Latest / Balance of Power / Trump Says US Won’t Attack Iran Before Midterm Elections
Transcript
- 0:02Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios.
- 0:04Speaker 2: Podcasts.
- 0:05Speaker 3: Radio. News.
- 0:09Speaker 4: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch
- 0:12Speaker 4: us live weekdays at noon and 5 p.m. Eastern on
- 0:15Speaker 4: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app.
- 0:19Speaker 4: Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch
- 0:22Speaker 4: us live on YouTube.
- 0:25Speaker 5: Oil on the climb higher today, even as President Trump
- 0:28Speaker 5: suggests that there will not be fresh strikes against Iran
- 0:31Speaker 5: before the midterm elections on November 3rd. He has repeatedly
- 0:35Speaker 5: said that the war won't come to an inclusion until
- 0:37Speaker 5: after the midterms are over and has repeatedly said that
- 0:41Speaker 5: when that time comes, whenever it is, he does expect
- 0:44Speaker 5: oil prices will move lower. He reiterated the same just yesterday,
- 0:48Speaker 5: speaking to reporters.
- 0:50Speaker 6: Oil will drop like a rock as soon as we're
- 0:52Speaker 6: finished with the war, which will be very soon.
- 0:54Speaker 3: It's going to be very soon.
- 0:55Speaker 1: One way or the other, we'll be finished with it.
- 0:57Speaker 7: But oil will come down to levels that were, I think,
- 1:00Speaker 7: maybe even lower than they were before the war started.
- 1:05Speaker 1: Not, though, like Kayleigh mentioned, dropping like a rock today.
- 1:08Speaker 1: We've got Brent. and WTI each up over 3% right now.
- 1:12Speaker 1: Brent 103, WTI 90, and well, 91 actually. They're off
- 1:17Speaker 1: their highs of the day after President Trump took to
- 1:20Speaker 1: Truth Social to clap back at reports suggesting that there
- 1:24Speaker 1: could be strikes, conclusive strikes against Iran before the midterms,
- 1:29Speaker 1: having reportedly called for new options and new targets. The president,
- 1:33Speaker 1: on Truth Social, writing, we are having productive discussions with
- 1:36Speaker 1: the Islamic Republic of Iran. I want to make it
- 1:39Speaker 1: clear to everybody, he says, while Iran is in very
- 1:41Speaker 1: bad condition, both economically and militarily, and while the blockade
- 1:45Speaker 1: will remain in full force and effect with oil flowing
- 1:48Speaker 1: in record numbers, he goes on to write, we will
- 1:50Speaker 1: not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the
- 1:54Speaker 1: midterm elections to be held in the United States on
- 1:57Speaker 1: November 3rd. Let's go straight to the White House for more.
- 1:59Speaker 1: Bloomberg Washington correspondent Tyler Kendall is on the North Lawn
- 2:03Speaker 1: right now. Tyler, why did he feel a need to
- 2:05Speaker 1: say this out loud?
- 2:07Speaker 8: Perhaps, Joe, because we saw these moves in the oil
- 2:10Speaker 8: market and there was this reporting, as you mentioned, from
- 2:13Speaker 8: the Atlantic overnight, which seemed to put on the table
- 2:17Speaker 8: that President Trump could be looking at an array of
- 2:20Speaker 8: options to escalate the conflict ahead of the midterm elections.
- 2:24Speaker 8: And what was interesting about the reporting was that it
- 2:26Speaker 8: seemed to suggest that proponents of strike's Whether or not
- 2:29Speaker 8: they could be limited ahead of Election Day and then
- 2:31Speaker 8: a wider scale operation after Election Day seemed to think
- 2:34Speaker 8: that it could give President Trump a political win in
- 2:37Speaker 8: a sense. as diplomacy does remain stalled. But we know
- 2:41Speaker 8: that the conflict is repeatedly weighing on American voters as
- 2:45Speaker 8: they gear up to go to the polls in November.
- 2:47Speaker 8: In fact, there was a new poll out just the
- 2:50Speaker 8: other day from NBC, which found that 57 percent of
- 2:53Speaker 8: voters say they are less likely to support a candidate
- 2:56Speaker 8: who supports the war. The issue, though, at the moment, Joe,
- 2:59Speaker 8: is that it does appear that we are poised toward
- 3:01Speaker 8: some sort of escalation as we continue to see strikes
- 3:05Speaker 8: on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. That has ticked
- 3:07Speaker 8: up in recent weeks, as well as the conflict between
- 3:10Speaker 8: Saudi Arabia and the Houthis escalate as well. The Houthi
- 3:13Speaker 8: militant group, which is backed by Iran, hit two airports
- 3:16Speaker 8: in Saudi Arabia overnight. And really, the crux of this
- 3:19Speaker 8: is that we have been seeing more oil flow through
- 3:22Speaker 8: the Strait of Hormuz, in large part due to the U.S.
- 3:25Speaker 8: naval protection that is being given to these ships, but
- 3:28Speaker 8: also the so-called shuttling services. But, Joe and Kayleigh, I'd
- 3:31Speaker 8: add it seems like regional allies are preparing for that
- 3:34Speaker 8: to be in place for the long haul. We had
- 3:36Speaker 8: reporting earlier today that Saudi Arabia is looking to formalize
- 3:39Speaker 8: its so-called shuttle system.
- 3:43Speaker 5: Well, we'll wait to see if we get more, Tyler,
- 3:46Speaker 5: from the president when he speaks in just a bit
- 3:49Speaker 5: later this hour at the Institute of Peace for the
- 3:53Speaker 5: new Golden Age Summit that he's holding today. It'll be
- 3:55Speaker 5: remarkable to see the likes of Satya Nadella getting a
- 3:58Speaker 5: Medal of Science from the president after the action taken
- 4:02Speaker 5: against Microsoft and a number of other companies when it
- 4:05Speaker 5: comes to visas by the administration today. Tell us what
- 4:08Speaker 5: exactly is going on.
- 4:10Speaker 8: Yeah, the timing here is interesting for multiple reasons, but
- 4:12Speaker 8: it does renew focus on the administration's immigration policies as
- 4:16Speaker 8: we now get closer to the midterm elections. The program
- 4:21Speaker 8: in question here is called the Permanent Labor Certification Program,
- 4:24Speaker 8: which allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for permanent employment.
- 4:29Speaker 8: And the administration is alleging that some of these top
- 4:31Speaker 8: tech companies like Microsoft, are abusing the system, essentially that
- 4:35Speaker 8: under the program, these companies have to advertise open positions
- 4:39Speaker 8: to U.S.
- 4:39Speaker 3: Workers first.
- 4:40Speaker 8: If they are unable to attract American workers in, then
- 4:43Speaker 8: they can go to the Department of Labor to apply
- 4:45Speaker 8: for visas for foreign workers. And the administration says that
- 4:48Speaker 8: these companies aren't doing enough to attract in those American
- 4:52Speaker 8: workers before they go to apply for these visas for
- 4:55Speaker 8: foreign workers.
