"Facing South Florida" takes up-close look at Trump's first month back in office
On the 34th day of his second term, "Facing South Florida" devotes the entire half hour to taking an up-close look at President Trump's first month in office.
"Facing South Florida" discusses the chaos and potential harm caused by Mr. Trump's actions during his return to the White House with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, including the pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters, the thousands of federal worker layoffs, the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Trump's plan to own Gaza and the latest in the Russia-Ukraine war among other things.
"Even if it's illegal and certainly unconstitutional, that's beside the point," Wasserman Schultz said. "Because the point for him is to do so much damage and undo so many different vital programs before a court can act and try to make him put Humpty Dumpty back together again."
Federal worker layoffs
Wasserman Schultz discussed the chaos and indiscriminate firing of workers, mentioning the termination of over 1,000 Veteran Affairs employees, the team overseeing nuclear weapons and the team answering the phones on the VA's suicide prevention hotline. She told "Facing South Florida" that there are dangerous consequences of these actions, including the potential for harm and death.
"This is dangerous stuff and people are going to die, and it's not an exaggeration," Wasserman Schultz said.
Public perception and support for Trump
"Facing South Florida" goes on to discuss the public perception of Mr. Trump's actions, noting some support due to a sense of presidential action and aggressiveness, and mentioning the comparison to a new company owner assessing operations before resuming normal activity.
However, Wasserman Schultz argued that Mr. Trump's actions are not making life more affordable and are causing harm, including increased inflation.
"None of what he's doing is bringing down the price of groceries or housing or energy costs like gas or electric bills," she said.
Schultz continued, highlighting the impact of Mr. Trump's actions on real people, including veterans and those involved in drug trials at the National Institute of Health.
"What we're trying to do is spotlight the impact of these decisions on real human beings," she said. "And that's when I think we're going to start to see, as we already are, his popularity decreasing and frustration and anger beginning to mount."
Gaza and the two-state resolution
"Facing South Florida" and Wasserman Schultz then discuss Mr. Trump's proposal to remove Palestinians from Gaza and develop it as a waterfront property. Wasserman Schultz described the proposal as dangerous as it could lead to increasing anti-Semitism and terrorism.
"What is the most disturbing and ridiculous about Donald Trump's proposal - that he keeps repeating and doubling down on - is that to suggest that we're going to just cleanse Gaza of everyone, not allow anyone to return, any Palestinian to return, and make the Riviera the Middle East is that it puts Israel in at more risk, Israelis in more danger," she said. "It foments anti-Semitism, and I would even say, fans the flames of inciting more terrorists, more recruitment by Hamas and Hezbollah and people who already hate Israel. So, that's not the direction that we should go."
Wasserman Schultz continued, emphasizing the need to focus on bringing hostages home and eradicating Hamas before discussing a two-state solution.
"I think Donald Trump is certainly trying to present [the two-state solution] as dead and very, very surely the Israeli people who aren't even entertaining the notion of whether that's possible until all hostages are home and until they're certain that their security is ensured," she said.
As one of the new co-chairs of the Abraham Accords Caucus in Congress, Wasserman Schultz said she's looking forward to leaning in with other Arab nations to promote normalization agreements between Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
"We can do that by making sure we bring these leaders to the table in the aftermath of the resolution of hostages coming home, ceasefire holding, eradication of Hamas and the threat they pose," she said.
Ukraine and Trump's actions
"Facing South Florida" goes on to discuss Mr. Trump's actions regarding Ukraine, including his extortion attempt to get mineral rights. Wasserman Schultz criticized the president's projection of blame onto Ukraine and his suggestion that Ukraine started the war with Russia.
"In my experience, there's a lot of tools you can use to advance diplomatic solutions and the resolution of conflict, but extortion is not one of them," she said.
Wasserman Schultz also warned of the dangers of Mr. Trump's actions, including jeopardizing national security and creating a dangerous situation, and emphasized the importance of supporting democratic allies and the consequences of abandoning them.
"[Mr. Trump's] sadly mistaken if he thinks this isn't going to eventually come back to bite us and bite us hard," she said.
Immigration and border crossings
"Facing South Florida" and Wasserman Schultz also discussed the impact of Mr. Trump's immigration policies on border crossings and asylum seekers.
The congresswoman highlighted the drop in illegal border crossings under former President Biden due to lawful pathways and the end of the parole program. She also criticized Mr. Trump's deportation of individuals who came to the border for asylum and the impact on vulnerable populations.
"The difference between the deportations that were occurring under Biden and Trump is that Biden was actually deporting the most dangerous criminals and Trump seems to be deporting people who are just unlawfully in the country," she said. "And some who came in lawfully and just before their case was adjudicated, they're deporting them."
Impact on vulnerable populations
"Facing South Florida" and Wasserman Schultz continued their discussion on Mr. Trump's impact on vulnerable populations, including Medicaid recipients and veterans.
The congresswoman emphasized the harm caused by Mr. Trump's indiscriminate firing and spending freezes, highlighting the motivations behind his actions, including giving tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.
"We need to make sure that people understand that the next time they have an opportunity to support candidates that they support candidates that will actually live up to their promises - not stab them in the back - which is exactly what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing, and the MAGA Republicans in Congress who are lackeys that are following them," she said.
Potential constitutional crisis
Wasserman Schultz also discussed the potential for a constitutional crisis if Mr. Trump ignores various court rulings, warning that his actions indicate a desire to consolidate power in the executive branch, pointing to a tweet he sent out that suggested people are not in violation of the law if they're trying to "save the country" and posting a picture of himself with a crown and declaring himself a king.
"Those are all big, huge red light warning flashes that indicate that he believes in an executive branch that is all powerful and that doesn't have the need to actually listen to the check on power that our Founding Fathers put in the Constitution with the legislative branch, which is essentially has a Republican majority that has thrown their hands up and is giving and is cowering in the corner, afraid of Donald Trump and standing up to him and a judicial branch that won't be afraid to stand up to him, but he just may ignore if he thinks he can get away with it," she said.
Wasserman Schultz also emphasized the importance of a free press and public awareness to prevent a constitutional crisis, calling for action to protect vulnerable individuals and hold Mr. Trump accountable.
"These are vulnerable individuals, that again, the motivations of Republicans - Donald Trump, Elon Musk and MAGA Republicans - are solely to give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, and they are doing nothing to do what they promised to do, which as to make life more affordable around the kitchen table for Americans, on their gas and energy prices, their housing costs and their groceries," she said. "They've done nothing to do that because they don't care."
