The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz - Episode 18 - Antifa Infiltrated. Employment Data Optimism. Marijuana Kills Less.

00:00:00.000 Welcome to Hot Takes. This is Congressman Matt Gaetz. Let's talk about the news. There's

00:00:21.240 economic news that's being reported by CNBC regarding the extent of private sector job

00:00:26.740 losses. The top line is that we are starting to see those numbers flatten off and we have not seen

00:00:33.860 the same just cratering in private sector jobs that some economists were anticipating. So let's

00:00:40.560 get into the numbers. In April, our country lost more private sector jobs than at any other month

00:00:47.220 in our nation's history as a consequence of this Chinese coronavirus. We lost 19.6 million private 0.98

00:00:54.820 sector jobs. And in May, the expectation is that that would continue at a pretty alarming rate.

00:01:01.260 Economists were expecting 8.7 million private sector job losses in the month of May. But here's the,

00:01:08.220 you know, I guess good news in context, given the broader challenges we face. We only lost 2.76

00:01:15.900 million jobs in May. So that is way less than was originally anticipated and expected. Mark Zandi,

00:01:23.000 one of the chief economists at Moody's, is quoted as saying in the story, obviously an awful number,

00:01:29.720 but not as catastrophic as expected. So let's now look into where those job losses are still happening

00:01:36.580 and maybe what it says about the path for economic recovery that our nation needs to be on. So out of

00:01:41.980 those 2.76 million jobs that were lost, we see 1.9 million of them in the service industry. And that

00:01:50.960 makes a lot of sense to us because still within the service industry, we've not seen rebound, rebuild

00:01:56.740 at a snapback rate because the public health guidelines are limiting the amount of revenue

00:02:03.240 that a lot of these, you know, restaurants and other service-oriented businesses can maintain. And

00:02:09.000 also without having a lot of the bars open, you lose a lot of the jobs associated with that sector.

00:02:14.540 And then there were about 800,000 jobs lost in the good producing sectors of the economy,

00:02:21.480 in the productive sectors of the economy. Now, here's what I think about that and that breakdown.

00:02:27.580 The service economy will come back as soon as people are able to get out, move around,

00:02:34.280 have confidence, spend money. What I think it's a lot harder to rebuild are those jobs in

00:02:40.020 manufacturing and production. So again, while it's really sad and challenging to deal with

00:02:46.780 these numbers of job losses, when you really drill down into it, out of these 2.76 million jobs that

00:02:53.500 we lost in May, I think that 1.9 million of those in the service industry may be quicker to snap back,

00:03:00.020 which will be helpful. And then we've got to find ways within the productive sectors of our economy

00:03:04.800 to ensure that supply chain, that workforce development, that the regulatory environment

00:03:12.020 continues to be conducive to a rebuild and a restoration of American greatness.

00:03:18.100 If we look back at really what got this economy going at the beginning of the Trump presidency,

00:03:23.700 it's really, you know, I think three things. There's the confidence element, business confidence,

00:03:29.640 consumer confidence, that there is the production element. You know, we became a nation that was

00:03:36.420 more eager to produce energy, to produce goods, to utilize better trade policy so that we weren't

00:03:44.980 just, you know, totally a service economy, but that we build and made things and that that made our

00:03:50.040 economy more resilient. And I know after coronavirus, we're even more interested in building out those

00:03:55.460 productive sectors of the economy. And then I think the third leg of the stool was really investment.

00:03:59.960 You know, you'll remember the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created this tax amnesty for foreign capital to

00:04:06.640 come back from overseas. And a great deal of that went into capital investment build out. And when that

00:04:13.460 investment was made, it only supercharged the confidence that was in the economy. So those three

00:04:19.560 major elements rolling together, consumer confidence and investor confidence driven by actual

00:04:24.720 investment drill driven by growing sectors of production in the economy. And obviously today,

00:04:31.440 you know, we have seen a real challenge across the board, but particularly in the area of consumer

00:04:37.720 confidence and in the confidence that people can make the investments, make the hires and that the

00:04:44.300 business environment and that the overall growth of America's economy will support those risks that

