WATCH: CNN's Erin Burnett smacks down Grover Norquist for claiming the GOP was never 'obsessed with the deficit'
CNN’s Erin Burnett and Grover Norquist

CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday smacked down Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist after Republicans positioned themselves to pass a bill that would drastically increase the debt despite the GOP’s past hysteria over the rising deficit.


“This whole $1.5 trillion is a load of BS,” Burnett said. “I'm sorry to call it that, but you know it.”

“The American people know perfectly well what this bill is, that's why only 26 percent of America approves of this bill,” economist Austan Goolsbee offered. “This is the Roy Moore of tax plans, this is a sham wrapped inside of a travesty inside of an enigma. We’re finding, each day, a new easter egg. We found this one: it turns out the President of the United States stands to personally benefit millions. We're going to find a series more of them, such as the president promising that the heads of hedge funds would lose their carried interest deduction. We just found out they don't lose their carried interest deduction. It's a tax cut for high income people. And for millions of people, an increase on taxes in the middle class.”

Later in the segment, Burnett pointed out the hypocrisy over the GOP’s push for a tax bill that will raise the deficit.

“Deficit numbers are all bogus, nobody has any idea what they are until they are what they are,” Burnett said. “It is pretty incredible a country where Republicans say they're so obsessed with a deficit, they're willing to add a trillion and a half dollars to it.”

“We're obsessed with growth you're obsessed with the deficit!” Norquist shot back.

“Actually, I mean I can go through books written by people in the GOP who are obsessed with debt and the deficit, it’s been like the single biggest thing in this country, at least when Democrats were in power.”

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