WATCH: Trump Rips Reporter From Obscure Publication: 'Get Yourself A Real Job'
President Donald Trump emerged with swagger from a private huddle with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, smacking down a reporter's goading
President Donald Trump emerged with swagger from a private huddle with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, smacking down a reporterâs goading question that his support of the âbig, beautifulâ tax bill wonât be enough to sway fiscal hardliners.
Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) appeared the picture of simpatico as they smiled for the cameras and declared that the meeting was a successful opportunity for the president to make his case that Republicans should line up behind the largest tax cut in American history. But a reporter from an obscure nonprofit news outlet got too close to the flame when he lobbed a question at the president.
â[GOP Rep.] Andy Harris said you didnât adequately convince enough people to vote for the bill,â the reporter can be heard saying in a clip of the interaction, referring to the chair of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Asked by Trump if Harrisâs comments came after his meeting, the journalist replied that yes, Harris had trashed Trumpâs ability to secure enough votes for the billâs passage.
âWhy donât we see how the vote is. I thought it was a great, great talk â it wasnât a speech,â he said before asking the man who he works for.
âNOTUS,â he replied.
âWho?â Trump asked. After the reporter repeated himself, Trump threw up his arms.
âI donât even know who the hell that is. Get yourself a real job,â he replied. Johnson flashed an impish smile.
WATCH:
The visit by Trump was aimed at convincing Harris and other fiscal conservatives to abandon their calls for greater Medicaid cuts, a provision that would prompt moderate blue-state Republicans to walk away from the deal. Already, Johnson brought five key conservatives partially on board by promising to move swiftly to implement Medicaid work requirements, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will save more than $700 billion over the next four years.
At the same time, swing district caucus members like Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) have pushed Johnson to triple an original $10,000 increase on state and local tax deductions for filers, putting the tax cut on pace to be one of the billâs costliest. Thatâs angered red state Republicans who argue that the cuts are too generous for wealthy, college-educated voters, very unlike their constituents back home.
Trump hasnât taken to whipping individual votes yet, according to Politico, but he may not be far from doing so. Johnson is operating under a deadline from Trump to get the bill passed by Memorial Day, sending it to the U.S. Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has promised his own round of markups that will return it to the House.
Both Johnson and Thune have said they remain in âclose communicationâ about the handoff and hope to deliver the bill to the presidentâs desk by the Fourth of July.
HEATED: RFK Jr. Calls Out INSANE LIE From Unhinged DemocratJosh Hawley Goes BESERK On Crooked Allstate ExecutiveKristi Noem SCREAMS At Dan Goldman In Epic MomentKash Patel Gets Into HUGE SPAT With Democrat Over 'Gotcha' QuestionMainstream Media EATS Their Words After Trumpâs MASSIVE Trade WinsDem Rep. WITHDRAWS OBJECTION After Being Destroyed By MTG