00:04:50.880 businesses have to make both large and small. And so that's why I think these main numbers are really

00:04:55.840 important. I mean, if we were thinking that we were going to lose 8.75 million jobs, and we lost 6 million

00:05:02.560 jobs fewer than was anticipated, maybe just maybe with the strong monetary policy that the Fed has implemented,

00:05:11.600 with the rescue package that the Congress passed, with the Paycheck Protection Program, trying to keep

00:05:17.920 people engaged in the employment environment and atmosphere and then maybe with the sound policy

00:05:23.520 choices that my governor in Florida and some other governors are making around the country to try to

00:05:30.560 get the economy going again, get open again. Those things working in concert might lead to consumer

00:05:36.960 confidence being at the front edge of this recovery cycle that we've got to get into. So we'll keep watching

00:05:42.560 those numbers. But I think it is absolutely essential that we bring America back. And with productive

00:05:49.840 economies, with investment, and with people getting out there and spending money again, I'm sure that we will.

00:05:57.760 There's a new report indicating good data for medical marijuana as a potential substitute for opioids. We all know

00:06:06.720 that opioids have savaged families and communities and workplaces all throughout our great country, and it is

00:06:16.000 frustrating to me that far too many people in politics and in Congress think that the way that we can show how

00:06:23.280 much we care about the pain that opioids have caused is by spending more money and measuring our inputs rather than

00:06:32.160 the outcomes that can actually help people. And so this study is from Columbia University. It's reported by Ben Alden

00:06:40.160 with Marijuana Moment. And the Columbia University study shows that in states where there is access to a medical

00:06:46.880 marijuana program, we are seeing a reduction as much as 20% in the prescribing of opioids. So again, in these states where

00:06:56.160 people can utilize medical marijuana for pain, for other ailments that they're dealing with, you can see as

00:07:04.320 much as a 72,000 daily dose reduction in hydrocodone, a highly addictive and dangerous drug that, I mean, 72,000

00:07:16.160 daily doses, if you can take those out of play, you really can impact the models of who's going to get

00:07:21.920 addicted and the volume of that addiction. The study also reports a significant decrease in the

00:07:28.000 prescribing of fentanyl. And I think the country has really become aware of how dangerous and deadly

00:07:34.480 this fentanyl is, how people can get addicted to it, and then find out on the open street market,

00:07:41.200 a really high potency that can kill people. And just the overdoses have been tragic to deal with. But

00:07:48.800 one thing that frustrates me is that our own government doesn't seem to take in this data,

00:07:55.760 and these studies with a great deal of focus or a great deal of, I think, attention. Here is one of

00:08:04.320 the interviews that I conducted in the House Judiciary Committee with the acting head of the DEA. And it was

00:08:11.120 very disappointing how little he knew about the evidence surrounding marijuana as a potential

00:08:18.320 replacement, substitute, or just impacting force on the overall opioid prescription and death outcome

00:08:28.720 data set. Let's just take the circumstance where a state has said marijuana is medicine.

00:08:32.640 Is it your view that that adds to the substance abuse problem? It is. The Minnesota Department of

00:08:37.280 Health had a research project with over 2,000 patients who had intractable pain

00:08:42.240 that used medical cannabis. And those patients saw opioids prescribed at a rate 38% less than people

00:08:50.400 who were not using medical cannabis. Do you have any basis with which to disagree with that finding,

00:08:55.840 that those patients saw a reduction in the need for opioids when they had access to medical cannabis?

00:09:00.320 So I'm not familiar with that study. I think there are a number of studies out there that talk when

00:09:05.360 people are presented, whether I guess it would be with medical marijuana or with Tylenol or others,

00:09:11.840 that there are many alternatives to opioids. So do you acknowledge then that medical marijuana

00:09:18.080 is an alternative to opioids? No, I'm saying I don't know that study.

00:09:21.760 Okay. What studies show that medical marijuana would increase the use of opioids?

00:09:26.400 Are there any? I don't know. So you're the acting administrator of the DEA.

