♪ ♪ ♪
♪ ♪ ♪ >> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY,
WELCOME BACK TO "A LATE SHOW. JOINING ME NOW IS A FORMER
CONGRESSMAN FROM THE GREAT STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, AND AUTHOR OF
THE NEW BOOK, "DOESN'T HURT TO ASK." PLEASE WELCOME TREY GOWDY. MR. GOWDY, THANK YOU FOR JOINING
US. >> THANK YOU, STEPHEN. AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR WHAT
YOU DID FOR TEACHERS IN SOUTH CAROLINA. I HAVE LIVED WITH ONE FOR 31
YEARS, AND THAT WAS A VERY GENEROUS THING THAT YOU DID. SO THANK YOU. >> Stephen: THAT IS VERY, VERY
KIND OF YOU TO SAY. I LOVE TEACHERS IN SOUTH
CAROLINA. MY BROTHER JAY IS ONE OF THEM. NOW, YOUR NEW BOOK IS CALLED
"DOESN'T HURT TO ASK." WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A
MOMENT. BUT I DO WANT TO TEST THE
PREMISE OF THAT TITLE. LISTEN, YOU'RE MY GUEST. I MAY NOT AGREE WITH YOU
POLITICALLY, BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW, MY QUESTION ISN'T
HOSTILE WHEN I SAY, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, TREY
GOWDY? ARE YOU-- HAVE YOU NOT SEEN MY
SHOW? I'VE DONE A LOT OF JOKES ABOUT
YOU OVER THE YEARS. >> I THOUGHT THEY WERE FUNNY. >> Stephen: HOW BADLY DO YOU
NEED TO SELL A BOOK THAT YOU'RE ON MY SHOW AT 12:25 IN THE
MORNING. >> I THOUGHT YOUR JOKES WERE
FUNNY. THEY PALEIN COMPARISON TO WHAT I
GET AT HOME. THIS WAS EASIER TO COME HERE AND
WITH WITH YOU. >> Stephen: LET ME ASK YOU
THIS. ARE YOU STILL A MEMBER OF THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY? >> YES, SIR. >> Stephen: WHAT THE HELL IS
GOING ON WITH THE REPUBLICAN PARTY? DO YOU RECOGNIZE IT AT ALL? IS IT THE ORGANIZATION THAT YOU
JOINED? >> WELL, IT'S NOT THE REPUBLICAN
PARTY THAT I GREW UP WITH, STEPHEN. I MEAN, THAT'S A FAIR POINT. IT WAS A LIMITED GOVERNMENT,
FISCAL RESTRAINT. I MEAN, THIS IS THE WAY I WOULD
SUMMARIZE IT: CONSERVATISM TELLS PEOPLE WHAT THEY OUGHT TO HEAR. POPULISM TELLS PEOPLE WHAT THEY
WANT TO HEAR. WE LOST SIX OUT OF THE LAST
SEVEN POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENTS, THE REPUBLICANS DID. I THINK THAT YOU SAY A NEED TO
SHIFT MORE TOWARDS POPULISM. I SAY I'M A MEMBER OF THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY. I AM A REPUBLICAN. I AM NOT IN OFFICE AND I WILL
NEVER RUN AGAIN. I'M NOT AT THE CONVENTION. I DIDN'T GO TO THE CONVENTION IN
SOUTH CAROLINA. I'M A CONSERVATIVE, AND, YOU
KNOW, SOMETIMES IT GETS DIFFICULT TO SEE WHAT THE PARTY
PLATFORM IS. >> Stephen: YOU'RE NOT IN
POWER ANYMORE. SO, I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF
YOUR POLITICAL CAREER, AS I SAID, I MADE SATIRE OF OVER THE
YEARS. SO, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT REALLY
HERE TO TRY TO DO, LIKE, A SMACK-DOWN OR ANYTHING YOU DID. BUT I AM CURIOUS ABOUT SOME OF
