Speaker 1: Now from our nation's capital. This is Bloomberg's sound on
Speaker 1: how many more innocent American lives must be taken before
Speaker 1: we say enough enough? What the presidents really trying to
Speaker 1: do is create momentum. Now we know he is getting
Speaker 1: very much involved. Seems more like political theater. Bloomberg Sound
Speaker 1: on Politics, Policy and Perspective from DC's top name. Snaith
Speaker 1: Wilson has responsibitive prevent this war from escapator is in
Speaker 1: our vital national interest to ensure peaceful and stable Europe
Speaker 1: and make clear that Mike does not make rush Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Sound On with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. President Biden
Speaker 1: again urges Congress to act on guns. Welcome to the
Speaker 1: fastest hour in politics. A day after the rare evening
Speaker 1: address from the White House, we'll talk about the President's
Speaker 1: ideas and those from the other side of the aisle
Speaker 1: in a special conversation ahead with Frank DeAngelis, the former
Speaker 1: principle of column find High School now with the groups
Speaker 1: Safe and Sound Schools. The war in Ukraine reaches its
Speaker 1: one hundred day and the US reopens its embassy with
Speaker 1: a new ambassador installed and Kiev. We'll talk about that
Speaker 1: with former Ambassador to Poland Daniel Freed, and analysis from
Speaker 1: our signature panel Bloomberg Politics contributors Jeanie Schanzano and Rick
Speaker 1: Davis with us. It's not often we get an evening
Speaker 1: address from the President of the United States, but that
Speaker 1: was the venue for Joe Biden's latest attempt to get
Speaker 1: gun legislation moving in Congress. Here he is, we need
Speaker 1: to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines. And if
Speaker 1: we can't ban assault weapons, and we should raise the
Speaker 1: age to purchase them from eighteen to twenty one. We're
Speaker 1: joined not by a lawmaker to talk about the president's speech,
Speaker 1: but a former school principal. Frank DeAngelis was principal at
Speaker 1: Columbine High School for almost twenty years, including yesterday the
Speaker 1: shootings happened now with the groups Safe and Sound Schools, Frank,
Speaker 1: welcome to Bloomberg. Well, thank you for having me. How
Speaker 1: the President do last night? Is he hitting the right
Speaker 1: notes for you these past days? Well, we need to
Speaker 1: make changes, and you know, I think back to where
Speaker 1: we were, um right after Park when we were having
Speaker 1: these discussions, and we're right back, you know, and the
Speaker 1: kids were back then, sane enough to enough. You adults
Speaker 1: have let us down, and unfortunately, I hope I've seen
Speaker 1: this happen time and time again after these school students
Speaker 1: occur and everybody is passionate and it kind of goes away,
Speaker 1: and I just hope it continue. This what is happening now,
Speaker 1: we need to come together and say it's about our
Speaker 1: kids and what can we do. There have been five presidents,
Speaker 1: as I'm sure you know, during and since Columbine, all
Speaker 1: of whom Democrats and Republicans spoke to the nation about
Speaker 1: addressing the issue of gun violence following a terrible event,
Speaker 1: like like you're describing what what could make this time different? Well,
Speaker 1: hopefully both sides will come together and at least have
Speaker 1: the discussions. And that's what worries me. You know, I
Speaker 1: grew up during the sixties and you know, its right
Speaker 1: towards in Vietnam War and our country was divided. But
Speaker 1: nothing in my recollection is like it is right now,
Speaker 1: and people are disagreeing, take time to listen to each other.
Speaker 1: So hopefully both sides of the aisle can get together
Speaker 1: and come up with the solution, because our kids are
Speaker 1: paying for it, you know, and some of the things
Speaker 1: that we addressed. I think in addition to gun control
Speaker 1: and things of that nature, that's one piece. And then
Speaker 1: we also have to make sure that we're providing support
Speaker 1: and help for our kids in these schools. Um I
Speaker 1: want to get specific with you because we're actually hearing
Speaker 1: about policy proposals now and and with your experience, I
Speaker 1: want to know what your thoughts are on some of them.
Speaker 1: It does seem like a lot of the ideas being
Speaker 1: considered would not have prevented some were any of these
Speaker 1: recent shootings that have started the conversation or restarted this conversation.
Speaker 1: So starting with what seems to be the most realistic
Speaker 1: right now, based on the talks that are happening in
Speaker 1: the Senate, would be a red flag law, we understand,
Speaker 1: or a bill to I guess the bare minimum would
Speaker 1: be a bill to incentivize states to pass their own
Speaker 1: red flags. And I know a lot of them have already.
Speaker 1: Would that make a difference. Well, in Colorado we have
Speaker 1: the law red state, you know, red flag law. And
Speaker 1: I guess the question, and I'm not avoiding it, you know,
Speaker 1: I think everybody's looking. I think it's a combination of
Speaker 1: all these things that I just I guess where I
Speaker 1: struggle is with an eighteen year old being able to
Speaker 1: walk in and buy a you know, an automatic and
Speaker 1: their weapon and that type of thing. But I think
Speaker 1: you have to look at the states. Is it as
Speaker 1: it worked in Colorado? And I think it has school
Speaker 1: safety protocols. Another part of this possibly including adding we're
Speaker 1: hearing adding armed guards and also having only a single
Speaker 1: door of entry. That's one thing I wanted to ask
Speaker 1: you about. You know more about school facility these than
Speaker 1: most people, having spent over a quarter century working in them.
