U.S. Rep. Mike Flood took aim at polarizing TV appearances and social media posts by politicians on both sides of the aisle, while defending a campaign commercial in which he shoots a Chinese spy balloon out of the sky.
The Nebraska Republican’s remarks came during the State of Our Union event organized by The Atlantic magazine in partnership with the Flatwater Free Press. The event, hosted in Lincoln Wednesday, featured a series of discussions with local leaders, policy makers and journalists on topics of regional and national importance.
When asked about political polarization by FFP editor Matthew Hansen, Flood, a former state senator from Norfolk, lamented the effect of social media on the focus of Nebraska lawmakers.
“You have folks on both sides of the political spectrum that aren’t there to get something done in the Legislature,” Flood said. “They’re play-acting to get something accomplished outside of that realm.”
The congressman extolled the value of bipartisan collaboration, noting that he goes out of his way to work with his liberal colleagues in Washington and local Democrats like Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird.
“That story doesn’t get told during election season or really ever because it doesn’t sell on Fox News or MSNBC in primetime, and you’ll note I’m not on there a lot,” Flood said. “The people that are on there are in the professional business of being angry.”
Flood also maintained his hawkish stance toward China and stood behind a recent campaign ad where he fired a pistol at an apparent Chinese spy balloon.
He referred to the Chinese government as an enemy and denounced its efforts to undermine the U.S. through spying operations and attempted land purchases. Flood chose to make an ad about opposition to Chinese intervention because it’s an issue that resonates with Nebraskans across political preferences, he said.
The congressman dismissed concerns about out-of-state Americans buying up Nebraska farmland, noting that interstate commerce is part of the country’s fabric.
During his time in Congress, Flood has been highly critical of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies and visited south Texas in January to highlight the administration’s “reckless border mismanagement.”
Flood hailed the contributions made by rural Nebraska’s Latino communities, noting that they “are definitely hardworking, they believe in large families and they’re God-fearing folks.”
But politically, conservatives in Congress need to see the crisis at the Southern border addressed before they can look at immigration through a workforce lens, Flood said.
Flood, a local media executive, is seeking reelection in November to a seat he has held since 2022. He faces state Sen. Carol Blood, a Bellevue Democrat.
The district – which includes Lincoln, Columbus, Fremont, Norfolk and much of eastern Sarpy County – is viewed as safely Republican by most national forecasters despite the capital city’s liberal streak. Flood won two hard-fought races in 2022 after the resignation of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.
