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Continetti: 'Messy Compromises Have to Be Made' to Pass Trump's Budget

Washington Free Beacon editor in chief Matthew Continetti said during a Thursday appearance on MSNBC's "Meet the Press Daily" that "messy compromises have to be made" when it comes to House and Senate Republicans agreeing on passing the Trump administration's budget proposal.

Host Chuck Todd began the session by asking about President Donald Trump's wiretapping claims.

"I don't see how this is a good distraction for him though, because wiretapping is Russia," Todd said, referring to the allegations that Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.

"I have to ask, though, how the Russia story actually plays out outside of Washington, D.C.," Continetti said. "And there, I think, it is a tale of two different Americas."

"Washington, New York–obsessed with Russia. The rest of the country, I think, isn't really paying much attention at all."

Todd said that people said the same thing about Watergate in 1973, "for what it's worth."

"For what it's worth, I don't think we're at Watergate level yet," Continetti said.

Todd then moved the conversation towards the federal budget the Trump administration proposed on Thursday. Todd suggested that House and Senate Republicans were having a "sort of weird gamesmanship," where the Senate Republicans did not want the House Republicans to pass the bill.

"What happens here?" Todd asked Continetti.

"Well welcome to governing," Continetti said, pointing out that Republicans have not been in governing control for eight years.

"Most Republican congressmen have not been in a position of governing before, they were the opposition party, now they're the actual governing party," he said. "So messy compromises have to be made."

Continetti said the bill was on track to pass the House, but "the Senate is a different story," because Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) has to worry about the moderate conservatives.

Todd asked Continetti whether he thought Trump put a lot of thought into the debt ceiling.

"I don't think the White House or leadership is giving much thought to the debt ceiling, yet," Continetti said, pointing out that the Republicans have health care and taxes to worry about before getting to the debt ceiling.