The Daily Signal - From RNC: Congressman Says GOP Will Be Ready This Time If Republicans Wins Presidency and Congress

Episode Date: July 16, 2024

With the election less than four months away, a lot can happen, but Rep. Andy Ogles says he’s confident Republicans can win back the presidency and the Senate, and retain control of the House in November. “And as Republicans, we're going to win the White House. They're going to win the Senate. We're going to increase our majority in the House of Representatives,” Ogles, R-Tenn., said in an interview with “The Daily Signal Podcast” on Monday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. During the 115th Congress from 2016 to 2018, Republicans controlled the House and the Senate, and after January of 2017, Donald Trump was president, and yet the accomplishments of the 115th Congress were disappointing to many conservatives. But Ogles says Republicans are more prepared to implement a conservative agenda today than they were back then. “We're having those tough conversations today, so that when we get into that first 100 days, that we have a plan, we have a message, it's been tested, it's been debated,” the Tennessee lawmaker says. Listen to Ogles' full interview discussion of the election, the assassination attempt on Trump, and the former president’s latest legal victory on “The Daily Signal Podcast." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Tuesday, July 16th. I'm Virginia Allen coming to you from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The convention kicked off on Monday and it runs through Thursday. We have a large team from the Daily Signal here. And there are hundreds of lawmakers here that are discussing the policy issues that are on the minds of Americans. And they're talking about what is the path forward. I had the opportunity to sit down with Tennessee, Congressman, and. Ogles to talk about that very thing. But we begin our conversation by talking about the significant ruling that federal district judge Eileen Cannon issued on Monday morning dismissing Trump's classified document case. We also take a moment to discuss how significant that assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump was on Saturday and how that assassination attempt is going to change the tone of things here at the Republican National Convention this week. Stay tuned. for my conversation with Congressman Ogles after this. This is Rob Bluey from The Daily Signal.

Looking for a podcast that cuts through the noise and delivers honest, truthful, and conservative perspectives, check out the Daily Signal podcast. Each weekday, we bring you interviews with policymakers on the issues that matter most. From breaking down complex legislation to exposing media bias, we're committed to giving you the facts that you won't hear from the establishment media. Subscribe now to the Daily Signal podcast. on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

We are here at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it is my honor to be joined by Congressman Ogles from Tennessee. Congressman, thank you so much for our time day. I really appreciate you being with us. Oh, absolutely. It's an honor to be here, and thank you. Well, we got some really big news Monday morning. We learned that federal district judge, Eileen Cannon, has dismissed the classified document case against former president Donald Trump.

This is the case that special counsel Jack Smith brought against the former president, claiming that the president had retained classified documents after leaving office. Why did Judge Cannon dismiss this case? Well, so, you know, let's take a step back for a moment. So I was one of the members of Congress that traveled to New York to be with the president in the courtroom to show support for the president. And what you've seen across this country is, you know, we have a two-tier justice system. You know, you have the sham trial in New York and Georgia and now Florida.

and where they're going after Trump because of who he is. And an AOC in her own words, so not my words, not your words. She said that the New York trial was an ankle bracelet around Donald Trump's leg. Why? Because they don't want him on the campaign trail. Because they know Joe Biden can't win. They know they're going to lose. And so you want to talk about election interference?

You're seeing it play out in these court cases across the country. And so kudos to the judge for dismissing this case. Joe Biden had documented. in his garage on that measure alone, you should dismiss it. Because if you're going to go after Donald Trump, you have to go after Joe Biden. But I think this is one of the many issues facing America today is that our Constitution, the rule of law is built on this idea that justice is blind. And they're persecuting Donald Trump.

That's not justice, right? It's political retribution. And we've got to fix that. And as Republicans, we're going to win the White House. We're going to win the Senate. We're going to increase our majority. in the House of Representatives. And as we go forward, it can't be about retribution. It's got to be the pursuit of justice and restoring faith in the process. Judge Cannon, she looked at this case,

and she was specifically looking at special counsel Jack Smith. And it was on those grounds related to Jack Smith that she decided, hey, we're going to throw this case out. Talk a little bit more about that. And if you would also address, how big of a win is this for Trump? Well, I think it's one of those, you know, is it a victory? It's a victory incentive. in a sense that he was proven right. He was exonerated. But, I mean, what you've seen is Jack Smith going out there on a personal vendetta. He went above and beyond, if you will, to try to put this case together.

