Sunday School 6/2/19

Mick Mulvaney, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and president Trump's acting Chief of Staff was on both Meet the Press and Fox News Sunday this morning. 

First up: the mass shooting in Virginia Beach,  which was only discussed on MTP. Todd asked whether the president believes there is some kind of federal role in preventing this kind of thing.  Here's Mulvaney's first try at answering:

We have too many of these shootings. And every time, the first thing we talk about is politics. And I mean, the mourning process - period hasn't even stopped yet, let alone the healing process. So, let's not get too deep into politics too soon. Let's think about the families and the victims...

Todd pointed out that this was a policy question, so Mulvaney pointed to the administration addressing bump stocks and that it "fixed the background checks" which is not exactly true. The bill that Trump signed required federal agencies to improve their reporting, to make sure everyone identified as not being able to purchase was in the system; the bill also encouraged states to do the same. The conversation ended on a 'we have laws, but people break them - but 99.9% of the people don't' implying that little more will be done by this administration.

On immigration, Mulvaney made it clear the issue was that Mexico should do more to secure its own southern border, so that we would have to do less at our own southern border.  Here's what he told Chris Wallace.

That border is only a quarter as long as the border with the United States. They could secure that border. They could go after their domestic terrorist organizations, their criminal organizations, who are in the business moving people across Mexico...And lastly, they could make Mexico a safe place for these people to claim asylum.

On that last part, about Mexico being safe, he told Chuck Todd

Keep in mind, if you -- if you leave a country, say you leave El Salvador, and you say "I'm seeking asylum," the last says you're supposed to seek asylum in the first safe country in which you arrive. Mexico is safe.

And the tariffs?  Those are likely to go through, he told Wallace.

He's absolutely deadly serious. In fact, I fully expect these tariffs to go onto at least the five percent level on June 10th. 

Wallace pointed out that if they went into effect in full as the president described, that would be an $87B tax increase on Americans and American businesses. Mulvaney disagreed with that, noting that we have all the tariffs with China but that there's no inflation, so no impact. However, a recent study shows that washing machine prices are up 12%, and not only that, but dryer prices are also higher, as manufacturers have raised those as well, because they can. #MAGA, or something.

And, talking with Todd again, about Trump's bluff on shutting down the southern border entirely, and now this plan, causing uncertainty for businesses, here's what Mulvaney had to say.

The purpose of this is not to create uncertainty. That is, that is one of the consequences. The purpose it to fix the situation on the southern border. We've tried all the ordinary things.

I guess, if you consider re-appropriating money against the wishes of Congress, the threatened shutdown of the border, the actual shutdown of the government, separating families and so on as being the ordinary things, I agree - those have all been done. He did, of course, have a point that Congress is not doing enough - or if they are, they're not talking enough about what they're doing.

And, a couple of things on Russia.  Here's part of the conversation on MTP, where he was asked if the president accepts that Russia interfered to help him win:

I think the bottom line, and this got lost again this week, is that it didn't make any difference. You ask a lot of people, "show me who you voted for, and I'll tell you how you feel about the Russia investigation."

With some prodding, he did admit that

...yes. Russia did attempt to interfere in our election. There's no question. Let's not lose sight of the fact that it was the previous administration that let it happen... Our Department of Justice, our DHS, have been working with states and local governments to make sure that no foreign government, Russia or anybody, has the ability to do, what in 2020, what they did in 2016. I just wish people, you know, tried to lay some of the blame where it belongs, on the previous administration for letting it happen in the first place. 

In in his conversation with Chris Wallace, after bashing Steve Bannon twice, he noted

We'll look at this way. The Mueller Report is finished, it's over, he closed down the shop this week. You've heard - you've heard what we have to say about this many times' it was clear, no collusion, no obstruction. The case is closed, it's over, Democrats want to keep going and that's fine but issues like this, we think, are behind us now. 

And on the kerfuffle about the USS John S. McCain being moved or hidden so that the president wouldn't be offended by seeing the name of not just one, but two United States admirals and a war hero senator staring him in the face, well, according to Mulvaney that was pretty much a nothing burger. It was a 23, 24 year old staffer, he said on both shows. Whether that's a real person or just a surmisal I can only surmise.  But, he said,

The president's feelings about the former senator are well known. The fact that a low level person might have asked a question shouldn't surprise anybody. We think it's much ado about nothing.

Now, I don't know about you, but to me there's a difference between asking, "Hey guys, any way you can move the McCain?" and

3. USS John McCain needs to be out of sight. 

Confirm #3 will be satisfied. 

See you around campus.