WEBVTT - BTW in DC: White House Correspondents Dinner Shooting 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:10.160 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. Welcome to the Bloomberg 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:16.320 This Weekend Podcast with David Gura, Christina Raffini, and Elisa Matteo. 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.600 Thanks for joining us for today's selection of conversations from 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:20.959 the show. 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:23.479 You can listen to our favorite discussions right here on 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:25.800 the podcast, and also make sure to join us live 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:29.000 every Saturday and Sunday morning, starting at seven am Eastern. 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:32.760 We're on Bloomberg Television, Radio and the Bloomberg Business app, 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:38.240 bringing you unique takes and in depth interviews on news, politics, lifestyle, 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:39.080 and culture. 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:41.519 Our focus this. 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:43.760 Morning, yes, let's say these negotiations between the US and 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:46.360 the Iranians, But much more acutely, now, what happened last 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:49.239 night at the White House Correspondents Association dinner in Washington, DC. 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:51.000 The three of us were in attendance there, along with 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:53.400 many of our Bloomberg colleagues, and to get everyone up 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:56.240 to speed, shots were fired early on in that dinner. 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:58.880 The President, the Vice President, many members of his cabinet 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:01.720 ushered out of that building the present giving a statement 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:03.880 afterward at the White House about what had happened. We 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:06.200 know that the suspect has been apprehended from California. But 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:09.040 still the uncertainty that followed in the immediate aftermath of 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:10.319 that shooting remains. 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:11.399 There's a lot that we still don't know. 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:13.560 And I'm going I mean, we are assuming a motive, 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:15.800 but to what we were talking about earlier, they haven't 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:17.800 charged him with that yet, so that means that they 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:21.399 haven't proven that's too. Charges to come on Monday, which 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.039 had to do with guns weapons charges because that is, 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:25.800 you know, the clearest thing that they can get before 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:28.280 investigating this more. But we need to know more about 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.040 this subject. And the other big question is basically how 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:32.680 did this happen? And that's something that we think we're 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:35.200 gonna be talking about a lot here in Washington and 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:36.240 throughout the week. 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:38.039 We were sitting near each other and it was just 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:39.720 a startling. 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:41.680 It's amazing it was, and hearing the stories of everyone 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:44.080 we've had on this morning of exactly what happened, from 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:46.680 people ducking under tables, to the confusion, to the fear 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:49.600 in people's faces. I saw one woman in tears. So 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:53.080 it's an example of what can happen in this type 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:56.200 of situation that people were just confused and didn't know. 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:57.720 Where to go and what to turn and what to do. 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:00.680 All right, we've got some sound and video were going 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:04.120 to kind of run everybody through what happened. As a 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:07.000 president was having his mind read by the evening's entertainment, 0:02:09.520 --> 0:02:12.280 several thuds could be heard in the ballroom. Initially, neither 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:18.320 the president nor the guests took much notice. Then a 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:22.200 column of security, Secret Service, and tactical teams swarmed the ballroom. 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:25.280 The Vice president and President were quickly whisked off stage, 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:27.760 followed by the president of the White House Press Corps. 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:28.440 Uijajang. 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.200 Secret Service jumped tables and flip chairs to rush cabinet members, 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:34.959 including Stephen Miller and a pregnant Katie Miller, out of 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:41.280 side door. The Speaker of the House resurched through the lobby. 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:45.480 Cabinet secretaries were extracted from their tables, while ambassadors, VIPs 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:48.960 and guests sheltered under them. Journalists decked for cover while 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:52.200 trying to record on their phones. Guests who weren't evacuated 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:54.880 were asked to wait, but with an active crime scene 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:58.160 just outside the ballroom door, the President instead called a 0:02:58.200 --> 0:02:59.680 press conference at the White House. 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:03.880 Can you described what was going through your mind, how 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:05.200 you were feeling in that moment. 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.600 That's very good question. Actually, it was always shocking when 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:12.760 something like this happens. Happened to me a little bit, 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:18.760 and that never changes the fact we were sitting right 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:21.840 next to each other. First, Lady, am I right, And 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:24.840 I heard a noise and sort of thought it was 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:28.120 a tray. I thought it was a tray going down. 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:31.240 I've heard that many times, and it was pretty loud noise, 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.320 and it was from quite far away. He hadn't preached 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:38.320 the area at all. They really got him, but so 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:40.000 it was quite far away. But it was a gun, 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:45.600 and some people really understood that pretty quickly. 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:46.440 Other people didn't. 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:50.360 I was watching to see what was happening. Probably should 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:51.440 have gone down even faster. 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:53.920 Back at the Hilton, the US Attorney for the District 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:56.920 of Columbia, Mayor of DC, and chief of Police held 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:57.760 a press conference. 0:03:58.040 --> 0:03:59.840 I'm not exactly one hundred percent from there with this. 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:02.200 I do know in this instant tonight. 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:03.960 I know there was a security plane that was developed 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:06.800 by the Secret Service at the Metropolitan Police Department, assisted 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:08.800 with and I know that security plan did. 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:12.760 Work this evening, leaving many unanswered questions, an empty ballroom 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:16.080 and visibly shaken staff left to clean up the mess. 