Speaker 1: Is it smart to have a single door? It is.
Speaker 1: But one of the issues that we confronted is we
Speaker 1: had two entrances in uh for the students, you know,
Speaker 1: one down towards where they parked, another one where parents
Speaker 1: would let their kids off, and we did. We had
Speaker 1: school resource officers who own a strong component of you know,
Speaker 1: having school resource officers police officers in the building not
Speaker 1: is referred to as cops, with people there to support
Speaker 1: our kids. But one of the issues I think where
Speaker 1: you've got to really look at things is a Columbine
Speaker 1: we probably in addition to having those two main entrances,
Speaker 1: we also had twenty five doors in a large high
Speaker 1: school such as Columbine. And so it's important that if
Speaker 1: you do have those doors that I constantly tucked our
Speaker 1: staff members and students about keeping those doors shut things
Speaker 1: of that nature. You know, to check if from and
Speaker 1: did go out the door, unless if you do have
Speaker 1: someone uh, you have alarms on every door. But if
Speaker 1: you do have alarms and a kid goes out, and
Speaker 1: then that becomes disruptive. But I think you know, single
Speaker 1: entrances are important. But unfortunately what happens is if these
Speaker 1: kids building, someone's gonna open a door for him. I'll
Speaker 1: give you a prime example. I was at a school
Speaker 1: within the past couple of weeks here in Colorado, and
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, I'm walking, boy, I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: to the main entrance. Some kid comes, Hey, you want
Speaker 1: to come in this door, and it says on there
Speaker 1: do not let anyone in that you know. And I
Speaker 1: have a discussion saying, you know, I used to be
Speaker 1: a principle you want to make sure you just don't
Speaker 1: let anyone in here. And so I think in addition
Speaker 1: to having cameras, in addition to having you know, some
Speaker 1: of these other things that they're looking for, you also
Speaker 1: need to train your students and your staff on some
Speaker 1: of these daily things that are You're not going to
Speaker 1: cost anything. It's just the general premise of hardening schools
Speaker 1: is something that you support. Well, I am. But with
Speaker 1: that being said, and I'll share something that affected me
Speaker 1: directly at the Columbine, I think parents were concerned is
Speaker 1: the school safe, as I'm sure many people now in
Speaker 1: your Balti texts are wondering schools are safe, and we were.
Speaker 1: I told our parents that we were probably the safest
Speaker 1: school in the world. We had people at every door,
Speaker 1: we had armed guards, we had security cameras in And
Speaker 1: it was about two weeks, three weeks into school year.
Speaker 1: Kids came to me and they said, Mr. De we
Speaker 1: know you care about us, we know you love us,
Speaker 1: we know you want to keep us safe, but you're
Speaker 1: making us more anxious by all of this stuff that's
Speaker 1: in this building right now. It doesn't feel like a school.
Speaker 1: So when I do have these conversations with school, you
Speaker 1: want to make them safe, but you also want to
Speaker 1: make sure that you're not creating an atmosphere of anxiety.
Speaker 1: I think that's that fine line that we have to find.
Speaker 1: That's a tough balance to find I'm sure I want
Speaker 1: to ask you about what's also in the House right now.
Speaker 1: It is a very different set of proposals. Uh. We
Speaker 1: saw the Judiciary Committee yesterday move this package. Uh include
Speaker 1: a number of different ideas from banning some semi automatic rifles,
Speaker 1: banning some high capacity magazines. Congressman ken Buck, the Republican
Speaker 1: from your state in Colorado, testified before that committee about
Speaker 1: sort of a gun culture, uh in Colorado. And and
Speaker 1: I guess what a false effort this would be? Listened
Speaker 1: to what he said in rural Colorado in a R
Speaker 1: fifteen is a gun of choice for killing raccoons before
Speaker 1: they get to our chickens. Uh. It is a gun
Speaker 1: of choice for killing a fox. It is a It
Speaker 1: is a gun that you control predators on your ranch,
Speaker 1: on your farm, on your property. Uh. The idea that
Speaker 1: that somehow we're going to deny access too. I think
Speaker 1: there are twenty million A R fifteens and circulation in
Speaker 1: this country. Um. It makes absolutely no sense if there
Speaker 1: are that many of these guns around. Is it possible
Speaker 1: to to put the toothpaste back in the tube? Is
Speaker 1: this a waste of time to try to prohibit some
Speaker 1: semi automatic rifles. Well, I think you gotta look at it.
