Pod Save America - “Xi likes me!” (LIVE from Orlando)

Episode Date: April 9, 2018

Trump tries Twitter diplomacy with China and Syria, and Florida Democrats have a chance to help flip Congress. Then Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) joins Jon, Jon, Tommy, Dan, and Alyssa on stage in Orlando to talk about gun control, immigration, and the 2018 midterms.

Hello, Orlando! Hello! Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm Jon Favreau. I'm Alyssa Mastromonaco. How lucky for you. You don't always draw Alyssa. I'm Jon Lovett. I'm Tommy Vitor.

I'm Dan Pfeiffer. We have a great show for you tonight. A little later we'll be talking to the representative from Florida's 7th District right here in Orlando, Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy. But first, some news. The President of the United States spent his weekend reacting to various Fox & Friends segments with a series of Twitter rants, because that's how he rolls.

A lot of news, as always, on Sunday from his Twitter feed. First, he accused his own Justice Department and the FBI of corruption for not doing more to investigate Hillary Clinton in the Obama administration. Does that every once in a while. Then he defended the alleged corruption of Washington, D.C.'s worst tenant, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Said Pruitt's doing a great job. This is after Democratic and Republican members of Congress have called on the EPA Administrator to resign after reports that he spent billions of taxpayer dollars on a 20-person security detail, first-class flights,

private phone booths, and then demoted staffers who complained about this. Plenty of hissing, that's right. Alyssa, Trump obviously isn't afraid to fire cabinet secretaries, fired the Secretary of State while on the toilet, fired... You should just be clear about that. He wasn't on the toilet until or so much. We don't know.

We don't know. Oh, reports, sorry. We don't know who was on the toilet. Multiple people. People may or may have not been on the toilet. As many as two, as few as one. That's right. Fired the VA secretary. Why is Mr. Drain the Swamp holding on to

Scott Pruitt, perhaps the most corrupt cabinet official of all? I mean, we were talking about this earlier, and i think the last time the epa secretary had security like what he has was right after 9-11 so and like what and did the end of that epa secretary have 20 people on a security detail no they said that it's because of he's getting death threats and then someone tried to ask the epa okay could you provide examples of the death threats that have come to them and they said,

sorry, we don't have any. How sad that his self-esteem is so low. He's like fabricating death threats. He's like, please, someone does want to kill me. I'm relevant. But I think that Donald Trump keeps him around because he's like such a sad soul that he's like so indebted to him. He's

like, please, I love you. Please. I'm sorry. I tried to get a private plane charter and I've fired these people and I've literally violated 14 rules of being a cabinet secretary. And Trump's like, that's my guy. He enjoys it. Tommy, what do you think? Why is Scott Pruitt still here? Why is he hanging off? I think there's a couple of reasons. One, what do you think? Why is Scott Pruitt still here? Why is he hanging off? I think there's a couple reasons. One, Trump is actually a coward despite being the you're fired guy. He doesn't actually have the balls to fire people. He has his chief of staff do it

or he just maligns them in the press until they resign. There's also a functional reason for that, which is that if a cabinet secretary resigns, you can appoint someone as a temporary replacement. Regardless, they're going to have to go through a brutal confirmation process. But then there's also the point that a lot of big money special interests, the Koch brothers, industry lobbyists, et cetera, like Scott Pruitt, and they're all telling their buddies and their lobbyist friends and their PR firms behind the scenes to keep them on board because they think that ultimately he's going to gut all the

environmental regulations that they hate and to them that's worth all the corruption. I think that is the reason but it's so strange because it's not like there's a shortage of that guy. He wasn't hired

for his expertise. He has no particular planet destroying powers like anyone can do that job yeah yeah well i noticed it and so on on one of the sunday shows today uh senator mike rounds i believe from nebraska said um yes he's engaged in potential corruption and and some of these activities he's been doing may have been wrong. But, you know, he's got to be there because he's carrying out Donald Trump's agenda. And that's important. Which seems like it's basically admitting that the Republican Party position right now in the Trump era is you can be as corrupt as you want. What's important is that you pass the policies we believe in.

Yeah, he accidentally told the truth. He was not deft enough. told the truth. He was not deft enough. What are you supposed to say is this is, he is being targeted by the left because he's such an effective administrator for the Trump agenda. He's going after these regulations. He's going after the clean air rules and therefore he's become a target from the fake news. And that's why we're standing by him. But he forgot to do that part. He just said what they really think, which is why would we get rid of Scott Pruitt? He's doing such a wonderful job. Well, here's the other thing about this is he's actually not doing that good a job because he has gone about trying to repeal all of Obama's planet-saving initiatives in order to

destroy the planet, but he's done it in such a ham-handed way that most of them have been struck down by court. So most of the environmental rules that Obama put in place, that were in place when Obama left in 2016, are still in place today because Scott Pruitt is actually not that good at his job. In fact, all of them. He hasn't successfully repealed a single Obama regulation that has gone into effect. Now, he's still, of course, done damage because EPA is also about enforcement, and he hasn't enforced a lot of the laws on the book, so obviously that's been damaged.

He's not good. But, yeah, he's bad. But he hasn't been able to successfully repeal new regulations, which is good. You should say yet. Yet, but that's why they want to keep him in there. They want to keep him at it, you know? Yeah. Right? I'm just saying, it takes time to undo eight years of

progress. That's right. It does. Give him time. So, Trump also tweeted about the trade war he's trying to start with China. The turtle and the hare. You got anything else? No, I want to leave the people wanting more land out.

Boo! No. Not the first time you're going to hear that. Trump also tweeted about the trade war he's trying to start with China, telling everyone not to worry because the Chinese president is a good pal of his.

I believe he said, we'll be friends no matter what. And he predicted that eventually the Chinese president will drop all of these tariffs and they'll make a deal. Dan, what incentive does President Xi have to do that? Is there, in what world does President Xi say, you're right, we're good pals, let's cut this whole trade war? I think President Xi will respond to Trump when he stops laughing. I mean, the, Xi has every advantage in this fight

because he doesn't have to worry about politics. He doesn't have to worry about politics he doesn't have to worry about a congress if a bunch of farmers in china want to complain they can't it's not allowed and so this is why trump is very envious of him yes yes it's like how do i get that it seems like a great deal to trump and so trump is in the middle of playing a game of chicken but he doesn't know the part about turning at the last minute, and it's putting us in a very precarious situation. Yeah. How does this trade war thing get resolved, Lovett?

