'These guys, they're just pro wrestlers, they don't even believe it. They just go out there in the ring in service of Donald Trump'

Quote in headline is from Rep Eric Swalwell's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel show 09.06, video linked below. Here is part of the interview:

JK: Our next guest is a member of Congress who is doing everything he can to make C-SPAN exciting.

[clip from Swallwell in Congress] Have you all lost your minds? Donald Trump opposes it because Donald Trump wants to be president, because Donald Trump has 91 felony counts that he's facing, and the only way that those go away and he is not held accountable is if he's president. You all, God I don't know what it feels like to be so helpless, to have to follow somebody like Donald Trump, follow Donald Trump. And it's fine. I get it. You must see yourselves as so very tiny and so very small when you look at Donald Trump and he's so big that he looms so large over you that you would do anything that he says to support him.]

JK: From our 14th District here in California please welcome Eric [Applause] [Music] Swalwell that is [Applause] that's like a Comedy Central roast you have going there.

ES: Yeah they're not serious on like a just a human level when you eviscerate your fellow members of Congress like that.

JK:  What is it like afterwards? Like are you guys in the cafeteria together what what kind of conversations do you have after that?

ES: There's a gym like a congressional gym.

JK: I heard about that.

ES: You have Jim Jordan, sometimes he's on like the elliptical next to my treadmill. And the first couple times I thought this is going to be really awkward. But you go in there and he's like hey Swalwell, how you doing, man.

I'll see Matt Gaetz out at a restaurant in D.C. and he'll come over be like hey buddy how's it going. Ted Cruz during the impeachment the second impeachment I probably clarify, we're on a break and we're in the bathroom and I'm washing my hands he's washing his he washes his hands the clean the cleanest they had ever been.

And he looks at me and he goes hey man we've never met, I'm Ted. And he puts his fist out and I was like hey Ted and I gave him like a fist bump back. And he could tell I was looking at him like he had three heads right, because the night before he was roasting me on Fox News.

And he says to me he goes you're doing a really good job out there. I'm like what is this guy talking about. He goes no really you're doing a good job.

And it occurred to me, for these guys, they're just pro wrestlers, they don't even believe it, like they just go out there in the ring in service of Donald Trump. They want to be famous but but that's not what they want to do.

I think that's worse. Because some of them like when I see Marjorie Taylor Greene, if she's at a restaurant, she wants to kill me right.

I'm not I'm not engaging with that.

JK: So she's sincere? So she's actually crazy yeah [OVERLAPPING CONVERSATION]

ES: Like Marjorie Taylor Greene can't help being a dummy. But if you can help it and you can- you are a dummy anyway, I mean that's kind of despicable. And pro wrestling was fun when I was a kid but like that's not why I went to Washington.

JK: i've got a seven-year-old a -year-old a two-year-old in the bathroom Cruz like is he eating the urinal cakes or what's he up to? Adam Kinzinger was here. He is for those who don't know he's a former Republican Congressman who's very outspoken against Donald Trump. And has really been I think persecuted by a lot of even members of his family Etc these people he I think he said something similar about like Trump do does Trump like that is he like Hulk Hogan also back there?

ES: He's an Entertainer. He's just an Entertainer yeah. So he's friendly to you when you see him. He told me I do a good job on TV. And I think that's all that matters to this guy, like again.

The consequences for everyone else- like women in their bodies, kids in their safety at school, seniors and their Healthcare, like to him it's just it's me me me. And that comes first.

So if you see someone else on TV again when the cameras aren't on, he's like hey yeah we're we're in the club, and it's like nobody- like there's actually real consequences and Stakes for what you're taking us all through.

JK:  That is just crazy. You're one of the few Democrats who goes on Fox News. It's really like you and Pete Buddigeg and Gavin Newsom maybe a couple of others. Why? Do they call you and say like hey we need a guy, we need somebody to fight with?

ES: Well I think I probably go on for different reasons than the other two. I go on so my parents can see me on TV. My mom and dad are Republicans. My wife Britney is from Indiana. She was raised by Republicans she grew up with the Pence family.

I actually think, let's go make the best case to the people who need to hear it the most. And we have to do that more. I also think Democrats sometimes we stand too much on virtue and like modesty and we think everything is a Harvard Law School moot Court competition.

But we just need to talk about this like it's a gut check to the regular folks and not make this so complicated. Just be real about what the stakes are. And you're going to see that on Tuesday night

(Watch the entire video here Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=9dgpd8hgci4 

Another addition to the cofa Blog Transcript Project 

Posted by Kay Ebeling, volunteering my blog to help Harris/Walz get elected