Speaker 1: How are they purchasing? And I guess the question if
Speaker 1: I if I, you know, and I know the sender
Speaker 1: or I know the representative, But the question I would
Speaker 1: have is there other ways to control these animals that
Speaker 1: you don't need an a R fifteen things of that nature,
Speaker 1: you know, And one of the things does seem like
Speaker 1: pretty heavy firepower for a raccoon or whatever. Isn't that
Speaker 1: that's kind of overdoing it? Yes, and that I would agree,
Speaker 1: you know, and I know a lot of times, Uh,
Speaker 1: the argument will be, well, we need an a R
Speaker 1: fifteen or automatic weapon or a hundred round magazine for
Speaker 1: self defense. Well, I think there's other ways that you
Speaker 1: can protect yourself with self defense than you know, these
Speaker 1: automatic weapons. So, you know, I do struggle with that comment. Frank,
Speaker 1: I'm hitting you with all this policy stuff as I
Speaker 1: sit here in Washington. Uh, you have pulled us back
Speaker 1: to the human side of this a couple of times. Well,
Speaker 1: this is being debated right now. It's very difficult to
Speaker 1: tell if anything is going to come from it, and
Speaker 1: people skepticism, uh, you know, is is warranted. It seems
Speaker 1: to me after after so many turns. What's your message
Speaker 1: to fellow educators, people who are actually in the middle
Speaker 1: of this right now in rooms with children who are
Speaker 1: in many cases, uh, concerned about their own safety. Well,
Speaker 1: I think one of the things, uh, that I share
Speaker 1: is we do continue to hear about these events that happened,
Speaker 1: just like Ryan Elementary in other places Oxford this past year.
Speaker 1: But what we do not hear about, what is not
Speaker 1: publicized in the media, is how many have been stopped
Speaker 1: by things we have in place now that we didn't
Speaker 1: have in place at Columbine with the police response. Now
Speaker 1: it would secure the perimeter, wait for SWAT to arrive. Well,
Speaker 1: now hopefully single officers are going into the buildings. We
Speaker 1: have a threat assessment programs we did not have in
Speaker 1: place prior to column. We have. You know, unfortunately after
Speaker 1: Sandy Hook, you know, one of the lessons with lock
Speaker 1: all doors, what they didn't anticipate with a gunman to
Speaker 1: shoot through glass. Well, now many of our schools are
Speaker 1: equipped with bulletproof for shield glass that it's going to
Speaker 1: be more difficult for the bullet to penetrate. So I
Speaker 1: think there have been many things in place that are
Speaker 1: saving wise, But Unfortunately it's one more life loss is
Speaker 1: one too many, and we do need to come together.
Speaker 1: And if I could talk to the legislators is let's
Speaker 1: put aside Republican Democrats. They're all of our kids, and
Speaker 1: what are we going to do to keep them safe? Boy, Frank,
Speaker 1: I never thought we would end this conversation on a
Speaker 1: high note, but I appreciate that to think that we
Speaker 1: are safer now than we were in a place to
Speaker 1: begin in. Frank de Angelis, I thank you for being
Speaker 1: with us sharing your thoughts today on Bloomberg. Thank you
Speaker 1: have a good weekend. This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg
Speaker 1: so On with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. Well, I
Speaker 1: guess I'll never know if you actually need in a
Speaker 1: R fifteen to keep the squirrels away, like Congressman Buck said,
Speaker 1: but it's unlikely an assault weapons ban of any sort
Speaker 1: will be passing the Senate anytime soon. It's just the
Speaker 1: reality of the votes. Right now. Let's assemble the panel
Speaker 1: on a Friday, and here from Rick and Genie. Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Politics contributors Jeanie Schanzano and Rick Davis are with us
Speaker 1: for the hour. Rick, I was struck by an important
Speaker 1: story from Bloomberg Business Week, n r A lobbying curbs
Speaker 1: research that can prevent violent deaths. Madison Muller did a
Speaker 1: great job reporting the story, suggesting that this has been
Speaker 1: decades in the making, going back to a study supported
Speaker 1: by a grant from the c d C that was
Speaker 1: called gun ownership as a risk factor for homicide in
Speaker 1: the home, and the whole idea here is actually treating
Speaker 1: gun violence like a public health problem, as it's one
Speaker 1: of the leading killers, as the President said last night
Speaker 1: of kids. Uh. Madison writes the study did not sit
Speaker 1: well with the n r A, which introduced a now
Speaker 1: thirty year long campaign against the agency. Would we be
Speaker 1: in a different place right now, maybe having a different
Speaker 1: conversation with more creative solutions if that did not happen. Sure.
Speaker 1: I think that the fact that we're not looking inside
Speaker 1: the home as a way to prevent violence is a
Speaker 1: big mistake. We've talked about it on the show before.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, one of the things that that
Speaker 1: the n r A used to make a regular thing
Speaker 1: of is talking about securing your weapons at home, getting safe. Uh.
Speaker 1: There was a whole movement in the nine eighties and
Speaker 1: nineties around gunlocks to try and improve safety. Doesn't it
Speaker 1: mentioned safe stories last night? Is that exact could come
Speaker 1: out of the Senate? Absolutely? Um, you know, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of the Senators who are opening on this right
Speaker 1: now and trying to figure out what to do. Remember
Speaker 1: the n r A at a time when it was
Speaker 1: all about gun safety, you know, it was never a
Speaker 1: lobbying organization. In the first thirty years of its existence.
Speaker 1: It was about training and making sure that people took
Speaker 1: care of their weapons, knew how to operate them, you know,
Speaker 1: and understood about safety, and that was really the the
Speaker 1: number one thing. Then they migrated into this lobbying organization
Speaker 1: much like the tobacco companies did to protect the franchise
Speaker 1: and all these rules, things like opposing the c DC
Speaker 1: bill or getting UH and the President brought this up
Speaker 1: the other night, getting um immunity for gun manufacturers. All
Speaker 1: of a sudden that became the function of the NRA.
