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Local Leaders Navigating Community Safety and Political Polarization · Zero Shot Podcast DEMO

• 0:00
  speakers: In this conversation, the conversation explores the challenges and strategies of local leaders in addressing community safety and political polarization.
• 0:12
  Interviewer: Vice President J .D.
• 0:13
  Vance today called Renee Good a, quote, victim of left wing ideology.
• 0:17
  It follows Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry calling the narrative of the shooting in self -defense, quote, BS.
• 0:23
  And then there was this comment yesterday.
• 0:27
  To ICE, get out of Minneapolis.
• 0:33
  And Mayor Fry joins me now.
• 0:34
  Mayor, thank you very much for being here.
• 0:36
  I know it's a real tough situation.
• 0:37
  You've called, as we just heard, for ICE to get out of here.
• 0:40
  ICE clearly is not going to get out of here.
• 0:42
  So what happens next?
• 0:43
  How does this get better?
• 0:45
  Well, look, right now, our first priority is to keep the people of Minneapolis safe.
• 0:50
  And we know that the underlying intention of ICE is not safety.
• 0:54
  It's not reducing crime.
• 0:55
  What it is, is to cause chaos and disruption in our city.
• 1:00
  speakers: Clearly, they want to deploy additional military resources, and we're not going to take the bait.
• 1:05
  I'm well aware of the role they play in having a city that is on edge and then reacting.
• 1:10
  But I'm curious about your role here as the mayor, the rhetoric we just heard, other things you have said.
• 1:15
  You've now got protesters in the street saying things like Nazis go home.
• 1:19
  How are you helping the situation calm down?
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  What I appreciate about this situation right now is we in Minneapolis are all singing with one accord, which is,
• 1:30
  one, we are going to stand up for our immigrant community.
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  Two, we're going to keep people safe.
• 1:35
  And three, we're not going to take the bait.
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  If you've watched how a lot of these protests have carried out, this is not some repeat of what we saw in 2020.
• 1:43
  What we see is that people saying, hey, hang on a second.
• 1:46
  ICE wants us to take the bait.
• 1:49
  They want us to screw up, do something wrong, and then ultimately see even greater military presence in our city.
• 1:54
  Well, we've seen some skirmishes.
• 1:56
  The city is on edge.
• 1:57
  So proactively, what are you doing to restore calm?
• 2:00
  We're looking for some leadership here.
• 2:02
  I heard from Americans up and down the aisle.
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  And specifically, we heard from the border czar yesterday, Tom Homan, that he wants you to open the jails, that the
• 2:12
  way to make this situation safer for his agents and for your residents is to allow ICE into the jails.
• 2:18
  Why don't you ask the mayor or the sheriff rather to do it?
• 2:20
  Sure.
• 2:21
  The cities don't run the jail.
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  The jails are under the purview of the sheriff.
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  And at the same time, there's not a lot of confidence in this federal administration that they are going to do the right thing,
• 2:34
  either by our immigrant community or perhaps more importantly, under the Constitution of the United States.
• 2:40
  What we see that they are doing right now is just going out on the street and without discrimination, picking up both Latino people
• 2:48
  and Somali people, throwing them in a car, and we don't even know where they're taken.
• 2:52
  So you will not let them into the jails?
• 2:53
  We're not making any decision in live time right now on that topic.
• 2:57
  But here's the thing.
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  If you look back to the Obama administration, obviously, they did work with mayors, chiefs, sheriffs around the country.
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  There was that kind of trust built in.
• 3:07
  Why?
• 3:08
  Because they didn't care.
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  They didn't create these BS narratives that we're seeing already exactly like this one, where something horrific takes place.
• 3:16
  They, from the get go, say this is domestic terrorism, domestic terrorism.
• 3:20
  Give me a break.
• 3:20
  This woman was trying to leave.
• 3:22
  Yep.
• 3:22
  Mayor, thank you very much.
• 3:23
  I appreciate it.
• 3:24
  I know you're very busy tonight.
• 3:25
  Thank you for making time for it.
• 3:26
  Thank you for having me.
• 3:27
  Appreciate it.
• 3:31
  I was sitting in my car.
• 3:33
  I took the call, and his first question to me was, how's it going there?
• 3:37
  And I think a lot of people have an outdated notion of San Francisco because, Tony, we did lose our way as a city.
• 3:44
  We got focused on a lot of nonsense, and now we are back to common sense.
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  And that is why our constituents here and all of us are feeling so positive.
• 3:54
  There's hope.
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  There's optimism surging through our city.
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  What was that nonsense?
• 3:58
  What was the nature of it?
• 3:59
  It was we lost our way.
• 4:02
  We didn't focus on public safety.
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  My number one priority every single day is how do I keep the residents safe?
• 4:09
  How do we tackle this drug crisis on our streets?
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  And then how do we help our small businesses and our business community thrive and get them engaged in our community?
• 4:17
  And it's happening, Tony.
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  And we got Super Bowl coming in a few weeks.
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  We have World Cup.
• 4:22
  We have so much to look forward to as a city.
• 4:24
  This is a silly question, but also a real one.
