Exclusive–Russell Fry: Campaign Energy has Been ‘Incredible’ Since Trump Endorsement

South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry (R) told Breitbart News Saturday that his congressional campaign’s energy has been “incredible” since former President Donald Trump endorsed him.

LISTEN:

Fry spoke with Breitbart News Saturday host Matthew Boyle about his campaign to unseat Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC), one of ten House Republicans to vote for Trump’s second impeachment.

“The energy’s incredible, you know. Prior to the the Trump endorsement, we were tracking well, we were very firmly in a one versus one kind of race,” Fry said. “There’s several people in the race, but the endorsement has been, like lights out. I mean, it’s just been incredible. The energy is real.”

Fry spoke about how his potential constituents in South Carolina’s seventh congressional district want a fighter in office, not someone who is silent on the issues like Rep. Rice.

“I think the frustration, not only here in the seventh district but really across the country, is people want their leaders to be in the arena in the fight all the time, on sometimes you know, uncomfortable issues,” Fry said.

“But they expect that and so you know, gone are the days where I think you can go to Washington or wherever, vote the right way, issue a press release and go home,” Fry continued. “People expect more, and if you’re in it for the mission, you’re in it for the conservative movement. You’re not ashamed or afraid to go talk about these things because our people expect it.”

Moving on to policy, Fry spoke about the need to stop massive government spending and balance the federal budget to control inflation. “I think the easiest thing is you got to stop spending. I mean, you cannot spend your way out of a problem,” he said.

“We have to have a balanced budget, you can’t spend more than than you take in. And so every year when we pass a budget, we have to do that. We have to make sure the numbers add up, that we’re not spending more than we’re taking in and it works,” Fry said.

He also talked about the need to increase domestic oil production to lower gas prices and regain America’s strong standing on the global stage. “And here’s the thing, not only do you feel it at the pump, because your gas prices are going down, but it actually strengthens our ability on the world stage,” he said.

“I just don’t understand it, quite frankly, that we’re going around and we’re begging people to produce more oil when we’ve got the ability right now to do so. Open up the Keystone XL Pipeline, boost domestic production,” Fry said.

Fry then said that Biden’s weakness on the global stage “continues to trickle down to affect real Americans.”

The conversation moved to the southern border, and Fry called out state and local governments for not doing more to help people recover from the opioid epidemic. “But until we stopped the flow of illegal immigration and drugs into this country, you’re going to continue to see heartbreaking story after story,” he said.

He also called out President Joe Biden for not yet visiting the border.

“I mean, it is remarkable to me that we have a president who has not visited the border, who is paying lip service to the rule of law, but they’re not actually doing anything,” he said.

“You have to be serious about border security. If we don’t have it, we’re not a country. And of course all the other things that come along with it. The drugs, the human trafficking, these are all hitting our local, local communities,” he continued. “They’re hitting our states all across the country. And that is exactly why you’re saying record fentanyl overdoses in the United States because it’s pouring right over our southern border every single day.”

He concluded by highlighting the difference between himself and Rep. Rice. “And so that’s the biggest contrast between us is, I’m not afraid to embrace these thorny issues. And it’s not just around election time,” Fry said.

“We’ve been doing this at the State House in Colombia. For years, I was the chief Majority Whip. And we passed the most robust pro Second Amendment piece of legislation in 25 years in South Carolina. Just this past year, the most prolonged piece of legislation ever in South Carolina and the fetal heartbeat bill.”

Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Eastern.