What do you think? Oh. A couple different routes it could go, I think. I don't want to predict, but we have been sort of at a disadvantage that Dan has been talking about with China for longer than the Trump administration. There are disadvantages that come along with being a free and open society and a democracy that changes its leaders and often its parties every four years

in the White House, every two years in the Congress. You know, right now, for example, China's actively expanding infrastructure. They have infrastructure projects to build economic zones that span the Middle East all the way to Asia to put themselves in a position to dominate the global economy for the next hundred years. That is their plan. Now, we have been at a disadvantage because we don't do hundred-year plans. We do, at best, four-year plans, if you're lucky, an eight-year plan, which put us at a disadvantage. But now we have someone who has a two-day plan or a Fox and Friends plan. And so this tit for tat, you can be sure that there are smart people sitting around the table gaming out in, you know, around the Chinese president thinking through if they do this, we'll do that.

If they do that, we'll do this. And I don't know about you. I have less confidence that Donald Trump and et cetera are as thoughtful. I mean, Xi Jinping's literally had his name added to communist party doctrine and will be there in perpetuity. He changed the rules so that he can be

essentially emperor for life. So he's all set. He has no politics to worry about. He's not worried about college towns and swing states coming out for him and the numbers he needs. So when he sees Donald Trump very obviously preparing a series of moves and attacks on China, they can sit back and prepare, okay, what are the responses we can make that will cause him the maximum political harm. So they targeted Paul Ryan's district. They've targeted Mitch McConnell's district.

They got the motorcycles. They got the motorcycles. They got the bourbon. They targeted farmers. And this is how they're going to play this game, because they can move quickly and absolutely, and they have no politics to fear. So that's why these tit-for-tat trade wars are not smart in any way.

That's why we're not set up. He's going to Michigan. Right. That's why we're not set up. He's going to Michigan. Right, that's why we're not set up to win these things. If only Hillary had thought about Wisconsin. As much as the Chinese president. What did I say? I've been waiting five seconds.

I don't hear it. Come on, man. Xi Jinping just hired Cambridge Analytica. So we're good to go. It is funny about how the Chinese pop culture and American culture is like, they like whiskey, motorcycles, and they farm. All right, so Scott Pruitt's doing a great job.

President Xi is going to be friends for life, so he's got those taken care of. I don't want to move past the friends for life thing. We just glossed right over it. It is... move past the friends for life thing we just glossed right over it it is as if that should be reassuring to us right like whatever happens to our economy she and i are going to be okay thank goodness i was worried about their friendship because you know people grow apart you you have to you know and it's hard when you work with somebody you're friends with we have that you know we work together all day do we go out to dinner as much as we used to no why would we we spend all day

together we have differences of opinion does that bleed over to a sunday night game of thrones thing it does sometimes it does pundit is an angel. Thank you. Go on, John. It's the easy applause lines that really drive you. Okay, so to top it all off after the first few

tweets, Trump finally tweeted about... Let's grow up, okay? You're children. You guys laugh like you're not tall enough for the rides. Alright. Hey, there's a kid in the... How old are you? 13. 13.

You look great in that shirt. We have to talk about Syria now, so it's more serious. Sorry, guys. So Trump tweeted about an absolutely horrific attack in Syria where it seems as though Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons to kill civilians, including children.

Trump issued a vague threat that Assad would pay a big price. Didn't say what. He specifically called out Putin for supporting Assad, which is the first time he has called out Putin for anything except congratulations. And then he attacked Obama for his Syria policy, saying, if President Obama had crossed his stated red line in the sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago. Mixed a few metaphors there, but not the least of the problems.

All of this comes a few days after the Trump administration said they're planning on removing all U.S. troops from Syria. Tommy, what are our options in Syria at this point? And what is allowing Assad to continue these horrific attacks? Well, first I want to point out that the Syria tweets came at the end of a series that started with flagging something Jesse Waters, one of the dumbest people at Fox, said, followed by a complaint about his coverage. Then we got to the war crime.

So that is the, literally, he shows us every time he tweets what things he thinks are the most important to the least. The options in Syria, I mean, look, the last time he used chemical weapons, he used sarin gas, killed 1,300 people. Trump launched 59 Tomahawk missiles, struck an airport that was essentially back up and running the next day, but what it did do was get the entire pundit class in Washington, D.C.

to say that that was the night he'd become president. And I don't mean to be glib about this, because Barack Obama, the Obama administration, the international community handed Trump an incredibly difficult situation in Syria with no great options. But the reality is Assad has been killing innocent civilians with impunity for six or seven years now. The fact that he used chemical weapons speaks to the fact that they're trying to take out one last rebel stronghold and they use chemical weapons to terrorize people and try to scare them into

submission. Basically, it's like they just escalate until they get to the worst case. So, you know, there's two things they could do. They could respond militarily. Ideally, you would go to the UN or some international forum and try to rally the international community in the world to do something in response. But that gets increasingly difficult when you have fewer and fewer friends and allies left to make your case. Is that because Russia refuses to do anything? Russia refuses to do anything, but I mean, it's not like anybody else is stepping up and acting particularly heroically here. Right. So in light of all these tweets, there's another, there was a Washington Post story that said John Kelly,

chief of staff in the White House, has been basically threatening to quit once a week. Alyssa, do you think it matters at all? No. If Kelly goes or Kelly stays? No, I think it's like, it's like if you threaten once

and you don't go, you know, okay. You're never going to go. You're just like, eh, I don't want to be here. And then you stay and everyone's like he's a loser but but i mean i think he's just like alone in his office and so whether he's there or not there i don't think it really matters it sounds like it's just trump

jared and like scott pruitt just hanging out just hanging out why hasn't john kelly been able to restore order to the white house i thought that was supposed to be the whole because they didn't take away donald Trump's Twitter account. Yeah. I mean, that's... That seems like about... Seems like the thing. Let's talk about the midterm elections a little bit,

because Florida has become one of the key states that will decide control of Congress in 2018. You have a couple of competitive House races, including two of the country's top pickup opportunities for Democrats in the Florida 26th and the Florida 27th. You have the chance to elect a Democratic governor for the first time in a while. And you absolutely have to send Bill Nelson back to the Senate. Let's start there. Any day now, could be as early as tomorrow,

Governor Rick Scott is expected to announce that he's running against Bill Nelson. I always thought we were going to have more Rick Scott fans. So, for some reason, Rick Scott has a 58% approval rating, a shitload of money, and he's going to try to run as a more centrist Republican. He's going to say he's presided over job creation, bucked the NRA to pass a modest gun control bill.

