All posts tagged "mike lawler"

'Eleven years of this': Swing-seat Republican shrugs off Trump’s Davos 'pandemonium'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s erratic behavior on the world stage — threatening to seize Greenland from Denmark, making rambling speeches and attacking key NATO allies at Davos — was just business as usual, a prominent moderate Republican insisted.

“Eleven years of this, have people not figured it out?” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told Raw Story at the Capitol.

The U.S. will benefit “if the end result is that he gets greater access, increased military presence” in Greenland, Lawler said, bemoaning the media’s “pandemonium” coverage of a head-spinning week.

President Trump first told Norway’s prime minister he wanted to buy or seize Greenland, in part because the Nobel Committee passed him over for the Peace Prize he so covets, even though the committee is completely independent from the Scandinavian country’s government.

Then, at the 56th World Economic Forum in Switzerland, President Trump saw Canadian PM Mark Carney win rave reviews for a pointed speech about the need for mid-sized countries to work together and not rely on America in the wake of the tariff-fueled trade wars Trump’s waged across the globe.

In stark contrast to the clarity offered by the leader of America’s northern neighbor, Trump’s own remarks in Davos saw him continually confuse Greenland with Iceland; promise not to use force to seize the former but insist he wants to take it regardless; say he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had worked out the “framework of a future deal” for increased U.S. access to Greenland; and then abuse NATO allies whose troops fought alongside the U.S. in its post-9/11 wars.

"We've never needed them," Trump told Fox News, adding: "We have never really asked anything of them.

"They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines."

Just in the case of the United Kingdom, 457 British troops were killed in Afghanistan and another 179 in Iraq, while waging former President George W. Bush’s “global war on terror.”

Denmark lost 43 service members in Afghanistan and eight in Iraq.

‘Permanent damage’

Now that 2026 is here, November’s midterm elections are starting to engulf everything in Washington, especially for endangered Republicans like Lawler who have tried to create distance from Trump without enraging his MAGA base.

While Lawler and others in the GOP straddle that Trumpian tightrope, Democrats insist they won’t let them off the hook for letting Trump embarrass America on the world stage.

“Trump's craziness has done permanent damage,” Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) told Raw Story.

Boyle, who serves on NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly — a body comprised of 281 parliamentarians from 32 countries — is visiting the organization in Brussels next month. He expects to perform damage control.

“This is doing permanent damage,” he stressed.

In the wake of Trump’s gaffes in Switzerland, Boyle got started on international diplomacy early, after American allies freaked out and blew up his phone throughout the week.

‘President was a draft dodger’

Other members of Congress have also been trying to clean up the president’s international messes, many of which predated the Davos disaster.

Last week, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) “spent time with the representative from Greenland and the Danish Ambassador.”

“I think [Trump’s] staff didn't inform him of our relationships with Greenland and Denmark,” Kaptur told Raw Story this week.

The midwestern progressive is embarrassed that President Trump threatens allies with U.S. military might, despite what she dismissed as his own lackluster record on military matters.

“Well, the President was a draft dodger,” the Congresswoman said, “so, yeah, I don't really think he has a sense of the military. I think he views it as his police force.”

Trump, 79, obtained five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, four for academic reasons and one due to a claim to have bone spurs in his heels.

Infamously, in 2015 and 2016, during his first run for president, he stoked controversy by deriding Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, a decorated war hero, for having been captured by Vietnamese forces.

"He's a war hero because he was captured,” Trump said. “I like people that weren't captured.”

Perhaps more infamously still, Trump once told shock jock Howard Stern that avoiding sexually transmitted diseases while dating in New York had been his “own personal Vietnam.”

“I feel like a great and very brave soldier,” he said.

Blackface scandal used to link MAGA Republican with racist text furor

The Congressional Black Caucus PAC is using a blackface scandal to link a MAGA Republican to the recent racist text leak furor involving young Republicans, according to reports.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) is the focus of the targeted five-figure ad called "Not for Us, which will air on YouTube and television in his district, Politico reports Thursday.

The ad will also mention Lawler's use of blackface while he was a college student. Lawler has said it was "an homage to pop star Michael Jackson."

“Mike Lawler keeps showing us exactly who he is — between now and Election Day we’re going to make sure Hudson Valley voters know he’s not fit for Congress,” a Black Caucus PAC spokesperson said.

The campaign is also working to connect Lawler to Peter Giunta, a member of the New York Young Republicans reportedly involved in the Telegram chats released by Politico earlier this week that included racist, antisemitic and homophobic comments, rape fantasies, and suggestions on how to drive their opponents to suicide.

“They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery," according to the report.

