Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) said during an appearance on the Todd Starnes Radio Show President Biden has “one foot in the grave.”
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH REP. GUY RESCHENTHALER BELOW:
Below is a rushed transcript from the Todd Starnes Show, which airs live nationwide from noon to 3 p.m. EST:
Starnes: [01:01:16] I want to go to the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line. Great to have with us, our good friend from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Congressman Guy Reschenthaler. Congressman, welcome back to the show. [01:01:25][9.3]
Guy Reschenthaler: [01:01:26] Always good to be on. And I just got to tell you that Van Jones was wrong, right after Joe Biden’s talk about curtailing our Second Amendment right. His poll numbers, his approval numbers actually went down. So I just got to clarify that for the record. [01:01:41][14.5]
Starnes: [01:01:42] What does that tell you, though, about Joe Biden and the Democrats? [01:01:45][3.1]
Guy Reschenthaler: [01:01:47] Well, it tells me a few things. Number one, the Democrats know that Joe Biden is a sinking ship. The Democrats in Congress that are in tough elections don’t want him in their district at all. They’re trying to distance. And then if you look at the fact that folks like Van Jones, David Axelrod, etc., are openly saying that Biden is maybe past his prime in so many words, it shows that the Democrats are looking to make a change for 2024. They know that Joe Biden cannot win reelection and they’re now trying to set the stage to get him to exit. [01:02:19][32.5]
Starnes: [01:02:20] Seems to me, Congressman, that, if in fact, the Republicans do as well as we expect them to do, and I’ll get to that Texas election last night in just a second, but if, in fact, the Republicans have historic wins in the midterms, I’m wondering if at that point the Democrats figure some way to get Biden out of there so they can at least install Harris to see if she’s any good at the job. I mean, we all know that she’s not. But I mean, otherwise, you know, they’re going to have Kamala Harris as the nominee one way or the other. [01:02:51][31.0]
Guy Reschenthaler: [01:02:53] Well, I don’t know if they’re actually going to do that, because they know that the only one more unpopular than Biden right now is Harris, Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi, too. Both Harris and Pelosi are more unpopular than Biden. So I think they know that if they were to get rid of Biden putting Kamala Harris, it’ll spell doom. Now, they can get Kamala Harris out somehow, which I wouldn’t put it past them. And I’m sure they want a Pete Buttigieg-type candidate in there to show a stark contrast with a younger guy and in somebody who has one foot in the grave. Let’s just be honest with Biden. He is not operating on full capacity right now. That’s almost irrefutable. So I think they want that contrast. They would love to have Pete Buttigieg. Now, I still think we beat any Democrat in 2024, but the Democrats are going to have a fighting shot. They can’t have Biden. They can’t have Harris. [01:03:49][55.8]
Starnes: [01:03:50] When you look at the race down in South Texas, first time in more than 150 years that a Republican has represented South Texas on the Rio Grande, what does that tell you about the mood of the electorate, Congressman? [01:04:01][11.4]
Guy Reschenthaler: [01:04:02] Well, it tells me that you remember Joe Scarborough all the time, says demographics is destiny. It tells me that as the Hispanic vote shifts over to a conservative vote in a Republican vote, we are going to be a much stronger party moving forward. It also shows that the Hispanic voter does not buy this woke nonsense coming from the left. Remember, Hispanics are predominantly Catholic, pro-life, pro-family. They don’t buy into this, quote unquote LatinX nonsense where the woke left is telling them that their language is sexist. So let’s let the Democrat Party be the party of woke rich, white, college-educated liberals have at it. We will build our coalition with working men and women white, black, Hispanic, you name it. We’re going to be the party that represents working, average, everyday Americans, not these elitists that the Democrats have stuck their future to. [01:05:02][59.4]
Starnes: [01:05:03] On the Patriot Mobile Newsmaker Line our good friend, Congressman Guy, Reschenthaler from Pennsylvania. You know, Congressman, another big story we’ve been following, this gun-grab legislation that you’ve got ten Senate Republicans saying they’re willing to sign onto this that would give them a filibuster-proof piece of legislation. What concerns you the most? I have a thought, but what concerns you the most about this legislation? [01:05:28][24.4]
