← The Briefing with Jen Psaki
The Briefing with Jen Psaki
With nothing to run on, Republicans return to low road 'gutter' politics
00:42:47
Donald Trump's disastrous time in office has left campaigning Republicans with very little to boast about to constituents back home. What they are left with instead is their familiar playbook of culture war scare tactics and divisive distortions to try to scare voters into supporting them. Senator Ted Cruz wasted no time to resort to absurd smears when asked about Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed.
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Host/Interviewer
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Co-Host/Commentator
And now, the next chapter of the Serta Counting Sheep.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Hey, uncle number one, why aren't we counting anymore?
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
We'll never get counted again.
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Serta Ad Narrator
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Serta, we make the world's best mattress. Maybe you woke up this morning, poured yourself some coffee and decided to read a few headlines to catch up on what happened during last night's big primaries. And they were big. And if you did that, you might be under the impression that Democrats, not Republicans, are the ones that are in complete disarray. Here's the headline from the Wall Street Michigan Senate Primary Shows Democrats fight for Party Control is Far From Over. And this one from Punchbowl, A Democratic Reckoning Begins after the Left's Showing in Michigan. Or how about this one for Politico? Now here's some drama. Messy Michigan Primary Leaves Democrats licking Wounds. It certainly kind of paints a picture, doesn't it? And if you listen to Donald Trump, you think the man is just absolutely killing it right now. Like, you know, you had a big election last night and a lot of people running, and I endorsed a lot of candidates. And the end result, I was 28
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Co-Host/Commentator
wins and one loss.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Who was a little bit of a person that I thought was a good person didn't have much of a chance. But I said, I don't care, I'm doing it anyway. Good person, very good, very respected. But nobody knew who the person was. Well, I'm going to tell you, I want to focus on that one loss Donald Trump mentioned. Just a second. Not long. Come on in a little bit closer. Settle up because this is good. The Trump candidate endorsed in Michigan's 8th congressional district was defeated handily by another candidate who literally dropped out of the race. A few weeks ago, Thomas Smith beat Amir Hassan by a whopping 17 points. Again, Smith dropped out on July 16th. So our election board. The graphics didn't even have a headshot of the guy. You saw a blank head. And we weren't the only ones. So yeah, the man without the headshot beat the dude endorsed by Trump. Earlier today, another Republican who Trump previously endorsed also fell apart, but for a totally different reason. North Carolina Congressman Chuck Edwards announced in the middle of the night that he he wouldn't seek reelection this year after a House ethics investigation revealed a pattern of persistent, unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers. His attorneys say the committee's findings were unfounded, but he's dropping out. And he's far from the only congressional Republican who's tied up in scandal. Ohio Congressman Max Miller is digging his heels in despite accusations of domestic abuse by his ex wife, including allegations that Miller held a gun to her and fractured their two year old daughter's collarbone. The allegations haven't been substantiated by law enforcement and Miller denies them. There are growing number of Democrat and Republicans who are calling on Max Miller to step down. But he says he's not going anywhere. Spineless speaker of the House says the abuse allegations are not his business. The Senator from his own state of Ohio, Josh John Hoosted, who's in a touchy race of his own kind of tough, refuses to comment. And the leader of the entire Republican Party is offering Max Miller, not the alleged victims, his sympathies.
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Co-Host/Commentator
Comment on Representative Miller.
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Serta Ad Narrator
I hope he's able to work it out.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
I feel badly for him. I feel badly for the accused guy of abuse, says the guy who was found liable for abuse. Sure, y' all go ahead and tell me which party is in disarray. And what I just laid out is just a slice of the mess coming out of the modern day Republican Party. But if you're Donald Trump, everything is just going great. And here's the thing. Trump isn't just delusional about a few elections. He's delusional about the most important issue in the minds of voters. Today, Marquette University Law School released a new poll showing that 72% of Americans think the economy is not doing well. 61% say Trump's policies have increased inflation. And another 60% say they do not trust Trump to make the right decisions for the country. And what does Donald Trump have to say about those numbers? Listen,
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Serta Ad Narrator
I saw polls today on television.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
I say Donald Trump polls on the economy aren't good.
