1
00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:09,240
Speaker 1: You can listen to the Front on your smart speaker

2
00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:13,480
Speaker 1: every morning to hear the latest episode. Just say play

3
00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:22,720
Speaker 1: the news from The Australian. From the Australian, here's what's

4
00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:30,440
Speaker 1: on the Front. I'm Christinamiot. It's Wednesday, July seventeenth. The

5
00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:35,120
Speaker 1: International Monetary Fund isn't optimistic about Australia's growth prospects. It's

6
00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:39,400
Speaker 1: downgraded the nation's economic outlook and its warned stubborn inflation

7
00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,720
Speaker 1: could see households hit with further interest rate hikes in

8
00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:49,640
Speaker 1: the coming months. America will drag Australia into a new

9
00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,479
Speaker 1: World war. That's the warning from Senator David hue Bridge.

10
00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:56,960
Speaker 1: The Greens defense spokesperson, says his party will push to

11
00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,040
Speaker 1: cut defense spending and shred the government's nuclear submarine scheme

12
00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:03,639
Speaker 1: in hopes of keeping the country out of a new

13
00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,640
Speaker 1: global conflict. That story from our exclusive series on the

14
00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,400
Speaker 1: Greens is live right now at the Australian dot com

15
00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:11,000
Speaker 1: dot au.

16
00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,000
Speaker 2: Donald J. Trump is officially the Republican Party's nominee for president,

17
00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,200
Speaker 2: and he's named a risky running mate as his second

18
00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,280
Speaker 2: in charge. Just days after an attempt was made on

19
00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:27,600
Speaker 2: the former president's life at a rally in Pennsylvania. Trump

20
00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,960
Speaker 2: has changed his tune, But how long will it last?

21
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:40,920
Speaker 2: That's today's episode.

22
00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,440
Speaker 3: Today, people look at me, at my job and my

23
00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:46,920
Speaker 3: Ivy League credentials and assume that I'm some sort of

24
00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,200
Speaker 3: genius that only a truly extraordinary person could have made

25
00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:51,320
Speaker 3: it to where I am today.

26
00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,560
Speaker 2: That's the Ohio Senator jd Vance, reading an excerpt from

27
00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,800
Speaker 2: his New York Times best selling book, He'll Billy Elegy.

28
00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,200
Speaker 3: With all due respect to those people, I think that

29
00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:04,400
Speaker 3: theory is a load of bullshit.

30
00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,160
Speaker 2: Released in twenty sixteen, Hill Billy Elegy is a memoir

31
00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,799
Speaker 2: about growing up poor in America's Appalachian Mountains.

32
00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,560
Speaker 3: I am not a senator, a governor, or a former

33
00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:16,520
Speaker 3: Cabinet secretary.

34
00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,840
Speaker 2: That changed in early twenty twenty three when Jada Vance

35
00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:22,960
Speaker 2: was sworn in as a senator in the one hundred

36
00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:24,960
Speaker 2: and eighteenth United States Congress.

37
00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,320
Speaker 3: So I didn't write this book because I've accomplished something extraordinary.

38
00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:32,440
Speaker 3: I wrote this book because I've achieved something quite ordinary,

39
00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:34,760
Speaker 3: which doesn't happen to most kids who grew up like me.

40
00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:40,600
Speaker 2: On Tuesday, this happened. That announcement just made former President

41
00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,240
Speaker 2: Donald Trump announcing he has chosen Ohio US Senator JD.

42
00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:46,799
Speaker 2: Vance as is running me on his Truth social media

43
00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:48,560
Speaker 2: platform just within the last hour.

44
00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:48,760
Speaker 1: Here.

45
00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:56,280
Speaker 2: Cameron Stewart is The Australian's chief international correspondent. He's in

46
00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:00,760
Speaker 2: Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention where Jdvan was announced

47
00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:06,000
Speaker 2: as Donald Trump's running mate. Cam Many Australians will know JD.

48
00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,680
Speaker 2: Evans the author, But tell me what do we know

49
00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:10,280
Speaker 2: about Jedvance the politician.

