-Several pools -- Several polls -- excuse me --
including one by Fox News itself, have now shown
that President Biden's vaccine requirements
and other COVID measures are widely popular,
so Republicans and right-wing pundits
have been forced to come up
with increasingly insane arguments against them.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Theme music plays ]
One way you can tell
that the Republican Party is intellectually bankrupt is
that they spend very little time talking about policy,
and a lot more time talking about
bat[Bleep] conspiracy theories they concocted out of nowhere.
It's so hard to keep up with the right-wing rumor mill
that sometimes I'll only find out about one
after it's been debunked.
Yesterday, I was scrolling through Twitter
and saw a Snopes headline that said, "No, Joe Biden
is Not a Westworld Robot Created by George Soros
to Steal your Hamburgers." And I thought, "Oh, right,
I forgot to tape Judge Jeanine last night."
Say what you want about the Democrats --
and there's plenty to criticize about centrists
standing in the way of major legislation --
but at least the progressives in the party,
like Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders,
are trying to pass a $3.5 trillion package
that would, among other things,
establish a universal pre-K program
and a new childcare benefit for working families,
extend the expansions of the child tax credit,
the earned income tax credit,
and child and dependent care tax credit,
create the first federal paid and medical leave benefit,
add dental, vision, and hearing benefits to Medicare,
and make investments aiming to meet Biden's goals
of reducing economy-wide carbon emissions by 50%.
And in defense of the bill,
Bernie has deployed some of his trademark sarcasm.
-I understand that Senator McConnell,
the Republican leader, and others
are really shocked by this bill. They cannot believe it.
Imagine! Just imagine
that the United States Senate
is addressing the needs of working families
and is gonna stand up for ordinary Americans,
rather than just the wealthy and powerful.
What is this world coming to?
Don't we understand that here in the Senate,
we're supposed to take campaign contributions
from the drug companies and the insurance companies
and the fossil-fuel industry,
and from the 1%, and do their bidding?
Isn't that the way it has always been done
here in the U.S. Senate?
Well, Senator McConnell, things are changing.
-I like that Bernie takes on the right
the same way he takes on a waiter
who brings him soup but no spoon.
[As Sanders] "Oh, this is fantastic.
Soup without a spoon. Maybe I'll just use my fork,
famously designed for use with liquids.
Or maybe you'd be good enough to bring me
one of those wide McDonald's straws
so I don't give myself an aneurysm
trying to get the chicken chunks up."
[ Laughter ]
[ Normal voice ] So...
the left is focused on trying to pass a far-reaching bill
that would transform childcare, expand the social safety net,
and tackle climate change, among other things.
And what's the MAGA crowd doing?
Are they offering any alternative solutions?
Or are they asking Eric Trump
about Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend's swollen balls?
-We saw what happened to Nicki Minaj this week.
She's facing backlash
for tweeting to her 22 million followers
that a friend of her cousin had issues with the vaccine,
and now they're trying to cancel her.
-Well, that's exactly right.
They'll try and cancel everybody.
I've lived cancel culture
probably better than any person in the world.
And if you speak out against them,
if you disagree with them, they cancel you,
they try and arrest you, they try and prosecute you.
It's amazing kind of the, you know, unjustice in this country.
And America was always this country that stood for,
you know, equal weights of justice on both sides.
I mean, it's a national symbol of ours,
the scales of justice. We don't have that anymore.
It reminds me of a banana republic, Maria.
It really does.
-First of all, you doofus, the scales of justice
are not "equal weights on both sides."
The whole point is that the evidence on one side
outweighs the evidence on the other.
That's why court cases never end in ties.
Also, who said Nicki Minaj is canceled?
I mean, I disagree with her on vaccines,
and I think spreading misinformation is dangerous,
but she's still an amazing artist.
And if her next song rhymed "vax," "sacks,"
and "Biden, call me back," I'd be happier than anyone.
It's also great when the same people
who scream "fake news" treat a Nicki Minaj tweet
about her cousin's friend's balls
like it's unimpeachable information.
She just tweeted a rumor she heard
that obviously wasn't true.
She's not reporting live outside a hospital on CNN.
"Day eight of ball watch. We go now live to Nicki Minaj."
Also, if something reminds Eric Trump of a banana republic,
it's probably referring to a time
he thinks he was treated rudely at the store.
