Face The Nation
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Moderated by @margbrennan of @CBSNews, we are America's #1# Sunday morning public affairs show | 📸 IG: @facethenation
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Taiwan’s representative to the U.S. told @facethenation on Sunday “we want peace and stability” regarding relations with China.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who serves a district President Trump won by 19,000 votes, says, “I’ve got to listen to everybody,” but he argues due to safe seats created by gerrymandering, most members of Congress “only have to win their primary.”
“And then, they only listen to their base, and they pander to their base. That's contributing to the division of our country,” he tells @margbrennan.
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“Is the message here for Republicans that if you dissent from the President, he is going to take you down?” @margbrennan asked Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) after Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy’s defeat in his Republican primary.
“Well, it is one of the many reasons, Margaret, why we need to open primaries up in all 50 states,” Fitzpatrick said. “Closed primaries, coupled with gerrymandering, your previous question, are really, really hurting our country. They're causing gridlock on the House floor.”
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Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the firing of Pentagon leaders and the removal of a full Pentagon press corps under Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth “concerns” him, but he noted, “I don't know the rationale for those changes.”
“When you have a lot of changes like that, yeah, I think there is an obligation to explain, at a minimum, to the Congress, the rationale,” Gates told @margbrennan. Asked whether the systems are operating that way right now, Gates replied: “No.”
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House Problem Solvers Caucus co-chair Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) argues both parties have “to get back to those basic, fundamental messages” on the economics of Americans’ lives, adding, “Enough with the finger-pointing and the culture wars.”
Co-chair Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) agrees, both parties are “failing” to “focus like a laser on the economy, on these budgets.”
“We cannot ignore the fact that half of Americans are stressing over their family budgets, and that’s got to drive the legislative agenda,” says co-chair Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), adding that both parties are “failing” to “focus like a laser on the economy, on these budgets.”
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.@margbrennan: “Is it possible for the president of the United States to walk away and leave this for the Israelis to settle?”
“No, I don't think he can walk away. And no, I don't think the Israelis can settle it,” former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said of the conflict with Iran.
Asked about early predictions the conflict could be resolved within four to six weeks, Gates said: “I think that there were some unrealistic expectations.”
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Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the chances of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan are “pretty low,” over the next several years, “partly because Xi has other options open to him that involve far less risk.”
“I don't think they want to go in and attack Taiwan. They don't want to destroy the very chip factories they want to take over,” Gates told @margbrennan, adding China could impose a blockade or quarantine around the island “anytime they wanted.”
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President Trump should green light delayed weapons sales to Taiwan, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates told @margbrennan, calling it “our counter to President Xi’s strong statement.”
“Yes, you have your position, we have ours,” Gates said. But he also raised concerns over the “huge backlog” of weapons the U.S. has sold to Taiwan but not delivered “because we don't have the supplies.”
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Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said “it would be a mistake” for the U.S. to change or shift rhetoric on its longstanding, “carefully-worded” position of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan.
Gates told @margbrennan the U.S. policy on Taiwan is “one of those things where the experts parse these things down to the tense of the verbs,” and added that “keeping the U.S. position as it has been was important.”
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When asked if he would vote for a federal gas tax holiday, which President Trump told CBS News’ @nancycordes he supports, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) said “it’s a short-term fix,” but underscores that “tariffs are what are really affecting people’s prices” and encourages the president to “come to Congress” to work with both parties.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) says labor unions “have expressed some concerns” about suspending the federal gas tax, telling @margbrennan, “I think the devil is in the detail… Yes, we want to do everything to lower gas prices, but we don't want to rob Peter to pay Paul.”
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“Gerrymandering is one of the most, if not the most corrosive things to our democracy,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) tells @margbrennan, with both he and House Problem Solvers Caucus co-chair Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) noting the redistricting battle is “bad for America” and hurts cross-party collaboration.
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A growing number of Americans feel their opportunities are worse than their parents’ generation, especially true among younger Americans, the latest CBS News poll finds.
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Americans currently see President Trump’s policies as hurting the economy in the short term, but “there also isn't that much more optimism about what happens for the long term,” says @SalvantoCBS.
Neither party is viewed positively overall on handling cost of living concerns, and voters may head into the midterms “not feeling like there's help out there,” @SalvantoCBS adds.
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President Trump’s approval rating has dropped to 37%, the lowest level of his second term, while views of the economy have fallen to their lowest point in several years, according to a new @cbsnewspoll out this morning. Just 29% now say the economy is good.
@SalvantoCBS says Americans are feeling financially “stressed” and increasingly see gas prices as a hardship, but more broadly, they don't think their income is keeping pace with inflation.
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The 200 Boeing jets China has agreed to buy from the U.S. are “locked in,” says U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. But “with respect to some of the other details” of the deals made between the U.S. and China during President Trump’s visit to Beijing, Greer notes, “we’re finalizing a fact sheet that will hopefully get out very soon.”
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Asked about President Trump’s announcement that he discussed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their recent summit, Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., Ambassador Alexander Yui, noted that Trump “didn't say he agreed to anything.”
“We believe, again, that having arms sales continue to Taiwan is in the interest of the United States and Taiwan to keep peaceful and stable Taiwan Straits.”
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“We don't want a war. We want peace and stability,” says Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., Ambassador Alexander Yui, regarding relations with China.
“We are sovereign, independent away from the Chinese People's Republic of China's attempt to swallow us as one of their own. They have never ruled or controlled Taiwan, ever,” he adds. “Those are intruders trying to get into our house. We're trying to beef up our security system. And then they complain, the intruder complains that because we're trying to improve our security system it’s making his job harder.”
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Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., Ambassador Alexander Yui, says there is no planned call yet between President Trump and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, but he suggests Trump may have only heard “the Chinese story” about Taiwan during his trip to Beijing.
“If he has time, would love to tell him our side of the story, the Taiwan story, which is one of resiliency, of a state staying up against the Chinese aggression,” Amb. Yui tells @margbrennan. “The communication between Taiwan and the U.S. is constant, it's current. But I'll leave it to the U.S. to announce anything, if it happens.”
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U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says the Trump administration could raise tariffs on China again following a Supreme Court setback on the president’s tariff agenda earlier this year. Greer tells @margbrennan the president is “exploring different tools” and said ongoing investigations into Chinese trade practices could authorize administrative actions including tariffs, service fees and quotas.
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SUNDAY: We’ll be joined by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), the co-chairs of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, to discuss whether Congress can find common ground on the issues facing Americans. Tune in at 10:30 am ET.
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