The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz - Episode 59 - Can the Woke Liberal Left Stomach this Movie About Me？ A Scandal Rocks the Ellen Show. Bye Bye TikTok.

00:00:00.000 Welcome to Hot Takes. I'm Congressman Matt Gates. Let's talk about the news.

00:00:21.240 The news in America today is that we are facing an unprecedented economic challenge

00:00:27.220 that requires the full breadth of American energy to defeat. We have seen the largest

00:00:34.260 contraction of American GDP over the course of a quarter since we've been counting. And

00:00:40.540 this was at a time when we had built so much momentum in the Trump economy. President Trump

00:00:46.460 promised he'd be a great cheerleader for our businesses and he was. He said that we would

00:00:51.260 have tax cuts that would bring resources back from overseas and it happened. It resulted

00:00:56.380 in better trade deals, rising wages, a better regulatory climate. We started producing

00:01:02.640 things in America that created jobs and careers and a real sustainable sense of progress. That

00:01:09.900 was a progress that was shared not just by people at the wealthiest part of the income bracket.

00:01:16.560 It was prosperity that was described by many as a blue collar boom. And then what we got

00:01:22.620 was the Chinese coronavirus. It made jobs illegal. We've seen lockdowns in some states and localities

00:01:30.880 completely obliterate small businesses. I get emails still in my community of small businesses

00:01:37.380 that aren't going to reopen, some that have been open for decades, serving the community,

00:01:42.880 creating jobs, creating economic flow, and really a sense of purpose in small town America.

00:01:50.740 And so the upcoming question for us as policymakers is how to return to that opportunity. And there

00:01:57.260 are two competing visions for what to do next. And we saw them on full display during the Sunday

00:02:05.940 shows. Nancy Pelosi was on ABC with Martha Raddatz. She seemed to embrace the endless lockdown 0.51

00:02:13.580 approach of Gavin Newsom in California. Take a listen to the speaker.

00:02:17.740 One of the things you talk about is getting rid of COVID. Your home state, California, is the first

00:02:24.260 state to surpass half a million positive cases, a record high number. What did your fellow Democrat,

00:02:30.600 Governor Gavin Newsom, do wrong? And what should he do in the future?

00:02:33.460 I don't think he did anything wrong. We are the largest state in the union. So numerically,

00:02:38.060 it isn't shocking to say we have the most cases. But we're very proud of our governor, Governor Newsom.

00:02:45.120 He contained and controlled how this spread in the beginning. Some people in the state wanted to

00:02:53.320 open up. And we're a large state. We have great diversity of opinion on what should happen in

00:02:58.880 different regions. And when that when the opening up took place, we have more cases. And that should be

00:03:06.640 instructive to others. The virus is vicious. And you have to have shelter in place as long as you

00:03:18.400 need it. And when you do and you reduce the spread, then you can open up the schools when you reduce the

00:03:24.900 rate of infection in a community. But until you do that, you have to be very careful. And so you've got the

00:03:30.560 endless lockdown vision, the mandate vision. I think Gavin Newsom right now is even in disputes with

00:03:37.920 some of his localities, where if they don't issue mandatory mask orders or lockdowns, that he will

00:03:44.160 withhold funding. So not the most cooperative environment being curated in California. And then

00:03:50.480 compare that to the vision that we hear from President Trump, the need to innovate, the need to

00:03:55.280 open. We got some updates from Secretary Steve Mnuchin also on ABC regarding Operation Warp Speed.

00:04:03.120 We absolutely agree on the need to kill the virus. And let me just say, the president acted very

00:04:08.960 aggressively when this virus first came from China to shut down all travel. And since then, we have

00:04:15.520 aggressively funded over seven different vaccines into production. We're very optimistic that we will

00:04:21.920 have results out of these vaccines and we'll have a vaccine available by the end of the year. So we

00:04:27.600 absolutely agree on the need to kill this. America needs to reopen. We need to do so with the maximum 0.97

00:04:34.720 sanitation, with insurance that people who are older or have medical frailties are cared for and have every

00:04:42.240 accommodation so that they're not forced to go out and encounter the virus. We have to have schools open

00:04:48.240 so that parents have the option for in-person learning if that's what's best for them and their

00:04:53.760 family. And absolutely, we need to bridge the digital divide. You know, we heard from Whip Clyburn on the

00:05:00.560 Sunday shows and in one of his final responses, he said something I completely agree with on CBS about the

00:05:07.440 need to bridge the digital divide.