"Maria, this whole thing reminds me of being told
I could only bring seven items into the dressing room
at one time, to which I said,
'Maybe you should have a smaller collection of chinos.'"
But that isn't even the weirdest topic of conversation
Maria Bartiromo entertained on her show this weekend.
In the same hour, she also asked Ted Cruz
about a conspiracy theory that the White House
has been cutting off Joe Biden's microphone,
which has already been debunked by fact checkers,
as well as reality. And Cruz went along with it.
-President Biden's microphone apparently looked like
it was cut off at one point this past week.
Do you believe he's making these decisions on Afghanistan
and -- and these leadership missteps?
-Well, I would say it's a disturbing pattern
where it seems they cut off his microphone
anytime he might say something that his handlers don't want.
There's no doubt that President Biden's capacity
is severely diminished, and his White House handlers
amplify that impression when they keep him locked up
in a basement all day long.
-You know, they tried this basement line
in the campaign, and it didn't work,
probably because it wasn't true, and even if it was,
after four years of Trump, voters were thinking,
"A basement president doesn't sound that bad."
They're also probably super bummed
that if a mute button exists, they didn't use it for Trump.
"Could have used it during that Boy Scouts speech."
But apparently this mic canceling button theory,
repeatedly debunked, is a thing in right-wing circles --
so much so that it's been repeated on Fox News
and even in an official hearing of the United States Senate.
-I don't know. Is somebody telling him
that he can't continue, and now are they to the point
where they're controlling when he has to end his speaking?
-Has he thought or read anything
that people are writing about him
and how they cut off his microphone
rather than ask questions?
-Somebody in the White House has authority
to press the button and stop the president --
cut off the president's speaking ability and sound.
Who is that person? -[ Chuckles ]
-I think anyone who knows the president,
including members of this committee,
knows that he speaks very clearly
and very deliberately for himself.
No one else does.
-Well, are you saying
that there is no one in the White House
that can cut him off? Because yesterday that happened,
and it's happened a number of times before that.
It's been widely reported that somebody has the ability
to push the button and cut off his sound
and stop him from speaking. Who is that person?
-There is -- There is no such person.
-Are you telling this committee that this does not happen,
that there's no one in the White House
who pushes the button and cuts him off in midsentence?
-[ Chuckles ] That's correct.
-First of all, if a button like that existed,
Shoemaker would have it for me, because he is a power-hungry --
[ No audio ]
[ Laughter ]
Second, how psyched do you think
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was,
not even a month after the Afghanistan withdrawal,
to get to field questions about a nonexistent mute button?
What's next? "Now, Secretary Blinken,
I want to ask you about the Americans
still trying to leave Afghanistan.
But before I do, does the president
tape pictures of naked ladies on the inside of his aviators?"
Also, anytime you find yourself
on the same page as Brian Kilmeade,
that's a hint you're doing it wrong.
It's like looking over during the S.A.T.s
and realizing you have the same answers
as the kid who has to sing "The Bunny Rabbit Song"
to tie his shoes.
"Psst, do you have the answers written on your hand?"
"Oh, no, that's just 'S.A.T.,'
so I don't forget what test I'm taking."
This is what the right is talking about,
rather than actual policy. And that's because
Biden's COVID policies are fairly popular
with a majority of Americans.
including his newly announced vaccine mandate,
which multiple polls have now shown have majority support.
In fact, even a Fox News poll, out this weekend,
found that voters support mask mandates
and Biden's new vaccine requirements,
whether in businesses, indoor establishments,
or schools.
-69% of people say that wearing a mask
is a good way to help, and 54% of people
support mandatory proof of vaccine
to enter indoor establishments.
-The survey found a majority of respondents
support mask and vaccine mandates
for schools and businesses.
-It's always funny to me when Fox conducts an accurate poll
that contradicts what their own hosts
are telling their audience.
That's as damning as the results of their poll,
"Do you think Joe Biden lives in the basement,
or a different part of the White House?"
I mean, their own polling is telling them
mask and vaccine mandates are popular
with a majority of Americans,
and yet their hosts are still saying stuff like this.
-If they can force you to take a vaccine that you don't need,
what can't they do?
Why don't they, I don't know, make you take psychiatric drugs
if you're persistently disobedient;
express the wrong view, get a Thorazine shot?
Why couldn't they do that?
What's the limiting principle on them?
