he also talked about the recent primary elections and gun violence legislation. bipartisan gun legislation was approved and signed into law. it is an hour. >> good morning. our guest today is senator rick scott of florida. chair of the national republican committee. senator scott grew up in north kansas city missouri. graduated from the university of missouri, kansas city then law school at southern methodist university. the ceo of a major health care organization, he entered politics. meeting senator -- he has the assignment of helping republicans take control of the senate and what should be considered public. there is no embargo over the session in at 830 in the morning. for questions, please weighted me and i will allow if time permits. >> thanks for the opportunity. we grew up in public housing. my mom told me you can be anything. i believed her. i served in the navy and cleaned the latrines. i was at the tail in of the vietnam war. then i finished law school. i always wanted to be in business i finally figured that out. i bought my first business. a doughnut shop when i got out of the navy. as a lawyer, --. i did a variety of companies. he had a tractor or a major change. in the primary, in the general, i didn't have any endorsements. we pay off debt and we went from a state that was losing people and wanting to be -- texas. what we were able to win three map years. we had 21 seats. while we are raising money, we have the candidates. approval numbers are pretty bad. we have the opportunity to win a majority. i can sure we can keep our seats in wisconsin, pennsylvania and north carolina and pick up roger, nevada, new hampshire and arizona. but we have opportunities to take colorado, washington, some other states, connecticut. if we get out and raise some money. we have a good opportunity. conversations about where this country ought to go, it is doable. >> thank you. i will start with reporters around the world. i have to ask you, have the january 6 hearings helped her cause or hurt it in some way? >> it is irrelevant. >> really? >> these hearings that they are having, nobody is watching. >> nobody is watching? we had 20 million watching the first night. >> it was not a normally organized committee and it is to attack tromp. i think it is irrelevant. >> what is your latest thinking about how you will do in november? it comes now today's, we have to, a fortune for the country, by ms. doing a horrible job. the election is going to be about inflation, gas prices, formula shortages, critical race theory, defunding the police. mostly about inflation. number one is your livelihood. number two, your education. number three, safety. inflation, gas prices, shortages -- the big part of it is that i show up. it is not good for them. as long as we care about your faith, your job and your kids education and you being safe, --. >> one more on january 6. do you consider joe biden legitimately elected president of the united states? >> yes. absolutely. >> and when was the last time you saw donald trump? >> probably weeks ago. >> ok. how often do you talk to him? >> every two or three weeks. he has tried to be helpful. he continues to be helpful. he has been helpful on fundraiser. mostly about the races. she loves politics. talked about politics the whole time. he is always talking. she is not like jeffrey scott. >> i am getting a little message, could you speak up a little? >> i will be glad to speak up. >> all right. >> thank you variant this is a follow-up. who would you prefer as a candidate of the united states? moechella my other question for you is offer some evidence to try -- the other candidate. >> you don't see really candidates wanting to show at a press conference. the numbers are horrible. they're not good anywhere in the country. including connecticut. patty murray already, she has been appeared 35 years or something. they are already attacking. smiley washington, they know how bad this is. they can't just be the other persons --. you have to tell you what you're going to accomplish when you get elected. what is your level of concern about eric writing ability to win the nomination with an election? >> i am not getting involved in any open primaries. whoever they choose it's going to be a republican senator from missouri. there is no reason to believe we won't win was very. we have nominees there. we will see what happens. i was able to sell a message so whether it was -- billy long, >> it is said he is holding something accountable for his behavior. are you concerned these candidates --? >> georgia voters are going to make a choice. herschel has been very honest and upfront about his background. voters are going to make a truth. i think herschel is going to win that is not going to vote well for these candidates. >> so personal background as a matter? >> it is important. people want to look and see who you are. in these races, you're going to get attacked. you're always going to get attacked for your background. it is important to tell people who you are in the honest. if you have made mistakes, explain what you have learned from them. >> i have heard your name a lot in the last couple of. may stuff this framework, do you care to support that? >> no. i voted against the tax. the process i went through was put together groups of people in a very transparent manner without 30 people came in. 30 people came in and they were law enforcement and education and i worked with them through the legislature. i will look at this. i believe in states rights. i believe they ought to be where most things happen. up here, once something happens it is very difficult to pass it. >> what might fit for florida, i also look at, something might fit for a. of time and then something might change. this is just a big -- we go back to look at it. >> speaking of endorsement, how valuable do you feel about a mixed record? >> i didn't know anything about -- you wouldn't want to run your whole campaign on that. you have issues important to your state. >> we have good election laws. constantly trying to figure out in this role, what i'm trying to do is, we have befriended in the election laws and what we are doing is, what i did in florida, for one reason why we were able to -- the recount in 2018, we train volunteers. you have to go volunteer to make sure you watch. if you actually want the election to be secure, you are a part of that. go make sure they are secure. people are worried. we all have to do what we can. >> go back and show me where it