The Daily Signal - White House Official Alyssa Farah Reflects on Key Moments of Trump Presidency

Episode Date: October 28, 2020

Alyssa Farah, the White House's strategic communications director, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss President Donald Trump’s leadership over the past four years and share some of her experiences working closely with him. She is proud to serve alongside the commander in chief, Farah says, because she knows that “every day, President Trump gets up and says, ‘What can I do to better this country and serve the American people?’” We also cover these stories: Trump's political opponents call for new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett to recuse herself from cases related to the 2020 election. Rioters injure 30 police officers in Philadelphia after the fatal shooting by police of Walter Wallace, a 27-year-old black man. Activists on the left pressure Democrats to expand the Supreme Court.  Enjoy the show! 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 Wednesday, October 28th. I'm Kate Trinco. And I'm Virginia Allen. Today, White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah joins us to look back over President Trump's four years in office and to discuss what the president has done to strengthen the U.S. economy, fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and uphold his promise to appoint constitutionalist federal judges. And if you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star ratings on Apple Podcasts, and please encourage others to subscribe. Now, onto our top news. Should new Justice Amy Coney-Barritt recuse herself from cases related to the 2020 election?

Currently, the deadline date for Pennsylvania ballots is the focus of a heated legal case, and one Pennsylvania County thinks Barrett shouldn't have any say on the outcome. According to the Hill, Luzerne County Board of Elections wrote, The nomination and confirmation of a Supreme Court justice this close to a presidential election is unprecedented. As concerning as that is, what is even more troubling is the language President Trump has used in consideration of this nomination, linking it directly to the electoral season at hand with implications for his own re-election. The county board is asking Barrett to recuse herself from the case, which concerns what is the last day for mail-in ballots to arrive in Pennsylvania and still be counted. The left is calling for the expansion of the Supreme Court.

Following the vote to confirm Amy Coney-Barrant to the Supreme Court, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, tweeted, expand the court and added that Republicans should not bully the public into thinking their bowl. dozing is normal, but a response isn't. There is a legal process for expansion. In a letter signed by 21 Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, wrote, this court is illegitimate and must not be allowed to wreak misery on millions of Americans in service of a far-right minority and their corporate backers. Congressional Democrats must end the filibuster and pass legislation to expand the court. Should he win, Joe Biden must sign it into law. Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not dismiss the notion to pack the courts. Should we expand

the court? Well, let's take a look and see, Pelosi said to MSNBC. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, called the left's rhetoric, nothing new. And the same old threats in intimidation by the hard left, per Fox News. A federal judge has ruled that President Trump can't be defended by the Justice Department in a case related to defamation. The case, put forward by E. Jean Carroll, who was accused Trump of sexual assault, says Trump's denial of it last year amounts to defamation. The simple truth is that President Trump defamed our client because she was brave enough

to reveal that he had sexually assaulted her and that brutal, personal attack cannot be attributed to the office of the president, said Carol's lawyer, per USA Today. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote, also per USA Today, the undisputed facts demonstrate that President Trump was not acting in furtherance of any duties owed to any arguable employer when he made the statements at issue. His comments concerned an alleged sexual assault that took place several decades before he took office, and the allegations have no relationship. to the official business of the United States. To conclude otherwise would require the court to adopt a view that virtually everything the

president does is within the public interest by virtue of his office. The government has provided no support for that theory, and the court rejects it as too expansive. Violent riots broke out in Philadelphia Monday night after police shot and killed Walter Wallace, a 27-year-old black man. Late Monday afternoon, police responded to her report about a man with a knife. A video of the incident shows a chaotic scene in a West Philadelphia neighborhood. The two officers shouted at Wallace to drop the knife before opening fire. Wallace's father, Walter Wallace Sr., told the inquire that his son had mental health issues.

Rioters took to the streets of Philadelphia clashing with police and looting several businesses in the city. 30 officers were injured in the conflict, including one officer whose leg was broken when he was reportedly struck by a pickup truck. 30 arrests were made. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said the shooting is a tragic incident, and it presents difficult questions that must be answered. About two-thirds of Americans now know someone who has had COVID-19, according to a new poll from NBC News and Survey Monkey. The poll found that 68% of Americans know someone who has had the coronavirus. And what do people think should happen? Well, bit over half or 53% think businesses are reopening too quickly.

Well, 43% are concerned that businesses are opening too slowly. Next up, we'll have Virginia's interview with White House Communications Director, Alyssa Farrow. Do you have an interest in public policy? Do you want to hear some of the biggest names in American politics speak? Every day, the Heritage Foundation host webinars called Heritage Events Live. Webinar topics range from ethics during the COVID-19 pandemic to the CARES Act and the economy. These webinars are free and open to the public. To find the latest webinars and register, visit heritage.org slash events.

