SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPORTING
THERE.
GOOD TO SEE YOU.
LET’S GET RIGHT AT IT WITH
JOINING US NOW FROM THE HOUSE
OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE IS
CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY MACE.
CONGRESSWOMAN, GREAT TO HAVE YOU
BACK ON.
WE HAVE RON KLAIN, WHITE HOUSE
CHIEF OF STAFF, HE IS GETTING IN
TROUBLE FOR HIS WEIRD TWEETS,
RIGHT?
HE IS CRITICIZED AGAIN ON SOCIAL
MEDIA.
HE RETWEETED A COLUMN FROM
"THE HILL" WRITTEN BY AL HUNT
CLAIMING 2021 WAS NOT ALL BAD
FOR THE WHITE HOUSE WHEN THAT
STORY LEFT OUT MULTIPLE CRISES,
THE BORDER IN CHAOS, 39-YEAR
HIGH IN INFLATION AND IT
DOWNPLAYED AFGHANISTAN AND THAT
DEBACLE THERE.
ARE YOU SEEING THIS, THERE IS
SORT OF THIS BUBBLE MENTALITY IN
D.C.?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
I WOULD TELL YOU THAT THE BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION IS REALLY TONE
DEAF TO HARD-WORKING
MIDDLE-CLASS AMERICANS WHETHER
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT IMMIGRATION
OR AFGHANISTAN OR OTHER ISSUES.
IN 2021 WE HAD THE BOTCHED EXIT
FROM AFGHANISTAN.
COVID HAS BEEN ON THE RISE EVEN
WITH MASS VACCINATIONS.
INFLATION IS HIGHER THAN EVER IN
THE LAST 30 YEARS.
AND THEN WE HAD MORE BORDER
CROSSINGS THAN EVER IN THE LAST
30 YEARS.
SO ALL OF THESE ISSUES ARE
PILING UP.
THAT ARTICLE ALSO SAID THAT THE
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WAS MORE
HONEST AND MORE COMPETENT.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT FAILURES,
DIFFERENT CRISES WE FACED OVER
THE LAST YEAR, I THINK THAT IS
REALLY HARD TO ARGUE.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT RAINBOWS AND
UNICORNS THEY’RE SEEING ACROSS
THE COUNTRY BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT
REAL PEOPLE, REAL FAMILIES AND
REAL WORKERS ARE SEEING DAY IN,
DAY OUT RIGHT NOW.
ELIZABETH: NOW YOU’VE GOT
"THE HILL" NEWSPAPER, CNN,
"NEW YORK TIMES," TALKING ABOUT
OTHER DEMOCRATS WHO COULD ON THE
2024 TICKET.
WE CAN’T RECALL WHEN WE’VE SEEN
THAT BEFORE IN A PRESIDENT’S
FIRST TERM.
THE REPORTS ARE COMING IN
PRESIDENT SAYING THE OMICRON
VARIANT CAUGHT THE WHITE HOUSE
OFF-GUARD WHEN THE WHITE HOUSE
WAS PREDICTING THE OMICRON
VARIANT AND DANGEROUS VARIANTS
SINCE THE SUMMER.
>> LET’S NOT --
ELIZABETH: WE NEED, WE NEED
TESTING, MORE TESTING TO COME IN
SO WE CAN, YOU KNOW, PUSH BACK
ON THIS PANDEMIC, RIGHT?
SO WE’VE GOT THAT KIND OF NEW
RHETORIC COMING OUT OF THE
WHITE HOUSE.
GO AHEAD.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
I RECALL IN MARCH OR APRIL OF
2020 WHEN COVID WAS REALLY
STARTING, REALLY STARTING TO
GRIP THE NATION I WROTE ONE OF
MY FIRST OP-EDS ON COVID-19 AND
I TALKED ABOUT THE NEED FOR
TESTING IN PARTICULAR RAPID
TESTING TO UNDERSTAND WHERE HOT
SPOTS ARE AND HOW TO DEFEAT THEM
AND KEEP PEOPLE HEALTHY AND
SAFE.
