AUSTIN, TX—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations, Banking, and Foreign Relations Committees and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, joined Kudlow on Fox Business to discuss President Joe Biden’s failed economic policies, as well as Democrats’ political prosecution of President Donald Trump.
Partial Transcript
Hagerty on Biden’s failed economic policies: “I think the American public can see right through what Joe Biden is trying to claim here. The blame for this lays squarely at his feet. And for him to be out touting his economic program, talking about how great it is, I think it’s just a shock to the American public who can see the results are everything but that. If you think about what he’s done—the stimulus has been so massive—that’s driven our inflation. That inflation in turn is driving increased interest rates by the [Federal Reserve], the largest increase that we’ve seen in terms of interest rate outlays and expenditures has been in our own deficit. You think about it: [$870] billion this year will be spent on interest, servicing the interest on our debt. That’s larger than the $805 billion defense budget that we’ve got. The American public is feeling this. It is quite painful, and Biden can’t escape it.”
Hagerty on the stark difference between Trump’s and Biden’s policies: “It’s a simple question, and I think Joe Biden fails it every single time when people ask themselves here in America: Am I better off under Joe Biden than I was under Donald Trump? Clearly, Donald Trump’s policies led to a far more robust American economy, and the American worker was far better off. Now, we have a situation here in America where workers are hurting; we have national security crises erupting all over the globe. Our southern border’s collapsed. America is far worse off under Joe Biden; he knows he fails that test. That’s why he is reverting to any other possible strategy he can find, whether it be warfare in the courtroom system or going out on the road as he is trying to tout something that just isn’t true, with respect to the performance of his economy.”
Hagerty on Democrats’ incentive for illegal immigration: “The infrastructure’s collapsing under the weight of all this illegal migration. You think about what’s happening to the hospital system, to our schools, everyone I talk with in Tennessee, Tennessee’s not feeling it nearly as much as some of these big blue cities that are sanctuary cities. But if you think about the impact across the nation, it’s collapsing our state and municipal governments. The pain is very real, and Joe Biden just continues to do it. Look, we got the Democrats on the record. The reason they’re doing this, the motive behind this crime at the southern border, is they want to count these illegal aliens for the purpose of allocating congressional districts and electoral votes. That’s what this is about. It’s about power for the Democrats; they don’t care what kind of havoc it reaps on our system, on our local cities, and certainly on the American populous.”
Hagerty on Biden’s failures in foreign policy: “[The Biden Administration] just reverted to the failed policies of [President] Barack Obama. President Trump had it right. The ‘Maximum Pressure Campaign’ that was imposed in Iran was working; Iran was widely reported as being broke. Its proxies like Hamas, like Hezbollah, like Houthis, they were not able to do any of the things they’re doing now. What’s the Biden Administration’s plan? They look the other way on sanctions enforcement. As you said, they’ve enriched the Iranian regime to the tune of north of $100 billion. Have they got a plan to stop the Houthis from the blockade of the Red Sea? No. Have they got a plan to stop what’s happening in Lebanon toward the northern part of Israel with Hezbollah? No. Have they got any plan at all to deal with Gaza? All of their policies are failing there as well. With respect to the Hamas terrorists, they have no plan whatsoever, yet they continue to enrich Iran, and the American public, and all of our allies, are standing here scratching their head. What is going on?”
Hagerty on the political prosecution of Trump: “This trial has been a mockery of the American justice system. What the American public has seen is the Biden Administration willingly abusing the judicial system to go and attack their opponent. This made up crime, so to speak, is absolutely preposterous. What’s happened in New York is a travesty. What’s happened in Georgia is a travesty. What’s happening in Washington D.C. is a travesty. We’ve never had an American President indicted, and here we have a president under five separate cases in multiple jurisdictions in an election year, all with a very clear motive. And that’s to beat a person on the judicial field because they can’t beat him at the ballot box. The American public sees right through this, David. Donald Trump is just the victim of Biden Administration policies and tactics to try to avoid going to the ballot box with Donald Trump. The American public wants to see this solved at the ballot box. That’s democracy. That’s the American way, and everything that’s happening today, what you’re seeing unfolding in New York, the politicization of all of this, even the Biden campaign having a campaign event in front of the courthouse shows that all what they’ve been saying all along, this is totally political.”
Hagerty on Americans losing faith in the justice system: “Republicans respect law and order David, and this is anything but that. The Democrats are demonstrating new lows at every turn. We’ve got to stop this; President Trump has talked directly with me about stopping this. The American public are going to lose respect for all institutions, and particularly our law enforcement institutions, and our judiciary system should be beyond all of this. The weaponization that’s taken place though here in New York, Georgia, D.C., it’s a travesty and we’ve got to get it back in order. The United States Senate can play a significant role if we can regain the gavel. [Senator] Chuck Schumer is the leader right now; that needs to change in November as well.”
Hagerty on the political motivations for prosecuting Trump: “I can’t imagine a situation in which Republicans do it, and I think the American public can’t imagine it either. And whether you’re a Republican, an Independent, or a Democrat, you can see right through what Joe Biden and his Department of Justice have done here. They’ve manipulated and controlled these trials; they’re doing it strictly for electoral purposes. It’s all political and it’s making our nation look like a banana republic. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Whatever the outcome of this verdict is, the American public has seen through it. President Trump’s numbers have gone up. President Biden’s numbers have gone down. It isn’t working, and this should not be happening in America. It simply should not be happening.”
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