- 4:56Speaker 3: Workers.
- 4:57Speaker 8: We should say that Bloomberg News did reach out to
- 4:58Speaker 8: the companies, and they have not gotten comment at this moment. And, essentially,
- 5:03Speaker 8: the White House says that this is going to be
- 5:05Speaker 8: an indefinite ban for these companies from these programs until
- 5:08Speaker 8: their allegations are addressed. So we will have to see
- 5:13Speaker 8: where it goes from here. But it definitely underscores some
- 5:16Speaker 8: of the recent moves from the Trump administration, President Trump
- 5:19Speaker 8: moving earlier this year to restrict Many of these tech
- 5:21Speaker 8: companies make it harder for H-1B visas, considered to be
- 5:25Speaker 8: a crucial pipeline for tech talent. But to your point, Kayleigh,
- 5:29Speaker 8: it comes as the administration really engages with a lot
- 5:31Speaker 8: of these tech companies. Microsoft today with this medal ceremony
- 5:35Speaker 8: that's happening, but also just last week, President Trump hosted
- 5:38Speaker 8: an array of these tech leaders here at the White
- 5:40Speaker 8: House as we look for the future of AI.
- 5:44Speaker 1: Indeed.
- 5:44Speaker 5: All right, Tyler Kendall, live at the White House for us.
- 5:47Speaker 5: Thank you so much. And as we return to the
- 5:49Speaker 5: news from the president this afternoon that the U.S. will
- 5:52Speaker 5: not be striking Iran before the midterm elections on November 3rd,
- 5:55Speaker 5: we bring in now Jen Gavito from the Cohen Group,
- 5:58Speaker 5: where she's a senior advisor. She's also former acting principal
- 6:01Speaker 5: deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs under
- 6:04Speaker 5: President Biden and has served in a variety of different
- 6:07Speaker 5: diplomatic roles under multiple presidents. Jen, it's always good to
- 6:11Speaker 5: have you here on Bloomberg. If the president just publicly
- 6:15Speaker 5: proclaimed that the U.S. will not be striking Iran this
- 6:18Speaker 5: for at least the next four weeks or so, did
- 6:21Speaker 5: he just give Iran permission to do some things in
- 6:26Speaker 5: the next month without risk of retaliation?
- 6:29Speaker 9: So first, thanks for having me. It's always great to
- 6:32Speaker 9: be here. It's a bit unusual for a president to
- 6:35Speaker 9: either signal that he will or will not attack over
- 6:38Speaker 9: the course of a period of weeks. And so I
- 6:40Speaker 9: would take all of those reports to some degree with
- 6:43Speaker 9: a grain of salt. That being said, certainly Iran continues
- 6:47Speaker 9: to ratchet up the attacks on oil tankers in the
- 6:51Speaker 9: Strait of Hormuz. that continues to disrupt traffic, which has,
- 6:57Speaker 9: as you noted, largely resumed something approximating normal levels, but
- 7:03Speaker 9: at significant cost. And so, yes, I think that Iran
- 7:07Speaker 9: will and has been continuing to use these periods of
- 7:10Speaker 9: calm to rebuild their capabilities. That being said, I do
- 7:16Speaker 9: think the big outstanding question for the president, whether before
- 7:20Speaker 9: or after the midterms, is, what does renewed military conflict
- 7:24Speaker 9: achieve that diplomacy couldn't better achieve in the long term?
- 7:31Speaker 1: The president has said repeatedly that Iran, Jen, is trying
- 7:35Speaker 1: to leverage the United States because of the electoral process
- 7:41Speaker 1: that's underway. And that's why he has said he's not
- 7:43Speaker 1: concerned about the midterm elections. He's focused on this war,
- 7:47Speaker 1: trying to compartmentalize the two Wouldn't there be an opportunity here?
- 7:51Speaker 1: And what would the U.S. do now that the president
- 7:54Speaker 1: has said no more attacks until after the midterms? An
- 7:59Speaker 1: opportunity to strike U.S. targets in late October, the first
- 8:03Speaker 1: couple of days of November to coincide with the midterm elections.
- 8:06Speaker 1: That wouldn't be a surprise, would it? No, not at all.
- 8:10Speaker 1: That's a really good point.
- 8:11Speaker 9: And in fact, you know, we have repeatedly seen throughout
- 8:13Speaker 9: this conflict that Iran has a pretty nuanced understanding of
- 8:19Speaker 9: the United States and certainly of our election cycle. And
- 8:22Speaker 9: so I would not be at all surprised to see
- 8:25Speaker 9: Iran trying to use this period before the election to
- 8:29Speaker 9: try to improve its negotiating leverage with the expectation that
- 8:33Speaker 9: any sort of deal would have to come afterwards.
- 8:38Speaker 5: Well, Jen, what about the other component to the president's post,
- 8:41Speaker 5: which is the suggestion that the U.S. and Iran are
- 8:43Speaker 5: talking and are making progress? Have you heard anything that
- 8:46Speaker 5: suggests that that may be true, that there are forward
- 8:49Speaker 5: steps being taken?
- 8:51Speaker 9: So we know that the lines of communication have been
- 8:54Speaker 9: open pretty much throughout this conflict. And we certainly saw
- 8:57Speaker 9: that on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly two
- 8:59Speaker 9: weeks ago. So, yes, I do think that from what
- 9:03Speaker 9: I understand, there continue to be indirect discussions taking place.
- 9:08Speaker 9: And I think all of that has to be taken
- 9:09Speaker 9: in the context of at the end of the day,
- 9:11Speaker 9: as we've been saying for seven, eight months now, there
- 9:15Speaker 9: really is no military resolution to this long, decades-long conflict.
- 9:20Speaker 9: That really has to come from diplomacy. And so things
- 9:24Speaker 9: like military escalation or sanctions or economic pressure are are
- 9:28Speaker 9: intended to set the stage ultimately for a better negotiated outcome.
- 9:33Speaker 9: And so I'm glad to see the president acknowledging that.
- 9:36Speaker 9: And that does seem to reinforce this idea that even
- 9:39Speaker 9: if the U.S. determines that additional military strikes are necessary
- 9:43Speaker 9: at some point, that can't be the strategy or the
- 9:46Speaker 9: end game in and of itself.
- 9:49Speaker 1: Just looking back at the posts here, Jen, as we
- 9:51Speaker 1: read this together, the president wrote, We will not be
- 9:55Speaker 1: attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections.
- 9:59Speaker 1: Does that include Israel? Well, that's a great question, Joe.
- 10:03Speaker 9: We saw the reporting over the last couple of days
- 10:06Speaker 9: that renewed strikes may include Israel. I suspect that there
- 10:12Speaker 9: continues to be close collaboration between the United States and
- 10:16Speaker 9: Israel over this you know, there has been a lot
- 10:19Speaker 9: of speculation that renewed strikes would focus specifically on Pigax
- 10:24Speaker 9: Mountain and the nuclear facilities there. We know that the
- 10:27Speaker 9: nuclear program is Israel's biggest concern when it comes to Iran.
