I'm Jim DeFede and this week I spoke
to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
about whether Joe Biden should run again in 2024.
But we began with the state of the economy.
>>I'm really pleased to see that we've had gas prices
actually drop for the last 30 days.
Anytime you can have people,
especially during the summer months, pay less at the pump,
that's a good thing for people's bottom line.
And I think it's demonstrative
of the all hands on deck effort
that the President has been making
and Congress has been focused on.
We passed the Lower Food and Fuel Cost Act
and we're working to try to make sure
that we can do everything we can
to improve the economy
and help make sure that we can affect
people's household bottom line.
Food costs obviously are impacted by
the supply chain issues, which you know,
between the pandemic and Putin's war on Ukraine,
those have really, really been determinate factors
on the supply chain issue.
But you know, today on Friday,
I know this will air on Sunday, but on Friday,
I was really glad to see this morning
that interestingly, sales are up 1%.
I mean, that's not really a typical thing
when you have such a high rate of inflation.
So because we've been able to have historic unemployment,
you know, historic levels of employment,
it shows you that the economy is in a little bit
of an odd state right now.
We need to continue to make sure that we take the issues
that our people are facing seriously.
We are doing that,
and you know, we're doing that by the way,
without a single effort or vote from Republicans.
>>Yeah, I've always subscribed
to the adage that says if you, you know,
put six economists in a room
and you can get nine different opinions as a result.
I do not, I'm always,
whether it's a Republican president or Democratic president,
I'm not sure how much a president impacts the state
of the economy or those variables, such as inflation.
Tell me, to what extent do you think
that the Biden administration should be doing something
other than what it's doing right now?
>>Well, I think that's right.
I think that's a difficult,
cold thing to say when you're an elected official like me.
I mean, that almost feels like
a let them eat cake statement.
So it's true.
Presidents, no matter what party they are,
don't really have a lot of ability directly
to impact inflation or gas prices.
However, there are things that you can do
at a granular level that can make a difference.
And those things like, you know,
releasing oil from the strategic preserve
is something that President Biden has been doing.
Making sure that we can focus on price gouging
because look, we've had a 30 day drop in oil prices,
now we've seen, I mean, the gas prices,
now we've seen a little bit more of an impact
from the drop in the cost of a barrel of oil.
But overall, the oil companies are making bank,
billions and billions of dollars,
and they aren't proportionately
reducing the prices at the pump based on the price
of a barrel of oil.
And so that's on them
and that's why we pushed the Lower Food and Fuel Cost Act
so that we can put pressure on the gas companies,
on the oil companies, to lower their prices.
>>President Biden had promised to make Saudi Arabia a pariah
and he has now traveled to Saudi Arabia,
somewhat hand in hand to try to encourage them
to increase oil production
because of the domestic issues we have here at home.
Is this a, I mean, this is a bit embarrassing
for the President to have to go to Saudi Arabia in this way
after trying to say that they were gonna create,
they were gonna treat them as a pariah going forward
in his administration.
>>Well, I disagree with your characterization.
President Biden certainly isn't in Saudi Arabia
to pat and hand or to beg them to do anything.
The Middle East is one of the most strategic
and critical regions of the world.
And the Abraham Accords were an important
and significant achievement.
I was in Israel earlier this year,
had a chance to meet with the ambassadors
from the United Arab Emirates,
from Morocco, and Bahrain,
and the progress that we're making with making sure
that Israel is able to be more normalized
and embraced in the region is critical.
And Saudi Arabia and that relationship is something
that we can't just isolate
and shove off to the side
because we have Iran as a major threat.
And so making sure that we maintain that relationship
while also making it clear that the actions,
the horrific actions of Saudi Arabia's government,
are unacceptable or important.
I think that's a tough balancing act
that the President has.
>>The Abraham Accords were under the Trump administration.
This was one of the Trump administrations signature issues,
was it not?
>>No, I know that that's certainly the hyperbole
that President Trump engaged in.
They happened during the Trump administration,
but much of the groundwork,
if you follow Middle East policies
for those three agreements were,
the groundwork was laid for many years before that.
The culmination, which I was pleased to see,
occurred during the Trump administration.
I wouldn't say the Trump administration had a whole lot
to do with the work done to finalize them.
>>So even on something like that,
there's no room to give the Trump administration credit
for- >>I mean, it happened
on his watch.
He naturally gets credit for the fact
that it happened on his watch.
Most Middle East experts expected this
to happen eventually.
I'm glad that it was brought in
for a landing whenever it was.
