Tag: Inauguration

Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss goes ‘On The Record’ about Donald Trump’s inauguration

Updated: 11:30 AM EST Jan 19, 2025

IT IS SUNDAY, JANUARY 19TH. CONGRESSMAN JACK A+ IS OUR GUEST. LET’S GO ON THE RECORD NOW SERVING HIS THIRD TERM ON CAPITOL HILL. THE FOURTH DISTRICT DEMOCRAT PREPARES FOR A SECOND TRUMP PRESIDENCY. THE LESSONS FROM THE 2024 ELECTION AND HIS PRIORITIES MOVING FORWARD. TIME TO GO ON THE RECORD FROM WCVB CHANNEL 5 THE INSIDE WORD FROM WASHINGTON TO BEACON HILL. TODAY’S NEWSMAKERS ARE GOING ON THE RECORD. WELCOME TO OTR. HI EVERYBODY. I’M BEN SIMMONEAU ED HARDING ZOFF ON THIS SUNDAY AND I’M SHARMAN SACCHETTI. AND WITH US AT THE TABLE, CONGRESSMAN JAKE AUCHINCLOSS. HE REPRESENTS THE FOURTH DISTRICT. IT STRETCHES FROM BROOKLINE TO FALL RIVER. IN NOVEMBER, HE WAS ELECTED TO A THIRD TERM IN OFFICE. THANKS FOR BEING HERE, JAKE. GOOD MORNING. THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON. GOOD TO SEE YOU. THANKS FOR COMING BACK. WE KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE AT THE CAPITOL TOMORROW FOR THE SECOND INAUGURATION OF DONALD TRUMP. WE ALSO KNOW THAT YOUR COLLEAGUES, AYANNA PRESSLEY AND BILL KEATING, ARE ELECTING NOT TO GO. WHY ARE YOU GOING? CAN’T SAY. I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. IT’S GOING TO BE BITTER COLD AND I’LL BE OUT THERE FOR 90 MINUTES HEARING DONALD TRUMP TALK. BUT THE BIGGEST CITY IN MY DISTRICT VOTED FOR DONALD TRUMP. FALL RIVER FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE CALVIN COOLIDGE VOTED FOR REPUBLICAN. I AM THERE ON BEHALF OF THOSE CONSTITUENTS AND ALL CONSTITUENTS IN THE MASSACHUSETTS FOURTH WHO VOTED FOR HIM. AND I’M THERE TO UPHOLD THE GREAT AMERICAN TRADITION OF THE PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER. WE KNOW THAT PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS SAID THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY. FOR HIM TO BE THERE, TO OBSERVE THAT PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER. DO YOU THINK IT’S A MISTAKE FOR YOUR COLLEAGUES TO SKIP TOMORROW? NO. I THINK EACH OF MY COLLEAGUES IS GOING TO PURSUE THEIR CONSCIENCE. MINE TELLS ME THAT, WIN OR LOSE, WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT IN THE UNITED STATES AND FOR THE SUSTAINMENT OF OUR DEMOCRACY, IS THAT WE RESPECT THE RULES OF THE GAME. AND WHAT ABOUT NANCY PELOSI? SHE ALSO HAS SAID SHE’S NOT GOING TO BE THERE. NANCY PELOSI HAS GIVEN 50 YEARS OF HER LIFE TO PUBLIC SERVICE. I THINK SHE’S EARNED THE RIGHT TO SIT THIS ONE OUT. IN HIS FAREWELL ADDRESS LAST WEEK, PRESIDENT BIDEN WARNED AGAINST A TECH INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AND AND A BILLIONAIRE OLIGARCHY HUNGRY FOR POWER IN AMERICA. ELON MUSK, MARK ZUCKERBERG, SAM ALTMAN, EVEN THE CEO OF TIKTOK WILL BE AT THE CAPITOL TOMORROW. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT? I SHARE PRESIDENT BIDEN’S CONCERN, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE TO FORCE TIKTOK’S DIVESTMENT FROM BYTEDANCE, WHICH IS AN APP OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY. AMERICANS DESERVE BETTER SOCIAL MEDIA. FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS, IT HAS INCITED TRIBALISM. IT HAS DETERIORATED MENTAL HEALTH FOR OUR KIDS. IT’S COARSENED OUR CIVIL DISCOURSE, AND IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY, BUT TO RECLAIM THE DIGITAL TOWN SQUARE, WE’VE GOT TO TAKE ON NOT JUST CHINESE COMMUNIST POWER, BUT ALSO AMERICAN CORPORATE POWER. WHAT DOES IT TELL YOU THAT THAT THE CEOS OF ALL THE BIG TECH COMPANIES ARE GOING TO BE RIGHT THERE, FRONT ROW SEATS TO THIS INAUGURATION, INCLUDING THE CEO OF BYTEDANCE, BY THE WAY? THAT’S CORRECT. IT TELLS ME THAT THROUGH HIS TAX AND REGULATORY POLICY, DONALD TRUMP IS GOING TO BE ORIENTED TOWARDS THOSE TECH BILLIONAIRES AND NOT TOWARDS LOWERING COSTS. SO LET’S TALK LET’S TALK ABOUT TIKTOK ACTUALLY QUICKLY, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU SIT ON THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON CHINA. YOU SUPPORT THE LAW PASSED BY CONGRESS, SIGNED BY PRESIDENT BIDEN, THAT FORCES THE APP’S OWNER, BYTEDANCE, TO SELL OR HAVE THE PLATFORM BANNED IN THE UNITED STATES. YOU KNOW, MEMBERS WHO SUPPORT THIS LAW SAY THERE’S SECURITY ISSUES HERE, NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES. IS THERE REALLY A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS APP OWNED BY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT AND FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM, OR X OWNED BY OTHER APPS OWNED BY ONE OF THESE? YEAH, AMERICAN BILLIONAIRES WHO, FRANKLY, WILL DO WHATEVER THEY WANT WITH THE INFORMATION ANYWAY. THE ANSWER IS YES, BUT SO THE YES, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. AND THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT UNDER CHINESE LAW, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PRIVATE COMPANY. SO THAT ALL OF AMERICAN’S PERSONAL DATA, THE ALGORITHM BY WHICH CONTENT IS AMPLIFIED OR SUPPRESSED, AS IN LIKE TIANANMEN SQUARE OR TIBET, IS ALL ANSWERABLE TO XI JINPING. 170 MILLION AMERICANS ARE GETTING THEIR NEWS AND THEIR ENTERTAINMENT FROM A PLATFORM OF CENSORSHIP AND PROPAGANDA ANSWERABLE TO OUR GREATEST FOREIGN ADVERSARY. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. BUT THEN THERE’S THE BUT. THE BUT IS. YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. THAT META AND SNAP AND DISCORD AND X ARE ALL ALSO ABUSING THE DIGITAL TOWN SQUARE BECAUSE THEY ARE ATTENTION FRACKING AMERICAN YOUTH. AND THEY ALSO NEED TO BE ANSWERABLE TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS. THE CHALLENGE IS CONGRESS HASN’T PASSED A LAW SINCE THE 1990S. SO WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NOW THAT THE SUPREME COURT HAS RULED THE WAY THE SUPREME COURT HAS RULED? I MEAN, WHAT ARE PEOPLE TO EXPECT NOW WITH TIKTOK, THE MOST LIKELY SCENARIO IS THAT TIKTOK IS SOLD TO AN AMERICAN COMPANY. THAT IS STEP ONE. STEP TWO, AND THAT DOESN’T APPEAR IMMINENT, THOUGH IT DOESN’T APPEAR AT THIS POINT THAT IT’S IMMINENT. OH, I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT. I THINK THAT THE DEAL COULD HAPPEN FAST BECAUSE AFTER JANUARY, AFTER THE DATE WHEN IT HAS TO GO DARK, I THINK THERE’S GOING TO BE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF POLITICAL AND BUSINESS PRESSURE TO GET