00:05:08.880 I've been such a longtime proponent of having universal access of broadband. Everything that's great about this country and the

00:05:16.240 internet is one of those great things. It ought to be accessible, ought to be affordable by everybody.

00:05:22.240 That's why rural communities where you got 34, 35 percent internet adoption, that's not good.

00:05:28.560 You don't spend the money that's necessary to build out 100 percent of broadband.

00:05:32.080 This should be a bipartisan objective. Let's ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to engage the

00:05:39.200 world, not only with their physical presence, but digitally as well.

00:05:46.240 There continue to be reverberations from the hearing we had with the major tech CEOs. And

00:05:52.800 one thing I'm glad for is the increased scrutiny that we're starting to see with the SPLC,

00:05:59.120 the Southern Poverty Law Center, inaptly named, I would suggest, that likely had fair beginnings,

00:06:05.440 but now has really devolved into a hate group itself, as it falsely claims that people like Dr. Ben

00:06:13.440 Carson are extremists. We've talked about it on the show. But we see a report from the Christian Post,

00:06:20.000 and I wanted to draw attention to it, by Ryan Foley. And in the Christian Post, they really highlight a number of

00:06:26.640 different organizations that hold basic traditional Christian doctrine that the SPLC has labeled as

00:06:34.000 hate groups. Groups like the Catholic News and a number of other communities of faith. So check out the report in the Christian Post,

00:06:41.680 and I think it will help us understand that, gosh, you know, some of these tech platforms really should not be

00:06:48.240 outsourcing the designation of hate groups to those who would consider people of faith, Christians, as haters.

00:06:55.360 Most people of faith who I know, who worship in Christian churches, merely want to extend love and

00:07:01.920 grace and support to their fellow human beings. And I think a little recognition of that, certainly by

00:07:09.120 banning some of these groups like the SPLC from being able to disappear people online, would be a productive

00:07:16.800 move forward for us as a society, and certainly one that's engaged digitally to the extent that we are.

00:07:22.160 Are Democrats going to be able to stand a movie that doesn't portray me as a villain? That's the

00:07:33.600 question that is posed by a recent Haaretz review of the upcoming HBO documentary, The Swamp. And I only

00:07:40.640 bring it up to the extent that it sort of shows how many people have preconceived notions when they go into

00:07:48.160 the judgment of another person in politics as sort of a unique dynamic of our industry. So the lead in

00:07:56.320 Haaretz from Adrian Hennigan goes, can Democrats stomach this HBO documentary about one of Trump's

00:08:02.800 biggest cheerleaders? Political docs are generally as partisan as politics nowadays, but The Swamp is a

00:08:09.040 little different, though Rep. Matt Gaetz may still make some viewers want to smash their TV sets.

00:08:15.120 I guess given the leanings of this particular author, I guess I'm glad I haven't lost it. But

00:08:22.400 the the piece says the main protagonist is Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican. And if you're aware of

00:08:27.840 him, you may have already made up your mind about The Swamp. I must confess that my interest in the

00:08:33.040 film was not exactly sky high when I saw his smug face was going to be front and center. Oh, well,

00:08:40.480 it's just such a shame that I didn't ignite the particular passions and interests of this one

00:08:44.880 reader. But, you know, look, I think that people ought to watch the documentary. It's the life I

00:08:51.120 lived. It is 2019 with these film producers hooking a camera on me, following me around with the TV

00:08:59.840 camera. They did the same with Congressman Thomas Massey and Ken Buck. We are not three members of

00:09:06.000 Congress in the establishment. We're sort of outsiders. And then you get the perspective

00:09:10.160 of my friend Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, a progressive, a Bernie Sanders national co-chairman,

00:09:17.760 someone who doesn't vote the way I do in Congress, but who I think shares a passion to reform the place.