Dan, how does Bill Nelson run against Rick Scott? Rick Scott is going to go to Washington to be Trump's right-hand man. He's going to fight for the Trump agenda. He's not going to stand for Florida. He's going to support tax cuts for the wealthy, paid for by cutting Social Security, taking health care away from Florida seniors, from everyone in Florida. He has to run very aggressively against Trump. And Bill Nelson has the advantage of being someone with a long time record in Florida who is, it will be very hard for Rick Scott to sort of separate Bill Nelson from his Florida roots.

But I think the argument here is about a check on Trump, and Bill Nelson will offer that, and Rick Scott will do the opposite. Thank you. And I think the other piece of it is health care. I think, you know, Rick Scott is someone who came to prominence as someone who campaigned against Obamacare. You just heard crook. Oh, someone just said crook. Is that what you said, crook?

Yes, yeah. So, I mean, what was it, 1.7 billion for Medicare fraud. But on healthcare, he came to prominence saying that he was going to fight to repeal Obamacare, fought Obamacare every step of the way, refused to expand Medicaid in this state, even though he said that because of the death of his mother caused him to change his mind and realize that the Medicaid expansion was a good idea, and then changed his mind again. And it's very similar to what he did on the federal money for rail. He just, out of pure ideology, turned down money that just would have come to this state to provide money for infrastructure, provide money for healthcare, purely out of ideology. But on the healthcare front, he is slippery on this because he knows that now a majority

of people in Florida believe Obamacare should either be kept in place or expanded, and only a small, small fraction of the state believe it should be repealed outright. And so he is trapped in that position, and he knows it's a liability, which is why he's tried to run away from it, or at least back away from it a bit more, and we just cannot let him. His position on Medicaid is despicable. When Obamacare was passed, when Obamacare was passed,

there were estimates for how far, how many people would receive health care in states like Florida. And Republicans have said for years, oh, you can't trust these projections. But one of the things Democrats and Republicans and analysts and nonpartisan people couldn't believe is how far Republican governors

would be willing to go to hurt their own constituents, to hurt their own people in order to be anti-Obama, because this was money that Florida would have gotten as a check. No, no, you would not have to pay a dime more in taxes here in Florida. You've already paid for it. You've already paid for it with your tax dollars to the federal government, and he turned it down purely out of partisanship, and it hurt a million people in this state. It hurts this state every day. It's basically just like sending sending

Florida tax dollars to other states. Right. To insure, basically, Floridians are paying for other people to be insured on Medicaid because Scott wouldn't take the money. So that's great. So, Dan, you talked about tying Scott to Trump uh there's been this debate about how much democratic candidates should make these races about donald

trump in 2018 and there's a piece in the new york times today that says one of the messages republicans plan to run on now is if you elect a democratic congress they're just going to focus on impeaching Donald Trump. Herein lies the problem, people. They're like, that's awesome. We should run on that. What they're saying is Republicans are excited about this because they think this is the one thing that will excite their base, that will unite

conservative Republicans, Trump fans, and just regular Republican voters, that they'll say, maybe we don't like Trump that much, but if those people, if all they're going to do is impeach him when they come into office or try to impeach him, then maybe I don't want a Democratic Congress. What do you think about that?

They're definitely going to do that, and it's probably not going to work as well as they think, but they really have no good cards here, right? Yeah, that's... Like, they have... You mean the Republicans are definitely going to say this. Yes, the Republicans who are saying this have no good cards to play. They've only passed

one piece of legislation. It's the most unpopular piece of legislation ever passed by a sitting legislature. And so they're grasping for straws and they've been getting their ass kicked all up and down the ballot all across the country. That's great. That's cool. Now the question for...

It is a red herring issue right because if we elected 300 democrats and they went and impeached trump there is zero chance that a senate two-thirds of the united states senate is going to convict trump like that is that is not going to happen and so that is i think Trump has definitely committed offenses that are worthy of impeachment. I have no doubt of that. But what we need to run on, what we're going to do to check the corruption in Washington that is done by Trump, done by people like Scott Pruitt, and enabled by this Republican Congress. And there's no better example of that than the tax cut bill, where they gave a massive tax cut to billionaires like the Koch brothers the Koch brothers received that check turned around and wrote a half million dollar check

to Paul Ryan's PAC to thank him for passing that bill those are the sort of things that we should be running on and each individual candidate should decide whether they're going to talk whether how they want to talk about impeachment but I think the core message we can get to we can get go down a rabbit hole if we focus on that uh Alyssa, what do you think about it? What should Democrats say about impeachment? I really don't want Democrats to talk about impeachment. I think it's just such low-hanging fruit. It's such red meat for the Republicans. And if I'm a Democrat

that made it through 2016, I'm like, tell me what you're going to do for me. You know, like, tell me about healthcare. Thank you. But if I hear one person talk about impeachment, I'm not, I'm not going to be happy. Look, I just, I think it's a very easy answer if you get asked about, do you think Donald Trump should be impeached? I think you say, we want a Democratic Congress so we can

finally fully investigate this president and hold him accountable because the Republican Congress refuses to do that. And when we do that, if we uncover crimes, crimes and misdemeanors, yes, then we will start impeachment proceedings. But don't elect me because I'm going to go there and only try to impeach him. It's so funny, though. You see how these, a couple days earlier in the New York Times, there's a story about all these members of Congress resigning

because they're like, all that anyone talks about is Trump. There's nothing we can do. Nothing breaks through. It's a referendum on Trump. And then some Republican strategist calls Jonathan Martin in New York Times, says, hey, you know what we're going to do? We're going to make this a referendum about getting rid of Trump. It's like everyone's coalescing around the same strategy.