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:20.240 Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend. Right 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:27.880 after this, getting a tweet. 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:29.520 Here from the President post on truth Social from the 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:31.720 President United States, talking about the prospects of there being 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:33.560 a new ballroom at the White House that we've been 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:35.400 discussing over the course of the morning. The President brought 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:37.360 that up in his comments to the press last night, saying, 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:39.679 what happened last night at the Hilton here in Washington, 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:39.880 d C. 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:40.960 Is further evidence of the. 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:43.640 Fact there needs to be a space of size at 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:45.520 the White House for an event like this could be helped. 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:47.920 We've talked with Jeff Mason a bit about the complication 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:50.159 factors around all of that. That wouldn't be a public venue, 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:52.320 of course, But the President here taking issue with the 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:55.320 lawsuit that's been filed against the construction of that ballm 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:56.840 You see, they're a very lengthy post. I'm not going 0:04:56.880 --> 0:04:59.920 to read all of it, but taking that litigant to task, 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:02.080 suggesting again that this is something that needs to happen 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:03.640 and would have perhaps prevented. 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:03.919 What we saw last night. 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:07.360 Ye yeah, and Jeff Mason in that big block of text, 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:09.320 the part that stands out to me is right at 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:12.080 the top, and the President says, this. 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.159 Is the exactly what happened last night is exact. 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:17.120 Reason our great military, secret Service, law enforcement, and every 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:18.920 president for the last one hundred and fifty years have 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:21.760 been demanding that a large, safe and secure ballroom be 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:24.200 built on the grounds of the White House. Is that 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:26.960 accurate and why is this something the president is focused 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:27.599 on this morning. 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:31.560 No, it's not accurate, and it seems almost uncomfortable to 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:33.680 have to be fact checking the president on something that 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:36.719 is not as important as what happened last night. But 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:40.480 he is following a political adage, which is never let 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:42.840 a good crisis go to waste, and I think that's 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:45.680 exemplified in what he said last night and in this 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:46.599 particular post. 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:48.360 The president's ballroom. 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.159 Is going through a whole bunch of legal threats that's 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:52.440 really gotten under his skin. He wants to have it 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:54.680 built before he leaves office at the end of his 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.760 second term. There are question marks about that, even as 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:00.800 there's a big pile of nothingness the East Wing used 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:04.440 to stand, and he is emphasizing that if this event 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:07.120 had been there, if that existed, then there would be 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.720 more security. But you're right to mention, which I did 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:10.520 earlier as well. 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:13.080 It was the ballroom at the White. 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:14.680 House is not going to be a public ballroom for 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:18.480 outside organizations to use. And the White House Correspondence Association 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:22.400 is an organization of journalists, not of that that does 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:23.039 not work. 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:24.080 For it, like the wedding venue. 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:27.200 Correct, some twelve hours after this incident took place, we're 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:30.880 getting more information on what transpired, more information about the suspect, 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:34.600 Jeff and across television this morning, we're hearing from policymakers 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:36.280 and politicians who were in attendance at this dinner. We're 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:38.040 going to hear from a couple here in just a moment. 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:40.400 But Todd Blanche, the Acting Attorney General, was on Meet 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:43.360 the Press this morning talking about that investigation. What did 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:45.080 he learn, How does that advance the stories we know 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.960 it of who this individual is, and indeed what the 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:49.800 focus of this law enforced investigation is going to be 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:50.200 going forward. 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:53.240 It's getting a few more details, but not a lot. 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:57.160 It's a thirty one year old apparently teacher from California 0:06:57.440 --> 0:06:59.839 who traveled to Washington, d c. 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:01.320 By train. 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:04.279 To the extent that that's interesting, we know that he 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:07.520 had apparently a shotgun, another gun. 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:08.520 And multiple knives. 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:11.680 He stayed at the hotel at the Washington Hilton, which 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:14.880 we were referring to earlier as the Hinckley Hilton, and 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:17.280 that is how he had those weapons, but still raising 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.160 a lot of security questions about how he made it 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:24.400 down at least two escalators to get very close to 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:26.000 the ballroom before he was taken down. 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:27.800 All right, Jeff Mason, thank you so much. 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:31.600 And joining us now is Republican Congressman Michael McCall of Texas. 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:34.800 He serves on the Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees. 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:36.600 He was also our guest at the. 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:39.200 White House correspidence correspond It's dinner last night. 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:43.280 Chairman, First of all, how are you? And the first 0:07:43.280 --> 0:07:43.560 thing I. 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:45.000 Want to ask you is we spent a lot of 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:47.440 time standing in that well after this all happened last night. 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:49.640 When you went about the dinner last night, do you 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:51.200 think there was enough security there? 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.000 You've been there before, what are your thoughts? 