And so you have to look at the motivations of the individual, and clearly his were tainted. And so with that, the judge did the right thing. And so, you know, we've had members. You have what's called the Holman rule where you can target an individual. So William Holman, a very long time ago, created this process where if you have a member of the administration that's not following their oath of office, you could target their salary. And so we've tried that in the House. Obviously, the Senate would never take it up. But that being said, kudos to the judge.

But I think ultimately what we have to get to is, you know, there are moments in time that really matter. You know, I have a dream moment, you know, tear down this wall, right? You now have this speech by Donald Trump post an assassination attempt. The question now was where do we go forward from here? 9-11. People, there was fear. There was uncertainty. And there was this question of where do we go from here.

Donald Trump, an attempted assassination of any individual, but a president of the United States is significant. It can't be just waived off. And so there's fear out there. There's tension out there. And people are concerned. And Donald Trump, I believe, is going to deliver a message of unity and a vision for what America. is and should be as we go forward. And part of that is the America of our founding fathers where you are free to be you,

where you're not persecuted because of your conservative political beliefs, that I'm not persecuted for my conservative political beliefs. And I think our founding fathers, if they could look at this moment in time, would be horrified. And as we go forward, whether it's the fentanyl crisis, whether it's the flooded open border, where it's the 12, 13, and 14-year-old girls being raped by illegals all over the country, whether it's inflation, whether it's the prices at the grocery store.

People are hurting. They're scared, and they want solutions. The Democrat Party has failed America. They have failed. And that's not debatable. They have failed America. And the Republican Party, President Donald Trump, is about to offer it, deliver a message of a future that's better. Were you better off before Joe Biden?

Yes, you were. When we take back the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, there's a bright light ahead, and it's not a train. it's the future and it's hope. Congressman, I'm excited that you brought out of those policy issues. We're going to dig into some of those here just in a second. But we know that former President Donald Trump, he's here in Milwaukee. We're excited to hear him give a main stage address on Thursday.

And after that assassination attempt, you know, Americans were so shocked just to see the moment that we're at. And I think individuals were also very interested to see Trump's response in that moment. and also to see that he said, you know, I considered delaying coming to the RNC, but I decided I'm not going to let one individual interfere with my plans. I'm coming. I'm sticking to the plan. How do you think that attempted assassination on Trump's life is going to change the atmosphere here at the Republican National Convention this week?

Oh, well, you know, there's a lot of excitement. Obviously, there's some tension. There's certainly heightened security. But I mean, I think the president is right that you can't let the actions of one individual. When you look at the mind of a terrorist, what they want to do is obviously inflict harm. But they're also trying to impact the psyche of those that they're targeting. And so I can't speak to the motivations of this individual, but clearly there is an intended impact. And so, I mean, even personally, my wife is here with me as we had that conversation.

Do we go? Do you go? And ultimately what we decided is, like I said before, we're together, we're stronger together, when we stand together, like after 9-11, like after this moment. And so for my wife and I, we're stronger together. You know, coming here, unified and sending a message to the American people that, yes, there's a moment in time that we wish wouldn't have happened, this attempted assassination. But the world is going to keep moving, and we're going to lead and push through this.

And so I think his reaction, I mean, look, here's a man who had just been shot. You know, it had his head been turned, so he slightly turned his head. And in that moment, it grazed his ear. And if you've seen the diagram, had he not turned ever so slightly, I think that was a God moment. I think it was providential. I mean, ever so slightly, just a slight adjustment. And instead of taking out the back of his head, it grazed his ear.

And the Secret Service take him to the ground as they should have. Now, there's a whole separate conversation about the mistakes they made prior to. But then he stands up and says, I will not be defeated. I'm going to fight for this country. The country, the republic is broken because of Joe Biden. And what they saw in that moment was leadership and strength. You know why Russia didn't attack Ukraine when Trump was in office because of leadership and strength? You know why you didn't have upheaval in Haiti?

