Speaker 1: As we discussed yesterday, there is a debate that is
Speaker 1: emerging about how much financial support, how much weaponry the
Speaker 1: US and allies, but specifically the US should continue to
Speaker 1: provide Ukraine. And as we heard, there are concerns by
Speaker 1: some Republicans who expect to take control of the House
Speaker 1: in November that the days of blank checks are about
Speaker 1: to end, considering the inflationary environment, talk of a recession.
Speaker 1: Other priorities here domestically, and it's part of the reason
Speaker 1: why we're seeing private fundraising kick in now. United twenty
Speaker 1: four is a program that was launched by President Zelenski,
Speaker 1: launched by the government of Ukraine to help raise money
Speaker 1: in any number of areas. One of them is acquiring drones,
Speaker 1: and they've turned to none other than Luke Skywalker for help.
Speaker 1: Mark Hamill, the actor from Star Wars fame, is now
Speaker 1: officially signed on as Ukraine's Ambassador of drones, and I
Speaker 1: had a chance to talk about him, to go deeper
Speaker 1: inside how all of this began with Mark Hamill. Listen, well,
Speaker 1: I appreciate you giving me the coverage because it's it's
Speaker 1: such a crucial thing. I mean, just to start at
Speaker 1: the beginning, my wife said, you've been contacted by President Zelenski,
Speaker 1: and I thought, am I being pranked by one of
Speaker 1: my merry band of friends. But once we realized it
Speaker 1: was true, I first I spoke to the people in
Speaker 1: his administration and then they did a zoom with the
Speaker 1: president himself and he asked me to join United four,
Speaker 1: which is their fundraising platform. And there were different people
Speaker 1: being involved. Was Live Schreiber and Imagine Dragons and Barbara
Speaker 1: streisand but we all had different areas. In my particular
Speaker 1: area was Army of Drones. I think they picked me
Speaker 1: because it sounds like another episode of Star Wars. I
Speaker 1: figured that was no accident to have Luke Skywalker by
Speaker 1: the Ambassador of drones. Well, the thing is very simply,
Speaker 1: Ukraine needs drones and you know they define war outcomes.
Speaker 1: They they protect their land, their people there, they monitor
Speaker 1: the border, their their eyes in the sky. To donate,
Speaker 1: you go to you two for dot g o V
Speaker 1: dot U a forward slash drone nation d R O
Speaker 1: n A t I O N you two for dot
Speaker 1: gov dot you a forward slash dronation. And not just
Speaker 1: we're not just looking for voluntary contributions, but if you
Speaker 1: have an actual drone that I was really shocked because
Speaker 1: I mean, they give me these updates at least two
Speaker 1: or three times a week about what's going on. And
Speaker 1: they said that they've received over five drones. So I
Speaker 1: started this, I know, because you've seen what's gone on
Speaker 1: in the last week. Russia launched. On Monday, they launched
Speaker 1: an attack on Ukrainian capital using Iranian made shah Head drones.
Speaker 1: Thirty seven of the forty three drones were down and
Speaker 1: and six they say arrived. I bet you she means survived.
Speaker 1: I mean, I listen kama Kaze drones, you know. I mean,
Speaker 1: if it's if it's like it wasn't World War two,
Speaker 1: that means hit their target and explode. The drone itself
Speaker 1: is the weapon exactly. And it's just so disheartening to
Speaker 1: see them attacking civilian outlets, civilian targets, infrastructure, hitting children's playgrounds, schools.
Speaker 1: It's just awful. And I think after the Ukrainians bombed
Speaker 1: the Crimean Bridge, it really irritated Putin and he's been
Speaker 1: particularly brutal since that happened. And you know, I think
Speaker 1: of this, it's not just the Ukraine's problem. I think
Speaker 1: the whole world uh, should be aiding Ukraine because the
Speaker 1: entire civilized world is united against this hostile invasion by
Speaker 1: into a sovereign nation the likes of which I've never
Speaker 1: seen in my lifetime. I guess you have to go
Speaker 1: back to World War Two to figure out the last
Speaker 1: time something like this happened. So Um, I was struck
Speaker 1: by your tweet of October first, and this is the
Speaker 1: first time I heard anything about your involvement here. It
Speaker 1: had the image of a lone X wing fighter colored
Speaker 1: blue and yellow, facing off with a fleet of star
Speaker 1: destroyers and had simply the words resist, stand with Ukraine.
Speaker 1: Was this a personal thing for you? Mark? Absolutely? I
Speaker 1: mean the thing is, you sit and you watch the
Speaker 1: New Island news junkie, I read papers every day. I
Speaker 1: watched the news, and you feel so it seems so futile.
Speaker 1: I mean, you go what I've you'll still help us?