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  When a visitor comes to this city, they land at one of the airports, and they drive in, as I did twice in the last week, late at night, and you really see a city in
• 4:34
  a particular way.
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  After midnight, you see drug use, you see encampments, you see homeless people.
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  How have you, or what's not working?
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  Because the reality is when you come in and out, you still see it.
• 4:46
  Yeah, no.
• 4:47
  Listen, we have a lot of work to do.
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  There's no question.
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  I'm cleared -eyed about our challenges still.
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  During the daytime, we have really ended the drug markets.
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  At night, we still struggle on some of those blocks that you see.
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  I'm going to be relentless at playing those.
• 5:01
  As long as I'm there, it will be unacceptable to come to San Francisco to deal drugs.
• 5:06
  Daniel, all right, you're sticking around.
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  We're going to talk to some of your constituents and ask you a few more questions.
• 5:10
  Thank you very much.
• 5:11
  Stay with us on the CBS Evening News.
• 5:15
  We are back live from San Francisco with Mayor Daniel Lurie.
• 5:18
  I talked to some of your constituents who are behind me.
• 5:20
  We huddled, and we want to ask about the wealth tax that's been proposed here in California.
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  It might come up for a vote soon.
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  A 5 % take on billionaires' wealth one time.
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  Do you support it?
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  Tony, you're getting to know me just today.
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  I stay laser -focused on what I can control, and that's what's happening here in San Francisco.
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  I don't get involved in what may or may not happen up in Sacramento or, frankly, for that matter, in D .C.
• 5:44
  And so I'm going to stay focused on what I can control.
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  But respectfully, it is something you would have to prepare for if it looks like it's going to happen because there are a lot of billionaires here.
• 5:52
  I believe you are one of them.
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  And so if it were to come to pass, are you concerned wealth could flee?
• 6:04
  Interviewee: With mayors across the U .S.
• 6:05
  calling on ICE to leave their cities, we wanted to talk to a mayor who, for now at least, has been able to keep an ICE surge at bay.
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  That would be San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.
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  He is by reputation a moderate Democrat, and he was sworn in exactly one year ago yesterday.
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  We've also invited some of his constituents to listen in on this conversation.
• 6:24
  Mr.
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  Mayor, thank you very much for being here.
• 6:26
  Thank you.
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  Welcome to San Francisco.
• 6:28
  I appreciate it.
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  I love this city.
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  Not so long ago, I read a headline in the local paper that said an ICE surge was on the way, and yet that surge never arrived.
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  How'd you stop it?
• 6:39
  Well, the president called me, and I told him what I would tell you, which is that San Francisco is a city on the rise.
• 6:52
  speakers: The underlying intention of ICE is not safety; it's to cause chaos and disruption in Minneapolis.
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  Interviewee: Listen, it's obviously a concern.
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  It's just being talked about right now.
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  It is a theoretical issue at this point.
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  I have to walk the streets every single day.
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  I have to talk to constituents every single day about public safety, about the drug crisis, and that's where I focus my energy every
• 7:17
  day.
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  Other mayors are not as laser focused on what's happening in their city.
• 7:23
  I'm thinking, for example, a mayor that some people say is the polar opposite of you, Mayor Mamdani in New York City who just took office.
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  He's talking about Venezuela.
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  He's talking about the Middle East.
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  He's talking about national things out of Washington.
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  Why don't you agree with all politics being national or even international?
• 7:41
  Yeah, I was born and raised in San Francisco.
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  I saw our city heading in the wrong direction.
• 7:46
  And I saw politicians focused on things other than San Francisco and what was next for them.
• 7:52
  speakers: Governor Polis emphasizes the need for local focus in governance, stating, 'This is the only job I want in politics. '
• 8:01
  Interviewee: for me, this is the job that I have.
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  This is the only job I want in politics.
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  I've never been in elected office before.
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  And the people of San Francisco deserve a mayor focused on them every single day.
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  And that's what they're getting.
• 8:15
  speakers: San Francisco has seen a significant reduction in crime, with homicides at historic lows since 1954.
• 8:24
  We are back live tonight from Union Station in Denver, Colorado.
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  And Colorado is interesting.
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  It's been a reliably blue state in recent years.
• 8:32
  But talking to voters on the streets of Denver, you do get a sense of how free -minded people here can be in a state where about half of voters don't
• 8:40
  identify with any political party at all.
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  And that is reflected by the man serving his final term as their governor, Jared Polis.
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  He is a Democrat officially, but he's sometimes described as a Western libertarian.
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  And he doesn't have to face the voters again, unless, of course, he runs for president.
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  Governor, welcome to the CBS Evening News.
• 8:58
  Tony, welcome to Denver Union Station.
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  We're so excited to have you here.
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  I fit the part, right?
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  You like the coat?
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  You're dressed more Colorado than me.
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  I thought I had to dress all up for this big show.
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  Well, let's talk about you, because I'm trying to figure you out tonight.
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  You've been described as a politically endangered species.
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  And I think it's because people can't put you in a category.
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  On the one hand, you're pro unpasteurized milk.
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  You've legalized this lemonade stand for kids thing.
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  You've legalized magic mushrooms.
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  You've opposed vaccine mandates.
