WEBVTT - Nikki Haley Talks War in the Middle East 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:07.040 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:08.840 Oil price is higher. 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:11.280 Stocks being dragged down as we look to what seems 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:13.760 to be an escalating situation in the Middle East. After 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:17.280 the US already conducted strikes against Iron yesterday in retaliation 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:20.239 for the down to Apache helicopter over the straight Offoor News, 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.960 President Trump saying that more attacks are on their way. 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:26.520 This was the President in the Oval Office earlier today. 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.160 We hit them hard yesterday, and we're going to hit 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:33.480 them again hard today. In case you missification, you don't 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:37.640 turn on your television set, and we'll see what happens 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:40.280 with the deal. We're really close to a deal, but 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:41.440 they keep tapping us along. 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:43.360 They keep playing us for suckers. 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:47.000 Because you know what they dealt with some very stupid presidents. 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:51.000 Tapping us along. As the President made clear untruth social 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:55.560 that the regime is simply taking too much time in negotiations. 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:57.800 And this is where we start our conversation with an 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:01.640 important voice in foreign policy and in domestic politics. That 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:04.440 would be Nicki Haley, the former ambassadors to the United Nations, 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:08.480 former governor of South Carolina, share at Hudson Institute, founder 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.319 of Stand for America, The Advocacy Group is wonderful to 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:12.160 have you with this ambassador. 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:13.920 Thanks for interest today on Bloomberg. 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:17.280 What are your thoughts then about this active conversation right now? 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:19.880 Is this the only recourse at the moment to gain 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:23.679 more leverage to hasten an agreement with more strikes. 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:25.600 First of all, I think you have to look at 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.320 you always have to look at what your adversary is thinking. 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:33.560 For them, they're not looking to win, they're looking to survive. 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:36.880 So there's a difference. What they think is if they 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:40.280 can put enough political pressure on this administration, if they 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.800 can put enough economic pressure on this administration, they think 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:47.400 the US will cave to a weak deal. Iran has. 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:51.480 This is the same playbook Iran has always done. They stall, 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:54.960 they start talking, they make you think you're going to 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.880 get a deal, they throw cold water on it, and 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:02.760 all the while they're sizing, they're re arming, they're getting 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:06.120 ready for the next conflict. Iran was never going to 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:08.560 do a deal. They are never going to get rid 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.959 of their nuclear ambitions. That's their number one priority. Now 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:15.560 they've actually found more leverage with the Strait of Hormuz, 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:18.280 and so they don't want to go back to what 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:21.200 it was pre war. They now want to have sovereignty 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:23.280 over the street. They want to make sure that they 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:25.640 have the threat of nuclear ambition, and they're going to 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:27.639 continue to do that. So I think Trump was right 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:31.720 to strike yesterday, But the idea of a deal, that's 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:35.519 just not in their cards. They one of the surprising 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:39.240 things that's not talked about. They have excavated fifty of 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:44.079 the sixty nine tunnels that hold missiles they're re arming. Now, 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:47.799 that's not enough. We've weakened Iran tremendously, but it shows 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:48.680 you how they think. 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:51.320 Well, So, if Iran is never going to make a 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:55.040 deal and the US is now obviously bogged down in 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:58.000 the Middle East for some time in the absence of one, 0:02:58.440 --> 0:02:59.919 are we coming out on the losing side? 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:03.400 This ambassador. No, the only option is to win. Trump 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:06.160 has to finish what he started, and the key is 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:10.079 stop waiting for a deal, finish it. They're very weak. 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:13.120 But what you have to do is go after their finances. 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:17.200 What has not and what the administration should do is 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:20.840 go after Russia and China. Russia right now is providing 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:23.639 them drones. China says they want this hostility to end, 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:27.880 Yet they are providing them man pads for air defense systems. 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:30.880 They provided satellite imagery so that you can hit our 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:35.200 military bases. If you go after those two, they're providing money. 