heaven. an example of the election, we had someone -- the trouble lawyer came from nevada. what i tell people, show me. i said that all along. i explained it to everybody. -- because i explained it. it didn't happen as much. that is what i tell them. the next election, that will not matter. if you have a better idea, you have to be involved in either doing it at your precinct. it go and monitor the election. do it. >> do you think that republicans -- the election? >> absolutely. i can understand you losing. people like to those there. you have a right to go. but that is all you have. we are working with lawyers all across the country. if we are doing the wrong thing, we are going to be ready. >> do you talk to each other? my second question would be -- >> i make every decision they want. make sure we don't have this -- to make sure we help our candidates get ready for elections and raise money for the election. >> for whatever reason, they are not comfortable they lost. you have a right to use all of your legal resources. never read any articles that say people are asking all democrats -- she still couldn't believe she lost. >> do you think the fact that -- stroke gorge alert -- trope. -- rob -- trump. >> be nice if no one indoors. >> do you think you could -- what are your thoughts were the federal tax holiday? >> their policies are a bit horrible. it is not like there is no impact here. no one has asked me. in florida, we in our gas tax --. >> pretty good, right? we always go back to work. we ought to get back to work. >> because that is where our infrastructure money comes from. >> is this something republican candidates are going to be running on? >> i completely disagree with where the democrats are. catholic workers have to perform abortions and we pay for abortions. i didn't agree with that. we have put out some polling to show where the public is. the public believes there ought to be reasonable exceptions. they completely reject it --. >> should republicans be pushing policies that would help with families after they dispersed? republicans have been criticized for policies. do you think republicans should be talking about they will likely have to bring to terms. we ought to try to help promote adoption. to bring life into the world. helping build family is important. >> different kinds of incentives or tax breaks to help families. >> anything we can do, we can be doing things to promote families. it is a basic way we bring people up in this country. >> on the abortion law that governor desantis signed, are you happy with that? or do you think it should be more like the texas law? >> every state is going to do a little bit differently. >> is a pro-life person, that means up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. >> to have the baby and they don't take care of it, to be adopted. that is what my goal would be. there out to be reasonable exceptions. i believe there ought to be exceptions. >> [inaudible] how much involvement is nrsc in the plan to file lawsuits challenging voting in a nevada for the election [inaudible] and to what extent can nrsc fund that? >> i do not know about filing any lawsuits. i do not know of any. no one has brought anything up to me. i do believe if you find people are violating the law, if you -- and every state is organized differently, but if the supervisor is doing the wrong thing and you cannot get them to do the right thing, then you have to go to the court read i -- i completely agree with that. that is one of the reasons why what we are doing is organizing lawyers around the country to make sure we watch how these are done. it comes down to candidates have to do their job. you have to show up and monitor these supervisor elections. if you cannot get them to do their job. then the court is the last resort. >> [inaudible]? >> i think the four logical ones are georgia, nevada, arizona, new hampshire. we have unbelievable candidates already in the state of washington. we have great people running in new hampshire and arizona. i'm sorry, colorado. but those are the logical four states, there might be more. i have been doing this for 12 years so i am not an expert on elections. biden's agenda is pretty unpopular and he's unpopular. >> what's your name? >> i want to go back to georgia and you said a couple moments ago that herschel walker has been [inaudible] candid about stuff. there are a couple of areas not forthcoming about. revelations about his record, children he was not talking about publicly. i wanted to ask you if there was failure by republicans to adequately vet him. >> i am not an expert on everything but the way it was explained -- the way i heard it, no one hid anything. that's something people talked about stuff i think every candidate has to be transparent. every voter needs to have good information. i think ultimately the voters will make a choice. it is not a choice for the nrsc. it's a choice for the voters in georgia get to pick who they want. >> in covering the primary down there, herschel walker is running in the republican primary. he had trump's endorsement. were he to win the nomination things like this would come out , and damage reputations. did you have any concerns like that during the primary? >> no. i think herschel will be a good candidate and run a good race. you guys know what races are like. there is always going to be some truthful and not truthful. and then the voters will make a choice. voters in georgia will make a choice. i think herschel could win. if you look at right now, he is leading in most of the election polling out there. i think people like herschel. he is a man that presents himself well. and warnick's issue is that he voted with schumer. that is not where georgia is. >> micah from newsmax. two you're right. >> my question goes out to that texas platform. what would you say, states like washington and connecticut, which are known to vot for binen, how does the republican party polling voters in states like that when they are seeing a platform in texas that is much for the right than they may be used to? >> i think take washington. it depends who wins the best race. it is going to be an election about what they want, who they want to represent them in washington. i do not think it has been talking about what happened in other states. they will talk about gas prices, baby formula shortages, food prices defunding the , police. teaching your typical critical race theory. that is what the election will be about. >> kate. from