WEBVTT - Special Report: President Trump's Prime Time Address

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.

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<v Speaker 2>This is a breaking news update from Bloomberg instant.

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<v Speaker 3>Reaction and analysis from our three thousand journalists and analysts

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<v Speaker 3>around the world.

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<v Speaker 2>This is special coverage from Bloomberg Radio. I'm Doug Chrisner

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<v Speaker 2>in New York Wednesday evening. In a rare primetime address

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<v Speaker 2>to the nation, President Trump provided an update on the

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<v Speaker 2>war in Iran.

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<v Speaker 4>Thanks to the progress we've made, I can say tonight

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<v Speaker 4>that we are on track to complete all of America's

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<v Speaker 4>military objectives shortly, very shortly. We're going to hit them

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<v Speaker 4>extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We're

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<v Speaker 4>going to bring them back to the Stone ages where

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<v Speaker 4>they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing. Regime change

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<v Speaker 4>was not our goal. We never said regime change. But

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<v Speaker 4>regime change has occurred because of all of their original

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<v Speaker 4>leader's death. They're all dead. The new group is less

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<v Speaker 4>radical and much more reasonable. Yet, if during this period

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<v Speaker 4>of time no deal is made, we have our eyes

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<v Speaker 4>or in key targets. If there is no deal, we

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<v Speaker 4>are going to hit each and every one of their

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<v Speaker 4>electric generating plants very hard, and probably simultaneously. We have

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<v Speaker 4>not hit their oil, even though that's the easiest target

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<v Speaker 4>of all because it would not give them even a

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<v Speaker 4>small chance of survival or rebuilding. But we could hit

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<v Speaker 4>it and it would be gone, and there's not a

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<v Speaker 4>thing they could do about it.

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<v Speaker 2>President Trump, they are delivering a rare prime time address

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<v Speaker 2>with regards to war in Iran. He said, the US

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<v Speaker 2>is getting very close to finishing the job in Iran.

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<v Speaker 2>The hard part, in Trump's words, done insofar as Iron

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<v Speaker 2>is concerned, and the country is no longer really a threat.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's talk a little bit more about what we heard

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<v Speaker 2>today from the President with our special guest, Christina Raffini

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<v Speaker 2>is with us. She is co host of Bloomberg This Weekend.

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<v Speaker 2>Also on the line, Bloomberg's Jeff Mason. He is White

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<v Speaker 2>House and Washington correspondent. Thanks to you both, Christina, let

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<v Speaker 2>me begin with you. What did you make of what

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<v Speaker 2>you heard tonight.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the interesting things we did not hear was

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<v Speaker 1>something we were expecting to hear, and that was the

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<v Speaker 1>President name NATO. We understand he's been very frustrated with

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<v Speaker 1>NATO allies. He kind of second referenced it at one point.

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<v Speaker 1>He said America doesn't need things out of the Strait.

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<v Speaker 1>We have our own oil and gas. And to all

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<v Speaker 1>you allies who basically wouldn't help us, if you want it,

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<v Speaker 1>go protect it. He also gave a bit of a timeline,

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<v Speaker 1>although there weren't as many specifics as a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>people were hoping for. He said, our objectives are about

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<v Speaker 1>to be fully achieved. We're on track to complete those shortly,

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<v Speaker 1>and then he said in the next two to three weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>And for context, he then began listing the duration of

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<v Speaker 1>other American wars, including Vietnam and the Iraq War, which

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<v Speaker 1>meant much longer, and that it's you know, this has

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<v Speaker 1>only been thirty two days of conflict, Jeff.

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<v Speaker 2>He seemed to be delivering an ultimatum. He Vice President jd.

