The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz - Episode 63 - L.A. Threatens to Shut Off Water and Power to Residents. COVID Relief Bill - Will A Deal Happen Soon？ Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.

00:00:00.000 You ever watch this guy on television?

00:00:03.780 You all were not telling the truth and you should not be trusted.

00:00:06.540 Congressman Matt Gaetz, thank you for what you did for your country tonight.

00:00:09.280 Be offended with the Democratic whip, not House of Republicans.

00:00:12.240 Like a machine, Matt Gaetz.

00:00:16.540 Welcome to Hot Takes. I'm Congressman Matt Gaetz.

00:00:19.560 Let's talk about the news.

00:00:21.320 Is today the deadline? Friday, magic day.

00:00:25.180 ABC News reporting Chief of Staff Mark Meadows

00:00:27.580 was suggesting that if an agreement is not reached

00:00:30.500 between the White House and Congressional Democrats,

00:00:33.080 that you may see a suspension of negotiations next week

00:00:38.380 as the government works to implement the resources

00:00:41.200 that have already been deployed,

00:00:43.360 both in Congressional appropriation and in Federal Reserve policy

00:00:47.640 so that we can bridge the economy to an ultimate vaccine

00:00:51.520 and the V-shaped recovery that President Trump was discussing.

00:00:54.900 So you've heard Secretary Mnuchin come out and say

00:00:58.480 Friday, not necessarily a drop-dead date,

00:01:02.480 but that hopes of a deal do diminish if we do not achieve one today.

00:01:07.440 Here's my hot take.

00:01:09.160 Something magic usually happens around 5 o'clock in a negotiation.

00:01:14.460 And in a week-long negotiation,

00:01:16.960 sometimes magic stuff just happens on a Friday.

00:01:19.540 So I'm hopeful that if there is a deal,

00:01:22.920 that these are the key elements.

00:01:25.160 One, the Paycheck Protection Program,

00:01:27.800 jobs, keeping businesses,

00:01:29.520 particularly small businesses, up and running.

00:01:32.060 I know so many small businesses

00:01:34.040 that have been saved by the Paycheck Protection Plan

00:01:37.220 and who've been able to keep their employees

00:01:39.180 from going on unemployment

00:01:41.020 by providing that connection to the business

00:01:43.940 that's going to facilitate

00:01:45.760 the re-onboarding of workforces in many places.

00:01:49.940 And it just keeps the organizational integrity

00:01:52.280 of a lot of small businesses intact.

00:01:55.120 So that ought to be a principal focus.

00:01:58.440 Extend that.

00:02:00.140 Second, for people who have seen their jobs

00:02:03.440 truly disappear as a consequence of them being illegal.

00:02:07.700 You know, I'm thinking about people who are bartenders,

00:02:10.440 barbacks, who may work in clubs.

00:02:13.000 Like those jobs, you can't get back right now

00:02:16.200 because they don't exist.

00:02:17.460 So I think for qualifying employment,

00:02:19.420 there has to be some bridge, some extension,

00:02:22.240 some additional federal assistance.

00:02:24.580 Third, we need liability protections,

00:02:27.440 real liability protections.

00:02:29.180 And I don't think that means we need to federalize

00:02:31.920 the tort system in our country,

00:02:34.260 but I do think that a liability protection

00:02:37.460 that allows businesses to reopen

00:02:39.800 without just the clogging of their operations

00:02:43.740 with lawsuits would be critically important.

00:02:46.500 And finally, I think that extending resources

00:02:49.380 where needed in a targeted way

00:02:51.640 to healthcare professionals is key.

00:02:54.920 What I do not support

00:02:55.940 is an additional $1 trillion

00:02:58.180 to make up for the poor decisions of states

00:03:02.280 where their budgets were a mess before coronavirus.

00:03:05.500 Like, I don't think coronavirus is a basis

00:03:08.000 to go and paper over the decisions

00:03:10.800 in a bunch of blue states.

00:03:12.040 And for Nancy Pelosi, that's always been the objective.

00:03:15.020 So that brings us to not just what the right elements are,

00:03:18.460 but what the right approach is.

00:03:20.440 There is universal agreement

00:03:22.060 on a lot of the elements I've discussed,

00:03:24.320 particularly healthcare funding,

00:03:26.740 paycheck protection,

00:03:28.340 extending additional relief

00:03:29.640 to those who've seen their jobs illegal.

00:03:31.640 And so why don't we just take those

00:03:33.340 and vote on them, up or down.

00:03:35.600 And then if there are things that are dicier

00:03:37.480 or that are more controversial,

00:03:39.640 like maybe the liability protections

00:03:41.200 and the state government funding,

00:03:44.160 then you hold those in some abeyance

00:03:47.020 and continue to negotiate them,

00:03:49.080 but you don't sacrifice the stuff we agree on.