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:56.160 Yees put my chairman of Homeland Security had on his 0:07:56.320 --> 0:08:01.480 former counter terrorism federal prosecutor. I would say the secret 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:05.720 serch did an amazing job. Capitol police escorted the members 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:10.080 out in the emergency vehicles, but the outer perimeter, if 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:14.600 you will, was very free access. It's an open hotel, 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.440 and I think that was part of the risk you know, 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:18.680 involved here, if you had. 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:20.400 To analyze it. 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:23.920 It's very difficult to harden that kind of environment when 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.160 you have the president coming in. When I was sort 0:08:26.160 --> 0:08:28.520 of amazed, you had the president and the vice president 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:32.120 at the head table and the speaker, so you had 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:35.160 the line of secession right there. If a bomb had 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:39.400 gone off or something more dramatic, you know it would 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:43.559 be it would fallow Chuck Grassley Amazingly. 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:45.160 After this took place, you think Secret Service and the 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:47.839 Capitol Police for squiring you and hear congressional colleagues out 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:49.520 of the room. Something Joe Matthew brought up a few 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:53.240 minutes ago is what it was like to see those 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:57.080 security officials on stage, Yes, with weapons, but then how 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:00.000 secret Service those law enforcement knew exactly where everybody was. 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.040 There was an ear quiet in this space. But talk 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:03.760 a bit about that. What you were thinking is you 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.200 watched all of that unfold because I confess from where 0:09:06.200 --> 0:09:08.640 I was sitting, we were beginning to eat. There was 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.480 some commotion and then it became very very quiet in 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:11.840 the room. 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:15.280 Well, I heard three gunshots, so I knew something was 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:19.439 horribly rolling, and you're not quite sure what's going to 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.400 happen after that, right, and I saw the President being 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.760 taken off the stage, a secret service jumping up on 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:31.120 the stage with their weapons pointed towards the audience, and 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:33.240 it was surreal, you know, like you know, it's not 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:38.280 an ordinary event. Unfortunately, it's becoming too commonplace in this country. 0:09:38.320 --> 0:09:42.440 But they went into action very quickly and escorted the 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.680 cabinet members out of the room. But you don't know 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.680 what's gonna happen quite after that. I didn't know before 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:51.000 you can have like an AR fifteen and a spray 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:54.239 of bullets and or we're gonna be diving under the tables. 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:57.120 And fortunately we heard the three gunshots and that was 0:09:57.120 --> 0:10:02.480 the end of it. But you know, this country's getting 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:06.360 too violent, you know, and the rhetoric needs to tone down. 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:07.079 In my opinion. 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:09.920 I was at Texas A and M talking about civility 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:13.719 and politics just this last week with Henry Quaer or 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:17.559 a Democrat, talking about you know, how we can agree 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:21.120 to disagree, but with civility, and I think last night 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:23.640 it's a good lesson for all of this and you know, 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:27.680 amazingly the press, right, we were celebrating the First Amendment 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:31.600 and the freedom of the press, and the press were 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:36.720 there along with Republicans and Democrats all together celebrating our constitution. 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:41.080 And the First Amendment does not allow for political violence. 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:44.480 We were talking about the First Amendment, but it often 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:48.319 comes into contradiction, it seems, with the Second Amendment, especially 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.600 when your party votes on issues, they've been very reticent. 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:54.319 More and more we were talking about Jim Brady and 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:56.880 the Brady Bill that was the Reagan administration. This is 0:10:56.880 --> 0:10:59.440 a current Republican climate in which almost any gun control, 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:03.160 even lawns gun control, is impossible to get past. Is 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:06.120 that something your party should reevaluate, given what you just 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.440 talked about, the heated political rhetoric and the violence that 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:08.800 we're seeing. 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:10.520 Yeah, it's interesting as I was talking to your CEO 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:14.080 right next to me about this very issue before the shooting, 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:18.440 and when I met with Michael Bloomberg and he donated 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.400 my campaign. This is many years ago. He said, you're 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:24.720 from Texas and you know, where are you on guns? 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:25.000 Right? 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:28.480 And you know we were having this conversation that you know, 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:32.120 of course the weapons purchased I think it wasn't like 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:33.040 an AR fifteen. 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:33.559 It wasn't. 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:36.720 I used to prosecute gun cases. A lot of them 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:39.720 were stolen, but there has to be a way too. 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:42.920 Usually after the fact, flags come up, like yeah, I 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.040 knew this guy and I thought there was a problem, 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:48.360 but they don't report it until after. And I had 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:51.480 to build like a fusion center to capture the red 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:55.400 flags and then be able to act beforehand, or at 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:58.920 least provide more security if there's a threat out there. 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:01.720 So I think there is room for improvement here. I 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:04.600 don't think you're going to see my party, you know, 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:09.200 infringing on the Second Amendment, per se. But you know, 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:12.000 there are certain weapons under the nineteen sixty eight Gun 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.599 Control Act, you know, like fully automatic machine guns or 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:18.800 you know, And that was an out growth of you know, 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:22.000 Robert Kennedy. You know, of course, you had John jfk 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:25.240 assassinated in sixties, Robert Kennedy, and then you had Martin 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:28.800 Luther King, and we had that legislation in nineteen sixty eight. 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:30.240 That's the last time we've done that. 