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<v Speaker 2>Vance is set to relay some messages through mediators, and

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<v Speaker 2>essentially it comes down to this, if there is no deal,

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<v Speaker 2>the US is going to hit each and every one

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<v Speaker 2>of Iran's electrical generating plants very hard. That seems to

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<v Speaker 2>be illegal, doesn't Well.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't feel like I can comment on whether it's illegal,

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<v Speaker 3>but I can say that it is certainly a threat,

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<v Speaker 3>and that may be one reason why we're seeing s

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<v Speaker 3>and p futures going down already as President Trump was speaking,

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<v Speaker 3>and that's probably the opposite of what he was hoping

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<v Speaker 3>to achieve, because he did reference the markets tonight, and

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<v Speaker 3>he talked about the fact that stock markets had dropped

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<v Speaker 3>a little bit because of the war, and then he

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<v Speaker 3>said what he often says, which is he said he

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<v Speaker 3>saw the markets coming back as he's been talking about

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<v Speaker 3>ending the conflict, and thought it seemed happy about that.

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<v Speaker 3>I think tonight was largely a sales pitch by the president.

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<v Speaker 3>It's a late sales pitch, and I don't mean late

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<v Speaker 3>on a Wednesday evening. I mean late in the process

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<v Speaker 3>of the war. He launched this war four and a

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<v Speaker 3>half weeks ago, essentially with a social media announcement, and yes,

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<v Speaker 3>he has spoken to reporters and in that way addressed

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<v Speaker 3>the American public over these weeks, but this was his

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<v Speaker 3>first time coming out and laying out the logic for

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<v Speaker 3>going into the war and laying out his next steps.

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<v Speaker 3>And that's what he did with this address tonight. But

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<v Speaker 3>I wouldn't say we learned a whole lot more about

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<v Speaker 3>the war or the process, other than him sticking to

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<v Speaker 3>a two to three week timeline for getting out Christina.

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<v Speaker 2>Earlier today, Iranian President Mussuit Przeskyn took the, let's call

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<v Speaker 2>it unusual step of issuing a letter directly addressed to Americans,

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<v Speaker 2>and in it, he said, continuing along the path of

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<v Speaker 2>confrontation is more costly in few ChIL than ever before,

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<v Speaker 2>and he noted that attacks on infrastructure directly target Iranian people.

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<v Speaker 2>Did it surprise you that there was no reference made

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<v Speaker 2>to that letter.

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<v Speaker 3>Not really.

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<v Speaker 1>The President doesn't like to I don't think he wants

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<v Speaker 1>to give credence to that administration or that power structure

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<v Speaker 1>in Tehran right now. But it was an interesting move

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<v Speaker 1>by Iran because that's something we've seen Americans usually come

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<v Speaker 1>from the State Department or American presidents have often issued

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<v Speaker 1>statements in Farsi for the Iranian people. They often are

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<v Speaker 1>trying to appeal to the people, especially during the protests

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<v Speaker 1>or as President Trump said tonight, regime change was not

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<v Speaker 1>our goal, but regime change has occurred. If you're trying

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<v Speaker 1>to appeal directly to the population to overthrow what you

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<v Speaker 1>view as a corrupt and as you said several times,

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<v Speaker 1>evil regime, that is something we are more commonly seeing

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<v Speaker 1>from the US to Iran. I don't remember in recent

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<v Speaker 1>memory the President of Iran appealing directly to the American people,

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<v Speaker 1>but these are unprecedented times. The other thing the President

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<v Speaker 1>said that I thought was interesting was when he talked

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<v Speaker 1>about regime change. He said, but regime change has occurred

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<v Speaker 1>because all the original leaders are dead. This is true.

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<v Speaker 1>They have taken out of a lot of Iran's leadership,

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<v Speaker 1>but the current leader is the son of the former leader,

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<v Speaker 1>and a lot of the mullahs and power structure that

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<v Speaker 1>are electing him are still in place from the old regime.

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<v Speaker 1>And if anything, analysts have told us these strikes knocked

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<v Speaker 1>out of a lot of potential moderates, and you're getting

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<v Speaker 1>mostly extremists who are in the government right now, with

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<v Speaker 1>the exception of perhaps the president and the Foreign Minister

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe the Speaker of the House in Tehran. So

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<v Speaker 1>that's not exactly accurate. And calling it regime change is

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<v Speaker 1>also not accurate, because these are, for better or worse,

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<v Speaker 1>mostly the same people who were in power before this

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<v Speaker 1>assault started.