50
00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,440
Speaker 4: Well, we don't know an enormous amount in the sense

51
00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:16,960
Speaker 4: that he was only elected to the Senate in twenty

52
00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,680
Speaker 4: twenty three, so it's only been a senator for eighteen months,

53
00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:21,919
Speaker 4: so really not very long at all. But he has

54
00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,440
Speaker 4: been very outspoken on issues. He's been very much a Trump.

55
00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:28,800
Speaker 5: Ally, a Maga warrior if you like.

56
00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:35,440
Speaker 4: He's taken quite hardline positions on abortion, choice, on border security,

57
00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:40,160
Speaker 4: especially on Ukraine. He very much opposes US assistance for Ukraine.

58
00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,760
Speaker 4: He's quite an isolationist. He's very conservative on family of

59
00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,200
Speaker 4: values and issues like that. He's very much a Trump

60
00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,920
Speaker 4: acolyte if you like. He's not a different type of Republican,

61
00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,080
Speaker 4: which is unusual because when you choose a running mate,

62
00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,840
Speaker 4: you usually go for someone who's a bit different to

63
00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,240
Speaker 4: make your whole ticket a bit of a broad church.

64
00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,120
Speaker 4: Donald Trump hasn't done that in this case, and I

65
00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,320
Speaker 4: think that's probably a fairly high risk decision that he's made.

66
00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,560
Speaker 2: Jade Vans and Donald Trump haven't always been on the

67
00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:10,520
Speaker 2: same page.

68
00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:15,320
Speaker 4: Yes, you're right, certainly. In twenty sixteen, JD. Vance was

69
00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,800
Speaker 4: very critical of Donald Trump. He said he would be

70
00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,360
Speaker 4: America's hitler. He said he was no piod on society.

71
00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:22,760
Speaker 5: He was very very critical.

72
00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,240
Speaker 4: He said he was never Trumper, and it certainly didn't

73
00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:26,800
Speaker 4: look like he was ever going to be a fan

74
00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:30,839
Speaker 4: of Donald Trump. But about twenty eighteen, Vance started to

75
00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,840
Speaker 4: soften his view, and then in twenty twenty he said,

76
00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,680
Speaker 4: I'm wrong Trump, You've been a great president. And then

77
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,839
Speaker 4: of course he wanted to get elected to the Senate

78
00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,840
Speaker 4: and he apologized for his previous criticisms of Trump, and

79
00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:48,000
Speaker 4: Trump came to the party, Trump backed him, and so

80
00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:50,680
Speaker 4: it's been a journey for both men, I think. But

81
00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,400
Speaker 4: I think that Vance has been so outspoken in the

82
00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,760
Speaker 4: last couple of years in support of Trump. He really

83
00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,400
Speaker 4: is one of his biggest and loudest allies and so whatever,

84
00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:01,880
Speaker 4: thanks there was betweenty two.

85
00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:02,800
Speaker 5: I think he's long gone.

86
00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,679
Speaker 2: Last weekend, the presidential race was fundamentally altered when twenty

87
00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,040
Speaker 2: year old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Donald Trump

88
00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:26,159
Speaker 2: at a pre convention rally in Pennsylvania. In the day since,

89
00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:31,360
Speaker 2: Donald Trump has restyled himself as America's great unifier. So

90
00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,880
Speaker 2: what does that mean for Trump two point zero?

91
00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:37,560
Speaker 4: Well, all of America is looking at this question. I mean,

92
00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,680
Speaker 4: it's a fascinating concept. Donald Trump has a genuine near

93
00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,080
Speaker 4: death experience and within forty eight hours, so the Republicans,

94
00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,800
Speaker 4: he says, calm down, we're going to be unifiers here.

95
00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:54,240
Speaker 4: But Donald Trump's whole modus operandi as a politician has

96
00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,560
Speaker 4: been an US and them idea. That's what he does.

97
00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,800
Speaker 4: He's very good at the politics of green events. And

98
00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,039
Speaker 4: I just fight it hard to imagine that for the

99
00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,400
Speaker 4: next three and a half months before the next election

100
00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,200
Speaker 4: that Donald Trump is not going to be Donald Trump

101
00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:13,640
Speaker 4: that is going to be a kind of gentler, unifying soul.