00:03:52.120 This is what's wrong with Congress.

00:03:54.140 Like, if you don't have full agreement

00:03:56.080 on every single thing,

00:03:57.400 you can't make progress on the stuff

00:03:59.020 that you do agree on.

00:04:00.340 How does that make sense?

00:04:01.420 Like in small businesses throughout America,

00:04:03.920 even in large businesses in America,

00:04:06.020 oftentimes you build momentum

00:04:08.280 in the decision-making process

00:04:09.980 by starting with the stuff

00:04:11.540 where you can obtain some universal accord or agreement.

00:04:17.000 So Nancy Pelosi, 0.99

00:04:18.760 next week, put on the floor funding

00:04:21.180 for paycheck protection,

00:04:23.160 funding for some of our healthcare workers.

00:04:25.400 And if the liability reform

00:04:26.680 and the state government features

00:04:28.440 are too controversial,

00:04:29.600 let's at least get going on the stuff we agree on.

00:04:33.240 But no, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi,

00:04:36.360 for the sake of political advantage,

00:04:38.560 for the sake of leverage,

00:04:40.340 are holding back votes

00:04:42.520 on stuff that would absolutely pass

00:04:44.940 with overwhelming support

00:04:46.560 because they want to make sure

00:04:48.100 to get their bailouts

00:04:49.960 for states that made decisions

00:04:52.160 that were poor,

00:04:53.160 that had nothing to do with coronavirus.

00:04:54.640 I hope that the American people

00:04:57.400 will contact their representatives and senators

00:04:59.720 and say,

00:05:00.800 get going on something

00:05:01.900 that doesn't bankrupt the country,

00:05:05.020 that doesn't reward irresponsible or bad behavior,

00:05:08.720 but that helps our Americans in need

00:05:11.460 and that provides provision

00:05:13.040 for the people in our country

00:05:14.460 who I think made no bad choices on their own,

00:05:20.240 but that are facing

00:05:21.060 some pretty dire economic circumstances.

00:05:23.200 We can do that.

00:05:24.340 We can come together on those terms.

00:05:26.760 Let's hope there's something magic

00:05:28.100 about Friday to do it.

00:05:32.120 A full 66 NFL players

00:05:35.020 choosing to opt out

00:05:36.160 of the upcoming NFL season.

00:05:38.440 About half of them

00:05:39.700 appear to be linemen

00:05:41.040 and the New England Patriots,

00:05:43.260 the team that seems to have

00:05:45.020 the most significant impact

00:05:46.360 when you look at the loss of players

00:05:48.220 and the quality of players lost.

00:05:50.320 Barry Willner has the story

00:05:51.760 with the Associated Press,

00:05:53.280 and I'm surprised that you have

00:05:55.360 as many NFL players opting out

00:05:57.700 when you consider the deal

00:05:59.500 is very different than in baseball.

00:06:01.300 I mean, in baseball,

00:06:02.620 if someone had one of the medical exemptions

00:06:05.620 or had a family member or children,

00:06:07.860 pregnant wife, those type of things, 1.00

00:06:09.840 they were going to really get

00:06:11.740 a good deal of that money

00:06:13.140 that was in their contract,

00:06:14.580 bonus structure,

00:06:15.860 maybe not hit some incentives,

00:06:17.240 but certainly not a major economic hit.

00:06:21.040 When you look at football,

00:06:22.620 if a player is voluntarily opting out

00:06:25.860 without the medical feature

00:06:28.600 that would, I guess,

00:06:30.960 create a greater likelihood

00:06:32.960 or need for the opt-out,

00:06:34.840 the player's only getting $150,000,

00:06:37.320 which, you know,

00:06:38.020 it's a lot for most people,

00:06:39.440 but these NFL players

00:06:40.920 typically make a great deal more

00:06:42.340 as their base salary.

00:06:43.260 And if they do have

00:06:45.760 one of the medical bases

00:06:47.820 for an opt-out with themselves

00:06:49.580 or a frail family member,

00:06:51.520 that goes to $350,000.

00:06:54.520 So again, just not really comparable

00:06:57.700 to the type of compensation

00:06:59.460 that you would see for an NFL player

00:07:01.360 if they were choosing to play.

00:07:02.800 I mentioned the New England Patriots

00:07:05.320 likely seeing the biggest impact.

00:07:07.300 Probably the best two players

00:07:09.400 that I saw on this opt-out list

00:07:12.640 were Dante Hightower,

00:07:14.980 the star linebacker for the Patriots,

00:07:17.720 and then their very good safety,

00:07:19.060 Patrick Chung.

00:07:20.360 They also see wide receiver Marquise Lee,

00:07:23.900 offensive lineman Najee Teran,

00:07:26.840 and a number of others

00:07:28.120 that are choosing not to play.