00:09:31.120 You cannot cite a single study that indicates that medical marijuana creates a greater challenge

00:09:36.000 with opioids. And you're unaware of the studies, including studies from the National Academy of

00:09:41.760 Sciences, that demonstrate that medical marijuana can be an acceptable alternative to opioids. Is that

00:09:47.920 what I'm understanding? Yes. And so we hope with this additional scientific information becoming

00:09:53.280 available, that there will be more study and more review between the causal relationship and not just the

00:10:00.000 overall data in terms of higher or lower prescription amounts or death rates or intubations, but really

00:10:07.360 looking at whether or not when people utilize medical marijuana, does that make them less likely to have

00:10:12.400 to need that prescription? And if that is true, then maybe just maybe in Congress, we should look to the

00:10:18.400 solutions that don't cost the taxpayer more money, that don't just pour billions of dollars into treatment

00:10:24.880 programs that are dubious in their success rate. Let's look at potentially a more natural option with

00:10:31.920 medical marijuana that won't get people addicted to opioids in the first place.

00:10:38.160 The beatings will apparently continue until the Woketopia is achieved. That is the message from 0.98

00:10:44.240 corporate media, from digital media, from big tech platforms, and even at times from corporate America.

00:10:50.720 Today, we've got news that Snapchat is the most recent digital platform seeking to disadvantage

00:10:57.040 President Trump and the America first voices who support him. Snapchat coming out with a ruling,

00:11:02.960 I guess, that they will no longer allow President Trump's content to spread across the platform

00:11:09.040 as anyone else's would be allowed to do. And their basis is that President Trump has incited racial

00:11:15.360 violence. This is ridiculous. In every speech the President has given since the Floyd death, he, 0.99

00:11:22.720 you know, in some or in part, comes together to ask for national unity, to ask for order and safety and

00:11:31.760 protection on our streets, and certainly to call for justice against those who perpetrated this crime

00:11:38.800 against Mr. Floyd. But there is no reason for these tech companies to try to constrain a national

00:11:45.760 discussion when clearly one needs to take place. But see, they don't want a real discussion. They

00:11:50.960 don't want a real exchange of ideas. They just want to bathe in each other's wokeness. And so I stand

00:11:56.320 against Snapchat's decision to censor the President. But sadly, I think that this is the new normal,

00:12:02.960 and we conservatives are going to have to find a way to fight back because we can't win an argument

00:12:07.920 if we can't make the argument. The President is doing everything he can to bring this country

00:12:12.000 together. And if anything, it's big tech that's driving us apart. Drew Brees is apparently the

00:12:19.680 latest to get labeled by the woke elements of society. They are demanding an apology because Drew Brees

00:12:27.760 had the nerve to, I guess, call our country to national unity and national pride. Here are the

00:12:34.720 comments of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. I will never agree with anybody

00:12:41.440 disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell you what I

00:12:47.680 see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States.

00:12:54.560 I envision my two grandfathers who fought for this country during World War II, one in the Army

00:13:01.200 and one in the Marine Corps, both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make

00:13:07.840 our country and this world a better place. So Drew Brees says that we should stand for the nation,

00:13:13.120 that we should come together and unify as a nation, that we should reject elements of division. And oh my

00:13:19.360 gosh, the negative, just fire-breathing reaction from the left has been so disappointing

00:13:26.320 and so impactful that actually today, Drew Brees comes out and apologizes, says he was insensitive.

00:13:32.880 And look, I always believe that if someone thinks that they've aggrieved another, one of the easiest

00:13:36.960 things to do is offer an apology and make people feel better and show your empathy. But I don't believe

00:13:42.480 that Drew Brees said anything wrong. I don't think that there's anything improper about calling our

00:13:47.280 nation to love one another and love our country. I think Drew Brees was right in suggesting that

00:13:54.240 justice has to be done in the Floyd case. I think we all agree with that. But oh my gosh, I mean,

00:13:59.760 what a society we're living in where when you call for national unity, the woke left makes you apologize

00:14:06.080 for it later. That's really, you know, what this is all about for some of them, not for all of them,

00:14:10.960 but for the crazy left-wing Antifa folks. This isn't about healing. This is about maintaining

00:14:17.360 division and violence and chaos as long as possible. And if you stand against that chaos,

00:14:23.040 as Drew Brees did, then you're somehow like part of the patriarchy, part of the problem. Well,

00:14:28.080 Drew Brees has been a force for good in the New Orleans community. He's been a force for good in the NFL.