- 10:32Speaker 9: And so not in a position to speak for the
- 10:36Speaker 9: Israeli government on this, but that is a relevant point
- 10:41Speaker 9: that you make.
- 10:42Speaker 1: There is reporting in Axios, Kayleigh, that President Trump spoke
- 10:46Speaker 1: with not only Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, but it was their
- 10:49Speaker 1: second call in days after barely speaking for weeks. And
- 10:52Speaker 1: it took place after Netanyahu held a meeting with his
- 10:54Speaker 1: national security team about Iran, according to an Israeli official.
- 10:59Speaker 1: Not to try to connect the dots here, but you wonder, Jen,
- 11:03Speaker 1: if there's something at work, would it behoove the United
- 11:07Speaker 1: States to step back and let Israel take the lead?
- 11:12Speaker 10: I think that.
- 11:12Speaker 9: Israel's capabilities are, and this is why the United States
- 11:17Speaker 9: got involved last year during the 12-day war, and why
- 11:20Speaker 9: this was a joint operation in.
- 11:23Speaker 1: February as well.
- 11:25Speaker 9: Israel does have limitations on its capabilities, and we know
- 11:28Speaker 9: that the Iranian regime will hold the U.S. culpable for
- 11:32Speaker 9: any Israeli strike that takes place. And so I don't
- 11:36Speaker 9: think it's an ideal outcome for Israel to act on
- 11:39Speaker 9: its own. I think the U.S. would bear the consequences
- 11:42Speaker 9: of that decision regardless of whether they're actively involved in
- 11:46Speaker 9: the operation or not. And you note the calls with
- 11:49Speaker 9: Netanyahu and the meeting of his national security team. I
- 11:53Speaker 9: would also note the reports that President Trump has met
- 11:56Speaker 9: over recent days with his national security team about this issue.
- 12:00Speaker 9: And so there does seem to be a lot of
- 12:02Speaker 9: activity in the background. Hard to say whether his announcement
- 12:06Speaker 9: today is the conclusion of that deliberative process or something else.
- 12:13Speaker 5: Well, that's how the U.S. is working with one ally
- 12:16Speaker 5: and strikes against Iran. The U.S., though, decidedly is not
- 12:19Speaker 5: participating in Saudi Arabia's current effort along with the coalition
- 12:24Speaker 5: in Yemen to combat the threat from the Houthis as
- 12:26Speaker 5: the Houthis continually are striking not just there, but in
- 12:30Speaker 5: Saudi Arabia, including firing missiles at the international airport in Riyadh,
- 12:34Speaker 5: killing some people. Jen, how are you watching this? And
- 12:38Speaker 5: do you expect that at some point the U.S. may
- 12:41Speaker 5: need to get more directly involved to truly eliminate the
- 12:44Speaker 5: threat the Houthis currently pose?
- 12:47Speaker 9: So this is a really difficult needle for the president
- 12:51Speaker 9: to thread. Saudi Arabia is a close ally. They have
- 12:54Speaker 9: been obviously an integral part of the kind of overarching
- 13:01Speaker 9: activity against Iran and are absolutely central to the president's
- 13:08Speaker 9: economic agenda for his second term. At the same time,
- 13:12Speaker 9: with reports that U.S. stockpiles are depleted and with a
- 13:16Speaker 9: conflict that continues to go on with no end in sight,
- 13:21Speaker 9: I think the president rightly is concerned about opening up
- 13:24Speaker 9: a second front. And so you're left with a less
- 13:27Speaker 9: than ideal situation where this continues to expand. The strikes
- 13:31Speaker 9: today on the airports are horrific and really demonstrate the
- 13:37Speaker 9: success of Houthi targeting capabilities. And yet the idea, I think,
- 13:42Speaker 9: for the president, particularly with a war that is already
- 13:45Speaker 9: so unpopular of essentially opening up a second front, That
- 13:50Speaker 9: is extremely problematic, I think, for him going into this election.
- 13:55Speaker 9: So I think that he will continue to try to
- 13:58Speaker 9: stay out of this conflict, but obviously the intensity of
- 14:02Speaker 9: it is continuing to escalate.
- 14:05Speaker 1: Jen, I'm just curious how long we can maintain this
- 14:07Speaker 1: posture in the Strait. President writes 22 million barrels last
- 14:10Speaker 1: night alone, with not one barrel coming from or going
- 14:14Speaker 1: to Iran. We're escorting ships, and apparently it's been quite
- 14:17Speaker 1: successful based on the analysis from any number of research firms.
- 14:21Speaker 1: We're pretty close to, if not back to, pre-war levels.
- 14:25Speaker 1: How long can we do this, and at what cost?
- 14:28Speaker 9: Well, I think that's the right answer. I mean, people
- 14:30Speaker 9: have been very focused on the volume of oil getting through.
- 14:33Speaker 9: And first of all, I think it's important to point
- 14:35Speaker 9: out that that's crude getting through. Refined products, derivatives, those
- 14:39Speaker 9: are not recovered as far as being able to get
- 14:43Speaker 9: those out of the straits. So we're talking about just.
- 14:46Speaker 2: crude oil.
- 14:47Speaker 9: And it has largely recovered. But to your point, insurance
- 14:50Speaker 9: costs remain extraordinarily high. One Middle Eastern leader told me
- 14:55Speaker 9: last week that although prices are over $ 100 per barrel,
- 15:00Speaker 9: his country is only getting about $ 61, $ 62 a barrel
- 15:04Speaker 9: from that because of the elevated cost of that transit.
- 15:08Speaker 9: And so this is not back to normal, and this
- 15:10Speaker 9: is not economically sustainable.
- 15:13Speaker 1: Jen, it's great to have you, as always. Jen Gavito
- 15:16Speaker 1: worked under Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden, and now with
- 15:19Speaker 1: us here on Balance of Power. Stay with us on
- 15:21Speaker 1: Balance of Power. We'll have much more coming up after this.
- 15:27Speaker 4: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch
- 15:31Speaker 4: us live weekdays at noon and 5 p.m. Eastern on
- 15:34Speaker 4: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app.
- 15:37Speaker 4: You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our
- 15:40Speaker 4: flagship New York station. Just say Alexa, play Bloomberg 1130.