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Serta Ad Narrator
The economy is the greatest economy we've ever had by far.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
The economy aren't good. They're fake polls. Just like fake writers. If Trump thinks the polls are fake, just wait until he hears what his voters are saying about him. In red states like Ohio, these are all people who voted for Trump. Not once, not twice, three times.
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Co-Host/Commentator
Is this how you expected the second Trump term to go?
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
No, not at all.
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Abby Vasoulis (Mother Jones Reporter)
I hoped it was going to be so much better.
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Co-Host/Commentator
You can't save now.
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Host/Interviewer
Every dollar you have has to go to gas, groceries, bills, rent.
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Co-Host/Commentator
Certainly there's no cushion for you to save now.
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Host/Interviewer
Are you regretting your vote right now?
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Co-Host/Commentator
I have the past two years, yeah, I have. I'm actually not even voting the next time just because of how the last three votes went.
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Host/Interviewer
So President Trump promised no new foreign wars.
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Co-Host/Commentator
He promised lower gas prices, he promised
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Host/Interviewer
to lower food prices. How do you feel about those campaign promises right now?
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
He needs to get on them and get it done. Start thinking of the little people instead
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Co-Host/Commentator
of the rich people.
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Host/Interviewer
What do you make of his performance so far?
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
So far, I wish we were doing a lot better, honestly.
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Tim Miller (Host/Commentator)
I mean, I don't see things that
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Co-Host/Commentator
drill, baby, drill just didn't go, go, go.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
I don't think so.
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Tim Miller (Host/Commentator)
I'm not sure that he'd get elected for another term.
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Abby Vasoulis (Mother Jones Reporter)
I really don't think so.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
The alarm bells could not be louder for Republicans. Democratic candidates like Abdul El Said are successfully campaigning on populist messages aimed at helping the very working class individuals like the woman you just saw. And Republicans can't talk about helping people like her. They can't talk about the economy, they can't talk about prices, and they sure as hell can't talk about the war that they started in Iran. And so what do they do? This is the ugly part. They fall back on gutter racism. El Said's opponent in the Michigan Senate race, former Congressman Mike Rogers, said in a statement, quote, I spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9 11, end quote. For the official record, Abdul El Sayed never said America deserved 9 11. But he's brown and the son of Egyptian immigrants. So there you are. Before the Democratic primary was even called for El Said, another Republican called for El Said. Another Republican senator that we all know, Ted Cruz, went on Fox News to spew his own version of racist bs. They want to cancel Thanksgiving, they want to cancel Christmas.
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Co-Host/Commentator
Look, these communists hate America. They hate capitalism. El Sayed is also an Islamist, as is Mandami. And look, you see the green red convergence where the communists and The Islamists, they want Sharia law. They hate Jews, they hate Christians.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
What the hell is he talking about? No one, no one is talking about canceling Christmas, Ted. It's just absolute gutter racism. And folks, we got to stop normalizing this crap. We got to stop accepting this at face value. We have to call it out loudly and clearly. But it's also important, it's also very important to remind folks that they're resorting to the racist nonsense because it's all they got. The Republican Party is a mess. I know it from the inside. It is a hot mess. Their policies are hurting people all across the country. There's not an American who doesn't know someone who's feeling the pain and the weight of this Trump economy and this Trump war, blessed and signed off on by Republicans on Capitol Hill. And so those same Republicans and Donald Trump fall back on the hate like they always do. Joining me now is the Democratic governor of the great state, my state, Maryland, Westmore. Welcome to the House, Wes. It's good to see. Oh, excuse me, Governor.
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Governor Wes Moore
It's good.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Got a little familiar there.