THE THINGS YOU WERE INVOLVED IN. I'LL START BY SAYING THAT A
RECEIPT POLL SHOWS THAT 57% OF REPUBLICANS FIND THE PRESIDENT
COVID DEATH TOLL, WHICH IS 180,000 PEOPLE, ACCEPTABLE. ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE 57,000--
ONE OF THOSE 57% OF REPUBLICANS? >> NO, SIR. I WENT AND LOOKED AT THE
INTRODUCTORY CLAUSE OF THE POLL QUESTION BECAUSE THAT NUMBER
SURPRISED ME. MY FATHERs WAS A PHYSICIAN. YOUR FATHER WAS A PHYSICIAN. THE LOSS OF LIFE WAS LAMENTAL. I DON'T BLAME GOVERNOR CUOMO FOR
THE DEATHS IN NEW YORK. I DON'T BLAME RON DESANTIS FOR
THE DEATHS IN FLORIDA. ANY DEATH IS LAMENTABLE. IT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE. WE NEED TO DO BETTER. I JUST HATE THAT EVERYTHING IN
OUR CULTURE IS POLITICIZED, INCLUDING THE VIRUS. AND I CAN'T FIX THAT, BUT I JUST
HATE THAT EVERYTHING HAS BECOME POLITICIZED. IT IS EASY FOR ME TO SAY THE LOZ
LIFE, THE LOSS OF A SINGLE LIFE IS LAMENTABLE. >> BUT YOU WOULD AGREE POLITICAL
LEADERS HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO LEAD THE PEOPLE. AND THERE IS A LARGE PERCENTAGE
OF OUR POPULATION THAT DIDN'T BELIEVE IN MASKS, SPECIFICALLY
BECAUSE OUR PRESIDENT SAID YOU DIDN'T NEED THEM AND DOWNPLAYED
THE NEED FOR THEM. THERE'S SOME RESPONSIBILITY
THERE. THAT'S NOT POLITICIZING. UPON THAT IS HOLDING POLITICAL
LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE WAY THEY LEAD. >> AND WHAT I WOULD SAY IN
RESPONSE TO THAT-- AND I DO WEAR A MASK. WHAT I WOULD SAY IN RESPONSE TO
THAT IS THERE WAS SOME AMBIGUITY AMONG THE PHYSICIANS. I MEAN, MY DAD SAYS THEY CALL IT
THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE FOR A REASON PURPOSE THERE WERE
PHYSICIANS INITIALLY WHO WEREN'T SURE WHETHER THE MASKS WERE
HELPFUL OR NOT. SO I JUST --
>> Stephen: BUT NOT INTO JUNE, SIR. NOT INTO JUNE. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE
BEGINNING OF MARCH. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MONTHS WHERE
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES DOWNPLAYED THE NEED FOR
THEM, AND MOCKED EVEN REPORTERS WHO WERE WEARING THEM AT HIS
PRESS CONFERENCES. DO YOU SEE THAT AS A FAILURE OF
LEADERSHIP AT ALL? >> ON HIS BEHALF? >> Stephen: YES. >> DO I SEE THAT AS A FAILURE OF
LEADERSHIP? >> Stephen: YES, THAT IS THE
QUESTION, SIR. >> I WOULD HAVE LIKED FOR HIM TO
HAVE EMBRACED THE GOODNESS, THE PROPRIETY OF WEARING A MASK
SOONER, YES. >> Stephen: YOU LEFT CONGRESS
WITH A LITTLE BIT OF A, YOU KNOW, "ENOUGH OF THIS." YOU KIND OF KNOCKED THE DUST OF
IT OFF YOUR FEET A LIL BIT. IS THAT FAIR CHARACTERIZATION OF
HOW YOU FELT WHEN YOU LEFT? >> I JUST EYE DIDN'T THINK I WAS
GOOD AT IT. I DIDN'T ENJOY IT. AND I WASN'T GOOD AT IT. IF YOU DON'T LIKE SOMETHING AND