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:38.160 If you go after those two, that's going to take 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:41.520 away Aron's ability to help. The second thing is you 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.160 do have to acknowledge car Island is where they get 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:46.920 their revenues from, and at some point that's going to 0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:49.200 have to be addressed. But what they're doing is they're 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:52.520 creating a distraction. You know what they've said is well, 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:58.040 Israel is hitting Lebanon. No, Israel's hitting Hesbla, the terrorist 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:01.480 regime in Lebanon. The Lebanese people don't like Hesbalah. And 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:05.160 so the key is Iran's going to keep making excuses, 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:07.440 They're going to keep creating distractions. At the end of 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:10.200 the day, they just want to survive. They just want 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:11.240 to make it another day. 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.200 Well, you just said a lot, and we need to 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:17.360 unpack that. So the United States seeses carg Island. That 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:20.880 would involve troops, as we understand, in an operation that 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.279 could bring some risk, but would have the point you're 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:27.200 making a very direct impact on the economy in Iran. 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:31.640 When you say go after China and Russia. Is that 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:37.640 sanctions because we find repeatedly that sanctions don't change behavior 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:38.400 with these two. 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:41.960 You have to truly hold them accountable. You have to 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:44.480 make sure that they feel the pain. And a lot 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:46.880 of that is a lot of the oil that China 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.040 would buy from Iran, they wouldn't pay Iran directly. They 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:53.440 do it through shadow accounts, through the UAE. You have 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:56.000 to go to UAE and say, look, we're working well together. 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:59.559 You can't keep helping China help Iran. All of these 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:02.520 add the cereal things, those are the ones you go after. 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:05.880 The point is if you take your money away from Iran, 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:10.839 they can't build nuclear production, they can't mine the straight 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:14.440 they can't find Hesbala, Hamas and the Houthis. You know, 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:18.080 right now Iran's talking about now starting to hit Israeli 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:22.080 boats in the Red Sea. They're not stopping. Their intention 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:25.000 is to keep being aggressive so that they can get 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:29.080 what they want, which is sanction relief, to unfreeze the assets, 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:31.760 and to try and get the country to see them 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:33.320 as someone they need to be. 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:36.520 Dealt with well as if they heard you, ambassador, the 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.800 US just announced sanctions on quote unquote clandestine banking in 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:42.880 China linked to Iran sanctioning some Chinese in Hong Kong 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:46.159 based individuals. So perhaps that would be a start to 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:47.760 what you're getting at here. But I want to go 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.840 back to something else you mentioned, that's Lebanon and Israel's 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:53.320 conduct there. Your point is well understood that it's Hezbela 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:55.960 that they're targeting, but obviously there has been a lot 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:59.440 of associated collateral damage, and I wonder if you view 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:03.560 Israel now being actually a very complicating factor in the 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:07.920 path forward, if Israel's desires and objectives are diverging from ours. 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:13.479 The US partnering with Israel and what they did to 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:17.440 really bring around to its knees was so important and 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:21.200 so helpful for the national security of the US, of 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:24.560 Israel and of the West, so very important that that happened. 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:28.719 Israel has to defend itself. But think just since the 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:35.120 April ceasefire, what you've had is the Hesbela has struck 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:41.240 northern Israel over two thousand times with rocket syndromees. What 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:44.320 country would put up with that? What country would allow that? 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:47.600 So it's not that Israel was doing this, it's Hesbela. 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:51.040 So Iran is trying to make this gray by saying, oh, 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:54.200 they're hitting Lebanon. This is not the case. Lebanon is 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:56.800 not the issue. It is Hesbela that's the issue. And 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:59.839 you can't let this terrorist activity that is associated with 0:06:59.880 --> 0:07:03.560 a continue. And I think that the US and Israel 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:07.560 are partners. I think that while Nettnahu and Trump may 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.160 disagree at times, I think they agree on a lot 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:11.880 more than they disagree. And I think at the end 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:13.800 of the day, they both have the same men goal 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:16.120 and so I think that partnership stays strong. 