roll call. >> last night there was a primary and alabama numbers that the republicans in the senate were split on it some endorsing katie and some endorsing mo brooks. what was your take away from last night? any thoughts on that race? >> katie ran a good race. if you look at the primary, different people were up at different times. katie ran a good primary and won. i think she will be a very good u.s. senator. i think she is reflecting what people in alabama care about. >> what did you make of the changes in trump's endorsement? did you think it was a factor at all and her win or brooks loss? do you have any takeaways? >> i have not seen a poll on that. i'm sure trump is happy that katie won since he endorsed her. >> [inaudible] he also specifically -- abnormal lifestyle choice. that kind of language is proving that [inaudible] during his years in office. i am wondering, do you worry that that kind of language is more conservative -- could be problematic? >> the republican party is inclusive so i do not -- i wouldn't have supported what they did. >> would you say that language is inclusive? >> no. >> [inaudible] >> in my role, what i try to do is i do not tell people what they ought to run on. i give them information about -- we do a lot of polls and we show people where the public is. every state has different issues. they are to run on issues that are important to them. i won in 2010 because my opponent did not talk about the economy and i did. i had a plan to change the job market in florida and he did not. that is how i won. and was not was some but he was saying in some other state. i talked about what was important to the people in florida in 2010. in 2022 there will be different issues. >> the january 6 committee has said part of the reason for why they are holding a hearing is because they want to prevent -- from happening again. i'm curious from your viewpoint to what extent -- what do you , see are the main factors that led to january 6? >> if they actually wanted to do something they would have a normally organized committee to do it and they did not. the way pelosi set that up, it was tainted from the time it started. i do not think it is legitimate that she was trying to do anything other than teams republicans. -- taint republicans. what happened on january 6, i was there. it was disgusting that people came and broke into the capital. they should never be breaking into the capital. the fbi is doing their job as far as i can tell. they are prosecuting people that broke into the capital. there were two committees roles and homeland security i think it was. we did hearings about things we need to change in the capital security and i think those changes are being made to make it safer. but it is disgusting. people should never be breaking into the capital. they should not break into anything. they ought to be prosecuted. it ought to be consistent. what's disgusting to me is that they were trying to burn the building out in portland and democrats don't let these people prosecute. no. if you break the law, you should be prosecuted. when i became governor of florida, it surprised me people do not enforce the law. i thought we all had to comply with the law to the best we could. >> [inaudible] >> i did not see that. they said that but if you violate the law, you violate the law. i did clemency cases and the way i always looked at clemency cases, it was clemency based on a change -- the way i look at it was, when people came and i said do not litigate why you're prosecuted. tell me how you changed. the rally gets the crowd riled up. >> it is a clemency process. i get 100 cases about every 90 days. that is the way i looked at my cases. >> what brought people out on the sixth in the first place. why did so many people come to the trump rally? there is a portion of those people who engaged in illegal activities but they were more people behind that that share the same grievances, it seems like whether it was the rapid , changes in election laws or the way the media portrays trump supporters, and my reporting i just heard a lot of different reasons for what brought people out and i'm wondering what extent you feel of the committee has reflected an understanding of those things and addressed those factors that could lead to more political violence or is there a risk that these hearings, which are meant to prevent another such attack could actually rile up people further? >> i think they made it worse. i think people would be happy with the legitimate review of what goes on. in everything. i'm on the homeland security committee. i think people would like us to review, for example, why is the border open? we ought to do that but we don't. i have been up here 3.5 years and what i see all the time is it is all about having a message for the next election rather than solving problems. if they cared about january 6, actually cared, then they would have a legitimate committee that would do legitimate oversight. they are not. >> you didn't want an independent bipartisan commission? >> we already had two senate committees doing it so you do not need another one. by the way, i am ok with things as long as it is set up fairly. it was not set up the way prior commissions had been set up. i could go back to details but it was still where one party controlled when is this and things like that. that's why i voted against it. >> stephen from a bloomberg. >> you did come under some bipartisan fire when you came out with your plan -- a revised plan, a big split between you and mcconnell about how specific you were and particularly the two things he did not like was the proposal that everybody pay at least some income tax, which i think you said could be a few dollars for some people. and the other one was sunsetting all federal laws and he talked about that -- we are not going to do that if i am in charge. we are not going to upset social security and medicare. i wonder how you navigated that and do you have any regrets over anything that you put in that original plan, given that's now the democrats are at least trying to run against that and saying republicans have a plan to raise taxes and tell them things you care about like medicare and social security? >> i assume that democrats do not like what i put out. i believe in people working and they are trying to get people not to work. there are people that do not believe we ought to run on a plan. i do. i am a business guy. i believe we ought to have a plan. if somebody has a better idea . i