Giunta has claimed that the chat and its release are “a highly-coordinated year-long character assassination." He apologized, saying, “I am so sorry to those offended by the insensitive and inexcusable language found within the more than 28,000 messages of a private group chat that I created during my campaign to lead the Young Republicans.”

'Just so you know': MAGA rep schooled live on CNN as he tries to dismiss scandal

MAGA Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) wasn't convinced of the merits of appointing a special counsel to investigate the elusive Jeffrey Epstein files when asked about conservative activist Laura Loomer's suggestion on Monday.

Loomer, who appears to have President Donald Trump's ear when it comes to firing "disloyal" White House staffers, has been calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi's ouster over her bungling of the Epstein issue.

Lawler told CNN's John Berman Monday, "I'm not exactly one to subscribe to conspiracy theories. So from my vantage point, if somebody committed a crime, if somebody affiliated with Jeffrey Epstein committed a crime, they should be prosecuted. In the absence of that, frankly, this seems like a colossal waste of time and effort, and frankly, a lot of nonsense."

Lawler added, "There are a lot of issues facing this country right now — a dead pedophile ain't one of them. And from my vantage point, you know, the world is a lot better off with Jeffrey Epstein no longer part of it."

But Berman pushed back."You say there's a lot of nonsense," he said. "A lot of nonsense from whom? Explain to me what you think the nonsense is here."

Lawler said he didn't understand why the news media was "continuing to cover" Epstein in comments that were reminiscent of President Donald Trump's frustration that the topic was still being discussed. Biographer Michael Wolff has claimed that the FBI may have photos of Epstein and Trump together with young girls, prompting both MAGA and Democrats alike to call for full transparency.

"At the end of the day, if there are people who were part of any crimes, then they should be prosecuted. But in the absence of that, what exactly are we looking to do?" Lawler asked.

Berman went on to explain why the story was still important.

"Just so you know, it's being covered because the deputy director of the FBI is said to have taken off work on Friday to protest the justice department's own handling of this. And there have been shouting matches reported inside the White House on this. So, whether or not you think it's important, apparently there are people who are quite agitated about it."

Watch the clip below via CNN.

Latest GOP town hall devolves into 'shouts, groans and mockery' as voters flout 'rules'

Self-described moderate Republican Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) had his hands full during a Sunday night town hall in his suburban Hudson Valley swing district, according to reporting inThe New York Times and a variety of videos posted to social media.

Local police expected more than 1,200 constituents to jam the high school auditorium where Lawler was speaking in Rockland County, but first they had to follow Lawler's rules as posted outside the venue: participants were required to provide proof of residency for New York's 17th district; were warned against shouting, screaming, or yelling; and were forbidden from making "audio or video recordings."

But the rowdy constituents ignored those last two directives, as evidenced by cell phone video posted to X.

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In one video, a constituent asked, "What are you doing to stand in opposition to this administration, and what specifically are you doing that warrants the label 'moderate'"?

The question drew whoops and applause from the audience. When Lawler began to answer, saying, "Again, my record speaks for itself. I've been rated the fourth most bipartisan for a reason," the audience laughed and groaned.

In another clip, constituents chanted, "blah, blah, blah" as Lawler tried to justify President Donald Trump's tariffs that have caused the upending of the stock markets.

The article described "shouts, groans and mockery."

Times reporter Nicholas Fandos wrote that, "The congressman got a rare round of applause when he defended the use of vaccines and criticized Mr. Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has cast doubt on the efficacy of vaccination."

But overall, the town hall was both "combative and catty" and looked less like "the kind of respectful town-hall conversation Americans venerate than a shouting match where both sides accuse the other of acting in bad faith," Fandos wrote.

He added that, "For much of the night, acrimony carried the room. Attendees provoked confrontations with fellow attendees, with Mr. Lawler’s staff members and with the police. No one was satisfied, including supporters of the congressman who mostly watched in silence."

Read The New York Times article here,

'You are making that assumption!' GOP lawmaker put on the spot over Trump's change of tune

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) wasn't buying CNN anchor Pamela Brown's assertion Friday that Donald Trump "changed his tune" on tariffs once the stock market started to tank.

Over the past weeks, Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, then granted temporary reprieves, announced an exemption for car manufacturers, activated the tariffs, then announced Thursday that he was pausing tariffs on Mexico for one month "as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum."

All of the chaos and uncertainty has made investors nervous, causing stock indices to fluctuate wildly, reported The New York Times.

"Tariffs are an effective short term negotiating tool, and I think the president delaying on auto manufacturers is not an issue if it's covered under the terms of the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal, that's fine," Lawler said.