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  Where do you fit politically?
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  Do you think there's a lesson in your success?
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  I think a good way to say it is pro -freedom, right?
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  So talk about lemonade stands for kids.
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  It means you don't need a permit for your kid to open a lemonade stand in your neighborhood, right?
• 9:34
  I'm pro -vax.
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  Me and my family are vaxed.
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  I don't think the government should force you to get vaxed.
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  Education, absolutely.
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  The importance of health.
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  So pro -freedom.
• 9:42
  So then talk to me more about the vaccine situation, because you have opposed vaccine mandates.
• 9:47
  You're pro -freedom.
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  Where does that mean you come down on the CDC's new moves here, recommending fewer shots for kids today?
• 9:54
  Well, those are recommendations, obviously.
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  And I think - Do you support them?
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  We separate in Colorado.
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  We use some of the national recommendations that, you know, yeah, it's up to each parent to make that decision for their kids.
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  It's good to put the best possible information in front of people.
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  In most cases, getting vaccinated is the best way to protect your health and your kids' health.
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  Speaking of the best possible information, the Trump administration is fighting in court to withhold billions of dollars in child care funding from your state and
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  four others, all tied to potential fraud.
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  Can you bottom line it for us?
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  Is there fraud in this state?
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  Is it a real problem?
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  Look, we welcome any way to look at fraud and defeat it.
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  I mean, we see the federal government as a partner in that.
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  Freezing it before they found any fraud, that's really inappropriate.
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  Have you found any fraud?
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  One of the lower fraud rates of every state.
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  Every state is going to have some misuse of funds.
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  We have one of the lower ones of 50%.
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  So as you've seen, it's a real problem, but not a big problem.
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  Look, every dollar of wasted taxpayer money is a real problem that we should take seriously.
• 10:51
  Let's talk about Tina Peters.
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  She's a Mesa County clerk.
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  She's in jail right now, 73 years old.
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  Her crime was unauthorized access to voting machines in 2020.
• 11:01
  President Trump wants this woman out of prison.
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  You seem to oppose him on this at state charges, but now maybe you're coming around, I read.
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  What are you thinking on Tina Peters?
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  Well, look, you can't give the president the headspace on this.
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  You look at every case on clemency on the merits, right?
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  You have somebody who is nonviolent, first time offender, elderly.
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  On the other hand, does she take full accountability for a crime?
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  We don't look at this in isolation.
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  I have dozens of these requests that we look at regularly, and I want to make sure we don't look at this one in any different way.
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  So you're thinking about it?
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  We're thinking about all of them.
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  Look, any governor, any executive is able to provide a check through this ability to reduce sentences, and we look at that in dozens of
• 11:39
  cases every year.
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  And in my last year, I certainly mercy and giving people a second chance, that's a core value of mine, and I'm really looking to do it in other ways that can help people.
• 11:47
  All right, Governor Polis, I know you're sticking around for some additional questions.
• 11:50
  We really appreciate you coming by and spending some time with us.
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  Thank you very much.
• 11:53
  Thank you, Tony.
• 11:54
  Governor Jared Polis.
• 11:57
  All right, we're back with Governor Polis of Colorado, a little bit of overtime here.
• 12:01
  One of your voters over there was not happy with your Tina Peters answer on whether she should come out of jail or not.
• 12:06
  That's right.
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  Well, there's not an answer to a listen answer, right?
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  So people are waiting to hear what I'm looking at.
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  And again, the way I look at that is just simply based on the facts.
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  And there's some that work in her favor, some that work against her.
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  And it's not unique to her.
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  Frankly, the harder cases for me on clemency are people that have committed assaults or felony murder.
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  I've done some of those over the years.
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  And it's really to let somebody out at some point, have they made restitution is a tough decision, but it's one that I'm never afraid to shy away from.
• 12:35
  When we were talking earlier, you mentioned that Colorado overall is a very healthy state.
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  And I know you've lamented in the past the fact that some Democrats have sided with the RFK wing of the Republican Party.
• 12:46
  They've switched their votes in part because of the Make America Healthy Again movement.
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  What lost those voters for Democrats?
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  Was it Meatless Mondays?
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  Was it diets for climate change?
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  Like where did the Democrats go wrong with that constituency?
• 13:00
  Well, some of those voters, to be clear, are vegan or vegetarian or gluten -free.
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  I mean, very health conscious.
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  I think Democrats should be the party of health.
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  And that means health care reform, making it more affordable for people.
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  Remember, it's nobody's goal to have to have health care.
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  It's your goal to just stay healthy.
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  And a lot of that comes down to diet, nutrition, exercise.
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  And it shouldn't be a partisan message.
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  Colorado is the lowest obesity rate of any state.
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  We're proud of that.
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  We have a great outdoor lifestyle.
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  That's something that we should really take across the country.
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  But Democrats were already trying to be the party of health.
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  Biden had a summit.
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  The Obamas were focused on it during their time in office.
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  So where did things...
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  I don't know.
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  I mean, I didn't really see them talking about, for instance, the health dangers of highly processed foods the same way that
• 13:47
  some of the Republicans did.
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  So I think really Democrats should step out.
