-Republicans are trying
to rile up their base in response to President Biden's
new vaccine requirements. And Rudy Giuliani insisted
he was not drunk when he went on a bizarre rant
during a speech at a 9/11 memorial dinner. For more on this,
it's time for "A Closer Look." [ Theme music plays ] The modern Republican Party is a bizarre
and unhinged institution populated by crime-adjacent
weirdos who pander nonstop to the ugliest instincts
of their base to stay relevant. For example, Republicans
have spent the last few days expressing outrage
not over the deadly virus that's killed
more than 650,000 Americans and is currently
overwhelming hospitals and ICUs across the country, but about
the president's attempt to get people vaccinated
against that virus. -There are a number
of Republican governors who have vowed
to fight this order. Texas Governor Greg Abbott
tweeted, "Texas is already working to halt
this power grab." -Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia
posting he will pursue
every legal option "to stop this blatantly
unlawful overreach by the Biden administration." -South Dakota Governor
Kristi Noem tweeting at Joe Biden,
"See you in court." -One of the most heinous
displays we've ever seen
from a president. -He is the closest thing
we've gotten to a dictator yet. -J.D. Vance, Republican
candidate for Senate in Ohio, released a statement urging
people to ignore the president. "Do not comply
with the mandates," which, just to be clear,
he's saying, "Don't get vaccinated." "Only mass civil disobedience
will save us from Joe Biden's
naked authoritarianism." -The governor of South Carolina,
Henry McMaster, tweeting, "Rest assured, we will fight
them to the gates of hell to protect the liberty
and livelihood of every South Carolinian." -Take it easy, Henry.
You're not even gonna fight somebody to the gates
of your community. And I'm sorry, you'll fight them
to the gates of hell? It's a requirement
to get vaccinated against a deadly
respiratory virus, and you sound like
you're writing a screenplay for a direct-to-VHS
Steven Seagal movie called "Strike Force One." "The Russians have boarded
the boat, and they have nukes!" [ As Seagal ] "We'll fight them
to the gates of hell. Now, get me my nunchucks." [ Normal voice ] Nunchucks?!
Didn't you hear me? They have nukes!" [ As Seagal ] "Don't worry.
I'll hide behind that pipe." [ Normal voice ] But that's
what these people do. It's all performance
and manufactured outrage, designed to gin up their base. They don't seem to care about
the toll of the virus itself and the immense loss and grief
it's wrought. They just care
about mimicking Trump to pander to their voters.
That's why guys like J.D. Vance, who once called
Trump reprehensible, are now calling
for mass civil disobedience and telling GOP primary voters, "Do not comply,"
which I don't get. It's one thing to say,
"I'm pro-vaccine, but against mandates,"
but these guys are acting like mandates are tyranny,
when in reality, mandates exist everywhere
and we have to do all kinds of much more annoying things
every day to live in a functioning society
with other people. I mean, do you think anyone
likes waiting in line at the DMV in order to be able
to commute to work? No one likes that,
but we do it. I was at the DMV
for a full day one time because I waited in line
to change my address. And when I got to the booth,
I forgot my pen. So they told me to wait
in the pen line, which took another three hours. When I got to the window
for a pen, they told me how
to fill out a form. And I said, "But
I don't have a pen." And they said,
"That's not my problem." But we all have to do
[Bleep] like that. And it's not just
a personal choice. I can't believe I still
have to say this, 18 months in. But you can spread COVID
to other people. It's not just about yourself.
That's the difference. And the Republicans calling
Biden a tyrant or dictator for implementing
workplace safety rules, which multiple polls have now
shown have majority support, did you have the same reaction when Trump claimed he had
the unilateral authority to order every governor
in the country to reopen their states
and force everyone back to work before a vaccine even existed? -There's a debate
over what authority you have to order the country reopened.
What authority do you have? -Well, I have
the ultimate authority. The president of the
United States has the authority to do what the president
has the authority to do, which is very powerful. When somebody is the president
of the United States, the authority is total, and
that's the way it's got to be. I have the absolute right
to do it if I want to. -Again, the ultimate authority
sounds like a direct-to-VHS Steven Seagal movie,
where he plays an ex-Navy SEAL who works at a mall
when it gets taken over by Russian terrorists. [ As Seagal ]
"I'm in charge here. I have the ultimate authority.