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Brown interjected, "I also want to make sure that I'm able to respond to to what you said with the facts, you know, because in terms of the Mexico and Canada tariffs, the only thing that changed was the stock markets went down. There was clearly a big reaction to that. Donald Trump saw that and changed his tune...Businesses don't like this uncertainty. They don't like the back and forth. And that's kind of what we're seeing play out in the in the economy right now."

"Look, the stock market is going to fluctuate day to day. If we're making decisions based on, you know, a one-day analysis of the stock market, that's certainly not a way to to govern," Brown said.

"So, should he have not done what he did? Because it seemed to be in reaction to the stock market."

"You're surmising — no, you're making that assumption. Did you speak to him directly? Did he tell you that's why he did that? I don't think so," Lawler asserted.

"Certainly, we have reporting that that certainly factored into the decision making," Brown said.

Watch the clip below via CNN or click the link.

Republican calls House speaker vote 'theater of the absurd'

A GOP lawmaker called Friday's House Speaker vote — in which two Republicans were finally convinced to change their ballots but a third still held out — "the theater of the absurd."

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) posted his congratulations to Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) on X for keeping the speakership before Lawler appeared with CNN's Jake Tapper.

"What was going on behind the scenes?" Tapper asked. "You had six people refusing to vote, then they voted for Johnson. Three people voting against him, then two of them flipping their votes. Did you talk to any of them?"

Tapper was referring to Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Keith Self (R-TX), as well as the lone hold-out, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who made his anti-Johnson position known in interviews before the vote.

Lawler answered, "Throughout the last few days? Certainly. But look, Jake, it's the theater of the absurd. But I'm glad, obviously, that we were able to get this done in one round on one day and get Mike Johnson elected speaker so that we can actually get to work."

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Lawler continued, "There is so much to do on behalf of the American people, especially once President Trump is sworn in and we've got to hit the ground running. And, obviously, the certification of the presidential election is on Monday — we wouldn't have been able to do that without a speaker. So, to get this wrapped up today, I think, was an important step. And we move forward and get about the business of the American people."

House Republicans begin the new session of Congress with a very narrow margin — 219 to 215 to begin, with the assumption they'll lose two more representatives shortly to Trump cabinet appointments. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) has been tapped to fill a national security adviser position, and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is Trump's pick for ambassador to the United Nations.

Watch the clip below or at this link.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer corners GOP lawmaker for blaming Trump shooting on Biden

A Hudson Valley Republican tried to tell CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday that President Joe Biden and his allies share some responsibility in their "rhetoric" for the shooting that took place at former President Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania — and Blitzer quickly reminded him that no one yet knows the shooter's motive.

It started with Blitzer confronting Rep. Mike Lawler about Trump's newly-minted running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), proclaiming that the Biden campaign's criticisms of Trump as a threat to democracy "led directly" to the shooting. "Now that Vance is officially the vice presidential nominee for your party ... do you want to see him tone down that kind of rhetoric?" asked Blitzer.

"The rhetoric across the board obviously needs to come down," said Lawler. "But for the grace of God, Donald Trump would have been assassinated on Saturday. We're talking about a millimeter's difference between whether or not that bullet went through his ear or his head. And I think, obviously, the rhetoric that has been used to say that Donald Trump is a fascist, that he's a threat to democracy, is destructive to our country."

"Don't you think the FBI, the Secret Service, should be allowed to conduct their investigation into this shooter's motive before someone, a senator in the United States Senate, goes out and blames the Biden campaign?" Blitzer pushed back.

"Look, of course the investigation will determine what the motive is and the investigation will uncover all of the facts, including how in God's name the shooter got up on a roof with a clear line of sight to the former president," said Lawler. "And certainly I think there is a feeling across the country that when you say things like that Donald Trump is going to destroy our democracy, or that he is a fascist, that does not help. It does not help the dialogue."

"So you want both Trump and Vance to tone down their rhetoric as well against Democrats?" Blitzer asked.

"I want everybody to focus on the American people and not turn this into a battle of personalities," said Lawler.

Watch the video below or at the link here.

Wolf Blitzer pushes Mike Lawler for blaming Trump attack on Bidenwww.youtube.com

'That's kinda rich': GOP lawmaker hits back at fellow Republican for dysfunction complaint

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) is unimpressed with the complaints from Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) about Congress being paralyzed by chaos and dysfunction as he moves to resign from his congressional seat.

Appearing on CNN Wednesday with Jake Tapper, Lawler pointed out that Buck, a longtime Freedom Caucus figure, was one of a small handful of lawmakers who voted to remove former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership, a move that divided the Republican Party even more than it had been and led to weeks of paralysis.

