Kevin Kiley doesn’t pay attention to latest Trump controversies. Here’s why
“I know it’s been a story. I honestly don’t really know the details. I haven’t been paying attention to it.”
That was one of Rep.-elect Kevin Kiley’s comments when asked by The Bee for his reaction to former President Donald Trump’s dinner with rapper Ye, who has been making anti-Semitic remarks, as well as a white supremacist who attended.
Kiley, who Trump endorsed for Congress, was also asked about Trump’s suggestion that part of the Constitution be terminated.
Kiley explained he was participating in a week-long orientation for congressional freshmen in Washington when most of the controversy erupted, doing the work his constituents elected him to do.
“I just got through a campaign that was focused very squarely on the issues we’ve been talking about, so I don’t think my constituents are looking for me to go out and opine about the next presidential election,” said Kiley, who has spoken out in strong terms against anti-Semitism.
“I think they want me to get to work and focus on the things I campaigned on,” said Kiley, a Republican elected last month to represent California’s new 3rd congressional district.
Other Republicans understood his position.
“Trump is still a political force. It is just that easy,” said California GOP consultant Matt Rexroad.
“They need to say what they need to say and I’m not going to quibble about where other people are going,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., of colleagues’ comments about Trump. Cole is a veteran House member and top Republican on the powerful Rules Committee.
Trump, Ye & the Constitution
Remember, Kiley told The Bee, he was endorsed by hundreds of officials in his race against Democrat Kermit Jones, including former California Gov. Pete Wilson, Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, and dozens of other big political names and organizations.
“The fact that I’m endorsed by one person who has a particular set of views doesn’t mean that I’m not gonna be able to represent people who are of other views,” Kiley said. “That’s what I think I’ve tried to do in my representation of this area so far. I want to seek out common ground.”
It’s easy to look at his endorsers, Kiley said, “and find someone they don’t like or don’t agree with on some issues and that’s fine. My job is to represent every person in my district.”
Several prominent Republicans have criticized aspects of Trump’s actions, and the former president posted messages on his Truth Social platform about the Nov. 22 dinner with Ye on Nov. 25 and 26.
Trump noted that Ye had had difficulty lately, and he wanted to give his friend advice.
“We got along great, he expressed no anti-Semitism, & I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on ‘Tucker Carlson.’ Why wouldn’t I agree to meet? Also, I didn’t know Nick Fuentes,” Trump said. Fuentes, a white supremacist and Holocaust denier, attended the dinner.
Another controversy erupted Dec. 3, when Trump said on Truth Social :”A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” He was referring to the 2020 presidential election, which he believes, incorrectly, that he won.
Two days later, Trump tried to clarify. “The Fake News is actually trying to convince the American People that I said I wanted to ‘terminate’ the Constitution. This is simply more DISINFORMATION & LIES,” he said on Truth Social.
Kiley said he should not be expected to comment on every endorser’s views.
“The hundreds of people on my endorsement list; I’m supposed to keep an ear out for everything every one of them says and then offer comment on it?” Kiley saId. “ I mean that’s crazy.
“I’m not gonna let the media …dictate where I focus my attention. Where I’m going to focus my attention is on the job people elected me to do, which is getting our economy turned around, securing the border, protecting the rights of parents in our schools. I’m not gonna be distracted from that.”
Kiley and Trump
Kiley won his race for Congress in a newly drawn congressional district that winds through Plumas County, the Sacramento suburbs and parts of El Dorado County, as well as Inyo County.
Trump endorsed Kiley for Congress in May, an important boost for the Rocklin assembly member at the time. He was facing Democrat Kermit Jones and Republican Scott Jones.
On Nov. 15, during his presidential announcement, Trump called Kiley a “fantastic person” and said Kiley’s victory was enough to give the GOP control of the House.
Trump was premature. The Associated Press did not call Kiley’s race until a week later, and the victory of Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, gave Republicans the House majority in 2023.
Kiley said he has not spoken or communicated with Trump since May, and was busy in recent weeks getting ready to take his congressional seat. Trump’s spokesman did not return a request for comment.
Freshmen Republicans were in Washington for several days last month for an orientation.
Many of those freshmen received strong support during the campaign from Trump supporters, but also realize that winning over independents could be tough if they’re seen as too close to the former president.
“I think for most GOP members of Congress, they feel they have very little to gain by making a bold statement about Trump,” said Philip Wallach, senior fellow at the American Enterprise institute, a center-right research group. “Most want to take a more ambiguous position and see which way the wind is blowing as the 2024 contest shapes up.”
Asked if he would support Trump for president in 2024, Kiley said, “I’m not focused on any other election right now. I just got through an election.”
He decried what he called “parlor games” that the media and political insiders play regarding future elections.
But, he said, “my constituents are not looking for me to go out right now in December of 2022, a month before I’ve even taken office, a year and a half before the California primary and start offering my own punditry.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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