Now get me my katana. It's the, um -- it's, like, the
Japanese sword-looking thing." [ Normal voice ] And
for those of you asking, "Why is it okay for Biden
but not Trump, there's a moral
and legal difference between claiming the power to implement
new workplace safety rules and claiming total authority
to force everyone back to work to expose themselves
to a deadly virus. If you're comparing the two,
you're doing so in bad faith. That's like saying
there's no difference between forcing people
to wear a seatbelt and forcing car manufacturers
to install a third mystery pedal on the driver's side that
either brakes, accelerates, or launches you straight up into
the sky without a parachute. And as for Biden,
he's not backing down, even in the face
of GOP hysterics, as he made clear
over the weekend. -Have at it. -Damn, a lot of Seagal energy
going around these days! "Gates of hell," "Have at it." Politicians are starting to talk
like one of those movies about two old boxers
who come out of retirement to settle a feud one more time. "I'll send you
to the gates of hell." "Have at it!"
"What?" "I said, 'Have at it.'"
"Have at what?" The GOP has been like this
for decades, but the party's
latest transformation into whatever it is now is perhaps best embodied
by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who the media once hailed
as America's mayor, but who is now essentially
a New York City Bigfoot who hangs out with
Eastern European mobsters and trims his toenails
in Panera bathrooms. I don't even know
if he's really done that, but, I mean, would you be
surprised at this point? I wouldn't be surprised
if I was watching an episode of
"World's Dumbest Criminals" and I saw Rudy
on a Duane Reade security camera trying to use his own keys to open the shelf
where they keep all the razors. I wouldn't even be surprised if an employee walked over
and said, "You again?!" In 2001, he was front row
at Yankees playoff games, and now I'm pretty sure
he sells off-brand merchandise on the sidewalk
outside the stadium. [ As Giuliani ]
"It doesn't say 'N.Y.' It says 'M.Y.'
for 'my Yankees.'" [ Laughter ] [ Normal voice ]
And then, on Saturday night, during an appearance
at what has traditionally been a somber event,
an annual 9/11 memorial dinner, Rudy went on an incoherent rant where he, among other things,
imitated Queen Elizabeth and insisted out of nowhere that he never spent any time
with Prince Andrew. -Rudy Giuliani does
an annual dinner every year with people
who were involved with him on September 11, 2001,
and for years. you know, my impression was,
it was a somber, poignant gathering of people
to talk about what was lost and how the city
saw itself through that time. Not really anymore. -I don't want to sound
like a name-dropper, but I showed this
to the Queen of England. She said, [As Queen Elizabeth]
"You did a wonderful job on September 11,
and therefore, I'm making you an honorary knight,
commander of the royal [Normal voice]
something or other." [ Laughter ]
I turned down a knighthood because if you took
a knighthood, you had to lose
your citizenship. I know Prince Andrew
is very questionable now. I never went out with him.
Never. Never -- Never
had a drink with him. Never was with a woman
or a young girl with him, ever, ever, ever.
One time, I met him in my office, and one time
when we had the party. Right, Bernie? You were there. -What a time to be Bernie. [ Laughter ] I'm assuming that's
Bernie Kerik. But I don't know,
and Rudy probably doesn't know. Bernie was probably
right in the middle of bragging
about his great seats, and then Rudy bails on his act
to do some crowd work. [ As Giuliani ] "Right, Bernie?
We had that podium. Prince Andrew was there,
and nothing creepy happened. That was right before
you got indicted, right, Bernie? Give it up for Bernie,
everybody. He was with me
when we met Prince Andrew. Nothin' happened!" You were there
and I were there and Prince Andrew was there,
but it was normal." [ Normal voice ] Look, I'm
not saying Rudy was drunk, but that's usually
when guys from Brooklyn start trying to imitate
the Queen of England. If you're ever in a Coney Island
dive bar at 3:00 a.m., and someone orders
and Amstel Light instead of a Budweiser, you can expect to hear
one of his friends say, "Look at this [Bleep] guy. Oh, I'll have the Amstel Light,
and I'm the Queen of England." [ Laughter ] But I guess, now that
we've heard his British accent, we know why Rudy lost out
on the part of Mrs. Doubtfire. Of course, if he ever tried
to Doubtfire his ex-wife, she would figure it out
right away. [British accent] "Would you like
a spot of tea, dear?" [ Normal voice ]
I know it's you, Rudy. You're my cousin. But I guess Rudy
can add this tape to his reel of impressions if he ever auditions
for "America's Not Talent." -One time, Bill Clinton
asked me, "What's this guy Romney like?"
