In back-to-back interviews with congressional lawmakers from different sides of the aisle Sunday, CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan exposed which party she supported as she allowed Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) an almost unfettered 10 minutes (9:44) to speak and smear Republicans on the stimulus bill. In contrast, she only gave Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) six minutes and 24 seconds, and interrupted every answer he gave on the stimulus so she could assail him questions doubting his commitment to helping struggling families.
Now, the times noted above were what was allotted to each lawmaker. But in the breakdown, seven minutes and 23 seconds of Pelosi’s time was dedicated to the topic of the stimulus bill, the rest of it was her comments on the funeral of late Congressman John Lewis (D-GA).
As for what Cruz was allowed to talk about, he only got three minutes and 46 seconds to make his case on the stimulus. The rest of his time was divided between Lewis and the Chinese consulate in Houston getting shutdown.
It’s not an exaggeration that every answer Cruz gave on the topic of the stimulus was interrupted by Brennan (the video and transcript both prove this). She actually seemed more on top of it just as he would begin to slam Democrats for their sleazy tactics.
Here’s a prime example:
CRUZ: Our objective should be, Americans want to get back to work. They want to be able to provide for their family--
BRENNAN: Right.
CRUZ: - they want to be hopeful for future and unfortunately, Margaret, I think we're seeing Democrats, we’re seeing Democratic governors, we’re seeing Democratic mayors--
BRENNAN: But what specifically – But what specifically, because in terms of the unemployment benefits, do you object to providing any kind – or any amount of federal boost to unemployment at this point? Because not everyone is choosing to be out of work.
Brennan also interrupted Cruz to protect Pelosi’s proposal from his criticisms. When he called the Speaker out for embedding hidden “tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires in blue states,” Brennan cut him off and switched gears to China, claiming “I’m running out of time here.”
Here’s that exchange:
CRUZ: You know, Nancy Pelosi talked about working men and women; what she's proposing is keeping working men and women from working. And you know, ironically, what she does have in her bill? She has a big tax cut for millionaires and billionaires in blue states—
BRENNAN: I just wanna quickly --
CRUZ: She eliminates--
BRENNAN: Sorry, I just wanna get you quickly on China because I'm running out of time here.
Maybe if she would have managed Pelosi’s ranting a little better, she wouldn’t be cramped for time with her other guest.
Brennan also got very combative with Cruz. At one point she overstated what CBS polling purportedly showed as support for a new stimulus, claiming: “74 percent of Republicans approve more simultaneous and added benefits.” But the on-screen poll question only stated the result was about “passing new economic relief package to help those impacted by coronavirus.” There was nothing about “added benefits.”
Despite that fact, she obnoxious exclaimed: “So, Republicans do have the burden of governing right now! Why aren't you on board with it?!”
“I am onboard with restarting the economy,” Cruz shot back before noting that keeping the economy shutdown aided the Democrats in November.
Brennan’s protection for Democrats and Speaker Pelosi was made possible by lucrative sponsorships from ADT Security Services and Swiffer. Their contact information is linked if you want to tell them how you feel about that.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CBS’s Face the Nation
July 26, 2020
10:43:23 a.m. Eastern(…)
MARGARET BRENNAN: I do want to ask you about the business at hand, which, as we know from the White House and from Leader McConnell’s office is this bill they plan to introduce tomorrow to provide another round of aid. You opposed it earlier this week, are you onboard now?
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I am not. We have, right now, two simultaneous national crisis. We have a global pandemic, it is serious, it has taken the lives of over 600,000 people. We need do significantly more to fight the disease. At the same time, we have an absolute economic catastrophe, we have over 44 million Americans have lost their job. And we have got to get America back to work.
Unfortunately – and I just listened to your interview with Speaker Pelosi, her objectives are focused on neither of those. Her objectives are shoveling cash at the problem and shutting America down and in particular, you look at the $3 trillion-dollar bill she's trying to push. It's just shoveling money to her friends and not actually solving the problem.
Our objective should be, Americans want to get back to work. They want to be able to provide for their family.
BRENNAN: Right.
CRUZ: They want to be hopeful for future and unfortunately, Margaret, I think we're seeing Democrats, we’re seeing Democratic governors, we’re seeing Democratic mayors--
BRENNAN: But what specifically – But what specifically, because in terms of the unemployment benefits, do you object to providing any kind – or any amount of federal boost to unemployment at this point? Because not everyone is choosing to be out of work.
CRUZ: The policy that Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are pushing adds an additional $600 a week of federal money to unemployment. We have the unemployment system. The system we have --
BRENNAN: Right, and McConnell wants to take it down to 70 percent.
CRUZ: Except, the problem is, for 68 percent of people receiving it right now, they are being paid more on unemployment than they made in their job. And I'll tell you, I've spoken to small business owners all over the state of Texas who trying to reopen and they're calling their waiters and waitresses, they’re calling their busboys, and they don't come back. And, of course, they won't come back because the federal government is paying them, in some instances, twice as much money to stay home as --
BRENNAN: But you’re open to a lesser amount?
CRUZ: Look, what we ought to be focused on instead of just shoveling trillions out the door, we ought to be passing a recovery bill.
Now, what's a recovery bill? A recovery bill would be lifting the taxes and the regulations that are hammering small businesses so that people can go back to work. A recovery bill would suspend the payroll tax, which would give a pay raise to everyone in America whose working. That actually gets people back to work--
BRENNAN: Well, the treasury secretary said this morning you could have five, six, seven other bills coming along that include things like a payroll tax, but this time, unemployment in particular he said needs to be extended.
And according to our latest CBS poll, it's very popular. 74 percent of Republicans approve more simultaneous and added benefits. 92 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of independents. So Republicans do have the burden of governing right now! Why aren't you onboard with it?!
CRUZ: I am onboard with restarting the economy. What Democrats want to do: we're 100 days out from the presidential election, the only objective Democrats have is to defeat Donald Trump. And they cynically decided the best way to defeat Donald Trump is shut down every business in America, shut down every school in America.
You know, Nancy Pelosi talked about working men and women; what she's proposing is keeping working men and women from working. And you know, ironically, what she does have in her bill? She has a big tax cut for millionaires and billionaires in blue states—
BRENNAN: I just wanna quickly --
CRUZ: She eliminates--
BRENNAN: Sorry, I just wanna get you quickly on China because I'm running out of time here.
(…)