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:32.880 Cherman Maritis mentioned Michael Blomberg, of course, the majority shareholder 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.520 of Bloomberg LP. The parent company of Bloomberg News. When 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:38.439 we get that out there, I want to ask you 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:40.200 about what Homeland Security is going to do next year 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:41.679 the Committee on Homeland Security. 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:43.400 Will there be an investigation? 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:45.240 Do you think what questions do you have about the 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.520 way in which all of this unfolded. I think a 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:49.440 lot of us took note of the way that security 0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:51.640 was set up. You rightly bring up the fact this 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:53.520 was an open hotel, there were guests, they are totally 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:57.040 unaffiliated with this dinner. What do you want to see 0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:59.960 investigated in terms of what that perimeter was, like, how fortified. 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:01.600 I think we have to we have to take a 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:05.240 look at the outer perimeter. Now, as I understand, he 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:07.720 was a guest at the hotel, So anytime you have 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:09.800 a big event like that, and you know, it's known 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.960 as a Hinckley Hotel because in nineteen eighty one, Regae 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:15.560 was shot there, so it has a bit of a 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:19.280 checkered past, and so I do think we'll be analyzing that. 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:23.160 I think also it just re emphasizes how important it 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:26.480 is to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security and 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:30.480 stop this nonsense of a shutdown of a very important 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:32.400 agency within our federal government. 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:33.800 Still partially shut down. 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:34.360 It is. 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.320 What is your take on the appropriateness of the president's 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:40.960 true social posts that we just saw this morning and 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:44.400 everything we've talked about violence, political rhetoric, that the president 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:46.240 is focusing on building a ballroom. 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:47.520 What's your take on that. 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:51.520 Well, let me say first, I think his remarks last 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:56.800 night were very gracious towards the press, you know, into 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.880 both Democrats and Republican alike. I'm glad he took the 0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:03.400 high road in the rhetoric, which I think needs to 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:06.960 be addressed. You know, the ballroom, you know, I was 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:09.559 in the East wing and he pointed to it. 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:10.840 It's a big hole in the ground. 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:13.280 It's gonna have a lot of security features to it 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:17.720 in the basement. But I think, as I was pointed 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:22.960 out earlier, this is a private association, It's not that's 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:25.240 a federal building essentially. 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:26.200 So I don't know. 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:29.480 I mean, I think it would certainly be a lot 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.800 more secure if it was done in a place like that. 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.480 The next time the president shows up, I think they're 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:39.240 going to tighten up security even more so on the 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.960 outer perimeter and again the line of secession all being there. 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:44.960 At the same time, I think we had to take 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:46.000 a look at that as well. 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:48.440 Is that concerning? Is that something Congress should investigate? 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:53.240 Yeah, of course. I was really shocked that the president 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:54.360 and vice president were. 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:55.520 At the table Togain surprise. 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:56.479 Yeah. 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:59.560 Yeah, I'm going to go back to the rhetoric, and 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:02.720 I'm cure is how hot a rhetoric has shaped the 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:05.240 way that you approach your job? Is it something that 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:07.440 you give more thought to God forbid something like this 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:09.800 were to happen. How has it shaped the way that 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.080 you and your colleagues in Congress approach the job. We've 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:14.840 seen some reticence to attend town hall meetings if they 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:18.400 get pretty fractious. Who knows what might happen. What are 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.080 the consequences on a day to day basis for having 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:22.760 the kind of heated rhetoric that we have in this country. 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:26.280 We're a reflection of the American people, and there is 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:30.040 a violent rhetoric out there, but we don't have to 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:33.760 be an echo chamber for that. And the irony was 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:37.440 I was just at this symposium at a university in 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:40.920 my district where we talked about this very issue and 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:42.800 how it needs to be I've been up there twenty 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:46.520 two years up here, and it's changed for the worse, 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:50.360 and it's okay to go on social media and say 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:54.560 vile things about the other party and other members of Congress, 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:56.440 and the president. 0:15:56.240 --> 0:15:58.440 Doesn't some of that coming from the top down. Isn't 0:15:58.440 --> 0:15:59.880 the president partly to blame for that? 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:02.200 Well, I think we're probably all to blame. And you 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:05.680 know what happens when these when these things occur, everybody 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.480 says the right things for a couple of days, and 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:11.600 then I'll give this a couple of weeks and we're 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:15.000 going to be right back at you know, this violent 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:19.280 rhetoric out there, and it doesn't seem to change. You 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:23.360 can't legislate that that that is a conduct issue. It's 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:27.040 a moral clarity issue. And I think, uh, the institution 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:32.200 is weakened and hurt by the political politics in general 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:36.120 are hurt by this violent rhetoric that is out there today. 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:38.880 And I hope members do reflect on this, the ones 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:41.800 that want they're five minutes of fame on YouTube and 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.560 social media. I hope they reflect. It's not how I 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:47.400 conduct myself. I wasn't raised that way. It's on my 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:51.359 value system. I show respect for people that have other opinions, 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.440 and that's what democracy is all about. That's what the press, 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.440 the First Amendment, freedom of speech and press is all about. 