In this episode of Hot Takes, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-GA) talks about China's lies about the dangers posed by Coronavirus, the dangers of hydroxychloroquine, and why we should be worried about the aging population.
00:00:00.000Welcome to Hot Takes. I'm Congressman Matt Gaetz. Let's talk about the news. And the
00:00:21.060news is that China is lying. Yes, that's not news. We've seen that in coronavirus. We've
00:00:26.960seen that in the theft of our intellectual property. We've seen that in their misrepresentations
00:00:32.220regarding the militarization of the South China Sea, regarding their treatment of ethnic
00:00:37.540minorities. And in this particular case, the Chinese ambassador to the UK was on Andrew
00:00:43.000Maher's program on the BBC. Here was that exchange. I do not know. Why did you get this video clip?
00:00:49.080These have been going around the world. They've been authenticated by Western intelligence agencies
00:00:53.960and by Australian experts who say these are Ouija people.
00:00:58.840Let me tell you this. With regard to that video clip, I'll get back to you.
00:01:05.020I'll get back to you. That's what we hear from the Chinese ambassador in the face of,
00:01:09.620in many cases, video and picture evidence of a great deal of ethnic minorities in China being
00:01:17.100rounded up, hauled off and treated to some of the worst conditions that one can imagine.
00:01:22.220We'll continue to cover it on the podcast. The United States needs to continue to be the best
00:01:27.600version of ourselves so that we can be a beacon of freedom to people everywhere. And we need to
00:01:33.500see the threat truly posed by the communist Chinese party.
00:01:40.580As we speak, Congress and congressional leaders and members of the administration are negotiating a
00:01:46.860potential additional round of coronavirus relief. I expected that this would likely be necessary,
00:01:52.380not only for payments to businesses that have still seen a substantial amount of their activity rendered
00:01:59.100illegal by the government, but to individuals who are in those industries and who through no fault of their
00:02:05.300own have seen a real change to their way of life and a real economic security that our country needs to be able to
00:02:13.180provide for. So here's what the administration is lobbying for. And I think it's a good idea.
00:02:19.180First, liability protection. We absolutely need to ensure that to some extent, you do not open the
00:02:26.820country in name only by not allowing businesses to have the confidence that they'll be able to serve
00:02:33.420their customers without every lawyer in every circumstance trying to lash every instance of coronavirus
00:02:39.380with a real casual nexus of causation. So I think that that liability reform is important.
00:02:46.380I've also stressed that we cannot have liability reform go so far as to excuse extreme instances of
00:02:53.980recklessness or willful misconduct or just a willful disregard for the safety protocols and standards that we would
00:03:02.380need in place in any type of business that interfaces substantially with customers. So we've got to carefully thread the
00:03:08.380needle there. The administration's lobbying for it. I totally agree that that's something that is essential.
00:03:14.380I also think that we need to continue to provide resources to those on the front lines and state and local
00:03:20.380governments that are meeting the challenges without creating a perverse incentive to inflame coronavirus
00:03:27.380statistics. I covered on the show recently cases in Florida where people were dramatically increasing the percentages of
00:03:37.380infection in some of these health facilities. One was a VA facility. The other was Orlando Health. And if you
00:03:45.380always leave the hospital industrial complex to believe money will flow where the virus flows, then you will see certain
00:03:53.380hospitalizations and potentially even deaths categorized improperly as coronavirus deaths. For example, if someone is on a
00:04:02.380motorcycle and tragically dies in a motorcycle accident and they also have coronavirus, you've seen circumstances
00:04:10.380where like they'll label that a coronavirus death rather than a motorcycle death. So I think that we can't forget the
00:04:17.380fact that people have other things that cause death in addition to coronavirus and we've just got to make sure that
00:04:22.380people aren't juicing the numbers for the sake of funding. That said, I do think that we've got to continue to ensure
00:04:28.380that we've got adequate protection, equipment, training, and human resources to get the nurses and physician's
00:04:37.380assistant and other testing professionals and other healthcare professionals to areas of need. Now Florida is an area that has
00:04:46.380seen a rising number of cases, but we have not seen a rising death rate. And I think that's a consequence of a few things.