"It is the least productive Congress since the 1930s," said Tapper. "I've never seen it so dysfunctional. You have Ken Buck, Congressman Ken Buck quitting next week instead of even just sticking it out until the end of his term, he announced he was retiring because of how uncomfortable and awkward and dysfunctional it all is. You're not denying that?"

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"Well, respectfully, Ken Buck is one of the people that helped create some of the dysfunction by voting to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House," said Lawler. "So that's kinda rich coming from him."

Lawler went on to defend the House GOP's record: "At the end of the day, we have passed a lot of bills through the House. I know a lot of times the focus is on the House. Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats who are in the majority down the hall have not passed much of anything. We have been focused on issues that impact the American people."

Notably, some analysts have suggested that Buck's early resignation is not just about congressional dysfunction, but to trigger a special election that would prevent Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) from carpetbagging into his seat. Boebert herself believes this is a possibility, blasting him as a "swampy" politician trying to "rig" the race against her.

Watch the video below or at the link right here.

Mike Lawler slams Ken Buck for complaining about dysfunctionyoutu.be

CNN's Collins cuts GOP lawmaker's government lesson short: 'I have to stop you there!'

It was a good ol' crossfire until Kaitlan Collins pulled the plug.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) tangoed with CNN's host of "The Source" on live television, with the pol switching from cogent immigration insights to a seemingly oversimplified lesson on the fundamentals of the U.S. government.

So Collins gave him the vaudeville hook to pull him off stage.

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Collins started asking Lawler about the victorious campaign of Long Island Democrat Tom Suozzi on Tuesday night over Republican Mazi Pilip in the special election of a seat left vacated by the scandal-plagued George Santos.

The win cuts into conservatives' thin majority in the House of Representatives and Collins then asked if it concerned Lawler with his own reelection prospects.

"Not at all," he said. "I'm not concerned and about how this plays out in districts like mine in which any any number of polls shows me doing very well and my favorability 29 points higher in my district than the generic Republican."

Collins asked Lawler about a group text message sent by Santos trolling Republicans over the loss.

“I hope you guys are happy with this dismal performance and the 10 million dollars your futile Bull S— cost the party,” it reads.

Lawler confirmed he was on the receiving end of the text, but then said "George Santos is a waste of time" because "he's no longer a member of congress for good reason."

The Republican then tried to steer the conversation back to immigration policy and how the Democrats "chose not to act until December of last year" where they created a bill to fix the Southern Border crisis.

"Here's the bottom line: and the way Congress works — because the media seems to have this position that whatever the Senate passes everybody has to accept — there are two houses within Congress and you actually have to negotiate —"

Collins interjected: "Congressman yes, we understand. Congressman, respectfully I have to stop you there—"

Lawler didn't stop pushing his point, "...everybody wanted us to accept a bill that wouldn't actually pass. And that's the problem."

She then took back control of the interview and, before ending it with a promo for the next show, she told him, "I think the problem, I think both both parts of Congress bear the blame for this."

"No one has done anything to fix immigration system."

Watch below or click the link here.

'Complete disgrace!' Republican lawmaker throws fit over new law to increase voter turnout

On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) signed an election reform bill that will move most local elections into even-numbered years, a change that has been advocated by commentators around the country for years, as eliminating odd-year elections saves taxpayer money and consolidates all voting into times when voters are likelier to turn out for elections.

But New York GOP Rep. Mike Lawler took to social media to express his outrage over the legislation.

"What Democrats in New York have done to change the election law to try and win elections before a single vote is cast is truly remarkable," wrote Lawler. "Moving all elections (except NYC) to even years despite no one asking for it, only allowing lawsuits to be filed in 4 DEM heavy counties, circumventing the constitution to allow no excuse absentee ballots during early voting… among many other changes… on top of stacking the court to gerrymander the Congressional maps."

"The level of corruption and total disdain for the voters is breathtaking," he continued. "Protecting Democracy? These folks undermine it without even batting an eye. Kathy Hochul is a complete disgrace."

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Former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who was expelled from the House this month with the support of most of the New York GOP delegation and has subsequently been revenge-posting against them on social media, swiftly replied to Lawler mockingly. "Cry harder little Mike," he wrote, saying that "the Republican establishment in New York can go to hell for being self serving hacks that rely on low voter turnout [in odd] election years to keep control over counties while putting a chokehold on people’s votes in exchange for a job!"

Lawler is widely considered one of the most vulnerable House Republicans in 2024, even absent the push by Democrats to redraw New York State's congressional maps.

New York has been one of the more difficult states in the country to vote in for years. Democrats passed a state-level Voting Rights Act in 2022 to safeguard against many voter suppression tactics, and this September, followed up with a bill allowing no-excuse mail-in voting.