So they can sell this all they want. I don't think Democrats should go out there and beat the drum of impeachment all day, every day. But I think this is going to be a wave election that's about Trump. Hopefully, we will benefit enormously from that wave. But good luck, guys. I like our strategy better than yours. Yeah. So there's a headline in the Tampa Bay Times last week that read, a democratic wave from younger voters in Puerto Rico? Don't bank on it. And the piece argues that despite all the students who've become politically active after Parkland, and despite the 100,000 or so Puerto Ricans who've moved here after the government's fairly disastrous

response to Hurricane Maria, that these voters may not turn out or swing the election. Dan, what do you think of this? That is correct if you base it on history, but something different is happening here. Like, we just met backstage. We just met backstage with a group of students, high school students and students from UCSF, who helped organize the march here in Orlando, including some alumni of Stoneman Douglas High School. And they have a plan like you would not imagine. They are not fucking around. They organized this march. They left the march over burgers, organized their next 10 steps, whether it's doing town halls, whether it's registering students to vote. And so there is something very different happening here with young people. And it's like, we got a

lot of time to the election. People got to keep working, keep organizing, keep staying focused. But I've never had more confidence that young people will come out than I do right now. All right, we're going to end the news with a new segment called Under the Radar, where everyone gets to pick a story that people aren't talking about enough and talk about it. Very simple. Alyssa, why don't you start? I didn't want to get anything wrong, so I wrote some things down. But I don't know how many people know, maybe not enough, about the Office of Refugee Resettlement. And this has been a story going back for about six months, and every couple of weeks it pops. And the Office of Refugee Resettlement has the following mandate. They are meant to help assimilate people who have come here

from difficult places and help teach them about our country, right? And make sure that they're good to go. And what the Trump administration has done is picked the former policy coordinator for the Knights of Columbus to run this. And the one qualification he seemed to have was that he takes credit for the late-term abortion ban in six states. And, exactly, and has made it his business as the head of this office to monitor unaccompanied minors, women, who want to get an abortion. He tracks them, he gets updates on them

and um luckily i mean he continues to pursue this agenda but every judge has blocked what he's wanted to do but he's still there and we have to talk about it more oh his name is scott lloyd by the way fyi good so now we know just the worst people the worst people worst people they have love it i don't think we're focusing enough on the fact that not only was scott pruitt Just the worst people. The worst people. The worst people there. Love it. I don't think we're focusing enough on the fact that not only was Scott Pruitt not paying fair rent, he also didn't pay the $50. I mean, that's amazing. The landlords had to change the locks.

That's true. He went, what about Bob on these people? You get the EPA administrator in your house, and they go, that's kind of cool. What a fancy guy. Oh, my God, the EPA administrator. Then they can't get rid of him. And they have business before the EPA.

No, so Oklahoma teacher strikes. We've seen walkouts in Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia. And this is about salaries. This is about pensions. This is about just... It's about human decency. Thank you. I just want you to know, your mic is not working.

It's about keeping the... Literally keeping the lights on and keeping the heat on in classrooms where some schools have set their thermosets to 57 degrees. It's about four-day school weeks instead of five-day school weeks to save money. But this is, I think, it's really important because it's the culmination of an ideology that said, cut taxes, give businesses breaks to come to your state, strip down the budget, and growth will come, revenue will come in some distant future. But it just hasn't happened, and it's gutted basic services, it's forced teachers to get second jobs,

it's caused a huge turnover in Oklahoma schools. And what we're seeing, and in Kentucky we've seen something similar, West Virginia is similar, Oklahoma teachers haven't gotten a raise in a decade. Their pay is ranked 49th in the country. And I think these teachers coming out and taking to the streets tells us something. It tells us that, first of all, this ideology has its logical conclusion. There's only so much you can cut. There's only so much you can take from the people that keep your community running before they say enough is enough.

I think it's a lesson for us for politicians in Washington because that's exactly what they're doing on the corporate tax cut. You cut revenue, you give money back to corporations, you give money to the wealthy, and then you come back a year later to cut basic services, to cut Social Security, to cut Medicare, to cut Medicaid. And I think there's a lesson for Democrats looking for how to compete because what we see is people taking to the streets in bright red states telling us that they don't feel like they have people advocating for them in their state legislatures, in their governor's mansions. And that tells us that as much as we think these places are lost, they're

not lost. There are people there who are looking for someone who will fight for working people, who will fight for teachers and nurses and doctors and basic government services. And I think Democrats have been cowed for a very long time to not just defend basic good government, the kind of thing that stitches a community together, and we have to do that more because I think if we do, there are a bunch of people in Oklahoma and Kentucky and West Virginia and elsewhere that are ready to vote Democrat again. Tommy. Before the horrific

chemical weapons attack that refocused our attention on Syria the other day there were a series of reports that Trump told his generals basically that he wants out whether it's six months or a year but he wants out right away but you're not allowed to call it a timeline because that's what Obama had so that's sort of how he defined and thought

through the issue there was a similar report from the same set of meetings that someone from the CIA showed him a video of a drone strike and they were telling him how they created a new munition that was smaller that limited civilian casualties and could really only take out a certain area and they said look watch this video we wait till this person walks away from innocent civilians and then we took the shot and said, why did you wait? So a few things. One, that is pathological. That is stone cold evil murder. And it is so wrong and insane that he would think that way, that it's deeply troubling. Two, it shows that he has no broader understanding of how you actually succeed against terrorism. You don't do it by indiscriminately killing innocent people. You do it through a whole series of tools that involve some military

actions, some development, some diplomacy, but you actually have to care about and focus on all parts of the problem. Three, you know, it shows that he is zero interest in expert advice from the advisors he has, the generals that are important, and that he no longer cares what they think. And lastly, I think what frustrates me the most is there's so much noise in the press and the media that we're reading about Stormy Daniels or this or that, that we actually don't focus on these issues nearly enough. And they don't get a public debate in the press, in Congress, or anywhere else that actually focuses our attention, makes people care, makes people pressure their representatives

to try to do the right thing. So I don't have an easy answer to this. I come to this with a lot of humility as someone who worked in the Obama administration and knows that the outcome in Syria is horrific, and it's not something any of us are proud of, and it's something we'll all be thinking about until the day we die.

But there is a better way to run a railroad. There's a better way to work on these issues, try to develop policy, and actually demonstrate to people in Syria, to your own military, to the world that you actually care and are trying to fix things and not just solve a political problem.

