Kevin McCarthy gives Trump some tough election talk

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) says he warned President Donald Trump that his repeated attacks on voting by mail could backfire, hurting both his reelection efforts and Republicans in other races.

“We could lose based on that,” McCarthy admitted to Axios, saying the result could be that Democrats vote by mail while Republicans don’t ― and because of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump supporters may not vote in person, either.

“I tried to show him ... you know who is most afraid of COVID? Seniors,” the website quoted him as saying. “And if they’re not going to go vote, period, we’re screwed.”

That, he added, would not only hurt Trump’s reelection chances but could also cost Republicans seats in down-ballot races.

Trump has repeatedly attacked voting by mail, claiming without evidence that they will lead to fraud despite the fact that he and many of those around him have routinely voted by mail themselves.

Surveys have shown that Trump’s attacks have hit home with his base: One released last month found 48 percent of Biden supporters plan to vote by mail, versus 23 percent of Trump’s voters.

• This article originally appeared on HuffPost.