00:09:23.760 John Sarbanes is someone who I know Congressman Buck has worked very closely with on caucuses intended to

00:09:31.120 reform the institution and make it better and make it more honest for everyone. There are Republicans

00:09:36.720 and Democrats in Congress who believe that if we work together to create a more fair form of debate

00:09:43.760 and engagement that doesn't just hand the institution off to special interests, that our arguments will

00:09:49.280 prevail. We're confident enough in the arguments that we are making that we don't need some powerful

00:09:55.440 special interests able to dominate the votes and decisions of others to get stuff done. But in a

00:10:00.880 world where the members of Congress are just vessels through which the special interests are operating,

00:10:06.400 you really can't get much of anything done of consequence. And so while some in the movie

00:10:12.320 may find it odd that I'm friends with Ro Khanna, I have worked with Democrats like Barbara Lee to try to

00:10:20.640 ensure that our constitution is followed with war powers. Those are elements of the job as well. 0.80

00:10:27.520 It's not just the things I agree with Republicans on that animate my service. So we'll see what happens

00:10:34.880 when the film is released, but at least this review questions whether or not Democrats will be able to

00:10:40.080 stomach any documentary where I am a protagonist. I hope they can. I hope they can keep their food down

00:10:46.560 long enough to get to the end and and see if it's for them.

00:10:53.840 SpaceX saw a return of American astronauts in what was a great day for the country,

00:11:00.720 a great day for SpaceX, a great day for Elon Musk as well. He took to Twitter saying,

00:11:06.480 when space travel becomes as common as air travel, the future of civilization will be assured.

00:11:12.480 And it was also great to see Colonel Doug Hurley offer the touching words to anybody who has touched

00:11:19.760 Endeavor. You should take a moment to just cherish this day and just, you know, wonderful reporting,

00:11:27.440 a wonderful result. And it was great for my community in Pensacola to play some small part

00:11:33.920 as the touchdown occurred just off our shores in the Gulf of Mexico. And I think Elon Musk has the

00:11:39.360 right sentiment that when humans become a multi-planetary species, we are assured,

00:11:45.040 I think, greater resilience as a civilization. So great job to the astronauts involved,

00:11:50.800 to the great scientists and engineers at SpaceX. We hope they enjoy the day. We're sure proud of them.

00:12:00.720 I joined Waters World with Jesse Waters this weekend. Here was our discussion.

00:12:04.880 I can't believe you're not on this committee because you're on every single committee,

00:12:08.960 but Fauci was getting grilled by a bunch of your colleagues the other day. And here's Jim Jordan

00:12:15.840 kind of giving it to Fauci.

00:12:17.120 Does the government limit the protesting?

00:12:20.720 I don't think that's relevant to...

00:12:23.840 Well, you just said if it increases the spread of the virus, I'm just asking, should we limit it?

00:12:27.920 Well, I'm not in a position to determine what the government can do in a forceful way.

00:12:31.920 No limit to protest, but, boy, you can't go to church on Sunday.

00:12:35.680 I don't know how many times I can answer that. I'm not going to opine on limiting anything. I'm

00:12:41.280 just going to tell you... You've opined on a lot of things, Dr. Fauci.

00:12:44.240 Yeah, but I've never said... This is something that directly impacts the spread of the virus,

00:12:47.120 and I'm asking your position on the protest. Yeah. Well, I'm not going to opine on limiting anything.

00:12:52.960 All right, Congressman, very smart guy, Dr. Fauci, but it seems like he's wearing thin with some of

00:12:58.800 your colleagues. Is that true? Yeah. After watching that, I wondered whether

00:13:02.160 or not churchgoers should just adopt the language of the protesters. Maybe we can have potluck

00:13:07.520 protests or Sunday school sit-ins. Maybe instead of giving our donations through tithes, we can just

00:13:13.760 count that as bail money to release our eternal souls. Jim Jordan pointed out that we don't get to

00:13:20.080 choose the parts of the First Amendment that the government is going to allow and not allow. And

00:13:24.880 though this is an uncommon virus, it should not deprive public health officials of basic common

00:13:30.000 sense. And the one thing to absolutely take away from that exchange is that Jim Jordan really had

00:13:36.080 a dominant performance when it came to displaying some of the hypocrisy that we see from some public

00:13:43.120 health officials. Jim Jordan being Jim Jordan, sure proud of him, sure glad I get the chance to learn from him.