00:07:29.660 The Cleveland Browns,

00:07:30.660 they're the next team impacted.

00:07:33.240 You know, they've got five players

00:07:34.780 that'll skip the upcoming year.

00:07:37.520 And really, again,

00:07:38.700 I'm surprised to see that number at 66.

00:07:41.740 Check out the list.

00:07:44.480 Check out your favorite team.

00:07:46.780 See how they'll be impacted.

00:07:48.440 I guess these will be folks

00:07:49.540 who won't be kneeling in the upcoming year

00:07:52.460 because they won't be there.

00:07:53.820 Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

00:07:59.280 has taken conflict with his own city residents

00:08:03.300 to a new level,

00:08:04.920 announcing a new policy.

00:08:06.480 If you have parties or large gatherings,

00:08:09.740 the city is authorized

00:08:11.000 to cut off your power and water.

00:08:14.080 What is going on?

00:08:15.460 I mean, are we really now

00:08:16.900 in such an enforcement state,

00:08:18.820 such a police state over this virus

00:08:21.480 that, I mean,

00:08:22.340 you would literally put people's lives in danger?

00:08:24.700 Like, if you cut somebody's power off,

00:08:26.720 you know, their medicine

00:08:27.860 that they keep refrigerated

00:08:29.320 could spoil,

00:08:31.220 and they could literally lose their lives.

00:08:34.020 I mean, if you cut off water to people,

00:08:36.560 you're going to have civil unrest.

00:08:38.440 And who's to say

00:08:39.600 that Eric Garcetti's government

00:08:41.400 is in the best position to do this anyway?

00:08:43.440 Like, what, if you're on a block

00:08:44.740 and there are a bunch of cars parked

00:08:46.680 on the street outside,

00:08:47.920 how do they know?

00:08:48.940 If it's, like, your house

00:08:50.320 or your neighbor's house,

00:08:51.640 I'll make a prediction

00:08:52.680 that there'll be some, like,

00:08:54.840 you know, middle manager

00:08:55.820 somewhere in city government

00:08:57.260 that's been, like, over-empowered

00:08:58.920 out cutting off the power and water

00:09:01.400 just of people they don't like.

00:09:03.320 Maybe political opponents

00:09:05.080 in some of these places.

00:09:06.560 Maybe if you didn't vote

00:09:07.780 for the right city councilman

00:09:09.320 or the right candidate for government

00:09:11.800 that now the government's got the ability

00:09:13.380 to deprive you of power and water

00:09:15.440 because of how you assemble?

00:09:17.820 What happened to the First Amendment,

00:09:19.240 the freedom of assembly?

00:09:20.300 What if you're in Los Angeles

00:09:22.440 and you've got a large gathering

00:09:24.260 because you're prepared to go participate

00:09:25.880 in a Black Lives Matter protest?

00:09:28.260 Are you going to cut off then?

00:09:29.880 Or are they just going to cut off the churches?

00:09:32.100 Are they just going to cut off the gatherings

00:09:33.640 of the people they don't like?

00:09:35.840 This is outrageous.

00:09:37.880 People pay their taxes.

00:09:40.040 People participate in organized city government.

00:09:43.380 And that is not to empower

00:09:46.360 some draconian mayor

00:09:48.680 to go and shut off their power and water.

00:09:51.560 I mean, wasn't this supposed to be, like,

00:09:53.120 14 days to bend the curve?

00:09:55.240 And now we're, like, many months into this deal

00:09:57.660 and it seems as though

00:09:59.300 the more authoritarian figures

00:10:02.080 haven't been the Republicans.

00:10:03.900 It's been the Democrats.

00:10:05.300 You know, for all I read and hear in the media 0.99

00:10:07.100 about how, oh, Trump is a fascist 0.99

00:10:09.460 and an authoritarian 1.00

00:10:10.440 and all the supporters

00:10:11.640 want to control everyone's lives,

00:10:14.260 it's the Democrats

00:10:15.180 who are threatening to deprive people

00:10:17.640 in their cities

00:10:18.420 of the necessities to frickin' live.

00:10:22.160 This is a disaster in Los Angeles

00:10:24.440 and I fear it could potentially be

00:10:26.360 a precursor of things to come

00:10:27.860 where government officials

00:10:30.000 use emergencies,

00:10:31.880 use pandemics,

00:10:33.120 as an excuse to

00:10:34.700 take things away from people.

00:10:37.100 And that's just not

00:10:37.700 what we've signed up for.

00:10:38.840 So the city of Los Angeles

00:10:40.160 hopefully will have, like,

00:10:41.980 their own disaster with this

00:10:43.620 and it will not spread

00:10:44.600 because it is not a good position

00:10:46.640 to be in

00:10:47.160 to give the government

00:10:49.660 the ability to flick on and off

00:10:51.620 that which we need for life.

