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News 12 Staff

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Welcome back. President Trump's first address to Congress since returning to power served as both a victory lap for the commander in chief and a vow to carry out his campaign promises for the next 4 years. We are just getting started. In his speech, the president spoke about his administration's efforts with immigration, the Department of Government Efficiency, bans on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, and of course tariffs. He also discussed successes, reorienting the economy and his future plans. We're seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board and to get urgently needed relief to Americans hit especially hard by inflation. I'm calling for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security benefits for our great seniors. It was a very vocal chamber, not all out of support, of course. One Democratic congressman, Al Green from Texas, had to be removed. He was later censured by the House for his actions. Democratic legislators held up signs. Some even walked out during the speech. The reaction to the address, largely positive according to this Snap CNN poll. 69% of those surveyed had a positive reaction to the speech. Just 31% viewed his address negatively. Joining us right now, Democratic National Committee. And former congressional candidate Robert Zimmerman, former Suffolk County Executive, former state assemblyman Steve Levy. Good to have you both here. Thanks for joining us. All right, Robert, I'll start on your end to hear your reaction to the speech from the president and that poll. There were a couple of polls that had similar numbers showing many Americans liked what they heard. Let's be clear, my reaction and the reaction you're hearing from most Americans is much bigger than just Democrat versus Republican politics, because when you cut back the rhetoric and get through the rhetoric, Donald Trump presented up there was an affront to our Constitution, to our democracy, and America's role in the world. It is stunning to see an American president side with a war criminal or dictator like Vladimir Putin against the democracies of the world and call President Zelinsky a dictator and blame him for the war that his country is facing in Ukraine. Likewise, his proposals, let's be serious about this. He's not cutting waste, fraud and abuse. He's trying to cut enough from the budget so he can put through a massive tax. For the very top tier. I mean, what he's doing is confronting what he's doing to Social Security, to Medicare is really an affront to working class Long Islanders, working class Americans, not to mention the cutbacks he's put forward focusing on cancer research, cutbacks affecting our veterans. I mean this is really a dangerous time for our country because he's really not being held in check by the Republicans in Congress. Steve, your thoughts? Well, you know, I've been both a Democrat and a Republican, so I can see things from both sides. And with Trump, you get very high highs and very low lows. Uh, I would have liked to have seen in the speech, uh, a softer tone that went toward the independence in the middle because if he does that more, he can be polling in the 60 percentile range because people like the policy. They love the fact that in just 3 weeks, he's basically closed the border where the Democrats and Biden said, you couldn't do it without legislation, you know. He's putting a curb on the excesses. DEI and the obsession over genderism and all of that stuff. He, he's putting people back to work. 8% of the, of the workforce in the federal government were showing up the work. They were all at home. So people are liking this. They like, even though they might not like all the intricacies of how Doge is being carried out, they realized we have a $7 trillion budget, which was just $4.5 trillion before COVID. Got to be a way to trim that because our, our debt now is at, you know, $37 trillion. Our deficits are running at $2 trillion a year. That cannot be the new normal. The public likes that at least there's an emphasis on getting control over this behemoth because our grandchildren are going to suffer and we're going to remember, the result of Donald Trump's proposed tax cuts is going to increase the deficit by over $2 trillion. That's their administration's analysis. False talk, absolutely true. His attack on Social Security is going to compromise, is going to take away Social Security benefits. Let me ask you this, Robert. Are Democrats positioning themselves properly to combat the policies that they don't agree with? What we saw on the House floor, do you think it was effective? Look, Democrats certainly have to be out there taking the case to the American people, pointing out the falsehoods when Donald Trump says that in fact people are. Of the fraud on Medicare, he's factually wrong. His own administration acknowledged that. In fact, what he's doing is basically taking away Medicare coverage and Medicare benefits to make way for his tax cuts which don't benefit the middle class. I can just finish the point very quickly. What he is doing is not cutting waste, fraud and abuse. In fact, his first, his first move as president, but to get rid of the inspector generals that go after that. I'm asking about the Democrats. How about how the Democrats are positioning them. Steve, you've been on both sides of it. It's a False talking point by Democrats when they say that the tax cuts lead to the deficit. Every time you have tax cuts, whether it was John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, or back in 2017, more revenue came in to the coffers than before. There's still deficits. That's because both Democrats and Republicans can't stop the spending, but you also have a false talking point, Rich, from the Democrats saying, oh, he's cutting Social Security and Medicaid. You know, Medicaid has gone up by 1/3 since the, uh, pandemic, OK. It was supposed to be a stopgap. 1 out of 5 people in America now are on Medicaid. 1 out of 3 New Yorkers are on Medicaid. So you know what Trump and Doge and, and the Republicans are saying, We want to take those 7 million men who are able-bodied, who are staying home. If you want Medicaid, you have to work for it just like Clinton did back in the 193. 30 seconds. The last time we heard that the tax cuts are going to bring money into the coffers and cut the deficit, it didn't. Donald Trump's last tax cut increased the deficit by $2.5 trillion spending tax revenue. Don't Google is talking over me doesn't make you right. We don't. Let's remember though, and this is serious. This is a serious matter. Middle class Long Islanders, they're going to lose their veteran. Benefits because he's cutting the veterans workforce by 15%. We're going to lose cancer research funding because he's cutting that back. He's not saving money saving money. We need, we need more time and maybe you guys need a podcast. I like that. What do you say? Thanks for being on, guys. You got to be factual, Steve. Check it out. Google it. Still to come on power in politics. New York City Mayor Eric Adams in the hot seat before Congress, so for representing a sanctuary city. The showdown he had with Congresswoman Laura Gillen. That's ahead.

