Latest / Curtis Sliwa & Larry Mendte In The Morning / WOR White House correspondent, Jon Decker, interview

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WOR White House correspondent, Jon Decker, interview · Curtis Sliwa & Larry Mendte In The Morning

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, Donald Trump still says that there are talks going
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: on and that Iran really wants to make a deal.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: They want to meet, and we're meeting. Let's see what happens.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Is a chance we could make a deal.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Without what we did, they wouldn't need be talking to us.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Iran says, none of that's true. So let's get to
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: John Decker, wo or White House and Washington Correspondent, host
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: of the podcast The White House Briefing Room with John
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Decker that can be found on the iHeartRadio app. John,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: we just played a sound of the President saying, you know,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: we're meeting with them. They want to meet more, they
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: want to make a deal. And Iran's saying none of
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: that is true. So what is the truth do we know?
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Well, what we know definitively is true is that there
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: are mediators from Iran and Oman that have been meeting
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: since the weekend. They also met yesterday. So I think
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: that technically it's true that there are no mediators or
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: negotiators from the US meeting direct with Iran at this point.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: But this is paving the way. The talks between Oman
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: and Iran are paving the way for getting one major
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: issue out of the way, and that is reopening the
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Strait of Formuz. It sounds like a broken record. We've
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: been talking about this for months now, but because the
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: Strait of Vermuz remains essentially shut down. That's the reason
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: why we've had these high oil and gas prices over
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: the course of the last few months.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: Now, I notice a change in the Saudis. After there
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: was an agreement to developing the nuclear fuel. The President
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: signed off one but said you have to join the
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: Abraham Accords. They started squabbling with the Hooties and the
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: Red Sea. But this was unexpected. They were complaining yesterday
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: that Shea militias in Iraq were actually sending drones at
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: their refineries in Saudi Arabia, which would mean expansion of
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: this war. Has the White House commented on that.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: I have not seen any comment directly from the President
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: or anybody that speaks on the President in regards to that, Curtis,
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: But this potentially widens this conflict beyond where it started.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Obviously it started, you know, involving Iran. It's now spread
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: to the extent that you see the Hutis, which were
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: a proxy of Iran threatening the Red Sea. That seems
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: to be put to rest. But then you see what
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: you just described is happening yesterday that potentially could expand
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: this conflict beyond where it started.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: So the President keeps pushing for the Save Act, and
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: I know we've talked about this several times you were saying,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: and you're right, the votes just aren't there. Senator Rick
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Scott had a good idea yesterday and it's now starting
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: to get a little bit of traction, and he said,
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: how don't we take all the birth stritific, get out
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: everything else out and just say you have to show
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: a driver's license or ID when you vote, because he
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: thinks that could pass. Do you believe that would pass?
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: I do not know. You know, it really is up
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: to three senators in particular that have been from the
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: start solid nose. Of those include Mitch McConnell, who is
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: not back in the Senate because he's recovering from, you know,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: obviously some illness issues. Then you also have Lisa Murkowski,
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: Republican from Alaska, and also Tom Tillis, Republican from North Carolina.
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: Tom Tillis is leaving the Senate. He's a difficult person
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: to turn around in terms of his vote. Lisa Murkowski
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: does not want to, you know, change her position. She
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: feels pretty solid where she is. And of course Mitch
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: McConnell first needs to get back to the Senate before
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: you can even talk about him even changing his vote.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: So Larry, to answer your question, it's up to just
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: a hand full of Republican senators as to whether that
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: proposal put forward by Senator Rick Scott is one that
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: you know, convinces them. That's a piece of legislation they
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: could support.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: Most states already have showing a voter ID, and this
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: takes away their key arguments about how it disenfranchises. The
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: new one is it disenfranchises women, and it disenfranchises people
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: that have to go find a birth certificate. So I'm
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: not even sure what the argument would be for not
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: voting for it.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know. Again, you know, you'd have to
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: ask those individuals. I think that, you know, for Lisa Murkowski,
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: she's always expressed her belief in her state, Alaska, which is,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: you know, but by just sheer size, the largest state
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: in our country. It's difficult for her constituents sometimes to
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: get out and vote on election day. And that's the
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: reason why mail in voting is so prevalent in Alaska.