Because Trump represented leadership and strength. You didn't have the saber-rattling China, Taiwan. You didn't have Nigerians, all the other places around the world that are inflamed at the moment. And so Hamas, Israel, Iran, we need. leadership. And you have a president, the current president, Biden, and I'm not trying to be rude here, but he gets lost in the Rose Garden. He has to be helped off his stage. I literally had a personal conversation with him at the state of the union. I was the first Republican that he spoke to as he walked in the room. And as I'm having this conversation, the lights were on, but there was nobody home.

He was struggling to have a personal conversation with me. He couldn't connect. If I asked him a statement, a question that was compound, in other words, there's two parts to it. He could only process the part of the question. That's a problem when that's the leader of the free world. The world knows, America knows that Joe Biden is weak. And now what they see and what they knew already, but now they know it for sure, is that President Trump is the leader of the free world and he's going to be the next president. Well, just like yourself, there are so many members of Congress, Republican leaders who are here in Milwaukee this week to dive into the issues and talk about these things that you have raised. what are we doing when it comes to the economy?

How are we protecting our kids? What is the path forward for our country? And one of the ways that you are seeking to lead is through the House Freedom Caucus. You currently serve as a member there, and your hope, your goal is to lead that caucus. Oh, well, to be clear, so I'll set the stage for you. Yeah, please. So we have a chairman who I support, and, you know, I think there's no reason why he can't fulfill his current term. so I've made that clear.

But last week, I think it was Wednesday, the days have kind of blurred together. About 10.30 in the evening, a reporter reaches out and says, we just want to confirm that you've launched your campaign to be chairman of the Freedom Caucus. And I was like, what? News to me. So, like, back up for a moment, what are you talking about? And so all that to say is, you know, there have been some conversations. I can't speak to those.

And my name has been mentioned, but we have a lot of great individuals, members of Congress, leaders in the Freedom Caucus, any one of those individuals be more than capable of serving as chairman, would I be interested in doing it, of course. But, you know, that's a little premature. I mean, it's kind of like the Oscars, you know, it's an honor to be nominated, right? But the fact that other members of the Freedom Caucus would even mention my name, because I'm a freshman.

You know, I was elected to the board as a freshman, which was obviously a deep honor. You know, I tend to be outspoken. You know, I'm ranked the fourth most conservative member of Congress. I try to be polite along the way, you know, kind of come from the South, you know. But that being said is whatever we do going forward, we'll do it together. Again, we are stronger, the Freedom Caucus. We are stronger as a unit when we have a cohesive message. And I think that's what you're going to see here, not only out of the Freedom Caucus,

the Republican Caucus, but also President Trump. And I keep coming back to that because this is a monumental moment. Look, everybody, a lot of people would have been paying attention to this convention this week anyway, right? It's a big deal. There's some excitement, curiosity about who the vice president is going to be, right? But now you have this assassination attempt. My guess, this will be one of the historically the most watched conventions in recent history, in modern history, right? And so, you know, in fact, just before, you know, the president was shot, I had left him a voicemail. And so there's like, had gotten on a flight, I'd left him a voicemail, had a quick meeting, got on a plane, got on a plane,

and when I landed, that's when the news broke. And so there's that surreal moment of, you know, just moments ago or a few hours ago, I was reaching out to the president, and here we have. And, of course, my phone is blowing up? And you're trying to figure out what happened. Is he okay? I'm with my daughter, so I'm reassuring her because she's picked up her phone now, right? And so you look at the impact that this has on the psyche of Americans on our children.

And what President Trump has done by moving forward, by standing up and giving us that fist, you know, pump, you know, whatever. He went golfing the next day. He flew in, right? And so he got here early. He's having his meetings. He's going to show unity. I'm excited.

I think America's going to be excited about his vice presidential choice. I'll say, you know, more. I'm not going to weigh in on that at all. But that being said is we have an opportunity, right, to seize the day. And those policy issues like House Bill 1, which is Steve Scalise's energy package, which makes us energy independent, you know, going forward. That's important in that first 100 days. House Bill 2, which is our plan to secure the border,

make sure that you're safe, that your daughter's safe, that no longer 12, 13, and 14-year-old girls being raped by illegals. And that's what you've got to understand is you have people coming into this country where back home it's normal. Well, it's not normal, right? And I have a piece of legislation that makes it that crime of targeting a child. If you're an illegal, you're now eligible for the death penalty. penalty. Why? Because we've got to send a message that we're going to pick Americans first.