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Host/Interviewer
Great to be with you, LG Great to be with you, lg.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Governor, I want to start where I left off. This level of gutter racism, the go to when you got nothing to talk about, when you've got no policies to level up. You can't talk about what you've done in places like Minnesota, the citizens that your ICE agents have killed. You can't talk about the weight, as we saw in the videos of the economy on the backs of working class men and women. It's a tactic that you and I are no strangers to. And it's one that obviously shows that when they're used, that tactic is used. Those using it are scared, they're desperate. What does it tell you about the spot that Republicans find themselves in right now as we start to head into turn the corner on the primaries into what will be very gritty campaigns this fall?
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Host/Interviewer
Well, I think it goes back to some very, very old school political tactics where, you know, people think that the way you turn around and win elections is you try to define a problem, you tell people to be afraid of it, and then you tell people who's to blame for it. And going back to some worse instincts that we have seen historically within our society. I think the challenge, though, is in this moment, the thing that people care most about is themselves. And what they're focusing on is who is going to address things like health care, who is going to address things like gas prices, who is going to address things like housing, who's going to address things like public education and public safety. The people who can speak to that with people are going to be the ones who end up being successful in elections. And, you know, you take Michigan as a classic example. You know, I'm a. I'm a numbers guy, and here's what I saw the numbers showed yesterday is that there were over 1.5 million Democrats who turned out in Michigan. On the Republican side, there were less than a million. And so there is something where Democrats are energized right now. Might be divided about candidacies, but they are energized on the Republican side. If the answer is going to be we're just going to make people afraid of something or a person, I just do not see that as a winning or nor an energizing strategy.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Yeah, you know, I have to agree with you as someone who, you know, is a tactician of how you kind of win the race in front of you or the race that you're running, you have to pay attention to what people are telling you and is what the people have been saying in a place like Michigan that I think has given Abdul El said the opportunity to pull off the win that he did. I'm going to set aside the polling in that for the purposes of this conversation, because the polling was whack. And I think his campaign kind of understood that. I know folks that I know in Michigan, and probably you two on the ground were like, nah, this is going to be a race. But the fact that you had the kind of turnout that you had on the Democratic side, the lackluster response by Republicans is an example of when you have something to say. That energy creates the message and the message reinforces, is reinforced by the energy. That populist appeal, if you want to put it in those terms, does matter. It does resonate. What does his win tell you about the potential for the size of the tent that Democrats could create right now? Again, folks will have policy differences over some of the things he may espouse or whatever. But there's a broader question that really is resonating with voters right there that Republicans just can't seem to tap into.
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Host/Interviewer
Well, you know, I think a big thing is that when people are saying, you know, this was a big win for Democratic socialists or this was a big win for populism, I would actually argue that the vast majority of people don't know what either one of those two things are. You know, people aren't looking at this like it's Political Science 101. They're looking at it like it's Economics 101, you know, who's actually talking to the issues that matter. And I think what people are seeing right now is you have the Republicans control the U.S. senate, the Republicans control the U.S. house of Representatives, the Republicans control the White House. And what have we now seen over the past year? We have seen how gas prices have skyrocketed because we're fighting a war that no one understands what we're doing and does not seem to have a clear mission. That we have seen how inflation is at 3 year highs. We have seen how energy prices has continued to skyrocket in our state, in the state of Maryland, we're up now over 15% in just the past year. Because one of the first things that the Trump administration did was work to cancel projects that would have actually added capacity to the grid and being able to increase supply, which would have helped to drive down cost. And so I think people are seeing, and they are frustrated about what they're seeing right now. They're seeing that the Republican Party is in charge of all branches of the government. And so it's very, very difficult for them to make an argument that they're making your lives better because you have the power now and things are not getting better.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Well, and I think to that point, when you stop and you pull the lens back and you go back to the big beautiful bill, which was a hot mess for a lot of Americans as it's turning out, the effects and impacts of that have been a rolling concern. You have Donald Trump then on top of those impacts, tariffs, the effects of the tax cuts that did not benefit a lot of Americans, et cetera, telling them that their eyes and their wallets are lying to them. All right, today, this is the best economy ever, we've ever had. I don't, you know, the whole thing is like the best, the most beautiful. And the reality is, have you been to Appalachia? Have you been to Mississippi? Have you been to your red states? Let alone you want to trash blue states, you want to deny them access to FEMA dollars, you want to hold them hostage until you get their voting rolls right? Have you paid attention to what's happening in your own house? And it kills me that Republicans are mindlessly going along with it. Do you think this refusal to acknowledge the reality that voters are living every day, whether they're red, blue, pink, yellow, brown, wherever they're from in the country, and that's not being acknowledged by Republicans, that At some point, those voters go, you know what? We just don't need you.
