Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the week’s news, including Republicans’ failure to pass a health care reform bill, President Trump expressing his anger at Jeff Sessions to The New York Times, the abrupt resignation of former White Press Secretary Sean Spicer and a cancer diagnosis for Sen. John McCain.
Shields and Brooks on GOP’s health care bill gridlock, Trump tweet backlash
The basic problem is that this is a bill that massively redistributes wealth to the rich.
Trump’s Super Pac attacked the most vulnerable member of his party
Brooks: It’s more than unhelpful. Its a corruption of the public sphere.
Shields: He’s more engaged with Morning Joe than with Healthcare Policy
One of the things that may offend people is Mafioso extortionate behavior: using the National Inquirer to take down opponents.
Shields: this adds to the credibility of James Comey
I remember when Republicans got upset with Bill Clinton for not wearing a suit and tie in the Oval Office
Shields and Brooks on Trump’s first trip, press bashing in Montana
Brooks: Under Trump, character doesn’t matter. We are nice to Saudi Arabia and mean to Germany and France. Values don’t matter.
Mark Shields: The budget is mean-spirited and dishonest
Brooks: Food Stamps have risen because more people are poor.
It also hurts the young and helps the old.
Shields: Medicaid is being cut by one half. Foodstamps cut by one quarter.
here is not a single house member who regrets voting against it.
Trump set the tone by singling out the press. Joe ___ said “You lie” and then raised $1,000.000
Brooks: In bodyslamming a reporter, at least he apologized. That’s a step up from what we’ve seen.
Shields and Brooks on Obamacare repeal failure, Gorsuch grilling
The Republican Party is an opposition party, a protest party, not a governing party. We have a protest president.
$880 billion cut to Medicare. Tax cuts to the wealthy.
Brooks: try to govern like he ran. Go for 65% of the vote by doing things that aren’t orthodox Republican.
Shields: The FBI, Wall Street Journal, etc have all said that the President’s allegations of wiretapping are baseless. In danger of being a “Fake” President.