Speaker 1: So uh, It's it's been a long time in coming,
Speaker 1: but I think revisiting these issues is probably what's happening
Speaker 1: right now in the House and the Senate. The President
Speaker 1: reached for a statistic last night that helped to generate
Speaker 1: this story from Bloomberg business Week. Listen. According to new
Speaker 1: data just released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
Speaker 1: guards are the number one killer of children in the
Speaker 1: United States America, the number one killer more than car actions,
Speaker 1: more than cancer, more than drug overdoses. Yet, as Madison writes,
Speaker 1: public health funding to prevent child gun deaths as miniscule
Speaker 1: compared with other, far less lethal threats to children. Genie,
Speaker 1: look at this. Leukemia, for example, the most common form
Speaker 1: of childhood cancer, causes fewer deaths than gun violence, but
Speaker 1: receives almost ten times more funding from the government. Where
Speaker 1: would we be if there was parody here? Well, you know,
Speaker 1: it was stunning, and I thought the President did a
Speaker 1: very good job last night of laying that out and
Speaker 1: and making that reality clear to all Americans who were listening.
Speaker 1: But we also need to underscore that as much attention
Speaker 1: as the n r A gets, they are not the
Speaker 1: number one lobbying group on behalf of gun rights. It's
Speaker 1: it's you know, you've got the National Sporting National Shooting
Speaker 1: Sports Foundation spent five million and one the gun owners
Speaker 1: of America make the n r A look like they're
Speaker 1: liberal so you know, you've got a lot of lobbying
Speaker 1: going on, a lot of money going there, and you know,
Speaker 1: I thought, um, the President said last night was after
Speaker 1: saying all of that, he said something that is out
Speaker 1: the fact. The fact is majority of Senate Republicans don't
Speaker 1: want the proposals debated. They don't want him to come
Speaker 1: up for a vote. And that's the reality of the
Speaker 1: situation we find ourselves in. And the President, having spent
Speaker 1: so many years in the Senate, knows that. Intuitively. You know,
Speaker 1: if you don't get passage of these bills after Sandy
Speaker 1: Hook with fifty four Democrats and twenty six deaths of kids,
Speaker 1: or I guess it was twenty kids at that point,
Speaker 1: what it's the likelihood today. So President Biden knows that.
Speaker 1: And then of course he followed that up today by
Speaker 1: saying he's not directly involved in the negotiations. I'm not
Speaker 1: saying he should be, but it's hard to imagine this
Speaker 1: getting moved forward in any capacity that deals with weapons.
Speaker 1: Maybe doing school safety, maybe doing health issues, mental health,
Speaker 1: but weapons hard to imagine because gun restrictions aren't really
Speaker 1: on the table at this point. Rick, I'd like your
Speaker 1: take on the speech last night, including the optics. The
Speaker 1: President came down the cross Hall what some people like
Speaker 1: to refer to as the been loaden walk, remembering Barack
Speaker 1: Obama that day, lined with candles, lined with candles on
Speaker 1: the floor, and reached the podium in the East Room,
Speaker 1: from where he addressed the nation. How did he do?
Speaker 1: You know? Look, I think that he was trying to
Speaker 1: galvanize public attention on this. Uh. These kinds of speeches
Speaker 1: do that. They echoed, well delivered, and and I didn't
Speaker 1: think it was uh too much in the sense that
Speaker 1: a lot of people try to demagogue this issue, use
Speaker 1: these moments to try and split it up. Even did
Speaker 1: a shout out to responsible gun owners in the speech,
Speaker 1: which I thought was very smart on his behalf, because
Speaker 1: he's got to have a message that brings everybody to
Speaker 1: the table. It's not good enough just to have his
Speaker 1: party ginned up on this and wanting to make reforms.
Speaker 1: He's got to bring in Republicans too, And I thought
Speaker 1: that was the nature of the speech. So he's created
Speaker 1: some pressure, but left the opening and I think, you know,
Speaker 1: now the will of Congress has to work and pox
Speaker 1: on their house if they're not able to get it done.
Speaker 1: I mean, Republicans and Democrats alike are going to be
Speaker 1: seen as an effective It's not just one party is
Speaker 1: going to not have the ability to walk away from this.
Speaker 1: So we'll see, we'll see what happens. This next week
Speaker 1: is going to be an important week for that. When
Speaker 1: they all returned from from break, we're out of time.
Speaker 1: Of course, Genie, would you expect a news conference with
Speaker 1: an announcement of some sort of compromise next week? I
Speaker 1: hope for it. The President did not go to filibuster
Speaker 1: reform um. And also we heard Representative Chris Jacob's first
Speaker 1: term from New York, a GOP from Buffalo. He supports
Speaker 1: an assault weapons band. He's out of the race right now.