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  How we can reduce insecticide use, healthier diets, healthier nutrition.
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  School meals is another one we should make some progress on.
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  Since you mentioned earlier that you are pro -freedom, when do you make a decision that the government has a role to play intervening
• 14:06
  in people's lives?
• 14:06
  Oh, of course.
• 14:07
  I'm not an anarchist by any way, shape, or form.
• 14:11
  Look, we have rights, fundamental rights.
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  God given if you believe in God, given out of social convention with different set of beliefs.
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  But when you're minding your own business and doing your own thing, really the government should interfere.
• 14:24
  When you start interfering with your neighbors and those around you, there's a very appropriate role of government to step in and say they deserve their freedom too.
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  Affordability.
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  I talked to voters yesterday, all around 16th Street here, not far away.
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  That came up constantly.
• 14:38
  People don't feel like they can afford what they could five years ago.
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  How are you addressing that?
• 14:41
  First of all, Colorado is a great place to live.
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  That's why people are moving here.
• 14:45
  That has then made prices higher.
• 14:47
  We're still a good deal compared to states like California and New York.
• 14:49
  It's lower cost here.
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  But yes, it's challenging.
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  And we focus on, we've reduced the income tax rate three times.
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  When I came into office, it was 4 .63%, reduced it to 4 .5%, 4 .4%.
• 15:01
  And then when we have a surplus to 4 .25%, we've cut property taxes.
• 15:05
  We were looking at all the cost drivers.
• 15:07
  Our universal preschool and kindergarten, families in Colorado, when I became governor, had to pay for preschool, had to pay for kindergarten.
• 15:13
  Now it's free, saves families over $6 ,000 a year.
• 15:15
  Do you think politics has gotten worse in the eight years you've been in office?
• 15:19
  I mean, nationally.
• 15:20
  It's definitely gotten more vitriolic, right?
• 15:22
  I think it's wonderful to disagree.
• 15:25
  It would be a very boring place if we all agreed on everything.
• 15:29
  Sure.
• 15:29
  But there are constructive ways to disagree.
• 15:31
  And I enjoyed working with Spencer Cox on our Disagree Better initiative, really elevating the fact that disagreement is part of the American
• 15:39
  spirit in our existence.
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  Our founding fathers had very profound disagreements.
• 15:43
  But to do, to step down the level of personal attacks and undermine the motives of others is really what's dangerous in today's society.
• 15:51
  What bothers me the most is the huge gap in perceptions of what Democrats think Republicans believe and what Republicans think Democrats believe.
• 15:58
  Most Americans are good, honest, hardworking Americans who want to make our country a better place.
• 16:03
  And we need to celebrate that commonality.
• 16:06
  So what's your role then in all this?
• 16:08
  I mentioned to you earlier, there was a voter I talked to yesterday who said, it feels like Republicans and Democrats have forgotten that we're all on the same plane.
• 16:15
  And one of them is going to crash the plane despite the other.
• 16:18
  And I'm back here saying, just land it safely.
• 16:20
  How do you fix things?
• 16:21
  That's a very good metaphor.
• 16:22
  I like to think at the state level, in many states, we work together better than the national dynamic.
• 16:28
  When I was elected governor, one of my first calls to a legislator was to a Republican legislator saying, will you carry my full day kindergarten bill?
• 16:35
  He had been a longtime champion of that.
• 16:37
  He agreed to carry it.
• 16:39
  Bipartisan bill, of course, bipartisan opposition as well.
• 16:46
  Interviewee: What we find out in a grand urban experiment like Chicago.
• 16:52
  We are joined now by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, a former social studies teacher here in Chicago, as well as a former member
• 17:00
  of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
• 17:02
  Mayor Johnson's been in office since 2023.
• 17:04
  Hey, thank you very much for joining me.
• 17:05
  Of course.
• 17:06
  Thanks for having me and happy new year.
• 17:07
  Thank you very much.
• 17:08
  I appreciate it.
• 17:08
  So you just saw that piece.
• 17:10
  This problem of the life expectancy gap is decades old, long predates you.
• 17:15
  Why hasn't government been able to step in and fix it?
• 17:18
  Well, first of all, it is a real problem and we are working hard under my administration to address it.
• 17:24
  What is driving that life expectancy gap?
• 17:30
  speakers: Every member of our legislature introduces five bills, whether Republican or Democrat.
• 17:35
  And there's many bills from both sides that reach my desk.
• 17:38
  And I've also vetoed bills from both Republicans and Democrats too.
• 17:41
  I had a somewhat jokey introduction to you about how all these different positions you've taken and how it's hard to place you politically.
• 17:48
  But underneath that, there's a serious point, which is young people don't really identify with political parties.
• 17:53
  You're hard to fit in a party.
• 17:55
  Do we need political parties the way we used to?
• 17:58
  Well, about half of Coloradans aren't a member of any political party.
• 18:02
  We call it unaffiliated.
• 18:03
  Some states call it independent.
• 18:04
  And it doesn't mean that some of them aren't passionately progressive or conservative, but they don't see themselves in a party structure.
• 18:11
  They believe in their beliefs.