- 15:46Speaker 5: We're always tracking President Trump's missives on True Social. But
- 15:49Speaker 5: there was a big one today that is helping influence markets,
- 15:52Speaker 5: which is the president posted that the U.S. will not,
- 15:55Speaker 5: in fact, be striking Iran before the midterm elections on
- 15:57Speaker 5: November 3rd, despite some reports in the last 24 hours
- 16:00Speaker 5: that suggested it was at least an option. that was
- 16:03Speaker 5: on the table. And even if there aren't fresh strikes
- 16:06Speaker 5: ahead of the midterms, it doesn't mean that Iran is
- 16:08Speaker 5: not a focal point of these midterms or becoming a
- 16:12Speaker 5: center of conflict between Republicans and Democrats. And that is
- 16:15Speaker 5: being showcased on the debate stages. There's a number of
- 16:17Speaker 5: debates in key Senate races happening this week, more tonight,
- 16:20Speaker 5: including in Michigan, but one last night in Iowa between
- 16:24Speaker 5: the Democratic nominee, Josh Turek, and the Republican nominee, Congresswoman
- 16:28Speaker 5: Ashley Hinson, who got in to the issue of the
- 16:30Speaker 5: war of Iran. Here's some clips from both of them.
- 16:34Speaker 7: I'm an example of the generational consequences to these forever
- 16:37Speaker 7: wars that we're finding ourselves into. And what have I
- 16:40Speaker 7: seen far too often in my lifetime? I've seen us
- 16:42Speaker 7: spend a trillion dollars in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and here
- 16:48Speaker 7: we are again in another forever war with no strategy.
- 16:52Speaker 4: I don't want this to be a forever war, so
- 16:54Speaker 4: I want to make sure we do everything we can.
- 16:55Speaker 1: I trust in our U.S.
- 16:57Speaker 3: Military, the greatest fighting force in the world, to bring
- 17:00Speaker 3: this to a close as quickly as possible, because I
- 17:02Speaker 3: know people are getting squeezed.
- 17:05Speaker 1: It's an interesting line to walk as a Republican right
- 17:08Speaker 1: now and fall short of Mike Rogers, for instance. And
- 17:11Speaker 1: we'll be seeing him on a debate stage tonight, Republican
- 17:14Speaker 1: in Michigan, who says that war needs to end now.
- 17:18Speaker 1: Remembering that it wasn't too long ago, just a week
- 17:21Speaker 1: or two, Ashley Hinson was in the Oval Office with
- 17:23Speaker 1: Donald Trump to talk about a steel plant that was
- 17:26Speaker 1: being opened in Iowa. It's going to be difficult for
- 17:28Speaker 1: her to distance herself now. from the president with optics
- 17:31Speaker 1: like that, but everyone is trying, it seems, in their
- 17:34Speaker 1: own way. Let's bring it to the panel and see
- 17:35Speaker 1: what they think. Bloomberg Politics contributor Rick Davis is with us,
- 17:39Speaker 1: our Republican strategist and partner at Stonecourt Capital, joined by
- 17:42Speaker 1: Democratic strategist Hannah Moldavin, vice president, political comms at the
- 17:47Speaker 1: Messina Group. It's great to have both of you with
- 17:49Speaker 1: us here. Hannah, is that enough? If you're a Democrat
- 17:52Speaker 1: getting on a debate stage with a Republican who says,
- 17:54Speaker 1: all right, these gas prices, we've got to end the
- 17:56Speaker 1: war now, what's your response?
- 17:58Speaker 10: I don't think it's enough. And I think Ashley Hinson
- 18:00Speaker 10: is finding herself in a really tough spot.
- 18:03Speaker 1: She's nervous.
- 18:04Speaker 10: She seemed nervous on the debate stage last night between
- 18:06Speaker 10: distancing herself with Donald Trump. Right now she's running ads
- 18:10Speaker 10: in rural red Iowa with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi,
- 18:14Speaker 10: two of the people you never thought she would want
- 18:16Speaker 10: to be connecting herself to. And she's more willing to
- 18:18Speaker 10: connect herself to them than Donald Trump because of partly
- 18:21Speaker 10: this war in Iran situation. the huge spike in diesel prices, fertilizer,
- 18:24Speaker 10: the implications for farmers in Iowa. So I think she's
- 18:27Speaker 10: trying to do what she can, but between that and
- 18:30Speaker 10: between some missteps I think she made on the debate
- 18:32Speaker 10: stage last night, she's having a tough go at it.
- 18:34Speaker 5: Well, and how much does she need to make sure
- 18:36Speaker 5: that the president's base is still with her, Rick, and
- 18:39Speaker 5: show up to the polls to cast a vote for her?
- 18:42Speaker 5: How far can she go towards stepping away from him
- 18:45Speaker 5: without alienating key voters?
- 18:48Speaker 1: Yeah, I think there's a lot.
- 18:49Speaker 2: Of people doing this construct that, you know, I've been
- 18:52Speaker 2: endorsed by Donald Trump. Donald Trump has campaigned with me.
- 18:55Speaker 2: I can rely on Donald Trump continuing to motivate his
- 18:58Speaker 2: voters to turn out. He's not going anywhere against me
- 19:03Speaker 2: between now and Election Day. He needs me as much
- 19:05Speaker 2: as I need him. And the focus really has to
- 19:07Speaker 2: be on those non-MAGA voters, the squishy Republicans that are
- 19:12Speaker 2: really wondering what's this all about. Why weren't we more
- 19:16Speaker 2: bipartisan throughout the course of the last term of office?
- 19:20Speaker 2: You know, you would have thought that Ashley Hinson was been,
- 19:23Speaker 2: you know, the greatest thing for the Democratic Party last night.
- 19:27Speaker 2: As you were saying, not just Chuck Schumer, but Joe
- 19:30Speaker 2: Biden wasn't a bad guy. So she needs.
- 19:33Speaker 8: To move to the middle.
- 19:34Speaker 2: She needs to get that independent support. And and if
- 19:38Speaker 2: Trump is smart, he'll give her room to do it.
- 19:41Speaker 1: Well, we should point out she's at odds with her delegation.
- 19:44Speaker 1: She's on an island on this issue. Zach Nunn, Marionette
- 19:47Speaker 1: Miller makes both Republicans. voted with Democrats when it came
- 19:52Speaker 1: to war powers. And so Josh Turek has the opportunity
- 19:54Speaker 1: to say you voted. with the president seven times on this.
- 19:58Speaker 1: How do you separate yourself?
- 19:59Speaker 3: Absolutely.
- 19:59Speaker 10: She's trying to explain in the debate tonight. She tried
- 20:02Speaker 10: to explain why voting for the War Powers Act wouldn't
- 20:05Speaker 10: actually be helpful. But when you're getting that into the
- 20:07Speaker 10: weeds on this stuff, you're losing the argument, especially as
- 20:11Speaker 10: you mentioned, she has other Republicans who are in tough
- 20:13Speaker 10: races in Iowa. who did the opposite thing of her.
- 20:16Speaker 10: So Ashley Henson also didn't get on a debate stage
- 20:18Speaker 10: with J.D. Vance, or a rally stage with J.D. Vance
- 20:21Speaker 10: when he was there a few weeks ago. She's really
- 20:23Speaker 10: trying to walk a tightrope. I don't think she's doing
- 20:25Speaker 10: the best job at it, but the polls will tell,
- 20:27Speaker 10: or the midterm election results will tell.