THIS DEAL DONE. I DO NOT THINK IT IS SUSTAINABLE IN THE LONG RUN FOR THERE TO BE AN APP OPERATING IN THE UNITED STATES THAT CONGRESS AND THE SUPREME COURT HAVE ALL RULED CANNOT OPERATE WELL. THERE IS A KIND OF A BIPARTISAN GROUP THERE, NOT VERY BIG, BUT THERE IS A BIPARTISAN GROUP OF LAWMAKERS, INCLUDING SENATOR ED MARKEY, WHO THINKS THAT BYTEDANCE SHOULD BE ALLOWED THIS, THIS, THIS SALE OR SHUTDOWN SHOULD BE DELAYED. BUT DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP IS ON BOARD WITH THAT. IS THAT WRONG? IS SENATOR MARKEY WRONG? SO THE WAY THAT THE LAW WAS WRITTEN AND I CO-LED THIS LAW, IS THAT THE PRESIDENT IS ALLOWED TO GIVE ONE EXTENSION, PROVIDED THAT THERE IS SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARDS A SALE. SO IF THE PRESIDENT WANTS TO GIVE THAT EXTENSION, HE THEN NEEDS TO COME TO CONGRESS AND SAY, AND HERE’S WHY. BECAUSE I HAVE A BUYER LINED UP AND WE JUST NEED TO GET THE LAST FINAL NEGOTIATIONS ACROSS THE FINISH LINE. WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT, EVEN THOUGH, THAN WHO THE BUYER IS, IT’S DOES CONGRESS ENACT A LAW NOW THAT ACTUALLY HOLDS ALL OF THESE SOCIAL MEDIA CORPORATIONS TO THE SAME RULE IN THE 1990S, WE GAVE THEM SECTION 230, WHICH IS A SHIELD FROM OF IMMUNITY FROM ANY LIABILITY FOR THE CONTENT ON THEIR PLATFORMS. THEY HAVE ABUSED IT. IT IS TIME TO PIERCE THAT IMMUNITY SO THAT IF THEY’RE HOSTING THINGS LIKE DEEPFAKE PORNOGRAPHY TARGETING YOUNG WOMEN, THEY’RE LIABLE FOR IT. I MEAN, LOOK AT THE THE BROADCAST BUSINESS. WE ARE REGULATED, SUBJECT TO IT VERY HEAVILY. AND THAT HAS NOT CHANGED IN DECADES, DESPITE THE BUSINESS. AND SOCIAL MEDIA JUST IS NOT. SO YOU THINK IT’S TIME TO REALLY CRACK DOWN. OH MY GOODNESS. I’VE GOT TWO LAWS TO DO THIS. AND HERE’S THE THING IS, THEY COME WITH THIS SOB STORY ABOUT THE FIRST AMENDMENT. AND I’M LIKE, I’M SORRY, I DON’T THINK JAMES MADISON DRAFTED SECTION 230 IN THE 1990S. THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS DOING VERY WELL. YOU ARE TOTALLY PROTECTED FOR HARD HITTING JOURNALISM, AS YOU SHOULD BE. THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROTECTING PEOPLE’S POLITICAL EXPRESSION, WHICH IS SACROSANCT, AND ALLOWING SOMEBODY TO POST INTIMATE PRIVACY VIOLATIONS OF UNDERAGE GIRLS ON THEIR PLATFORM AND HAVE IT NOT BE A PROBLEM FOR THE CEO OF THAT COMPANY. SPEAKING OF SENATOR MARKEY, HE HAS SAID HE’S PLANNING TO RUN FOR ANOTHER TERM IN 2026. ARE YOU CONSIDERING A PRIMARY CHALLENGE? I AM CONSIDERING RUNNING FOR REELECTION TO AS A MEMBER OF CONGRESS. THE GOAL RIGHT NOW IS TWOFOLD. ONE, WE’VE GOT TO TAKE BACK THE HOUSE. WE’RE DOWN TWO SEATS AND WE NEED TO TAKE BACK THE HOUSE TO BE A CHECK ON DONALD TRUMP’S TAX REGIME THAT’S GOING TO HOOK UP THE WEALTHY AND THE WELL-CONNECTED. NUMBER TWO, WE WANT TO SURFACE A REALLY COMPELLING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AFTER THE MIDTERMS, SOMEONE WHO CAN BE THE NEW STANDARD BEARER FOR THE PARTY. ARE YOU RULING IT OUT? I’M NEVER I DON’T RULE THINGS OUT PROACTIVELY. I WANT TO BE OF SERVICE. I’M RUNNING FOR REELECTION TO BE A MEMBER OF CONGRESS. DO YOU THINK THAT HE’S TOO OLD TO RUN FOR REELECTION? I THINK THE QUESTIONS OF AGE HAVE NEVER BEEN