WEBVTT - Debra Saunders talks to Armstrong & Getty

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<v Speaker 1>When you're ready to ride Metro, we want you to

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<v Speaker 1>know we're ready for you. Here are just a few

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<v Speaker 1>novel before you found half sound of sound of statist,

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<v Speaker 1>extras at Metro. We're doing our part to keep the

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<v Speaker 1>DC area moving. Find out more at Well nota dot

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<v Speaker 1>com slash doing our part. Deborah J. Saunders is the

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<v Speaker 1>White House correspondent for the Las Vegas Review Journal and

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<v Speaker 1>joins us. Hello, Debor, how are you? How are you

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<v Speaker 1>doing good? We're just talking about the Nancy saying impeachment

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<v Speaker 1>not a good idea, and various people are reacting and

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<v Speaker 1>all we're trying to figure out all so earlier, what

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<v Speaker 1>percentage of it was cold hearted political calculation and what

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<v Speaker 1>part of it was being a good American realizing we

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<v Speaker 1>shouldn't just impeach you know, Willie Nelly. All of it

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<v Speaker 1>was cold political calculators. That's what Joe say man Man

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<v Speaker 1>did that land with with with with a with a

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<v Speaker 1>with a bang in in the DC world last night.

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<v Speaker 1>Or we're not people were talking about why did she

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<v Speaker 1>do this, which sort of surprises me because it seems

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<v Speaker 1>pretty clear. For one thing, there's no way that the

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<v Speaker 1>Senate is going to convict Donald Trump if he's impeached.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right, that's right, exactly so. And we've seen this

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<v Speaker 1>movie before with Bill Clinton, and we know what it did.

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<v Speaker 1>It was not the most helpful thing for the Republicans.

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<v Speaker 1>They had to walk around with it for a long time.

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<v Speaker 1>So Nancy Pelosi sees the writing on the wall. She

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<v Speaker 1>knows that she's got some people who really want impeachment

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<v Speaker 1>and she's not going to do too much to rain

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<v Speaker 1>them in. But she's given cover for moderates and she's

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<v Speaker 1>told them, yeah, you know, not a good idea. And

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<v Speaker 1>everyone knows him. Every Democrat knows that the going after

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump to impeach him is a mistake. They may

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<v Speaker 1>be doing overplaying the investigation card. I think they are.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think it's a really savvy thing for her

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<v Speaker 1>to say she's a smart. Look at she She didn't

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<v Speaker 1>get where she is and stay where she is by

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<v Speaker 1>being an air head. She's a very smart political operator,

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<v Speaker 1>right right, Yeah, I suppose we could talk about the

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<v Speaker 1>whole um over investigating thing. And if they found out

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<v Speaker 1>if Trump passed passed some bad checks, you know how

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<v Speaker 1>American reacts. I don't think it's gonna be that, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's gonna be the over inflating the value of his

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<v Speaker 1>properties to borrow and then you know, then lying about misleading,

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<v Speaker 1>making statements that aren't accurate about the value for taxes.

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<v Speaker 1>I could yeah, or I could definitely see him getting

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<v Speaker 1>some oddly inflated rents from Russian oligarchs in the nineties,

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<v Speaker 1>that sort of thing. But how does America care? I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know. Oh, he was a New York real estate developer.

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<v Speaker 1>He has problems in his past. I don't think there's

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<v Speaker 1>any question. I think people had a good idea about

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<v Speaker 1>that during the elections. I don't so. I think you

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<v Speaker 1>have to find something new that people didn't know that

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<v Speaker 1>has the material effect on how he governs it or

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<v Speaker 1>how he got there, and that just hasn't happened. So

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<v Speaker 1>we can touch on the budget really quickly. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>political document, right, It's an expression of our priorities. The

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<v Speaker 1>budget the White House just put out. Yes it is.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's I don't even know why they worked

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<v Speaker 1>so hard on it. I don't know why either. I

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<v Speaker 1>think every year when every president puts these out and

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<v Speaker 1>gets way too much attention in the in the belt

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<v Speaker 1>Way crowd. But why is that, Debra? I mean I

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<v Speaker 1>I recently asked someone about that who was in a

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<v Speaker 1>position to know, and it was in the off the

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<v Speaker 1>record session. But I mean it just so let me

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<v Speaker 1>just say, that's something I keep trying to figure out.

