Latest / Curtis Sliwa & Larry Mendte In The Morning / Rob Astorino, WOR and NewsMax host interview

Transcript

Rob Astorino, WOR and NewsMax host interview · Curtis Sliwa & Larry Mendte In The Morning

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Right on time, Larry. Our colleague here, W.O.R., Rob Astorino,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: who's been through some grueling political battles. But I want
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: to start out first, Rob, by saluting your colleague, Mike Lawler,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: not only for him being so gracious in defeat early
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: in the night, but then had a chance to explain
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: it because I saw it on my own thread with
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: the malfunctioning of the machines early on Election Day. The
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: thread was out. You know, I saw the Stop the
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Steal hats. He didn't want to start screaming fraud. The
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: election deniers were out. See, they're doing it again. It's 2020.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: And he said, I wasn't going to feed the beast
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: of the conspiratorial thinking. I knew where my votes were
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: and I knew where they weren't. And I came out
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: and I acknowledged defeat and I was gracious to my adversary.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: I thought he really did a service to the whole nation, Robin.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, you know what?
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: I talked to Mike yesterday. We had a nice, good,
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: long conversation. I mean, we've been friends for a very
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: long time. And, you know, it's hard. I've been through
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: it and he's been through it now.
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: And it's $ 65 million was spent in that race all in.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: $ 65 million for that congressional race. And in the end,
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: it honestly, I don't think it would have mattered if
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: they put a billion dollars into that congressional race. It
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: was what it was on Tuesday.
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: And it was just You know, when you watch those
• 1:28
  Speaker 4: like zombie movies.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: It opens up. It's like orange on the screen and
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: it's like, you know, tumbleweeds and torn out cities.
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: That's kind of what it looks like for Republicans.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: On Tuesday and Wednesday. Now, it just it was an
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: apocalypse almost.
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: Nothing, nothing could have changed the outcome or the direction Tuesday.
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: We didn't know that. We knew it was going to
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: be a tough environment.
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: None of us knew it was going to be so
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: bad until the first return started coming in in Florida.
• 1:58
  Speaker 5: Oh, my God.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: On that note, Mike Lawley yesterday said Jesus Christ couldn't
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: have won that Republican seat, meaning his seat in the
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: 17th Congressional District.
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: He's right, but Satan won. Oh, I didn't say that.
• 2:15
  Speaker 5: Rob, I can't believe you've played into this whole thing.
• 2:18
  Speaker 5: An apocalypse?
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: Seriously?
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: I heard you guys argue about this yesterday.
• 2:23
  Speaker 5: Oh, my God. Hold on a minute.
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: Am I talking to Robinson Crusoe?
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Listen to me. Listen to me. This has happened to Reagan.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: It has happened to FDR. It's happened to Eisenhower. It's
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: actually pretty common. This doesn't make the top ten.
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: No, but here's why I think it was very brutal
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: and it could have longer lasting because it wasn't just
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: that we lost particular areas.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: We lost in the heartland. We lost in the Midwest.
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: But more significantly, Texas committed suicide on Tuesday night. Economically,
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: that is the state everyone was going to, which was
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: part of the problem, maybe. But what they decided to do,
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: it wasn't just sending Tallarico to the Senate. It was
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: literally overturning the entire table and breaking everything.
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: That was working.
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: So up and down, the Republicans are all out, including
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: in the state legislature. Texas now, if Texas holds, and
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: in two years, you know, they got a redistrict.
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: Now they control all the redistricting.
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: They control all the power statewide for a presidential election.
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: So if the Democrats take Texas and the Electoral College vote,
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: You tell me how the Republicans are going to win nationally.
• 3:42
  Speaker 5: No, I get it. Believe me, I understand it. I
• 3:45
  Speaker 5: understand it. I'm just saying that everybody thinks this is historic.
• 3:50
  Speaker 5: Everybody thinks this is the biggest ever. It's not.
• 3:52
  Speaker 6: It's nowhere close to the biggest ever. There had to
• 3:55
  Speaker 6: be resets many, many, many times. And what happens over
• 4:00
  Speaker 6: the next two years is going to determine that. Like
• 4:04
  Speaker 6: when Obama had two awful midterms.
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: In a row.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: And by the way, you know, there are you can
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: ride a wave or you could you could be just
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: completely drowned by it. And I've had both when I
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: got elected county executive. I mean, look, we defy the odds.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: Why?
• 4:21
  Speaker 4: Because Obama got elected in 09. I was I'm sorry,
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: in 08.
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: I was running the.
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: Following year and I you know, there was a big
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: issue that I was running on with the HUD settlement.
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: But it was also a backlash against Obama. So I
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: that's how I won in a two and a half
• 4:36
  Speaker 4: to one Democratic county. But then in 17, Trump got in.
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: In 16, I'm running for re-election. We had good numbers,
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: but like Mike, same thing, good numbers. But you can't
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: keep up with the volume of people coming.
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: Out to send a message, especially the Democrats. And that's
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: kind of what happened.
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: But if you look around the country, Republicans did not