I am joined by White House Communications Director, Alyssa Farah. Alyssa, welcome to the Daily Signal podcast. Great to be with you. Thanks so much for having me. So, Alyssa, President Trump came into office with a bold plan to strengthen America's economy and cut taxes for all Americans. And of course, COVID-19 has had a major impact on our economy. And we're going to talk a little bit more about the virus in just a minute. But up until March of this year, explain what economic development we saw under the Trump administration. Yeah, that's a great question. So under President Trump, we saw the hottest economy in modern history, and it was a result of a deregulatory agenda, the tax cuts that he and Republicans Hill helped usher through, as well as just looking at the economy from a free market perspective where we're eliminating barriers to business to be able to do their work. And so we were in a position where virtually every people group was seeing some of the record low. unemployment. So women, African-Americans, Hispanic, record low unemployment, college-educated, non-college-educated because of this inclusive economy and diverse economy that was created by this

president. It was also diverse in terms of the industries that were thriving. So the previous administration, you know, President Obama famously said you'd have to wave a wand to bring back manufacturing, meaning manufacturing in the U.S. is dead. It's an outdated industry. But in fact, it thrived under President Trump's leadership. And of course, as you noted in February of this year, the virus came into the country, and that changed sort of our trajectory. We had to shut down the economy for a period. But what we did, you know, A saved countless lives, and that's always first and foremost

the most important thing. But then secondarily, we took steps to ensure that once we got the economy back open, which we are doing now, we're in a position to, trend toward growth. Well, and the president, he did say that that was one of the hardest decisions that he's ever had to make was that decision to close part of the U.S. economy because of the pandemic. So, you know, what is it going to take in order for America to return to the place of economic prosperity that we did find ourselves in before the pandemic? Yeah, that's a great question. Absolutely. It was a very tough decision to make. The president was faced with the facts of,

look, doing a temporary lockdown, we hate to use that word, but it is what we did, could save American lives. And with that, he knew that was the right decision to make. But as we put in place the guidelines for reopening America, which gave state and local authorities sort of provisions to follow to be able to safely open industries, schools, you know, medical facilities, et cetera, we've started moving toward reopen. And frankly, a lot of our country is not fully reopened yet. this is something the president regularly notes. Pennsylvania, Michigan, for example, are not fully reopened. So a lot of the economic national numbers we're seeing will reflect that. So we are really hoping to get to a place where we can safely get people back into the workforce. If we're doing

the mitigation tactics with COVID, if we're wearing masks, we're socially distancing, we're following hygiene protocols, we believe that we should get our country fully reopened and help just stimulate this economy. I mean, millions of Americans who are impacted by the virus were also impacted by loss of wages, loss of work, or kids out of school that requires, you know, a parent to stay home and not be working because they have to be home with the child. It's really kind of an unprecedented crisis that our country found itself in, but because of the president's leadership, he's put us on a trajectory where our country is close to fully reopened, we are rounding the corner on the virus, and we're hoping.

that first quarter of next year will really be a record one in terms of growth and in terms of low unemployment for Americans. If you would, just take us inside the walls of the White House for a moment. I mean, President Trump has had to make some really challenging decisions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. What has it been like to be working in the administration during this time? Yeah, absolutely. So to me, one of the most notable moments of the, of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. and the most significant in terms of the president's leadership was the early decision to stop travel from China.

So at that time, I was actually serving in a different role in the administration. I was the Pentagon Press Secretary. And I remember when we got the notice from the White House that we would be stopping all travel from China except repatriating U.S. citizens, people were shocked, four-star generals who, you know, have served for decades because it's really unprecedented for America to do this. But the president took this decisive action when confronted with the potential loss of life

and acted without hesitation. I genuinely can't think of another living politician who would have been as decisive on such a life-saving matter as that decision. But then moving forward, as we then move on to stopping some travel from Europe and to putting in place the 15 days to slow the spread, then the 30 days. and a widespread public health awareness campaign to help stop the spread of the virus. I came over here to serve at the White House.