Speaker 1: What can I do? Well? When I was contacted and
Speaker 1: asked to do this, I didn't have to think for
Speaker 1: a second. I mean, I'll do whatever they want me
Speaker 1: to do. And uh, you know, I mean, and I
Speaker 1: hope you know over a hundred and fifteen countries have donated,
Speaker 1: which is why I think, Uh, it's it's such a
Speaker 1: David and Goliath situation. You talked about that poster with
Speaker 1: this little tiny X wing going up against this gigantic
Speaker 1: armada of star destroyers. It is very David and Goliath.
Speaker 1: So I mean, I like everyone assumed, I guess they
Speaker 1: invaded on the twenty four February, that they would be
Speaker 1: offered no resistance, that they just fold. I didn't know
Speaker 1: much about Ukraine at all. I I knew I knew
Speaker 1: about President Zelenski after the first impeachment is what robbed
Speaker 1: him on the radar screen. So I started like researching
Speaker 1: him and the country of you Crane. You must be
Speaker 1: impressed he as an actor. Yes, I didn't go to
Speaker 1: law school like he did, but you know, life imitates art,
Speaker 1: and for him to portray this fictional character who winds
Speaker 1: up becoming to happen in real life, it's, you know,
Speaker 1: that's that's that's that's a movie in and of itself.
Speaker 1: I have to ask you, Mark about the debate that's
Speaker 1: just emerging here in Washington, and it's not one that
Speaker 1: you're going to be glad to hear about maybe already have.
Speaker 1: But Kevin McCarthy, who wants to be the next speaker,
Speaker 1: says if Republicans take over the House, basically we're going
Speaker 1: to have a second look at funding for Ukraine. He
Speaker 1: was telling a punch bowl that you know this is
Speaker 1: not going to be a blank check. So I guess
Speaker 1: my question for you is, and we don't have to
Speaker 1: get political in this interview, is this going to be
Speaker 1: a private sector fundraising operation much like you're doing as
Speaker 1: we move forward? Well, I expect to continue until they
Speaker 1: say you're you're you're done. I mean, I'm not going
Speaker 1: to give up. But is this going to replace government
Speaker 1: funding from the US? I guess is my question him. Look, uh,
Speaker 1: it's impossible not to get political. The coalition that we
Speaker 1: have now are our Democrats, independents, and reasonable Republicans that
Speaker 1: live in the fact based community, you know, because there's
Speaker 1: no evidence whatsoever. And I think of all the damaging
Speaker 1: things the former president did, one that will have reverberate
Speaker 1: into the future and affect us for years to come,
Speaker 1: is this election denying things? I have Republican friends, I
Speaker 1: have independent friends, and we disagree on policy, but it
Speaker 1: didn't make us enemies. Were still friends. Now it's gotten
Speaker 1: so toxic. Is this your no, no, I Look, I
Speaker 1: always vote. I've never not voted up for some reason,
Speaker 1: even as a kid. I'm old enough to remember in
Speaker 1: grade school when Nixon was running against Kennedy, and I
Speaker 1: didn't know any of the issues. I just knew one
Speaker 1: sort of beamed sunshine, had a great smile and made
Speaker 1: people laugh. He was funny. The other one is this glowering,
Speaker 1: sort of scary eye that reminded me of my one
Speaker 1: of the teachers I was afraid of at school. If
Speaker 1: we could get the eighteen to twenty five year old
Speaker 1: I don't know what percentage of them voted. I think
Speaker 1: it's around but whatever the number is, if you get
Speaker 1: at that up, five young people could rule the world.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think they've awoken a sleeping giant between
Speaker 1: the Dobb's decision getting rid of Rogue v Wade and
Speaker 1: I've never seen an election where a threat to democracy
Speaker 1: is one of the top issues. Would you come to
Speaker 1: Washington to testify if if they asked you to on
Speaker 1: behalf of Ukrainian funding. Look, I'm going to do what
Speaker 1: they want me to do. I don't see the value.
Speaker 1: And I said to them, I said, you know, most
Speaker 1: people know because of my social media and so forth,
Speaker 1: that what my politics are. I mean, I was never
Speaker 1: an activist or a pundit in any way. And I
Speaker 1: mean I been asked to be on um MSNBC and
Speaker 1: CNN before, but that was before this, and I always
Speaker 1: decline because I thought, you know, that's not my area
Speaker 1: and I should shut up. And I would say to
Speaker 1: people that, you know, people don't want me to campaign
Speaker 1: in their states and so forth. I said, look, it
Speaker 1: could backfire. I mean, the opposition will point me as
Speaker 1: an elitist Hollywood celebrity and and so I you know,
Speaker 1: I have to be very careful about that. But you know,
Speaker 1: like I say, I'm here to do whatever the Ukrainian
Speaker 1: government wants me to do. Well, you know, Vladimir Putin
Speaker 1: certainly knows who you are, which must be odd to
Speaker 1: think about. What's your message to him? You know, that's
Speaker 1: funny that you should mention that, because it never occurred
Speaker 1: to me that he would. I mean, I guess now
Speaker 1: you're right. Uh. I just hope he finds a way
Speaker 1: to save face and you know, declare his version of
Speaker 1: victory so that he can stop. But you know that's
Speaker 1: you know, that's just the optimist though, I mean, there's
Speaker 1: got you've got to find hope where you can find it,
Speaker 1: and I would hope that there's a way to maneuver
Speaker 1: him into a situation where he can say, Okay, I've
Speaker 1: accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. But I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're talking to one of the wealthiest audiences
Speaker 1: that you'll find in American broadcasting. Here, we're undone Mark.
