President Joe Biden has divided the nation and made it a "really dark time for America," so Republicans need to lay out a "really bright, positive vision," said former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
"What we have today is midnight in America," Perry said Wednesday during an appearance on Newsmax's "John Bachman Now."
"Biden's dividing us. ... We're on an economic decline. The world is looking at us and laughing. Our allies are running away from us. This is a dark time for America, that's for sure. And we need to lay out this bright, thoughtful, positive vision for America and for the world."
Republicans picked up a win Tuesday, though, when the Energy Department scrapped a proposed $200 million grant to a Texas-based battery company whose connections to China had drawn scrutiny from some lawmakers.
"It's why what you all do in the media and Newsmax, in particular, really pointing out these major errors the Biden administration is involved with," said Perry.
Microvast was one of 20 companies to win preliminary grants totaling $2.8 billion to boost domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles. The company is building battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee and was in talks with the Energy Department for a $200 million grant funded through the 2021 infrastructure law.
A spokeswoman for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm confirmed Tuesday that negotiations with Microvast were canceled but did not offer a specific reason.
Perry also touched on the Uvalde shooting, which happened one year ago, saying Americans need to have a conversation about the mental health aspect.
"When you look at individuals like the person who perpetrated this horrible crime at Uvalde, that was an individual who had massive mental health issues, and I think if we spend just a portion of our time talking about how we get our states and our country focused on mental health," Perry said.
"I happen to spend a lot of time working on veterans' mental health issues: post-traumatic stress and the effects of having been at war for two decades. We're seeing some really great progress made, particularly with the use of psychedelics for these individuals who have depression and anxiety and sleep-processing suicidal thoughts, all of the classic post-traumatic stress. We as a country really need to get focused on this. And I will suggest to you that if we were to do that across the board, we can have a really positive effect on this country and put a real damper, if you will, on these events that occur — mass shootings."
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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