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: But you know as to the reasons why Mitch McConnell
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: has been, To know why Tom Tillis has been. To know,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: you'd have to, you know, ask them as to whether
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: or not this new proposal or suggestion of a proposal
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: by Rick Scott is one that could pass muster. And
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: even if it is something that does form as it
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: relates to legislation, you would have to start from scratch
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: to get this legislation passed in both the House and
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: the Senate and do it before the midterm elections on
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: November the third.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: Oh, John, how times have changed. When Trump reassumed office,
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: one of his first meetings was with Czelensky, and you
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: remember how he was told get the hell out of here.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: Trump Vice President Van S. Rubio threw him out. You
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: had to beg to be able to come back the
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: next day and have any kind of conversation. Now he's
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: the drone man. He's so far ahead in drone technology,
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: and apparently he's now acknowledged yes, it was our drone
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: that hit that cargo care containership from Russia and the
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: caspianc that was bringing supplies to Iran. He's being treated
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: so much differently. Now, why the change of attitude by
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: the President.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: I think a change of attitude is a lot to
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: do with where the war is right now. You know
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: who has the upper hand, who is seen as the
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: country that you know has the winning edge, and right
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: now it's Ukraine. And the President likes winners. He sees
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: in Ukraine a winning country. He sees what they've been
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: able to do with their drone strategy, as you just
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: reference Curtis, it's been very effective, so effective that the
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: US has said we would like to have access to
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: your drone technology. We want to use your drone technology
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: as it relates to our war efforts, maybe even in Iran.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: So I think that has a lot to do with it.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: They get along well. They last met at the NATO
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: summit just a few weeks ago in ankor A, Turkey,
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: and they will meet once again today in the Oval Office.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: That will be at nine point thirty this morning. And
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: the reason why Zelenski's in town and the reason why
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: Netsing Yahoo, Prime Minister Netan Yahoo is in town they're
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: both attending the funeral this afternoon of Lindsey Graham that
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: will take place at the National Cathedral here in Washington.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: You know, I know Sean Duffy wants to rename. He
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: hasn't come out and said this long time ago he did,
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: But in this newest thing where he's actually going to
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: put together a proposal, he hasn't come out and said
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: he wants to call it the Trump's train station or
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: the Donald J. Trump Train Station. But that's what's coming.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: And Chuck Schumer, I guess yesterday, came out and said,
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: no matter what happens, we're going to stop this. Is
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: he able to stop this? Does this have to go
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: through the Senate at all?
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: I don't know. That's that's pretty unclear, you know. I mean,
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: you have across the street from penn Station, you have
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: the moynihan train station that was on through an act
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: of Congress. I don't know if you'd have to, you know,
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: have an active Congress in terms of changing the name
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: of Pennsylvania Station to Donald J. Trump's Station. But I
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: think you're right. It seems like that is something that
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: will happen before the end of President Trump's term. That's
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: something that the President and his allies are very key on.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: And you know, if you are a fan of Amtrak,
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: and if you're someone who uses penn station, that may
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: be a good thing because then you could be rest
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: assured that it would be funded fully, you know, at
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: least while Donald Trump is President of the United States.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: Great point, John, You mentioned the other visitor bb Netanyahoo
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: not not as friendly as Trump has been to Zelensky
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: of late, seems to have lost support in America and
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: in all the Israeli publications that I heard before his
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: meeting with the President, and he's going to urge the
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: President to resume the military campaign. He says, all months
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: of diplomacy has gotten us nowhere, and this start stop
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: makes us look fickle and weak if in fact he
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: sticks to that presentation. How do you think it's going
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: to float with the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: Well, just based upon what the President has said, you know,
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: over the course of the last few days. And I
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: realized President Trump often you know, on this particular issue,
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: changes his mind. Right now, He's intent and seeing if
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: diplomacy can work, and if diplomacy works, then that's the
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: route that the President's going to take. He's not going
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: to you know, re engage in terms of the conflict
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: with Iran. But you know. I mean, the President can
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: change his mind, and I don't think that the president
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: just because the President is meeting believe the meeting with Nettiyah,
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: who is at eleven thirty this morning in the Oval Office.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: And by the way, both the Neting Yahoo meeting and
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: the Zelenski meeting right now are listed as close press,
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: and I think the nets and Yahoo meeting in particular
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: will remin main closed press. Those meetings are are very key,
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: you know, as it relates to the President's of foreign
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: policy and what we can expect, as it relates to
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: US military operations, as it relates to the war in
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: Ukraine as well as the war in Iran over the
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: course of the next few weeks.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: And both meetings are extremely important. It's disappointing their closed press.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: Will there be any availability from any of the three
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: people involved afterwards?
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: No, I think that Netting Yahoo every time in recent
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: I would say in recent years, even that Netting Yaho
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: has come to the White House wall President Trump has
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: been president, there have been no opportunities to ask Prime
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: Minister Netiyah who any questions. The same cannot be said
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: for Zelenski. Zelensky has no problem answering questions from the
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: press corps. But I think that if indeed that meeting
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: with Zelensky remains closed, Zelensky's not going to come out
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: to what we call the stakeoud area right outside the
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: West Wing to take questions. He's going to respect, you know,
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: the President and just focus on another meeting that he's having,
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: and that's this evening around six o'clock with all one
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: hundred US senators. Zelenski is going to be making the
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: push once again to pass that tough Russia sanctions build
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: that has really gained a lot of scheme and a
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: lot of momentum since the death of Lindsay Graham.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: John Decker, as always, thank you, wr White House and
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Washington correspondent and hosts of the podcast The White House
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Briefing Room, which you can find on the iHeart Radio app. Well,
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: excuse me, the White House Briefing Room with John Decker.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: Let me get to make sure I say it correctly.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Thanks a lot, John, Thanks Larry, Thanks Curtis. Bye bye.