Sunday Show Republicans Can't Defend Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Or Loser Fascist Crackdown
We watch so you never have to.
Let’s dive right into the Sunday shows, we’ve got a hodgepodge for you this week.
One Big Ugly Mess
As we discussed last week, the GOP has been trying to sell its massive “tax breaks for the rich douchecanoes and kick people of Medicare” bill by trying to ignore basic facts like math.
On CNN’s “State Of The Union,” perpetual dumbest Senator Ron Johnson didn’t seem convinced the bill will pass, but not for the reasons you’d think.
R. JOHNSON: My problem is, it's just -- because it’s so hard, it's not going far enough. And if we just pass this, if it's a one-and-done, we will not be really addressing the major problem here in terms of massive growing deficits and debt.
BASH: Not going far enough in that, right? You're not going far enough in cutting spending? So -- but you do want to increase the spending on border and immigration enforcement?
R. JOHNSON: Right. Yes, that's the top priority of government is to protect Americans, to defend our border, defend our nation.
We guess the problem is that the bill doesn’t kick ENOUGH people off Medicaid/Medicare. Damn, pesky Americans wanting benefits they have contributed all their lives into! Or, God forbid, let poor people have medical care? Don’t they get their role is be good serfs and serve tributes to the lords who rule us?
On “Fox News Sunday,” Senator Rick Scott tried lecturing everyone on fraud and abuse of Medicare, so that was brazen of him.
SHANNON BREAM: Is there an acknowledgement that there will be people, potentially millions of them, transitioned off healthcare programs? […]
SCOTT: The only way you're gonna get of the program is if you way you do not want to work.
Scott went on to blame everyone for the abuse and fraud found on these programs except the real culprits: Like former Columbia/HCA CEO [checks notes] Rick Scott!
On ABC’s “This Week,” Speaker Mike Johnson took a few swipes at Elon Musk while defending the true priorities of this bill to Jonathan Karl.
KARL: So, let me ask you about a couple of other specific provisions that -- that caught my eye. One, there’s a provision that eliminates a tax on gun silencers. […] [T]his is a tax that has been on the books for about 100 years. Why -- why are you cutting a tax on silencers?
M. JOHNSON: […] The Second Amendment is a critical freedom in the Constitution. And there's no real rationale for -- for adding taxes on -- on these pieces of equipment. […]
KARL: What -- what about tanning beds? It eliminates a 10 percent tax on tanning beds. I mean, how did -- how did that become a priority for --
M. JOHNSON: Well, that -- look, I think that was an unfair thing that the Biden administration put on an industry because they decided to target --
KARL: It was actually -- it goes back to 2010. It’s been around for 15 years.
M. JOHNSON: Yes, but the Biden administration enhanced it.
Nothing says “freedom” like a leathery hand holding a silenced pistol while Americans die on the streets from a lack of proper care. Truly, the perfect image of America that the GOP envisions.
Johnson was again asked about how this bill will simultaneously increase the debt, and he gave his patented denial.
M. JOHNSON: What's really important about President Trump […] is, he has no intention whatsoever of spending higher levels of money. In fact, we’re in the process of cutting. […]
KARL: Well, this is adding a lot to the debt -- to the national debt.
M. JOHNSON: No, it's not. No, it’s not. No. No, it’s not. […] We're going to reduce the deficit.
KARL: Debt is going to be higher at the end of this even at this price.
Remember, kids: Everything is possible if you ignore reality and just say “nuh uh!” anytime it rears its head.
Trump's economic adviser Kevin Hassett didn’t get the memo and might have admitted that their whole tariffs as negotiating tool thing is bullshit on CBS’s “Face The Nation.”
Insisting the House bill will not increase the debt and that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) got its math “wrong,” Hassett admitted what we all knew when the tariffs were first proposed: They are going to be permanent. They’re a key factor in getting the poorest Americans to subsidize the richest, as corporations pass the tariffs to consumers.
HASSETT: [CBO] put out a ten-year estimate that says that the tariff revenue that's already in place right now is going to raise $2.8 trillion over the next ten years. […] That's more than their own estimate […] the cost of this entire bill. […] So, that – that's deficit reduction right there.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are saying tariffs are staying put. […]
HASSETT: We're – we're – we're negotiating reciprocal – you've seen deals. […] You've seen deals. […]
BRENNAN: Right. Yes, but deals – this is – this is where I'm stuck because deals is about negotiating down the tariffs so that's a diminishing source of revenue over time. But are you saying that there will be blanket tariffs of what percent? […]
HASSETT: […] Tariff revenue is not going away, that's what I'm saying.
Republicans Suddenly Very Upset About People Flying Other Countries’ Flags And Attacking Law Enforcement (It’s Different From January 6, Because Those People Were FOR The Fascists) (Nobody Is Attacking Law Enforcement In Los Angeles)
We end with a lot of right-wing, anti-government overreach Republicans suddenly changing their tunes for cities like Los Angeles. And most can be shown to be hypocrites with minimal words.
Markwayne Mullin on CNN:
MULLIN: They were literally out there protesting, carrying a foreign flag. That is absolutely insane. I mean, they're not just peaceful protesters. […]
BASH: Carrying a flag is not illegal, as you know.
MULLIN: A foreign fag-- a foreign flag while you're attacking law enforcement, it's pretty bad …
Here’s a pic of January 6, when Mullin was cowering in fear of an actual insurrection full of people flying the treason flag of the Confederate States of America, where now he pretends he cares about people attacking law enforcement. (Which isn’t happening in LA.)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on CBS
NOEM: We're not going to let a repeat of 2020 [Black Lives Matter protests] happen.
(Republicans and their idiot followers still believe Portland and Minneapolis burned down in 2020.)
It’s all projection, always.
Tony Gonzales on CBS
BRENNAN: You said back in November the administration would fail if it began going after non-violent migrants. People are getting arrested going to court appearances. Are these people the worst of the worst?
GONZALES: They're not ... what I'd like for us to do is focus on the convicted criminals
BRENNAN: But is that happening? Because, right now, it looks like they're trying to run up the numbers, frankly.
Margaret Brennan handled this one.
And finally, James Lankford on NBC
LANKFORD: This is an American city, and to be able to have an American city where we have people literally flying Mexican flags and saying “you cannot arrest us” cannot be allowed.
Again, but it’s cool when it’s confederate traitor flags?
Also people who haven’t committed crimes usually don’t like to be arrested. We are just saying.
Have a week.
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Assigned Cute pointed out that the Cato Institute is against the tax bill. The. Cato. Institute.
Just sit with that a minute.
And nice slur-slip, TwoFirstNames. Fucking swine.
I may have seen this here, but in my head I mulled it over and now am asking like I asked my husband yesterday--
So, let's PRETEND that the tariffs work exactly like they do in trump's little mole brain. Other countries pay an extra whatever to sell stuff here, no increase in price to consumers. We raise trillions and trillions of dollars! The only way for other countries is to build big beautiful factories here, employing all the people, and then no more tariffs. Also, those factories and hiring and all that can happen within a few months or so.
So then what? No more money from tariffs coming in from anywhere, because we're building bananas and such. Now where does the money come from?