In fact, you can imagine a panel of CNN doctors who explained
that we'd all be a lot safer if the mentally-ill propagandists
on the radical right got the treatment they need
and stop spreading their dangerous conspiracy theories.
So giving them psychotropic meds
is an urgent matter of public health.
Does that sound far-fetched? [ Chuckles ]
-Why is Tucker so concerned
that someone might give him psychotropic drugs?
It's awfully specific for him to use as a random example.
Did it come up recently, like, at his last physical?
"Alright, Tucker, mostly great. Blood pressure a little high.
And have you ever thought about Thorazine?"
Also, if you don't want people recommending psychotropic meds,
try to drop that quiet chuckle you did to yourself.
You never see a guy sitting on a bench in Central Park
laughing at nothing, and think,
"I'm gonna go ask that guy for stock tips."
I will say this, though.
If cable news ever gets boring for Tucker,
he'd make a hell of an improviser,
because my man knows how to heighten.
"If they can force you to take a vaccine,
what can't they force you to do?
Can they force you to take psychotropic meds?
Make you wear a seat belt?
Make you put your shoes on at Olive Garden,
even though they tell you, 'When you're here, you're family'?"
[ Laughter ]
"And then, when you try to fill a briefcase
with unlimited breadsticks, can they call security?
And when you explain to them that if they didn't want people
to put breadsticks in their suitcases,
they should put a sign up saying as much,
can they then roll their eyes and say, 'Let's please
not do this again, Mr. Carlson, because it's
the same argument you made the last time you were there.'
And when you say, 'You could put the sign right there,'
and point to the wall behind them,
and then run for the front door when they turn around,
only to crash into the hostess station,
can they stand over you, pointing and laughing?
Well, I'm here to tell you, they can,
because it happened to me last night."
[ Laughter ] "[ Fake chuckles ]"
[ Laughter ]
Every day, it just becomes clearer and clearer
that these guys have no idea what they're talking about.
For example, Congressman Madison Cawthorn
went on Newsmax last week and said this.
-This is a medical apartheid, plain and simple.
There's over 100 million Americans
who are not vaccinated.
I think it's even more than that.
And if they want to start shutting down air travel
for these people to get around the country,
I think that's actually a Constitutional violation,
because you actually have a constitutionally protected right
to free, unrestricted travel
within the United States of America.
And I genuinely believe that what's going on right now is
that all that's gonna happen if United Airlines
and American Airlines and Delta, even if they decide
to start requiring vaccine mandates,
let me tell you, I'm very confident
there will be another air carrier
that will come to the field, and patriots like myself and you
will give them all of our business.
-Yes, everyone knows you have a constitutional right
to unrestricted air travel. Who can forget
Paul Revere's famous words, "One if by land,
two if by sea, three if by Southwest
with a six-hour layover at Chicago-Midway."
Also, imagine if what he said came true,
and there was an airline
that specifically served the unvaccinated.
"No frills, no rules, all chaos.
At Patriot Airlines, you don't board by group number,
you board based on how much you love America,
and there will be disagreements.
Allergic to peanuts? Too bad! We put it in the coffee.
And the armrest always belongs to whoever wants it the most.
Patriot Airlines, where the arrival gate
always has a team of air marshals
waiting to make arrests." [ Laughter ]
These guys really think the constitution says
you have the right to get on an airplane
unvaccinated and cough all over everyone.
although, as we know, there are apparently
some prominent Republicans who do believe airplanes
were around during the writing of the Constitution.
-The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge,
found glory across the waters of the Delaware,
and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown.
Our army manned the airports. It rammed the ramparts.
It took over the airports. It did everything it had to do.
-When that speech was over, even Trump wished
his staff had a mute button.
"Did I say 'airports' instead of 'ramparts?'"
"I'm afraid so, Mr. President."
"Well, next time, hit the [Bleep] button!"
[ Laughter ]
"That's what the button's for. That's why I do this.
You know how you press a button?"
[ Laughter ] Progressives are pushing forward
with a transformative bill that would expand healthcare,
widen the social safety net, and tackle climate change,
among many other things.
Meanwhile, the GOP has no interest in debating ideas,
so, instead, they melt down about vaccines
and make up conspiracies about presidential mute buttons.
These guys shouldn't be in Congress.
They're barely qualified to work at...
-A Banana Republic. -This has been "A Closer Look."
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