CNN’s Jake Tapper Roasts Trump For Saying ‘No One Gives a Sh*t About Housing’: Is He ‘Not Aware’ Midterms Are Coming?

CNN anchor Jake Tapper roasted President Donald Trump for reportedly saying “no one gives a sh*t about housing,” asking fellow anchor Kaitlan Collins if Trump is “not aware” there are midterms approaching.

The big drama on Wednesday was Trump’s cancellation of a signing ceremony for the bipartisan ” 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act” over his demand that Congress pass his SAVE Act. He went on to attack the bill and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and had a closed-door shouting match at a GOP Senate gathering.

On Wednesday’s edition of CNN’s The Lead, Tapper interviewed Collins as she reported from the White House as the embers of that meeting were still cooling. Tapper noted the remark, first reported by Punchbowl in March, and asked “Is the president not aware that the midterm elections are coming up?”:

KAITLAN COLLINS: Well, Jake, I think a lot of those Republican senators thought that the president was coming in there today to give them an earful about the Save America Act, which obviously he has been pushing on. That is why he said earlier that he would cancel the signing of that housing bill.

But, actually, according to a senator that I spoke with who was inside the room for that lunch, once they were all in there, the president was much angrier about the War Powers vote that passed last night. And even though the White House last night, to us, was downplaying the resolution, saying that it’s not binding, that it’s not enforceable, it’s not really going to change the president’s actual war plans when it comes to what’s happening in Iran, the president was perturbed by the fact that Republicans had crossed the aisle more in number as those votes had continued, led by Senator Tim Kaine and rebuked him essentially by voting for that.

And so he spent the majority of that lunch, according to this Republican that I spoke with, focusing on the War Powers vote, getting into that shouting match with Senator Cassidy about this, obviously, as he noted there, and as Manu has reported as well with our Hill team. And so that was really the focus of his anger, which I think surprised a lot of the Republicans who were there in the room.

But, Jake, when it comes to the SAVE Act, the president does also obviously want that passed, even though it literally does not have the votes right now to get passed, and the Republicans have made that clear to him. But just to drive home for you how much he’s still focused on this, he was meeting with the NATO Secretary General in the Oval Office just a few moments ago, and this is what he said about whether or not he’s going to sign that housing bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I said I’m not signing the housing bill. I want to see what happens with SAVE — look, the housing bill is — housing — I made billions of dollars with housing. I know housing better than anybody maybe anywhere. It’s all about the interest rate. Lower the interest rates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The president there was talking about really the key to more affordable housing is lowering interest rates. Obviously, he’s got his new pick in at the Federal Reserve, but seeming to dismiss this housing bill that, Jake, 24 hours ago, the White House official accounts were championing that bill and setting up this high-profile ceremony that the president scuttled today.

JAKE TAPPER: And, Kaitlan, not long ago, the president called the legislation minor legislation, and Punchbowl is reporting that earlier this week, President Trump told House Speaker Mike Johnson, quote, no one gives a sh*t about housing, unquote. That’s not true, obviously. Affordability and housing affordability are big, big issues for voters.

Is the president not aware that the midterm elections are coming up?

COLLINS: You know, Jake, this has happened more and more in our interactions with the president where we’ve asked him about polling on a certain issue or where voters stand on the Iran war, on things like affordable housing and affordability, in general, and he’s really dismissed those numbers. I mean, just today he was claiming he has the highest poll numbers that he’s ever had. And we’ve actually seen Republicans who are not happy and disconcerted with the president’s war.

Watch above via CNN’s The Lead.

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