And that's not happening right now. I'm a casual customer. Yeah. I didn't know there was Q&A in this part. It's a softball. Okay. Did Donald Trump tweet today blaming Obama for this because Obama didn't, quote, respond when the red line was

crossed? Red line in the sand, he said. Red line in the sand. I'm trying not to let you down the mixed metaphor path, but go ahead. But then rounds on Meet the Press said red line in the sand, so now that's something we're going to have to deal with. People saying red line in the sand. Least of our problems. Now, Tommy,

what was Trump's position on Obama attacking Syria in 2013? He opposed it, Dan. He said we would be stupid if we were to attack Syria. So, giant hypocrite. So, it's not on the level. All day, every way possible.

The old tweets are there. They don't go away. I also bet Trump would fail a pop quiz on his 2013 position on Obama's Syria attack. 100%. Dan, what you got? So, we have another election coming up. Two weeks from now, there's a special election in Arizona for a congressional seat. Yes. So, a few months ago, a Republican congressman named Trent Franks had to resign, as many

are wont to do, for some pretty shitty things he did and said, and allegations of sexual misconduct towards his staffers. A lot of that going around. What's that? Nothing going. And so, the race is two weeks from tomorrow, April 24th, and there is a very good Democratic candidate running. She's an emergency room physician named Dr. Hiral Tempranani.

And this is a district that is very Republican. It is just as Republican as the one that Conor Lamb won in Pennsylvania last month. And so this one has gotten less attention because after getting his ass kicked by showing up in Pennsylvania repeatedly, Donald Trump is pretending this one is not happening. And frankly, Washington Democrats are trying not to shift the narrative here, so they're focusing on it less. Now, it is most definitely a tougher race than the one in Pennsylvania, because even though Trump won it by the same margin, there are 80,000 more Republicans and Democrats in this district. But if we are going to build a sustainable majority in this country and build a strong electoral advantage, so we're not just deciding the president based on 70,000 votes in three states. We have to run hard in these races. And the fact is, no one knows what's going to happen in this race. Not a single media poll has happened. We don't know. We're just guessing based on past performance. And if we guessed on past performance, then Doug Jones wouldn't be in

the Senate. Conor Lamb wouldn't be in the House, and alarmingly, Donald Trump wouldn't be president. So if you have any interest in this race, you can go to Dr. Tempranani's website, you can donate on ActBlue, and whatever happens here, the Democratic Party is going to be better off because we ran a well-funded, well-organized campaign in a strong Republican district, and that's going to help. And that's not just going to maybe deliver this seat for the Democrats. It's also going to help flip Arizona blue and win Jeff Flake's seat. And Arizona is going to be a core battleground state in 2020. And we will benefit from the work that is done right now. So I encourage people to look up that race, get involved, see if you can help. All right.

So I got one. We talked about how Florida is one of the 18 states that rejected the Medicaid expansion. Commonwealth of Virginia was another one of those states. But because Democrats won 15 House of Delegates seats in 2017 in Virginia, and because they won 15 House of Delegates seats in 2017 in Virginia, and because they won the governorship, 15 seats was a number no one expected.

No one thought 15 was possible. They thought they'd get a couple. They never thought they'd get 15. Because they did, the Virginia legislature is now on the cusp of expanding Medicaid to 400,000 Virginians. of expanding Medicaid to 400,000 Virginians. 70% of Floridians support a Medicaid expansion. So if you need another reason to vote in November,

there's your reason right there. Can I offer a suggestion, John? Florida is one of the handful of states where you could actually put Medicaid expansion on the ballot through the ballot initiative process. Yeah. I think two state senators have tried to introduce this. Yes, and so that is something that I think progressive groups in the state should be working on.

We need to elect a Democratic governor for the first time in this fucking century in Florida. And then, and if you can't get it done through what is already a Republican legislature, put it on the ballot. This will be something that will turn people out, And then, and if you can't get it done through what is already a Republican legislature, put it on the ballot. Motivate. This will be something that will turn people out. And you could give health care to a million people.

What better investment of time, energy, and money is there than a ballot initiative like that? It's also why all these state legislature races are so important. Every single race matters. State, local, national. National. Now for a game we call OK Stop. Here's how it works. We roll a clip. When we feel like it,

a fit of peak, a moment of hope. We say OK Stop and then we feel like it. A fit of peak. A moment of hope. We say okay stop and then we talk about it. Last week a video went viral showcasing how Sinclair Media was turning their local news channels into conservative propaganda machines forcing all the networks to run the exact same promos filled with right-wing talking points. On top of that, these local channels are also being forced to run mandatory political commentary from the chief political analyst of Sinclair Media,

former Trump aide Boris Epstein. No Boris hands here. They know all the hits. I mean, for real. Boris, let's roll the clip. President Trump continues to reshape his administration. In the past few weeks, the president has announced a new secretary of state, CIA director, top economic advisor, national security advisor, and secretary of veterans affairs. Okay, stop.

There are two ways to look at this. I know. There are two ways to look at this. I know. One of them is, he did a really shitty job of hiring the first time, and his administration is embroiled in complete chaos. Yeah, you listen to this and you're like, oh, did he just become president? Just announcing all these people now?

Oh no, he fired all their asses. That's why he's announcing these people. Right, it's like, yes, as all good administrations do at the 13th or 14th month mark, you replace half the cabinet in a week. I also just, this is not the most important part, but I do think it's interesting that Boris can barely enunciate. That he is a marble-mouthed, hard to under, like... Take out your mouth guard, man.

What are you doing? He's so fundamentally inarticulate, and he has zero TV charisma. And I think that's actually subtly important, because this is very Banana Republic, right? This guy's not here because he won the audition. You know, they didn't have 40 people try. It wasn't bottom line with Steve and bottom line with Sarah. And then they're like, Boris won.

You know, we did it, and Boris was the best at this. No, he's just a crony. Like, this is how you know he's a crony. Because look how bad he is. More changes are always possible. So why all the turnover? Well, the president deserves to have staff around him who support his agenda and are doing a good job. Okay, stop. Quick reminder that Boris got fired

from the White House for doing a bad job. Like in record time. Like, to love his point, the reason Boris got this job is he was the first dude fired. He was the first person available that worked for Trump. This is Boris's soft landing. But also, it's like, oh, he gets to have the people he really wants now. Did he not know what he believed in when he became president? I mean, like, why was this, like, turnover necessary? This is a person we're trusting with problems in Syria. And he's like, I really don't know how I feel about the VA.

