'This Week' Transcript 1-14-24: Gov. Ron DeSantis & Gov. JB Pritzker

Interview

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Well, it's minus 29 here...

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So I'm not sure how much older it will be in Iowa.

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... but I'll be there

Look. here's the important thing for people to recognize, that, putting all the polls aside, the truth of the matter is this is going to be won among independents. And independents understand that -- as Democrats do -- that it's the Republicans that are trying to take your freedoms away. It's the Republicans that are trying to take away your Social Security and your Medicare. It's the Republicans that are basically fighting against the working families of America.

And it's Joe Biden who has been lifting up the economy. We now have incomes above inflation. Inflation is coming down significantly. Things are getting better in this country. And over the course of an election year. as the economy continues to improve, you're going to see poll numbers improve, too.

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Well, I will say I think your poll is a bit of an outlier, but -- but here's what I'll tell you. This battle hasn't even been joined yet. You've got a bunch of Republicans, MAGA Republicans, espousing things that are not good for the American public, that are on the stage now. And not until they choose a nominee will we truly be in this battle.

And then it's a choice. It's a choice, again, between two visions for America. And Joe Biden has proven that he's the one standing up for working families. He's the one standing up for the rights that people view as fundamental in their lives, their voting rights, their reproductive rights, human rights. And so I -- I really believe that this hasn't, you know, seen the day yet where you've got a true contrast between a Republican on one side and a Democrat on the other.

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Maybe we ought to start by just acknowledging that Joe Biden has years of experience, that when you talk about someone's age, you're also talking about the wisdom that they've gained over many years and how they've demonstrated their empathy that they've learned from so many experiences.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump are roughly the same age. Do you think Donald Trump has learned empathy in his life? He has not. Joe Biden has demonstrated it at every turn. Think about what he's accomplishedacross the aisle because of his years of experience, not in a partisan fashion, but a bipartisan fashion. Getting a serious bill passed to improve our infrastructure across the nation, to make sure to create jobs and bring manufacturing back to the United States.

That's what he's done, and again, working with Republicans. The majorities that he's gotten have had Republicans and Democrats voting together. That's who Joe Biden is, and that's what age and experience brings.

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I -- you know, the polls certainly show that. If you'll look at the average of the polls out there, it doesn't look good for the people who are running against Donald Trump. Having said that, you know, I think, whatever happens in Iowa tomorrow will be somewhat determinative of who gets to move on to the states beyond Iowa.

And so, we'll see. I think this battle will go on for perhaps another month or two before there is really a clear front-runner that's been established by actual voters going to the polls.

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Well, it's not just Democrats doing it. But let's face it -- this is going to go to the Supreme Court. They're the ones who are ultimately going to make the decision here, and we'll all abide by that decision.

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Isn't that telling? That says all you need to know about Donald Trump, that, you know, truthfully, what Joe Biden has been saying about Donald Trump not really believing in democracy, you know, having Joe Biden call out the fact that Donald Trump is saying that he'll be a dictator, whether it's one day or his entire term, nobody really knows.

But the reality is that he's not signing that pledge, it's just another indicator of Donald Trump not wanting to abide by the Constitution of the United States of America, and we just can't afford to have a president who is acting in unconstitutional fashion, and in his own self-interest.

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I would think so. I mean, I have not seen a presidential election in my lifetime where there wasn't at least one debate between the two candidates. So I think we're going to see that.

But the debate is ongoing, as you know. And once a nominee is chosen on the Republican side, once again, I think you're going to start to see the real contrast, whether there's a debate or two in the fall. Every day, you're going to see the contrast between these two visions for a future for the American people, and it's Joe Biden that really stands with working families.

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Well, we need the Congress to act. There is discussion right now about comprehensive immigration reform, about border security, and this can be handled right now. They could vote on this and make sure that we're actually dealing with it.

But, you know, Democrats have been at the table for decades now, wanting immigration reform. Republicans refused. So, finally, they're at least in discussion. My hope is that they'll get something done.

But not enough has been done, there's no doubt about that. And I think that the president needs to do more. The Congress needs to do more.

Cities out here that are the target of this political game that Governor Abbott is playing, are suffering.

And here in Illinois, it's minus 29 degrees outside with the wind chill. We have migrants that arrive from Texas virtually every day, hundreds, and we don't have places to put them. We don't have enough shelter space here.

There are plenty of other cities where, you know, if he's going to send people, they could be sent, but no. He's choosing only Democratic states, Democratic cities. And when we've asked him to stop sending people because of the weather, because the dangerous nature of this winter storm that we're experiencing now, he's refused to stop sending them. So, he does not care about people. He doesn't care about the, the migrants, he doesn't care about the fact that they're going to suffer if they're sent to certainly the Upper Midwest, as he is doing now.

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Thank you very much, Jonathan.

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