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:18.840 It's amazing that we're having this conversation in June of 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:22.160 twenty twenty six, remembering the no New Wars mantra that 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:27.080 followed the Trump campaign throughout his reelection. There's amazing analysis 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:29.560 from our colleagues at Bloomberg Economics have found since taking 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:33.680 office last January, President Trump has greenlit at least fourteen 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:38.760 four hundred and eighteen military strikes around the globe. I'm 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:41.040 just curious, if you were sitting behind the Resolute desk, 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:42.120 would you have started this war. 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:45.760 I think that Trump did the right thing. Iran was 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:49.840 the weakest they had ever been. If Trump wouldn't have 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:52.640 gotten involved, they just would have gone back to doing 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:55.320 what they're doing. Keep in mind, you have to know 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:59.440 that the ideology of that regime. In nineteen seventy nine, 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.320 they called the US the Great Satan, and they said 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:06.280 death to America. Believe adversaries when they say they want 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:09.960 to kill you. I personally was targeted. There was a 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.920 hitman that was actually paid money on US soil to 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:16.520 kill me. They are coming to America to kill Americans. 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:20.840 This is a regime that finds that their Messiah is coming, 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:24.600 and in the meantime, their struggles are supposed to be real, 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:28.120 and they're supposed to cause chaos and brutality and murder 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.640 in the process. You can't change an ideology like that. 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:34.680 So they were going to rebuild, They were going to 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:36.880 continue to cause harm. They were going to continue to 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:41.880 put national security threats on Americans. Over one thousand Americans 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:45.440 have been injured and killed from Iran. We shouldn't even 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:48.920 be allowing one. This had to happen. Now he just 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:50.360 has to finish what he started. 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:55.520 So you see the national security justification for this particular excursion, 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:58.000 as the President has called it. He also has suggested 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:00.679 that once this Iron situation is over, whatever that is 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.720 he may turn his sites to Cuba, and I wonder 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:07.320 if you see that as as urgent what you would 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:10.160 expect the US to do when it comes to Cuba 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:12.720 and a regime that clearly is teetering on the brink. 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:15.840 In the US put in their national security strategy to 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:19.720 make the Western hemisphere a priority. I think that you 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:23.080 saw that with you know, extracting Maduro in Venezuela. The 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:25.680 Venezuelans are going to see so much progress with that. 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:28.160 That was something that needed to happen. They deserve freedom 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:30.240 and they're going to get it. What you're seeing in 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:33.760 Cuba is a little bit different because Cuba doesn't have 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:37.800 a Delsi Rodriguez, a number two that can go and 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:40.920 run things. Cuba doesn't have a machado ahead of an 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:44.840 opposition that can go forward. So I don't think that 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:47.800 this administration is going to go militarily into Cuba. I 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.600 think they're just going to put pressure through sanctions and 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:53.079 weigh them down. You know, they already stopped the oil 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.240 that was going from Venezuela to Cuba. They had Mexico 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:58.680 pulled back on the oil that was going to Cuba, 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:01.640 and now Cuba's feel the pain. They can only take 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.199 so much pain. What they're going to want is sanctuarily. 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:06.559 They're going to want to get the Cuban economy going again, 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:09.440 But unfortunately they're going to have to continue to deal 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:12.120 with the people that are leading Cuba right now. That's 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:13.640 not going to be anitial that's not going to be 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:14.640 something that they can change. 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:16.920 Yeah, there have been questions about whether we could sustain 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:20.240 action in two parts of the world militarily like this, 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:23.040 because we have a massive build up in the Middle 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:25.600 East that's standing by to do what you're suggesting, which 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:28.200 is to finish the job. If in fact we went 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.320 pedal to the metal and took the advice of Dickie Haley, 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:31.680 how long. 