Episode 78 - Unhinged Mob Attacks Rand Paul. Obesity and COVID Don't Mix. LEGOgate.
Episode Stats
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Summary
Sen. Rand Paul describes his experience with anti-Trump protesters outside the White House after his speech at the Democratic National Convention. Rep. Brian Mast and his wife were also attacked by a large group of protesters after their departure from the event.
Transcript
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Welcome to Hot Takes. I'm Congressman Matt Gaetz. Let's talk about the news. We're going to be
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talking about all the news that President Trump made during his convention nomination acceptance
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speech at the White House last evening and play some highlights. But the news that is dominating
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Washington, D.C. is the concern over some of the folks who attended the president's event who then
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saw a lot of violence, a lot of, I would say, hostility, assault following their departure.
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Senator Rand Paul left on foot. Congressman Brian Mast left on foot. They were both accosted by
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protesters. Here's Rand Paul discussing the experience on Fox and Friends this morning.
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My wife and I, it was horrific. We had two women with us who were friends of ours.
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We had looked out. We came out of the speech and we looked into the street. Our hotel was only right
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across the street from the White House, but we couldn't go because the mob was already chasing
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people down that chose to go out that exit. So the Secret Service says, get on a bus and ride
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to the Trump Hotel. So we got on a bus. It took 45 minutes to get through all the mobs.
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We get there safely. And then we say we'll get an Uber to go all the way back where we came from
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and we wanted to be dropped off at the hotel. But as we got close to it, the streets were blocked
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and no one would let us through. And what happened is there was two blocks. And I regret that I made
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this decision, but I said we're going to walk the two blocks. We walked one block. But as we walked one
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block, we could see some police in the distance. But we also saw a mob of about 30 people marching
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and yelling. They all of a sudden saw me right as we got to the policemen, fortunately, or I don't
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think we'd have survived. We got to the policemen and the policemen I don't think recognized me.
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And as they came closer, they were shouting my name and the crowd doubled to 60. And then it doubled
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again to 120. And as they were surrounding us and it got closer and closer and everybody kept pushing
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back. The policemen were forming a barricade with their bodies. I whispered to the policemen,
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they know who I am. You've got to get reinforcements. It's going to get worse.
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He called for reinforcements, but we didn't get any reinforcements. We waited, but the crowd was
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getting bigger and bigger and pushing in. There were yelling threats. They were trying to push the
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police over to get to me. They were grabbing at us. And it got worse and worse and worse. And then finally,
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we decided to make a move. I said, we've got to move. If there's not going to be reinforcements,
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we have to try to get to the hotel, which was another block. And they were shouting threats,
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you know, to us, to kill us, to hurt us. But they're also saying, shouting, say her name,
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Breonna Taylor. And it's like, you couldn't reason with this mob, but I'm actually the author
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of the Breonna Taylor law to end no-knock raids. So the irony is lost on these idiots that they're
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trying to kill the person who's actually trying to get rid of no-knock raids. And they were shouting and
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screaming and just, it really, these people were unhinged. But I can't tell you how, I'm not sure
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we would have made it. So as we're walking, sort of surrounded by the police, they're attempting to
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push the police over to get to me. So at one point, they push a policeman backwards, he stumbles,
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and he's trying to catch his balance. And I catch the back of his flak jacket to stabilize him
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and, you know, make sure that he's okay, because he's our defense. I mean, if he's down,
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the mob's loose on us. And you've seen the pictures of what they do to you. If the police are not there,
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if you defund the police, if we become Portland, if America becomes Portland,
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what's going to happen is people are going to be pummeled and kicked in the head and left senseless on
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the curb. That would have happened to us. I promise you, had we not had the D.C. police to support us,
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I mean, we are thankful that we have police, and we've got to wake up. We can't have the whole
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country. We can't have Joe Biden rule the country and have no police. I mean, we can't walk down the
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street in D.C. safely now. That's how bad it is. I did not leave on foot. I had buses awaiting. I
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think most of the folks who attended left on buses, but some of the folks were staying very close to
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the White House. And so it just simply made more sense for them to depart on foot. And we did not have
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the expectation that people would be met with this type of, I would say, violence. I mean,
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when someone is engaging in an assault, it's a violent act. It's no longer a peaceful protest.
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I do agree that something that's fundamentally American is the right to stand up and yell at
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your elected officials. That's why we have town hall meetings. That's why we avail ourselves to
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criticism in person, online, and otherwise. In a free society, we ought to be able to criticize
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our leaders and our elected officials. But that does not extend to assault on the street. That does
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not extend to trying to terrorize someone when they're walking back to their place of abode with
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their spouse. This was not a debate. This was not a discussion. This was an attempt to instill fear
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in Rand Paul and his wife, Kelly, and in turn, instill that very fear in the rest of us. And that's really
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the problem with this movement on the radical left. There is no grace in it. It is not a welcoming
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endeavor. It exists to demonize, terrorize, and fundamentally change America for the worse.
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Good thing the president has a competing vision for our country that is positive and optimistic.
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Listen to some of the more uplifting portions of the president's speech last night.
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As long as I am president, we will defend the absolute right of every American citizen to live in
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security, dignity, and peace. This November, we must turn the page forever on this failed
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But I'll say it differently. The fact is, we're here, and they're not.
