While interviewing Former Trump Campaign Adviser Michael Caputo on New Day Monday morning, co-host Chris Cuomo repeatedly insinuated that Republicans do not care about clean air and water because of their support for EPA Secretary Scott Pruitt, who has made rolling back Obama-era environmental regulations a hallmark of his tenure. In addition to painting Pruitt as anti-science, Cuomo also rejected the idea that there was no chaos in the White House as "laughable."
Prior to introducing Caputo, Cuomo played some clips of Republican Senators weighing in on the ethical questions surrounding Pruitt on the Sunday shows over the weekend. While Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed approval of Pruitt’s tenure at EPA, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) argued that “on policy grounds alone, I think Scott Pruitt is the wrong person to head the EPA.” Cuomo then offered his opinion on the Republican Senators’ statements: “It’s interesting to see Republicans disagree on whether or not Pruitt is doing a good job. I guess it’s done on the basis of whether or not you want clean air and water protected.” Cuomo’s statement implies that Republicans who support Pruitt’s policies want dirty air and water, which has become a standard talking point on the left.
When pressed by Cuomo if he thought that “the sword of Damocles is hanging over the head of Scott Pruitt,” Caputo argued that many conservatives do not want to see Pruitt fired because they “are really proud of the work he is doing.” Caputo also argued that Pruitt has a huge target on his back because he is “opposing liberal orthodoxy” by “doing things that are very effective at the EPA, like, for example, cutting the budget by about 30 percent.” Caputo argued that all of Pruitt’s behavior “triggers the cookiest leftists.”
Channeling his inner Joy Behar, Cuomo then went after Pruitt’s position on climate change, stopping just short of calling him a “climate change denier”: “First of all, science would be his main opponent when it comes to some of his positions when it comes to climate change. That’s why he was so controversial. As AG in Oklahoma, he was fighting against it. There were things suggested that had come out of him about a rejection of climate science.”
Following his chastising of Pruitt for his “wrongthink,” Cuomo asked Caputo to weigh in on the ethical questions surrounding the EPA Secretary. Caputo argued that Pruitt would do himself a great service by apologizing, acknowledging that an apology “won’t be enough for the liberals who want to get rid of him because of the effectiveness. But it will be enough for the people.”
Cuomo then asked Caputo why Susan Collins, the “rock-ribbed conservative” from Maine thought that Pruitt was the wrong choice to serve as EPA Secretary. Cuomo answered his own question: “Because if you value the science that motivates a need for clean air and clean water and regulation thereof and we saw what happened when corporations didn’t have the sword of Damocles over their own heads. Climate science matters to a lot of people.” For his part, Caputo disagreed with Cuomo’s characterization of the pro-abortion, pro-amnesty Collins as a “rock-ribbed conservative” and reiterated that “he needs to just apologize and move on and continuing to cut that agency down to size.”
Cuomo’s interview with Caputo concluded with a brief conversation about some of the new arrivals at the Trump White House, including Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow and National Security Advisor John Bolton. Cuomo once again tried to peddle a narrative of a White House in disarray: “The idea that there’s no chaos in the White House is laughable to me.”
While the media has found itself quite obsessed with the ethical questions surrounding Pruitt, this segment relied on a surprising amount of personal attacks against Pruitt, with Cuomo doing the bidding of “the busy body bureaucrats at the EPA” who want Pruitt removed as EPA Chief. This morning’s exchange on New Day should definitely reinforce the idea that many on the left and the media could care less about the ethical questions surrounding Pruitt, they merely want to use them as an excuse to demand that President Trump fire him. If and when that happens, they will use the firing as an excuse of a “White House in chaos.”
CNN New Day
04/09/18
08:26 AM
CHRIS CUOMO: President Trump denying there is chaos in the White House as he defends his embattled Head of the EPA Scott Pruitt despite a growing number of GOP lawmakers calling for him to step down. Here’s a taste.
SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: Now these are unforced errors. They’re stupid. There are a lot of problems we can’t solve. But you can behave. I’m not, I don’t mean to denigrate Mr. Pruitt but doggone it, he represents the President of the United States and it is hurting his boss and it needs to stop.
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: I think he’s done a good job but I’m looking to see what the Oversight Committee is going to say. The one thing I can say if you’re the EPA Administrator and two lobbyists change the locks, you’ve got a problem.
SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS: On policy grounds alone, I think Scott Pruitt is the wrong person to head the EPA.
CUOMO: It’s interesting to see Republicans disagree on whether or not Pruitt is doing a good job. I guess it’s done on the basis of whether or not you want clean air and water protected. But the big political question is whether or not the President will remove Pruitt. Right now, he’s saying no, he is going to keep him. Joining us now is Michael Caputo, a former Trump Campaign Senior Advisor. Good to see you sir?
MICHAEL CAPUTO: Hey, Chris, how are you doing?
CUOMO: So I’m doing well. Do you think the sword of Damocles is hanging over the head of Scott Pruitt or no and why?
CAPUTO: I don’t think it is at all. In fact, I think the President and I think a lot of people in the White House, a lot more Republicans than are talking, than those speaking out against him are really proud of the work he is doing. And by the way, it’s the most difficult work when you are opposing liberal orthodoxy. I mean, probably number two target in this Administration after President Trump is Scott Pruitt because he’s doing things that are very effective at the EPA, like, for example, cutting the budget by about 30 percent. And that triggers the cookiest leftists.