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:36.200 Would it take stop negotiating with them? That's never going 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:39.680 to happen. We've lost time. Go finish what you started. 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:42.920 I think within a week to two weeks, is that right? 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:44.840 They can long before the well a week to two 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.439 weeks they could. It would take them the amount of 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:51.679 time to extract the nuclear enrichment that they have. As 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:54.160 far as island, you'll have to have special forces there 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:57.679 to go and hold car Island is going to obviously 0:10:57.720 --> 0:10:59.800 take a little bit longer. But this is one where 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:03.320 they need to be focused and mission driven on go 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.600 after the revenues that are going to Iran, and that's 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:08.760 the only way to get rid of the regime. And 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:13.400 then the Iranian people have no way to defend themselves. 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.960 They've killed thousands of people in the streets and made 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:20.280 examples of them. What's happened in the past is the 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:23.160 US has actually helped countries so that the people can 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:25.960 rise up. That's the way that this is going to end, 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.760 is when the people feel safe enough to rise up 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.640 that they can go and take their country back. If 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:32.280 the US were to. 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:34.400 Pursue the course of action you're describing, do you believe 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:36.360 it would it would be prudent for the president to 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:41.199 go to Congress first? Do you see that constitutional necessity 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:43.840 that he is consistently denied as necessary. 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:46.280 I always think you need to go to Congress. One. 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:48.800 You need the buy in of Congress, you need the 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.320 buy in of the American people. You need to explain 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:53.760 what you're doing, why you're doing it, and what you know. 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:58.760 And yes, it's just good practice to go to Congress. 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:02.240 With more. Administration has done a lot by executive order. 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:06.160 The danger in that is the next administration. If it's 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:09.280 not a Republican, all of that gets reversed, and then 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:12.480 we're swinging the pendulum. That's not good for the American people. 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:15.080 Congress needs to step up. There are a lot of 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:17.959 things Congress could be doing, but right now we're hearing 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:19.920 a lot of talking and not a lot of action. 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:25.280 The political pendulum also swings as we watch the primary 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.360 season unfold. And there was a state you know a 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:31.079 lot about that was, of course voting yesterday in South Carolina. 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:34.120 The President's endorsements have been on the line quite a 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.680 bit here more recently, and they paid off last evening, 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:40.960 particularly in the race for governor and the primary for 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:44.679 governor Pamela That curious your thoughts on this and what 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:46.840 it looks to be the end of a couple of 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:50.480 political careers, including Nancy Mace and someone who you endorsed 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:54.000 and endorsed you back in Ralph Norman. What transpired last 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:55.400 night and is it good for your party? 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:57.880 Well, I think, first of all, primaries are always good 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.080 for our party. I think that it's very important that 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.080 you have debate, that you have, you know, them touching 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.000 as many hands as they can. I'm really getting their 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:07.319 message out. So I think having a full primary was 0:13:07.360 --> 0:13:10.200 a great thing. You know, the press has been covering 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:13.079 that Nancy Mace was a factor, and because of the 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.760 Trump endorsement, she lost. She was never a factor in 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.440 this race. She was always in fifth place. She was 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:21.760 never going anywhere. She knew that in South Carolina. Knew that. 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:24.679 So you know she later bed she's now laying in it. 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:29.559 That's what she's doing. Ralph Norman, who I respect and love, 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:32.839 we go way back. He does what he says he's 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:36.160 going to do. He's got real clarity. You know, certainly 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:39.640 I wish she would have made it into the runoff, 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:41.840 but you know he was always pushing, and then you 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:46.120 had Evatt and Wilson in there, and so look, it's 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:49.240 the power of the Trump endorsement. Evatt wouldn't have made 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:51.520 it in the runoff without the Trump endorsement. So his 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:55.400 endorsement is strong. It does move the ball. And you know, 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:57.440 we just have to make sure that who we elect 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.640 in a primary is who we want to vote for 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:01.400 in a general. 