He hired all of the people to begin with. It's like they were all his. Yeah, it's also just like, who is this for exactly? Like, who is like, oh. Well, love it. That's why. Now I get it. It's the new season of The Apprentice.

Yeah. It is also important that an agency is not bogged down by infighting and alleged ethical shortcomings, as had unfortunately become the case with Veterans Affairs in the last few months. Longevity in a position does not always equal success. Okay, stop. He better hope so. I have to say, I have to say, I was also not romantic.

You know what I mean? Just take a second. You can imagine other... You know what I mean, John? I think we get it, John. I think we got it, yeah. I think we got it. I think we got it.

I think everyone picked up what you're putting down. I did. Roll the clip. President Obama had just two secretaries of state, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. Secretary Clinton's four years on the job left us with a total meltdown in the Middle East. Okay, stop. That was quite a detour he took to get to the Clinton backseat. He was like, he only had two secretaries of state.

One of them sucked. Now I will talk about this. Look at the Sinclair B-roll. It's just like when you talk about Trump, you show him at the cabinet room, you show him in the Oval, you show him shaking hands, and you say the word Hillary, and it's just ISIS. Here's Hillary's troops.

Yeah, there's Robbie Mook. For the people at home, there's ISIS. All right. In the rise of ISIS, an American ambassador to Libya was killed on Hillary Clinton's watch. John Kerry also had four years running the State Department. His big accomplishment? The Iran deal, which not only still allows Iran to work on nuclear technology, but also gives Iran billions of dollars, which have gone to... Okay, so for those people listening at home, there was literally just a briefcase full

of money that they showed. Right. A brief full of cash. Now there's a man walking on a burned car. Like, none of this... They're just, like, play the scary greatest hits. He's looking for the briefcase of money. Yeah.

But I think it is worth noting that 40% of American households have the opportunity to see Bottom Line with Boris. Yeah. How many? 40%. That's too many. It could be up to 72% once Sinclair makes their merger and buys the Tribune properties.

72% of all households will see this. Too big to fail. It's also just like don't pay attention to the fact that Donald Trump goes through cabinet officials like Harvey Weinstein goes through PR firms. Talk about Hillary. Remember Benghazi. I assume in Boris's contract it says two things. One, simple sentences, and you must mention Hillary within five minutes. Organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Here's the bottom line. I would rather see a different Secretary of State every week than have anything like the Iran deal happen ever again. The president is here to get results. Okay, stop. He may get his chance. But with the rate we're going, it's still year two. This is Boris playing chess.

He knows what's coming. Not to coddle staff or cabinet members. The changes being made are all done in order to keep our country on a path of success, on the economy, and national security. Hey, friends. Hope you're having a great day. For more of my content, please go to breakfastwithboris.com. And sign up for myboris.com.

Oh, Boris. When this clip went around to our team to decide if we were going to do it for OK Stop, we were all looking at Boris' YouTube, and he had 136 subscribers. So there's not a lot of hunger for Boris' content out there on the internet. Don't you wish you had a tagline that was, for more of my content, go to breakfast with Tommy. Breakfast with Boris. Again, it's not the most important part. But you just actually don't see people that inarticulate on television.

You really don't. I mean, it's not just the... The quality of his voice is very bad. He's gargling. It's a hard voice to understand. It's not clear. It doesn't have a good tone to it. Lucky he's a bad propagandist.

I mean, a little like Scott Pruitt and the Obama EPA rules is we are blessed by the idiocy of our enemies. And there could be someone who was really good at propaganda who was doing propaganda in 40% of American homes. Well, like, there could be someone who was really good at propaganda who was doing propaganda in 40% of American homes. Well, that's Paul Ryan.

They got hired at Fox. Yeah, they got hired. Okay, when we come back, we'll have our interview with Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy. She represents Florida's 7th District, has an F rating from the NRA, and is the first Vietnamese American woman ever elected to the United States Congress. Please welcome Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy. Thanks for coming.

All right. So two years ago, you'd never run for Congress before. And then you ran against... Or any student office. Or any office. And then you ran against a Republican who represented this district for 25 years,

and you won. And then you ran against a Republican who represented this district for 25 years and you won. Why did you decide that running was something that you wanted to do? And how did you pull off the upset? Well, first, let me just thank you for having me on. I'm so excited to be here. I'm a huge fan. And I'm also excited that you're here in Orlando. As you've seen

tonight, this is Orlando United. So I ran because I'm a patriot. And I believe that people who love this country can make it better if they're willing to serve. And so as you all may know, I am a refugee and an immigrant. My parents got on a boat when I was six months old and escaped communist Vietnam. And when we were adrift at sea, a U.S. Navy ship rescued us and allowed us to make it to a Malaysian refugee camp. And then from there, we were relocated to Virginia. And so I grew up in a working class family, but I had an opportunity to go to college, be the first woman in my family to go to college, and then work in the corner office that my parents spent nights cleaning, and had the opportunity to go on to work for the Secretary of Defense. And I really just feel a debt of gratitude to this country.

for the Secretary of Defense, and I really just feel a debt of gratitude to this country. And so, in the 2016 election, you may remember the rhetoric just, it didn't comport with the America I knew. And then on June 12th, a gunman walked into a nightclub in my community and took the lives of 49 people. And I felt like, you know, you can't have people spewing hateful rhetoric at the highest level and not expect to see it manifest itself in your own community. And then the man who had served this community for 20 some odd years took a check from the NRA two days after the Pulse nightclub shooting. took a check from the NRA two days after the Pulse nightclub shooting. And I just really felt like, you know,

if you're going to change what's going on in Washington, you have to change the kinds of people you're going to send there. And so I ran a campaign on change, security, and equality, and just really got my message out there. I ended up running a four-month campaign and unseating a 24-year incumbent. Wow. So one of the things that I admire so much and why I'm obsessed with this woman is that when you look at her career, she's always running towards the problem, right? So many people are like, oh, I see something. I'm going to go over here and ignore it. But after 9-11, Stephanie saw our country be attacked. And she's like, I'm going to go to the Department of Defense and serve. And so I just, I don't know if everybody knows that part of her story, but like, you know, I just love it. And I think that

