House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy claimed Monday that he didn’t lie last week when he knowingly denied a true story.

The New York Times reported that McCarthy was so mad at President Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol that he said he would tell Trump to resign. McCarthy then denied the story, only for the reporters to prove it right with a recording of his remarks.

In his first interview since the story broke, McCarthy sidestepped a question about his private suggestion that Trump should resign by noting that he never followed through with it.

“I never told the president to resign,” McCarthy said during a live Fox News interview from Eagle Pass, Texas, where a Republican delegation had traveled to highlight border security. “It was a conversation that we had about scenarios going forward.”

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