• 18:12
  They might be a mix and match of the different parties.
• 18:15
  Honestly, I think voters should pick the best candidate for any office.
• 18:18
  In Colorado, we also have direct democracy.
• 18:21
  Many initiatives come before the voters.
• 18:22
  That's how we legalize marijuana.
• 18:24
  That's how we legalize natural medicine, psilocybin, Ibogaine.
• 18:28
  Those are decisions that the voters make directly.
• 18:30
  But would we be better off without political parties?
• 18:33
  Well, look, George Washington warned of the danger of political parties.
• 18:36
  Is Jared Polis going to follow Washington and warn now of the dangers?
• 18:40
  Look, you look at countries that have multi -party systems.
• 18:44
  Our single member districts makes it hard.
• 18:46
  I think a multi -party system would be healthier in many ways, proportional representation.
• 18:52
  I also support term limits.
• 18:54
  I support open primaries.
• 18:56
  In Colorado, if you're unaffiliated, you can vote in the Democratic or Republican primary.
• 19:00
  That's up to you.
• 19:01
  You don't have to be in that party to vote for it.
• 19:02
  So the more we can open it up, the better.
• 19:04
  Top two, top five, ranked choice voting.
• 19:06
  City of Denver selected their mayor, ranked choice voting.
• 19:09
  It worked well.
• 19:09
  My city, Boulder, selected our mayor, ranked choice voting.
• 19:12
  All right.
• 19:13
  Well, I won't be the next person to ask you about 2028 unless you have anything you want to add on 2028.
• 19:18
  No news we're going to break now, but I'm running through the tape.
• 19:21
  I'm so excited to be governor of the greatest state in the country, Colorado, for one more year.
• 19:25
  All right.
• 19:26
  It was great to meet your parents as well.
• 19:27
  They're here too.
• 19:27
  They're big fans.
• 19:28
  Thanks.
• 19:28
  Thank you very much.
• 19:29
  Appreciate it.
• 19:30
  Hey, guys.
• 19:37
  Mayor Johnson addresses the historical life expectancy gap in Chicago.
• 19:42
  Interviewee: It's homicides and it's drug overdose, right?
• 19:46
  We've reduced homicides this last year by 30 percent.
• 19:49
  We've reduced drug overdose by 34 percent, a total of 40 percent reduction since I've been in office.
• 19:55
  I'm confident as we continue to do the work that's necessary to invest in these communities, we can improve the quality of life for all of Chicagoans.
• 20:03
  speakers: But you're someone who's lived here for your whole life.
• 20:06
  You live on the west side now and you're in public service.
• 20:09
  What is the explanation for residents who have known about this, as you just heard, for 30 years or more?
• 20:14
  Interviewer: You come along, you've got a plan.
• 20:16
  How come no one else fixed it already?
• 20:18
  Well, part of the problem is we've had leadership that has focused on neighborhoods like the Loop.
• 20:23
  And we've seen that at every level, whether it's local, state, the federal level.
• 20:27
  And unfortunately, not enough attention in neighborhoods like West Garfield Park or Austin, where I live on the west side of Chicago, or on the
• 20:35
  south side in neighborhoods like Inglewood.
• 20:37
  But we have transformed essentially how we are approaching leadership in this moment by focusing our attention in the neighborhoods
• 20:44
  that need these critical investments, whether it's youth employment, you know, of course, or whether it's education, whether it's health care, particularly mental health care.
• 20:52
  That's what my focus has been.
• 20:54
  And unfortunately, for a very long time, every level of government has focused on neighborhoods that, quite frankly, do not need the type of investments
• 21:02
  that West Garfield Park and neighborhoods like that across the country deserve.
• 21:05
  What I learned from the doctor today there is that the quality of life that people are living in West Garfield Park historically contributes to the
• 21:12
  lower life expectancy.
• 21:14
  It's a harder life, more disease, and people die sooner.
• 21:18
  The lack of resources is a big part of that.
• 21:20
  Well, what comes first?
• 21:21
  You have to clear out the drugs and the crime, and then the investment comes?
• 21:24
  Or does the investment come and that clear?
• 21:26
  You know what I mean?
• 21:27
  Look, that's a great question.
• 21:28
  Look, it's a combination of both, right?
• 21:30
  Look, the neighborhoods that deserve investment in education and health care and housing, we have to do that now.
• 21:38
  But of course, we have to address, you know, these, you know, decades -old challenges that have been ignored for a very long time.
• 21:44
  And so that's why we have done, you know, what the strategic partnership around policing and affordable housing, policing and
• 21:52
  youth employment, policing and mental health care services.
• 21:55
  By taking that full force of government approach, it allows for us to address the critical issue, the immediate need, while setting us up for long -term
• 22:03
  viability.
• 22:04
  What's interesting is everyone I talked to today said, do you think we're finally at last at the beginning of the end of this problem?
• 22:10
  And people were not sure.
• 22:12
  The answer was yes.
• 22:12
  What's your answer?
• 22:13
  Well, look, I mean, I believe we're obviously heading in the right direction.
• 22:17
  I mean, we have a little more work to do.
• 22:19
  You know, it'd be great if we had partners at the federal level.