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Host/Interviewer
Well, and I think the challenge is they're seeing that, you know, the reason that the president thinks things are going so well is because he's hearing from the only people that have access to him. And that is people who it actually is going pretty well for them, for people who are just simply looking at the fact that crypto continues to jump. But you know what also continues to jump? Housing prices. They're looking at the fact that the stock market continues to rise. But you know what also continues to rise? Grocery bills. You know, and so he's hearing from people who are telling him that things are going fantastic. And for the president and those around him, things are going great. But for the vast majority of Americans, they are not the vast majority of Americans, they are still struggling and suffering under the fact that we are watching health care being pulled away, that we are watching children who are losing food assistance. And we're doing that all at the same time while we've given billionaires tax cuts and we are fighting wars that we are spending billions on to fight. And so that becomes the frustration for a lot of people where they are speaking and they are speaking loudly. But the problem is the president is not hearing from them because they don't have access to the president, because they do not have access to his ballroom.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Before I let you go, Governor, I want to raise with you an issue I raised with your colleague and friend, Governor Abigail Spamberger of Virginia, just a couple hours ago on on the weeknight. And that is redistricting. Part of why I think our midterms are going to be so competitive this year is because, of course, of Trump's midterm gerrymandering. The effort behind that campaign to move and change the game in Maryland. You've responded. And after a little bit of back and forth with State Senator Ferguson, the Senate president passed a proposed state constitutional amendment yesterday to move forward with redistricting. It doesn't draw new maps, but it hopes to, I guess, insulate new maps from being struck down by a court in the future. What should people understand about the path forward? And what does it say that you find yourself having because I know where you were before and how that how you've moved on this issue, as other lawmakers have in the state of Maryland. What does it say about why you had to make that move?
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Host/Interviewer
Well, we had to make the move for one simple reason, because Donald Trump has been absolutely clear that they are going to use every tactic under their control to try to rig the elections. We have watched how they have talked about nationalizing elections even though that is a direct violation of the Constitution. We have seen how they talked about putting federal agents around ballot boxes. We have talked about how they wanted voter rolls from the states, which is a violation of the Constitution. We've talked about they said they wanted to eliminate mail in balloting, which we sued them for and we won in court. We've seen them talk about how they wanted to have Republican states redistrict, do mid decade redistricting, but Democratic states sit on their hands. And we've seen how the Voting Rights act has now fallen, which is the greatest form of political redlining that we have seen in generations. And so what we did in Maryland was we said we are not going to do a backroom deal or do it over the weekend like they did in Texas. We're going to put the power with the people. And so now in November, the people of Maryland will choose. And if the people of Maryland choose in November that we are going to, that we are going to evaluate our maps and have an alteration in our Constitution, we're going to do that. If the people of Maryland don't, then we won't. But we are confident that the people of Maryland are watching how they're trying to make this pain permanent and how they are trying to rig this election in for our eyes. So we believe strongly that the people of Maryland will vote yes to be able to stand up to Donald Trump in this moment while we are watching this pullback against our democracy because frankly, our democracy should not be determined by Donald Trump nor should be determined by a party boss. Our democracy should be determined by the people. And that's what got done today. I was very excited and proud that we've been calling this for a year and we are now here. And now in November, the people of Maryland will have the final say.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
All right. Well we'll, we'll watch, watch for that on election night and I'll be looking at that on my ballot and see, see where we go. Governor West Moore, thank you, my friend.