It's our country. We get to decide who comes in. We also get to decide who has to leave. Congressman, a moment ago, you said you're optimistic that Republicans will control the House, the Senate, and the executive branch. If that happens, I think it is a moment, of course, for Republicans to get a lot done. Americans are thinking, though, back to 2016, 2017, 2018. those first two years for the Trump administration when Republicans controlled both chambers and, of course, also the executive. And there was a lot of disappointment in those two years that Republicans didn't accomplish more. What would be different if, again, Republicans gain control? No, fantastic question.

I think when you look back at that last election, there wasn't this anticipation that Trump was going to win. And so that first 100 days really didn't start until 200 or so days in. So there was this lost time, right? I would argue that Trump and his team have learned a lot from that first term. And so, you know, one might ask, so why would the House Republicans pass House Bill 1 or House Bill 2 dealing with energy and immigration? Because we're having those tough conversations today so that when we get into that first 100 days that we have a plan. Yeah. Like we have a message.

It's been tested. It's been debated. You know, you look at John Quincy Adams. he was a house member, a senator, he was a president in the United States, he was an ambassador, and he retired to the House. Why? Because the House of Representatives is the people's house. It's where you debate and argue, right? But you're doing the people's work. And so what you're seeing in the House under Mike Johnson's leadership is we're pushing forward with legislative ideas, we're arguing and debating amongst ourselves. So when we get to that first hundred days,

I think the expectations of the American people, when we have all three, and I firmly believe we will, are going to be incredibly high. So that means you have to deliver, right? If you're the guy or the gal and you're the fastest on the racetrack, they expect you to perform. And when we get into January, there's going to be the expectation that Republicans, the president, the Senate,

and the House of Representatives, we've got to deliver on these messages that we're putting forward today. And they're not just messages, their solutions, because this is a pocketbook election. Like, I come from a working class family, right? You know, we weren't wealthy. We're not wealthy. And so when groceries are 30, 40, and 50% higher and you're a single mom and you're

trying to put food on the table and you're working two jobs, you're that individual and you're on a fixed income, that 30% matters, right? Not to mention your rent's just gone up or your ability. I mean, the American dream of buying a home and having that little picket fence or whatever your dream is is now unattatable for so many Americans. Why? Because of interest rates in the economy. And so the American dream is literally under Joe Biden slipping away.

And so we've got to restore it. Part of it is we've got to be the true leader of the free world. We've got to send the message to China and to Russia and to other bad actors like Iran that, all right, we're home. No more shenanigans. No more bad behavior. And in doing so, that gives us time to focus on the economy. Look, we are, you know, when you look at our economy, the U.S. as it pertains to the global economy, you know, we are the reserve currency.

We're the reserve destination for investment. Why? Part of it is our, we don't have adversarial neighbors to our north or south, Canada, Mexico. We have these rather large ponds on either side of us, right? The Atlantic and the Pacific. And so geographically, we have this boundary, this protection that India, Pakistan, as I talk with my hands, might forgive me. or you look at Poland or Germany and the adversary relationship with Germany, or Russia, rather. And so we have an opportunity, a moment in time, and always like in the U.S. economy and our country, quite frankly, to the Titanic, we're on a course. And as you look forward, there's a collision ahead. Whether that collision is the immigration crisis, whether that collision is the debt burden that we're taking on, whatever, whatever you're,

perceive it to be, we have time to correct course, right? So unlike the Titanic, is we see the collision ahead, and we have a leader in Donald Trump, in Mike Johnson, and whoever the Senate leader is going to be, to correct course and to save the Republican, look, why would I run for office, right? I was the county executive back home, well, presumably well-liked in my community, right? You know, I got to go home and be with, on our farm and with the three kids and my wife every day. Why would I leave that to go to Washington, D.C., and it's to fight. for my children's future. Because the America I grew up in does no longer exist.