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:03.520 Well, and to that point, I wonder if you think 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:07.600 the President is making the correct endorsement choices, even if 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:10.720 we look beyond South Carolina to say somewhere like Texas, Texas, 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.160 where Ken Paxton is now the one who is going 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:15.480 to have to try to hold a Senate seat in 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:16.440 Republican hands. 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.520 It's going to cost a lot more money for Republicans 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:20.600 to hold that seat. I do think we'll hold the 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:23.840 Texas seat, but it's just not Republicans. Look at Graham 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:27.800 Platner in Maine. You know, it's amazing to me. You know, 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:32.440 I always say it's important to understand that in a primary, 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.960 you make your choice. In a general election, you're given 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:39.440 the choice. You have to choose between the two. But 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:43.480 in America, typically only fifteen percent of Americans vote in 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:47.000 a primary. So what you're getting is the extreme of 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:50.800 both sides. So by the time most Americans go to vote, 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:54.320 they're having to choose between two extremes. It's because we 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.560 don't talk about primaries in high schools. Our kids don't 0:14:57.600 --> 0:14:59.640 know that they know to vote in November. They know 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:02.720 to do that, and they do. But until we start 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.880 talking about the importance of primaries, and until Americans see 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:09.800 that that's actually the race that matters, you're going to 0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:13.160 have the Packston race. You're going to have the platiners. 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:15.800 You're going to have those that make us kind of uncomfortable. 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:19.120 But you know, all in the name of getting a majority, 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:21.800 let's get the right, good people in there so that 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:23.800 we can start getting things done. But more than that, 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.000 let's look at what's not getting done. You know, you 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:30.480 look at the debt that America has right now. What 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:32.920 is Congress done about that? So you want to talk 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:35.160 about a war, but why aren't they talking about balancing 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:38.600 a budget. You know, we're thirty nine trillion dollars in debt. 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:43.120 We're going to be forty trillion in the fall. That's unacceptable. 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:46.240 That's like the US taking in five trillion a year 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:49.600 and spending seven trillion a year. You know, now we're 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:53.760 one hundred percent over GDP. The last two recessions, we 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:57.080 had a buffer. If we have another recession, there will 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:59.680 be no stimulus, there will be no tax breaks. You 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.800 aren't to have a cushion to do anything with. That 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:05.600 is something Congress can address now, and they've yet to 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:09.120 do it. Social Security is going to run out in 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:13.480 six years. Every US candidate needs to be asked, what 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:15.880 are you going to do about it? Because seventy five 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:19.560 million Americans will be affected by that. You don't wait 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:21.880 until that falls on us and do a quick band 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:24.320 aid of a deal. It's something I talked about in 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:28.040 the campaign, was reforming entitlements. You have to do that. 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:31.840 In a few years, fifteen percent of our federal outlays 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.600 are going to be interest. That's not okay. 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.240 Well, I'm just listening to you speak, ambassador, and I'm 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:40.560 wondering if you plan to travel to campaign for candidates 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:42.920 that you decide to support, whether it's in the South 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:48.200 Carolina runoff or nationally, and what your plans are beyond 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.520 this midterm cycle. We all remember when you said your 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:54.600 time would come? Is it coming? And this next round? 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:56.520 First of all, I'm going to help any candidates that 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:59.000 I can. You know, we have been helping Susan Collins 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:02.560 raise money, plan on going to Maine and campaigning for 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:05.480 her to doing that when we see a good candidate. 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:08.520 I mean that race matters to us so much. And 0:17:08.560 --> 0:17:12.600 she's been such a remarkable senator, you know, it's it 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.720 shouldn't go over seeing that she's never missed a vote, 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:20.520 never missed a vote, and regardless of where her views are, 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:25.000 she's respected. She's a hard worker, she's come out of 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:27.360 tough races, but we need to make sure she wins again. 