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Transcript: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Aug. 25, 2024
The following is a transcript of an interview with Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Aug. 25, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Republican Oklahoma governor, Kevin Stitt from Oklahoma City. Good morning to you. Governor.
GOV. KEVIN STITT: Hey, good morning. Good to be with you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, one of the biggest drivers of inflation right now are shelter costs. And I know in a previous life, you founded a mortgage business, so I want to tap into something that’s also a problem in Oklahoma, and that is the housing shortage. Donald Trump was asked earlier this week, when he was out campaigning in Nevada, his plan, and he said he would like to release more federal lands to allow homes to be built. Is that sufficient?
GOV. KEVIN STITT: Well, first off, thanks for- thanks for having me on. You know, I’ll tell you this, as a businessman, before I became governor, I was in the mortgage business. And the last thing that you want to do is the Vice President Harris plan, which is to put $25,000 more into every single person’s pocket for the purpose of buying houses, because if you increase demand without fixing–
MARGARET BRENNAN:– That’s for first time home homeowners–
GOV. KEVIN STITT: — For first time homebuyers, that’s correct. But if you throw the demand side up without fixing supply, what happens to pricing? You’re actually exasperating the problem, prices for housing goes up. So, the solution that President Trump’s talking about is the correct solution is to eliminate permitting reform. Get permitting reform. Make it easier for developers. Make it easier for people to develop and build houses. Get rid of regulations. That’s the- that’s the free-market principles that we believe in and we know are the correct way to do it. I mean, when you think about it, listen- go ahead.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Sorry. The vice president said she also wants to create 3 million homes, so she is talking about adding to supply. But on that the Republican Party platform, because we went to look at it, it says that Republicans will reduce mortgage rates by slashing inflation. That’s really a Fed decision, right? But also open portions of federal lands to allow for new home construction, sounds very much the same as the Harris plan, and then promote home ownership through tax incentives and support for first time buyers, also sounds very similar to the Harris plan. So, what’s different?
GOV. KEVIN STITT: Well, first off, there are so many first-time homebuyer programs right now, and my question to you, and this is a great question for Vice President Harris, who’s going to build the 3 million homes? I mean, basically, we believe either in a free-market system or we believe in government intervention, and so the bottom line is, you’re going to drive up the cost. The reason we have 20% inflation under a Biden-Harris administration right now is because of all of the attacks on energy, for example, the bureaucracy we need permitting reform, we need deregulation. We need to unlock American businesses to meet the needs of Americans. Basically, when you have municipalities stopping new developments for lot sizes and for first time homebuyers. That’s the things you need to do. By increasing and throwing more money and giving- like think about it for a second, this ticket, and I know Governor Walz, I’m friends with him in the National Governors Association. He’s a nice guy. I’ve met, I’ve met Vice President Harris a couple times. She seems like a nice person, but if you think about the Democratic ticket, they’ve never worked in the private sector. They’ve- so their policies are showing that. You can’t give every single first-time home buyer $25,000 and expect the prices of houses to come down. That’s just not the way the economy works. That’s socialism. That’s- that’s communism.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well- yeah, it’s not clear what the Republican platform means when they say tax incentives and support for first time buyers. So it’s not- it’s not clear to what their detailed option is when they say, also helping those first time buyers. But on the economy, your state has a law that prohibits an increase of more than 10% for the price of goods and services during emergencies. The Harris campaign wants federal restrictions on those kind of price jumps. Why do you oppose it at the federal level, if you have something at the state level?
GOV. KEVIN STITT: Well, what we’re talking about on the state level, if we have a natural disaster, for example, if there’s a tornado that comes through one of our communities, we don’t want out-of-state people coming in and price gouging as far as roofing materials. So, when I declare a national- an executive order and say, this area of the state has been hurt, it’s for a short period of time. It’s maybe for a month, and that’s just to protect the people from really- people coming in to try to make money off of this disaster. So that’s totally different than what I see this administration that Vice President Harris recommending. So, she’s saying, here’s -here’s the problem that doesn’t make sense to the American people, and you need to question her on this. Okay- She’s going to tell grocery stores that the maximum you can pay for milk and charge for milk is $1.99. But what happens to the farmers if the costs are more than that–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.