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Co-Host/Commentator
Thank you.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
I appreciate you, man. Coming up, brand new reporting that Donald Trump might try to take not one, but, but two Air Force One planes with him when he leaves office. Oh, the corruption is staggering at this point, folks. You can't even count on not all of it. Here we go again. And Republicans in tough races are going to have to answer for it. That's as it should be. Senator Chris Van Hollen is standing by and he joins me next.
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Co-Host/Commentator
And now, the next chapter of the Serta Counting sheep.
- [22:52]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Hey, uncle number one, why aren't we counting anymore?
- [22:55]
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Oh, no.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
We'll never get counted again.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
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Tim Miller (Host/Commentator)
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Abby Vasoulis (Mother Jones Reporter)
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Tim Miller (Host/Commentator)
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Host/Interviewer
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- [24:29]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Okay, friends, if it's a day that ends in Y, chances are there's a new story about Donald Trump's corruption. Just today, we learned that the Qatari luxury jet that was gifted to Trump, you know, that big plane, the one that Trump said would go directly to his presidential library after he left office, Actually, well, may not be going there. I know, I know.
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Host/Interviewer
It's shocking.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
You knew it all along, right? So where will the jet go after Trump's out of office? Who knows? But the White House did not rule out the possibility that Trump would just take it with him. Sure. That story comes on the heels of a number of crazy Trump corruption stories over the last week. Okay, so let's refresh the personal hand that Trump has created in shaking down companies for donations, which is legal, but sure doesn't look good to just kind of have his hand in all of that. The $100,000 a month. Trump's media group is now charging trading firms to access his truth social posts just a little bit quicker than anybody else. Corruption is one of the defining features of this administration. And while Donald Trump is not on the ballot this November, Democrats are drawing a through line between his corruption and their opponents. And now the Democrats have their Senate candidate in Michigan, the Democrat Senate. The Democrats Senate campaign arm put out a new ad against the Trump backed Republican in that Michigan Senate race, Mike Rogers, deeming him quote, the biggest name in corruption. Take a look. There's corruption and then there's Mike Rogers corruption. Rogers took over $1 million from the drug industry, more than 95% of all members of the House, then fought to keep our prescript drug prices the highest in the world. Rogers took thousands more from the insurance companies, then voted to let them hike your premiums. So that's big money for him and bigger bills for you from the biggest name in corruption, Mike Rogers. Joining me now is Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of guess where, the great state of Maryland. He was one of Abdul El Said's earliest high profile endorsers. Senator, it's good to see you, sir. You know, I like the theme, I like the connection I had in a number of conversations with folks and sort of thinking through this idea of how do you link that corruption that they're seeing play out every day to the pain that they're feeling every day. Democrats are leveling up this idea of fighting that corruption, fighting corruption. It's a very powerful two word message. These corruption stories reinforce that and shows how the administration is driving a lot of that corruption. How should Democrat candidates across the nation at all levels, especially in those more local races, make that connection?
- [27:52]
Co-Host/Commentator
Well, Michael, first of all, it's great to be with you and you're absolutely right. We're witnessing the most corrupt administration in American history. This President is selling the Oval Office. He's turned it into a pay to play casino. And now you have these sitting Republican senators, but also these Republican Senate candidates like Mike Rogers who are joined at the hip with Donald Trump and who also, as in Mike Rogers case, have their own history of sucking up to powerful special interests and then delivering, not for the people of Michigan, but for those special interests. In Michael Rogers case, you just heard he took all this money from the pharmaceutical industry, from the opioid industry, and they did well, while Michiganders really got socked when it came to prescription drug prices. And we're witnessing this around the country right now while the President of the United States is raking in profits. Others are hurting and Republican candidates are going to have to live with their, with the consequences of that.
- [29:02]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Yeah, they will. And I think that that's a very important piece because a lot of voters, particularly when you look at the response to candidates like Mr. El Sayed and others who have this sort of populist feel to them, and it's sort of that connective tissue for them. It kind of, though, begs the question for me. Just analytically looking at it, how you frame it and how you connect someone like a Mike Rogers to it becomes very, very important to try to not make it seem too overly political or too heavily political. Right. And where people get to dismiss it and go, well, that's just, you know, that's just a political ad to something that's a little bit more personal. So this idea of making him the biggest name in corruption does that. Then take it a step. It doesn't need to go when you can just lay out, as the commercial does, hey, here's the tell. His corruption, Trump's corruption, is why you're not getting the health care you need. You're paying higher gas prices while you're seeing your small business having to close its doors.
