Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) discusses President Trump's tariffs.
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00:00I'm wondering if you think, you know, you represent more of a Republican-leaning district, less so than others,
00:06but are you worried at all about Trump's numbers, their sinking, especially in the economy, and that impact in a district like yours?
00:13You know, first of all, I don't know who they polled in that.
00:16I can tell you, people in New York, I think, are generally happy.
00:19They're more happy with the president than they are with our mayor and our governor right now.
00:22And quite frankly, he's done a great job in cleaning up the city, deporting criminals who have wreaked havoc on the streets of New York,
00:29gang members, the drug traffickers, the violent offenders, and the migrant shelters that were being funded by taxpayers.
00:37It seems that millions of dollars are being now shut down.
00:41And so people are generally happy with the work that President Trump has been doing.
00:44I think there's a lot of fear-mongering from the left, claiming that they are going to cut Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security.
00:53It's just simply not true.
00:54And I think once we pass this reconciliation bill, people will see that.
00:57There's also been fear-mongering saying that prices are going to go up.
00:59But the fact is, egg prices, oil, gas, mortgage rates, they've all come down in the first 100 days of this presidency.
01:07So he's doing what he can to make things better.
01:11And little by little, people will see that that's the case, and he's already proven so.
01:15But, I mean, do you think that voters, are you worried about the way voters feel about the economy?
01:19I mean, poll after poll shows that voters are worried about the direction of the economy.
01:23Look, I think there's a lot of fear-mongering as it relates to the tariffs.
01:28I was concerned about this across-the-board tariff.
01:33I think it should have been more targeted to the most egregious offenders when we look at countries that are really treating the United States badly.
01:41Look at India.
01:41They're a great partner.
01:42By the end of the day, we are their largest export partner, and yet they have 110 percent tariffs on our American vehicles.
01:49That should not be.
01:49And so I think it should have been more targeted.
01:52I think a lot has happened fast and furiously in the first 100 days.
01:56I think that's given people a little bit of anxiety.
01:59But when you look at the results, we have a secure border.
02:02Criminals are being deported.
02:03Ninety-five percent loop of crossings are down.
02:07You have prices of eggs and gas and oil and mortgage rates are all coming down.
02:12At the end of the day, I think people will see what is happening, and we're better off today than we were under Joe Biden.
02:17Do you think that reconciliation, if that passes, even with these spending cuts, that voters will be okay with it?
02:25Well, I think, again, the savings will be targeted.
02:29We've said very clear, many of the Republicans, that we will not support anything that cuts Medicaid benefits from our seniors or people with disabilities or vulnerable citizens who rely on the traditional program.
02:41We do want work requirements.
02:42We do want to get illegal immigrants off of the rolls.
02:45But I think there's, first of all, there's enough of us to stop that bill if they were going to go do something else.
02:50But the Speaker, the President, made clear that they have no intention of cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
02:56And this bill, I think when we pass it, will prove to the American people that we were right and that the far left, they were simply fear-mongering this entire time.
03:03So, hi, let's let you go.
03:05Are you going to support either Lawler or Stefanik for government?
03:10I will support one of them, and I hope one of them actually runs, because we desperately need somebody to run and defeat Kathy Hochul, because she's been a disaster for New York.
03:19I mean, let's say...
03:20Are you pushing either of them?
03:21I'm not pushing anyone right now, but I will see who's actually running, and I hope that somebody's actually running here, because we need to win this race.
03:29It is so critical, and Lee Zeldin came so close. Obviously, it would have been my first choice.
03:34A governor, the President has now taken him off the table, putting him in charge of the EPA.
03:39But he came so close, and things have only gotten worse since that election.
03:43And I think New Yorkers are ready for a change. They're just ready for some balance in New York.
03:46They're tired of being ruled by one party, and they just want balance. They just want common sense.
03:52And I think that either of those candidates, at least Stefanik or Lee Zeldin, will bring that type of balance that New Yorkers are desperately seeking.
03:58You mean the ball that he said, please Stefanik or Lee Zeldin?
04:01Did I say that all right?
04:03Should I say it all over again?
04:04No, that's all right.
04:05Oh, whatever. All three of them are good.
04:07Thanks.