GOV. KEVIN STITT: Okay, what are they saying they’re doing?
MARGARET BRENNAN: I would love to put those questions.
GOV. KEVIN STITT: What’s price control then?
MARGARET BRENNAN: I got you for a question. You are backing President Trump. Early on, you had supported the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, and he had warned Republicans about this.
[START SOUND ON TAPE]
GOV. RON DESANTIS: You’re not going to be talking about the border, you’re not going to be talking about the economy. You’re going to be talking about all these things to make the election a referendum on Donald Trump, whereas, if I’m the nominee, we’ll be solely focused on the issues that matter to the American people.
[END SOUND ON TAPE]
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is President Trump getting in his own way on his own messaging?
GOV. KEVIN STITT: You know, I’m not going to defend what Vice President Harris said in the convention against President Trump, or what President Trump is saying this. This is not about winning an argument. And I think the American people are really tired of that. Let’s- we have to get back to asking questions about policy. And Vice President’s Harris ‘ policies have led to a 20% increase in inflation. And I think the American people at the end of the day, when they- when they ask themselves, were they better off when President Trump was in office? The answer is going to be yes, and so President Trump’s the nominee. He has the best policies, and I believe he’s going to win in November.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Governor. Thank you for joining us. We’ll be back in a moment.
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Paul Whelan, freed in prisoner swap with Russia, tells other American detainees: “We’re coming for you”
Washington — Nearly seven weeks after the Russians handed over Paul Whelan on a tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, the Marine veteran stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with a message for other Americans who are held abroad.
“We’re coming for you,” he told reporters Tuesday night after he met with lawmakers. “It might take time, but we’re coming.”
Whelan said he spoke with lawmakers about how the government can better support detainees after they’re released.
“We spoke about how the next person’s experience could be better,” he said. “What the government could do for the next person that’s held hostage and comes home — the care and support that other people might need, especially people that are in a worse situation. There are people coming back that lived in the dirt without shoes for three years, people that were locked up in hideous conditions for 20 years. They need support.”
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The U.S. secured Whelan’s release in August in one of the largest prisoner swaps since the end of the Cold War. The complex deal came after months of sensitive negotiations between the U.S., Russia, Germany, Slovenia, Poland and Norway.
As part of the deal, Russia released 16 prisoners while the Western countries released eight Russians. Whelan was released alongside Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. green card holder and Kremlin critic.
Whelan, who had been the longest-held American detainee in Russia, was arrested in December 2018 when he traveled to the country to attend a friend’s wedding. He was convicted of espionage in a secret trial and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Whelan, his family and the U.S. government vehemently denied that he was a spy and accused Russia of using him as a political pawn. The U.S. government considered him to be wrongfully detained, a rare designation that put more government resources toward securing his release.
But a deal to secure his freedom was long elusive. He remained behind bars as Russia freed Marine veteran Trevor Reed and women’s basketball star Brittney Griner — both of whom were detained after Whelan’s arrest — in prisoner swaps with the U.S.
The U.S. said it pushed for his inclusion in both exchanges, but Russia refused. It led to Whelan advocating for his own release from a remote prison camp, calling government officials and journalists to make sure that he wasn’t forgotten.
When the plane carrying Whelan, Gershkovish and Kurmasheva landed in Maryland on Aug. 1, Whelan was the first to disembark. He was greeted by President Biden, who gave Whelan his American flag pin, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Whether he likes it or not, he changed the world,” Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, told reporters Tuesday.
Whelan’s case and his family’s constant pressure on the U.S. government brought more attention to the cases of Americans who are wrongfully detained by foreign governments.
Haley said Whelan is a reminder to other Americans considering traveling to Russia that “you have a target on your back.”
Whelan said it’s been an adjustment acclimating to life back in the U.S., especially learning the latest technology like his iPhone 15.
“I was in a really remote part of Russia,” he said. “We really didn’t have much. The conditions were poor. The Russians said the poor conditions were part of the punishment. And coming back to see this sort of thing now is a bit of a shock, but it’s a good shock.”
