CNN host Dana Bash asked Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) a straightforward question. After noting Donald Trump's "bloodbath" threat at his ego rally on Saturday, and the fact that the former President again referred to the Jan. 6th defendants as hostages, Bash asked Rounds if he will endorse Trump for President. Rounds threw a lot of words out there and ultimately said that he would, but the mental gymnastics he went through before answering the question speaks volumes.
"What I have said is Tim Scott was my first choice. I thought he'd make a great president," Rounds said. "Tim Scott has since endorsed the former President."
"What I said is I will support the Republican nominee," he continued. "It becomes a binary choice: either you want to continue with the economic policies that we've got today, or you move back into a position where we actually don't have the world on fire and where..."
"Are you comfortable with the things that he said?" Bash asked.
"We started increasing the economic progress that we've been making," he said about the booming economy with Biden at the helm. "Look, I talk in a different format than what the former President does. It's different than the way that he says it, but right now if it's a choice between moving forward with the economy the way that it is today or the way that we could make it where our gross domestic product moves up and where we're respected around the world."
"We don't make mistakes like we did in Afghanistan where we don't make mistakes like what's going on right now in the Red Sea where we're not taking out the terrorists that are attacking shipping and so forth," he added. "I'll take a conservative approach that actually cools the rest of the world down and builds our economy, and I think that's really the choice that we've got before us."
Again, Bash asked if he was endorsing Trump.
"I'm endorsed endorsing the Republican nominee for the presidency, and if that's Mr. Trump, then that's the best choice of the two choices that we've got," he said.
We get it. Trump is so toxic that Republicans don't want to be tied to him, especially after he once again threatens the American people with violence. But saying President Joe Biden is somehow worse is an outrageous lie. Republicans are putting party over the country -- again.
Is it the high-speed internet for rural communities that upsets them about Biden? How about US oil production hitting an all-time high? How about the $1.7 billion package to fund initiatives to end hunger across the United States by 2030? How about cutting late credit card fees? How about his strong stance to keep Social Security and Medicare cuts off the table while Republicans are champing at the bit to end the programs? How about the Black unemployment rate being lower under Biden than any other administration?
Which thing makes Biden worse than Trump? That's a very short list; I could do this all day.
GFY, Rounds.