believe in fighting over what's in it. let's have a conversation about it. i believe people ought to get back to work. i believe we will get a majority. i believe people should get that to work. if you get back to work you actually pay taxes. i have never supported tax increases or fee increases. actually i cut them 100 times when i was governor. i believe you are able bodied, you should go back to work. but i do believe if you are able-bodied you ought to go back to work. you pay payroll taxes and income taxes. you buy a house you pay property taxes. my mom would never have allowed us to say, let me see if there is another government program i can go on rather than get a job. what the democrats have done is finding another government program rather than finding a job. i have been clear about what i believe. i believe in what i put out. people are disingenuous when they want to say i wanted to do anything to hurt medicare and social security. biden voted to do that. he supported that. that would suggest we ought to have permanent funding for every program that we have, which we do not including the most important program which is our defense budget. we do that every year. >> mcconnell basically said we are not going to do your plan but there is sort of an unclear -- he talked about some of the agenda with topics, border, inflation, etc.. as far as having a plan to actually do what you want to do even when republicans were in charge you are not happy with republicans not controlling spending, with republicans not taking on entitlements. are you comfortable with mitch mcconnell's leadership? do you think republicans new majority would be prepared to take some tough votes on things like controlling entitlements that you would need to be done to control inflation, balance budgets? >> i think we have to figure out how to live within our means. i'm not going to reduce the benefits of social security and medicare stop we have to be honest with the american public. we are running trillion dollar deficits every year. why do we have inflation? it is simple. we have excess, excess spending in every area it seems like in this country almost. my state has only balanced its budget one time in the 40 years before i got elected. one year. i balanced the budget and cut taxes and fees and we had record funding for things because we grew the economy. we have to figure out how do we grow this economy. part of it is get everybody back to work if you are able-bodied. when they do, we will have more revenues to invest but this idea that we can just keep borrowing money -- inflation is not going away if we keep doing this. if we keep having excessive spending and we have a federal reserve that continues to keep a balance sheet, i do not see how inflation is going away. >> do you feel the republican party knows they had a chance, they had control of government for two years and stay increased spending, even before covid, they did not pass the aca overall? they did not do a lot of things. i have seen charts. those were the charts of paul ryan. they kind of drop kicked that and did not do any of that. it just seems like we have an instant blowback. do you think the republican party has a credibility problem on this issue of balancing the budget, doing the stuff that you didn't order? >> i think the public is going to demand it , i think the public will demand accountability in government. so it is going to demand accountability in government, and so, it's going to happen. i don't know when it's going to happen, but the public is fed up with this inflation. the public is smart. he didn't have a lot of education, but he was no dummy. this idea that we're just going out waste money, he would have never have allowed that, and he was a democrat. there will be an election. so i think we have an election right after. right now, i don't know if anybody is going to run against leader mcconnell. he's a leader. that's a hypothetical. >> is it possible you will run? >> i don't have a plan to run. i have a plan to run for u.s. senate. >> we have four minutes as promised to get you out of here on time. three questions, let's do one question each. >> one strategy here, $17 million last month, and you have been really aggressive running ads in all these states. is there a way you will continue at levels throughout the rest of the day? >> we are going to spend our money and from the democrats as early as we can. that's our plan. we have to keep raising money. every month. >> democrats have built massive for chess, are you confident you will have the resources? >> i believe we will, but you personally can it. >> are there things that you think you wouldn't report and would easily violate question mark going back to the gun reform bill, based on the framework, are there provisions you would support? >> there's the school safety act, which would codify what trump started for the national database to help parents see how safe their school is. it's no different than what jeff did when he started the school ranking in florida, something like that. i believe in that. the secret service act, we have a bill where the secret service, we would have them put more effort in school safety. so those two things i would for sure support. but i just got the bill last night, so i'm going through it. i would support those two provisions, but i will look at the bill. >> from bloomberg government. >> you have contested primaries next week in colorado, just wanted to see your thoughts, especially in colorado, two very different candidates. trying to elect to one of them? >> they put out some information saying that -- they explained it better than i can, but basically they said one of the candidates was supported by the republican party of colorado, which, one, was not true, and two, they did not do the disclosure of who put it out. so, they -- it's looks like they followed the line we are filing the sec complaint. >> having the democrats get involved with some of the more controversial candidates and that were more controversial to this? >> i don't think people want washington to pick who the candidates are. the voters in the states will pick who's going to represent them. >> i think we reach the end of our hour, and i really appreciate your coming and hope to see you again. >> i will get you the information. i have to think about why and i will get you the information. thank you very much. thank you. goodbye. >> thank you, senator. 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