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<v Speaker 1>And I guess I guess they're donors like it is.

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<v Speaker 1>That's not an answer I got. That's my what I

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<v Speaker 1>surmise from an answer that I got off the record,

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<v Speaker 1>fair enough. So it's sort of like me announcing once

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<v Speaker 1>a year, you know, if I can do anything I want,

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<v Speaker 1>I would eat all all vegetables and fruits, and I

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<v Speaker 1>would run thirty miles a week, and I get a

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<v Speaker 1>gym membership, and I'd start going to church. Very admirable,

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<v Speaker 1>can you Fancia? And then then nothing ever happens, super okay,

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<v Speaker 1>fair enough. So it's it's like a campaign speech in effect,

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<v Speaker 1>the issuing of the budget. This these are our priorities.

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<v Speaker 1>But they're not even pretending that they care about the

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<v Speaker 1>depthicit anymore. I mean, they're gonna you know that the

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<v Speaker 1>Trump campaign that you can get rid of it in

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<v Speaker 1>eight years, first two budgets, ten years now at fifteen,

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<v Speaker 1>so even the charade is wearing thin. What what amount

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<v Speaker 1>of time there in the White House do they spend

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<v Speaker 1>dealing with the impeachment investigations all that sort of sort

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<v Speaker 1>of stuff versus trying to accomplish some of the things

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<v Speaker 1>you want to accomplish as president. Well, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>think that the question here is how much does Trump

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<v Speaker 1>spend thinking about it? Because there's a whole room full

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<v Speaker 1>of lawyers who are supposed to handle that, and one

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<v Speaker 1>would like to think that with that happening, that uh,

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<v Speaker 1>the O. M D people can just deal with the

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<v Speaker 1>budget and you know, all the other departments can work

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<v Speaker 1>that way. But we but we have as a president

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<v Speaker 1>who just can't let it go. And that's the problem.

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<v Speaker 1>He'd be watched less TV because the cable news channels,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, are not a reflection of what's actually going

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<v Speaker 1>on in the world. Yeah, right, I mean it to

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump. Try you've got better access than us. Debra J. Saunders,

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<v Speaker 1>White House correspondent for the Las Vegas Review Journal. On

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<v Speaker 1>the line, you mentioned in your little notes that there's

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<v Speaker 1>a briefing health or there's going to be what happened.

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<v Speaker 1>There was a briefing yesterday, the first since January. It's

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<v Speaker 1>pretty exciting. Um, I mean there, as you know, there

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<v Speaker 1>used to be a daily briefing. Then it sort of

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<v Speaker 1>whittled down during the mid terms, and uh, the government

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<v Speaker 1>shutdown and basically we get them I don't know once

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<v Speaker 1>every month or two. So, um, it's I got a

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<v Speaker 1>question in yes, what was your question? I'll pretend to

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<v Speaker 1>be Sarah Sanders and answered, you can say I can't

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<v Speaker 1>hear you because I have laryngitis and it was worse yesterday.

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<v Speaker 1>She speak up. Well. I asked her why they put

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<v Speaker 1>funding for to realize in the Yucca Mountain in the

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<v Speaker 1>skinny budget or this they don't call it a skinny

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<v Speaker 1>budget this year, but why they put it in and

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<v Speaker 1>what's the thinking was? That's the nuclear storage facility in Nevada,

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<v Speaker 1>in Nevada. That's where I'm sorry, Thank you for explaining that.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's a big that's a big question for the

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<v Speaker 1>readers of my paper because here and here's I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>so a lot of people think of this as a

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<v Speaker 1>very parochial issue. Um, and that, but what bothers me

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<v Speaker 1>about This issue is that Donald Trump has never really

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<v Speaker 1>gone on the record and said what he really thinks.