- 20:30Speaker 2: All right.
- 20:31Speaker 5: Well, that's last night's debate. There's a few more coming tonight,
- 20:34Speaker 5: including one in Michigan between Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee
- 20:38Speaker 5: in the Senate contest, and Mike Rogers, who, of course,
- 20:41Speaker 5: made some noise earlier this week with an ad about tariffs,
- 20:46Speaker 5: also creating a bit of distance between himself and President
- 20:49Speaker 5: Trump's policy when it comes to the trade war with
- 20:51Speaker 5: Canada specifically.
- 20:52Speaker 1: Listen. Drinking a Labatt and watching the Red Wings, man,
- 20:56Speaker 1: it just doesn't get any more Michigan than that. And
- 20:58Speaker 1: here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy.
- 21:01Speaker 1: We need to end this tariff war now.
- 21:05Speaker 7: As Michigan Senator, I'll bring both parties together to lower
- 21:08Speaker 7: your prices.
- 21:09Speaker 1: That's job number one.
- 21:13Speaker 5: We should note for our audience on radio, he is
- 21:15Speaker 5: literally sitting at a bar. There's some pool being played,
- 21:18Speaker 5: some beers being handed out.
- 21:19Speaker 3: During the day. Yes.
- 21:20Speaker 1: The optics are interesting there. Yeah.
- 21:23Speaker 5: Maybe go into some advertisement staging analysis here. But Rick,
- 21:28Speaker 5: I am curious how you think he's going to be
- 21:30Speaker 5: talking about this issue on the debate stage tonight, knowing,
- 21:34Speaker 5: by the way, that back in August, he was talking
- 21:36Speaker 5: about in interviews how there may be a need for
- 21:39Speaker 5: tariffs on Canada. So Rick, how does he thread that needle?
- 21:44Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I mean, Republicans are in the unenviable position
- 21:47Speaker 2: of doing backflips on tariffs, on Iran, on the economy. Look,
- 21:54Speaker 2: I like the commercial. I spent a little bit of
- 21:57Speaker 2: time in bars. You know, I think that was like
- 22:00Speaker 2: a man of the people.
- 22:01Speaker 4: Kind of thing.
- 22:03Speaker 2: The Labatt beer was a great, you know, prop. This
- 22:06Speaker 2: is who the guy is. He's really one of the
- 22:08Speaker 2: best candidates we have nationally. caught in a horrible cycle again.
- 22:13Speaker 2: And the reality of it is he needs to connect
- 22:17Speaker 2: with people. That's a good way to do it. And look,
- 22:21Speaker 2: tonight the debate is going to be very important for
- 22:23Speaker 2: him because what he has to show is a firm
- 22:26Speaker 2: knowledge of these issues and a willingness to cut his
- 22:29Speaker 2: own path. And it's going to be hard to do
- 22:32Speaker 2: that with all the people really curious about Abdul El-Sayed and.
- 22:36Speaker 1: What he's going to say.
- 22:37Speaker 2: So he's going to have to shout it out.
- 22:41Speaker 8: All right.
- 22:41Speaker 1: So Rick Davis likes it. He spent a little time
- 22:43Speaker 1: in bars. I don't know, Rick. I'm going to take
- 22:46Speaker 1: your word on that one. Give me the Democrats view
- 22:49Speaker 1: on this hand. Are we that easy? You show up.
- 22:52Speaker 1: You've got the Labats in it. But then again, is
- 22:55Speaker 1: this in a dimly lit bar? It's clearly lunchtime. Everyone's
- 22:58Speaker 1: being served beer, by the way. Like, I guess they're
- 23:00Speaker 1: all getting off the shift at this point. Is it
- 23:02Speaker 1: that easy to put some power chords on the guitar
- 23:05Speaker 1: and a bottle of the bats to change people's minds?
- 23:07Speaker 10: I mean, they're trying, right? They're hoping that the, who
- 23:11Speaker 10: can you have a beer with? They're trying to do that.
- 23:13Speaker 10: And I think you're facing a candidate on the democratic
- 23:15Speaker 10: side with Abdul Sayyed, who's very dynamic. He won a
- 23:19Speaker 10: really tough primary race on the democratic side in Michigan
- 23:22Speaker 10: and I've been really impressed at how the coalition has
- 23:24Speaker 10: come together behind him in a time when, I don't know,
- 23:27Speaker 10: that debate, that primary was very passionate. That was not
- 23:32Speaker 10: necessarily the result that was going to happen on the
- 23:34Speaker 10: Democratic side.
- 23:35Speaker 1: But it did.
- 23:36Speaker 10: And I think it speaks to the leadership of Abdul El-Sayed.
- 23:38Speaker 10: You see him and Alyssa Slotkin even coming together. They're
- 23:41Speaker 10: not necessarily, they don't agree on the same issues, but
- 23:43Speaker 10: they come together. And it's because he's a great leader.
- 23:46Speaker 10: And I think we'll see him be a great communicator tonight.
- 23:49Speaker 10: He's been always really good on healthcare. tariffs and the
- 23:51Speaker 10: issues are not necessarily on Mike Rogers' side. So I'm
- 23:54Speaker 10: looking forward to it. You know, the ad is him
- 23:56Speaker 10: trying to kick it off. We'll see if it works.
- 23:59Speaker 8: Yeah.
- 23:59Speaker 5: As Hannah points out, Rick, there was a high profile
- 24:02Speaker 5: primary in Michigan. There was also a primary in Maine
- 24:05Speaker 5: that was won by Graham Plattner, not Troy Jackson. And
- 24:08Speaker 5: yet it's Troy Jackson who is the Democratic nominee now
- 24:11Speaker 5: and who will once again tonight on Thursday be sharing
- 24:14Speaker 5: a stage with Republican incumbent Susan Collins after they just
- 24:18Speaker 5: debated on Tuesday. Who in Maine is watching both of
- 24:22Speaker 5: these and who in Maine's mind could change in the
- 24:24Speaker 5: course of debate one to a debate two, two days later?
- 24:29Speaker 2: Well, I have a lot of friends in Maine and
- 24:30Speaker 2: they watch a lot of TV and I won't say
- 24:32Speaker 2: anything more about that lifestyle. But, yeah, there's a lot
- 24:38Speaker 2: of interest in politics. And I have no doubt that
- 24:43Speaker 2: there'll be plenty of viewers who are maybe still trying
- 24:47Speaker 2: to figure out what they're going to do because they
- 24:49Speaker 2: probably voted for. Susan Collins in the past and are wondering,
- 24:52Speaker 2: you know, whether or not that's the same thing they
- 24:54Speaker 2: should do again. So I would say this is really
- 24:57Speaker 2: important to Susan Collins. I thought she did a terrific
- 25:00Speaker 2: job last debate, you know, basically portraying Jackson as an
- 25:04Speaker 2: establishment figure and someone who's consistently voted for raising taxes
- 25:09Speaker 2: on Mainers.