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:00.600 And we got to respect each other a little. 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:02.040 Bit more last night. 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:04.600 You know, I've been in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:09.960 I've you know, heard mortar shells and you know ammunition. 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:12.960 I'm going to Ukraine and this summer and you know, 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:14.800 drones and all that kind of stuff. But you don't 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:19.120 expect that. You know that the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:21.840 You have confidence in who's going to be leading this 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:24.600 investigation prosecution, so cash matel not somebody who has traficial 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:27.240 background for somebody running the FBI. Mark Wayne Mullen just 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:30.240 taking this job over his DHS secretary. Should we be 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:33.720 at all worried about those individuals' capacity to see this through? 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:35.960 Well, they're the figurehead. 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.479 I do think, like when I was a Federal protesty, 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:43.760 the line, FBI agent's line, you know, secret service, They've 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:47.760 been doing this for many years. They're professional and they 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:50.280 know how to conduct this. I'm almost surprised we don't 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.520 know anything more about the shooter, to be honest with you, 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:55.800 other than you took a train, which I think is 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:59.400 very strange. He had a couple of weapons and knives. 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:02.199 You were there last night, Christina, We were at the 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:06.840 table together. Yeah, somehow he runs in, he gets pretty 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:10.040 darn close to the ballroom, and then we heard the gunshots, 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:13.880 and so, yeah, there were a lot of unanswered questions. 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:15.480 I didn't know if it was going to be like 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:18.919 in Austin, Texas we had the property of all Islamist 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:22.040 terrorist you know, does it look like this is that's 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:25.240 the case here? And I don't know what motivates somebody 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:27.919 to do something like this, and we don't know the 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:29.000 answer to that right now. 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:30.520 Very quickly, before I let you go, you said you 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:34.200 think Congress should look into why all the cabinet officials 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:37.000 were there, you know, the last survivor issue. But I'm 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:39.400 wondering you think there should be a congressional investigation into 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:41.040 what we've been talking about, how he got that far 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:43.800 the perimeter and the security precautions around the president. 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:46.080 Oh, ye, one hundred percent, And we will, and I 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:50.200 think the Homeland Security Committee will be charged with that responsibility. 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:51.960 But I do. 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:56.879 Let's not lose fact that the Secret Service immediately popped 0:18:56.960 --> 0:19:00.680 up in the room, went into action, and the captal police. 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:02.160 So I'm very proud of what they did. 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:03.919 All right, thank you so much for joining US. Congress, 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:07.120 Michael Paul, nice to see you again. Stay with us 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:15.000 for more on Bloomberg this weekend. Right after this, we 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:17.640 want to turn it out to Democratic Congressman Don Bayer 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:20.040 of Virginia. He serves on the Ways and Means and 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:21.240 Joint Economic Committees. 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:24.399 And thank you for coming down. I know, I guess up, 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:27.520 it's be long to hit. I know you weren't at the. 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:29.640 Dinner last night, but I also know you know what's 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:31.040 going on and you watched it. I just want to 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:33.120 get your reactions to what happened and where you think 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:35.600 we go from here, and what, if anything Congress should 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:36.240 be investigating. 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:42.879 My youth was dominated by the assassination of doctor President Kennedy, 0:19:42.960 --> 0:19:47.920 doctor King Bobby Kennedy, and we had this long other 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:53.200 than the tragic shots at the same hotel with Ronald Reagan, 0:19:53.400 --> 0:19:55.119 a long period of time with peacefulness. 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:56.639 This has really been upsetting. 0:19:57.080 --> 0:20:00.800 And you find that on Capitol Hill a lot more 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:05.480 security all around, metal detectors everywhere, a lot more Capital police. 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:08.200 They actually put a lot of money in the buzzet 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:10.760 for personal security for members, And now when we do 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:13.280 town hall meetings, we're always talking to the local police 0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:15.399 making sure there's two or three of them there on 0:20:15.600 --> 0:20:16.200 just in case. 0:20:16.400 --> 0:20:18.000 And that's because the rhetoric has gotten so. 0:20:18.040 --> 0:20:21.879 Huge, exactly, and it's a terrible thing. You know, I 0:20:21.920 --> 0:20:24.600 don't support much of what President Trump has done, but 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:26.320 the last thing I want is for him to be shot. 0:20:26.560 --> 0:20:28.280 Like, give you a variation on the question, I asked 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:30.359 the chairman Emeritis of the FORDA Fairs Cuddy, that is, 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:33.639 has it affected the way that you go about your job, 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:37.240 your awareness of that rhetoric, a sense that something terrible 0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:39.200 could happen at a town hall or a public event. 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:40.400 Is it something you worry about? 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:42.200 I think I don't worry. I think my wife worries 0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:43.000 about more than I do. 0:20:43.240 --> 0:20:47.800 Also, I don't feel like I'm a particularly high profile 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:51.920 in terms of going versus of viral And you know, 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:55.080 if I were AOC or Margorie Taylor Green something like that, 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:56.520 I'd be much more worried about it. 0:20:56.840 --> 0:21:01.760 We have Attorney General Toald blanch Is on CNN moments ago. 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:03.359 We want to play you what he just said. It 0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:04.200 doesn't sound. 0:21:04.480 --> 0:21:08.280 From our preliminary investigation it does appear the suspect was 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:09.920 targeting members of the administration. 0:21:10.359 --> 0:21:12.520 I don't want to go beyond. 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:15.800 That because we don't have specifics yet about particular members 0:21:15.840 --> 0:21:18.480 of the administration, except that we do understand that that 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:21.640 was his goal and his target he, of. 0:21:21.560 --> 0:21:22.840 Course, is the acting AG. 