• 22:22
  We know the Trump administration just cut $2 billion away from mental health care services.
• 22:27
  That's problematic.
• 22:28
  We're investing in mental health.
• 22:30
  So I believe that we are, you know, at the beginning of a transformation.
• 22:34
  And I'm confident if we continue to come together, we'll see the type of life expectancy for all of Chicagoans that we can be proud of.
• 22:41
  Mayor, thank you very much.
• 22:43
  We are back now live from Pittsburgh with the two U .S.
• 22:46
  senators from Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, a Democrat, and Dave McCormick, a Republican.
• 22:51
  Pennsylvania is one of only three states now with a split delegation.
• 22:55
  The other ones are Maine and Wisconsin.
• 22:56
  Gentlemen, thank you very much for being here.
• 22:58
  I appreciate it.
• 22:59
  There used to be nine states that had a split delegation going to Washington.
• 23:03
  What changed?
• 23:04
  And Senator, I'll start with you.
• 23:05
  How do we stop this polarization?
• 23:11
  speakers: So he says you're setting an example, Senator.
• 23:14
  Yeah.
• 23:14
  And he is, too.
• 23:15
  He is, too.
• 23:16
  I mean, early on, you know, the first time we actually met was at the fifth anniversary of the Tree of Life massacre.
• 23:22
  And we already agreed we're never going to be personal.
• 23:25
  It's not going to get vicious or anything.
• 23:27
  And then after he was elected, you know, we're like, we're going to just find for wins for Pennsylvania.
• 23:33
  And we can agree to disagree on other issues like that.
• 23:36
  All right.
• 23:36
  It's a mystery, then, why other senators aren't able to do this.
• 23:39
  Let's talk about Greenland while we have you both there.
• 23:40
  You agree that it is a strategically important potential asset for the U .S.
• 23:46
  Denmark, though, says it's not for sale.
• 23:48
  Senator Fetterman, I'll go to you on this.
• 23:50
  Do you think military force is really an option from the Trump administration?
• 23:54
  No, no.
• 23:55
  I mean, I know.
• 23:57
  I think that's wrong.
• 23:58
  And no one, no, that's not an option.
• 24:01
  And, you know, for me, though, it's also undeniable that, one, this is not a brand new conversation.
• 24:06
  Truman and other in the past offered to buy it there.
• 24:10
  And now I also remind people it's actually closer to us geographically, North America, to Denmark and Europe,
• 24:18
  to technically that too.
• 24:20
  So it's not an absurd, absurd idea.
• 24:22
  Not at all.
• 24:23
  But obviously not showing up, you know, with the military and take over.
• 24:27
  It's the size in terms of the population of Harrisburg.
• 24:30
  I mean, you're not going to invade, you know.
• 24:37
  Interviewer: Well, we're trying to set a good example because we have lots of disagreements, but we trust each other.
• 24:42
  We like one another.
• 24:43
  And we look for ways to work together for the people of Pennsylvania.
• 24:46
  And we've developed a great relationship.
• 24:48
  And it's been really successful with things like Nippon and U .S.
• 24:52
  Steel.
• 24:52
  These are things we've worked on together.
• 25:00
  Interviewee: Senator, where are you on the question of Greenland?
• 25:02
  Because it is of strategic importance for defense purposes and others.
• 25:06
  How do we get it?
• 25:07
  Do we even need it?
• 25:08
  You know, I was just a couple of months ago met with the prime minister of Denmark, and they are welcoming the United States playing a more
• 25:16
  active role.
• 25:17
  There's an open door, I think, for diplomatic negotiations, for commercial negotiations.
• 25:21
  I agree with the senator that we don't, we don't, we shouldn't use military force.
• 25:26
  But I think we need to have a strategic foothold.
• 25:28
  And I think there's a path to it.
• 25:29
  And I think the Trump administration will get there.
• 25:30
  Let's talk about health care.
• 25:32
  Many Pennsylvanians saw their health care premiums go up because we don't have these subsidies for the Affordable Care Act anymore.
• 25:38
  You said Republicans have to fix this.
• 25:41
  Has there been progress?
• 25:42
  Where are we?
• 25:43
  Well, I think Republicans and Democrats need to work together.
• 25:46
  speakers: increase the subsidies or extend the subsidies for a couple of years.
• 25:50
  But we need to reform them.
• 25:52
  Right now, people that make five or six hundred thousand dollars a year can get the subsidies.
• 25:55
  And there's a lot of fraud.
• 25:56
  So reform it, shorten it.
• 25:58
  But we need to help people that are on the edge, working families get get some help.
• 26:01
  Senator Fetterman, is there a compromise Democrats can make to get the subsidies back?
• 26:06
  Absolutely.
• 26:06
  I mean, I think it's appropriate, but I would like to remind people to, you know, the Democrats, when we passed that, when we were in the
• 26:14
  majority for it to expire.
• 26:16
  So now, so it's I think it's appropriate to negotiate.
• 26:19
  We have to negotiate and find a way forward.
• 26:21
  It's not going to be exactly what we want and it's not what they want.
• 26:25
  But I think that's why we have to find a way forward.