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Welcome back. New York City Mayor Eric Adams was in the hot seat speaking before Congress about representing a sanctuary city. Mayor Adams and 3 other mayors from cities that have seen an increase in asylum seekers and migrants all faced questions during a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Rockville Center Democratic Congresswoman Laura Gillen was in attendance, and she got into a heated back and forth with the mayor. Mayor Adams. What you said today has given me no confidence in your ability to continue to serve and lead our city, but you don't live in New York. You live on Long Island. You don't vote for me. And you should resign, and I said that before you made your deal with Donald Trump. Thank God you don't live in New York City. You live on Long Island. People of, of people who work in Manhattan, whose kids live in Manhattan, who go to the doctor in Manhattan. Everything that happens in Manhattan affects my constituents, Mayor. All right, what a set up there. Now the mayor's also emphasized the need for immigration reform to create safer pathways to citizenship. Another lawsuit has been added to the mix of the congestion pricing battle this time is to keep the program up and running. The Riders Alliance has now filed a lawsuit against the Federal Highway Administration, saying the federal order to halt the program was vengeful. It says the tolling program is saving commuters time and also improving people's health. A spokesperson for the US Transportation Department tells News 2 congestion pricing is not relief. The Federal Highway Administration refused to comment on the pending litigation. What unites the House Republican conference is cutting in three areas. 1, getting everybody who is not in this country legally off of the Medicaid rolls. 2, requiring work for able-bodied adults, and 3, rooting out the waste fraud and abuse that is rampant in systems like New York. Those were just some of the topics Congressman Nick Lalota focused on during his tele town hall last week. It comes after hundreds of Long Islanders protested outside of the Republican's office last month, asking him to hold one. I think we can get salt back if they pass a budget, but we're worried about the other stuff they're going to do, so we don't want to get rid of the Department of Education. It's a wrongheaded move, and we need to get the state and local tax deduction back. Congressman Tom Suozzi addressed over 9000 of his constituents in a tele town hall of his own, getting the state and local tax rate. One of his main focuses, he also addressed the cost of living and the southern border. That's all the time we have this week here on Power and Politics. We'll see you right here again next week. Thanks for joining us. I'm Rich Baravi. Have a great rest of your day.

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New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, Robert Zimmerman and Steve Levy join the show this week. 

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New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, Robert Zimmerman and Steve Levy join the show this week.

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