00:10:53.700 Okay?

00:10:54.160 Our government is here to serve us.

00:10:56.180 We're not here to serve,

00:10:57.540 you know, them.

00:10:58.900 And frankly,

00:11:00.260 I think Eric Garcetti

00:11:01.360 has it all backwards,

00:11:03.020 has it all upside down,

00:11:04.660 and I hope that the people

00:11:06.640 of Los Angeles

00:11:07.480 will demand better

00:11:08.660 of their government.

00:11:09.880 I think throughout the country

00:11:10.800 we should do the same.

00:11:15.440 It's interesting to compare

00:11:17.100 what's happening in Los Angeles

00:11:18.960 under Mayor Garcetti

00:11:20.400 to what we were just told

00:11:22.000 by Dr. Fauci

00:11:23.740 some seven months ago

00:11:25.480 when the coronavirus

00:11:27.080 first started to take hold

00:11:29.480 in our national discussion

00:11:30.860 and in our policymaking

00:11:32.200 and when we saw the choices

00:11:33.340 that China was making.

00:11:34.920 And I think the good frame

00:11:35.980 on this was offered

00:11:37.260 by my good friend Tucker Carlson

00:11:38.680 in his monologue last night.

00:11:40.420 Take a listen to Tucker.

00:11:41.220 Things have changed so fast,

00:11:42.980 so dramatically this year

00:11:44.240 that it's hard to remember

00:11:45.580 what a very different country

00:11:46.940 this was on New Year's morning.

00:11:49.060 Back then, a little over

00:11:50.120 seven months ago,

00:11:51.280 the U.S. felt politically volatile.

00:11:53.020 It definitely was.

00:11:53.920 There was an election coming.

00:11:55.260 But it still felt

00:11:56.100 fundamentally American.

00:11:57.900 There was no mistaking

00:11:58.640 this country for any other country.

00:12:00.860 We weren't Mexico 0.98

00:12:01.760 or Luxembourg or Burundi.

00:12:04.240 We definitely weren't China.

00:12:06.620 Yes, most of our consumer goods

00:12:07.820 did seem to be manufactured in Asia,

00:12:10.100 but our way of life,

00:12:11.460 our system, our society

00:12:12.780 seemed to be

00:12:13.780 the very opposite of China's. 0.92

00:12:16.400 The Chinese were enslaved.

00:12:18.240 We were free.

00:12:19.460 That was the difference

00:12:20.560 and it was permanent.

00:12:21.700 It would never change.

00:12:23.180 Not one in a thousand

00:12:24.500 Americans doubted that.

00:12:26.000 In January, for example,

00:12:28.320 Dr. Anthony Fauci at the time,

00:12:30.040 not yet a household name,

00:12:31.500 did an interview

00:12:32.140 with the Journal of the

00:12:33.260 American Medical Association

00:12:34.620 to talk about America's response

00:12:36.180 to the Wuhan coronavirus.

00:12:38.160 Fauci explained the authoritarian

00:12:39.820 measures the Chinese government

00:12:41.360 had taken to contain that virus.

00:12:43.480 Then Fauci noted almost

00:12:44.980 offhandedly that in America,

00:12:46.960 none of that would be allowed.

00:12:48.680 They've not only shut out

00:12:50.800 the traffic out of Wuhan,

00:12:53.240 planes, trucks, buses,

00:12:57.520 ferries, rail,

00:12:58.900 but they've done it to a number

00:13:00.380 of the surrounding cities.

00:13:02.480 So rather than say historically

00:13:04.420 it doesn't do much good,

00:13:06.520 which is true,

00:13:07.900 I think it's important

00:13:09.180 to wait and see

00:13:10.180 that maybe the Chinese,

00:13:12.460 because of the state

00:13:14.140 of their society,

00:13:16.620 that they're able to do that.

00:13:19.120 I mean, as you well know,

00:13:20.140 there's no chance in the world

00:13:21.580 that we could do that to Chicago

00:13:23.780 or to New York

00:13:24.800 or to San Francisco.

00:13:25.920 And so the very things

00:13:27.080 that Dr. Fauci said

00:13:29.020 would not happen

00:13:29.980 in this country

00:13:31.840 seem to be happening

00:13:33.180 with even more authoritarianism,

00:13:36.100 with an even stronger hand

00:13:37.460 in Los Angeles.

00:13:38.940 And I think we need to call out

00:13:40.540 that real shift

00:13:41.820 from an embrace of freedom

00:13:44.020 to some of the strangest

00:13:46.320 and most bizarre exercises

00:13:48.500 of government power we've seen,

00:13:50.160 particularly from

00:13:51.840 the Los Angeles mayor.