• 26:27
  I've always, always remained committed to do that.
• 26:30
  We were here at a steel mill.
• 26:32
  U .S.
• 26:32
  Steel is has recently been acquired by Nippon, the Japanese company.
• 26:36
  But China really dominates when it comes to the steel industry.
• 26:39
  Senator, how can the U .S.
• 26:41
  compete with China in steel?
• 26:44
  Well, I think I think we're doing it.
• 26:45
  I mean, I think what's happening here is an example of bringing advanced manufacturing back to Pennsylvania, back to America.
• 26:52
  The Monongahela Valley has been at the core.
• 26:54
  The arsenal of democracy right here with Japan's state -of -the -art technology are incredible steel workers.
• 27:00
  This is the steel city.
• 27:01
  This is this is the beginning of a renaissance in steel.
• 27:04
  And this behind us is the beginning of a lot of appliances.
• 27:07
  So you can pick out your new refrigerator during the commercial break.
• 27:10
  Senator McCormick, Senator Fetterman, we're going to talk more and put the conversation online for now.
• 27:15
  Thank you very much.
• 27:16
  I really appreciate it.
• 27:16
  Thank you.
• 27:18
  All right.
• 27:19
  Senator McCormick, you ran a very large investment firm before you became a senator and you're on the banking committee.
• 27:25
  So I've got to ask you about this Jerome Powell situation.
• 27:28
  He's under a criminal investigation for testimony he gave to that committee.
• 27:32
  The president told me and told everybody that in his opinion, Powell is either corrupt or incompetent.
• 27:38
  Do you agree with that framing?
• 27:40
  You know, I've said publicly four things.
• 27:43
  Number one, the Fed has to be independent.
• 27:46
  It's absolutely critical for our financial system.
• 27:48
  Number two, I do think Chairman Powell missed the boat on interest rates.
• 27:53
  He should have lowered he should have raised them faster, loaded sooner.
• 27:56
  Three, if there's some sort of overspending on the Federal Reserve project, that should come through the Congress, through the banking committee.
• 28:04
  We should hold him accountable.
• 28:05
  And then finally, no, I don't think he's involved in any criminal activity.
• 28:08
  Do you think it's appropriate for the president to criticize the head of the Fed so publicly?
• 28:14
  You know, the presidents have criticized the head of the Fed.
• 28:17
  This is not a new, jawboning is something that's happened throughout many presidencies.
• 28:23
  And the key here is that the Fed has a mandate and needs to exercise it.
• 28:27
  All right.
• 28:27
  Senator Fetterman, let's talk about social media.
• 28:29
  You've been very outspoken about the negative impact of social media in your own life.
• 28:34
  Also, there's an impact on kids.
• 28:36
  Do you think Congress has done enough to control it or regulate it?
• 28:40
  Absolutely.
• 28:41
  I mean, look what happened in Australia.
• 28:43
  I mean, it's like this is the thing.
• 28:45
  Like, so for me, it's like if if there's a friend that's spending four or five hours a day with your kid, you really want to know who that friend
• 28:53
  is.
• 28:53
  Yeah.
• 28:53
  That is social media right now.
• 28:55
  And it could be incredibly poisonous.
• 28:57
  Just when we were talking before we came in here, we were discussing how how ugly and awful it is.
• 29:03
  I stay out of it.
• 29:05
  And I'm like, why do you even roll around in that stuff?
• 29:08
  I got a question for him on that.
• 29:10
  But hold on.
• 29:11
  But do you think Congress is doing enough to regulate social media?
• 29:14
  No.
• 29:15
  Well, again, I mean, why we have to work together.
• 29:17
  My my dear friend, Katie Britt from Alabama, we have a bill.
• 29:21
  Stop the scrolling.
• 29:22
  And we have to find and we have to acknowledge that it's entirely appropriate to have appropriate kinds of protections for our children,
• 29:30
  because it has had a negative impact with my own kids.
• 29:34
  And Katie, she has kids to same same.
• 29:37
  And now for millions and millions of kids, what Australia has done, I think entirely appropriate, or if not a full, but certainly going towards and
• 29:45
  making it more safe and secure.
• 29:47
  Yeah.
• 29:48
  Senator McCormick, your wife is also in a very public position.
• 29:51
  She's recently been named the president of Meta.
• 29:54
  Pretty big job.
• 29:55
  But you personally have been public about wanting to restrict social media access for kids to 13 and above.
• 30:02
  Does that make dinner conversation complicated in your house?
• 30:05
  First, I'm very proud of her.
• 30:06
  Such an amazing career.
• 30:08
  And to get this appointment, it's a big deal.
• 30:10
  But I agree with the senator.
• 30:11
  I think we need to do more in the Congress to do this.
• 30:14
  So I'm the co -sponsor of four bills.
• 30:16
  Eliminate social media for kids under 14.
• 30:19
  Make the data available to researchers.
• 30:21
  Ban phones in schools that are funded by the federal government.
• 30:24
  So there's a number of things we need to do to constantly focus on and reduce the negative impact of social media.
• 30:31
  One of the big issues, and there's a new one it seems like every week on social media is on X, the AI bot, Brock,
• 30:38
  can generate sexually explicit images of people, including minors, very quickly.