she's wonderful. But my question for you is, you know, you have done that. Now you're in Congress. There's terrible shooting. Well, there are shootings all the time. There's a terrible one not far from here. And you actually have met with President Trump several times to discuss this. And so how would you, I think that in our hearts, we all want to believe that there's some compassion and awareness in our commander-in-chief. But what would you, and of course, we know you're a discreet person, but what do you feel like you could share with us

about what happened in some of those meetings? So let me first say, and I'm going to quote an old boss of mine, Rumsfeld used to say, you go to war with the army you have, not the one that you want. And I believe that you legislate with the government you have not the one that you wish you did and obviously I had voted for a different person to occupy the White House but I feel like in the two years I've been given I have

to work with the folks who are there to try to advance the interest of my constituents so I have been over to the White House a number of times I was really hopeful when the president called that meeting. It was bicameral, bipartisan. He was giving it the level of importance it deserved. And during the meeting, you know, he agreed to a bunch of things. And you could almost see staff in the background cringing, like, oh, we're going to have to, like, unwind this.

But I was really hopeful. I thought, you know, oh, we're going to have to unwind this. But I was really hopeful. I thought, you know, maybe finally we have broken through. And then within 24, 48 hours, despite talking a big game, he backed away from a lot of that. So the best thing that came out of that for me was that I had an opportunity to press this issue about lifting the ban on gun violence research that has been in place for 22 years. And with the help of, so it gave it a national platform where people who didn't know that that existed before did, but it also was fueled by the energy that the Parkland students provided this issue. And so when we got to the spending bill, I was able to press the house appropriators to consider including it. And so I'm really proud to say that about two weeks ago, we lifted this 22-year ban on gun violence research.

How does your own story and your own family's story shape your perspective on refugee policy and immigration policy? And how do you talk to people, to constituents, who are uncomfortable with our immigration policy, who might hear what Donald Trump says and feel more comfortable with that? I think, of course, having served at the Department of Defense, I believe that we should secure our borders and have a strong and smart national security.

But I feel like the conversation that we're having on immigration is disconnected from the America that I know. We have always been a place where we have provided opportunity and refuge, and yet we are having this conversation about immigrants that just isn't connected to the reality of what immigrants have contributed to this country. And I'll share a story with you.

I was doing coffees with your congresswoman around the district last week, and I had one woman who had bought into this narrative and was conflating the idea of the word immigrant with criminal. And I just had to say, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to sit here and let you do that. There's a very big distinction. Thank you do that. There's a very big distinction. And I think we are a country

of laws and we should do what we can to ensure that the rule of law is in place and that we have processes and procedures, but we should not allow the rhetoric to drive us away from our American values. And then I think the final thing I would say about that is that we all know we need comprehensive immigration reform, but we can't do it in the context of all of this vilification and rhetoric that is disconnected from reality. Do you... You mentioned the coffees with the congresswoman, which I'm obsessed with,

because, one, I think that women do these things more than men do. And so I'm just curious if over the past, you know, two years since you've been in office, do you notice a change in the tone of them? Like, what are people's, what are the issues that pop up the most? And do you feel like in this really divisive political system that maybe people are a bit more unified or are they more sort of antagonistic? So to answer your first question about what you hear in the most, I hear about

gun violence the most. And unfortunately, I'm hearing it from constituents as young as nine. And that's really hard for me as somebody who has a seven-year-old to see a child not much older than my son ask me what I'm going to do to help him be more safe in his school. But I also hear from moms and dads. I mean, that is a unifying issue that I heard overwhelmingly over the last couple of weeks.

The other piece, though, is that the divisive piece. I have to tell you that my constituents, the thing that they're most grateful when I mention that I've done is they're most grateful that I can tell them that based on an outside organization, I've been named the seventh most bipartisan member of Congress and the number one most effective member of the freshman class of 50 members. And it doesn't matter what our political positions are on a variety of issues, because we don't always agree 100% of the time. They just want to know that there's somebody up there representing them who's willing to work

with other people to get things done. So you probably just heard us talking about Democrats in 2018 and trying to figure out as you run your races, how much of the race is about President Trump, is about tying your opponent to President Trump, is about even talking about impeachment or not your opponent to President Trump, is about even talking about impeachment or not. How do you sort of navigate, you know, trying to talk about what

you're for and what you want to do for your constituents with talking about how, you know, the opponent you may be running against may be supporting Donald Trump? I think based on my experience that the most successful path is to find candidates that fit their district and run on issues that are important to their district. And I'll give you the example. When I got into this race at the end of June of 2016, I was polling down 22%, and I had 6% name ID. And let's be honest, that's just because everybody knows a Murphy, but not necessarily me. name ID. And let's be honest, that's just because everybody knows a Murphy, but not necessarily me.

And so, but I went out there and I talked about, you know, change and jobs, security and equality. And that matters to this district. And now I'm living into, you know, delivering actual legislation that supports those things. And I think when you look at a Conor Lamb or some of the other folks who have won these upsets, it's because they fit their district. Last question. You were a first-time candidate just two years ago. We have so many first-time candidates this time around, more women running for office than ever before. What's your advice to some of those younger, first-time candidates? So I wear this ring on my right hand, and I call it my courage ring. And my husband gave me this ring the night of the elections,

before the returns came in. And he's sitting in the wings right now listening. But he gave me the ring, and he said to me, this is a ring to commemorate the fact that you had the courage to try. And I think that that's the advice I'd give everybody is, like, have the courage to try, to go do that audacious thing that you're not sure what

the end result is going to be, but know that the path to doing it is worth it. That's great. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you. And would you mind sticking around for a game? Yes, let's do it. All right, we've got a game. Okay.

Yeah. Thank you so much, Congresswoman, for agreeing to be part of a game. You have a card in front of you. Would somebody out there like to play a game tonight? Hi. Hi, what's your name? I'm Kelly. Kelly.

Is she wearing merch? Yes, I am. I can barely see it, but good. Kelly. It's well-worn. Okay, good. Yes. So, Governor Rick Scott, your governor,

and also happens to be the estranged father of Carter Page, is very likely running for Senate against sitting Democratic Senator Bill Nelson. This may surprise you, but we at Crooked Media would prefer Rick Scott not get elected to the Senate because he's a right-wing ideologue whose policies hurt Florida and the country. That's why tonight we want to play a game called We Would Prefer Rick Scott Did Not Get Elected to the Senate because he's a right-wing ideologue whose policies hurt Florida and the country. Kelly, are you ready to play the game? Yes, I am.