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:25.600 I want to correct myself there, but what is your 0:21:25.680 --> 0:21:28.400 take on the fact that he was there to possibly 0:21:28.440 --> 0:21:31.520 harm not just the president but members of the administration 0:21:31.720 --> 0:21:33.840 and the cabinet and people who may not be his 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:38.000 high profile maybe not safe in this climate either, although. 0:21:38.160 --> 0:21:40.520 You know, if you look through different administrations, a lot 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:44.600 of Trump's folks think peak heagteth or Cash Mattel there 0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:49.439 much higher profile, that's than Pam Bondi than they have 0:21:49.520 --> 0:21:52.680 been in the past. I'm trying to think sometimes you'd 0:21:52.680 --> 0:21:55.399 reach back and say, who was that person for Barack 0:21:55.440 --> 0:21:56.679 Obama or Joe Biden. 0:21:57.760 --> 0:22:00.400 We want to talk about what's happened in Virginia politics 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:02.840 over the last few weeks, but let me get one 0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:05.080 more question to you about this, and that is, how 0:22:05.080 --> 0:22:06.680 would you like to see Congress's. 0:22:06.320 --> 0:22:07.439 Role going forward in all of this? 0:22:07.520 --> 0:22:09.760 So it's really early hours yet, not even early days yet, 0:22:09.800 --> 0:22:12.800 in this investigation. The suspect likely to be charged on Monday, 0:22:12.800 --> 0:22:16.280 as we understand it. What's Congress's role here in the 0:22:16.280 --> 0:22:17.520 wake of what happened yesterday? 0:22:17.880 --> 0:22:20.040 You know, the very first thing, David I'd say is 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:22.520 that we continue to try to improve our rhetoric. 0:22:22.880 --> 0:22:24.000 You know that we're in the country. One of the 0:22:24.040 --> 0:22:25.240 things most obsessed me is that. 0:22:25.240 --> 0:22:27.560 We are more divided than we've ever been, maybe back 0:22:27.560 --> 0:22:30.919 to the Civil War. We seem to have different understandings 0:22:30.920 --> 0:22:33.920 of who we are in our factories, our understanding of 0:22:33.960 --> 0:22:37.440 our history. So the notion of treating each other with respect, 0:22:38.000 --> 0:22:40.960 even though we could have very different policy approaches, seems 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:42.240 to still be essential to that. 0:22:42.560 --> 0:22:45.640 Should Congress be investigating either why so many members within 0:22:45.680 --> 0:22:48.439 the line of succession were in the same room, or 0:22:48.520 --> 0:22:50.840 the security apparatus and how this all happened. 0:22:51.520 --> 0:22:54.639 I was really concerned myself as Marco Rubio and the 0:22:54.720 --> 0:22:56.000 vice president and the president. 0:22:56.040 --> 0:22:57.160 That's really concerning. 0:22:57.480 --> 0:23:00.680 I know it shouldn't just be one person that good takeover. 0:23:00.760 --> 0:23:03.440 Should you be investigating, I just show Congress investigator. 0:23:03.040 --> 0:23:07.520 Well, that'd be a good oversight thing for sure. On 0:23:07.600 --> 0:23:09.960 ways and means, I tend not to thinking more about 0:23:09.960 --> 0:23:11.680 the tariffs in the taxes. 0:23:11.720 --> 0:23:12.879 There enough and plenty to think about that. 0:23:12.960 --> 0:23:14.240 We can talk about that in a minute as well, 0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:16.919 But let's talk about redistricting and what's happening in Virginia. 0:23:17.000 --> 0:23:19.639 Did what's stalled for the moment in Virginia? I was 0:23:19.640 --> 0:23:21.920 saying during the break, I was on vacation traveling through 0:23:22.000 --> 0:23:24.879 Virginia and the signs were everywhere, vote yes, vote no, 0:23:25.119 --> 0:23:27.840 really yes on this referendum just a few days. I 0:23:27.880 --> 0:23:30.240 still love to see if they get taken down. It 0:23:30.320 --> 0:23:32.720 did pass what your governor had pushed for here, this 0:23:32.800 --> 0:23:36.040 redistrict that was advantageous for Democrats. Now it's a stand 0:23:36.080 --> 0:23:39.720 still as Republicans have filed a lawsuit against it. 0:23:40.080 --> 0:23:41.600 Where does it stand? How do you see all of 0:23:41.600 --> 0:23:42.200 this playing out? 0:23:42.200 --> 0:23:44.359 And I don't need to point out we're getting closer 0:23:44.359 --> 0:23:45.800 and closer here to the midterm elections. 0:23:46.359 --> 0:23:50.040 Well, I was glad that it passed with some reluctance. 0:23:50.080 --> 0:23:52.400 So we passed a construcial amendment four or five years ago, 0:23:52.800 --> 0:23:55.320 getting rid of jerry manderins. We have the least gerrymandered 0:23:55.359 --> 0:23:58.400 districts in the country before this, but after Donald Trump 0:23:58.440 --> 0:24:01.320 said he's entitled to five seats, in It took three 0:24:01.640 --> 0:24:05.040 in North Carolina, two in Ohio, one coming up in Missouri. 0:24:05.680 --> 0:24:08.520 Florida is about to meet. I think to do the 0:24:08.520 --> 0:24:09.159 same thing. 0:24:09.320 --> 0:24:12.080 We felt we had to push back and we got 0:24:12.200 --> 0:24:15.480 three million people showed up was gubernatorial style turnout for 0:24:15.560 --> 0:24:18.280 an election in April, and it didn't pass by a 0:24:18.320 --> 0:24:22.800 lot three percent of ninety thousand votes. And now you know, 0:24:22.880 --> 0:24:26.840 in a perfect democratic world is ten Democrats and one Republican. 0:24:27.160 --> 0:24:28.919 But that's not a given. We still have to go 0:24:28.960 --> 0:24:32.479 win those seats, and we'll be running in many cases 0:24:32.520 --> 0:24:35.800 against Republican incumbents who've been there many years and have 0:24:35.880 --> 0:24:37.360 deep relationships in the community. 0:24:37.480 --> 0:24:38.639 But I do want to ask you as we talk 0:24:38.680 --> 0:24:41.920 about turning down the political rhetoric, it is very hard 0:24:41.960 --> 0:24:44.160 to get elected as a moderate in Congress right now, 0:24:44.200 --> 0:24:47.119 partly because of the way these districts are drawn and 0:24:47.160 --> 0:24:49.960 the way voters are mobilized. That these tend to vote 0:24:50.000 --> 0:24:53.280 for the extremes of the party, which is why initially 0:24:53.800 --> 0:24:54.840 Democrats worthy. 0:24:54.960 --> 0:24:56.800 You know, when they go low, we go high. 0:24:56.800 --> 0:25:00.159 Party is there could there be a potential backlash to 0:25:00.359 --> 0:25:03.000 changing tactics here and that the things you say that 0:25:03.119 --> 0:25:05.280 we should have in Congress might be harder. 0:25:05.040 --> 0:25:07.400 To get there could be a backlash. 0:25:07.400 --> 0:25:10.000 But Christine digo to something that's been really important to 0:25:10.000 --> 0:25:12.520 me my eleven years in Congress, which is the notion 0:25:12.680 --> 0:25:15.440 that you have so many safe seats that Democrats have 0:25:15.480 --> 0:25:17.440 to run to the left and their primary Republicans run 0:25:17.480 --> 0:25:20.760 to the right. We typically worry about who's going to 0:25:20.760 --> 0:25:22.679 take us out in the primary, not in the general election. 0:25:23.040 --> 0:25:24.760 And that then means when you come to Congress, there's 0:25:24.800 --> 0:25:27.720 no overlap. When I was a kid, there are lots 0:25:27.720 --> 0:25:30.440 of very conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans there are you 0:25:30.480 --> 0:25:31.879 don't have many of them anymore. 0:25:33.000 --> 0:25:33.960 Not to get nerdy on. 0:25:33.920 --> 0:25:35.679 You, but nerdy this is Bloomberg. 0:25:35.720 --> 0:25:37.840 Bring it out a fair representation actors that have been 0:25:37.840 --> 0:25:41.119 pushing for eleven years. Takes us back to multi member districts, 0:25:41.160 --> 0:25:43.480 which we had for the first sixty years in America 0:25:43.560 --> 0:25:46.800 and ranked choice voting, and that then makes you Northern 0:25:46.880 --> 0:25:50.000 Virginia that I represent, would have three districts, and you'd 0:25:50.040 --> 0:25:53.320 be fighting for the middle rather than the extreme. It 0:25:53.359 --> 0:25:57.199 would hopefully bring also you end up not that you 0:25:57.320 --> 0:25:59.680 don't want to have the extremes. The Marjorie Tayl of 0:25:59.760 --> 0:26:02.760 Green and the like, but it should get cut off 0:26:02.760 --> 0:26:05.199 those ends and bring people back together. 0:26:05.440 --> 0:26:06.400 Mention your own ways and means. 0:26:06.440 --> 0:26:09.359 You're also the senior Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee. 0:26:09.920 --> 0:26:11.840 We just got news that Senator Tom Tillis of North 0:26:11.840 --> 0:26:15.240 Carolina is prepared to go ahead with voting for Kevin 0:26:15.280 --> 0:26:18.119 Warsh because of what's happened with the investigation in Jerome 0:26:18.160 --> 0:26:22.119 Powell and the Federal Reserve. Your reaction to that, I 0:26:22.160 --> 0:26:24.760 wonder if you are a supporter of Kevin Worsh's candidacy 0:26:24.800 --> 0:26:26.680 for that position, and also just your reaction to the 0:26:26.680 --> 0:26:29.160 way that all of this has unfolded, both the investigation 0:26:29.200 --> 0:26:30.960 on the Justice Department side and now it being punted 0:26:31.040 --> 0:26:32.439 over to the IG at the Federals. 0:26:32.720 --> 0:26:36.199 I'm thrilled that they've withdrawn the the case against j. 0:26:36.359 --> 0:26:36.760 Powell. 