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<v Speaker 2>Jeff, we understand that British Foreign Secretary of At Cooper

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<v Speaker 2>will be chairing a virtual meeting with counterparts from some

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<v Speaker 2>thirty five countries, and the aim apparently is to discuss

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<v Speaker 2>a plan to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait.

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<v Speaker 2>The US, from what I d stand, is not due

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<v Speaker 2>to attend this virtual meeting. Where do you think things

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<v Speaker 2>stand with some of our allies, particularly those in Europe.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, it's hard to say. I think they've certainly had

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<v Speaker 3>a wake up call from President Trump. And that didn't

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<v Speaker 3>just start with this war. That started with his return

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<v Speaker 3>to office, generally when he started to be critical of

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<v Speaker 3>NATO again as he was during his first term. Although

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<v Speaker 3>I will say I asked him a question of one

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<v Speaker 3>of his first press conferences last year about whether he

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<v Speaker 3>remained committed to Article five, which of course is the

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<v Speaker 3>part of the NATO Treaty that guarantees mutual defense, and

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<v Speaker 3>he said yes. But there has certainly been a number

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<v Speaker 3>of questions about that since, and he is raising them

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<v Speaker 3>himself by being critical of NATO allies, Britain in particular,

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<v Speaker 3>I might add, for not jumping in to help protect

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<v Speaker 3>the straight of hor Moves and help get ship help

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<v Speaker 3>improve the shipping passages through there. So to your question,

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<v Speaker 3>and that was a long wind up. Sorry. The fact

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<v Speaker 3>that the United States is not taking part is probably

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<v Speaker 3>a sign that these other countries realize that Trump is

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<v Speaker 3>serious when he says we're going to leave in two

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<v Speaker 3>to three weeks and we don't really care what happens

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<v Speaker 3>to the Strait of Hormuz. I mean, he says that

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<v Speaker 3>it will it'll just automatically start working better. But I

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<v Speaker 3>think most reasonable people who are familiar with that area

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<v Speaker 3>of the world will know that that's not the case.

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<v Speaker 3>And so these countries appear to be looking like they

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<v Speaker 3>want to talk about it in order to come up

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<v Speaker 3>with a strategy.

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<v Speaker 2>Speaking with Bloomberg's Jeff Mason, who is our White House

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<v Speaker 2>and Washington correspondent, as well as Christina Ruffini, who is

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<v Speaker 2>co host of Bloomberg This Weekend. By the way, you

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<v Speaker 2>can catch here Saturdays and Sundays on Bloomberg TV and

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<v Speaker 2>Radio beginning at seven a m. Eastern time. Christina, let

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<v Speaker 2>me go to you. The conversation that we had yesterday

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<v Speaker 2>late in the day was the possibility of some type

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<v Speaker 2>of UN action as it relates to the UAE, maybe

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<v Speaker 2>using the use of force to keeping the straight open.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you think that's got any chance of succeeding.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the UN is at its weakest that we've

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<v Speaker 1>seen it in probably the last two decades. But following

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<v Speaker 1>up on Jeff's point, the President said, when this is done,

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<v Speaker 1>it will just open up naturally because they want to

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<v Speaker 1>sell the oil, referring to the Strait of Hormuz. What

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<v Speaker 1>Jeff was talking about is something that allies are really

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<v Speaker 1>concerned about, and that's probably what's precipitating that mention that

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<v Speaker 1>that meeting you mentioned it from the UK and this

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<v Speaker 1>effort to try to get some sort of coalition together

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<v Speaker 1>with the UN, with these nations to open up the street,

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<v Speaker 1>because it is looking more and more likely, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think the President's words hinted at it tonight. He doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>really care if the strait is operational. He's going to

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<v Speaker 1>do his thing, and the US is going to leave.