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Co-Host/Commentator
Well, Michael, look, I think you're right. It is Trump's corruption that is hurting the country right now. We're paying the price for that corruption in all sorts of ways. And, you know, Mike Rogers is essentially a yes man to Donald Trump. But as that ad points out, you know, Mike Rogers also has his own personal history of cozying up to powerful special interests and doing their bidding at the expense of his constituents. And in this way, Abdul El Sayed has the perfect foil in Mike Rogers, because as you know, Abdul's entire campaign in this primary was running against big, powerful special interests. I mean, my God, $60 million was spent against him to try to stop him because he does want to shake up the status quo. He is a populist, as you said, and his whole frame is money out of politics, money in your pockets, meaning in the people's pockets and Medicare for all. And so, yes, he is the populist candidate here against Mike Rogers, who will get pinned with Donald Trump's corruption and his own political corruption.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
It's interesting that one of the aspects of how this storyline has played out for a lot of Republicans and guys like me still in the party trying to warn people, stop being stupid, define your lane with Trump and make sure you're clear eyed and concise about drawing those bright lines between the corruption, the crazy the things that are harming people and how you want to lead and they've not. And I think one of the things that they're going to find and that people have begun to realize that, you know, if I'm electing a new Republican senator, for example, does that mean I'm electing someone who's going to be a rubber stamp for Donald Trump? You gave a speech on the Senate floor urging your colleagues to vote against Todd Blanche's nomination to be the next Attorney General of the United States. As of right now, it is unclear whether Republicans have the votes to confirm him. I have my doubts about that, but it's unclear. What's your message to those Republican senators like Alisa Murkowski and a Bill Cassidy who still haven't made up their minds, at least publicly? They've met with Mr. Blanche behind closed doors today. What is your message to them? Are they going to draw that bright, clear line, or are they going to be like all those other rubber stamps?
- [33:00]
Co-Host/Commentator
Well, Michael, I hope they'll do the right thing, because as you know, Todd Blanche was Donald Trump's personal lawyer. And while he now has the title of acting Attorney General, throughout his tenure at the Justice Department, he has been acting like he is Donald Trump's personal lawyer. On the Senate floor today, I displayed the photo of the banner that hangs outside the entrance of the Justice Department. Now, it's not the scales of justice. It is a huge banner of Donald Trump. And Todd Blanch has essentially seen it as his job not to be the people's lawyer, not to defend the Constitution, but to defend Donald Trump to try to hide the Epstein files. He came up originally with the slush fund that was going to reward people who were convicted of beating up capitol police on January 6th. So from day one, he has been doing the bidding not of the Constitution, but of one person, Donald Trump. And that is not the job of the Attorney General of the United States. So, look, I hope those there are two Republican senators who have not declared where they stand. If they stand up and do the right thing and vote against Todd Blanchett, will be a victory for justice and for the country.
- [34:14]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
All right, Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. Thank you, buddy. Good to see you. Very nice to have you.
- [34:19]
Co-Host/Commentator
And good to see you, too. Take care.
- [34:22]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Coming up, newly released police footage shows Congressman Max Miller downplaying his own daughter's broken collarbone. This is a guy Mike Johnson is standing behind and a guy Donald Trump says he feels badly for him. We'll be right back. Try angel stuff for your Tushy. It's made by Angels Soft and strong.
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Host/Interviewer
Budget friendly the choice
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Pick up a pack today.
- [34:52]
Abby Vasoulis (Mother Jones Reporter)
Angel Soft.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Soft and strong.
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Host/Interviewer
Simple.
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Tim Miller (Host/Commentator)
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- [35:26]
Co-Host/Commentator
And now the next chapter of the certa, Counting Sheep.
- [35:29]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Hey Uncle Number one, why aren't we counting anymore?