CUOMO: First of all, science would be his main opponent when it comes to some of his positions when it comes to climate change. That’s why he was so controversial. As AG in Oklahoma, he was fighting against it. There were things suggested that had come out of him about a rejection of climate science. Now he’s the head of the EPA. That, but that’s all politics and policy. He’s got a string of ethical considerations, several of which could have been seen as fatal by someone else without the President’s support. And in fact, other guys have had to leave over less. How do you explain it?
CAPUTO: I think that’s kind of an exaggeration.
CUOMO: Price?
CAPUTO: I’m sorry. I, I get what you’re saying, I get what you’re saying. He may have done something wrong here and I think oversight is important in these kinds of situations out of Congress, but I think just like Koskinen at the IRS and, you know, Holder at the DOJ, he can come forward and apologize and move on. That will be enough for the American people. It won’t be enough for the liberals who want to get rid of him because of the effectiveness. But it will be enough for the American people.
CUOMO: But look, I get the whole political currency these days of pointing the finger at the other saying but they did this but they did this. Who in the Obama Administration got caught up with this kind of string of ethical violations? Arguable ethical violations.
CAPUTO: I’m not going to go tit for tat.
CUOMO: You just did! You just did, Caputo. You just said Holder and Koskinen, you just did it. So put some meat on the bones.
CAPUTO: I mean if you look at Holder and Koskinen, they did, you know, arguably, from the right, you would say that they did far worse things. We’re talking about the use of security because he’s been targeted and even yelled at and screamed at and attacked by, you know, triggered leftists in airports. We’re talking about him trying to save a few bucks on the overheated apartment market in Washington.
CUOMO: 50 bucks a month that he doesn’t even pay? Look, these are ethical considerations. It’s going to be a political determination.
CAPUTO: That’s right.
CUOMO: You expect the President to stick by him until what? Something comes out that’s worse?
CAPUTO: I expect the President to stand by him until something that comes out that really requires him to be replaced. I, I urge the President to stand by the Secretary. I think that he is doing great work over there. He’s, you know, reforming the, the EPA in a way that conservatives want to have done. And that’s the real problem here. He’s effective so the busy body bureaucrats at the EPA want him out.
CUOMO: But look, that’s a political assessment and that’s what you’re supposed to do. But you know, there are, look, why is Susan Collins, Republican from Maine, you know, rock-ribbed conservative, why does she say he was the wrong choice? Because if you value the science that motivates a need for clean air and clean water and regulation thereof and we saw what happened when corporations didn’t have the sword of Damocles over their own heads. We saw what happened. Climate science matters to a lot of people. That’s not just bureaucracy.
CAPUTO: I get that but I’d also argue the fact that Susan Collins is no rock-ribbed conservative. Ask any conservative. You look at the people who are, are dragging the EPA Chief right now. They’re kind of a familiar cast of characters. But let’s face it. He might have done something wrong. And the oversight, you know, the oversight responsibility here is important. But at this point in time, I think most of us who support the EPA Chief think that at most, he needs to just apologize and move on and continuing to cut that agency down to size.
CUOMO: The temperature inside the White House, as you know, I’m not a huge fan of this line of reporting because I don’t know where it gets us. The idea that there’s no chaos in the White House is laughable to me. I know you liken it to Jack Kemp who you know well and you worked for and you think that Trump wouldn’t like being likened to Kemp. But he was an idea agitator. This isn’t about ideas. This is about people who Trump thinks are good or loyal to him and his personal politics or not. This isn’t a battle of ideas. This isn’t Kemp assigning the same speech to two people and seeing who does it better.
CAPUTO: I think it’s a version of the battle of ideas. I mean, I’ve been around President Trump when he is discussing, discussing policies. I think that he’s continued his old habits in the White House, challenging people on different sides of the issue to defend their, their ideas and push forward and see which one he will then take his own counsel from. I mean, I think you see Ambassador Bolton coming in, who tends to be more in agreement with the President. The President deserves to have an NSC that agrees with him. You see Larry Kudlow coming in, who tends to be more in support of the President. But of course, you look at Kudlow, for example, Chris. And Kudlow is someone who, like Jack Kemp, was very, very pro-free trade. I think he’ll...
CUOMO: Most of your party is.
CAPUTO: I understand that.
CUOMO: Almost all of your party is except for the President.
CAPUTO: But let’s make no mistake here. Donald Trump did not run as a, as a traditional Republican. He’s not going to govern like one. But I think people like, like, you know, Larry Kudlow will take a very important role in the White House and get involved in the battle of ideas. I suspect Larry won’t even sit down in many of those arguments in the oval office. He will stand and pace like, like an idea man does and he’ll make his best case and the President will take that counsel.
CUOMO: We’ll see.
CAPUTO: I’m excited about those changes.
CUOMO: We’ll see. And I have to say it that way because we have seen exactly those kind of people come and go. Michael Caputo, we’ll...
CAPUTO: But I’m real hopeful now. I’m real hopeful now, Chris.
CUOMO: If we don’t have hope, what do we have? Thank you for being on the show.