YOU'RE NOT GOOD AT IT, YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT. >> Stephen: WHAT ASPECTS OF IT
WEREN'T YOU GOOD AT? YOU ACTUALLY, IN THE SHORT EIGHT
YEARS YOU WERE THERE, GAINED A LOT OF POWER. >> I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAD ANY
POWER, STEPHEN. I'D RATHER HAVE INFLUENCE. I'D RATHER HAVE INFLUENCE WITH
MY COLLEAGUES THAN HAVE POWER. I WAS BRIEFLY A COMMITTEE
CHAIRMAN, BUT IN TERMS OF-- OF PASSING BILLS, IT-- IT'S TOUGH
LEGISLATIVELY. NOW. WE DID A LOT OF OVERSIGHT, BUT
THE INVESTIGATIONS I ENJOYED MOST IN LIFE WERE THE EXECUTIVE
BRANCH PROSYOU CAN PORL INVESTIGATIONS. I DIDN'T ENJOY CONGRESSIONAL
INVESTIGATIONS. >> Stephen: LET'S TALK ABOUT
RUSSIA AND THE INTERFERENCE OF 2016. YOU-- YOU'RE KNOWN TO BE A
FACT-BASED GUY. YOU BELIEVE IN SCIENCE. YOU BELIEVE IN, YOU KNOW,
RESEARCH. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT RUSSIA
INTERFERED IN 2016? >> NO QUESTION. >> Stephen: I BELIEVE YOU ALSO
GOT IN A LITTLE BIT OF HOT WATER WITH THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BY
SAYING THAT THE OBAMA-GATE SCANDAL WASN'T REALLY REAL, THAT
HE WASN'T BEING SPIED ON, AND THAT MUELLER WASN'T ILLEGITIMATE
FOR HAVING HIS INVESTIGATION. >> WELL, INITIALLY, I TOOK
EXCEPTION TO THE WORD "SPY." I MEAN, I USED THE WORD
"SURVEILLANCE," EITHER AUTHORIZIZED OR UNAUTHORIZED. I WILL SAY THIS-- THE HOUSE, THE
SENATE, MUELLER, NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION, COORDINATION,
CONSPIRACY. AND THE PRESIDENT'S
FRUSTRATION-- AND I THINK HE'S RIGHT-- A CLOUD WAS PLACED OVER
HIS FIRST TERM IN OFFICE UNDER THE BELIEF THAT HE CLUDDED WITH
RUSSIA, WHICH, STEPHEN, IS TREESOON. IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE DOING,
THAT IS TREASONES. I THINK THE WORST THING IN THE
WORLD IS TO BELIEVE YOU HAVE BEEN FALSELY ACCUSED. I THINK THAT IS THE WORST
FEELING IN THE WORLD. I HAVE ONLY BEEN AROUND THE
PRESIDENT A HALF DOZEN TIMES, BUT I CAN TELL TELL YOU HE
FIRMLY BELIEVED HE WAS FALSELY ACCUSINGED AND IT CAST A CLOUD
OVER HIS FIRST TERM. SO, YEAH, I THINK HE'S
FRUSTRATED ABOUT IT. >> Stephen: I WANT TO MENTION
YOUR NEW BOOK. IT'S ABOUT EFFECTIVELY
PERSUADING BY ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. IT'S CALLED "DOESN'T HURT TO
ASK." THE OBVIOUS QUESTION I NEED TO
ASK YOU BEFORE YOU GO IS HOW EXCITED ARE YOU ABOUT THE NEW
"BILL & TED" MOVIE? >> MUCH MORE NOW AFTER HEARING
YOUR INTERVIEW. >> Stephen: CONGRESSMAN, OR
FORMER CONGRESSMAN, AUTHOR OF "IT DOESN'T HURT TO ASK," TREY
GOWDY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, SIR. AND THANK YOU FOR STAYING UP
LATE. >> YES, STEPHEN. >> Stephen: WHEN WE COME BACK,
A HEARTFELT APOLOGY TO THE LAND OF CHEESE AND MEAT. STICK AROUND.
