Joy Reid has accused Republican leaders of using the U.S. debt ceiling as negotiating collateral for budget talks in a dangerous game of cat and mouse that “could plunge our nation off an economic cliff.”
Reid, in the opening segment Thursday night of her MSNBC show “The ReidOut,” compared the means by which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the GOP group are negotiating the debt ceiling to a husband and wife using their credit-card bill for leverage in a fight over holiday spending.
Reid went so far as to call it a “Republican lie.”
“With just seven days ’til the United States could default on our debt, talks between Republicans and White House officials have yet to resolve the issue,” she said, setting up her jab. “But today, President Biden made a very important point.”
“The ReidOut” then rolled video of Biden’s Thursday news conference.
“It is time for Congress to act now,” Biden said. “And I want to be clear — the negotiation we’re having with Senator McCarthy is about he outlines of what the budget will look like, not about default.”
In the talks, the Republicans are aiming for deep budget cuts for federal spending in 2024 and 2025. But the negotiations have also reportedly included demands for stiffer work requirements on recipients of food stamps and health-care assistance.
Experts across the board have warned against a debt default, saying the economic consequences would be global in scale — and harsh.
“I mean, he’s right,” Reid said of Biden, teeing up her comparison. “And this is the way the White House is clearly thinking about it.
“But let’s just be clear,” Reid continued. “What Biden said is literally why this is a major crisis. The debt ceiling — our nation’s credit limit — is not a legitimate thing to be negotiated any more than whether or not you can refuse to pay your credit-card bill until your spouse negotiates next year’s holiday spending budget is legit. You literally have to pay the bill for the money you already spent on your card regardless of what you intend to spend going forward.”
Watch the full segment below.