Speaker 1: That's the reality of where we are. He has pulled
Speaker 1: himself out of the reelection because of his support and
Speaker 1: the pushback he got from Republicans. On that. Rick and
Speaker 1: Genie with us for the Hour on a Friday on
Speaker 1: sound on the fastest hour in politics, coming up the
Speaker 1: hundred day War in Ukraine. This is Bloomberg broadcasting live
Speaker 1: from our nation's capital, Bloomberg to New York, Bloomberg eleven
Speaker 1: Frio to Boston, Bloomberg one oh six one to San Francisco,
Speaker 1: Bloomberg to the Country, Serious x M General one nine,
Speaker 1: and around the globe, the Bloomberg Business app and Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Radio dot Com. This is Bloomberg Sound On with Joe Matthew.
Speaker 1: The war in Ukraine has now been underway for a
Speaker 1: hundred days, and as the intelligence community warns of a
Speaker 1: Russian military gaining momentum in the east, the US plants
Speaker 1: the flag once again in Kiev, where the embassy reopens
Speaker 1: with a new ambassador, Bridget Brink, the first ambassador in
Speaker 1: three years appointed to Ukraine. We're gonna talk with a
Speaker 1: former colleague of hers, next Ambassador, Daniel Freed. The new
Speaker 1: US ambassador has arrived in Kiev. As I mentioned, after
Speaker 1: our diplomatic corps left the capitol when it became a
Speaker 1: war zone a hundred days ago. We've we've hit the
Speaker 1: hundred day mark. Bridget Brink is the first ambassador of
Speaker 1: the US has appointed to Ukraine in three years. She
Speaker 1: spoke from Kiev. It is in our vital national interest
Speaker 1: to ensure peaceful and stable Europe and make clear that
Speaker 1: might does not make right. A Michigan native, former ambassadors
Speaker 1: to Slovakia and expert on the region and Eastern Europe
Speaker 1: as a whole. We're joined now by a former colleague
Speaker 1: of Ambassador Brink, and that's Daniel Freed, former Ambassador to Poland,
Speaker 1: former Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, now wiser family,
Speaker 1: distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. Ambassador, welcome back. It's
Speaker 1: great to have you beyond the obvious just show of
Speaker 1: of of I won't say force, but presence for the
Speaker 1: United States to have a diplomatic presence in Kiev and
Speaker 1: and be there to show unity. What is this change
Speaker 1: in terms of our diplomatic relations with Kiev in the
Speaker 1: future of the war? Rinchie Drink is an inspired choice
Speaker 1: for US Ambassador to Ukraine. And what it means is
Speaker 1: the US will have basically a twenty four or seven
Speaker 1: connect to the Ukrainian government during a time of war.
Speaker 1: It means that when Washington to sleep, uh Richard Brink
Speaker 1: in Kiev will be active. It means whatever happens, whenever
Speaker 1: the Ukrainian government needs to contact the US government, she
Speaker 1: will be down hand as a trust the interlocutor. And
Speaker 1: this is before we get the bridget bring herself. I
Speaker 1: think she's a fabulous choice for ambassador to Ukraine. Does
Speaker 1: it hasten the end of the war? Does this somehow
Speaker 1: created a new off ramp diplomatically or am I is
Speaker 1: this wishful thinking? I don't think just having a US
Speaker 1: embassy presence back in Kiev or a U s ambassador
Speaker 1: in Kei is going to end the war. The war
Speaker 1: will end either with the Ukrainian success on the battlefield
Speaker 1: or the Russians being fatigued and wanting to get out,
Speaker 1: which is possible horrible end if the Russians succeed in
Speaker 1: seizing and holding enough territory uh that they can simply
Speaker 1: stand their ground. We're not at that point yet. Much
Speaker 1: depends on the battlefield, Much depends on US support militarily
Speaker 1: for Ukraine and the support of other European countries, particularly Poland.
Speaker 1: And this is something no one can predict right now.
Speaker 1: It's a war and the fortunes of all will decide
Speaker 1: a lot. Does having a diplomatic presence in Kiev protect
Speaker 1: that city or make it more of a target Neither.
Speaker 1: The Russians are going to go after Keys if they can.
Speaker 1: They stop their offensives in Kiev because they had lost
Speaker 1: the Ukrainians and beat them. They retreated. Now the Russians
Speaker 1: are trying to take ground in the east. Having a
Speaker 1: US embassy in Keys does and make it a target
Speaker 1: anymore than it was. It doesn't provide it protection. What
Speaker 1: it does is give the US eyes and ears on
Speaker 1: the ground, working with President Zelenski's train and his team.
Speaker 1: That's awfully important to have. We could be going into
Speaker 1: a difficult weekend here. We've said that a lot of
Speaker 1: times Ambassador Freed, but the word from British intelligence is
Speaker 1: that the the Luhansk region could fall in the next
Speaker 1: two days. If if Russia starts to rope up territory
Speaker 1: like that in the Don Boss, does that make this
Speaker 1: war a much longer one. I don't know how difficult
Speaker 1: it would be for Russia to hold those towns, but
Speaker 1: this was already, of course, a very dangerous region before
Speaker 1: the war began. The Russians have been advancing very slowly
Speaker 1: in Lohansk and then, yes, particularly the Lohansk region. They
Speaker 1: have been advancing at great cost to themselves. It's not
Speaker 1: clear whether they can hold the ground they've taken. The
Speaker 1: Ukrainians have launched locally successful counter attacks, so the battle
Speaker 1: is still being fought. The Russians, if they succeed in
Speaker 1: capturing all of the Hansk could always proclaim a ceasefire
Speaker 1: and claim victory on the basis of what they've already
Speaker 1: managed to conquer from from Ukraine. But it's not clear
Speaker 1: that they can hold that territory. They don't have a
Speaker 1: lot of troops, They're facing a hostile and united population,
Speaker 1: so this is not this is not a done deal
Speaker 1: for the Russians. Ukrainians still have certain battlefield advantages because
Speaker 1: they have an army that knows what it's fighting for.
