'This Week' Transcript 3-10-24: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Nancy Mace & Kara Swisher
Interview
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Well, I'm one of those who believes that President Biden deserves more credit for the historic economic results that he's delivered, record job creation, unemployment that hasn't stayed this low for this long since before I was born.
Even -- you know, most of us don't think that the stock market is an indicator of the economy, but if you do, because I know the former president does, hit an all-time high under President Biden and not under President Trump.
But also, credit doesn't accrue unless you go out and take credit and explain how these things were achieved. That's one of the reasons why I'm so energized by the president's State of the Union Address where he talked about the achievements that had -- that had come about on his watch and why, and then just as importantly, talk about the future.
He didn't just talk about how he made sure that seniors only pay $35 a month for insulin, he reminded America that we could have that for all Americans, that's part of his second term agenda and actually something we could have today if just a handful of congressional Republicans would change course and stand with us instead of with big pharma.
So, on issue after issue after issue, Americans agree with President Biden. But, of course, it requires work to get that story out, especially when there's a fire hose of negativity, talking down the economy and trying to change the subject from the president's achievements, which is just politics. But it's exactly why it's so important to tell the story right now.
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Yeah. Three or four years you couldn't get toilet paper. Three or four years ago we were in the middle of a pandemic that killed about a million people. When we took office, just to take a couple examples from the transportation sector, there had been four straight years of promises about an infrastructure build that never came. Of course, President Biden delivered that in his first year and is contributing to manufacturing jobs and construction jobs around the country. Aviation right now, one of our biggest challenges in making sure airplanes can keep up with the demand. Three years ago the big question was whether America's airlines were going to go out of business because of the condition that the economy was in when President Biden inherited it.
Now, I know those response addresses have to be written before the State of the Union is actually delivered, and I don't think they usually change them because on what actually happens during the address, but anybody who watched that address saw not just in the substance but in the delivery of President Biden's remarks, a leader who is in command, showing strength and clarity of vision.
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Well, look at the changes that he's brought about. Take some of the issues that matter most to newer generations. Climate is a great example, right? He, I think, generously suggested that nobody in the chamber would disagree with him that climate change is real and a real problem, and yet I could hear snickering from behind me from some congressional Republicans who were saying they don't think it is a problem.
So, it's a good example of that saying that what matters most is the age of a leader's ideas. And, you know, similarly, as you look at some of the issues that are especially important to younger generations, like LGBTQ equality, I appreciated that he renewed the call for the Equality Act.
And then, of course, the issue which I think affects all generations of choice. Look, the last president, President Trump, kept his promise to end the freedom to choose in America. That's one of the few promises that he did keep as a consequence, not only access to abortion but access to IVF is now being interrupted in the United States of America. President Biden laid out a very clear vision, called on Congress to restore the right to Roe v. Wade, something he's very focused on doing.
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I'll leave it to her to explain the falsehoods, but I think it illustrates the bigger issue. She's a United States senator and the United States Senate right now could be acting to help secure the southern border.
As a matter of fact, they very nearly did with negotiations that included very conservative Republicans and Democrats, and had support from the White House, reaching a package that, frankly, involved tough compromises for all sides, something that the basis of both parties might not have loved, but would have made a real positive difference -- only for that to be killed by the chill effect that the former president put on congressional Republicans, telling "em not to support anything that would represent a policy win for President Biden.
Look, we have a very clear choice between congressional Republicans who seemed to prefer that this issue remained bad so that they can attack the president over it and those who would actually live to solve it or at least improve it and address it. I think that's the most important question that should be raised.
And you mentioned that, you know, the story that it was suggested to be a reflection on President Biden turns out to have dated from the Bush administration and happened in a different country. One thing that gets me thinking about is since the beginning of the Bush administration, there had been three major bipartisan attempts to have comprehensive immigration reform or do something big and meaningful about the border. I think 2006, 2013 and now 2024.
Will 2024 go down in history as yet another failed attempt at bipartisan compromise or will congressional Republicans follow the lead of their own negotiators and the president of the United States and actually do something about it?
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Look, I can't speak to the campaign side while I'm here as secretary. What I will say is that we got a great story to tell as an administration, and just as you see the president hitting the road to tell that story, I know the cabinet will as well. And we're proud of it. I mean, no modern president has been able to deliver this kind of job growth, this kind of low unemployment, this kind of infrastructure delivery. It hasn't happened since Eisenhower.
But again, look, the nature of our world and certainly the nature of today's media environment is people aren't just going to go hand the credit to the president. We need to be out there, illustrating why this happened. And most importantly, making clear what this administration's agenda for the future is.
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Thank you.
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