Rep. D'Esposito says Republicans are 'embracing the youth' with Vance on ticket

A number of candidates and lawmakers up for reelection are slated to speak Tuesday evening at the Republican National Convention. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of New York is a former police officer and his reelection is key to Republican efforts to maintain the House majority. The congressman joined Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett to discuss his message.

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Geoff Bennett: Let’s return to the Republican National Convention, where a number of candidates, as well as lawmakers, up for reelection are slated to speak this evening.

Amna Nawaz: Representative Anthony D’Esposito of New York is a former police officer, and his reelection this November is key to the Republican Party’s effort to address the House majority.

The congressman joins us here now.

Welcome. Thanks for joining us.

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY): Good evening. thanks for having me.

Amna Nawaz: I want to start with the overall tone here at the convention, which you have seen.

And in the wake of that assassination attempt on former President Trump, you echoed what we heard from President Biden, Speaker Johnson, others. You said, it’s time for everyone to unite against political violence.

What do you want to hear from Republican leaders here that you think helps to do that?

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito: I think that the message needs to be unification, that we are putting the rhetoric aside, that we want to talk about the issues, the issues that matter most to the American people, the ones that I believe the Republicans are on the right side of.

We want to talk about solutions to the problems that the people back in my district, when they sit around their dinner table, that they talk about, the border, the economy, what we are doing on a global scale, the fact that, right now, under Joe Biden’s failed leadership, we look weak.

Those are the things that I want to talk about. Those are the things that the Republicans need to focus on and show that they are unified in not only the problems, but finding solutions come January.

Geoff Bennett: House Republicans are dealing with the slimmest of slim majorities right now, and you have said that New York voters in particular in this election, voters who in the past might have voted for Democrats this time around, are poised to vote for Republicans or at the very least not vote for Joe Biden in New York City.

What accounts for that level of confidence?

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito: I — because I am out in the community. The community that I represent is one that Joe Biden won by 16.5 points in 2020. Democrats outnumber Republicans in my district by about 70,000, countywide 140,000.

Right now, in Nassau County, we have — Republicans hold all four countywide seats. We control three towns, two cities. We have obviously three Republicans that represent Long Island, one that did represent Long Island and is no longer with us and now represented by a Democrat.

But that pendulum is swinging. And the Democrats in New York, because of Governor Cuomo, because of Governor Hochul and the overreach of the state legislature, the botched criminal justice and cashless bail — we just went through congestion pricing, where they were again reaching into the pockets of hardworking New Yorkers.

People are fed up. And the Democrats feel that their party is pandering so far to the left that they are not focusing on the middle of the road.

Amna Nawaz: Well, Cook Political Report is called your race a tossup at this point.

Tell me about how this ticket, Trump/Vance, helps or hurts you, because the addition of J.D. Vance doesn’t necessarily expand the voting bloc it’s bringing in, right? It’s more of the same message in a lot of ways. Does that help you and help other downballot races?

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito: I think J.D. Vance is a good choice. I think he’s had a successful career thus far, obviously, a military man, fought for this country.

And I think what’s most important for me, as someone who’s one of the younger elected officials in the Republican Party, it shows that the Republicans are embracing the youth, which is important to see back home, because people want to see elected officials that they can connect with, people that they see on the streets that they talk to, that are accessible on social media. I think that…

Amna Nawaz: Do you think that generational piece of it is key to getting people out?

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito: I think, yes, showing someone under their 40s that has an opportunity to be vice president of the United States of America, I think it sends a great message back home.

Geoff Bennett: Does that embrace, as you describe it, does that also come along with sufficient resources, funding, and party infrastructure for you to run the kind of race that you say you want to run?

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito: So I am confident, under the leadership of Speaker Johnson and back home in Nassau County under the leadership of Chairman Cairo, we will have the resources necessary.

We’re just coming off our best quarter yet fund-raising. So I am confident that we are going to have all the resources, both financially and troops on the ground, to make sure that this seat, which helped deliver the majority in 2022, is one that’s going to keep and hopefully grow other districts for our majority in 2025.

Amna Nawaz: In an effort, as I know you want to do, to set the tone to tamp down the political rhetoric, avoid political violence in the future, one of the things underpinning this whole conversation is the fact that Mr. Trump had to pick a new vice president because his old vice president is not running with him this time.

On this issue, can you set the tone here and just say that you will accept the 2024 election results regardless of what happens?

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito: I have always said, I accepted the fact that Joe Biden was president of the United States. Clearly, over the last three-and-a-half years, our country is much different than it was under President Trump.

There is no question that Joe Biden is the president of the United States. And I look forward to electing and accepting President Trump as the president of the United States.

Geoff Bennett: What’s the metric of success this week for this gathering?

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito: I think the metric bases very much so on, again, that unity portion, and talking about the issues.

Nobody wants to hear rhetoric anymore. The American people want to hear solutions to the problems that they’re facing, the fact that, when they go to the supermarket, everything costs more, the fact that every city, state, and county in this country is a border city, state, and county.

And this is our opportunity, while the American people are watching, to talk about actual solutions to the problems that we face.

Amna Nawaz: Do you think, knowing — as we know, about the conversation within the Democratic Party about potentially swapping out President Biden at the top of the ticket, do you think that the Trump/Vance ticket has a better chance of beating any other Democratic candidate out there, or they want to run against President Biden?

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito: Listen, I think that President Biden is bringing zero enthusiasm to the Democratic Party, just much like my opponent.

But I think that President Trump and our soon-to-be vice president are running together. And they have a unified front behind them. People are going to talk about the message, deliver the message. And I am confident that we’re going to see victory in November.

Geoff Bennett: Congressman Anthony D’Esposito, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito: Thanks for having me.