Speaker 1: They're getting more weapons from the U S and other countries,
Speaker 1: and their population is is engaged. They're fighting for their lives.
Speaker 1: The Russians are fighting for Vladimir Putin's cause, and Russian
Speaker 1: morale doesn't seem to be high, so the battle is
Speaker 1: still it hangs in the balance. Vladimir Putin says Russia
Speaker 1: will allow grain exports by sea coming out of Ukraine,
Speaker 1: which has been a real sticking point over the last
Speaker 1: couple of weeks. Ambassador, is that the type of sign
Speaker 1: is that maybe a glimmer of hope where you say, okay,
Speaker 1: that we could add to that conversation and maybe progress
Speaker 1: at the negotiating table. It would be good if President
Speaker 1: Putin allowed Ukraine's grain to go to the world markets
Speaker 1: in Africa and the Middle East that needed. The Russians
Speaker 1: have been blocking this brain They've been stealing some of
Speaker 1: this grain and selling it as their own, which is theft.
Speaker 1: It's not clear that the Reds are going to allow
Speaker 1: the Ukrainians to export grain. They've the Russians have sometimes
Speaker 1: said they'll allow it to be exported only in return
Speaker 1: for lifting of sanctions. That's no deal. That's no deal
Speaker 1: right now. One of the chief one of the priorities
Speaker 1: for the US, for Ukraine and Europe in general, is
Speaker 1: to unlock Ukraine's grain exports so Putin can't use the
Speaker 1: weapon of starvation as additional leverage. And there are a
Speaker 1: lot of ideas about how to do this. Escorts military
Speaker 1: involvement under a U N flag possibly well, this this
Speaker 1: hopefully is is one that that that is a positive
Speaker 1: development here as we report on the terminal that Russia
Speaker 1: will allow grain exports by see we'll see if it
Speaker 1: actually happens. Many thanks to the honorable Daniel Freed, Ambassador
Speaker 1: with US again on Bloomberg Sound on and we'll reassemble
Speaker 1: the panel next. Rick and Genie on the Fastest Hour
Speaker 1: in Politics, This is Bloomer, This is Bloomberg. So long
Speaker 1: with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. I'm starting to think
Speaker 1: that maybe Joe Biden and Elon Musk are not big
Speaker 1: fans of one another. Of course, they don't seem to
Speaker 1: like each other at all. Elon is not invited to
Speaker 1: the electric car events at the White House. He's using
Speaker 1: non union labor now, he says he's going to vote Republican.
Speaker 1: All the time, it goes on, and it did not
Speaker 1: get better today after Musk wrote in a letter to
Speaker 1: Tesla executives that actually moved the stock that he has
Speaker 1: a quote super bad feeling unquote about the US economy
Speaker 1: and he wants to cut jobs and talking about a
Speaker 1: ten percent cut to the workforce. Here, according to Reuter's
Speaker 1: super bad, of course being shades worse than just plain
Speaker 1: old bad. President Biden was asked about it today at
Speaker 1: the podium. Here's what he said. Has asked, has said
Speaker 1: that he has a super bad feeling about the US economy,
Speaker 1: is slaying off tempercent of his workforce. What do you say,
Speaker 1: Elon Musk about his feeling about the economy. Jamie Diamond
Speaker 1: has said some one thing. Well, I'm gonna tell you well,
Speaker 1: Ian must is talking about that Ford is increasing their
Speaker 1: investment overwhelming. I think Ford is increasing investment in bibilding
Speaker 1: new electric vehicles, six thousand new employees, union employees. I
Speaker 1: might add in the Midwest, UM, the former Chrysler corporations
Speaker 1: to launds, they are also making similar investments and electric vehicles.
Speaker 1: Intel has about twenty thousand new jobs for making computer chips. Um.
Speaker 1: So you know, lots of luck on his trip to
Speaker 1: the moon. I mean, I don't, I mean you know.