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<v Speaker 1>And all those GCC countries, all those golf allies, all

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<v Speaker 1>the Asian countries that depend heavily on oil coming through

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<v Speaker 1>that street, some of them who thought they had very

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<v Speaker 1>close ties to the United States are going to be

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<v Speaker 1>in trouble if the US is not there to finish

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<v Speaker 1>the job, and that's going to fall to some sort

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<v Speaker 1>of coalition of other nations. Maybe the UN is the

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<v Speaker 1>mechanism by which they make that happen. But I would

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<v Speaker 1>reckon it probably happens between a collaboration of EU and

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<v Speaker 1>GCC countries. I think it probably happens outside that body.

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<v Speaker 1>But perhaps talking about it at the UN will be

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<v Speaker 1>helpful in getting that started. But this is a real issue,

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<v Speaker 1>and allies are really concerned that this could actually happen

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<v Speaker 1>and they could be left in a worse straitun unintended

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<v Speaker 1>than when this war started, because Iran could be controlling

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<v Speaker 1>the strait and then potentially profiting off of it if

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<v Speaker 1>it starts to charge tolls or control passage.

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<v Speaker 2>Jeff, let me go to you. Is President Trump getting

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<v Speaker 2>advice from anyone outside that inner circle so to speak?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you think?

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<v Speaker 4>You know?

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<v Speaker 3>It's always sort of tricky to figure out where President

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<v Speaker 3>Trump is getting his advice. We know that he talks to,

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<v Speaker 3>of course the inner circle of advisors that you were referencing,

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<v Speaker 3>also an outer circle of friends. He calls some of

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<v Speaker 3>the natural US allies and leaders of friends as well,

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<v Speaker 3>but it's hard for me to say to what extent

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<v Speaker 3>he's listening to them. I always come back, when asked

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<v Speaker 3>about this, to something that he said. I believe it

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<v Speaker 3>was in twenty sixteen, before he won the first election

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<v Speaker 3>that he won, which he was asked then where he

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<v Speaker 3>gets his advice, and he said from myself, And I

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<v Speaker 3>think that that still applies in twenty twenty six He

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<v Speaker 3>is his top counselor, he is his top spokesperson. He

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<v Speaker 3>likes to be the number one in charge, and he

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<v Speaker 3>likes to be the one delivering the message, and he

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<v Speaker 3>likes to be the one making the decisions. Now that's

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<v Speaker 3>not to say he's not listening to some others and

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<v Speaker 3>getting some advice, certainly from people like Marco Rubio, Steve Woodkoff,

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<v Speaker 3>Jared Kushner, and probably his own vice president, as you

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<v Speaker 3>noted earlier, who's becoming a little bit more involved in

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<v Speaker 3>more recent days. But the buck stops with him, and

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<v Speaker 3>he's the ultimate.

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<v Speaker 2>Decider, Christina. Before this conflict began, the administration was somewhat

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<v Speaker 2>stressing the issue of affordability. And I know now that

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<v Speaker 2>the Cleveland now cast from the Cleveland Fed has the

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<v Speaker 2>inflation rated around forecasted around three and a quarter percent.

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<v Speaker 2>Where do you think this leaves the president as we

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<v Speaker 2>talk more and more about the run up to the

0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:25.720
<v Speaker 2>off term elections.

0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.040
<v Speaker 1>I mean again, I hate to give Jeff Mason too

0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:30.920
<v Speaker 1>much credit, just kidding. Jeff is brilliant, but he was

0:12:31.000 --> 0:12:34.920
<v Speaker 1>right saying he was right and saying this was part

0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:38.920
<v Speaker 1>of that. This is a sales pitch because midterms are

0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:41.679
<v Speaker 1>if you are the president, just around the corner. And

0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:44.319
<v Speaker 1>even if this is resolved tomorrow, which the President said,

0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:45.880
<v Speaker 1>it's not going to be right. He's looking at a

0:12:45.880 --> 0:12:48.839
<v Speaker 1>two to three week timeline before the US operation is

0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.120
<v Speaker 1>even finished. That's not to say whether or not the

0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:55.240
<v Speaker 1>strait is working by then. And even though the President

0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:57.600
<v Speaker 1>emphasized many many times he said, you know, thanks to

0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.520
<v Speaker 1>my economic policies, we have drill, baby, Bill, drill, the

0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.719
<v Speaker 1>US is financially independent. The oil prices will come down,

0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:07.600
<v Speaker 1>the stock market will go up. That's pretty aspirational because

0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.439
<v Speaker 1>every analyst I've heard on Bloomberg this week is saying

0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:13.040
<v Speaker 1>this is not like flipping a switch. There's a tail

0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:17.480
<v Speaker 1>to this. It's inputs for chemicals, it's fertilizer for farmers.

