GOP Rep. Confronted With Trump Flip-Flop on Debt Limit

Representative Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, was asked about former President Donald Trump's contradicting remarks that he has made in regard to the United States' debt ceiling.

On Sunday morning, NBC's Meet the Press host Chuck Todd showed Donalds a clip of remarks that Trump made in 2019 in which he said, "I can't imagine anybody ever even thinking of using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge." Todd then asked for Donalds to respond.

"Well, first of all, he also said the other day on a rival network that he said that when he was president, and when they asked why he wasn't saying it now, he said because he's not president," the Florida Republican said, referring to Trump's comments at a CNN town hall that happened earlier this month. At the town hall, Trump advised Republicans in Congress to default on debts if they don't get "massive" cuts as part of the debt ceiling debate, according to The Hill.

In response, Todd asked Donalds, "Do you realize how absurd that sounds?"

Donalds said: "He's [Trump] always negotiating. That's what he does. And it's actually one of the reasons why so many deals for our country worked out to our benefit, as compared to his predecessors, both Republican and Democrat, because he's always negotiating."

Todd countered Donalds' argument by saying, "'What is good for me is not for thee.' He's basically saying, 'When I'm president, there's no negotiating on this. But, hey, when somebody else is president, screw them.'"

The U.S. federal debt has more than tripled over the past 15 years to over $31 trillion, according to an April report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The country is getting closer to defaulting on its debt based on a warning by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who predicted it would happen as early as June 1. This means that the U.S. could see massive job losses, increased interest rates, or a recession, but that depends on the severity of the default.

However, the U.S. could avoid a default if the federal government decides to either have spending cuts or raise its debt ceiling or both. This has been a debatable point between Republicans and Democrats who are trying to find a solution that satisfies both parties.

House Republicans and President Joe Biden have been in stalled talks since February, when he met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to negotiate about the debt ceiling. Since the meeting, the GOP House passed a bill raising the debt ceiling while slashing federal spending. However, the bill might not pass in the Democrat-controlled Senate, as Biden has advocated for a bill that raises the debt ceiling without cutting spending on key federal agencies like the Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's media office for comment.