MSN
Republicans ‘acting like jackasses’ because Biden nailed them on Social Security: Morning Joe
February 8, 2023 7:48AM ET
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough called out Republicans for acting foolish when confronted by President Joe Biden for proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
The president urged Congress to protect the broadly popular social programs, saying "some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset," which prompted literal howls from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and a handful of GOP lawmakers, but the "Morning Joe" host said Biden's claim was on the mark.
"If you're at home an you're not as much of a nerd as me and you don't follow all this stuff, let me tell you something, they were booing reality, Republicans," Scarborough said. "Joe Biden said that one administration raised the debt more than first 220 years of president, we can say to you on the show, that's a truth, the debt went up 25 percent. When he said Republicans raised the debt ceiling three times during the Trump administration -- wait, why are they booing? They did it. They're booing themselves for doing that."
"Then, this is the one that gets me, talking about sunsetting Social Security and Medicare every five years, nobody dreamed that up -- that was the head of the Republican Senate Campaign Committee," Scarborough added. "He won't say his name, I will say his name. Say his name: Rick Scott, the most powerful Republican in the United States Senate for running campaigns. So they're acting like jackasses because they can't deal with the truth, can't deal with the truth, and they make themselves look foolish."
House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was seen at several points trying in vain to shush the hecklers in his caucus, and Scarborough said the reward structure in GOP politics gave the noisiest lawmakers outsized influence.
"Here is the problem being a leader of Republicans right now is Marjorie Taylor Greene just gave a gift to Joe Biden, gave a gift to the Democratic Party, gave a gift to every Democrat that is running against Republicans who won in Biden districts," Scarborough said, "and yet the incentive structure is such that Marjorie Taylor Greene will raise a million dollars by calling the president a liar. So you have all of these extremists that are raising a ton of money while damaging their party and they just don't care. So if you're Kevin McCarthy, what do you do?"
Watch the video below or at this link.
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