0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.120
<v Speaker 1>It's the global oil price, not just what we're paying

0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:23.800
<v Speaker 1>in the US. That impacts everybody's price at the pump.

0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.920
<v Speaker 1>And that's something that voters are really going to notice.

0:13:26.960 --> 0:13:29.840
<v Speaker 1>And you know, Trump voters are very, very loyal, but

0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.200
<v Speaker 1>it's expensive to live in the United States right now,

0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:34.400
<v Speaker 1>and families are under a lot of pressure, and that's

0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:36.280
<v Speaker 1>really really going to hurt him, and it's really going

0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:39.160
<v Speaker 1>to hurt Republicans ahead of the midterms when they're already

0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:40.280
<v Speaker 1>looking at an uphill battle.

0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:42.440
<v Speaker 2>Jeff, what do we know about the build up of

0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:45.320
<v Speaker 2>additional US troops in the Mid East region?

0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:47.440
<v Speaker 3>Let me answer that, and then I want to get

0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:50.040
<v Speaker 3>back to the politics briefly. As far as the build up,

0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:53.160
<v Speaker 3>we know that in recent days and weeks that the

0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:56.600
<v Speaker 3>United States has sent more troops to the region, which

0:13:56.600 --> 0:14:01.439
<v Speaker 3>has led to some speculation about boots putting boots on

0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:05.360
<v Speaker 3>the ground. That's definitely not something that the President addressed tonight,

0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:09.240
<v Speaker 3>which I think you can interpret in two ways. Number One,

0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.280
<v Speaker 3>you would, I don't think, be wrong to conclude that

0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:16.240
<v Speaker 3>he's signaling that that is definitely not the direction he

0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:19.600
<v Speaker 3>wants to move, or else he wouldn't be repeating the

0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:22.080
<v Speaker 3>fact that he wants to conclude the war in the

0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:25.360
<v Speaker 3>next two to three weeks. You could also conclude that

0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:29.160
<v Speaker 3>it's a headfake and that the President is still considering

0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:32.240
<v Speaker 3>it and that's why he has sent troops into the

0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:35.480
<v Speaker 3>region in order to continue to have that option. So

0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:40.440
<v Speaker 3>that'll be something that you know, allies and enemies will

0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:46.080
<v Speaker 3>will have to figure out as as as this war continues. Briefly,

0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:49.600
<v Speaker 3>back on the politics, though, I also wanted to say

0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:52.120
<v Speaker 3>I said earlier that this was a sales pitch. One

0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:53.960
<v Speaker 3>of the things that was a sales pitch, I think

0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:57.680
<v Speaker 3>was him listing the number of when Christina mentioned this,

0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:01.440
<v Speaker 3>as well, listing the major wars of the last century

0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:05.400
<v Speaker 3>and how long they took. And I'm just I'd be

0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:08.320
<v Speaker 3>very curious to see some polling after the speech as

0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:11.520
<v Speaker 3>to whether that logic resonates at all, both with his

0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:14.200
<v Speaker 3>base and with an American public that heard him say

0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:16.760
<v Speaker 3>as a candidate in twenty twenty four that he would

0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:18.880
<v Speaker 3>not launch new wars Christina.

0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:21.880
<v Speaker 2>Earlier in the week, the president was focused on trying

0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:25.640
<v Speaker 2>to recover enriched uranium in Iran, but apparently he told

0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:29.440
<v Speaker 2>Reuters that it's so far underground he doesn't even care

0:15:29.480 --> 0:15:31.520
<v Speaker 2>about it any longer. Talk to me about what you

0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:35.360
<v Speaker 2>perceived to be the maybe subtle shifts in objectives.