102
00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:15,840
Speaker 4: I just don't think that that is him, and I

103
00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,400
Speaker 4: don't think he'll be able to keep doing that for

104
00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:20,440
Speaker 4: very long. So my guess would be this is a

105
00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:22,120
Speaker 4: very temporary thing. I think we.

106
00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,840
Speaker 5: Will see Trump back to his loudest, roaring best soon.

107
00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,400
Speaker 2: And what does the addition of JD. Vance to this

108
00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:31,480
Speaker 2: equation mean for the November election.

109
00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,039
Speaker 4: Vance is such a mega type of politician that he

110
00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,960
Speaker 4: will appeal to Trump supporters, but he probably won't appeal

111
00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:40,839
Speaker 4: hugely with those people who.

112
00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:41,840
Speaker 5: Aren't Trump supporters.

113
00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:44,960
Speaker 4: And what Trump chose not to do was choose, say

114
00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:47,839
Speaker 4: Marco Rubio, one of the other contenders that would have

115
00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,719
Speaker 4: appealed to the Hispanic vote, and as you say, Senator

116
00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,280
Speaker 4: Tim Scott of South Carolina, which would have appealed to

117
00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,160
Speaker 4: the African American vote, or even Nicki Hardey, which of

118
00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:01,680
Speaker 4: course would have appealed to women. So Trump is enormous confidence,

119
00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,839
Speaker 4: if not hubris, in his decision.

120
00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:05,120
Speaker 5: Here.

121
00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:09,000
Speaker 4: He's basically saying, my party is the party of MAGA,

122
00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:10,760
Speaker 4: this is my running mate.

123
00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:12,400
Speaker 5: We will win regardless.

124
00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:15,480
Speaker 4: But if Trump does not win in November, now he

125
00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:17,520
Speaker 4: is certainly of a clear front run of the moment.

126
00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:19,280
Speaker 4: But if he does not win in November, I think

127
00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:22,240
Speaker 4: this decision will be looked at by many commentators as

128
00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:23,280
Speaker 4: the reason why.

129
00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,960
Speaker 2: The Republican National Convention runs until Thursday with the focus

130
00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:30,600
Speaker 2: on the economy on day one, and there will be

131
00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:32,480
Speaker 2: a different theme every day for the convention.

132
00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:35,720
Speaker 6: Today's theme will be make America weleview once again.

133
00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:38,880
Speaker 2: Cam, there's still, as you said, a few days of

134
00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,360
Speaker 2: the Republican National Convention to go. You were there, what

135
00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:44,800
Speaker 2: was the vibe like and what are you expecting to

136
00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:45,880
Speaker 2: see for the rest of the week.

137
00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,680
Speaker 4: The first night was such a piece of political theater.

138
00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,160
Speaker 4: Trump was not on the schedule. He turned up on

139
00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,480
Speaker 4: the screen with his WRIGHTI a bandage, and the rule

140
00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:59,640
Speaker 4: was absolutely Deafinitely it was like BMCG on Grand final Day,

141
00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:06,080
Speaker 4: Please welcome the next President of the United States, Donald J.

142
00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:07,240
Speaker 3: Trump.

143
00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:15,040
Speaker 4: I mean, it's really interesting how truly the Republican faithful

144
00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,720
Speaker 4: adore him. It was just one of those things. He

145
00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,280
Speaker 4: really didn't do anything. He said, walk in, smile, wave,

146
00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,600
Speaker 4: and then walk out. But it was just really powerful

147
00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:25,560
Speaker 4: political theater. And this is the sort of stuff that

148
00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,960
Speaker 4: makes him really popular amongst his fans. And now what

149
00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:30,640
Speaker 4: we're going to see for the rest of the convention

150
00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,880
Speaker 4: is a series of really interesting speeches. Nikki Haley is

151
00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,839
Speaker 4: due to speak tomorrow night. Of course, she was the

152
00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:40,520
Speaker 4: person that Trump vanquished for the primary. It's interesting she's

153
00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,199
Speaker 4: coming in to speak. I think that's a fascinating decision.

