White House budget director Mick Mulvaney slammed Democratic "demagoguery" about the budget in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.
Before Mulvaney appeared, "Fox & Friends" played a montage of top Democrats slamming President Donald Trump's proposed budget, which includes tax cuts and a variety of welfare reforms. The clips included New York Mayor Bill de Blasio saying some children would die as a result, Hillary Clinton calling it an "onslaught" against children, seniors and the disabled, and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) saying it was "hateful."
Host Steve Doocy jokingly asked Mulvaney if it was true that children would die and seniors would starve if Trump's budget passed.
"I wish I could take that clip of de Blasio, just show it to politicians as an example of why people don't take us seriously," Mulvaney said. "That is demagoguery at the very highest level. It undermines the credibility of both politicians and the institutions, and it's just a real disappointment."
Mulvaney also noted the White House budget didn't cut Meals On Wheels, taking Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) to task for his claim on MSNBC that some seniors would lose the only nutritious meal they get each day.
"It's so frustrating, but I'm glad to have a chance to sit here and talk about how we do one thing, which is very important, which is we are defending the taxpayer," he said. "It's a taxpayer-first budget, and that's how we approached it."
Mulvaney, a former U.S. congressman, later said that it was typical of how Democrats talk about Republican White House budgets.
"We take care of the truly needy," he said. "We make sure that folks who need help get it."
Republicans, he said, care about the poor, kids and elderly.
"This rhetoric, this demagoguery just doesn't help the debate at all," he said.