00:13:56.160 The July jobs report is out

00:13:58.460 and the United States

00:13:59.780 has again beat expectations.

00:14:02.220 The expectation was

00:14:03.340 that the U.S. economy

00:14:04.140 would add 1.4 million new jobs.

00:14:07.820 Instead, we've added

00:14:08.880 1.763 million new jobs.

00:14:13.380 With, I think,

00:14:15.000 a pent-up demand

00:14:16.920 in the economy,

00:14:17.760 with a desire for people

00:14:19.580 to be out and about

00:14:20.580 and interacting again,

00:14:22.260 we may continue to see

00:14:23.780 these expectations getting beat.

00:14:26.060 Now, obviously,

00:14:27.180 Congress, the Fed,

00:14:28.720 need to do their part

00:14:29.860 to ensure that

00:14:30.740 there's not some

00:14:31.960 inadvertent harm

00:14:33.800 we do to the economy,

00:14:35.060 either by doing too much

00:14:36.540 or by doing too little.

00:14:38.460 But certainly,

00:14:39.340 it's positive

00:14:40.680 to see the unemployment rate dropping,

00:14:42.760 to see the jobs numbers

00:14:44.160 getting better.

00:14:44.760 That unemployment rate now,

00:14:46.360 10.2%,

00:14:47.740 falling more than expected.

00:14:49.720 So, July,

00:14:51.060 a jobs month.

00:14:52.200 Let's hope we can

00:14:52.820 keep the momentum going.

00:14:56.780 I've got a

00:14:57.720 Louie Gohmert update.

00:14:59.400 Many of you know

00:15:00.080 my friend and colleague,

00:15:01.560 Congressman Louie Gohmert

00:15:02.860 of Texas,

00:15:04.180 tested positive

00:15:04.920 for coronavirus

00:15:05.960 the same week

00:15:07.280 that we had

00:15:08.140 a major hearing

00:15:09.220 with Attorney General Barr

00:15:10.720 that Louie participated in.

00:15:12.200 So, all of us

00:15:13.320 on the Judiciary Committee

00:15:14.440 got tested.

00:15:15.900 As far as I'm aware,

00:15:17.280 no one else on the committee

00:15:18.180 came up positive.

00:15:19.420 But, obviously,

00:15:20.660 a lot of folks

00:15:21.280 are concerned about Louie

00:15:22.540 and checking in on Louie.

00:15:24.080 I had a chance

00:15:24.560 to speak with him

00:15:25.160 about a day ago.

00:15:26.520 And, he's in good spirits.

00:15:28.240 He's taken hydroxychloroquine.

00:15:30.500 He's taking zinc.

00:15:31.600 He's taking an aggressive dosage

00:15:33.200 of antibiotics as well.

00:15:35.040 And, he really believes

00:15:36.420 that, you know,

00:15:37.420 he's going to fight through this

00:15:38.720 and be just fine

00:15:39.780 on the other side.

00:15:40.560 And, so, I wanted to pass along

00:15:42.140 that he is in good spirits.

00:15:44.160 He appreciates everyone's

00:15:45.200 thoughts and prayers.

00:15:46.480 He has not fallen

00:15:47.780 into a state

00:15:49.140 of critical

00:15:50.820 healthcare need,

00:15:52.720 though he's staying home,

00:15:54.000 getting a lot of fluids.

00:15:55.380 And, I certainly hope

00:15:56.560 that Louie's well off.

00:15:58.140 What I've heard from

00:15:58.840 another number of people

00:16:00.360 I know

00:16:00.960 who've come down

00:16:02.180 with this virus

00:16:02.880 is that, you know,

00:16:03.940 you can kind of

00:16:04.700 fight it back,

00:16:05.500 fight it back.

00:16:06.300 And, right when you think

00:16:07.320 you're really doing well

00:16:08.720 and beating it,

00:16:09.340 you can get another

00:16:10.060 really tough week.

00:16:11.100 So, I don't mean to suggest

00:16:12.460 at all that Louie's

00:16:13.640 out of the woods,

00:16:14.340 but I did want to pass along

00:16:15.960 his well wishes

00:16:17.180 to everyone,

00:16:18.200 his desire to get back

00:16:19.500 to work,

00:16:20.280 and his belief

00:16:21.320 in his doctors

00:16:22.340 to design a medical regimen

00:16:23.920 that will be effective

00:16:25.060 for him.

00:16:26.000 Get well soon, Louie.

00:16:27.040 We all miss you.

