Fox News "The Ingraham Angle" - Transcript Interview with Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan

Interview

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Here now is House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Congressman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Committee ranking member. Great to see both of you. Congressman Scalise, you were at an event about schools in Baton Rouge today with the vice president and many others. What can Congress do about this? This is a local decision-making process, is it not?

REP. STEVE SCALISE, R-LA., HOUSE MINORITY WHIP: Yes, Laura, it's good to be back with you. But Vice President Pence came today, we actually did the event in Tiger Stadium. And we had the president of the LSU system, we had the president of the Southern University system. We had our governor, John Bel Edwards, as well as a number of other educators and members of Vice President Pence's team talking about reopening schools. And we're planning on reopening schools in just a few weeks. And both of the system presidents talked about what they are doing to have kids safely come back to college. I was at a high school earlier today talking about their plans to safely reopen.

Look, this is America, Laura. We put a man on the moon. We stormed the beaches of Normandy. We know how to get things done. And these people that are sitting in a room going, oh, gee whiz, we can't do it, that's not the attitude we need right now. The real question should be not whether or not to do it, but how to do it safely, and we can do it safely. And I'm glad that states like mine are moving forward. We need to get every state to do it for the health and benefits of these children that don't need another six months of homeschooling.

INGRAHAM: Congressman Jordan, earlier tonight we went through some of the science from Germany, which has done serological testing on children and teachers, thousands and thousands of tests. None of this is been cited by any of the decision-makers showing kids have exceedingly low infectivity rates. So those concerns about infecting the teachers -- they haven't seen it in Europe. They just haven't seen it.

REP. JIM JORDAN, R-OHIO, HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: No, the facts and the truth are on our side, Laura. Laura, what's more important, going to school or protesting? What's more important, going to church or protesting? Going to a loved one's funeral or protesting? Or how about this one, what's more important, going to work or protesting? It seems to me that the only thing the Democrats think you can do during COVID is protest, riot, and attack the police and defund the police.

But all the -- we have to go back to school. We have to get back to normal. And the facts and the truth are on our side. So let's let local school boards, let's let moms and dads -- I think moms and dads probably know what's best for their kids, local school boards probably know better what's better for kids than Joe Biden in the basement of his house pronouncing these things. So let's let local communities decide this. And as Steve just said, we can do it in a safe way. But Democrats want to make everything critical political. Let's just follow the truth and the facts and let's let kids get back to school and start learning.

INGRAHAM: There's a lot of -- there's a lot of -- I would take issue with that a little bit. There are a lot of local school boards that have been completely dominated by the left because --

JORDAN: The big city ones, the ones controlled by the Democrats, like L.A., like Mayor Garcetti has done, you're right.

INGRAHAM: Arlington County, Virginia. It's Democrat, Arlington County, Virginia, they basically just went to a hybrid system, a couple days a week in school, the rest of it they are going to be at home, or maybe even all online learning. Montgomery County, all online learning. Congressman Scalise, I'm telling conservatives, you want to have an effect, start running in these local elections. That's what you have to do, because these superintendents are just taking their orders from the teachers union. These people but the word "doctor" in front of their names. Go ahead.

SCALISE: And you've got to think about the health and welfare of the kids. The whole purpose of a public school system is to serve the children. And look, it's a cop out to say we can't figure out how to get it done. Of course we can. This is America. And there are good school systems that are figuring out how to do it and are doing it safely.

The kids, by the way, they are going to be out playing with their friends. They are going to be doing things. It's much better to have them in a controlled environment in a school where, number one, where they are learning, so we're not holding our kids back. But where they are also being around people where they all have to have masks. The schools have their own protocols, and they're going to keep these kids safe. But we've got to get kids back in school. It's important for the health and welfare of those kids. It's also important for our economy so that the parents are able to get their kids back in school again, too.

INGRAHAM: It's almost like there is a concerted effort to tank the economy before the election, the cynics out there would say. Congressman Jordan, it isn't just teachers, though, teachers unions taking advantage of this epidemic. Here is AOC.

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REP. ALEXANDRA OCASIO-CORTEZ, D-N.Y.: Americans have actually gotten even more progressive in the middle of this pandemic. When people say and ask me how are you going to pass this or how are you going to pass that, I tell them we have got to win the Senate and the White House. That is our legislative strategy for getting this stuff passed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Congressman Scalise, your response?

SCALISE: I mean, this is disgusting. All they care about is politics, like Jim said.

INGRAHAM: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Scalise. Let's go to Jordan.

SCALISE: Go get them, Jordan.

INGRAHAM: Sorry. Sorry.

JORDAN: I don't think they're going to win. I think Donald Trump is going to win reelection because he deserves it. He's done a great job leading our country. The great American comeback is happening. Americans understand common sense. They understand what needs to happen. And they're sick and tired of this liberal double standard where Mayor Garcetti can go out and kneel to the mob without a mask, thousands of protestors around him, but he's going to shut down schools and not let kids go learn this fall. It's crazy, and I think Americans are going to remember that on Election Day.

INGRAHAM: Congressmen, it's great to see both of you. It's been a long time. Thanks so much for coming on.

JORDAN: Good to be with you.

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