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:29.560 We can't take this for granted. So yes, I will 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:33.320 be out there in elections helping Republicans. That's something I'm 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:36.199 always going to do. In terms of my future, you know, 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:38.120 I'm going to keep talking about the things that matter. 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:39.920 I'm going to talk about foreign policy. I'm going to 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:41.840 talk about the debt. I'm going to talk about the 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:44.439 need for us to self correct. I think that's what 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:46.280 I can do. You know, I talk to a lot 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.040 of business leaders now about how you manage business in 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:51.640 you know, this world that we're in, and that's kind 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:54.080 of where I am right now. You know, I'm not 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:56.720 going to look forward. I'm not running in twenty twenty eight. 0:17:56.800 --> 0:17:59.600 That's not something that I'm interested in. But my voice 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:01.440 is going to always be there. I think it's too 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:04.239 important for us to stay silent in times like this. 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:07.440 Well, and as you talk about talking about foreign policy, 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:10.560 something that you were vocal about in twenty twenty four, 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:12.960 President Trump, is Joe alluded to earlier, was very much 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.600 not running that kind of campaign, and yet he does 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:19.120 seem to be running that kind of presidency, much more 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:22.159 foreign policy oriented and I wonder if you expect that 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:26.960 that trajectory is going to continue where that once again 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:28.840 is back at the forefront of conversation. 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:32.760 Well, I think you can say no new wars, but 0:18:32.800 --> 0:18:36.200 the reality of Ukraine and Russia is there. Russia invaded 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.879 a free country. That's something that we can't step away from. 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:43.480 The reality of the threat from Iran on our national security. 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:46.680 You can't walk away from that. So yes, in a campaign, 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:48.879 you can say no new wars, but reality hits you 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:51.679 in the face when you get to that leadership position 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:54.000 and you have to make those decisions. And I think 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:55.800 he's having to make those decisions now. 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:59.239 It's a pretty dangerous time that we're living in and 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:01.640 talking through with you, ambassador, And there's a big question 0:19:01.640 --> 0:19:05.880 about who should be running the nation's intelligence apparatus. This 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:09.080 is a big problem on Capitol Hill. FISA expires, it 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:12.760 looks like on Friday, because lawmakers need more than Bill Pulty. 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:16.919 They want a permanent name that the president might announce. 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:19.080 He says he's working on one, but Poulty will be 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:20.560 on the job later this month. 0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:22.600 Are you comfortable with that? Well, I think Trump has 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:24.520 made it clear that he's going to put a permanent 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:27.720 person in there. That person needs to have experience we need. 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:31.080 I mean, our intelligence is everything I can tell you 0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:33.840 from when I was at the United Nations. The profiles 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:36.680 of our adversaries, Knowing what they're saying, knowing what they're doing, 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:40.639 knowing the threats that face us are hugely important. It 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:45.399 would be irresponsible for Congress not to renew FISA. I 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:51.040 can't stress enough how that keeps American safe. And regardless 0:19:51.040 --> 0:19:54.359 of what you think about Poulty, FISA needs to continue 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:56.919 and Trump needs to put someone qualified in there that 0:19:56.960 --> 0:19:59.640 can make Congress feel like they can move forward. So 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:02.119 of those things need to happen just quickly. 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:05.240 Is it also irresponsible to have someone, even an acting capacity, 0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:08.560 who's used non public mortgage data to go after perceived 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:10.240 enemies of the president. 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:14.280 I think that what we want is transparency. Let us 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:17.240 know who's serving us, what are they doing for us, 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:20.439 Be transparent about it, and what's your end goal. I 0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:22.800 think that they're, you know, cabinet members who are doing 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:24.600 a great job. I think there are other cabinet members 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:27.080 who we may not know as much of what they're doing. 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:30.239 Open it all up, let the American people see at 0:20:30.280 --> 0:20:33.280 the end of the day. Americans want to know that 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.439 government's working for them. They still don't trust government. They 0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:39.320 don't trust our agencies, they don't trust Congress, they don't 0:20:39.359 --> 0:20:43.680 trust selected officials. Americans deserve better. You know, they're paying 0:20:43.760 --> 0:20:47.719