- 25:10Speaker 1: And so she can keep up that kind.
- 25:12Speaker 2: Of drumbeat that mirrors the media messaging that's out there,
- 25:15Speaker 2: both on her campaign and the Super PAC. I think
- 25:18Speaker 2: she can have a good night tonight.
- 25:20Speaker 1: Interesting, Rick. Charlie Cook is watching us right now in Maine,
- 25:23Speaker 1: by the way, and we hope he keeps the TV on. Hannah,
- 25:26Speaker 1: with regard to Maine, could we be in a world
- 25:29Speaker 1: where this is a more difficult win for Democrats than
- 25:34Speaker 1: a state like Texas?
- 25:36Speaker 10: You know, I don't know is the true answer, because
- 25:39Speaker 10: Maine is really hard to figure out what's going on there.
- 25:41Speaker 10: It's a very independent state. Traditionally, polls there, you never
- 25:44Speaker 10: really know. You kind of have to take an understanding
- 25:47Speaker 10: of where the direction of those are. But we never
- 25:49Speaker 10: really know with Maine. And obviously, we have Troy Jackson,
- 25:52Speaker 10: who's new as the Democratic nominee. What I'll say from
- 25:55Speaker 10: two nights ago to tonight, I think Jackson got really
- 25:57Speaker 10: more comfortable as the debate went on and showed a
- 26:00Speaker 10: really strong performance generally. And I think his second debate
- 26:03Speaker 10: will see even a stronger performance. And we really saw
- 26:06Speaker 10: him zero in on a couple of issues, which interestingly
- 26:08Speaker 10: saw Planned Parenthood put more money into the race after
- 26:11Speaker 10: the first debate, which is really Susan Collins' vote for
- 26:14Speaker 10: Brett Kavanaugh and Roe v.
- 26:15Speaker 2: Wade.
- 26:15Speaker 10: So we saw more money pour into the state for
- 26:18Speaker 10: Troy Jackson after that debate. I think we'll expect a
- 26:20Speaker 10: strong performance again. And I will say that Susan Collins...
- 26:24Speaker 10: seemed nervous and prepared for that debate, but in a
- 26:27Speaker 10: way that I think might have overreacted.
- 26:28Speaker 5: All right, Hannah Moldavin and Rick Davis, our political panel
- 26:32Speaker 5: on this Thursday. Thank you so much.
- 26:34Speaker 1: Stay with us on Balance of Power. We'll have much
- 26:36Speaker 1: more coming up after this.
- 26:41Speaker 4: You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch
- 26:44Speaker 4: us live weekdays at noon and 5 p.m. Eastern on
- 26:47Speaker 4: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app.
- 26:51Speaker 4: You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our
- 26:54Speaker 4: flagship New York station. Just say Alexa, play Bloomberg 1130.
- 27:00Speaker 1: We had a couple of conversations with Byron Donalds, of course,
- 27:02Speaker 1: a Republican congressman who has put his efforts into the
- 27:06Speaker 1: governor's mansion. He's got Donald Trump's backing. We asked him
- 27:10Speaker 1: about the lack of debates in this cycle, and his
- 27:15Speaker 1: comments led directly at that time to the general election.
- 27:18Speaker 1: He didn't want to debate his primary opponent. He wanted
- 27:20Speaker 1: to debate our next guest, David Jolly. Here's what Byron
- 27:23Speaker 1: Donald said.
- 27:24Speaker 11: I look forward to debating David Jolly. I've already challenged
- 27:27Speaker 11: him to three. He hasn't really responded. Something tells me
- 27:30Speaker 11: we are going to get on a debate stage. I
- 27:32Speaker 11: look forward to that because it's important for the people
- 27:35Speaker 11: of our state to see the contrast between my policies
- 27:39Speaker 11: and my vision for the future and somebody like David Jolly,
- 27:42Speaker 11: who's going to bend the knee to the Democrat Socialists
- 27:45Speaker 11: of America. That's not what the people of Florida want.
- 27:47Speaker 11: They want a Florida that continues to be the free
- 27:50Speaker 11: state of Florida.
- 27:52Speaker 8: All right.
- 27:52Speaker 1: That was back in August. And of course, now it's
- 27:54Speaker 1: Byron Donalds versus David Jolly, the Democratic candidate for governor
- 27:58Speaker 1: of Florida. Former congressman from the great state of Florida
- 28:02Speaker 1: is with us now on Bloomberg TV and radio. Welcome,
- 28:06Speaker 1: David Jolly. It's good to see you. And I'm curious
- 28:08Speaker 1: your thoughts. You can respond to what, of course, Byron
- 28:11Speaker 1: Donalds said. That's why we invited both of you to
- 28:13Speaker 1: be here. But why no debates in this general election cycle,
- 28:17Speaker 1: first off?
- 28:20Speaker 6: Yeah, very importantly, look, we had accepted several debates. Byron
- 28:23Speaker 6: wouldn't respond. He tried to kind of body check us
- 28:25Speaker 6: with a press release saying here are the three we're
- 28:27Speaker 6: going to do and here are the rules. We also
- 28:29Speaker 6: know that all of his ads have been fact checked
- 28:32Speaker 6: as false. I don't support a hurricane tax, Social Security tax,
- 28:35Speaker 6: oil drilling or socialism.
- 28:37Speaker 3: I've condemned the DSA.
- 28:38Speaker 6: As you heard in those comments you just played back,
- 28:40Speaker 6: he's trying to suggest that I would carry water for
- 28:42Speaker 6: the DSA. So fine, chalk all of that up to
- 28:45Speaker 6: bad faith and dishonesty we see in politics. But you know,
- 28:48Speaker 6: when I finally wrestled with it, I came to the conclusion,
- 28:51Speaker 6: I'm trying to elevate our politics into a better space.
- 28:53Speaker 6: I'm a former Republican, spent six or seven years as
- 28:56Speaker 6: an independent. I'm a proud Florida Democrat, not a reluctant one.
- 29:00Speaker 6: And I actually believe we're trying to build a new
- 29:02Speaker 6: coalition that that can represent something better, a certain goodness
- 29:06Speaker 6: in our politics.
- 29:07Speaker 3: And my wife and I have a seven-year-old and five-year-old.
- 29:10Speaker 3: I'll be honest about this.
- 29:11Speaker 6: And what I realize is that debates right now, given
- 29:14Speaker 6: the amount of bad faith and dishonesty, would just platform
- 29:16Speaker 6: the division and the rancor and the vitriol And, you know,
- 29:19Speaker 6: they've become a platform for who can lay the hardest
- 29:22Speaker 6: insult on the other and make it stick on social media.
- 29:25Speaker 6: And I don't think it improves the state. It doesn't
- 29:27Speaker 6: improve the climate. And, you know, I say in a
- 29:29Speaker 6: world of Donald Trump, I'm trying to be Ted Lasso.
