The Republican National Committee is ardently defending President Trump against unified condemnation from Democrats over a Twitter thread the president posted Sunday attacking four freshman Congresswomen of color that was widely lambasted as racist, xenophobic, and nativist.
"I think it's really inappropriate," Liz Harrington, a spokesperson for the RNC, told Cheddar Tuesday regarding the calls that the President is a racist. "This is a debate that has nothing to do with race, it has nothing to do with gender, it has nothing to do with religion, it has everything to do with ideas."
President Trump also pushed back Tuesday morning, writing in a tweet "I don't have a Racist bone in my body!"
The GOP leadership is largely behind the president. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters, clearly, "the president is not a racist." At a separate press conference, when asked if he thought Trump was racist, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said "No."
"I believe this is about ideology," McCarthy told reporters. "It's about socialism versus freedom."
Harrington rebuked the anger coming from the Democrats, denouncing them as "socialists" who trash the country.
"I think it's very inappropriate to categorize the President's tweets as racist, it has nothing to do with that, it has everything to do with what we want our country to be, and we want to keep it America," she added.
Only a handful of Republican members of Congress have condemned Trump for his tweets, which came as the 2020 election approaches and the president appears to be increasingly willing to push boundaries in an effort to mobilize his loyal base.
The RNC spokesperson was quick to pounce on the ideological differences between Trump and the 2020 Democratic front-runners, saying this is a great time for "contrast."
"It's a perfect opportunity to show the contrast because we've seen over the past two and a half years, the president has delivered for this economy, we've restored freedom and prosperity." Harrington claimed.
"It is the entire democratic 2020 field calling for open borders, calling for socialized medicine, calling to get rid of the electoral college, pack the Supreme Court, very radical ideas that are antithetical to our founding," Harrington added. "So we're gonna keep showing that contrast."
Following the surprising big beat on estimates for the January jobs report, William M. Rodgers III, vice president and director of the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, joined Cheddar News to break down the data. “We ended 2021 with a strong crescendo to a recovery that had taken hold, and we started 2022 in good fashion." He also discussed the dueling pressures of wage growth and inflation.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of the Rewired News Group and co-host of the podcast. "Boom! Lawyered," joins Cheddar Politics to discuss Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement, legacy and potential replacement on the Supreme Court.
The Biden administration delivered a temporary win for student loan borrowers this year by extending the moratorium on federal payments for a few more months. That moratorium is coming to an end on May 1st and borrowers will again have their monthly loan payment plopped in their lap.
Stephanie Vanderslice, a creative writing professor paying off debt through the Parent Plus program, and Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
2022 was already going to be a big year for the Supreme Court. We have decisions on major issues like abortion and gun rights on the way. Then, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement and that set up a major confirmation fight for later this year. Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSblog, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The Labor Department released a better-than-expected report of 467,000 jobs added in January. Heather Boushey, Council of Economic Advisers Member for President Biden, joined Cheddar to tout the administration's handling of the economy amid the pandemic and the upward revisions for the previous month. "It also shows that, because of the revisions, the economy was stronger over the past couple of months," she said. "I don't think that this can be said enough, but economic forecasting during an historic pandemic is extremely difficult." Boushey also addressed issues involving wage growth versus the rapid rise of inflation.
The Labor Department's January jobs report showed 467,000 jobs were added, compared to the 150,000 that were projected, a sign that employment is continuign to return to pre-pandemic levels. Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at investment bank Stifel, joined Cheddar to break down the report, noting the big gains but adding a note of caution. "Remember, even with this morning's stellar report, we're still millions below that level that we had reached prior to the onset of COVID-19," she said." Yes, we are recapturing jobs. We still have further ground that needs to be made before we can talk about reaching that previous peak." Piegza also discussed the role of the Federal Reserve going forward as the employment figures turn more positive.
As President Biden's poll numbers fall with Black voters, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass. 7th District) joined Cheddar to discuss what she feels could help the embattled administration: deliver on policies. Pressley pointed to stalled legislation such as new voting rights laws and Build Back Betters and canceling student loan debt, which would go a long way to improving his standing with Black constituents. "President Biden has the authority and the power to alleviate this burden, which would also help in closing the racial wealth gap, and he can do it by executive action with the stroke of a pen," she said. "And it doesn't require one vote from Congress. So, the Biden administration just needs to deliver to Black America in a tangible and impactful way."