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Oh no.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
We'll never get counted again.
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Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Serta, we make the world's best mattress. All right folks, I want y' all to walk with me on this one because this is serious conversation we're about to have. Tonight. Mother Jones has published video from inside a police investigation involving Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller. For weeks now, Miller has been adamantly denying allegations from his ex wife Emily, the daughter of Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno. Allegations that Miller was physically abusive to her and to their two year old daughter. The video Mother Jones obtained and published today is body camera and interview footage from a child abuse investigation. They obtained the footage via public records request from the city of Bay Village where the investigation took place. The footage shows detectives questioning Miller and his ex wife Emily Moreno about their two year old daughter's broken collarbone earlier this year. Watch this clip in which which a child protective specialist describes the injury itself.
- [37:02]
Abby Vasoulis (Mother Jones Reporter)
So the injury itself is common in ambulatory children, but there is a bruise that accompanies the injury that appears to be in a handprint. So it appears that it was inflicted. She was with dad at the time that the injury was sustained.
- [37:17]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
In the video you can hear Miller appear to downplay his daughter's injury. As you look up and I think we discussed this as well.
- [37:26]
Co-Host/Commentator
A broken clavicle or collarbone in a toddler.
- [37:30]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Very, very common.
- [37:32]
Host/Interviewer
Actually extremely common.
- [37:34]
Co-Host/Commentator
Anytime something's wrong with my daughter, I'm an abuser.
- [37:37]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
And it's just like this thing that people want to paint about me. For whatever reason, police ultimately concluded that a finding of child abuse was unsubstantiated, meaning there was no sufficient evidence to prove that that abuse or neglect had occurred. And Congressman Miller has denied he hurt his daughter in any way, pointing to the fact that the police dropped the investigation as proof of his innocence. The video released by Mother Jones today also included multiple clips of Miller's ex wife, Emily Moreno, making various serious allegations against Miller.
- [38:14]
Host/Interviewer
Nothing you can point to directly that you've seen him abuse your daughter?
- [38:19]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
No, but she'll.
- [38:20]
Tim Miller (Host/Commentator)
My daughter will say something, say stuff like daddy angry. She always says daddy's angry or daddy's house is scary. I was just like staring at him
- [38:36]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
and that's why I left the house.
- [38:37]
Abby Vasoulis (Mother Jones Reporter)
There was a few times when like I would have to change the diaper.
- [38:40]
Host/Interviewer
He'd have a kept his gun on me.
- [38:44]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Miller has adamantly denied it all, saying that his ex wife suffers from mental health issues and made it all up. But yesterday, the House Ethics Committee announced that they are going to open investigation into Representative Miller. But that investigation will likely take months. And according to Ohio state law, Republicans are facing a Monday deadline to replace Miller on the ticket. So where do things go from here? The Bulwarks, Tim Miller and Abby Versulas, the Mother Jones reporter who obtained the footage at the heart of today's story, will join me next. For weeks now, pressure has mounted against Ohio Republican congressman Max Miller, whose ex wife, Emily Moreno has accused him of abuse against herself and the couple's two year old daughter. And while Miller has denied those allegations, the calls for him to resign have grown loud and growing louder. Joining me now is national politics reporter for Mother Jones, Abby Vasoulis, who has done credible reporting on this story and host of the Bulwark podcast, Tim Miller. Welcome to you both. Abby, let's just get to the work and the reporting that you have done, which not just on this moment, you have done some extensive reporting on this story involving Mr. Miller and his family about all of these allegations that have been made over the years. He has denied all of those allegations. Help us understand the bigger picture here. What can you tell us about those other allegations? Connect some dots for us if you can.
