Rep. Wasserman Schultz: Russia Diesel Deal Is ‘Desperate’

We're counting down to midterms with a lot of issues that we'd like to talk to you about, including a hurricane that's about to make landfall on the panhandle of your state. But I'd love to get your take on what we're talking about here. It's a late breaking story today that the president announced on Truth Social. Is the Russian energy importation deal here a deal with the devil? Oh, I mean, there's no question. Uh, first and foremost, it's a desperate political move that is not going to work. It's designed, obviously, to try to save their majority, which is clearly, uh, headed towards Democrats. Um, we are going to put a gavel in Hakeem Jeffries hand. He will be the speaker of the House of Representatives. And that is because Americans are rejecting, um, Donald Trump's policies. He's ignored the affordability crisis. And now what he's doing, I mean, is, is trying to, uh, to to put a Band-Aid on, on something that needs a tourniquet, but it needs a tourniquet because these gas prices have exploded because of his illegal Iran war, because of his, uh, total abandonment of clean energy investments and because of his tariffs. And look, it's also an abandonment of our support for Ukraine, which Americans also don't want to see. So I think this is going to backfire on him. And as, uh, your, uh, analysts said, not going to do very much anyway. Well, and as you mentioned, tariffs. That gets back to the Lindsey Graham Russia sanctions bill, which passed both chambers including yours, was signed by President Trump. He had a 30 day window to actually implement the tariffs against buyers of Russian oil that expires on October 18th. Is this an indication to you, Congresswoman, that perhaps he does not intend to do so? I mean, President Trump has no regard for any laws requirements of him. I mean, he essentially attempts to do what he wants. I mean, he's as you as your analyst said, he's in violation of two laws by trying to cut this deal with, um, Putin. And, you know, this is solely because he cares more about the political outcome for his party than he does about really digging in and trying to make sure that we can solve the cost crisis. I mean, groceries, gas, utilities, health care. I mean, they are all out of control. And housing is the most of all. And that's what we should be focused on. We should still be in session because we should be working together on addressing the cost of living that Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans in Congress have driven into the stratosphere. Well, Congresswoman, as you well know, there's a chance the cost of living could increase in the short term thanks to Hurricane Isaias, which appears to be set to make landfall along the Gulf Coast, the panhandle of Florida in your state late tonight, early tomorrow as a category three. Are you confident that your state is ready to handle it? You know, I. We are generally ready when it comes to the onset of a storm, the aftermath of the storm, because of the devastating cuts to FEMA. That and the fact that FEMA has about half the number of employees that they did at the outset of the Trump administration, and they are really hamstrung because they fired so many of their real experts with a lot of longevity in helping with cleanup. Um, that that's what's really concerning to me. And add insult to injury, we're just talking about the high cost of gas. Um, this, uh, this hurricane heading towards refineries in our state isn't, you know, in our region isn't helpful either. So this is going to be, uh, a very painful impact and one that is going to be even more concerning when it comes both to the cleanup, but also to the reimbursement, which the Trump administration has been incredibly slow. And, I mean, there are hurricanes from two and three years ago that's still cities across our state haven't seen reimbursement from when I would imagine the after effects of a natural disaster like this will also have the potential to influence, uh, voter opinion as they get ready to head to the polls for, uh, statewide, uh, elections as well. I know that this isn't your district, but for Angie Nixon, who's running for Senate, or for David Jolly, who's the Democratic nominee in the gubernatorial race, I would imagine their responses will be closely watched here on Angie Nixon. Congresswoman, do you feel that she's helpful to Democratic candidates like yourself who are seeking re-election, or did she she create a kind of drag when she is also on the ticket? Well, Angie Nixon ran a great campaign in the primary. You know, it really grass new grassroots, organized grassroots campaign. Um, and she pulled off an impressive win. Um, that kind of grassroots organizing is making sure that all across the state, we have folks knocking on doors and making the phone calls. Um, the bottom line is that Ashley Moody belongs on a witness stand, not on a ballot. I mean, she was personally responsible for funneling $10 million that really should have gone directly to poor children health care. And instead, her signature allowed for that funding to be diverted to dark money political campaigns to help Republicans defeat constitutional amendments here. It's outrageous. And she should not be elected to the United States Senate. What's happening nationally? Congresswoman, you ran the DNC, and you have a sense of how this triage game is played. And for Democrats, moving money around, the board has brought another $5 million. We understand today to the state of Kansas. We're talking about seats flipping in Texas. Your own state is watching a remarkable contest on the gubernatorial level. Are you allowing yourself to buy into this, or are you worried about complacency reaching too far among Democrats? It's all hands on deck. You know, we're in the last about 25 days before Election Day, the Cook Report just, uh, shifted 18 races in Democrats favor, many of which are have actually gone from toss up to lean Democrat, even in states like Iowa and, uh, and other Midwestern states. Uh, but but we have to focus on Geo TV. That's what I'm doing here in my campaign. I represent a district that is smack in the middle of the most Democratic county in the state. Our turnout here is critical. Um, Republicans have driven up the cost of living, done nothing to help bring it down. Uh, we're mired in an illegal war in Iran. Uh, Trump just abandoned Ukraine, and he's, uh, you know, we've got, you know, a crooked, unethical administration that is dismantling our democracy. So between cost of living, the corruption, and, uh, and a president that is out of control and dismantling our democracy, they are headed towards major losses. Well, spreading that message that you just, uh, articulated, Congresswoman, does require resources. And to get back to Joe's question around the breadth of this map, if you will, is there a concern, uh, that you have about resources being to fairly dispersed rather than concentrated in areas of clear victory because Republicans are ahead in the money game? No, on the contrary, we actually have seen resources really start to pour in with the excitement. The excitement is all in our favor. Um, you know, it's not the politics is shifting in our favor because, uh, voters have soured on the MAGA agenda because it's making their lives miserable. And as a result, the more excitement, with the more momentum. You know, the president's numbers are at 30%. That is directed more resources, both in the outside funding as well as into our candidates campaigns. So where we're able to spend more effectively and, uh, in, in a targeted and focused way, and you can see the momentum that we have and that's generating even more, uh, even more contributions, particularly our online grassroots contributions as well. Congresswoman, I can't believe I'm about to ask you this, but there's a conversation underway about a public execution in this country, and it's a case that most Americans remember. Army Major Nidal Hasan, who killed, uh, I believe it was 13 troops at Fort Hood and injured many others. Pete. Seth, uh, says that there will, in fact, be a public execution. It would be the first such execution in almost a century. Uh, and the first, uh, public execution in this case, uh, I believe, of a U.S. service member since World War two. Uh, the president of the United States was just asked about this in the driveway of the white House. On his way out, he says he approved the decision for the live streaming of this execution. But when asked, he said he will make a determination on whether this happens or not. Will Congress have a say in this? This this is a sickening, horrific display that even the vice president of the United States said he did not think that the execution should be public. Um, or at least that he wouldn't watch if it was. How do you prevent children from seeing this horrific, uh, killing? I mean, the death penalty was the, uh, what was the sentence? And we we certainly, uh, are going to see it carried out, but I don't know what the point is of making a mockery of cruel and unusual punishment. Um, and, I mean, this is not a video game. This is not a horror movie. This is real life. And we should this should be carried out in a way that ensures that the, uh, the justice is, is meted out. Um, but not to make a mockery or, um, you know, a horror show out of out of this kind of justice.