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: come out in many ways. They didn't come out. Some
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: Republicans flipped their vote to Democrats. And independents went, you know,
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: went big on to the left. So and obviously Democrats
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: were foaming at the mouth to vote all week. And
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: you just you cannot keep up with that.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 5:14
  Speaker 5: Again, it's happened before, though.
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: Well, yeah, it does.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: Your friend, my friend, Mike Lawler's friend, Elise Stefanik, the congresswoman,
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: came out firing her Gatling guns. She said there needs
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: to be a generational change.
• 5:31
  Speaker 5: Goodbye, Ed Cox.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: I will help the GOP get back on its feet.
• 5:36
  Speaker 5: That's great.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: She recommended Mike Lawler become the chairman of the state GOP.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: He's well familiar, as you are, with all 62 counties.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: The battle is on for what is left of the GOP,
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: and obviously she took shots at Blakeman, and then Blakeman said, oh, man,
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: let me tell you something. She had one moment of
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: glory in what was otherwise an unremarkable career.
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: Blakeman, shut the hell up.
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: Look, this is what happens when we get our ass kicked, right? Nationally,
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: we're going to go through this. Here, nothing's really changed,
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: and that's been very frustrating.
• 6:15
  Speaker 5: It's hard.
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: I mean, you're in a blue state, deep blue state.
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: It's hard to win as it is.
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: And then when you have divisions, and we've had that
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: in this state party and even with the conservative party.
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: I mean, at times we're battling with the conservative party.
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: We can't win together, let alone alone. So That's going
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: to happen.
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: Do I think Ed Cox should stay as chairman anymore?
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: I love Ed.
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: I've known Ed a long time.
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: I do think it's time for a change. I do
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: think we need somebody else in there. Whether it's Mike Lawler,
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: I doubt he would do that.
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: I don't know. I don't think he should do that.
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: Quite frankly, I think he should take a very deep breath.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: You know, go into the back into the real world,
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: provide for your family, relax.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: He's young.
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: He can come back at some point and he should. But,
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: you know, The party has to be fixed.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: Nationally now, we need to, and here in New York State.
• 7:11
  Speaker 5: Rob, I don't know if you were listening yesterday. Oh,
• 7:13
  Speaker 5: of course you were.
• 7:13
  Speaker 6: I mean, why wouldn't you be, right? Of course you
• 7:17
  Speaker 6: were listening yesterday. But Curtis suggested that you be the
• 7:23
  Speaker 6: new chair of the Republican Party in New York City.
• 7:27
  Speaker 6: And I thought to myself... New York State. New York State, yeah.
• 7:29
  Speaker 6: Of course, New York State. And I thought to myself...
• 7:32
  Speaker 6: Why would he possibly do that? He's rolling in the
• 7:34
  Speaker 6: big bucks with the seven jobs he has.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: Especially the WOR one, right?
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: If there's any sharp objects near you in the studio, Larry,
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: can you pick it up and stab him in the
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: eye for me?
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: Well, there's always Constantino, the last mega man standing. Rob,
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: I've been warning our audience. This is the worst candidate
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: I've ever seen. He replaced Stefanik as Trump picked him
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: against the Republican Assemblyman. Ladies and gentlemen, you must go
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: on the thread and see. You think George Santos was bad?
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: This guy's 10 times worse.
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: You know what?
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: Honestly, and the El-Sayed stuff. Did you see El-Sayed's, quote,
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: victory speech? You know, I've always said thou shall not
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: gloat in victory nor sulk in defeat. I just think
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: you have to have grace.
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: He has none.
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: El-Sayed screaming in Arabic and telling Mike Rogers to go
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: retire in his 10 homes.
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: Which doesn't exist.
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: It's just so frustrating. I mean, we're so far off
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: on moorings in this country. And two years from now,
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: that's it. That is the threshold two years from now.
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: They will hold the Senate, the Democrats. They likely will
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: hold the House. And if if a Democrat president gets
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: elected and they have the trifecta, then they're going to
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: do everything that they say they would do.
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: There'll be too much pressure not to. And this country
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: will no longer be.
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: I mean, it's not hyperbole anymore to say it because
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: they're telling us what they want to do.
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: So this country will.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: You're going to make me stab myself. What are you
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: talking about? Is this Rob Astorino?
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: Well, you don't think they would add Washington, D.C.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: And Puerto Rico? Of course they will.
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: You don't think they'll stack the Supreme Court?
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: I do.
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: I do.
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: I do.
• 9:29
  Speaker 5: I don't think it's going to happen. That's all. I
• 9:32
  Speaker 5: think that, listen, can.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: We rebuild and be a little bit more optimistic, Rob?
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: Not today. I'm so depressed.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: Come on, become chairman of the New York State GOP.
• 9:47
  Speaker 5: Thanks a lot, Rob. Have a great weekend. Have a
• 9:49
  Speaker 5: great show over the weekend.
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: Thank you.