00:04:53.380First, if hydroxychloroquine is provided at an early enough stage, there is a reduced likelihood of death. And there's a good
00:05:03.380Wall Street Journal piece on that. We'll put it out on social media. Second, rendesivir has been a total game changer in terms of its ability with
00:05:13.380severely ill people who are under the age of 60 to reduce the likelihood that they will die. And then for those who are
00:05:20.380over the age of 60, I think we've learned a lot about truly how dangerous this virus can be to some of those folks who
00:05:28.380maybe are a little bit older, have other ailments. And that's why I said, I guess a little tongue in cheek, but not so much on
00:05:34.380Fox News Radio recently that we got to lock up the boomers. You know, we got to make sure that our cherished seniors are
00:05:41.380cared for, that they comply with stay at home orders and shelter in place orders that specifically apply to those with these
00:05:48.380unique medical fragilities. I think if we do that, we can get schools open, we can get businesses open, we can provide for
00:05:55.380those that cannot be open. And it's my hope that those can be the elements of a deal we can work on with the
00:06:01.380administration, with the Congress to ensure that we are in the best position as a nation to fight this disease and
00:06:08.380then to restore our economy to the greatest economy in the world. We did it once, we did it with the Trump policies
00:06:16.380that empowered Americans, and I'm certain we can do it again.
00:06:22.380It's not, oh Canada, it's no Canada. Perhaps for Major League Baseball, the Canadian government through the
00:06:30.380municipal entity in Toronto have said that the Blue Jays are not able to begin the Major League Baseball
00:06:37.380season at the end of July as expected and anticipated. I guess they were supposed to have the home opener
00:06:43.380on the 29th of July, and that does not appear to be allowed based on fears over the coronavirus. So we'll see how
00:06:52.380the Toronto Blue Jays react to that. The president and CEO of the Blue Jays putting out a statement that their players and the
00:06:59.380health of the broader community is of what's most important to them. So they will be beginning the season in
00:07:06.380Tampa Bay on the 24th of July, and then we'll see where the Blue Jays will be flying off to, but it does not appear that they
00:07:14.380will be playing in Toronto, at least not at the beginning of the season.
00:07:18.380America's police seem to continue to rally around the vision and leadership and policy agenda of President Donald Trump,
00:07:30.380the National Organization of Police Associations announcing today that they give their full and complete endorsement to the
00:07:37.380president's reelection campaign. Now, why does that matter from a policy standpoint? Well, this very same group
00:07:44.380endorsed Obama-Biden in 2008, and they did the same in 2012. So this isn't a right-wing group. This isn't a
00:07:53.380Republican group. This is a group that stands for the interests and objectives and specific policy initiatives that
00:08:01.380will assist our police in the execution of their duties for our communities, and they've decided that they're just
00:08:08.380not up for the woke-topian left. I mean, if you look at what's going on in America today, the Democrats are the
00:08:14.380ones who want to close your business, close your school, close the police department, and close church.
00:08:21.380Meanwhile, Republicans want to see these things successful and prosperous institutions within our society.
00:08:28.380It seems like the only things the Democrats want to keep open are the prisons and the borders, and that doesn't
00:08:34.380benefit our country. So thank you to America's police for the great job you do, and it is noteworthy that there is
00:08:41.380more and more consensus that President Trump is the candidate for our police and for law and order.
00:08:49.380New York Times stands by a report of Trump-Russia connections, despite FBI memo debunking it.
00:08:57.380That's the story from The Daily Caller's Chuck Ross, and in the story we see the details of the declassified documents
00:09:05.380from Attorney General William Barr that relate to the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign.
00:09:11.380And one of those documents is a 57-page memo that includes notes from Peter Strzok.
00:09:18.380And even Peter Strzok, who hated the president, who was biased against the president, who was sending his girlfriend,
00:09:25.380Lisa Page, all kind of messages about an insurance policy against a potential Trump presidency.
00:09:31.380Even Strzok writes in his memo, recently declassified, this statement is inaccurate and misleading as written.
00:09:39.380And he is, of course, referencing the New York Times story that purports to evidence claims of a Trump-Russia connection.