00:16:31.180 My friend,

00:16:32.000 U.S. Representative

00:16:32.800 Rodney Davis,

00:16:34.300 a Republican

00:16:34.840 from Illinois,

00:16:35.700 has just released

00:16:37.060 a statement

00:16:37.500 that he has tested

00:16:38.960 positive for COVID-19,

00:16:41.660 indicating that he takes

00:16:42.960 his temperature twice daily

00:16:44.360 as a consequence

00:16:45.080 of his interactions

00:16:46.140 with the public,

00:16:47.320 and that as a consequence

00:16:48.880 of the frequent testing

00:16:50.960 he receives

00:16:51.640 for the virus itself,

00:16:53.180 he popped positive.

00:16:54.400 So, he's delayed

00:16:55.200 his public events,

00:16:56.500 he's going to distance,

00:16:58.060 and wait for the ability

00:16:59.440 to have multiple

00:17:00.300 negative test results.

00:17:02.280 Rodney Davis is

00:17:03.560 probably the most liked

00:17:05.740 member of the

00:17:06.360 United States Congress.

00:17:07.940 Republicans and Democrats

00:17:09.140 alike really look up

00:17:10.720 to him.

00:17:11.080 He is the Republican lead

00:17:12.280 on the House

00:17:12.800 Administration Committee

00:17:13.960 overseeing how we are

00:17:16.400 supposed to keep

00:17:17.340 our staffs and our offices

00:17:18.820 safe during the virus.

00:17:20.840 He's given us

00:17:21.620 a lot of updates

00:17:22.420 and guidance

00:17:23.160 and advice

00:17:23.800 about how to do

00:17:24.880 all we can

00:17:25.580 with these essential

00:17:27.100 workplaces

00:17:27.840 in the United States Congress

00:17:29.140 to keep them functional

00:17:30.820 and to ensure

00:17:32.000 that the offices

00:17:33.260 themselves

00:17:33.820 don't become

00:17:34.680 a transmission space

00:17:36.100 for the virus.

00:17:36.920 But look,

00:17:37.400 I mean,

00:17:37.600 people still need help

00:17:38.680 with VA benefits,

00:17:40.460 with Social Security,

00:17:41.980 with issues

00:17:42.620 throughout the federal government,

00:17:43.820 and our offices

00:17:44.580 do need to keep working.

00:17:46.580 In our office,

00:17:47.320 we've chosen to do that

00:17:48.820 principally remotely

00:17:50.360 and digitally,

00:17:51.420 though we do have

00:17:52.200 some employees

00:17:52.820 who prefer to come

00:17:53.920 into the office

00:17:54.520 and we make that

00:17:55.660 available to them

00:17:56.620 with mask use

00:17:57.980 and with really extensive

00:17:59.580 hand-washing,

00:18:00.560 sanitation.

00:18:01.060 We all are hoping

00:18:03.240 for a fast recovery

00:18:04.320 for our colleague

00:18:05.040 Rodney Davis,

00:18:06.260 for our colleague

00:18:06.860 Louie Gohmert.

00:18:07.900 I hope they turn out

00:18:09.420 the way Tom Rice did,

00:18:10.640 you know,

00:18:10.900 having very mild symptoms

00:18:12.540 and able to get back

00:18:13.640 to work

00:18:14.100 and serve constituents

00:18:15.340 and a number of others.

00:18:16.740 I know I'm forgetting more.

00:18:18.480 But it reminds me back

00:18:19.540 to when I was

00:18:21.000 catching a lot of shade

00:18:22.180 from the liberal media

00:18:23.380 for being the first

00:18:24.460 congressman

00:18:25.180 to wear a mask

00:18:26.540 on the floor

00:18:27.100 of the House of Representatives.

00:18:28.840 And I said at the time

00:18:29.900 that members of Congress

00:18:31.360 were absolutely

00:18:32.060 going to catch this

00:18:33.580 by virtue of

00:18:34.940 the airports

00:18:35.980 that we travel through,

00:18:37.240 the hugging

00:18:38.060 and handshaking

00:18:39.220 and interaction

00:18:39.980 that is just

00:18:41.320 a part of the job

00:18:42.760 for a lot of people.

00:18:43.820 And you can't exactly,

00:18:45.160 you know,

00:18:45.480 stiff arm someone

00:18:46.300 when they come

00:18:47.140 to give you a fist bump

00:18:48.180 or an elbow bump

00:18:49.020 or a handshake.

00:18:49.780 And so we do end up

00:18:51.040 with a lot of interactions.

00:18:52.500 And so I wish

00:18:53.300 that my prediction

00:18:54.300 would have turned out

00:18:55.820 to be false.

00:18:56.580 I wish that

00:18:57.100 so many of my colleagues

00:18:58.480 had not come down

00:18:59.960 with coronavirus,

00:19:01.100 but many have.

00:19:02.480 I wish them all well.

00:19:04.220 I hope they have

00:19:04.840 speedy recoveries.

