-Several pools --
Several polls -- excuse me -- including one by Fox News
itself, have now shown that President Biden's
vaccine requirements and other COVID measures
are widely popular, so Republicans
and right-wing pundits have been forced to come up with increasingly insane
arguments against them. For more on this, it's time
for "A Closer Look." [ Theme music plays ] One way you can tell that the Republican Party
is intellectually bankrupt is that they spend very little time
talking about policy, and a lot more time
talking about bat[Bleep] conspiracy theories
they concocted out of nowhere. It's so hard to keep up with
the right-wing rumor mill that sometimes
I'll only find out about one after it's been debunked. Yesterday, I was scrolling
through Twitter and saw a Snopes headline
that said, "No, Joe Biden is Not a Westworld Robot
Created by George Soros to Steal your Hamburgers."
And I thought, "Oh, right, I forgot to tape
Judge Jeanine last night." Say what you want
about the Democrats -- and there's plenty to criticize
about centrists standing in the way
of major legislation -- but at least the progressives
in the party, like Budget Committee
Chairman Bernie Sanders, are trying to pass
a $3.5 trillion package that would, among other things, establish a universal
pre-K program and a new childcare benefit
for working families, extend the expansions
of the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, and child and dependent care
tax credit, create the first federal
paid and medical leave benefit, add dental, vision, and hearing
benefits to Medicare, and make investments
aiming to meet Biden's goals of reducing economy-wide
carbon emissions by 50%. And in defense of the bill, Bernie has deployed some of his
trademark sarcasm. -I understand
that Senator McConnell, the Republican leader,
and others are really shocked by this bill.
They cannot believe it. Imagine!
Just imagine that the United States Senate is addressing
the needs of working families and is gonna stand up
for ordinary Americans, rather than just
the wealthy and powerful. What is this world coming to? Don't we understand
that here in the Senate, we're supposed
to take campaign contributions from the drug companies
and the insurance companies and the fossil-fuel industry, and from the 1%,
and do their bidding? Isn't that the way
it has always been done here in the U.S. Senate? Well, Senator McConnell,
things are changing. -I like that Bernie
takes on the right the same way he takes on
a waiter who brings him soup
but no spoon. [As Sanders]
"Oh, this is fantastic. Soup without a spoon.
Maybe I'll just use my fork, famously designed
for use with liquids. Or maybe you'd be good enough
to bring me one of those
wide McDonald's straws so I don't give myself
an aneurysm trying to get
the chicken chunks up." [ Laughter ] [ Normal voice ] So... the left is focused on trying
to pass a far-reaching bill that would transform childcare,
expand the social safety net, and tackle climate change,
among other things. And what's the MAGA crowd doing? Are they offering
any alternative solutions? Or are they asking Eric Trump about Nicki Minaj's cousin's
friend's swollen balls? -We saw what happened
to Nicki Minaj this week. She's facing backlash for tweeting
to her 22 million followers that a friend of her cousin
had issues with the vaccine, and now they're
trying to cancel her. -Well, that's exactly right. They'll try
and cancel everybody. I've lived cancel culture probably better
than any person in the world. And if you speak out
against them, if you disagree with them,
they cancel you, they try and arrest you,
they try and prosecute you. It's amazing kind of the, you
know, unjustice in this country. And America was always
this country that stood for, you know, equal weights of
justice on both sides. I mean, it's a national
symbol of ours, the scales of justice.
We don't have that anymore. It reminds me of
a banana republic, Maria. It really does. -First of all, you doofus,
the scales of justice are not "equal weights
on both sides." The whole point is that
the evidence on one side outweighs the evidence
on the other. That's why court cases
never end in ties. Also, who said
Nicki Minaj is canceled? I mean, I disagree with her
on vaccines, and I think spreading
misinformation is dangerous, but she's still
an amazing artist. And if her next song rhymed
"vax," "sacks," and "Biden, call me back,"
I'd be happier than anyone. It's also great
when the same people who scream "fake news"
treat a Nicki Minaj tweet about her
cousin's friend's balls like it's
unimpeachable information. She just tweeted
a rumor she heard that obviously wasn't true. She's not reporting live
outside a hospital on CNN. "Day eight of ball watch.