STILL NOW WE’RE TWO YEARS LATER,
WE HAVEN’T DONE THIS.
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WE
LEARNED LAST SPRING TURNED DOWN
A PLAN TO GIVE RAPID TESTS TO
AMERICANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
BOTH IN THE SPRING AND A SECOND
TIME IN OCTOBER.
AND NOW WHEN OMICRON IS BEFORE
US, RIGHT, IT US RIGHT HERE,
IT’S NOW, IT IS HAPPENING NOW,
TESTS ARE NOT ON THE SHELVES
WHEN YOU GO TO THE DRUGSTORE TO
GET THEM OVER-THE-COUNTER.
HOT SPOTS WE HAVE IN THE
NORTHEAST THEY’RE RUNNING OUT OF
TESTS.
PEOPLE ARE WAITING HOURS AND
HOURS IN LINE.
THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED
WITH BETTER PLANNING BUT HERE WE
ARE A YEAR INTO THE
ADMINISTRATION AND WE DON’T
REALLY HAVE A PLAN TO DEFEAT
OMICRON WITH TESTING.
THAT IS REALLY WHAT WE SHOULD BE
FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW.
ELIZABETH: YOU KNOW THE, WE KNOW
THAT RETAIL SALES ARE UP 8 1/2%.
THAT IS THE MOST IN 17 YEARS.
"THE HILL" NEWSPAPER, THAT
COLUMN THAT RON KLAIN RETWEETED,
IT WAS ASSIGNING A JOBLESS RATE
OF 4.2%, AND CLAIMING THAT TOTAL
WAGES INCLUDING EXTRA HOURS OF
WORK, EXTRA HOURS OF WORKOUT
PACED INFLATION.
UH-UH.
INFLATION IS WIPING OUT WAGE
GAINS, RIGHT?
WHEN YOU SEE ALL OF THIS, AND
YOU SEE THE MEDIA GOING CRAZY
ABOUT THIS FATHER IN OREGON WHO
CALLED THE PRESIDENT BRANDON IN
A PHONE CALL, I MEAN THAT IS
THEIR FOCUS, RIGHT?
BY THE WAY LET’S LISTEN TO THAT
SOUND BITE.
WATCH THIS.
>> I HOPE YOU GUYS HAVE A
WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS AS WELL.
AND "LET’S GO BRANDON."
>> "LET’S GO BRANDON."
I AGREE.
HEY, BY THE WAY, ARE YOU IN
OREGON?
WHERE IS YOUR HOME?
ELIZABETH: YOU KNOW, SO IT’S A
JOKE, RIGHT?
WE’VE GOT SO MANY, WHO CARES
THAT HE SAID THAT, BIG DEAL,
RIGHT?
I MEAN SO WHAT IT’S A JOKE,
CONGRESSWOMAN, RIGHT?
SO MANY OTHER THINGS GOING ON
THAN THIS.
>> ALL OF THIS FIGHTING THAT WE
SEE BOTH INTRA-PARTY AND ACROSS
THE AISLE MEANWHILE CHINA AND
RUSSIA ARE GOING TO EAT OUR
LUNCH LIZ, IF WE DON’T START
PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT IS
GOING ON AROUND THE WORLD.
WE CANNOT CONTINUE THE CRISIS OF
THIS ADMINISTRATION, WHY YOU’RE
SEEING BIDEN’S POLL NUMBERS SO
LOW.
WHY MODERATE DEMOCRATS,
INDEPENDENTS ARE LOOKING FOR AN
ALTERNATIVE RIGHT NOW ALMOST TWO
YEARS BEFORE A PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION AND HE HAS GOT BIG
PROBLEMS AHEAD, ESPECIALLY GOING
INTO THE 22 MIDTERMS.