Speaker 1: So that's the line that good luck on the trip
Speaker 1: to the moon, Biden tells Musk after economy warning. That's
Speaker 1: the Bloomberg story. By the way, this the got going
Speaker 1: on Twitter as well. The Elon Musk tweets thanks Mr
Speaker 1: President with the news released from NASA that actually is
Speaker 1: all about SpaceX, his company to land next Americans on
Speaker 1: the moon. It's really something Biden versus Musk there. That's
Speaker 1: they're like a microcosm of American politics, these two. And
Speaker 1: on that note, our panel reassembled with Rick Davis and
Speaker 1: Jeanie Schanzano Bloomberg Politics Contributors. Was that as satisfactory answer
Speaker 1: for starters, Genie? You know, he took a card out
Speaker 1: of his pocket. I will note to run through those
Speaker 1: stats that he had on the Ford and the Intel
Speaker 1: investments and so forth. They knew that this was going
Speaker 1: to come up today. Yeah, I think given the tension
Speaker 1: between these two for supper months now, I mean Elon
Speaker 1: Musk was like fact checking the state of the Union
Speaker 1: in real time at one point. So it's it's been
Speaker 1: pretty touch and go. I think the President handled this
Speaker 1: pretty well. He could have, you know, criticized him. He
Speaker 1: he pivoted right to Ford an Intel, and then of course,
Speaker 1: you know Elon Musk, Look, he wins out. He's got
Speaker 1: the President talking about him, as if he needs anybody
Speaker 1: else talking about him, He's able to go on and
Speaker 1: trumpet you know, the work that he's doing. So you know,
Speaker 1: I thought it was all in all pretty good for
Speaker 1: both of them. And you know, the President and the
Speaker 1: wealthiest man in the world, he's also an innovator, Rick
Speaker 1: and my god, he's he's literally giving us our own
Speaker 1: venue to get back to the space station and the
Speaker 1: moon after we've been paying Russia to do this for
Speaker 1: years and years, lots of luck on his trip to
Speaker 1: the moon. What does something bad happen on that trip?
Speaker 1: Is that appropriate for a president to say? No, he
Speaker 1: totally sucked into the whole thing. I mean, I'm and
Speaker 1: I'm shocked that this actually went through some vetting inside
Speaker 1: the White House staff and someone thought it was a
Speaker 1: good idea to get a fight with Elon Musk. I mean, like, well,
Speaker 1: I don't know if it was on the card, but
Speaker 1: at least got their head on the button in there.
Speaker 1: I mean, like that's I'm starting to get worried about
Speaker 1: these guys. Uh No, it's it's it's ridiculous. Why pick
Speaker 1: a fight with a guy who I mean, like, I
Speaker 1: understand they don't like each other. Elon must doesn't have
Speaker 1: unions and Joe Biden is the biggest union promoting president
Speaker 1: in our time. I get it, But like, if you're
Speaker 1: the president United States, you don't give a guy who's
Speaker 1: actually gonna own Twitter a chance to come after you.
Speaker 1: I mean that's like, that's like incredibly bad idea, and
Speaker 1: so I I think it's all crazy. Uh And I
Speaker 1: agree with with what you're saying, Joe. I mean, like
Speaker 1: Elon must doing a lot of really good things for
Speaker 1: our country right now, and without his SpaceX, a lot
Speaker 1: of our satellites wouldn't be going up in orbit because
Speaker 1: they would have otherwise been shot on Russian rockets that
Speaker 1: were not used now, thank goodness. So um, you know,
Speaker 1: I think both of them need to go back to
Speaker 1: their nucle neutral corner and pay less attention to each other.
Speaker 1: Russia's bailing on the the I S S project at
Speaker 1: some point here apparently Genie, they have no money really
Speaker 1: for a space program, and we're gonna see to that.
Speaker 1: Would it be maybe not a bad idea of a
Speaker 1: little beer so that here or something? You know, I
Speaker 1: have to disagree with you guys. I think the President
Speaker 1: handled it fine. Listen. I don't think they wrote on
Speaker 1: the card the thing about you know. But you know, listen,
Speaker 1: you know the president, he is known to say things
Speaker 1: off the cuff. He said it today, but he didn't
Speaker 1: go after him and the way he could have. I mean,
Speaker 1: let's not forget Elon Musk has been going after the
Speaker 1: president for a while now. And you know, the President,
Speaker 1: I think pivoted and talked about some good things, got
Speaker 1: his message out there. I don't think it was so bad.
Speaker 1: And hey, if they want to have a beer summit,
Speaker 1: that's fine with me. Let him go have it. That'll
Speaker 1: be good. Yes, Joe Biden's a teetotaler. Rick, right, that's
Speaker 1: not gonna happen. I don't think it should happen. Nothing
Speaker 1: good will come out of the first Nothing good came
Speaker 1: out of the first beer summit? Why would it h
Speaker 1: And you know, I don't mean to be too cute
Speaker 1: about that, but to Genie's point, one of you, you've
Speaker 1: got the richest man in the world here. To your point,
Speaker 1: Rick Um, he's he's impacting civilization as as an innovator
Speaker 1: and an employer, uh, driving the ev movement and of
Speaker 1: course the Space Company among other things. Maybe uh, I
Speaker 1: don't know, maybe maybe bring him to the White House
Speaker 1: for for one of these events. I think, just be
Speaker 1: kind to him when you're in public, I mean, like uh,
Speaker 1: and and certainly include him when you're doing things related
Speaker 1: to EVS. I mean, he wouldn't that diffuse the whole thing?
