Rep. Swalwell: “Two Doll Donny” Is Running “A Me, Me, Me Presidency”
In an interview on MSNBC, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) criticized President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the U.A.E. Swalwell told “The Weeknight” co-hosts he is watching how the president “benefits” while Americans “get screwed.”
ALICIA MENENDEZ, CO-HOST: Let’s bring in Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell of California. He’s a member of the House Homeland Security Committee and here with us at the table, David Corn. He’s the Washington Bureau Chief for Mother Jones and an MSNBC political analyst. Congressman, I want to start with Eugene’s implicit question there. What do you think Donald Trump was giving up or exchanging in these negotiations? REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): It’s a me, me, me presidency that he’s running. And as I look at this trip and what he’s getting out of it, I see how he benefits. I don’t see how Americans at home are going to benefit. Right now, as we speak, Republicans are gutting health care and kicking millions of people off their health care so billionaires can get tax cuts. 401ks have become 201ks. The Port of Los Angeles has 35 percent fewer shipping containers coming in right now. And so on your grocery store and Home Depot and Walmart shelves, you’re going to be able to buy less, but you’ll have to pay more. So more than anything, he gets a lot this week, but we all get screwed. SYMONE SANDERS, CO-HOST: I think that’s such a such a poignant point. And when I’m thinking about the kind of deals that he’s made and the folks he met with, the New York Times had some background that they put out today specifically about Ahmed Alshara. And he is the former militant leader who now leads Syria. And it’s worth noting that he once led a branch of Al-Qaeda before he broke ties with the jihadist group and sought to moderate his image. The United States has designated his insurgents group as a terrorist organization. And until just five months ago, it offered a reward of up to 10 million dollars for information leading to his arrest. Now, congressman, you have Donald Trump praising this man saying we have to give Syria a chance. Is it not correct if I’m wrong, but if Congress has to weigh in here, if Syria or this group is being taken off of the sanctions being lifted and being taken off of the terror and this gentleman is being taken off the terrorist watch list. Donald Trump cannot unilaterally do that. Yet he stood today as if he had the power to do so. SWALWELL: Absolutely. And he has no idea what he’s doing. You know, this is foreign affairs. It’s not matching on Tinder. And he looks at someone and says, oh, they look tough. They seem like a fighter. So now they’re our friend. I mean, that’s absurd that that’s how he would conduct relations on behalf of the United States, that he would just size someone up so quickly, forgetting past atrocities. And also, just by the way, as he is over there, having all of this opulence given to him, two doll Donnie is telling American families that they have to cut back on what they consume. And so, again, the American people are not going to be fooled. They’re not buying this one bit. And again, at the end of the day, they want to know what is their president going to do for them? We know what he gets out of this. What do the rest of Americans get?