- 29:31Speaker 6: And a lot of people think that might be naive,
- 29:33Speaker 6: but I mean it. I don't want my kids to
- 29:34Speaker 6: look back and say, hey, dad just did what every
- 29:36Speaker 6: other politician did.
- 29:38Speaker 3: I will tell you this. I've done over 310.
- 29:40Speaker 8: Halls.
- 29:40Speaker 3: Voters do need to be able to see where our
- 29:42Speaker 3: policies are.
- 29:43Speaker 6: And they do today. Byron's been on the trail. I've
- 29:45Speaker 6: been on the trail. Only 6% of our state's undecided.
- 29:48Speaker 6: I don't think debates do anything to further inform the public.
- 29:51Speaker 6: I think our job is to stay on the streets
- 29:53Speaker 6: and make sure we're meeting voters exactly where they are.
- 29:55Speaker 6: That's been my commitment for 18 months, and it is
- 29:57Speaker 6: for the next three weeks.
- 29:59Speaker 8: All right.
- 29:59Speaker 5: You said a lot there. So let's pick up on
- 30:03Speaker 5: some of those different points. You mentioned how Byron Donalds
- 30:06Speaker 5: has been hitting you on this notion of a hurricane tax.
- 30:09Speaker 5: If you don't support a hurricane tax, are there ways
- 30:12Speaker 5: in which you are looking, funding, paying for things like
- 30:16Speaker 5: cleanup and recovery? And I ask you this knowing Isaias
- 30:19Speaker 5: is on its way and could hit Florida within the
- 30:21Speaker 5: next 24 hours or so.
- 30:23Speaker 8: Yeah.
- 30:24Speaker 3: It's more important than just response.
- 30:26Speaker 6: Look, the homeowners insurance market has collapsed in natural disaster states.
- 30:29Speaker 6: Hurricanes in the southeast, wildfires in California, tornadoes in Tornado Alley, flooding.
- 30:35Speaker 3: Go through the list.
- 30:35Speaker 6: When I was in Congress, I introduced a national catastrophic fund,
- 30:38Speaker 6: and as governor, I proposed a state catastrophic fund. Essentially,
- 30:42Speaker 6: you pre-fund against the largest disasters. It's the only actuarially
- 30:46Speaker 6: sound way to to cover natural disasters. If the private
- 30:49Speaker 6: sector had a full private market way to do it,
- 30:52Speaker 6: they'd be here, but they're not. And so we currently
- 30:55Speaker 6: subsidize our undercapitalized carriers in Florida with a hurricane fund
- 30:59Speaker 6: that buys reinsurance, bails them out, lets them ship their
- 31:02Speaker 6: profits out of state and keep their losses here.
- 31:04Speaker 3: And for that, we're paying three times what we used
- 31:06Speaker 3: to pay.
- 31:07Speaker 6: I wish the private sector had a solution for natural disasters,
- 31:09Speaker 6: and it doesn't. I think we need a state catastrophic fund,
- 31:12Speaker 6: a state sovereign wealth fund, to pre-fund against these risks,
- 31:16Speaker 6: use that fund to buy reinsurance on the world stage,
- 31:18Speaker 6: stabilize the market in Florida, and ultimately, if you can
- 31:22Speaker 6: remove hurricane and wind from the private policyholder, put it
- 31:25Speaker 6: in a state cap fund, it cuts homeowners insurance by
- 31:28Speaker 6: 60 to 70 percent. That's an actuarial model that Wall
- 31:31Speaker 6: Street will back. I don't litigate ideology about this. I
- 31:34Speaker 6: litigate the solution of it.
- 31:36Speaker 5: Okay, but where would the funding for that fund come from?
- 31:42Speaker 6: Yeah, so listen, we already have $ 12 billion in our
- 31:44Speaker 6: hurricane fund that is populated by fees. I think if
- 31:47Speaker 6: we required, call it combined reporting, but require our insurance
- 31:50Speaker 6: companies to keep their profits in-state and their losses. Right now,
- 31:54Speaker 6: we're sending over a billion and a half dollars in
- 31:57Speaker 6: insurance profits out-of-state through layered entities while we're letting them
- 32:01Speaker 6: keep their losses here and declare bankruptcy when the big
- 32:03Speaker 6: storm happens. So we could look at those fees as
- 32:06Speaker 6: well or that revenue source. Ultimately, look, math is math.
- 32:10Speaker 6: No governor is going to propose absorbing the risk without
- 32:12Speaker 6: a capitalized fund. We could look at tourist development taxes,
- 32:15Speaker 6: 91 percent of which are paid for from out of state.
- 32:19Speaker 6: It's other people's money. There are ways to get there.
- 32:21Speaker 6: You could look at a transaction tax. Not my first choice.
- 32:24Speaker 6: But if you're every seven years you're engaged in a.
- 32:26Speaker 6: real estate transaction and you pay two hundred fifty four
- 32:29Speaker 6: hundred dollars but then every year thereafter you're saving four
- 32:33Speaker 6: five ten thousand dollars on your insurance premiums as the
- 32:36Speaker 6: best deal going so the guy i i'm telling you
- 32:39Speaker 6: i'm not in an ideological space this is about an
- 32:41Speaker 6: enterprise solution to an enterprise problem my opponent does like
- 32:44Speaker 6: to litigate ideology socialism communism radicalism i would argue he
- 32:49Speaker 6: doesn't even understand the economic theory that he's trying to
- 32:52Speaker 6: label me with But I would tell you homeowners just
- 32:54Speaker 6: need relief. If the private sector had a solution, let's
- 32:57Speaker 6: embrace it. If it doesn't, let's go to a state
- 32:59Speaker 6: catastrophic fund.
- 33:01Speaker 1: You know, we spent a lot of time talking about
- 33:03Speaker 1: data centers when Byron Donalds was here last. David Jolly,
- 33:07Speaker 1: you were up our way for a tour of Data
- 33:09Speaker 1: Center Alley, I see, just last month in Northern Virginia.
- 33:13Speaker 1: And there is a difference in your positions here. Byron
- 33:18Speaker 1: Donalds was promoting his legislation that would put controls on
- 33:22Speaker 1: or curbs on use of electricity and water so it
- 33:25Speaker 1: would not interfere with people's utility bills or access to resources.
- 33:29Speaker 1: You vowed to issue an executive order on day one
- 33:32Speaker 1: to enact a one-year statewide construction moratorium. You know what
- 33:38Speaker 1: Republicans say about that position, that you're putting us in
- 33:40Speaker 1: a position to lose the race with China. What's your response?
- 33:46Speaker 6: That's a national security strategy argument. And as a nation,
- 33:49Speaker 6: we can figure out how to beat China in this race.