Speaker 1: Absolutely well? I don't know if it will diffuse. What
Speaker 1: do you think? I thought that was a misstep from
Speaker 1: the start. But but let's be clear, this is this
Speaker 1: White House communications team. I mean, just just look at
Speaker 1: what happened when they were talking yesterday. Uh, you know
Speaker 1: that this keeps going on and on, so I'm not
Speaker 1: surprised it was a missed up from the start. They
Speaker 1: could have gotten this under control. I think the President
Speaker 1: probably making light of it today as he was trying
Speaker 1: to do, is probably the best thing we're going to
Speaker 1: get out of this team. So what's more enjoyable than
Speaker 1: a Friday afternoon checking out of work, little time with
Speaker 1: Rick and Jeanie our panel here on sound On. I'm Joe,
Speaker 1: Matthew and Washington. Glad you came along. If you're just
Speaker 1: joining us, you showed up late. I will remind you
Speaker 1: to subscribe to the sound on podcast. You can find
Speaker 1: it wherever you get your podcasts. And So I finally
Speaker 1: saw a top gun. Did you? You saw it right?
Speaker 1: Everyone's seen it. From what I'm reading here, this thing
Speaker 1: crossed the two million dollar mark yesterday. Top gun Maverick.
Speaker 1: Of course, I had to go. Any American male around
Speaker 1: my age has to go. But I didn't really fully
Speaker 1: understand that until I found myself in a dark room
Speaker 1: with a whole bunch of other middle aged dudes, and
Speaker 1: none of them with dates or friends for that matter.
Speaker 1: Everyone was there alone. I thought, you know, I'd be
Speaker 1: cute and go to a mattinee, save a little money,
Speaker 1: sneak into this thing. And I'm sitting here thinking what
Speaker 1: am I doing? But I was sucked in, as I'm
Speaker 1: sure you were if you saw it within seconds of
Speaker 1: the open the music roles, and as somebody who has
Speaker 1: actually done a catapult shot and a tail hook landing
Speaker 1: on an aircraft carrier and survived and once pulled nine
Speaker 1: g s in an F sixteen, I am here to
Speaker 1: tell you that what you saw in this movie was
Speaker 1: the real thing. This is what these guys go through.
Speaker 1: Add the patriotic overtones, complete by the way, with showing
Speaker 1: the Taiwan flag. Did you see that on Maverick's flight jacket?
Speaker 1: Made a very bold statement? And so is that why
Speaker 1: it's doing so well? I mentioned across the two million
Speaker 1: dollar mark yesterday and it's now on track to become
Speaker 1: Tom Cruise's biggest domestic grossing film ever. All right, I
Speaker 1: can't talk over the music and any longer, as cool
Speaker 1: as that is, but the panel, at least half the
Speaker 1: panel saw it. Rick Davis there is almost a need
Speaker 1: right now. I think remember when the first Star Wars
Speaker 1: movie came out and people were stuck in this malaise
Speaker 1: and it gave them a great escape. It's something to
Speaker 1: feel good about. Here was a more patriotic version of
Speaker 1: that at a very difficult time in our politics. It's
Speaker 1: the biggest movie to ever hit the theaters apparently. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I've been waiting for this for two years. It went
Speaker 1: song last Saturday, and I could not have been more thrilled.
Speaker 1: I was actually happy that it didn't come out during
Speaker 1: COVID because I wouldn't have gone to a theater to
Speaker 1: see watch it on you know, a streaming service, and
Speaker 1: I would have been I would have been still impressed,
Speaker 1: but not not overwhelmed. It When you see it on
Speaker 1: a big screen, it's just a different thing. And when
Speaker 1: you're in a big room with people you know, who
Speaker 1: are cheering when a good guys win for a change,
Speaker 1: you know, I couldn't imagine a better You wouldn't have
Speaker 1: used the name Maverick for John McCain without the first movie, right,
Speaker 1: Uh No, he was a Maverick before. I mean he was,
Speaker 1: but that brought it into Alexica. Uh. You know it was.
Speaker 1: It was used as a derisive phase within the GOP.
Speaker 1: Refer to John McCain. I mean, it wasn't wasn't the
Speaker 1: same thing, but but yeah, it was. It was. It
Speaker 1: was all the same kind of emotion that tugged at
Speaker 1: your heartstrings and your mind when you thought of someone
Speaker 1: as a maverick. And I just thought the first movie
Speaker 1: was great, and I think this one has surpassed it.
Speaker 1: Uh and and we'll we'll live on forever, as you know,
Speaker 1: probably as you said, Tom Cruise's best film. Jimmie, I
Speaker 1: know you didn't see the movie, but what do you
Speaker 1: make of this sort of feeling right now that there
Speaker 1: there's kind of a hunger for something to feel good
Speaker 1: about the country that you live in into Rick's points
Speaker 1: see the good Guys Win. I know that simple, but
Speaker 1: it's apparently worth a lot of money. Joe Matthew, I
Speaker 1: could not see the movie because I'm not a middle
Speaker 1: aged man who could get into the theater too to
Speaker 1: get a seat. So look a girl came in. Yeah
Speaker 1: we're not allowed. And and and I told you before,
Speaker 1: I'm sacrificing my seat until they booked Tom Cruise on
Speaker 1: the show. And then I'm going to see it, and
Speaker 1: don't fool me with any old Tom cruise. It's got
Speaker 1: to be the real one. But that's the deal. Yeah,
Speaker 1: thank you, But you know I I do think there's
Speaker 1: a hunger and look at it's a good sign. The
Speaker 1: box office is up tremendously as a result, somebody's going
Speaker 1: back to the movies. Rick and Jeannie meet us back
Speaker 1: here on Monday. This is Bloomberg.