154
00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,959
Speaker 4: It shows that the Republicans are trying to unify themselves.

155
00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,160
Speaker 4: It's going to be an incredible week. And the interesting

156
00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:53,400
Speaker 4: thing is that this has actually reduced to focus briefly

157
00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,920
Speaker 4: on Joe Biden. However, I think once this Republican convention

158
00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,240
Speaker 4: finishes this week, we will switch straight back to the

159
00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:01,920
Speaker 4: problems that Joe Biden has.

160
00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,920
Speaker 2: Coming up. What Donald Trump's big day means for the Democrats.

161
00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:12,200
Speaker 2: Subscribers to The Australian are first to hear reporting and

162
00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,920
Speaker 2: analysis from our correspondents in the United States. Join us

163
00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,720
Speaker 2: at the Australian dot com dot au. It's a lot

164
00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:22,199
Speaker 2: cheaper than running a presidential campaign. We'll be back after

165
00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:39,800
Speaker 2: this break. A little over a month from now. On

166
00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,440
Speaker 2: August nineteen, the Democrats will descend on Chicago for their

167
00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,800
Speaker 2: party's national convention. But where Donald Trump was basically a

168
00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,840
Speaker 2: sure thing, who the Democrats will name as their nominee

169
00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,920
Speaker 2: is less clear. Calls for the incumbent Joe Biden to

170
00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:58,160
Speaker 2: step aside have mounted in recent weeks after a string

171
00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:00,880
Speaker 2: of gaffes caused many to question in his fitness for

172
00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:01,560
Speaker 2: the top job.

173
00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:07,280
Speaker 6: I've said before, Russia will not prevail this war, and

174
00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:09,240
Speaker 6: now I want to hand it over to the President

175
00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:13,920
Speaker 6: of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination.

176
00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:18,240
Speaker 5: Ladies and gentlemen, President putin, President Prudent.

177
00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:23,439
Speaker 6: You've got big President Prus, President Lenskin. I'm so focused

178
00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:27,520
Speaker 6: on being putin. We gotta worry about it anyway. It's President.

179
00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:29,480
Speaker 5: I'm better. You are a hell better.

180
00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:33,920
Speaker 2: But there are also concerns about the ability of the

181
00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,440
Speaker 2: current Vice president, Kamala Harris, to defeat Donald Trump in

182
00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:40,840
Speaker 2: the November election. Here is Cameron.

183
00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:45,360
Speaker 4: Stewart, Well, the great mystak of the Democratic You mention

184
00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:49,200
Speaker 4: is who will be the nominee. Biden, of course, in theory,

185
00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,200
Speaker 4: should be the nominee. But really, if the Democrats are

186
00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:54,040
Speaker 4: going to make a change, and I think there is

187
00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,360
Speaker 4: still a lot of pressure within the Democratic Party for

188
00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:59,520
Speaker 4: Biden to step down, We're just not seeing it right

189
00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:02,679
Speaker 4: now because of the Republican Convention this week, but I

190
00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:06,160
Speaker 4: think that they will have to put that pressure on

191
00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,520
Speaker 4: before the Democratic invention. Whoever gets nominated at that convention,

192
00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,680
Speaker 4: I think we'll tackle Donald Trump in November. So these

193
00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,280
Speaker 4: are the crucial couple of weeks for the Democrats to

194
00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,000
Speaker 4: make up their mind to sort it out. But I

195
00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:22,800
Speaker 4: think the next few weeks could thribe any sort of situation.

196
00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:26,120
Speaker 4: We really don't know. It's a fascinating time in American politics.

197
00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:37,959
Speaker 2: Cameron Stewart is the Australian's chief international correspondent. Come back

198
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,040
Speaker 2: to the front tomorrow to hear all the action from

199
00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:44,160
Speaker 2: The Australian's Global Food Forum, happening today in Brisbane. And

200
00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,120
Speaker 2: you can keep up to date with all the nation's

201
00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,560
Speaker 2: best journalism anytime at the Australian dot com dot au