House Republican leader has distanced his party from QAnon. "There is no place for QAnon in the Republican Party," Rep. Kevin McCarthy said in a Fox News interview, the Hill reports. "I do not support it, and the candidate you talked about has denounced it." The candidate is Marjorie Taylor Greene, who endorses QAnon in YouTube videos. She's said lately that she doesn't believe the theory, though she attacked another House Republican who said "there's no place in Congress for these conspiracies" in a Twitter exchange after her victory, per Politico. Greene also has a record of bigoted comments, saying that Muslims don't belong in government and that a Confederate monument would make her proud if she were Black because it would reflect progress made since slavery, Politico points out.

Vice President Mike Pence also rejected QAnon on Friday. "I dismiss it out of hand," he said on CBS. McCarthy is now the highest-ranking congressional Republican to denounce the wild claims about a global child sex-trafficking ring. Liz Cheney, the third-highest Republican in the House, did the same thing Thursday. "QAnon is a dangerous lunacy that should have no place in American politics," Cheney said. McCarthy faced pressure from his members to make clear he didn't support Greene's candidacy. Instead, though he had earlier called some of her statements "appalling," he stayed neutral. "The party does not decide whether you serve in Congress, your district decides when you serve in Congress," he said. McCarthy also said that he's talked with Greene and that she denounced QAnon to him. (President Trump praised Greene after she won.)

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