00:19:06.380 And especially

00:19:06.840 to my friend Rodney Davis,

00:19:08.120 who has just recently

00:19:09.400 announced this news.

00:19:10.900 I'm hoping for a fast recovery

00:19:12.620 and for safety

00:19:13.520 to his wonderful family.

00:19:15.560 See you soon, Rodney.

00:19:19.760 Former Vice President

00:19:20.840 Joe Biden

00:19:21.580 apparently thinks

00:19:22.640 that the Latino community

00:19:24.980 is more diverse

00:19:26.500 than the African-American community.

00:19:28.780 Take a listen.

00:19:29.620 See if you can make sense of it.

00:19:30.740 What you all know,

00:19:31.660 but most people don't know,

00:19:33.600 unlike the African-American community 1.00

00:19:35.140 with notable exceptions,

00:19:36.680 the Latino community

00:19:37.560 is an incredibly diverse community.

00:19:39.560 I don't know why

00:19:40.100 Joe Biden gets a pass

00:19:41.980 on comments like this

00:19:43.320 from any group of voters.

00:19:45.380 Diversity is not based

00:19:47.040 on skin color

00:19:48.360 or country of national origin alone.

00:19:51.940 Diversity can be,

00:19:53.260 you know,

00:19:53.620 based on the type

00:19:54.880 of upbringing someone had,

00:19:56.240 the type of perspective

00:19:57.160 someone had,

00:19:58.380 you know,

00:19:58.960 how someone solves problems.

00:20:01.760 And I just think

00:20:02.660 that Joe Biden

00:20:03.420 is hyper-reductive

00:20:05.020 when speaking

00:20:05.960 about people of color,

00:20:07.240 that they all

00:20:07.900 have to think one way.

00:20:09.340 Remember, like,

00:20:09.960 the you ain't black comment?

00:20:12.220 Like, does Joe Biden 0.59

00:20:13.140 think that there is one,

00:20:14.960 like, you know,

00:20:15.960 homogenous African-American

00:20:17.740 viewpoint on the world?

00:20:19.520 I don't think

00:20:19.940 that's the case.

00:20:21.000 My African-American

00:20:22.080 colleagues and friends

00:20:23.280 have views

00:20:24.360 and backgrounds

00:20:25.060 and experiences

00:20:25.940 that are oftentimes

00:20:27.300 just as diverse,

00:20:28.700 just as, I think,

00:20:30.280 complex and interesting

00:20:31.700 and rich

00:20:32.500 as the backgrounds

00:20:34.080 of people

00:20:34.620 of other ethnicities

00:20:36.620 and backgrounds.

00:20:37.400 So I would hope

00:20:38.620 that any leader,

00:20:40.800 any former leader,

00:20:42.880 any policymaker

00:20:44.200 that wants the opportunity

00:20:46.560 to advance our country

00:20:48.080 would also understand

00:20:49.460 that we are more

00:20:50.800 than our skin color.

00:20:55.580 Is flying safe

00:20:57.060 in the era of COVID?

00:20:58.940 It's a very important

00:20:59.780 question to answer

00:21:00.720 for our economy,

00:21:02.320 for a lot of the federal

00:21:03.700 policies that we must shape.

00:21:05.740 And there's an opinion

00:21:06.980 by Faye Flom

00:21:08.380 in Bloomberg Opinion

00:21:09.780 entitled,

00:21:10.780 The Odds of Catching COVID

00:21:11.900 on a Flight Are Slim.

00:21:13.360 And it chronicles

00:21:15.300 an MIT study

00:21:16.640 that goes into

00:21:17.940 the types of air filters

00:21:19.860 that are on planes,

00:21:21.580 the sanitation

00:21:22.780 that's being used,

00:21:24.280 and the analysis

00:21:25.860 suggests

00:21:26.580 that you've got

00:21:27.640 about a 1 in 4,300

00:21:29.940 chance of getting COVID

00:21:32.180 on a full two-hour flight.

00:21:35.000 And if an airline

00:21:36.760 leaves the middle seat

00:21:38.240 unoccupied,

00:21:39.520 that actually drops

00:21:40.720 to about 1 in 7,700.

00:21:43.280 So thank you

00:21:44.360 to those airlines

00:21:45.360 who are actually

00:21:46.500 leaving the middle seat

00:21:47.840 empty.

00:21:48.280 It has a huge impact

00:21:49.560 on transmission rates.

00:21:51.120 It's very frustrating

00:21:52.020 to me that

00:21:52.720 an airline I fly on,

00:21:54.240 a lot of American airlines,

00:21:55.860 just came out

00:21:56.460 and said,

00:21:57.100 they're booking

00:21:57.440 the middle seats.

00:21:58.340 And their rationale

00:21:59.000 wasn't that it

00:22:00.280 makes you safer

00:22:01.580 or that it doesn't

00:22:02.660 increase your risk

00:22:03.400 of infection.