Speaker 1: That's what they tell me at least, So so tell
Speaker 1: them what they can do now to make a difference. Well,
Speaker 1: like I say, I mean any amount of money. I mean, kids,
Speaker 1: give up that pint of Ben and Jerry's and send
Speaker 1: that ice cream money, or your wealthy viewers and listeners
Speaker 1: can send as much as they can afford to the
Speaker 1: website that I mentioned that United absolutely and and and
Speaker 1: as Mark said, you can donate money, or you can,
Speaker 1: as they say, dronate a drum. I love that. I
Speaker 1: thought that was pretty good. Well, I mean that's my
Speaker 1: I'd have to tell you. When my kids are always
Speaker 1: complaining about my Twitter, they go, Dad, your Twitter account
Speaker 1: is just so full of dad jokes, said, what are
Speaker 1: you talking about? Dad jokes? That I have three kids
Speaker 1: and the one said obvious. The second one said full
Speaker 1: of ponds. The third one said not funny. It said,
Speaker 1: why you If it makes me laugh, it should make
Speaker 1: other people laugh, not just all the senior citizens. But
Speaker 1: you know you need to do what you can. Well,
Speaker 1: I just they couldn't have found a better ambassador, a
Speaker 1: better emissary. And we're delighted you came here to help
Speaker 1: deliver the message and we're going to spread the word.
Speaker 1: Mark Hamil, I really appreciate you. Thanks. I appreciate Bloomberg
Speaker 1: giving me the the airtime because, like I say, it's
Speaker 1: a it's crucial that we all continue to do whatever
Speaker 1: we can to make this dreadful war come to an end.
Speaker 1: President Zelanski issued a statement upon your meeting and was
Speaker 1: a photograph of you guys talking there on the screen
Speaker 1: and the first line is may the Force be with you.
Speaker 1: Did he say that to you? Yes? Well, the thing
Speaker 1: is I've always shocked. I mean I was. I was
Speaker 1: on the air with Jim Acossa. I hadn't had no idea.
Speaker 1: It was a Star Wars NERD depression on the air,
Speaker 1: and I find it delightful. But you see, one of
Speaker 1: the things that I understand about that is that Star
Speaker 1: Wars was conceived as a fairy tale for children. George
Speaker 1: want to tell the story, he said, if he put
Speaker 1: it in reality would be so corny. You know. He
Speaker 1: brought back to the old westerns where the good guy
Speaker 1: wore a white hat, you know, and he thought, the
Speaker 1: only way to get away with this without people laughing
Speaker 1: it off the screen is depluting in the galaxy far
Speaker 1: far away, because it's it's it's it's it's the good
Speaker 1: is clearly devined. Evil is clearly divined. And they're they're
Speaker 1: endlessly optimistic films. They're telling you that if you do
Speaker 1: the right thing for the right reasons, selflessly, not thinking
Speaker 1: about your own, you know, not to help yourself, but
Speaker 1: to help everyone around and you, you will succeed. And
Speaker 1: those are things that probably resonate with both Jim Acosta
Speaker 1: and Zelenski. They they you know, they're my son's age.
Speaker 1: They probably were six or seven years old when they
Speaker 1: saw those movies. So yeah, not only did he say that,
Speaker 1: but he's referred to Russia as the evil Empire. Now,
Speaker 1: how can you argue with that? Well, I was five
Speaker 1: and and I'm still watching him, and Mark Hamill thinks
Speaker 1: I'll tell you if I wasn't an actor, I'd love
Speaker 1: to have your job, because I told you I'm a
Speaker 1: news junkie. To get paid to follow what's going on
Speaker 1: in the world and interview people and write articles, it
Speaker 1: must be the best job in the world. It's it's well,
Speaker 1: I get to talk to people like you. It is
Speaker 1: pretty great. And you know this microphone is yours anytime
Speaker 1: you want to host this program. Thanks so much. I
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. Thank you so much, Mark Hamill for
Speaker 1: being with us, and good luck with this effort my pleasures.
Speaker 1: Do you think he'd fill in? I think we haven't
Speaker 1: fill in on the fastest hour in politic x Mark
Speaker 1: Hamill for you there only on Bloomberg Radio, an unlikely
Speaker 1: conversation with an unlikely ambassador at this time of war,
Speaker 1: and realizing not everyone agrees with his politics. I'm still
Speaker 1: glad we could bring you that interview. It's when you
Speaker 1: will not hear on the radio tonight anywhere else