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<v Speaker 1>During the campaign in he said, I'll let you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna really look into and all that, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>never did then we see it in his budget, right,

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<v Speaker 1>And then he was campaigning and I'll go Nevada for

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<v Speaker 1>Senator Dean Heller who did not win re election the

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<v Speaker 1>Republican and he said, you know, I'm rethinking this whole

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<v Speaker 1>duck a Mountain saying, and now it's back in the budget.

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<v Speaker 1>So to me, it's it's not just an issue about

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<v Speaker 1>Yucca Mountain, is also an issue about the Trump White

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<v Speaker 1>House what it's thinking. M M. Interesting, And he thoughts

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<v Speaker 1>on the Tucker Carlson mess, we're gonna be talking about

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<v Speaker 1>that a little bit later on. Well, so Tucker Carlson

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<v Speaker 1>is somebody Donald Trump loves to watch on table TV.

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<v Speaker 1>And Tucker has irritated not just the left, but he's

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<v Speaker 1>also irritated a lot of sort of the people who

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<v Speaker 1>think through, the big thinkers on the right, the never trumpers.

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<v Speaker 1>And so you've got two different groups who are really

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<v Speaker 1>just ready to pounce on him, and they want they

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<v Speaker 1>want him to go. But I don't you know. I

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<v Speaker 1>conna tell you, the third most watched show on all

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<v Speaker 1>of cable news, so he'd probably bringing in some revenue.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, some of the stuff he said ten

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<v Speaker 1>years ago I find offensive, But you know, but you

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<v Speaker 1>know what else I find offensive trolling through somebody's record

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<v Speaker 1>for what they said ten years ago. And it didn't

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<v Speaker 1>make a big stink ten years ago when he said it.

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<v Speaker 1>And he worked for MSNBC at the time exactly, which

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<v Speaker 1>is extra delicious, that's right. So then it was okay,

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<v Speaker 1>But now they're going to go after it. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it just looks that's the kind of opportunism that I

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<v Speaker 1>think leaves a lot of people cold. Well, and I

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<v Speaker 1>tell you what, my favorite analysis, And I wish I

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<v Speaker 1>could remember who said this, because I like to give

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<v Speaker 1>people credit. But the idea that, well, it doesn't matter

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<v Speaker 1>that it was ten twelve years ago. Well if that

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<v Speaker 1>were the case, then if they caught the governor of

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<v Speaker 1>Virginia in black face today, he would still be the

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<v Speaker 1>governor tomorrow because ten years ago matters there, twenty years

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<v Speaker 1>ago matters the same as right now. No, it doesn't,

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<v Speaker 1>It just doesn't. So there is no statute of limitation onwards.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what they're that's what that's what, That's what these

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<v Speaker 1>folks are saying. And we just know, we just know

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<v Speaker 1>that there it's just so devoid of any principle that

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<v Speaker 1>they don't really mean it. And you're absolutely right. If

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<v Speaker 1>you look at Virginia, if you look at the governor,

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<v Speaker 1>and you look at the attorney general and all of

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<v Speaker 1>this stuff, you can just see that that women and

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<v Speaker 1>black face and certain kinds of words are just issues

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<v Speaker 1>that they used to throw at you, and they don't

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<v Speaker 1>really mean it. White House, correspondent in Las Vegas Review Journal.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks Devra, good to talk to. Thank you, Thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>When you're ready to ride Metro, we want you to

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<v Speaker 1>know we're ready for you. Here are just a few

0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:09.720
<v Speaker 1>of the people at Metro to tell you how we're

0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:12.640
<v Speaker 1>doing our part to keep riders safe. We're cleaning like

0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:16.360
<v Speaker 1>never before. Half to the great clean. You've found hand

0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:21.680
<v Speaker 1>sund of signs of statist no mask, no Metro need one.

0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:24.600
<v Speaker 1>We have a few extras at Metro. We're doing our

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<v Speaker 1>part to keep the DC area moving. Find out more

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<v Speaker 1>at well mata dot com. Slash doing our part