We go now live to Nicki Minaj." Also, if something reminds
Eric Trump of a banana republic, it's probably referring
to a time he thinks he was treated rudely
at the store. "Maria, this whole thing
reminds me of being told I could only bring seven items
into the dressing room at one time,
to which I said, 'Maybe you should have a smaller
collection of chinos.'" But that isn't even the weirdest
topic of conversation Maria Bartiromo entertained
on her show this weekend. In the same hour,
she also asked Ted Cruz about a conspiracy theory
that the White House has been cutting off
Joe Biden's microphone, which has already been debunked
by fact checkers, as well as reality.
And Cruz went along with it. -President Biden's microphone
apparently looked like it was cut off at one point
this past week. Do you believe he's making
these decisions on Afghanistan and -- and
these leadership missteps? -Well, I would say
it's a disturbing pattern where it seems they cut off
his microphone anytime he might say something
that his handlers don't want. There's no doubt
that President Biden's capacity is severely diminished,
and his White House handlers amplify that impression
when they keep him locked up in a basement all day long. -You know, they tried
this basement line in the campaign,
and it didn't work, probably because it wasn't true,
and even if it was, after four years of Trump,
voters were thinking, "A basement president
doesn't sound that bad." They're also
probably super bummed that if a mute button exists,
they didn't use it for Trump. "Could have used it during
that Boy Scouts speech." But apparently this mic
canceling button theory, repeatedly debunked, is a thing
in right-wing circles -- so much so that it's been
repeated on Fox News and even in an official hearing
of the United States Senate. -I don't know.
Is somebody telling him that he can't continue,
and now are they to the point where they're controlling when
he has to end his speaking? -Has he thought or read anything that people are writing
about him and how they cut off
his microphone rather than ask questions? -Somebody in the White House
has authority to press the button
and stop the president -- cut off the president's
speaking ability and sound. Who is that person?
-[ Chuckles ] -I think anyone
who knows the president, including members
of this committee, knows that he speaks
very clearly and very deliberately
for himself. No one else does. -Well, are you saying that there is no one
in the White House that can cut him off?
Because yesterday that happened, and it's happened
a number of times before that. It's been widely reported
that somebody has the ability to push the button
and cut off his sound and stop him from speaking.
Who is that person? -There is --
There is no such person. -Are you telling this committee
that this does not happen, that there's no one
in the White House who pushes the button and
cuts him off in midsentence? -[ Chuckles ]
That's correct. -First of all,
if a button like that existed, Shoemaker would have it for me,
because he is a power-hungry -- [ No audio ] [ Laughter ] Second, how psyched do you think Secretary of State
Antony Blinken was, not even a month after
the Afghanistan withdrawal, to get to field questions about
a nonexistent mute button? What's next?
"Now, Secretary Blinken, I want to ask you
about the Americans still trying
to leave Afghanistan. But before I do,
does the president tape pictures of naked ladies on
the inside of his aviators?" Also, anytime you find yourself on the same page
as Brian Kilmeade, that's a hint
you're doing it wrong. It's like looking over
during the S.A.T.s and realizing you have
the same answers as the kid who has to sing
"The Bunny Rabbit Song" to tie his shoes. "Psst, do you have the answers
written on your hand?" "Oh, no, that's just 'S.A.T.,' so I don't forget
what test I'm taking." This is what the right
is talking about, rather than actual policy.
And that's because Biden's COVID policies
are fairly popular with a majority of Americans. including his newly announced
vaccine mandate, which multiple polls have now
shown have majority support. In fact, even a Fox News poll,
out this weekend, found that voters support
mask mandates and Biden's
new vaccine requirements, whether in businesses,
indoor establishments, or schools. -69% of people say
that wearing a mask is a good way to help,
and 54% of people support mandatory
proof of vaccine to enter indoor establishments. -The survey found
a majority of respondents support mask and vaccine
mandates for schools and businesses. -It's always funny to me when
Fox conducts an accurate poll that contradicts what
their own hosts are telling their audience. That's as damning
as the results of their poll, "Do you think Joe Biden
lives in the basement, or a different part
of the White House?" I mean, their own polling
is telling them mask and vaccine mandates
are popular with a majority of Americans, and yet their hosts are still
saying stuff like this. -If they can force you to take
a vaccine that you don't need, what can't they do? Why don't they, I don't know,
make you take psychiatric drugs if you're
persistently disobedient; express the wrong view,
get a Thorazine shot? Why couldn't they do that? What's the limiting principle
on them? In fact, you can imagine a panel
of CNN doctors who explained that we'd all be a lot safer if
the mentally-ill propagandists on the radical right
got the treatment they need and stop spreading their
dangerous conspiracy theories. So giving them psychotropic meds is an urgent matter
of public health. Does that sound far-fetched?