- [40:35]
Abby Vasoulis (Mother Jones Reporter)
Yeah. So going through thousands of pages of court filings and police reports, you know, dating back 10 plus years, but also many from very recent months suggested that there is a pattern of allegations against Congressman Miller, that he has allegedly hurt not just one woman, Emily Marino, his ex wife, but possibly others, Stephanie Grisham, one of them. She wrote a book and there was an explosive Excerpt in the Post a couple years ago, saying that she told the Trumps that she was abused by Miller and that they didn't do anything about it. So I just going through this paper trail, saw many accusations of violence that Miller allegedly had done throughout the years, such as holding a gun to Emily Moreno's head and shoving her against a wall and throwing boiling water at her. And of course, Congressman Miller denies all of these claims, but it's striking to me that there are multiple different women who have, you know, been affected by Miller. And the woman who I spoke to, who was allegedly pushed down the stairs in high school, she told me it was one of the most traumatic nights of her life. And Politico reported a couple years ago that there were at least three witnesses to that event. So it's difficult for me to understand how so many different people could be
- [42:10]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
lying about similar incidents.
- [42:14]
Abby Vasoulis (Mother Jones Reporter)
Right.
- [42:15]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
And Tim, that's the part that I find the most stunning is just the knee jerk, reflexive response from Republican leadership. Trump, Mike Johnson, speaker of the House, and this need to stand by the guy in the face of the allegation to cast aspersions in some instances on the victims or the women who are involved in these things. And even now you have Senator Moreno, the father of Mr. Moreno's, his wife, coming out and saying, hey, you know, this is not, this is not the thing. This is not what we should be doing, and you need to step down and stop this pursuit for office. What's your thought here? How do you think about this idea of just protecting these, reflexively protecting these individuals when these stories break?
- [43:23]
Governor Wes Moore
Yeah, look, I mean, obviously there are a lot of examples of this outside of politics, and me too, et cetera. So this is not only on Trump, but a lot of this is Trump. You know, I mean, look, this does go back to 2016 and the access Hollywood tape where he's caught on tape bragging about sexually assaulting women. And a lot of Republican politicians speak out against him, and then he doesn't do anything, stays in the race, they all come back on board, he wins. You know, they all end up being rewarded politically for it. And after that, it doesn't seem like there's been any appetite in the Republican Party for holding anyone accountable for any type of action, no matter how heinous, particularly regarding domestic violence or sexual assault against women. And so in this case, it's even kind of worse than not calling for him to step aside or not having a groundswell to push out. And Trump last night on the tarmac said he feels bad for Max Miller. Like he said, I feel bad for him. Which is a weird thing for Trump to say. Trump doesn't ever show empathy for anyone. And in this case, he's not showing empathy for Emily Moreno, a Republican senator's daughter, or for their daughter, Max Miller and Emily's daughter, who I guess was allegedly also a victim of Max Miller's abuse. And Trump's like, I feel bad for Max and like this is what the party is now. Like they're on the side of the abusers. And so if you're Max Miller, it seems like he's a sociopath. But in addition to that, it is rational to try to stay it out because that's the model that has been put forth successfully within the Republican Party.
- [45:07]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
And yet before, before we let you go, I mean, there is a timeline, there is a process that could come into play to replace Miller. Share some of that.
- [45:20]
Abby Vasoulis (Mother Jones Reporter)
So Congressman Max Miller would have needed to withdraw his candidacy today in order for there to be a special election to find a new Republican to replace him on the ballot. That didn't happen. So now we're looking towards Monday, August 10, which is the next and final deadline in which if he resigns before end of day, then, then the county Republican officials can appoint a Republican to take his place. And if not, then there's not going to be a Republican on the official ballots if Miller ends up resigning beyond the deadline.
- [46:02]
Host/Interviewer
Interesting.
- [46:03]
Michael (Interviewer/Host)
Abby Fasoulas great work. Good reporting. Tim Miller, Buddy, it's so good to see you. Thanks for being with us tonight. Appreciate you. Happy to do it. We'll be right we'll be back, folks.
- [46:17]
Tim Miller (Host/Commentator)
You can catch the show Tuesday through Friday at 9pm Eastern on Ms. Now. And don't forget to follow the show on Blue sky, Instagram and TikTok in the US there's a break in every 26 seconds. But when intruders step near Simplisafe, home security steps up.
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Governor Wes Moore
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Host/Interviewer
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