Rep. Ralph Norman. R-S.C., told Newsmax that the televised Jan. 6 hearings are a "complete disaster" for Democrats, who are using it to distract voters from the real problems faced by the nation.
"It's a complete disaster, what the Democrats are doing," Norman said during "Saturday Agenda." "They're trying to take the focus off the real problems in this country: gas prices, empty shelves, (a) worker shortage, and all of the above."
The Washington Post reported Saturday that 18.8 million people tuned into the Thursday night broadcast of the hearing across six major television networks, not including those who may have watched the proceedings streaming on various electronic devices.
"The tone was sober. The thematic through-line was tight and focused. The timeline video was hard to watch but not exploitative, in my view," Andrew Heyward, former head of CBS News told the Post. "All in all, I felt the production reinforced the gravity of the moment without sensationalizing it."
Norman said he was "glad" that the prime-time televised hearings this week drew the estimated 19 million viewers so that the American people could see it for the political sham that it is.
"It does not highlight the real facts of what happened in that (former) President Donald Trump issued the orders for the National Guard to be released, should (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the sergeant at arms of the House and Senate agree to it, and they didn't do it," the congressman said. "They left in the nation’s Capitol open. They left the nation's politicians open for the things that happened, so it didn't have to happen, but it's a sham of a hearing. Americans are getting a front row seat on what a sham it is.”
Rather than addressing the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Norman said Democrats should be more concerned about high gasoline prices, record inflation, and continuing supply chain-induced shortages.
"They're going to lose their power because of their policies," he said. "The Democrats are doing (the hearings) because they cannot run on their record."
Norman said he defies any American to say they are better off today than they were before President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
"Inflation is rampant. Security is very suspect," he said. "You have Supreme Court justices’ lives being threatened, and this administration doing nothing about it."
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