And what I can tell you is the president's sort of businessman ingenuity and enterprise that he thinks through, that lens that he thinks through, is key toward getting our country to where it is now, but to an even better place looking forward. So what I mean by that, for example, we stood up Operation Warp Speed early on in the virus. So what that does is it basically has the military, the private sector, and our public health officials work together in coordination to safely develop an effective vaccine and then work with the military to be able to mass distribute it once we reach one. So in the coming weeks, we're optimistic we may have a safe and effective vaccine ready for market. And because of the efforts of Operation Warp Speed, we'll be able to almost immediately deploy it to about 50 million Americans. early January, likely to 100 millions and so on in the month ahead after that. So that's a tremendous,

just forward-looking, sort of unique to Donald Trump way of addressing something like this that I worry previous more bureaucratic administrations wouldn't have had that forethought in the idea that we should work with the private sector. So listen, I mean, the country is still in the midst of the pandemic. We can't get complacent. We still have to follow protocols. But we are, I can say this. We are in the best place to date to treat people who are affected by it through therapeutics. And soon we'll be in a place where the majority of the population, especially the most vulnerable, can be vaccinated. Well, so thank you. That's great. I want to shift gears just for a moment and talk a little bit about an issue that we have all been watching unfold in the news over the past couple of weeks. And that is now Justice Amy Coney Barrett. And we all saw on Monday night that she was swears.

sworn in to become the third Supreme Court justice to be confirmed under President Trump's leadership. What principles have governed Trump's decision on his picks? That's a great question. We were all thrilled to witness history at the White House, seeing the swearing in of now Justice Amy Coney-Barrant by Justice Clarence Thomas, you know, a hero to many conservatives like myself. And also kind of a reflection of how the court in many ways is best representative of the American public as it ever has been, having, you know, an African-American man swearing in a female jurist. It just shows that sort of diversity and forward-looking nature that we like to see. But as far as the president's governing

philosophy for justices, a big part of this president's first-term legacy will be that he really reshaped the judiciary for years to come. Having appointed nearly 300 federal judicial appointments as well as three Supreme Court justices. He is looking for originalist, textualist, jurists who will be independent, who will read, who will interpret the law as written and not legislate from the bench. And I think that's reflected in the three picks he's made so far to the Supreme Court, Justice Kavanaugh, Justice Gorsuch, and now Justice Kony Barrett. And it's actually very contrasted with the Democrats who are now coming out saying, we need to sack the court, that they want to fill seats on the court and add additional seats because they don't agree with policy positions they perceive Justice Barrett to have.

But the president sees it as jurists are independent. They are not policy makers. They are meant to interpret the law as written and to uphold the Constitution. It's really as the left who sees judges as almost an extension of the legislative branch. And this president has been committed to countering that. It's not what our founders intended. It's not what the courts should be. There's a reason they're separate but equal branches.

And that's reflected, you know, across the board and the judicial appointments he's made. Let's chat just for a moment about the president's foreign policy. For so many years, we saw presidents say that they would move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. And no president ever did until President Trump. So what process did the president go through in order to file? finally move that embassy? That's really a highlight of the president's foreign policy because it's falling through not just on a promise he made to the American people, but a decades-long promise that previous politicians had made to our Israeli allies. And what it shows is our commitment to

the Israeli people, to the state of Israel, and to that unwavering alliance that we have. For him, it wasn't really a tough decision to be made. Something that he's joked, and he said this publicly before, is he immediately saw when coming into office and started discussing making that move, that he'd hear from other leaders saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, you can't do this. This is going to, you know, this is going to bother certain players on the world stage. This isn't worth the risk. Don't do it. And the president joked that he just didn't return those calls for a bit while he made the decision

because he was committed to falling through on the promise that he made and doing what he thought was right by our ally. And as you've seen since then, we've had three different nations who've never, who have not previously had diplomatic relations with Israel, come forward, striking peace deals with Israel, and fully restoring political and diplomatic relationships. So that's the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and then most recently Sudan. So we actually show that that bold decision shifted some countries in the Middle East into coming more into the fold.

Alyssa, before we let you go, I just want to ask, you know, very, very few individuals in America ever have the opportunity that you do to work so closely with a U.S. President. What do you enjoy most about working with President Trump? And what have you learned about him? That's an excellent question. So President Trump is one of the most thoughtful, kind, and compassionate people that I've had just the honor of knowing. The President Trump that you see publicly isn't much different than who you see private.

Though I will say this, oftentimes, you know, the big crowd storytelling President Trump doesn't always mirror the private Trump. That's very, when I'm in a room with him, he asks about me. He asks my opinion. He'll survey the room and want to know what everyone thinks. And then he'll take kind of the best of the best different opinions that he heard and then formulate what his position is going to be on something. He's a very, at moments he's a quiet listener and leader. but then when the situation requires that he's bold and he's forward-looking. He's a fascinating individual.

Something that I'm always reminded of is it really is the 1% of the 1% that rises to this position throughout our history. And there are people who are truly passionate about our country who love our country. And I know that every day President Trump gets up and says, what can I do to better this country and serve the American people? And I'm extremely proud to work for him. Alyssa, thank you so much. We just really appreciate your time and you coming on the show today. Absolutely. Thanks so much. Happy to do it. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to The Daily Signal podcast.

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