You know what I told him? "He's our Al Gore." -Alright, Rudy.
-"I'm Spartacus." Mueller's saying,
"Obstruction of justice." "Obstruction of justice."
Which the guy will say, "Say 'obstruction of justice.'"
"Obstruction of justice." "Did you decide it?"
"No." -Well, I'm definitely not going
to Rudy's one-man show. I'm just kidding.
I definitely am. Why do all of Rudy's impressions
sound like a cartoon dog? He sounds like McGruff
the Crime Dog blitzed out of his mind on some
cocaine confiscated from a bust. And by the way, for the record, Rudy would like everyone to know
he was definitely not drunk. And he let everyone know
in a way that's very uncharacteristic
of drunk guys. He gave a series of long,
rambling answers in which he repeated himself
and made no sense. Rudy gave an interview
over the weekend, and I'm going to read it to you,
the actual transcript, like a guy trying to get
his keys from the bartender. "Yes, I had a scotch,
but I was not drunk. There is a deliberate attempt
by the left wing to paint me that way."
"I'm not a drunk. I don't think I've ever been
publicly drunk in my life. The last time I was --
I was probably in college." "I like to drink Scotch
and have cigars. That's where it probably
comes from. I drink moderate amounts
of Scotch. I mostly drink Scotch because
I like to have it with cigars." "I didn't have a cigar
last night. And this is a caricature that
the left is trying to put on me. I can't remember the last time
that I was drunk." "Yes, of course I had a Scotch
at the beginning of dinner, Beyond that, I didn't have --
it was watered down." "Not even sure I drank
the whole thing." "It hurts my reputation for
someone to say I'm drunk." I'm not sure I agree, though. It's probably better
if you were drunk. At least your behavior
would make sense. If someone told you,
"Hey, so, last night, Dave gets up in karaoke
and instead of singing, he just listed everything
he hated about each of us while Duran Duran
played in the background. Then, he stormed out
with his pants down, and then later, when we left,
he was asleep in a bush. Craziest thing was,
didn't have a drink. Just like that."
If you heard that, you'd say, "Well,
I think it's probably the end of our time
hanging out with Dave." But, sure, that's what's
hurting your reputation. Not the fact you helped
incite a riot at the Capitol, lied about the election,
had your law license suspended, forgot to swing
your balls forward before you sat down
for an interview, accidentally
gave a press conference outside a landscape company, had hair dye leaking out
of the side of your head like the juice
leaking from a Hefty bag, and got caught shaving
at a table in an airport. Can you imagine
being his waiter? "What can I get for you, sir?" "Uh, I'll have some tap water
and a can of Barbasol." So, Rudy insists
he wasn't drunk, but he does like to engage
in doing English accents. Giuliani said the idea that he
was mocking the Queen is "an interpretation
that's totally unfair. I used an English accent."
"And I have never mocked it. I just like to use an English --
I imitate Churchill sometimes." The only thing
you have in common with Churchill
is a stiff upper lip, and that's just
early-onset rigor mortis. So, Rudy thinks he's
just like Churchill. Of course, if you told Rudy
to wear a Homburg hat, he'd probably show up
with a Big Mac on his head. [ Laughter ] This is the modern GOP --
rambling, incoherent, and far more outraged
about attempts to stop a deadly virus
from spreading than the toll
that the deadly virus has taken, and that's because Trumpism
is still the core of the modern GOP.
Trump led one of the most disastrous presidencies
in history, and all Republicans have
to say about him is... -[As Queen Elizabeth]
"You did a wonderful job." -This has been "A Closer Look." [ Theme music plays ] God's Love We Deliver
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