Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., says that China will only continue to be a growing threat as President Joe Biden’s administration continues. With regard to what China has “done to this country with the coronavirus, there’s no repercussions under this administration … to hold them accountable,” Norman says.
What is the proper framework to combat China?
Norman joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss that and how school closures in South Carolina have impacted the children and families of South Carolina.
We also cover these stories:
- Biden praises the House of Representatives for passing HR 1.
- The National Guard may be staying at the U.S. Capitol longer.
- Biden says it was “Neanderthal thinking” for some states to lift mask mandates.
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Rachel del Guidice: I’m joined today on “The Daily Signal Podcast” by Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina. Congressman Norman, it’s great to have you on “The Daily Signal Podcast.”
Rep. Ralph Norman: Glad to be here, Rachel. Thank you for having me.
Del Guidice: Well, something that you’ve been vocal on Twitter about is how China’s exploiting American innovation. And you said that we need the proper framework to protect our homeland from such adversaries. What do you think this proper framework should look like?
Norman: Rachel, what China is doing, that started back under the Trump administration. [Former President Donald Trump] held them accountable. He did it with the tariffs. He stopped, as example, the dumping of steel. He encouraged companies to come back to America, and he did it through tax incentives, he did it through less regulations.
And for us to be dependent on China, particularly with what they’ve done to this country with the coronavirus, there’s no repercussions under this administration, that I know of, that is going to be taking place to hold them accountable.
But we’ve got to be independent, we have to be so that our supply chains are made in America, and as part of the theme that he had, “Make America Great Again.” And it’s changing now that this president is doing just the opposite, just to be opposed to what this president stands for.
Del Guidice: Something else you’ve been vocal about on Twitter, especially, is why it’s so important for schools to reopen it. Why is it so important?
Norman: First of all, look at [what] the Democrats said, “Follow the science.” Well, the science will tell you that children are not as susceptible to getting the virus. If they do, it’s a quick recovery.
[Jan. 20], over a year ago is when we first became aware of this. We’ve got a vaccine now, we’ve learned more about the prevention, look at the masks that are there. And for the unions to basically control the education of our children is unacceptable. It’s outrageous for them to do that.
I’m encouraging everybody, every person in every city, to get with their local school boards and say, “Open up.”
The teachers are still getting a paycheck. The labor union bosses are still getting a paycheck. That mom and dad who [are] having to either stay at home or to hire a nanny to keep the children while they’re trying to make a living, they ought to be outraged.
But you can’t recover the year from a child that is not in a classroom. Look at the social benefits of it. Suicides are up, mental illness is up. And we’ve got to simply demand better.
Del Guidice: More specifically, when it comes to the children of South Carolina, you’ve talked about some of the repercussions of these schools being closed. But more specifically, how have these school closures impacted the children and families of South Carolina?
Norman: It’s impacted the child because it has been shown the Zoom meetings have not worked. A lot of children are not doing their schoolwork. And how is it accountable?
The ones I feel the most pain for is those who are disabled. Those children who depend on [interaction] with other children. And the abuse that’s taken place now that is documented. And it’s not just limited to South Carolina, look at any state in this country.
Now, I think … the private schools, [for] those that can afford it, are … getting their children educated. But how about those that can’t afford it?
Virtual learning is good for some, but not for others. And to have one-size-fits-all and to keep them out of school is not right. And then they’re getting stimulus money when they’ve been closed and they’re still getting a paycheck. How does that work?
Del Guidice: Moving on to the agenda of President Joe Biden’s administration.
You had talked on Twitter about how, and this was a little while ago, but you had said, “One month in and Dems have already stripped the rights of the minority party, and the House kicked a Republican off her committees for words she said before holding office, and are rushing the impeachment of a private citizen without due process.” Which they, again, impeached former President Trump.
What are your concerns about the Democrats’ agenda long term?
Norman: The Democrats [have] this radical agenda … that’s being led by [Rep. Ilhan] Omar, it’s led by [Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], Rashida Tlaib. It’s intent on one thing: power. They want power to control everything they do.
And they’re dismantling our Constitution. They’re dismantling our way of life, our government. And it’s such a double standard.
You mentioned Marjorie Taylor Greene, took her off all the committees. She was voted in by a larger majority than I was, 75% of the people voted her in office. The words they claimed she said was well before the election, so her people in her district have confidence in her. And they kicked her off committees.
Now, as an example, [Rep.] Eric Swalwell purported to have interactions with a foreign spy, and he’s on the intel committee. Intel committee gets information that we don’t get. And it’s a outrage that he’s still on the committee, and the press has no interest in pursuing.
Take … Biden, the money that came to his son, Hunter Biden. And the big guy for the president. Where’s the media on that? You can’t make those allegations without backing them up. The money trail can be spotted, they’re not doing it.
So it’s up to we, the people, to get back involved and shout it from the roof tops. It’s because of people that are willing to do that, we’re willing to have a [Conservative Political Action Conference] and have the many people here. This could be five times bigger if the COVID virus hadn’t stopped the numbers.
Del Guidice: You mentioned the situation with Eric Swalwell. Would you say, given what is happening there and the fact that he’s still on the committee and people have been kicked off Republican committees, do you think there’s a double standard that is becoming more and more prevalent right now in politics?
Norman: It is. But what we’ve got the disadvantage. The media, they’ve got every media outlet that chooses to suppress it. Look at … [New York Gov.] Andrew Cuomo, … that involved lives, they’re not reporting it.