Guy Reschenthaler: [01:05:30] So there’s a lot that concerns me in the House version of this bill. But just talking about the Senate version, the due process issue really concerns me where you could have a red flag hearing with only one party and that someone’s guns and firearms can be confiscated. And then the burden shifts on that individual to get his or her firearm back. That is a problem because it is basically due process in reverse. That’s not how our system is set up to run. And I can tell you, I used to be a magisterial district judge and I would do ex parte de hearings when you only have one party. It is extremely difficult to ascertain the truth and get to the right decision when you only have one party in front of you. And more often than not, I’d be willing to say nine times out of ten the petitioner in front of you usually wins that hearing and then it is stored out several days later at a full hearing with both parties. But to do this is problematic, especially when it’s centered around it can be centered around baseless allegations. And when the Democrats have the ability to define sanity, every conservative will be, by their definition, insane. That’s the way their party is moving. So it will be used as an assault on our Second Amendment right. [01:06:45][75.5]
Starnes: [01:06:46] You see, I’m with you. Again, I don’t have a problem raising the age of 21. All right, fine. Whatever. But for me, it’s the red flag laws, because at that point, that gives them a card to knock on your front door and demand your guns. If you support traditional marriage, you got a problem with little boys using bathrooms with girls. They will twist that any way they can, Congressman, to fit their agenda. And it really shocks me that we had ten Senate Republicans saying that they’re willing to go along with this. [01:07:16][30.7]
Guy Reschenthaler: [01:07:18] Right. Well, just a few thoughts. The Republicans need to learn a lesson that you don’t make up any point for kissing up to Democrats. It doesn’t work that way. They will use you as long as they can, and they will kick you to the side. As long as you don’t fit their narrative, as long as you’re not supporting their agenda, you’re old news. You’re out. So have fun with your 15 minutes of fame and the good media attention because you’re only going to have it for so long. So, that is always a losing proposition to cave our conservative principles to the Democrats. Secondly, when it comes to the, I’m going to push back with you on the age issue, the same people that are telling us that 16 year olds should have the right to vote are now telling us that you have to be 21 to own a firearm. That’s absurd. I’ve been handling firearms since I’ve been a young boy. Safely under adult supervision, I believe at age 18, I was fully capable of properly handling a firearm. And anybody that’s going into the military, enlisting in the military, they are between the ages of typically 18, 19 and 20. And they are trusted to defend this country. They should be afforded the right to have the Second Amendment just like everybody else. [01:08:32][74.7]
Starnes: [01:08:33] No, and that’s fair enough, Congressman. And I completely see your point there. You know, my point was when you look at all the things you’re trying to shove through that, at least somewhat, I can see that. I mean, you know, but to your point and I get it. The fact of the matter is, none of this would have prevented any of the mass shootings we’ve had. And when you go back and look at the actual numbers, we’re talking, what, 3% of gun violence, of gun deaths in America were the result of an AR-15. So at the end of the day, I think this is not so much about the AR-15. That’s not so much about the rifles as it is wanting to get our handguns. [01:09:10][37.1]
Guy Reschenthaler: [01:09:12] Well, they want to disarm us. They really do. And the reason why they want, for example, universal background checks, is because if they had universal background checks, those, by definition, need to have a gun registration. That’s national. They’ll know exactly who has our firearms. This isn’t tin hat or whatever conspiracy theory. The Democrats openly talk about taking our guns. Beto O’Rourke, when he was asked, Do you want to take away your gun? His response was, Oh yeah. In the Judiciary Committee meeting, we recall the Democrat saying that he basically said we will blow up the filibuster, will pack the Supreme Court to take away our firearms. That is their ultimate end is to disarm law-abiding citizens. And remember, we’re in a world where their violence is considered speech and our speech is considered violent. In a world where if you’re setting cities on fire under the guise of Antifa, that’s okay. But if you’re an angry parent that’s upset about curriculum and you’re going into a school board meeting, you were then labeled a domestic terrorist. We don’t want the people that are making those designations deciding who owns firearms, because I can tell you how this story will end. Conservatives will have to hand over our firearms. [01:10:31][79.1]
Starnes: [01:10:33] Congressman, we’re going to have to leave it there. Appreciate the great insight. Again, Congressman Guy Reschenthaler from Pennsylvania. Congressman, thank you. [01:10:41][8.2]
Guy Reschenthaler: Thank you. Take care.