AS RESONANT WITH ME AS THEY HAVE WITH IN OTHER QUARTERS. I LOOK ACROSS, FOR EXAMPLE, THE HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS. I SEE OLDER MEMBERS IN THEIR 70S AND 80S WHO ARE DYNAMIC, WHOSE EXPERIENCE IS MAKING US A BETTER PARTY. I SEE YOUNGER MEMBERS WITH WHOM I STRONGLY DISAGREE AND I THINK ARE HOLDING US BACK. SO AGE TO ME IS NOT THE OPERATIVE ISSUE. WHAT IS OPERATIVE TO ME IS ARE YOU WILLING ARE YOU APPROACHING ISSUES WITH CURIOSITY? ARE YOU STAYING UP TO DATE WITH WHAT VOTERS CARE ABOUT? AND ARE YOU DYNAMIC? THERE HAS BEEN REAL PROGRESS ON ISRAEL’S WAR IN GAZA, ISRAEL AND HAMAS REACHING AN AGREEMENT ON A CEASE FIRE AND A HOSTAGE RELEASE. IF THIS DEAL HOLDS AND A REBUILDING PROCESS BEGINS, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE HAPPEN? HERE IS A TWO STATE SOLUTION POSSIBLE? I WANT THE HOSTAGES RELEASED FIRST AND FOREMOST, AND THEN I WANT A FINAL DEAL THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH ISRAEL’S SECURITY. AND THAT DOES NOT ALLOW HAMAS TO HAVE THE LEVERS OF GOVERNANCE WITHIN GAZA, BUT RATHER HAS A PALESTINIAN LED, ARAB FINANCED, WESTERN BACKED TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT THERE, PRIMARILY FOR SECURITY, INFRASTRUCTURE AND EDUCATION. SO MUCH OF OF THIS HAS BEEN MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MONTHS IN THE MAKING. DO YOU STILL FEEL LIKE THINGS COULD CHANGE EITHER QUICKLY? EITHER WAY? YES. THERE IS NO TRUST WITH HAMAS. THIS IS A BARBARIC DEATH CULT THAT HAS, AS PART OF ITS MANDATE, THE DESTRUCTION NOT JUST OF ISRAEL, BUT OF — GLOBALLY. SO THIS IS NOT AN ENTITY THAT CAN BE TRUSTED TO KEEP ITS WORD. WHAT HAS CHANGED, THOUGH, IS THE EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES, BECAUSE AMERICA SUPPORTED ISRAEL IN HITTING HEZBOLLAH AND THE TERRORIST GROUPS IN SYRIA AND IRAQ AND HITTING IRAN DIRECTLY. HAMAS IS NOW ISOLATED, AND THAT’S WHY THIS DEAL IS COMING TO FRUITION. WE KNOW IRAN IS WEAKENED, SO PRESIDENT BIDEN IS PASSING OFF A PRETTY UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP. DO YOU THINK ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC FOR THE FUTURE OF THE REGION, NOT JUST THE MIDDLE EAST? I WOULD ACTUALLY ADD EUROPE AND THE INDO-PACIFIC AS WELL. THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIG PART OF PRESIDENT BIDEN’S LEGACY THAT IS CURRENTLY BEING OVERSHADOWED. HE IS LEAVING AMERICA STRONGER IN THE INDO-PACIFIC BECAUSE OF ALLIANCES WITH SOUTH KOREA, JAPAN, INDIA, THE PHILIPPINES, AUSTRALIA. HE IS LEAVING UKRAINE IN A POSITION TO WIN THAT WAR. IF DONALD TRUMP SUSTAINS SUPPORT AND HE IS LEAVING ISRAEL STRONGER THAN IT WAS ON OCTOBER 7TH, WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD GET CREDIT FOR THIS DEAL? PRESIDENT ELECT TRUMP OR PRESIDENT BIDEN? PRIMARILY, THE FAMILIES OF THE HOSTAGES AND ISRAELIS THEMSELVES. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO DEMONSTRATED UNIMAGINABLE COURAGE IN TERMS OF NEGOTIATING THIS DEAL, IN TERMS OF NEGOTIATING THIS DEAL. AGAIN, THE ISRAELI PEOPLE, THEY ARE THE ONES WHO FOUGHT THROUGH, NOT JUST THE TERRORISTS ENCIRCLING THEM, BUT ALSO UNDUE INTERNATIONAL OPPROBRIUM TO PUT ISRAEL IN A POSITION TO GET THIS DEAL. GOT