0:26:37.400 --> 0:26:39.479 It was silly to begin with. If you look at 0:26:39.520 --> 0:26:43.280 cost overruns. There are so many in the federal government 0:26:43.320 --> 0:26:47.200 for many, many different reasons, and the thought that blaming 0:26:47.280 --> 0:26:49.960 him for it was pretty ridiculous. I'm so glad that 0:26:50.119 --> 0:26:52.000 Senator Tillis had stood up for that. 0:26:52.320 --> 0:26:54.760 And for Kevin wors It's interesting you look at his history. 0:26:55.000 --> 0:26:58.399 He was largely at a deficit hawk and somebody that 0:26:58.480 --> 0:27:01.360 believed in manishing higher interust rates. 0:27:01.640 --> 0:27:03.639 So and I was very. 0:27:03.480 --> 0:27:05.600 Pleased with his testimony saying that he wasn't going to 0:27:05.600 --> 0:27:07.360 be a sock buffet. 0:27:07.320 --> 0:27:08.080 For Donald Trump. 0:27:08.560 --> 0:27:10.680 But do you think this is enough for Powell to 0:27:10.720 --> 0:27:13.160 step away, because as we've been talking about here, there's 0:27:13.200 --> 0:27:16.960 no guarantee that they can't restart this investigation. He could 0:27:17.000 --> 0:27:18.800 do what the President wants him to do and then 0:27:18.880 --> 0:27:20.520 still end up facing these charges. 0:27:20.840 --> 0:27:21.040 Yeah. 0:27:21.080 --> 0:27:23.280 But Wes, we've seen so many of these investigations. Once 0:27:23.359 --> 0:27:24.760 you get to a grand jury, they throw it out 0:27:24.800 --> 0:27:27.119 right away. You know, there's a lot a lot of 0:27:27.119 --> 0:27:30.560 this is showmanship that and it does have It costs 0:27:30.600 --> 0:27:32.920 the poor person that's being persecuted. 0:27:33.800 --> 0:27:36.480 Dollars, money, money, and anxiety. 0:27:36.560 --> 0:27:39.560 And of course so it's it's unfair and that the 0:27:40.359 --> 0:27:43.880 going after political enemies, whether it's a Democrat or Republican. 0:27:43.520 --> 0:27:44.080 Is a bad thing. 0:27:44.680 --> 0:27:47.560 You again, join Economics Committee have a great vantage on 0:27:47.600 --> 0:27:50.959 this US economy, it's placed in the global economy. This 0:27:51.040 --> 0:27:53.800 war is continuing, lasting longer than the President said it wouldn't. 0:27:53.800 --> 0:27:56.560 We've heard so many warning signs from our guests, policymakers 0:27:56.600 --> 0:27:58.880 and experts about what the fallout has been so far 0:27:58.880 --> 0:28:01.480 and what it's likely to be as we see in 0:28:01.520 --> 0:28:03.720 Asia parts of the world, real difficulty in getting oil, 0:28:03.840 --> 0:28:05.080 getting refined. 0:28:05.040 --> 0:28:06.639 Fuel products and fertilizer. 0:28:06.720 --> 0:28:09.119 All that's going to have your sense of what this 0:28:09.200 --> 0:28:12.159 means for the economy. How worried you are about the 0:28:12.440 --> 0:28:15.000 prospects of a war that lasts longer and longer. 0:28:16.080 --> 0:28:19.720 Well, I think one of the main reasons down Trump 0:28:19.760 --> 0:28:22.520 kind elector was because of the all the inflation during COVID, 0:28:22.560 --> 0:28:26.080 which is during Biden and his tariffs have moved us 0:28:26.080 --> 0:28:28.840 in the wrong direction, and then the war having get 0:28:28.920 --> 0:28:31.960 a huge impact on both grocery prices and fuel I'm 0:28:31.960 --> 0:28:33.280 paying in northern Virginia. 0:28:33.320 --> 0:28:34.800 It's only four ninety nine. 0:28:35.560 --> 0:28:37.600 If only only yeah, yeah. 0:28:37.680 --> 0:28:39.520 That, and it could get worse. 0:28:40.320 --> 0:28:42.520 How a big picture, I still very much believe in 0:28:42.520 --> 0:28:45.240 the American economy. We have an awful lot of interesting 0:28:45.240 --> 0:28:48.560 things going on, including and I know Mike and I 0:28:49.240 --> 0:28:51.640 your previous guest co co chair of the AI Caucus, 0:28:51.840 --> 0:28:54.440 there's so much good coming out of AI, including five 0:28:54.480 --> 0:28:57.400 percent productivity growth in the last quarter, and so much 0:28:57.480 --> 0:29:01.800 danger because of the real plause of huge job displacement 0:29:02.080 --> 0:29:02.600 you're studying. 0:29:02.680 --> 0:29:04.480 Weren't you remember that you were like studying eyes. 0:29:04.560 --> 0:29:06.200 I'm still in a masters or something that. 0:29:06.320 --> 0:29:08.000 Yeah, I still get nine courses to go out of 0:29:08.040 --> 0:29:09.360 Jards Mason, but I'm working on it. 0:29:09.520 --> 0:29:11.400 So we only have a tiny bit of time. 0:29:11.480 --> 0:29:14.280 But when it comes to AI spiking energy prices, this 0:29:14.400 --> 0:29:16.520 is all coming into focus with what's going on in 0:29:16.520 --> 0:29:19.520 Iran and there's a crunch on supply and demand everything else. 0:29:19.920 --> 0:29:23.280 As you look towards the midterms, as you look towards November, 0:29:23.680 --> 0:29:26.080 you talk about those kitchen table issues and how they 0:29:26.080 --> 0:29:27.920 got President Trump into office. 0:29:28.360 --> 0:29:29.520 Will Democrats take. 0:29:29.360 --> 0:29:31.760 Advantage of that and will this help you going into 0:29:31.760 --> 0:29:32.120 the fall? 0:29:32.360 --> 0:29:32.560 Oh? 0:29:32.840 --> 0:29:35.680 I think so, you know, things look very good right now, 0:29:35.720 --> 0:29:38.320 but it's April and a week's a long time in politics. 0:29:38.880 --> 0:29:41.440 But we have many seats we think we can take, 0:29:41.640 --> 0:29:44.320 relatively few that we need to defend, and with the 0:29:44.320 --> 0:29:47.280 presidents disapprove, we're rating at fifty eight percent. 0:29:48.480 --> 0:29:50.040 This is potentially wave election. 0:29:50.480 --> 0:29:53.480 Although you look back to Charlie Cooky said wave elections 0:29:53.480 --> 0:29:55.720 tend to follow wave elections one way or the other. 0:29:55.760 --> 0:29:59.560 So there aren't that we have to temper our expectations. 0:30:00.040 --> 0:30:01.680 You only need three or four seats. 0:30:01.600 --> 0:30:03.840 Gentlemen from the eighth Congressional District of Virginia, Don Bayer, 0:30:03.840 --> 0:30:04.920 thank you very much for joining us. 0:30:05.960 --> 0:30:09.600 Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend. Right 0:30:09.680 --> 0:30:10.120 after this. 0:30:14.520 --> 0:30:16.880 Here to discuss more is Rise Communications founder and former 0:30:16.920 --> 0:30:19.800 Republican Congression advisor Leslie Shedd and former Senior Advisor for 0:30:19.800 --> 0:30:23.240 Political Engagement during the Biden administration, John McCarthy. Great to 0:30:23.240 --> 0:30:24.719 have both of you with us. We saw you at 0:30:24.720 --> 0:30:26.680 the dinner last night, and John, let me start with you. 0:30:26.760 --> 0:30:29.360 I'm piecing together each of our own experience of what 0:30:29.520 --> 0:30:32.040 unfolded there, and I'm curious sort of where you were 0:30:32.160 --> 0:30:34.160 in the room and the degree to which in the 0:30:34.200 --> 0:30:36.800 moment you had an understanding of what was happening and 0:30:36.800 --> 0:30:37.680 what unfolded after that. 0:30:37.960 --> 0:30:39.680 Well, I don't think that anybody in the moment had 0:30:39.720 --> 0:30:42.960 any clear picture of what was going on, obviously, it 0:30:43.040 --> 0:30:44.880 being a room full of journalists people. Kind of then 0:30:45.160 --> 0:30:47.400 once the activities stopped, I went around the room and 0:30:47.440 --> 0:30:49.000 kind of started comparing notes, and I think I heard 0:30:49.000 --> 0:30:51.880 about six different retellings of what had actually transpired. 0:30:52.400 --> 0:30:53.160 I was sitting at the. 0:30:53.080 --> 0:30:54.960 Back of the room, kind of by the door, where 0:30:54.960 --> 0:30:58.240 the lot of the main central activity occurred, and my 0:30:58.360 --> 0:31:00.280 face was to the door, and at the time you 0:31:00.320 --> 0:31:02.320 saw agents kind of come out of that door, you'd 0:31:02.320 --> 0:31:05.360 hear gunshots, and at that point people dropped to the 0:31:05.360 --> 0:31:08.560 table pretty quickly. It's obviously a very crowded ballroom, and 0:31:09.320 --> 0:31:11.040 you know, people watching don't always know, but you don't 0:31:11.040 --> 0:31:13.360 actually know a lot of the people you're sitting around necessarily, 0:31:13.720 --> 0:31:15.760 so about half your tables kind of under the table, 0:31:15.840 --> 0:31:16.800 under the tablecloths. 0:31:17.000 --> 0:31:18.280 Other people have their heads down. 0:31:19.080 --> 0:31:21.720 That transpires for a couple of minutes, probably, and then 0:31:21.800 --> 0:31:24.440 folks kind of started to put their heads up, and 0:31:24.440 --> 0:31:26.160 then there ended up being a lot more kind of 0:31:26.200 --> 0:31:28.280 noise coming from the center of the room, which in 0:31:28.320 --> 0:31:31.120 retrospect was probably the detail ees being kind of removed 0:31:31.160 --> 0:31:34.400 from the room, cabinet members exactly. And then the thing 0:31:34.440 --> 0:31:36.520 that really amazed me is kind of once that seemed 0:31:36.520 --> 0:31:38.240 to clear, I mean, there was no kind of announcement 0:31:38.240 --> 0:31:40.520 that everything had cleared. But the thing that kind of 0:31:40.520 --> 0:31:42.920 amazed me is once you're looking up for a second, 0:31:43.080 --> 0:31:44.600 you look around the room, and I mean, I spent 0:31:44.640 --> 0:31:46.680 four years in the last administration, and I have always 0:31:46.680 --> 0:31:49.520 been so amazed by the Secret Service. I mean without 0:31:49.560 --> 0:31:51.480 missing a beat. I mean they stood up and physically 0:31:51.480 --> 0:31:53.760 stood in front of the President, which I am always 0:31:53.760 --> 0:31:56.240 amazed by them. And then I was really amazed by 0:31:56.280 --> 0:31:57.959 the journalists in the room. The fact that they were 0:31:57.960 --> 0:32:00.000 able to kind of stand up and just start muscle memory, 0:32:00.160 --> 0:32:02.360 you know, kicking and start doing their job