The America that you grew up and no longer exists. And I wish that was just hyperbole or that it was just rhetoric, but it's not. It's not. And we've got to get back to family values, traditional values. Like, you get to be you, right, but I get to be me. You know, the folks in California, we're a republic of free states. They have a right to be liberal. But that means in Tennessee, I have a right to be conservative.

I have a right to be religious. I have a right to love my country. And I have a right to say enough is enough. Congressman, looping back to your comments on the economy, the national debt is a huge issue. And I've been polling some friends and family that knew I was going to be here. And they said, hey, you know,

there's been a lot of conversations about the national debt. It's currently over $34 trillion. And there's a lot of conversations. And I think everyone agrees this is a problem. But yet we haven't seen much action when it comes to the national debt. How are Republicans going to address an issue that, quite frankly, might lead to some not-as-popular policies?

Because addressing the national debt, when push comes to shove, that's a hard thing to do. And there's some pain there. So when you look at the economy, a lot of it is on autopilot. So just to simplify it, it's spending that is going to occur. So when you look at Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, those kinds of things. So when you're looking about, and we'll just use round numbers, roughly 75%. So it leaves you roughly 25% of what would be considered discretionary, give or take, right? Of that, you have defense spending.

So I think most people in this environment where Iran is attacking Israel and you have the Houthis and Hezbollah and Hamas and all the things going on there. When you have the Russian-Ukraine conflict, when you have China making moves towards. towards Taiwan, like defense spending is probably not going to be cut. And I think most Americans should think that the homeland should be safe. And so now you're getting to down maybe 15% of the budget. So cutting our way out of it, that's going to have a marginal or very little small impact. So what's the plan? Part of it is we have to grow the economy.

So I'm not going to quote Dr. Laffer. So there are three largest tax cuts in American history where Kennedy, Reagan and Trump. Dr. Laffer was the author of two of those, both Reagan and Trump's. But his theory would be that onboarding debt or taking on new debt should be proportioned to your income. The problem we've had historically is that we take on way too much debt and not enough revenue. And so what's the simple solution, right? Like if you want to buy a bigger house, but it's out of your financial reach, you have to increase your income. Or maybe you're spending too much and you have to cut your bills. I think we have to do a little of both.

I think we have to cut where we can. In some cases, it may be painful. But if we have policies that make America grow again, right? If we have policies that restore us as the energy leader of the free world, right? If we have policies that are pro-business that allows companies to grow and to invest in communities and create jobs and incomes are going up, those are the things that's the path forward look we didn't get here overnight and we're not going to get out of it overnight but the thing is the important underlying factor is we've got to have a plan and under joe biden we haven't had a plan arguably under past leadership we haven't had a plan but going forward under donald trump under mike johnson we have plans so we're looking at what does a 10-year cycle look like

what does that 10-year budget look like as we go forward over the years where can we cut where can we save money where can we look there's a lot of woke and waste in the federal government where can we dial that back i mean at the end of the day like you know your your child needs shoes or maybe they need tuition for college and you can't increase your income you look at ways of cutting out the waste in your own budget right that's that's what everyday americans are facing all day every day the federal government has to do the same look in tennessee we have to pass a balanced budget and i'm guessing if you ask your listeners they think that America at some point should be passing a balanced budget as well. Excellent. Congressman, thank you for your time and enjoy the rest of your time here at the

R&C in Milwaukee. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. And with that, that's going to do it for today's show. Thanks so much for joining us here on the Daily Signal podcast. If you have another chance, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on new shows. And this week especially, make sure that you are following the Daily Signal across social media platforms, that you're following our websites who are not missing out on any of the content from the Republican National Convention from Milwaukee. We are going to be bringing you essentially to the ground. We want you to feel like you're here. We're going to be your hands and feet here. You can get a real feel for what's happening. And also make sure that you check out Top News because we're going to be

bringing you updates from the Republican National Convention all week during Top News. So catch that episode around 5 p.m. every week day. Thanks again for joining us here on the Daily Signal podcast. We'll see you right back here, around five, for top news. The Daily Signal podcast is made possible because of listeners like you. Executive producers are Rob Lewy and Katrina Trinco. Hosts are Virginia Allen, Brian Gottstein, Tyler O'Neill, Mary Margaret O'Lehand, and Elizabeth Mitchell. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, John Pop, and Joseph Von Spakovsky.

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