00:13:49.280 Andy Lassner is the executive producer of the Ellen DeGeneres show. And he's a real piece of trash, 0.99

00:14:00.560 according to a number of news reports and accusations by even Brad Garrett. Remember him? He was kind of 1.00

00:14:07.840 the goofy brother on Everybody Loves Raymond. I care about this issue because as a congressman,

00:14:14.160 I've worked on workplace accountability and ensuring that we have the right laws in our country so that

00:14:21.440 people don't get abused at work. Matter of fact, I'm the only Republican co-sponsor of the Fair Act,

00:14:29.280 an act that wouldn't allow people in business to select their juries in advance through mandatory

00:14:35.600 arbitration when dealing with employment discrimination and abuse. And on the Ellen DeGeneres show,

00:14:42.560 according to The Independent, Ed Galvin, Mary Connolly and Andy Lassner, the executive producer

00:14:50.560 of the Ellen show are accused of a toxic work environment, bullying, mistreatment of employees,

00:14:57.440 not letting people take their adequate leave. And Ellen has come out with a statement saying that she

00:15:03.280 always wanted her show to be a place of happiness and respect and that it has in fact fallen short of

00:15:09.920 that. There are allegations against some folks for sexual misconduct and sexual advances. But it's

00:15:16.800 not hard for me to believe that Andy Lassner is a real piece of garbage because time and again, 0.99

00:15:22.800 he's engaged in online bullying, attacks on me, attacks on conservatives that he doesn't agree with. 0.98

00:15:30.320 And just just keep in mind that, you know, this may be the circumstance where, you know,

00:15:35.840 the woke topians on Twitter who claim that, oh, they're for everyone and want everyone to be

00:15:41.440 treated well. Well, in their own jobs where they have power over people, they don't always use it

00:15:48.000 well. And it is the hypocrisy of Hollywood on display. It is the hypocrisy of the left on display. 0.75

00:15:56.320 I don't know if the Ellen show is going to be able to be back on air with these allegations.

00:16:01.600 The reporting suggests that they've hired a third party entity to come in and review and determine

00:16:07.760 whether or not people are going to be fired, whether or not the show, I don't know, is going

00:16:12.320 to persist. But Andy Lassner for sure is someone who I don't think deserves a lot of grace because he

00:16:19.280 has been so willing to extend it to everyone else. I hope this ends up with everybody getting precisely

00:16:25.520 what they deserve. Tick tock will be out of Chinese control or out of the United States of America. 1.00

00:16:35.120 Regular listeners of our podcast have heard me calling for a ban on Chinese owned tick tock in 1.00

00:16:41.200 the United States of America for some time now. And the president has agreed with that call. Secretary

00:16:48.080 Mnuchin is engaged in that review and it appears the president has seen enough and he is ready to force

00:16:55.440 tick tock out of the hands of the Chinese while it is collecting surveillance on Americans. 0.91

00:17:00.640 But we shouldn't stop there. We should stop the Chinese from buying U.S. genomics companies 1.00

00:17:06.800 to map our gene sequences and determine American cellular vulnerability. We should stop DJI drones

00:17:13.840 from spying on us from the skies. I've covered that on the podcast. And we should really clamp down

00:17:19.360 on the extent to which the Chinese are able to, you know, pollute in their country, pollute our world, 1.00

00:17:26.160 poison our oceans, make our air toxic, and then sell cheap goods in the United States. The president's 0.97

00:17:33.440 right to put tariffs on China. The president is right to get tough on these Chinese companies that are 1.00

00:17:40.880 in fact dual use to feed the strategic objectives of the Chinese military and intelligence collection

00:17:48.000 operation. In fact, it was former Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan who said that you can't

00:17:53.280 even really see the line anymore in China between their commercial activity and their strategic

00:17:58.960 military activity. Good job, Mr. President. Way to stay tough on China. Let's keep going. 0.98

00:18:04.560 Ban the drones. Ban the genomics companies from being sold to China. Thanks for listening to Hot Takes.

00:18:11.840 I'm Congressman Matt Gaetz. Remember, tomorrow, HBO premiering the documentary The Swamp featuring

00:18:19.120 myself alongside Congressman Thomas Massey, Congressman Ken Buck, Congressman Ro Khanna,

00:18:25.040 John Sarbanes, former Congresswoman Katie Hill. You won't want to miss it. It's going to be, I think,

00:18:31.040 a very revealing look at the swamp of Washington, D.C. And if you want to keep getting that revealing look

00:18:36.720 each and every day, just make sure you subscribe to our podcast. Stay informed. I'll be back tomorrow

00:18:42.480 with more Hot Takes.

The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz - August 03, 2020

Episode 59 - Can the Woke Liberal Left Stomach this Movie About Me？ A Scandal Rocks the Ellen Show. Bye Bye TikTok.

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