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To me, one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in the world, and it's not a building,
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it's a home, as far as I'm concerned. Not even a house. It's a home. It's a wonderful place
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with an incredible history. But it's all because of you. Together, we will write the next chapter
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of the great American story. If the Democrat Party wants to stand with anarchists, agitators, rioters,
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looters, and flag burners, that is up to them. But I, as your president, will not be a part
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of it. The Republican Party will remain the voice of the patriotic heroes who keep America
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Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is resigning as a consequence of health concerns. Prime Minister
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Abe is known in Japan for democratizing a number of economic reforms, dubbed Abeonomics. Hope I
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didn't butcher that. He also loosened a number of restrictions on the Japanese military that were
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in place since World War II. That's really important because under the Trump presidency, we take the
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foreign policy view that we are stronger when our allies are stronger and more capable and more
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engaged around the world. I think the neoconservatives take the view that only America can
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lead, that it has to be the extension of American treasure and blood and influence everywhere that
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has to dominate geopolitical activity. President Trump believes that our allies can and should
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do more. He's had our NATO allies make substantially larger contributions, making up a greater share of
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their GDP to NATO. And with Japan, we really have an ally in intelligence, in the preservation of
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navigation. And they have been a good geopolitical bridge builder for the United States throughout Asia,
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particularly as a counterpoint to China. And while Abe tried for many years to improve Japan's relationship
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with China, it remains a tense and competitive relationship. I think in large part because Japan gets the joke
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that the reason that they're having these challenges with North Korea is because China permits it. And I think Abe saw
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that clearly. He also saw clearly the value in the relationship with President Trump. I could tell you from
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President Trump's perspective, the relationship was very strong, very solid. We had a historic trade deal
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with Japan executed during the Trump presidency that I think leveraged their personal friendship and personal
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diplomacy with one another. And with Japan, more, I think, able to rally other elements of Asia to
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resist Chinese domination, we could see the United States have higher focus on some of the strategic
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objectives that China is trying to accomplish faster than we are, whether that be 5G or AI, or really just
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the hard wiring of telecommunication systems in Europe and throughout the world. The stronger Japan is,
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I think, the more that inures to the benefit of the United States. And so we wish Prime Minister Abe well.
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We thank him during his leadership of Japan for the tremendous partnership that we've had with our
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two countries. And we hope he gets better and is able to enjoy the next chapter of his life. We also
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hope that these reforms that Japan has endeavored upon quite successfully during Abe's era will continue
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following his leadership tenure. Ivanka Trump told a lovely story of the president's grandson,
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her son Joseph, and a Lego structure that he had built of the White House. Take a listen.
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When Jared and I moved with our three young children to Washington, we didn't exactly know what we were in for.
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But our kids, our kids loved it from the start. My son Joseph promptly built Grandpa a Lego replica
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of the White House. The president still displays it on the mantle in the Oval Office right over there
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so that he can show world leaders just so they know he has the greatest grandchildren on earth.
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And so it didn't take long for the left-wing media to even make issue with three-year-old Joseph's
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construction of a Lego White House. That's right, Andrea Bernstein, one of these typical mainstream
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New York media types tweets. Ivanka Trump has tweeted a photo of her son Joseph with his grandfather at
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the Resolute desk with the Lego White House. I've asked the White House if three-year-old Joseph
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indeed built this on his own initiative. And if he had assistance, will treat reply if when I get it.
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And of course, Donald Trump Jr. had some fun with this tweeting in reply in case you're wondering
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how absolutely insane the left-wing media has become. Look no further than this tweet. Are you
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kidding me? Now they're going after three-year-olds. So I guess the mainstream media is so eager to fact
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check that now they are in the business of fact checking whether a three-year-old built a
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Lego version of the White House. Who knows? Maybe they'll send in some of their regulators to do
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like a code inspection to see if the Lego White House has, you know, the right amount of tie-downs
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and the right structural integrity. I'll tweet the reply if I get it.
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America struggles with our weight. The CDC says that about 40% of Americans are technically obese.
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And while I'm sure folks can take issue with the mechanism by which that determination is made,
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there's no question that during the time of coronavirus, we need to be doing a lot more to
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get healthy. CNN's Shelby Lynn Erdman has a story just up. Obesity increases risk of complications from
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COVID-19 damages vaccine efficiency study fines. And I mean, just listen to this lead. Obesity increases
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the risk of contracting the coronavirus of landing in the hospital and intensive care and the risk of
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death from COVID-19, according to a new study from UNC Chapel Hill. So again, we've heard a lot about how
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obesity is a comorbidity that increases the acuity and risk of coronavirus, but it even can increase the
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risk of contracting the coronavirus to the tune of a 46% greater risk of catching COVID than non-obese
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people and a 113% increased risk of hospitalization. This has an interesting intersection with like
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gym policy, right? I mean, one of the reasons why a few of us, you know, may have packed on the COVID-15
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is that our gym, our normal yoga group, workout group, workout routine has been interrupted like a lot of
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other aspects of our life. But it's important to remember that resiliency begins with the individual. Don't
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first be looking for the government to make you more resilient against this virus. You have a way to make
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yourself more resilient by getting into better shape, losing a few of those extra pounds and ensuring that you've got a
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lower probability to contract the disease. And then if you do contract the disease, you've got the best
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possibility to survive it. So I guess like Michelle Obama would say, let's get up and move. Thanks so
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much for listening to Hot Takes. I'm Congressman Matt Cates. Hope you enjoy the show. Hope you leave a
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five-star rating. Put in a review. Let us know what you'd like to hear and join us next week for more Hot Takes.