The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) launched the first episode of its new podcast, “Red Zone,” on Thursday with President Trump as the guest of honor and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., as the show host.
Beginning with the economy and ending with crime, NRSC Chairman Sen. Scott reflects on the success of President Trump during his time in the White House. Giving credit to the 45th president, Sen. Scott mentioned that when Trump was in office, he “cut taxes unbelievably,” “reduced regulation,” and “had the economy on a roll.”
Compared to Biden’s economy, “it’s just been a horrible year,” said Scott before asking Trump for economic advice. In response, Trump proclaimed America must get “energy” under control and lower the cost of production.
The former Florida governor praised Trump for making America energy independent but criticized Biden for attacking the fuel and oil industries. In opposite fashion, Biden closed the American Keystone pipeline started under the Trump administration, but opened the Russian pipeline closed by President Trump.
Explaining how things would be different if he were in charge, Trump said, “We’d be drilling,” and “We’d be going for oil.” Slamming Biden, he continued, “we were bigger than Saudi Arabia,” and “bigger than Russia when I left,” said Trump.
Although it is common for the 45th president to appear on a plethora of political media outlets, the timing of this podcast appearance is unique.
The primary role of the NRSC is to fundraise on behalf of Republican senators, which means that the GOP Senate recognizes Trump’s immense value needed to take back the majority. However, Trump is publicly opposed to some of the incumbents that the committee intends to help win reelection. Regardless, Sen. Scott’s goal is to imitate the RNC by outraising the Senate wing of the Democrat Party.
Even though Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is strongly averse to President Trump, the actions of the NRSC show that they still depend on the party’s most critical member for raising money.