Question number one. Love it. We haven't mentioned Marco Rubio once tonight. I know, we forgot to talk about Marco Rubio. That guy sucks! I know, we forgot to talk about Marco Rubio. That guy sucks! Marco Rubio wanted to be here tonight.

But he also didn't want to be here tonight. And then he also had no opinion on whether or not he should be here tonight. And actually, he doesn't get enough credit for what he used to think about whether or not he wanted to be here tonight. And the weirdest thing is, he tells people in Florida he wanted to be here tonight, but then in D.C. he says the exact fucking opposite. I want to apologize to Congresswoman Murphy. Thank you for the generosity of spirit to be on stage

for this part. Kelly, enough dawdling. Where are you from in Florida? I live in Longwood, just north of Orlando. What do you do in Florida? I am a stay-at-home mom. Great.

How many kids do you have? Just one. Just one kid? A boy or a girl? Boy. He's just six weeks old. This is my first time away. Six weeks old!

So this is like a night out. Oh, yeah. This is my first night away from him. And someone's watching him, I assume. Oh, yeah. His dad is watching him. You're a new mom. I just, I don't know.

Rick Scott's... Question number one. Kelly. Rick Scott's political career has been defined by his opposition to Obamacare, but polls show that a majority of Floridians would rather keep or expand the law, not repeal it. This has put your governor in a tough spot. Which of the following describes the governor's actions on health care? Is it A, after the death of his mother in 2013,

he said that the painful and personal experience led him to change his mind and support the Medicaid expansion in Obamacare? Is it B? Two years later, he changed his mind again, single-handedly denying health care to one million Floridians, which would have been paid for by the federal government, not Florida. I want to pause and say that that line reading was terrific. There's all caps in that section.

Thank you. Is it C? While he was refusing the federal money for you, his for-profit hospital company paid $1.7 billion in fines for defrauding Medicare. Or was it D? All of the above. Because the only thing Rick Scott hates more than Obamacare

is facing the political consequences of that position when it actually hurts people he is supposed to serve. I'm going to have to go with D. It is D, Kelly. Thank you. You make her a lot. Question number two.

During Rick Scott's response to Hurricane Irma, he famously did what? Is it A, sat for two hours whispering to a dolphin until a single tear ran down his cheek? We are part of the world, and the world is part of us, he said. Is it B? Drove his yacht out into the storm, tying himself to the mast and screaming, if you want Florida, you have to get past me first.

Is it C? Deleted voicemail messages from the nursing home where 14 elderly people died after they lost electricity in the storm. Oh, that was a tough one. I just... Every time I hear that one... I know. It's tough. Is it D?

Claim that the only way to stop a hurricane is to repeal Obamacare. I think it's C. It is C. They deleted the voicemails. Kelly, bonus question. What is Rick Scott's position on climate change? Oh.

That is correct. He used to deny climate change. Now he evades the question. He refuses to have an opinion, quickly changes the subject, even though before Irma, he repeatedly acknowledged that he was worried about the storm being unprecedented. Question number three, Kelly. Rick Scott has recently tried to distance himself from Trump

as he plans his Senate run. Scott refused to say if he'd want Trump to campaign for him and asked if Trump would help other Republicans, said, you'd have to ask them. But Scott used to be one of Trump's biggest supporters. How far was Scott willing to go for his buddy? Was it A,

volunteered to be a groundskeeper at Mar-a-Lago? Was it B, pretends to be bald even though he has a full, luxuriant head of hair to make the big guy look better? Is it C? Chair to pro-Trump super PAC was one of Trump's earliest endorsements, and even though

Rubio and Jeb were still in the race for an op-ed before the Florida primary called Donald Trump Has America's Pulse. I think I heard Jeb booing. He said, please clap. Please boo, please boo. Or was it D? Over and over again, let Trump win at golf, but not like by too much.

Scott even took the lead a few times, but always botched it on the last hole, even adding, wow, you beat me again, Mr. President. What a closer. I'm so embarrassed. What a specimen you are. What a man. I think so embarrassed. What a specimen you are. What a man. I think he's probably done D but the answer is C.

Correct. You're good. Kelly, you're crushing it. What's your son's name? Asher. Asher. That's a nice name? Asher. Asher. That's a nice name. Thank you.

You never know what names you'll get these days, you know? Question. I became my grandfather. Question four. Rick Scott has been governor since 2010. Don't boo time. Which of the following, Kelly, will go down in history as his signature achievement? Is it A.

Rick Scott turned down $2.4 billion in federal funds to build high-speed rail systems in Florida, angering Republicans and Democrats. Was it B? Was it C? Was it D? Was it D? More inmates have been executed under Rick Scott than any other governor in the history of Florida. Was it E? Rick Scott reduced unemployment benefits in average wages,

declined in Florida compared to the rest of the country. The percentage of the Florida population living in poverty has increased. Was it F? Rick Scott somehow managed to increase the state budget by over $10 billion while still cutting 10,000 jobs from the state workforce Was it G? Rick Scott actually signed a law that prevents doctors from talking about gun ownership with their patients Was it H?

Rick Scott outsourced prisons to his political donors Was it I? Rick Scott cut funding for people with disabilities and education Was it J? Florida Department of Environmental Protection employees revealed that under Scott's watch, they were ordered not to use the words global warming or climate change in any official communications. And instead of, quote unquote, sea level rise, they were ordered to say, get this, nuisance flooding. Or Kelly, was it Kay?

A protester in Florida yelled at him in a Starbucks, and it made Rick Scott... Patriot saint of Orlando. A protester in Florida yelled at him in a Starbucks, and it made Rick Scott so sad and angry that he spent thousands of dollars airing an attack ad against this constituent. I think it's all of the above.

Kelly, you got it. You have won. We would prefer if Rick Scott did not get elected to the Senate because he's a right-wing ideologue whose policies hurt Florida and the country. So you get a parachute gift card.

Everybody, give it up for Kelly, a new mom. And everybody, a round of applause for Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for playing. Thank you for all that you're doing. Really appreciate it. Orlando, you've been wonderful. Thank you so so much thank you to Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy thank you guys Outro Music