Now, we’ve got to change that and use whatever means we can, but we’re being banned. Look at what Big Tech’s doing. I was banned with the Frontline Doctors on hydroxychloroquine, and it just shouldn’t happen. But we got to get loud. We’ve got to have our voice back. And we’ve got to, we the people, get involved.
Del Guidice: Another agenda of the Biden administration that I know you’ve talked about and have concerns over is the Biden administration’s plan to give amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants. Why is this a problem? Can you unpack this for us?
Norman: Amnesty to—and it’s more than 11 million, it’s probably 15 to 20 [million].
We’ve got the worst pandemic in this country. And I want Homeland Security to ask the question of the Biden administration: What, with those who are illegally coming across the country, [coming] across the border into our country, what are you doing about COVID? Are you testing them? Are you giving them a mask? They’re going to be in our society, are you vaccinating them?
They want to circle back with us, which means they don’t have a plan. How safe is that for you and I? Not very safe. So President Trump had the right plan. That is, we want immigration, but legal immigration, and that’s not happening.
He’s doing it for power to get votes. Because they want to register these people, give them driver’s licenses, and let them vote, which will secure their power. It’s un-American, it’s not right. And it should be stopped.
Del Guidice: Well, the House just passed the Equality Act. And among many things in this legislation, it’s going to allow things [like] biological men being allowed in women’s restrooms, biological boys being allowed in locker rooms to undress with girls.
What are your concerns about this piece of legislation and how do you foresee it impacting the country on a whole?
Norman: I ask that mom, that mom or father, when your daughter or granddaughter goes in a restroom, is it fair for a man to pretend to be a woman and go in? And I guess it’s going to take the rapes and the murders to maybe wake this country up, but that’s what they’re intending to do.
Look at sports, they want men claiming to be women to compete against women in sports. How many scholarships is that deserving young lady going to lose?
I mean, it’s ludicrous. It’s outlandish, and we ought to be in an outrage over it. And we are, but again, they’ve got the outlets, they got the news media predominantly. And it’s up to us to use whatever we can and try to change that narrative.
Del Guidice: Circling back to immigration briefly, how do you think the immigration system should be reformed? I mean, there’s a lot to do. And there is a Democrat House, Senate, and White House. But where do you see places where reform could happen when there’s the opportunity for it?
Norman: First of all, we got to finish the wall. This president built over 400 walls. And the very Democrats that tell you walls don’t work, look what they put up around the Capitol. A wall. If it doesn’t work, how does it work for them? We got to build a wall. We got to have merit-based immigration. We can’t take everybody anytime they want to come over here.
Look at the drug cartels, which are controlling a lot of the groups that are coming into this country. I just had a sheriff last night at CPAC mention the fentanyl that’s coming unfettered across this country. It can kill. It’s potent, it could kill. It’s 100 times more potent than heroin.
So all of it just doesn’t make sense. All of it is, again, an attempt to get power. They don’t want to do it legitimately through elections, they want to force it on us. And that’s what we got to fight.
Del Guidice: Big picture, what are some of the biggest challenges and also opportunities you see in Congress? We talked about some of the opportunities with immigration, but big picture, what are some opportunities and challenges you see despite the Democrat House, Senate, and White House?
Norman: Well, as your listeners know, [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi controls all the committees. They have a five-vote margin for us. And to give you some perspective, when I came into Congress in 2016, the Democrats were 227, we were at 196. Now it’s five-vote difference. So we’ve got to use that.
We’ve got to have involvement at every level. We’ve got to circumvent media that will not report the horrible things that are going on. …
The Equality Act, HR 1, is going to control elections through the federal government. We have to express outrage on that. And we’re going to vote against it, but they’ve got the votes now. And hope and pray the Senate will stop it. And now’s not the time for the Senate to cross the aisle. You say no and send it back. And hopefully the Joe Manchins and others will come through.
Del Guidice: [Before] we wrap up, I did want to ask you about this concept of cancel culture we’ve seen really rampant lately in society, that most people will know of.
For example, President Trump being banned off of Twitter. And then more recently there’s been a bunch of different organizations, some even nonpartisan, that have [been] banned from Twitter.
What’s your perspective of cancel culture and how do you think it should be combated?
Norman: Well, you combat it, is what I’m doing, as an example. I’m a developer, we built Marriotts for years, Marriott has taken the opposite view of we, the people, and free enterprise. And they’re part of the woke culture. I’m writing the president and I’m writing the board of directors.
They turned down our Freedom Caucus at their hotel, and that’s income, because we were conservative. If that’s not outlandish—but, we’re going to let the directors know. And as a customer, I’m letting them know that we do not accept that.
And that’s fine if that’s what they want to do, I’m just not going to be a part of it, both from building of the Marriotts and going to their hotels. Because if they’re going to turn us down because of our views—we didn’t go there to tear the hotel up, we went there to give them business, and their stockholders ought to know that. That’s how we combat it. And I just give you one example.
Woke culture, sports, the NBA siding with communist China. I’m not going to an NBA game. I’m only one person, but I’m not going to their games. The NFL not standing for the American flag, I’m not going to football games.
Now, it’s small, but it’s something that I can do. And I urge everybody to examine what is important to them because we’re going to lose our republic if it keeps going the way it is.
Del Guidice: Well, sober note, but wise words. Good notes to end on. Congressman Norman, thank you for joining us on “The Daily Signal Podcast.”
Norman: My pleasure. Thank you so much.