Josh Earnest is now an NBC political analyst, leading many of us to hope and pray he replaces Hugh Hewitt. C'mon!
It's his first day, and it's The Today Show, so expect softballs. But I still laughed at his response to who is to blame for the failure of the Trumpcare bill: Duh, it's Trump!
JOSH EARNEST, NBC: Governing is more complicated and more difficult than campaigning. The challenge of this starts at the top. If you want to be President of the United States and solve problems for the American people, you have to figure out a way to get it done. if you're not willing to call the other side and build bipartisan legislation, you're going to have trouble as long as your party remains so divided.
There wasn't anybody [in the GOP] to improve Obamacare and the problems that everybody know can be solved and improved. We can be in a situation where the President of the United States is not tenable to be in a position, where the President of the United States is saying Obamacare is going to explode. They don't want you to stand idly by.
...What's clear for Republicans in congress....the one unifying principle has been instinctive, reflective opposition to everything related to President Obama. That's why it was easy for them to repeal Obamacare. But when it came to replacing it, when it came to building a coalition to actually do something proactive and positive for the country, there's no consensus in the Republican Party. As long as you're unwilling to work with Democrats to try to find some common ground, we're going to be stuck in the mud here.
I think it's clear that Republicans -- that Democrats in congress are holding a stronger hand then it looked like they were holding 65 days ago. The question is, how are they going to play that hand? They have leverage now and they should use it. If there's opportunities to make progress on their terms, in support of values and priorities that Democrats have identified, they can look for those opportunities. They don't have to fold right now. They're playing a strong hand.
Earnest was asked about the "relationship" between Trump and Obama.
EARNEST: I'm not aware they had any conversations since Trump took office. The telephone still works. I'm thinking that President Obama would be happy to share his experience with President Trump.
Hyuh! And maybe suggest pulling back from those insane and unsubstantiated felony charges via Twitter, Donald.