• 30:45
  Does Congress need to step in to regulate that?
• 30:49
  What's the solution there?
• 30:50
  Or is it just some sort of a free speech thing?
• 30:53
  Well, my view is when it comes to kids, the Congress needs to be very interventionist and protect our children.
• 30:59
  People that are adults have more flexibility.
• 31:01
  And the apps are moving so quickly.
• 31:03
  So when they discover something is amiss, they fix it very quickly.
• 31:07
  But I do think the Congress needs to play a much stronger role.
• 31:11
  Senator Fetterman, I started in print journalism, and I was very sad to read that the Pittsburgh Post Gazette is going to be going out of business.
• 31:19
  That makes Pittsburgh the only, for now anyway, major American city without a daily paper.
• 31:26
  What do you think that means for everyday democracy and for the system?
• 31:30
  Well, I mean, it's terrible and sad.
• 31:32
  I mean, it's been around for a hundred some years.
• 31:34
  I mean, and now this might be the second city that's without a major daily.
• 31:39
  So one thing that might work out, I think that Pittsburgh, you know, has a lot of foundations, you know, and they're very, very
• 31:47
  supportive.
• 31:48
  And maybe they could recreate it as maybe a non -profit kind of a thing and just find a way forward.
• 31:54
  Because I think we could all agree, we deserve and need to have a daily, certainly of that.
• 31:59
  So it's really tragic where it's at.
• 32:01
  What happens in the absence of a daily newspaper?
• 32:05
  Yeah, well, it's saying, I mean, because it all comes through the phone.
• 32:09
  I mean, no one really gets like a traditional kind of paper, but that kind of local coverage is really necessary.
• 32:15
  And it wasn't that long ago they won a Pulitzer, you know, for the Tree of Life thing.
• 32:20
  That's the thing that really matters.
• 32:22
  And now that's why I think with all the foundations locally here, they needed to find a way to create it as something in more of a non -profit
• 32:30
  kind of a thing.
• 32:31
  One of the crazy new frontiers in journalism is AI generated journalism, AI generated everything.
• 32:36
  Every industry is being changed.
• 32:41
  Bipartisanship is essential for effective governance in Pennsylvania, as emphasized by Senators Fetterman and McCormick.
• 32:51
  And later that night, his house was attacked for arson.
• 32:55
  And so this is on both sides, this is unacceptable.
• 32:59
  And I don't think we're making enough progress in de -escalating the language and pushing back on the violence.
• 33:08
  And that's a problem.
• 33:09
  So, Senator, you as a Democrat, and this is true for you as well, we'll get messages from voters who see this conversation, this
• 33:17
  civil back and forth, and they're upset.
• 33:19
  They want more fight.
• 33:20
  They want more resistance from you.
• 33:22
  Oh, yeah.
• 33:25
  People want us to, like, take up a folding chair, you know, like that kind of a thing.
• 33:29
  And it's just like, I refuse to do that.
• 33:31
  Because, I mean, it's a fact.
• 33:33
  We're friends, and we get along.
• 33:34
  And we always, you know, we look for opportunities for wins for Pennsylvania or our nation for that.
• 33:41
  I don't think I've ever heard, he doesn't say extreme things, neither do I.
• 33:45
  We don't attack people, don't call people names.
• 33:47
  I reject that in the strongest way.
• 33:49
  And now, you know, we're responsible for our own voices, and we try to be the kind of example.
• 33:55
  And if some people's angry that I don't hate him or, you know, hate me, then it's like, that's, they're entitled to that.
• 34:02
  But, you know, we have to find a better way forward.
• 34:05
  It's deeply, deeply polarized.
• 34:07
  And people can get so personal about that, because we need each other.
• 34:12
  We're all Americans.
• 34:13
  And we have to find a better way to disagree.
• 34:16
  Senator, do you have any closing thoughts?
• 34:17
  I would agree with this.
• 34:18
  There are people that criticize both of us.
• 34:21
  But I get a lot of people coming up to me and saying, I thank you for that.
• 34:27
  Thank you for the example.
• 34:29
  So while there are people that would want to see more, the chairs over the head, I think there's a big number of our population,
• 34:37
  maybe the silent majority, that wish to see people finding ways to work together.
• 34:42
  And also, when they disagree, we disagree a lot.
• 34:45
  They do it in a respectful, civil way.
• 34:48
  I've heard it said that the biggest divide in American life is not between the left and the right, it's between people who look at politics as war and people who
• 34:56
  just live their life and see politics as an expression of their wishes.
• 35:00
  That's the 80 % of the country in the middle is those normal folks who might be a little left of center, a little right of center, but they're really just looking for solutions.
• 35:08
  Gentlemen, thank you for talking about some solutions tonight.
• 35:10
  I really appreciate it.
• 35:11
  Thank you.
• 35:11
  Thank you for your mission here now to try to just fax and just play it down, play it down.
• 35:18
  Yeah, yeah.
• 35:19
  So I agree.
• 35:20
  Yeah.
• 35:20
  Thank you.
• 35:20
  I appreciate you guys.
• 35:21
  Thank you.