Fox News "The Ingraham Angle" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Steve Scalise

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

INGRAHAM: Congressman Scalise, everyone's obsessing on these polls, some battleground polls, Trump internal polls supposedly said something, pollsters got like - I don't really care about the polls right now. Although, I do think Trump's numbers on just the overall approval can be higher and should be. You don't want your approval with this economy anywhere. I think you want it up in the high 40's at least and it really should be 50. We don't have an honest media though. I mean if we had an honest media, the numbers would be higher. But what is your take now when the Democrats are committing money to states like Texas. Dan is a Lieutenant Governor of Texas. But Texas is - is that in any way in play or is that just pie in the sky thinking for the Democrats?

REP. STEVE SCALISE, R-LA.: Well, Laura, first of all, I go back and look at some of those same polls in 2016. And those were the same people who were saying that Hillary Clinton was going to win Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton was going to walk away with Michigan. Wisconsin wasn't even in play. And by the way, Florida and Ohio were going to be razor thin close. And so, I would go to those states when I would travel around as helping out other congressional candidates and I would come back home and people would be depressed and they'd say, I have seen these polls and they say there is no way Trump can win and I'd say, I just came from Pennsylvania. People are so fired up about this President's message at the time he was a candidate.

And what he's done Laura, his message, he's followed through on it with real commitment in terms of making people's lives better. As you talked about so many things that President Trump has to tout in terms of what he's done to help every segment of our society from the lowest income to people who gave up hope altogether, people had left the workforce, the millions and millions of people who didn't even show up on the unemployment rolls that are now working. They're part of the American dream.

And if I could sum it up anyway Laura, what President Trump has done not just all the individual things you can tout is he fought for the forgotten men and women, he made government work for the people who had been left behind in the Obama economy. And so that's what if all of the other things that you can add up, he's got a lot of great accomplishments, he get tout, but the fact that he actually went and fought for those people who had given up on government that's what he I think is his greatest achievement of so many great achievements.

INGRAHAM: Now, Dan, you say no. But here is what Joe Biden says about where he can beat Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I plan on campaigning in the south. I plan and if I'm your nominee winning Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, believe it or not and I believe we can win Texas and Florida if you look at the polling data now. I have no intention of walking away if I'm the nominee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK: A prayer. Not a prayer, Laura. In large part because of prayer I might say, look, the Hispanic population heavy pro-Catholic, heavy evangelical will not vote for a Democrat who is pro-abortion. They're no longer the party of pro-choice making it rare but safe. No, they're the pro-abortion party, so take all the Hispanic voters in Texas and the South, Trump wins easily 40, 50 percent of them. Take the African American vote in the south. Their jobs, the economy is better. They're doing better. There is no way with the leftist socialist policies that Joe Biden will have to tout to get through the primary that any one in Texas or Mississippi or Alabama or Georgia or South Carolina, North Carolina are going to vote for these people--

INGRAHAM: I've got to go to Scalise here.

PATRICK: Sure.

INGRAHAM: Congressman real quickly I mean this record is an unbelievably strong record. The economy is about as good as I think it can be. I mean maybe we can get stronger, but it is an amazing economy. Anyone who says anything else is just lying.

SCALISE: Right.

INGRAHAM: Is there anything you would suggest that the President might do differently to make women feel more comfortable about voting for him, who may be for whatever reason a little bit antsy about some of the tonality issues.

SCALISE: Well, Laura, I think as long as the President keeps talking about some of the things that he's fought for that suburban women, women all across the country that you talked to are concerned about, they want a secure country. They want a border that's secure. And President Trump has fought harder than any President, Republican or Democrat in recent memory to secure the border. They see these caravans coming in.

The fact that President Trump fought to stop human trafficking, Laura, I think the President can talk a lot more about what he's done to combat human trafficking with real results that he has been able to deliver for people. That's something that's real important.

And then something else that's really important to not only suburban women but men and women families across this country are health care costs. The fact that President Trump is trying to lower health care costs--

INGRAHAM: Right, he's doing that.

SCALISE: While protecting preexisting conditions and the Democrats want what they call Medicare For All, which is literally socialized medicine.

INGRAHAM: Yes. Well, gentlemen, thank you so much. I really appreciate it tonight. And Trump's critics have also seized on this moment from the ABC interview.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source