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.


Episode Stats

Length

24 minutes

Words per Minute

160.83138

Word Count

3,900

Sentence Count

206

Misogynist Sentences

3

Hate Speech Sentences

5


Summary

The deadline for a deal between the White House and Congressional Democrats to reach a deal on a compromise on the budget and debt ceiling is Friday, which means that if a deal is not reached by then, the negotiations will be called off until next week.


Transcript

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,
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,
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
00:10:07.100 about how, oh, Trump is a fascist
00:10:09.460 and an authoritarian
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.