00:14:33.840 I don't think he had anything to apologize for. And I think it's a hell of a note that the

00:14:38.480 pressures and forces in our society would ask someone to rebuke a statement that was so patriotic

00:14:45.520 and fair and honorable. Just today we are getting explosive reporting on the inter-workings and

00:14:54.480 goals and ambitions of the terrorist organization Antifa. Project Veritas, our friend James O'Keefe,

00:15:02.000 runs that organization. They actually got an insider in the Antifa organization, someone who was

00:15:08.400 pegged to be a prospect there. That insider then collected video, collected audio recordings,

00:15:14.640 and it's just very clear. I encourage you to check out the Project Veritas platform,

00:15:20.080 but it's very clear that these are not folks engaged in politics. They are engaged in terrorism.

00:15:26.240 They want to gouge eyes. They want to harm. They want to disrupt. They want clearly to make a point

00:15:35.520 at the edge of weaponry and not at the tip of the tongue, as political speech would dictate.

00:15:42.400 Take just a listen to some of the information that has been collected by Project Veritas on the truth

00:15:49.280 about Antifa. I've been undercover with real city Antifa. Don't be that guy with the spiked

00:15:56.160 brass knuckles getting photos taken of you. Police are going to be like, perfect, we can prosecute these

00:16:00.960 . The whole goal of this, right, is to get out there and do dangerous things as safely as possible.

00:16:05.440 And so if you look at corporate media, if you look at corporate America, if you look at big tech and

00:16:13.760 social media, they make these Antifa folks out to be like they're some sort of freedom fighters,

00:16:19.440 like they're, you know, rights activists. But you're not enhancing someone's rights by gouging

00:16:25.840 out someone's eye. You're not building stronger communities by burning things to the ground.

00:16:32.400 And that's why, as the Congressman for Florida's first congressional district,

00:16:36.080 I will stand against Antifa, against this domestic terrorist organization.

00:16:40.320 The mainstream media wanted to make a big deal out of the fact that DOD advisor James Miller had

00:16:47.520 resigned from the Trump administration as a consequence of the president's desire to travel

00:16:53.200 to the church across the street from the White House that had been burned and to hold a Bible up at

00:16:58.960 that place of worship. What they don't want to tell you is that this is not just some bystander to

00:17:05.280 politics. The DOD advisor's name is James Miller. He was a donor to President Obama's campaign.

00:17:12.400 He is a donor to the Joe Biden 2020 campaign. And look, in America, people ought to be free to

00:17:19.200 donate to whatever political cause they choose. But then when they are engaged in politics, as I am,

00:17:26.720 as the president is, as others are, then the media should not give them like the veneer of

00:17:32.480 impartiality when making these decisions. And so the media would have you believe that

00:17:36.800 James Miller departed because of just some austere concern that he could no longer,

00:17:41.920 you know, be in the administration. But the reality is, this is someone who probably is,

00:17:47.280 you know, just looking for their shot. And if they think that shot's going to come under Biden,

00:17:52.240 and if they think that, you know, they can help Biden in some way, well, that's just the same

00:17:58.240 politics by different means. But if you go and check out the National Pulse, my friend Natalie

00:18:04.000 Winters wrote up a great piece that really shows that this wasn't an act of patriotism. It was an

00:18:10.960 act of politics for James Miller to try to make a point and resign from the Trump administration.

00:18:16.400 My suspicion is we'll get plenty of great patriots who want to go in and fight alongside this president

00:18:21.840 to keep our country great. Thanks so much for listening to Hot Takes with Matt Cates.

00:18:27.280 Really appreciate it if you'd leave us a review or rating. Let us know if you like the show.

00:18:32.000 We'll be back tomorrow with more Hot Takes.

The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz - June 04, 2020

Episode 18 - Antifa Infiltrated. Employment Data Optimism. Marijuana Kills Less.

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