On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with special guest Neil McCabe who is a former Breitbart colleague and Washington journalist.
During the third hour, McCabe discussed the dynamics of news in Washington, D.C., and how he would translate that as the new National Correspondent of The Tennessee Star.
Leahy: We are joined now by our very good friend, Washington journalist, and my former Breitbart colleague with something new to tell everybody today Neil McCabe. Welcome, Neil!
McCabe: Michael, so good to be with you, sir.
Leahy: The great news for us is that Neil McCabe is joining us as the National Correspondent for The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. You had your first report on Monday. Tell us what we can expect to see in The Tennessee Star from Neil McCabe.
McCabe: You know Mike, I’ve spent most of my time in D.C. covering Capitol Hill and the White House. So its always interesting when you think that these two places really less than one mile away from each other. And so I’ve enjoyed covering that and the opportunity to do that for the Star Newspapers is fantastic. I’ve been to Trump rallies.
One of my last reports for One America News was covering the New Hampshire primary where I asked Joe Biden if Eric Ciamarella would be joining his administration. (Leahy bellows) So, obviously we want to be serious about the things that are facing our country. But we want to have a little fun with it too and I think that’s kind of the vibe that you’ve built with this radio show and with the Star Newspapers and I’m very excited.
Leahy: We are too. Your first report was very insightful. You get the inside Washington scoop that a lot of people aren’t getting. What’s going on today up in Washington?
McCabe: This is really funny too, because when you think about the affect that Twitter has on your life. For me, I don’t even go to the Drudge Report like I used to because everything is on Twitter. There was one morning when I woke up and Roger Daltrey was trending on Twitter and I thought, “Oh no Roger Daltrey is dead.” Do you know Roger Daltrey was trending on Twitter Mike?
Leahy: I don’t know.
McCabe: Because the president said he was no longer going to support the World Health Organization. So many people typing in WHO (Laughing) people thought something happened to Roger Daltrey.
Leahy: OK. Well, there you go.
McCabe: For those listeners who have no idea what I’m talking about. Roger Daltrey is the lead singer of a rock band called The WHO. (Leahy laughs) I’ve spent way too many hours listening to this. But let me say this, Ross Perot’s trending right now on Twitter because of Justin Amash announcing that he is going to run for president. Bill Crystal who used to be brilliant and is now he’s completing off the rails.
Bill Crystal is saying, Justin Amash, don’t run for president because it might stop Joe Biden from beating Trump. Let me tell you, Bill, Justin Amash (Laughing) is not going to have any impact movement never happens. It’s not like it’s over, it never started. (Chuckling) We’ll see how that plays out Michael.
Leahy: What does a guy like Justin Amash who came into office during the Tea Party movement? He was swept into office by Tea Party activists in the Michigan district that he represents. He’s a guy I guess that gets up in the morning looks in the mirror and sees a President of the United States but he’s kind of an inconsistent guy from what I can tell.
McCabe: He’s sort of an angry guy. It’s interesting it’s a job you make my rounds. Because I started as a local reporter I’m kind of a shoe another guy. I actually go around to the offices and I always forget that Justin Amash’s press secretary was back in the district.
He was one of these guys that never played the national political game because he focused on his district and the local media back there. And there’s a lot of people who do that. Frankly, Tim Scott, he only cares about South Carolina media. That’s why you rarely see him nationally. But Justin Amash is a prickly Libertarian guy. Thomas Massie has a joy for life that…
Leahy: Kentucky Republican with Libertarian philosophy.
McCabe: He’s kind of the same vibe as a Justin Amash who is supposedly this hardcore Libertarian. But with Amash, there is this nastiness. I was in the House Chamber for the State of the Union Address which was 10-12 years ago.
Leahy: It seems like it.
McCabe: And it’s like nobody talks to Amash. You go up to the House Chamber and he sits on the Democratic side. He’s now an Independent. He sits in the back row right next to the aisle so he’s just right over on the Democratic aisle side. Nobody talks to him. The Democrats hate him. Republicans hate him. And he just sort of sits there. And he’s running for president because he’s not going to win that House seat. If he thought he’d be re-elected he wouldn’t be running for president. So much in politics right now is just your audition for CNN.
Leahy: You mean like John Kasich, former governor of Ohio and NeverTrumper.
McCabe: He was a banker for Leiman Brothers, I think…
Leahy: That’s how he made his money right?
McCabe: An interesting story to is that his wife, I’m pretty sure his wife was a reporter that he encouraged her to do profiles of him when he was a Congressman.
Leahy: (Laughs) The thing with all these Washington political guys none of them pass a mirror that they look into and don’t see a president I think.
McCabe: It’s stunning because people are looking at them all the time and they’re saying no. I have trouble looking at him and seeing a Secretary of Congress. But every Senator thinks they can be president. And I thought it was a very interesting gig too because when you’re on Capitol Hill there’s this cultural divide between the House and the Senate. Chuck Schumer was talking about one of these deals that he finally cut for the COVID assistance. And he says I want to thank White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows who I recently met.
Leahy: Who has been like a big player in the House of Representatives for well over a decade.
McCabe: Senator’s don’t consider Congressmen like human beings. They are like pets. (Leahy laughs) That’s why it was so funny. So the whole House side would be in an uproar about impeachment. And you ask the Senators about the impeachment and they say I’m not really following it you tell me what’s going on.
Leahy: Give me the over-under on this question Neil.
McCabe: Sure.
Leahy: When will Joe Biden be asked a specific question…
McCabe: To step aside?
Leahy: Well before that. When will he be asked about Tara Reade’s allegations that he sexually assaulted her in 1993? When will he be asked to comment on those allegations?
McCabe: They are not allowed to ask Biden a question like that until he has a VP in place. Everybody has sort of agreed to this. You know what it’s like? It’s just like everything has to be testing. Like whenever you talk about COVID, we can’t reopen the country until there’s testing right? So that’s the thing. Everyone has agreed that we need to use the world testing for re-opening the country and for Biden nothing can get in the way of a Democrat beating Trump, not the least at which will be Tara Reade.
Leahy: So it’s April 28 and you won’t be asked till after the convention in August? Would that be your guess?
McCabe: (Laughs) I think they’re going to put Kamala Harris in place and then they’re going to ask him and he’s going to regretfully say I have to step aside. I think it will be a health scare because we’re seeing stuff happen with Michelle Goldman from The New York Times who was talking about it. So people are starting to get a little wise.
Listen to the third hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Neil McCabe” by One America News Network.