0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:38.680
<v Speaker 1>So the Washington Post was out with some good reporting

0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:42.720
<v Speaker 1>today about the President asking for an operational plan for

0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:45.280
<v Speaker 1>US Commando's special forces to go in and try to

0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:50.040
<v Speaker 1>retrieve that uranium. That to me immediately seems like an

0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:54.280
<v Speaker 1>almost impossible and incredibly dangerous task because, as the President

0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:58.240
<v Speaker 1>mentioned in his speech, the US hit s Fahim, Thetans

0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:02.200
<v Speaker 1>FDAU those new clear sites very heavily last June with

0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:06.840
<v Speaker 1>those big bunker busting bombs, and according to the President,

0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:10.040
<v Speaker 1>greatered them and at the time destroyed the nuclear the

0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:14.080
<v Speaker 1>nuclear program. Now tonight, the President said that Iran was

0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.520
<v Speaker 1>on the door of a nuclear bomb and they were

0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:21.200
<v Speaker 1>mirroring the race. Everyone I've spoken to nuclear experts say

0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:23.480
<v Speaker 1>there's no evidence that Iran was any closer to that

0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:25.760
<v Speaker 1>breakout time the time it takes them to flip the

0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:28.880
<v Speaker 1>switch and create a nuclear weapon than they were when

0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:33.400
<v Speaker 1>the US attacks those nuclear sites last summer. The issue

0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.600
<v Speaker 1>is is this has been a talking point for the President,

0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:39.160
<v Speaker 1>and so he wants to show that he's trying to

0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:42.080
<v Speaker 1>prevent a Ran from having a nuclear bomb. He has

0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:44.880
<v Speaker 1>a plan for getting that uranium, but now it seems

0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:47.000
<v Speaker 1>like he is backing off of that. That could be

0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:50.360
<v Speaker 1>potentially because those plans came back and were not feasible

0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:52.960
<v Speaker 1>or just simply because he realized that it contradicts his

0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:56.640
<v Speaker 1>own argument that the US destroyed these sites. But at

0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:59.160
<v Speaker 1>the same time, he's also saying that Iran was about

0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:01.720
<v Speaker 1>to get a nuclear and both those two things can't

0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:02.320
<v Speaker 1>really be true.

0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:04.760
<v Speaker 2>Jeff, I'll give you the last word as we get

0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:05.640
<v Speaker 2>set to wrap up.

0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.440
<v Speaker 3>I appreciate you giving me the last word instead of Christina,

0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.520
<v Speaker 3>But what I would like to say is actually building

0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:17.240
<v Speaker 3>off of her brilliant remarks just there, which is politically

0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:20.800
<v Speaker 3>their conservatives and I spoke to one of them today

0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.640
<v Speaker 3>who are concerned that President Trump is not finishing the job.

0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:28.280
<v Speaker 3>That he made the decision to go in and start

0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:31.760
<v Speaker 3>this war, controversial decision but one that is certainly supported

0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:36.000
<v Speaker 3>by a lot of Iran Hawks and right leading people

0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:40.240
<v Speaker 3>in the foreign policy establishment, and they were worried ahead

0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.359
<v Speaker 3>of this speech today that he is done with it,

0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:45.919
<v Speaker 3>ready to get out because of the multiple reasons that

0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:49.280
<v Speaker 3>we've already cited, and that that will actually still leave

0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:54.000
<v Speaker 3>a threat in Iran that he could have taken care

0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:55.560
<v Speaker 3>of now if he had just stuck with it.

0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:58.840
<v Speaker 2>Jeff, thank you so very much. Bloomberg's Jeff Mason, our

0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:02.440
<v Speaker 2>White House and Washington correspondent, and a very special thanks

0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:05.760
<v Speaker 2>to Christina Raffini, co host of Bloomberg This weekend, and

0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:08.879
<v Speaker 2>you can capture Saturdays and Sundays on Bloomberg TV and

0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:12.639
<v Speaker 2>Radio beginning at seven a m. Eastern Time. Thanks to

0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:13.680
<v Speaker 2>you both,