[ Chuckles ] -Why is Tucker so concerned that someone might give him
psychotropic drugs? It's awfully specific for him
to use as a random example. Did it come up recently,
like, at his last physical? "Alright, Tucker, mostly great.
Blood pressure a little high. And have you ever thought
about Thorazine?" Also, if you don't want people
recommending psychotropic meds, try to drop that quiet chuckle
you did to yourself. You never see a guy sitting
on a bench in Central Park laughing at nothing,
and think, "I'm gonna go ask that guy
for stock tips." I will say this, though. If cable news ever gets boring
for Tucker, he'd make
a hell of an improviser, because my man knows
how to heighten. "If they can force you
to take a vaccine, what can't they force you to do? Can they force you
to take psychotropic meds? Make you wear a seat belt? Make you put your shoes on
at Olive Garden, even though they tell you, 'When
you're here, you're family'?" [ Laughter ] "And then, when you try
to fill a briefcase with unlimited breadsticks,
can they call security? And when you explain to them
that if they didn't want people to put breadsticks
in their suitcases, they should put a sign up
saying as much, can they then roll their eyes
and say, 'Let's please not do this again, Mr. Carlson,
because it's the same argument you made
the last time you were there.' And when you say, 'You could
put the sign right there,' and point to the wall
behind them, and then run for the front door
when they turn around, only to crash
into the hostess station, can they stand over you,
pointing and laughing? Well, I'm here to tell you,
they can, because it happened to me
last night." [ Laughter ]
"[ Fake chuckles ]" [ Laughter ] Every day, it just
becomes clearer and clearer that these guys have no idea
what they're talking about. For example,
Congressman Madison Cawthorn went on Newsmax last week
and said this. -This is a medical apartheid,
plain and simple. There's over 100 million
Americans who are not vaccinated. I think it's
even more than that. And if they want to start
shutting down air travel for these people
to get around the country, I think that's actually
a Constitutional violation, because you actually have a
constitutionally protected right to free, unrestricted travel within the
United States of America. And I genuinely believe that
what's going on right now is that all that's gonna happen
if United Airlines and American Airlines and Delta,
even if they decide to start requiring
vaccine mandates, let me tell you,
I'm very confident there will be
another air carrier that will come to the field, and
patriots like myself and you will give them
all of our business. -Yes, everyone knows you have
a constitutional right to unrestricted air travel.
Who can forget Paul Revere's famous words,
"One if by land, two if by sea,
three if by Southwest with a six-hour layover
at Chicago-Midway." Also, imagine
if what he said came true, and there was an airline that specifically served
the unvaccinated. "No frills, no rules, all chaos. At Patriot Airlines,
you don't board by group number, you board based on
how much you love America, and there will be disagreements. Allergic to peanuts? Too bad!
We put it in the coffee. And the armrest always belongs
to whoever wants it the most. Patriot Airlines,
where the arrival gate always has
a team of air marshals waiting to make arrests."
[ Laughter ] These guys really think
the constitution says you have the right
to get on an airplane unvaccinated and
cough all over everyone. although, as we know,
there are apparently some prominent Republicans
who do believe airplanes were around during the writing
of the Constitution. -The Continental Army suffered
a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters
of the Delaware, and seized victory from
Cornwallis of Yorktown. Our army manned the airports.
It rammed the ramparts. It took over the airports.
It did everything it had to do. -When that speech was over,
even Trump wished his staff had a mute button. "Did I say 'airports'
instead of 'ramparts?'" "I'm afraid so, Mr. President." "Well, next time,
hit the [Bleep] button!" [ Laughter ] "That's what the button's for.
That's why I do this. You know
how you press a button?" [ Laughter ]
Progressives are pushing forward with a transformative bill
that would expand healthcare, widen the social safety net,
and tackle climate change, among many other things. Meanwhile, the GOP has
no interest in debating ideas, so, instead, they melt down
about vaccines and make up conspiracies
about presidential mute buttons. These guys
shouldn't be in Congress. They're barely qualified
to work at... -A Banana Republic.
-This has been "A Closer Look." [ Theme music plays ] God's Love We Deliver
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