RINGSIDE POLITICS – MAY 24, 2021

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Welcome to another edition of Ringside Politics with Jeff Crouere

Today’s Hot Topics:

1) White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked to respond to Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s statement calling for, in part, “no more policing” in the wake of the police shooting that claimed the life of Daunte Wright.

At Tuesday’s briefing, a reporter told Psaki “I just want to get your reaction to some comments from Congresswoman Tlaib that are getting a fair amount of attention.”

She then read Rep. Tlaib’s tweet from Monday night, which said, in part, ” I am done with those who condone government funded murder. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.”

“What do you make of those comments, do you disavow her calls for no more policing?” the reporter asked.

“What I can say from here is that that’s not the president’s view,” Psaki said. “The president’s view is that there are necessary outdated reforms that should be put into place. That there’s accountability that needs to happen. That the loss of life is far too high, [that] these families are suffering around the country. And that the Black community is exhausted from the ongoing threats they feel.”

2) Many Americans have become more germ-conscious since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year – but Vice President Kamala Harris may have made her apparent concerns too conspicuous.

Harris was caught on camera Friday immediately wiping her right hand on her jacket after shaking hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House.

Harris and Moon discussed North Korea, global health and the “root causes” of migration to the U.S. from Central America, Harris later wrote on Twitter.

3) A PBS station in New York is getting attention for airing a children’s program that featured a singing and dancing drag queen.

The skit was part of a “Let’s Learn” television series that is produced in partnership with WNET and the New York City Department of Education. Footage surfaced on social media with the drag queen known as “Lil’ Miss Hot Mess” promoting their book “The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish.”

The skit received a wave of backlash from social media users. It appeared to be a project specific to WNET. and NYC’s government. PBS clarified to Fox News that “Let’s Learn” was “not funded or distributed by PBS.”

4) Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Sunday that he is not getting vaccinated because he has already had Covid-19.

Speaking with a conservative host on WABC radio in New York, Paul, an ophthalmologist, said he won’t change his mind unless “they show me evidence that people who have already had the infection are dying in large numbers or being hospitalized or getting very sick.”

“I just made my own personal decision that I’m not getting vaccinated, because I’ve already had the disease, and I have natural immunity,” Paul said.

Today’s Guests:

1) Hannah Peterson, Board Member, Country Citizens Defending Freedom

2)  Chad Rogers, Publisher of TheDeadPelican.com; Ringside Politics All-Star

3) Stephen Halbrook, Senior Fellow, Independent Institute; Author, “The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or Privilege of the Ruling Class?“