00:22:04.440 They just said,

00:22:05.020 to hell with it. 0.94

00:22:05.580 This is how we have

00:22:06.360 to make money.

00:22:07.060 We can't make money

00:22:07.920 if we don't book

00:22:08.440 the middle seats.

00:22:09.020 So we're making the money.

00:22:10.700 And that's frustrating

00:22:11.780 when you consider

00:22:12.340 the fact that

00:22:12.920 these airlines

00:22:13.580 got a lot of bailouts

00:22:14.980 and American airlines

00:22:16.280 took that bailout.

00:22:17.520 So, you know,

00:22:18.500 good on you

00:22:19.060 to those like Delta,

00:22:21.280 Southwest,

00:22:21.980 who are giving passengers

00:22:23.720 a little social distance.

00:22:25.400 This study seems to suggest

00:22:27.260 that that is very helpful

00:22:29.100 to passengers.

00:22:30.460 It goes on to conclude

00:22:31.440 that you've got

00:22:32.240 about a 1 in 400,000

00:22:34.260 chance to die

00:22:35.800 or that could actually

00:22:37.000 go as low as

00:22:37.920 1 in 600,000

00:22:39.240 depending on age

00:22:40.800 and other risk factors.

00:22:42.560 But not everyone agrees.

00:22:44.140 You know,

00:22:44.320 the Boston Globe

00:22:45.120 has a study

00:22:45.760 that's also cited

00:22:46.640 in this piece

00:22:47.360 that says that

00:22:48.440 out of 15 epidemiologists

00:22:50.380 and infectious

00:22:50.980 disease experts

00:22:52.280 surveyed,

00:22:53.240 only 13

00:22:54.880 said they would

00:22:56.120 not fly.

00:22:57.540 So,

00:22:58.320 actually,

00:22:58.760 I guess that is

00:22:59.380 consistent

00:23:00.220 with what you saw

00:23:01.460 in the MIT report

00:23:03.060 that is principally

00:23:04.140 the basis

00:23:04.660 for this Bloomberg

00:23:05.920 opinion piece.

00:23:06.880 And I hope it's true

00:23:08.040 that flying

00:23:09.800 can be considered

00:23:10.680 safe for those

00:23:12.100 who, you know,

00:23:12.960 perhaps are younger,

00:23:14.440 healthier,

00:23:15.300 but the policy choice

00:23:16.740 is pretty obvious.

00:23:18.020 Let's try to

00:23:18.720 leave that middle seat 0.92

00:23:20.100 empty

00:23:20.420 and let's try

00:23:22.000 to make sure

00:23:22.520 that we can

00:23:23.120 have that likely

00:23:24.740 infection rate

00:23:25.500 because

00:23:25.880 if airports

00:23:27.360 and airplanes

00:23:28.340 are not

00:23:28.940 a vector

00:23:31.300 for the spreading

00:23:33.140 of this disease,

00:23:34.460 then I think

00:23:35.080 that there's

00:23:35.520 an element

00:23:36.020 of the economy

00:23:36.800 that's been

00:23:37.320 substantially impacted

00:23:38.500 that would have

00:23:39.340 a chance

00:23:39.700 to rebound.

00:23:41.500 Thanks for listening

00:23:42.420 to Hot Takes.

00:23:43.260 I'm Congressman

00:23:43.900 Matt Gaetz.

00:23:45.180 Hope you enjoy

00:23:45.840 the weekend

00:23:46.280 and if you haven't

00:23:47.300 had the chance

00:23:47.860 to go and check out

00:23:48.940 HBO's documentary

00:23:50.280 The Swamp,

00:23:51.380 it's still available

00:23:52.240 on HBO Max

00:23:53.560 and it gives you

00:23:54.620 a real sense

00:23:55.220 of how Washington,

00:23:56.560 D.C.

00:23:56.940 works behind the scenes,

00:23:58.160 what the incentives

00:23:59.540 and pressures are

00:24:00.520 in the United States

00:24:01.200 Congress

00:24:01.640 and during calendar

00:24:02.960 year 2019,

00:24:04.480 which gosh,

00:24:05.020 seems so long ago now,

00:24:06.980 how I dealt

00:24:07.680 with those things

00:24:08.320 and the decisions

00:24:08.860 I came to.

00:24:09.600 So check out

00:24:10.140 The Swamp

00:24:10.640 on HBO

00:24:11.600 over the weekend

00:24:12.380 and join us next week

00:24:13.840 for more Hot Takes.

The Anchormen Show with Matt Gaetz - August 07, 2020

Episode 63 - L.A. Threatens to Shut Off Water and Power to Residents. COVID Relief Bill - Will A Deal Happen Soon？ Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.

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