Rep. Gus Bilirakis touts strong relationship with Trump, scathes Biden’s inflation and border
TAMPA, Fla. – Florida Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis spoke highly of his relationship former President Donald Trump this week, saying Trump respects his job performance as a congressman.
Trump recently held a fundraiser for Bilirakis’ reelection.
“It was fantastic. I mean he spent a lot of time with us, took pictures with everyone,” Bilirakis said on Florida’s Voice with Brendon Leslie. “He always says, ‘gosh you never ask me for anything, you’re always asking for others.’ He always does tell me ‘think of yourself, because you are doing a great job.'”
Bilirakis, who represents Florida’s 12th Congressional District, joined Trump in Iowa during his Republican nomination campaign. The former president went on to win the Iowa Caucus by nearly 30 points.
“We went to Iowa and campaigned with him, and I gave a speech, impromptu speech, and he told me that I did the best. He actually had all the members, there were a few members with us from Florida, and he said I was a star,” Bilirakis said.
Bilirakis pointed to him winning awards for being one of the most effective lawmakers in Congress “at least three times.” On Florida’s gulf coast, Bilirakis’ district includes Hermosa Springs and Spring Hill, just north of Tampa.
“I don’t know what it is, I have a connection with my constituents and the people, maybe its the way I was brought up, and he really appreciates that,” Bilirakis said. “He does appreciate the fact that we’re humble and just try to do my job.”
Bilirakis said he doesn’t need to become a “C-SPAN star” to do his job.
“Just do your job the way the founding fathers intended – and [Trump] seems to appreciate that,” Bilirakis added.
On President Joe Biden, Bilirakis vehemently expressed defeating the current president in November.
“Absolutely no. We can’t have another four years of Biden,” Bilirakis said.
Specifically, Bilirakis targeted Biden’s problem with inflation. Recently, the U.S. inflation rate rose to 3.2% in February. An ongoing issue during Biden’s term, inflation reached a sky-high of 8.5% in July 2022.
Under Trump, the average inflation rate hovered around 1.9% from 2017-2021.
“We have to stop spending money that we don’t have,” Bilirakis said. “We’ll have priorities. Spend on defense, spend on veterans, and help the vulnerable. But the thing is, we got to balance the budget. Congress hasn’t had a history of balancing the budget, so we need a balanced budget amendment.”
Bilirakis also criticized the Biden administration’s open border policies.
“It’s just awful. We were making such progress under President Trump,” Bilirakis said.
According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, border encounters circulated around 200,000 to 300,000 per month from 2021-2024. Under Biden, more than 7 million migrants have attempted to cross the southern border.
Under Trump, border crossings averaged 51,000 per month.
Bilirakis mentioned the House passing H.R. 2. Championed by Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, the bill intends to secure the southern border by strengthening national security, enhance the broken immigration system, and protect innocent minors while enforcing the rule of law.
“Senator [Chuck] Schumer just won’t pick up. He just won’t do it because [of] his base,” Bilirakis said. “It was very strong, the strongest border security bill we’ve ever had. Now, with executive orders, President Trump will reverse a lot of the bad policies by Biden, but we do need legislation as well.”