- 33:53Speaker 6: I'm responsible for Florida's voters, 75 percent of whom are
- 33:57Speaker 6: saying don't build data centers here. And Byron Donald is
- 34:00Speaker 6: trying to convince the voters that they are wrong. And
- 34:03Speaker 6: I'm saying, hey, voters, I'm listening to you. And there's
- 34:05Speaker 6: good reason. Look, we know the environmental impact. We know
- 34:08Speaker 6: the noise pollution. I think there are legitimate public health
- 34:11Speaker 6: questions that when I visited the Northern Virginia Data Center alley,
- 34:15Speaker 6: four children who had been treated for respiratory conditions, one hospitalized,
- 34:19Speaker 6: people complaining of hearing conditions because of the noise pollution.
- 34:23Speaker 6: We know the destabilization of communities, the devaluation of real estate,
- 34:26Speaker 6: the fire sales of property. And so given all of that,
- 34:30Speaker 6: what you're also seeing is these data centers are becoming
- 34:33Speaker 6: a bit of a physical metaphor for the loss of
- 34:36Speaker 6: economic and political.
- 34:37Speaker 3: Power that voters feel they have.
- 34:39Speaker 6: Right now in a moment of economic inequality, a campaign
- 34:43Speaker 6: finance environment where big tech and big data are buying
- 34:45Speaker 6: the politicians and the politicians are just telling.
- 34:47Speaker 3: You you're wrong.
- 34:48Speaker 6: And so I've said a one-year moratorium. Let's study public
- 34:52Speaker 6: health and the environment. And then let's do a deep
- 34:54Speaker 6: economic impact study to see if they benefit the state
- 34:57Speaker 6: of Florida.
- 34:59Speaker 5: On campaign finance. David, where are you focusing your resources
- 35:05Speaker 5: right now in this final stretch? And could you stand
- 35:07Speaker 5: to benefit from more money from the party at a
- 35:10Speaker 5: national level? Or do you understand why perhaps they are
- 35:13Speaker 5: diverting more resources to a state like Iowa or Ohio
- 35:16Speaker 5: where pickups look perhaps, according to polling, like they might
- 35:20Speaker 5: be easier to do than in Florida?
- 35:25Speaker 6: Yeah, if the election were tonight, we would win the
- 35:26Speaker 6: governorship of Florida. That's where the numbers are. Mar-a-Lago elected
- 35:30Speaker 6: a Democratic state representative recently. The city of Miami elected
- 35:33Speaker 6: a Democratic mayor for the first time in 30 years.
- 35:35Speaker 6: It was 19 points. The numbers and data are there.
- 35:38Speaker 6: We built a campaign. But amidst all of this, we've
- 35:41Speaker 6: been outspent by over $ 100 million. And fortunately for us,
- 35:44Speaker 6: you're not always given this gift. The more Byron Donald spends,
- 35:47Speaker 6: the worse he does. There are some candidates that just,
- 35:50Speaker 6: the more you hear their message in a cycle where
- 35:52Speaker 6: people are asking for change... It doesn't resonate. So we're
- 35:55Speaker 6: holding on. The election is a toss-up. I believe we
- 35:58Speaker 6: would win the race tonight. But we do always need
- 36:00Speaker 6: more help. Look, we are taking on a tax.
- 36:03Speaker 3: Lies about a hurricane tax.
- 36:05Speaker 6: Or a Social Security tax or socialism go through the list.
- 36:08Speaker 6: And the inability to respond definitely hurts in politics. So
- 36:11Speaker 6: additional investment is always welcome. And I would ask for
- 36:15Speaker 6: it for those in a position to help, whether it's
- 36:16Speaker 6: a national party or national donors.
- 36:18Speaker 3: But here's why.
- 36:20Speaker 6: You don't even have to care about Florida in 26,
- 36:22Speaker 6: but Florida electing a Democratic governor in 26 resets the
- 36:25Speaker 6: road to the White House in 28. You see, for Democrats,
- 36:29Speaker 6: it's about 28, but for voters who just know we
- 36:31Speaker 6: need a new coalition in American politics, that's what's happening
- 36:35Speaker 6: in Florida, a state with only 29% registered Democrats is
- 36:39Speaker 6: on the cusp of building a coalition of 50 or 50%
- 36:42Speaker 6: or more, that's showing that we can reimagine our politics. Yeah,
- 36:46Speaker 6: I think the economy should work for everyone. Government can
- 36:48Speaker 6: do its parts. Everyone's rights protected. It amplifies democratic values,
- 36:52Speaker 6: but it does it with independents and Republicans and ushers
- 36:55Speaker 6: in a new era in American politics.
- 36:58Speaker 1: You mentioned your position on democratic socialists. David, we'll just
- 37:01Speaker 1: wrap up on this. I'm curious your thoughts on the
- 37:03Speaker 1: Senate race in Florida, uh, and, and whether, whether, uh,
- 37:08Speaker 1: Angie Nixon is in fact a threat to your campaign,
- 37:13Speaker 1: confusing messages when it comes to Democrats voting in Florida.
- 37:17Speaker 1: Is she making it more difficult to cut through the
- 37:20Speaker 1: noise when you're delivering your message?
- 37:23Speaker 3: No. Not at all.
- 37:25Speaker 6: DSA is not being litigated in the state of Florida.
- 37:28Speaker 6: In fact, if I've done 300 town halls, Angie's probably
- 37:31Speaker 6: been in 200 of them, and when she's not there,
- 37:33Speaker 6: she's doing her own other couple hundred. I've only heard
- 37:36Speaker 6: Angie talk about housing, health.
- 37:37Speaker 3: Care, and education, just like I have.
- 37:38Speaker 1: Is she a health care campaign?
- 37:39Speaker 3: She's saying I'm going to be a fighter to make sure.
- 37:42Speaker 6: I think she mobilizes a constituency, whether it's, you know,
- 37:46Speaker 6: more progressive voters or traditional black communities. Sure, I think
- 37:49Speaker 6: she energizes and mobilizes communities. Here's the important thing. Where
- 37:53Speaker 6: we can work together, we've said we're going to. Where
- 37:55Speaker 6: we disagree, we're actually being honest with voters about it,
- 37:58Speaker 6: and I think voters appreciate that. I'm not concerned about
- 38:01Speaker 6: the rise of socialism today in America. I'm concerned about
- 38:03Speaker 6: the rise of right-wing authoritarianism. And that is the type
- 38:07Speaker 6: of danger that Byron Donalds actually embraces that I've been
- 38:10Speaker 6: fighting against for the past 10 years when I was
- 38:12Speaker 6: a Republican and independent and yesterday as a Democrat.
- 38:17Speaker 11: All right.
- 38:17Speaker 5: The Democratic gubernatorial nominee in the state of Florida, David Jolly.
- 38:21Speaker 5: Thank you so much for joining us on Balance of Power.
- 38:26Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Balance of Power podcast. Make
- 38:29Speaker 1: sure to subscribe if you haven't already at Apple, Spotify,
- 38:32Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can find
- 38:34Speaker 1: us live every weekday from Washington, D.C. at noontime Eastern
- 38:38Speaker 1: at Bloomberg.com.