>>Okay, let's talk a little bit about
the midterm elections.
Give me your assessment as to what your anticipation is as
to what's gonna happen.
Do Democrats lose control of the House?
Do they lose control of the Senate?
>>Right now we have Republicans who,
if they are able to gain the majority
of the United States Congress,
are going to end women's reproductive freedom nationwide.
With the overturning
from the Republican extremist Supreme Court
of Roe versus Wade, essentially,
Republicans have made women's bodies government property.
They are forcing government mandated pregnancy.
And beyond that, you have a Republican party
that is so beholden to the NRA
and to gun extremists that we see
a mass shooting every other week
and horrific gun violence on our streets
because we have this massive proliferation of guns
and Republicans interpreting that
anyone can have a gun, basically, anytime, anywhere.
Add to that the January 6th hearings that have shown
that the Republicans were willing to go to any length
to essentially stage a coup
and leave Donald Trump in office.
And those are the things that are going to be on the minds
of voters when they go to the polls in November.
And I think that we'll keep the majority
in both the House and the Senate.
>>You recently gave a speech at the Concordia Institute
and spoke about some of your concerns,
particularly as it relates to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
What was your message in that speech?
>>My message was that we have to fight authoritarianism
and despotism, no matter where it's coming from.
You know, there are folks on my side of the aisle
that sort of wax poetically about the progressive policies,
in quotes, of people like Noriega
and Diaz-Canel and Maduro.
And they choose to conveniently ignore
the absolute brutal brutality and repression
and economic terror that rain down on their people
from their despotism.
At the same time, you have Vladimir Putin
migrating his reach into our region
and Ron DeSantis who is banning books,
bullying gay people and teachers,
and creating a despotic, authoritarian state.
And Republicans refuse to call that out as well.
>>Do you, but wait, I just want to be clear.
Are you equating Ron DeSantis with Madero or Putin
or Canel in Cuba?
I mean, are you equating the two?
Are you saying that they're all equivalent?
>>Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump have both engaged
in authoritarian tactics, certainly.
Donald Trump,
we've seen in the January 6th hearings,
used every tool at his disposal
and the government authority behind him
to try to remain in power even though he lost an election.
Ron DeSantis has pushed through laws
and adopted policies that are banning speech,
allowing LGBTQ+ students and teachers
to be bullied in our schools, he's banning protest.
He passed the Stop Woke Act,
his term not mine, that actually prohibits
and allows lawsuits, even in private companies,
when you have training programs
that help people understand one another better
and work together better.
Yes, he engages in despotic authoritarian policies
that are undemocratic.
My speech was about getting past this, you know,
ideological left right dichotomy and be willing,
at the end of the day,
to fully full stop support a peaceful transfer of power,
no matter what, which Republicans aren't
and Democrats always are,
and make sure that we can call out our own,
no matter what side of the political spectrum they're on
when authoritarian policies start to ramp up.
And we're so far beyond ramping up here with Ron DeSantis.
He has essentially engaged
in brutal anti-democratic policies that are going
to bring grave harm to individuals in this state
and already are.
>>Should the Justice Department criminally charge
Donald Trump for the events of January 6th?
>>I think the Justice Department should continue
to do all the investigating they are doing,
and if the facts and evidence lead there,
then they should certainly carry that out.
>>I wanna ask, I realize you're focused on 2022,
but I do want to ask about a New York Times poll
that came out this week that showed that 64%
of Democratic primary voters would prefer
to have someone other than Joe Biden be the nominee in 2024.
That number goes to 94%
among voters 30 years or under,
Democratic voters 30 years or under,
would prefer someone other than Joe Biden,
citing mainly the fact that as of right now,
he is already the oldest president in U.S. history.
Should Joe Biden run again in 2024?
>>Look, Republicans who are pushing an extreme agenda
refused to stand up to big pharma,
refused to stand up to the NRA or big oil.
They fully embrace the idea that it's okay
to overturn the results
of a legitimately held presidential election.
And were willing to do everything they could
to leave Donald Trump in power
and essentially stage a coup.
At the same time, they're trying to take over women's bodies
and make them government property.
They're refusing to join us to fight inflation
and lower gas prices.
Those are the issues that we're gonna run on in 2022
and on into 2024, when Joe Biden will be able to take credit
for doing everything he could to help make sure
that the kitchen table issues that matter to most Americans,
that they want us to focus on, are at the top of the agenda.
>>Should Joe Biden run again in '24?
>>I absolutely think that Joe Biden,
if he chooses to, should run again in 2024.