We as Republicans and our
elected leaders
must do more than criticize and complain.
Personally, a celebrity
just aren't going to get it done.
We can see that they don't want chaos.
They want strength
and stability and unity.
We didn't have that in times like these.
There is no substitute for victory.
Republican potential
presidential candidates
making their pitch
to the Republican
Jewish Coalition convention in Las Vegas.
Welcome back to State of the Union.
My panel joins me now.
Brad, let me start with you.
President Trump
former President Trump's announcement
this week does not really,
at least from where I sit,
does not seem to have deterred
a number of individuals
who might run, at least
based on those clips.
What do you think?
No open primaries or the only con we have
on the Republican side.
He will have a proposition.
I think the real question is
whether he ends up
with the most opposition
or just governor DeSantis of Florida.
I think there's going
to be a pretty big move
by major donors
to try to coalesce
around Governor DeSantis.
I think other people
are going to toy with it and consider it.
He probably can't get in till July.
Price shouldn't get until July one.
He's got a legislative session
to go through.
And the other American people
don't really want
all the time campaigning.
They just finished the midterms.
I think they want to break politicians.
They're smart or give them a break.
And I think
that if I was Governor DeSantis,
I wouldn't get in anytime soon.
And Sarah, what do you think?
Because one of the one of the things
that's interesting
is hardly any of those individuals
mentioned Donald Trump by name,
even though
clearly they were talking about him
one way or the other.
Chris Christie
called them out on that in an interview
saying there's a number of people
who are considering running for president
who still treat him like Voldemort,
like issue, who shall not be named.
I think that fails the leadership test.
You're going to run against him.
Say his name.
You think he did something wrong,
say his name. What do you think?
Yeah, I do think that
people need to get into the race
if they want to take him on
and they're going to have to
eventually attack him.
I think right
now, though,
the strategy
that you're seeing from someone
like Ron DeSantis to not take the bait,
not call him out by name
and to kind of not engage is smart
because that's what Trump wants.
He wants to get under his skin
and he wants to get the attention
and kind of get the clicks.
But I think that for right
now, it's best to not engage with Trump.
But I think with Trump back on Twitter,
I he hasn't tweeted yet.
I noticed that.
But it's going to be
almost be impossible
not to
because he's going to engage with them.
So how is Ron
DeSantis really going to have
the ability to hold back?
And I think that's going to be true
for anybody
who's thinking about getting in.
That is the way Donald Trump works.
He will engage you.
And then it's your
are you really going to stand
by and stand back and just get attacked
and they're all going to get their own
nickname Yes.
You know,
I can't Pompeo said something about that.
Right.
And I mean, I can't
wait to see Mike Pence's nickname.
But what struck me just watching
that is how many people
who are standing up there
potentially putting their name out
on the ballot for 20, 24 are complicit
with what happened
under the Trump
administration and complicit
with January six.
How are they going to run
in a primary against Donald Trump
and position themselves
as being different, better, less divisive
than Donald Trump?
They were right there.
The elections are about the future.
Voters tend to look at the windshield,
not the rear, not in the rearview mirror
except for us.
So, you know,
I think Donald, we know Donald Trump's
pretty good predator in campaigns, right?
He's not always good
at picking his person,
but he's good
at tearing someone else down.
But he also has a different opponent
this time.
It's not just those people
who are running
some of this exhaustion
even within the Republican primary.
And I think his obsession
with him, with him,
I think the one thing
he has to be concerned with
is he's entered very, very early.
And he does
have the attention span
and the tolerance
to the Republican base
who might be a little bit worn out
right now.
I don't know that I would have entered
as soon as he did,
and I don't know
that I would run this thing
that mocked him the whole time.
Well,
he obviously thought
that he was going to be announcing
on the heels of a victory.
Yeah, right. Oops, that didn't happen.
That red wave never manifested.
And I think the other challenge
that they're going to have
with a Republican House led Congress
that is just hellbent on investigations,
that is all about the past.
Right.
Hunter Biden on COVID is going to be
how COVID started is one of them.