00:09:48.380Now, of course, we know, at the conclusion of the Mueller hearings and the Mueller report,
00:09:53.380that there was no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
00:09:57.380And I can understand why this remains so deeply frustrating to the president.
00:10:03.380All of the momentum we were building toward American success, they attempted to completely, you know, derail and dismember through the Russia hoax.
00:10:14.380Now we know it's a hoax. And the New York Times has been called on the fact that it was a hoax.
00:10:20.380They misled their readers. Even Peter Strzok knows it.
00:10:24.380And the result, they stand by their reporting.
00:10:27.380No take backs, no revisions, no acknowledgment.
00:10:31.380Just the New York Times continuing to be the New York Times.
00:10:35.380What a shame. At least as the American people, we all know the truth.
00:10:39.380The president did not engage in any criminal conspiracy with Russia.
00:11:24.380You'll remember her as one of the Democrat purported star witnesses during the Ukraine sequel to the Russia hoax.
00:11:32.380Fiona Hill was very critical of the policy decision the Trump administration made so that there would not be a delivery of aid in the absence of anti-corruption reforms.
00:11:44.380The very same reforms that bipartisan senators have been working for for many years.
00:11:49.380Fiona Hill was thanked by Danchenko as one of his professors at the University of Louisville.
00:11:55.380It appears they also may have worked together at the Brookings Institution.
00:12:00.380We are going to continue to see connections among the people who are working to disrupt the Trump presidency in the coming days and in the coming weeks.
00:12:10.380Mark Meadows was recently on Merida Bartiromo's program discussing the likelihood and the possibility that it's all coming unraveled for the deep state.
00:12:20.380Here's the chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
00:12:25.380I think the American people expect indictments.
00:12:27.380I know I expect indictments based on the evidence I've seen.
00:12:29.380Lindsey Graham did a good job in getting that out.
00:12:31.380We know that they not only knew that there wasn't a case, but they continue to investigate and spy.
00:12:37.380And yes, I use the word spy on Trump campaign officials and actually even doing things when this president was sworn in.
00:12:48.380And after that and doing it in an inappropriate manner.
00:12:51.380You're going to see a couple of other documents come out in the coming days that will suggest that not only was the campaign spied on,
00:12:58.380but the FBI did not act appropriately as they were investigating.
00:13:02.380It's all starting to come unravel to unravel.
00:13:05.380And I tell you, it's time that people go to jail and people are indicted.
00:13:10.380America's largest democracy, India, plans to play a pivotal role in developing and deploying a coronavirus vaccine.
00:13:19.380We're seeing in India now plans that could be as soon as next month to begin testing.
00:13:26.380But there's a specific player I want to highlight.
00:13:28.380And there's a fantastic profile by Sarah Wheaton in Politico magazine entitled,
00:13:33.380An Indian drug mogul says Americans will pay too much for the COVID vaccine and wants to change that.
00:13:40.380And the story chronicles on Dar Poonawalla, his work with the Serum Institute, which is founded in part by his billionaire father in India.
00:13:51.380And the underlying premise of their argument is that when you have this type of high demand and low supply,
00:13:58.380you're going to see really, really expensive vaccines.
00:14:02.380And the Serum Institute right now provides about a billion and a half low cost vaccines to the developing world.
00:14:08.380I'm glad that groups like the Serum Institute are working on wide scale production to achieve economies of scale,
00:14:15.380to hopefully get the vaccine out in the hands of many billions of people around the world as soon as it's developed.
00:14:25.380The American system of innovation and intellectual property is absolutely essential to solving pandemics that challenge us today
00:14:35.380and that will likely challenge us in the future.
00:14:38.380There has to be an economic incentive to continue innovating, researching, developing, testing, and engaging in the very expensive trials.
00:14:47.380Now, of course, we can do more to make those trials more accessible to innovators.
00:14:53.380And I think that we want to ensure that they maintain the rigor to ensure that the American people and people around the world, for that matter, are getting a quality, consistent product.
00:15:03.380So while I appreciate the work of the Serum Institute in its deployment of important, necessary medicine,
00:15:10.380I do not believe that we should deconstruct every element of the way that pharmaceuticals are tested and developed in the United States because it is the system that has created the most innovation.
00:15:23.380I know China is working on the vaccine. I know India is working on the vaccine.