That's all about looking about the past.
That's all about dividing this country.
That is not about dealing with inflation.
That is not about
bringing the country together.
And if you're running for president,
you're supposed to be
the person who can be the boss
of the whole Republican.
Hang on it.
When Democrats took over the House
in 2018
within five months,
they had 14 different committees
investigating the
Republican administration.
It's a legitimate congressional function
and that's what's going to happen.
I just want to interrupt
just to show people
what we're talking about here,
because these are some of the topics
that House Republicans
have talked about that
they want to launch
oversight investigations.
There's the southern border,
the withdrawal from Afghanistan,
the origin of the COVID 19 pandemic.
The Justice Department
in terms of the FBI
seizing the materials from Mar a Lago
and then Hunter Biden.
So I just want to see if there is a
there is absolutely a legitimate
congressional function
to provide
oversight of the executive branch.
However, just take Republicans
for their word.
The new Republican majority
in the House for their word.
This is about revenge politics.
They're doing this to weaken Joe Biden.
That's what they have said on the record.
And I think they
you know,
I think we would all agree that they need
to be really careful here
and not overreach,
because ultimately that list
is not going to weaken Joe Biden.
It is going to strengthen Joe Biden
because they are not paying attention
to what the American people told them.
James Comer is chair of
the Oversight
Committee, has said he's not interested
in investigating the Mar a Lago raid.
However, he is interested
in investigating
whether the Department of Justice
coordinated with outside actors
to declare people
who go to school boards
to voice their opinions
to be domestic terrorist.
That's a legitimate function.
We also have had zero hearings
in the U.S.
House looking into the botched
withdrawal of Afghanistan.
That's a legitimate oversight function.
And I think
once you see this Congress take shape,
you're going to
you're going to see that
there have been hearings
You know, I
just think that the
this is the tail wagging the dog.
And, you know, Kevin McCarthy,
if he becomes
speaker, is not going to be able
to control his caucus.
And we know,
because we've all been
through this before,
what's going to happen?
They're going to make a mockery
of the system and completely overreach.
But they're going to be investigating
someone.
They're investigating Joe Biden.
The American people
do not think that he is a crook.
They do not think that he is corrupt.
So, yes,
So, Sara,
I want to bring you in here
because, look,
I agree with Brad
that there is a legitimate oversight
function of Congress.
And it's a shame
that parties
never investigate their own party
in the White House,
whether it's Republicans
investigating Trump or Democrats
investigating Biden.
That said,
I think one of the things
Stephanie is talking about
is when Republicans controlled
the House in the nineties,
there were some really bizarre.
You were
you don't remember,
but there were some really
there were some really bizarre moments
there.
The Congressman, Dan Burton, from Indiana
talk to remember this.
He was
he was looking into the Vince
Foster and suicide and he, like,
fired his gun into a pumpkin to see.
I mean, there were some weird stuff.
And the question is
which Republicans
are going to be in charge
of these investigations?
Is it going to be the
the more serious, sober
Republicans, McCaul, Turner, etc.
said or is it going to be the Marjorie
Taylor Greens?
I do think it's going to be
more of the Marjorie Taylor Greene,
because I think that to secure
the gavel,
McCarthy is obviously making concessions
to people in the far right,
like Marjorie Taylor Greene.
That's why you're seeing her
come out so forceful and defending him
and pushing him.
And, you know, clearly
he's promised her something.
And I think you're going to see her.
I think it's been reported
that she wants to be on oversight.
So you're going to see her
probably get a plum position
on a very important committee
that's going to have a lot of power.
I do think there is legitimacy
to some of these investigations.
To Brad's point,
but I did think it was strange
that House
Republicans came out of the gate
saying we're going to investigate
Hunter Biden
when I think
there are so many other issues
that voters
want to see them
tackle like the border crisis,
like inflation, gas prices, you name it.
So I did think that was an odd shrug.
Yeah, to be continued.
We'll have a lot of committee hearings
to talk about.
I promise you'll get to weigh in very.