00:15:27.380But I'm still betting on the United States of America and the unprecedented cooperation that the Trump administration is engaged in through the National Institute of Health with a variety of manufacturers.
00:15:38.380We do not just have one vaccine candidate in the United States.
00:15:41.380We have hundreds of vaccine candidates, and I am rooting for each and every one of them so that we can beat the coronavirus and get back to our prosperous American life.
00:15:51.380President Trump had some pretty hot takes in his exchange with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday.
00:16:00.380There was an interesting discussion about schools and the importance of opening them up. Here's the president.
00:16:06.380Schools have to open. Young people have to go to school.
00:16:09.380And there's problems when you don't go to school, too.
00:16:12.380And there's going to be a funding problem, because we're not going to fund when they don't open their schools.
00:16:16.380We're not going to fund them. We're not going to give them money if they're not going to school.
00:16:19.380Why wouldn't you just send more money so the schools would be safer?
00:16:22.380Chris, let the schools open. Did you ever see the statistics on young people below the age of 18?
00:16:28.380The state of New Jersey had thousands of deaths. Of all of these thousands, one person below the age of 18 in the entire state.
00:16:37.380One person. And that was a person that had, I believe he said diabetes.
00:16:41.380One person below the age of 18 died in the state of New Jersey.
00:16:46.380We see a similar perspective reflected here in Florida, where our Commissioner of Education, Richard Corcoran, recently joined me for an online forum to discuss the state of play in Florida, the importance of reopening schools, and the choices that we hope to give parents regarding in-person instruction, digital instruction, and then also potentially a hybrid for some students.
00:17:09.380Here's the Commissioner of Education in Florida.
00:17:12.380The most important thing, Governor Sanders has said it, the President has said it, Secretary DeVos, and that is giving parents choices to make the best decision for their child.
00:17:18.380And you're going to have all kinds of different decisions that are being made.
00:17:23.380And so what the Governor did was allowed us to execute an emergency order that said, here's all the options we want available to parents.
00:17:31.380If you're a parent, because we recognize, look, it's not just in Florida, it's nationwide.
00:17:35.380About two-thirds of your parents either are low-income in Florida, 63% of our kids are low-income, 63% are minorities, and have single parents, many of them, who are working and don't have any other opportunities economically or otherwise.
00:17:50.380And they've made the decision, hey, the best thing for my child and myself is for them to be able to go to a classroom with a teacher standing in front of them and with their peers.
00:17:59.380And so what we did under Governor DeSantis is we made sure that option was available to parents.
00:18:03.380If you want your child to go to a bricks and mortar classroom with a teacher in front of them, which we also know is the best mode of delivery for outcomes, then that option is available to you.
00:18:12.380But we also wanted to give complete flexibility to the superintendents and say, look, but if you have some, because there's going to be parents that say, I'm not ready.
00:18:19.380You know, this is a tough situation for all of us. People are scared. They're sharing stuff that they wouldn't ordinarily share.
00:18:25.380And they want opportunities and they want options.
00:18:28.380In the coming weeks, we will see more and more of our school districts adapt to the need to open our schools.
00:18:34.380And I agree that while for some families and some students, continued online instruction will be important.
00:18:40.380It is equally as important to create that in-person option for our economic health, for our physical health, to ensure that we do not see rising cases of malnutrition, of domestic violence, of sexual violence against students.
00:18:58.380This is the perspective that I shared on Fox News on Sunday afternoon with John Scott.
00:19:05.380We're opening school in the state of Florida. Here in the county where I live, we'll be opening school on time.
00:19:10.380And I'm proud of our superintendent of schools, Marcus Chambers, for implementing sanitation requirements, for having social distancing opportunities,
00:19:18.380to manage the flow of students in and out of locker rooms so that we can limit that spread.
00:19:23.380But the risk of closures, whether it's to our businesses or to our schools or our jobs, really impacts people in a very negative way,
00:19:30.380whether it's economically or their mental and physical health.
00:19:34.380Thanks so much for listening to Hot Takes. I'm Congressman Matt Gaetz.
00:19:37.380Don't forget, subscribe, rate, leave us a review, and make sure to join us tomorrow for more Hot Takes.