again, I 0:32:02.360 --> 0:32:05.200 thought was pretty remarkable. And you know, people sometimes give 0:32:05.200 --> 0:32:07.840 this dinner in this weekend a little flak, but you know, 0:32:07.880 --> 0:32:09.520 as you looked around the room and saw those people 0:32:09.720 --> 0:32:11.240 kind of stepping in and doing what they're supposed to 0:32:11.280 --> 0:32:13.120 do in that moment, they kind of reminded you that 0:32:13.160 --> 0:32:14.840 what they're doing is very important and that a lot 0:32:14.880 --> 0:32:16.720 of the people who do it are very good at it. 0:32:16.880 --> 0:32:18.960 And you also said, we've been talking about the other 0:32:19.000 --> 0:32:19.560 folks who. 0:32:19.440 --> 0:32:21.360 Helped make that dinner happen, including all the back of 0:32:21.360 --> 0:32:23.600 house staff, and you said some point you saw them with. 0:32:23.560 --> 0:32:25.440 Their hands up or yeah, in the kind of rooms 0:32:25.480 --> 0:32:28.440 that kind of open up off the ballroom, A couple 0:32:28.440 --> 0:32:30.680 of the doors flung open, and it looked at you know, 0:32:30.680 --> 0:32:32.000 at some point that they were kind of being held 0:32:32.000 --> 0:32:35.080 in kind of a security like posture, and that was 0:32:35.080 --> 0:32:37.040 pretty alarming too, because at this point you didn't know 0:32:37.080 --> 0:32:38.640 what was happening at all. You didn't know if someone 0:32:38.680 --> 0:32:40.280 was still in the room. You know, you didn't know 0:32:40.320 --> 0:32:42.600 how many. And again no one sits and says, okay, 0:32:42.600 --> 0:32:45.320 now you're clear, feel free to move about. So it 0:32:45.360 --> 0:32:47.480 was kind of a jarring posture. And you know, a 0:32:47.480 --> 0:32:49.280 lot of the people in that room are probably used 0:32:49.280 --> 0:32:52.800 to being around, you know, protected individuals situations like this. Obviously, 0:32:52.840 --> 0:32:55.640 a lot of the journalists were there for the incident 0:32:55.640 --> 0:32:58.640 in Pennsylvania with President Trump and Generos six, but for 0:32:58.680 --> 0:33:00.640 these people who you know, are there just to kind 0:33:00.640 --> 0:33:02.920 of support this function. I've been going to the dinner 0:33:02.960 --> 0:33:05.240 for years, and I've actually really enjoyed talking to a 0:33:05.240 --> 0:33:07.360 lot of the weight staff there because they actually take 0:33:07.400 --> 0:33:09.800 such a point of pride in working there. I actually 0:33:09.840 --> 0:33:11.360 remember a couple of years ago there was this one 0:33:11.400 --> 0:33:12.840 man who was a waiter there and I was asking 0:33:12.920 --> 0:33:14.960 him how many of these he'd worked at, and he 0:33:15.040 --> 0:33:17.240 actually went back in and pulled out a bunch of 0:33:17.240 --> 0:33:19.720 the old programs that he kept there with him because 0:33:19.760 --> 0:33:21.440 he always took it as such a point of pride 0:33:21.680 --> 0:33:23.560 that he gets to kind of work at this historic event, 0:33:23.640 --> 0:33:25.680 and it really, when you step back for a second, 0:33:25.680 --> 0:33:28.360 it is exactly what Washington is supposed to be in 0:33:28.400 --> 0:33:30.080 the sense of it should be about mutual respect, It 0:33:30.080 --> 0:33:32.239 should be about lowering the temperature and finding kind of 0:33:32.240 --> 0:33:36.400 comedy in difficult times. So I mean again, every kind 0:33:36.400 --> 0:33:37.960 of player in it, from the weight staff to the 0:33:38.000 --> 0:33:39.760 journalists in the room kind of all ended up doing 0:33:39.800 --> 0:33:41.640 what they were supposed to do and it does kind 0:33:41.640 --> 0:33:44.160 of give you some hope in humanity in pretty difficult times. 0:33:44.880 --> 0:33:46.680 Let's see, I want to ask you about rhetoric. So 0:33:46.720 --> 0:33:48.360 there have been these calls to tone down the rhetoric. 0:33:48.400 --> 0:33:50.880 I mean, I think the cover station about hetoric began 0:33:50.920 --> 0:33:51.760 before the event itself. 0:33:51.760 --> 0:33:53.320 There were a lot of people wondering what tack the 0:33:53.360 --> 0:33:55.360 President would take giving this speech to the White House 0:33:55.360 --> 0:33:57.080 Correspondents Association and its guests. 0:33:58.040 --> 0:33:59.360 Given he hadn't gone to the dinner before. 0:33:59.400 --> 0:34:01.600 Given what he said to the press before, there was 0:34:02.000 --> 0:34:04.040 a market change in his tone last night when he 0:34:04.040 --> 0:34:05.640 did speak to the press in the briefing room, he 0:34:05.680 --> 0:34:08.760 was very gracious to the President the association and also 0:34:09.320 --> 0:34:11.680 somewhat chokingly said he couldn't give the speech that he 0:34:11.719 --> 0:34:12.439 intended to give. 0:34:12.840 --> 0:34:14.160 After what had happened. 0:34:15.040 --> 0:34:16.919 It's maybe folly to kind of look at a moment 0:34:17.040 --> 0:34:19.239 like this and predict whether it's going to change things. 0:34:19.239 --> 0:34:22.359 But does it feel like this is a moment when 0:34:22.360 --> 0:34:25.200 there's the prospect of change in the way that people 0:34:25.200 --> 0:34:26.319 of differing views get along with? 0:34:26.440 --> 0:34:28.399 Yes, I mean, I would love to see that right 0:34:28.640 --> 0:34:33.560 civility in our conversation. It seems to be gone. And 0:34:33.640 --> 0:34:37.120 it's really frustrating and scary when you work in politics 0:34:37.120 --> 0:34:39.480 to think I can't go to a party with my 0:34:39.520 --> 0:34:43.160 friends without having to walk through magnometers and have secret 0:34:43.200 --> 0:34:47.040 service and police and roads closed off everywhere just so 0:34:47.080 --> 0:34:50.200 that we can get together and celebrate the First Amendment. 0:34:50.239 --> 0:34:52.360 I mean, it's just a really it's a scary time. 0:34:52.719 --> 0:34:54.399 I will say one of the things that stood out 0:34:54.400 --> 0:34:56.759 to me last night with the president's remarks was when 0:34:56.760 --> 0:34:58.920 he said, you know, it wasn't a Trump event. There 0:34:58.920 --> 0:35:03.040 were Republicans there there, Democrats, they're conservatives, liberals, members of 0:35:03.040 --> 0:35:07.480 the media. We were all gathered there together to celebrate 0:35:07.520 --> 0:35:11.040 the First Amendment, and this horrible thing happened, and it's 0:35:11.120 --> 0:35:13.520 just it's scary to me more than anything. 0:35:13.920 --> 0:35:16.160 But you know, Mike McCall you're for a boss who 0:35:16.160 --> 0:35:16.879 has this long time. 0:35:16.920 --> 0:35:18.160 We just swapped you out of these seats. 0:35:19.080 --> 0:35:22.000 He was saying that this is not something you can legislate, 0:35:22.080 --> 0:35:23.200 and there is a point to that. 0:35:23.640 --> 0:35:25.960 So what do you do. You're a realist, you've. 0:35:25.760 --> 0:35:27.480 Been this town a long time, but you guys are 0:35:27.480 --> 0:35:29.400 on opposite ends that are very close friends. 0:35:30.239 --> 0:35:31.239 What do you do? 0:35:31.239 --> 0:35:33.239 Does it have to come from the top down or 0:35:33.239 --> 0:35:35.520 could Republicans in Congress take the lead on this and 0:35:35.560 --> 0:35:35.880 will be. 0:35:36.520 --> 0:35:39.320 I have to, like, I don't want to not place 0:35:39.360 --> 0:35:41.399 blame on different politicians and. 0:35:41.320 --> 0:35:42.080 People in DC. 0:35:42.320 --> 0:35:45.600 For sure, there are definitely some politicians that have not 0:35:45.680 --> 0:35:48.719 great rhetoric on both sides of the aisle. But you know, 0:35:48.960 --> 0:35:50.920 you just said that John and I are friends. I 0:35:50.920 --> 0:35:53.120 have a lot of friends that are Democrats. Republicans and 0:35:53.120 --> 0:35:56.319 Democrats get along here. This is our city. We all 0:35:56.360 --> 0:35:59.400 work together, we all live together. I do think that 0:35:59.440 --> 0:36:03.319 there's a lot of camaraderie between Republicans, Democrats, journalists, you know, 0:36:03.400 --> 0:36:06.200 people that work here and that what you see online 0:36:06.239 --> 0:36:08.680 often are people that don't know anything about DC. 0:36:08.880 --> 0:36:10.440 They've never been here before. 0:36:11.320 --> 0:36:13.960 They see something online and they want to be a 0:36:14.000 --> 0:36:16.440 part of a conversation or they have a specific, you know, 0:36:17.480 --> 0:36:19.760 idea about something and they go off the rails. 0:36:19.760 --> 0:36:20.400 This guy came. 0:36:20.239 --> 0:36:24.720 From California, so you know, I think that the Congressman's right. 0:36:24.800 --> 0:36:26.359 They're trying to legislate the. 0:36:26.320 --> 0:36:29.160 Way that somebody thinks, and especially in a country that 0:36:29.200 --> 0:36:32.880 prioritizes free speech, it's going to be hard. I do 0:36:32.960 --> 0:36:35.280 think that, you know, we want to see more leaders 0:36:35.360 --> 0:36:38.040 out there trying to lower the tone. 0:36:37.920 --> 0:36:40.160 Of the rhetoric, and you know, Congressman McCall is a 0:36:40.200 --> 0:36:41.920 perfect example of that. I think he mentioned this. 0:36:42.000 --> 0:36:45.279 He was just at a big event like last week, 0:36:45.320 --> 0:36:48.000 I think in Texas with Henry Quaar talking about the 0:36:48.000 --> 0:36:50.480 importance of bipartisanship and civility. 0:36:51.040 --> 0:36:52.680 Yeah, and I mean, I hope that that's true. I 0:36:52.680 --> 0:36:54.799 think there's kind of two issues at hand here. The 0:36:54.800 --> 0:36:57.040 first of which is there's not really a political reward 0:36:57.280 --> 0:37:00.480 for being a centrist and being kind of a you know, 0:37:00.640 --> 0:37:03.120 not that flashy, not that exciting elected official. 0:37:03.280 --> 0:37:04.120 That's true, and that's. 0:37:04.000 --> 0:37:06.480 Not what we're partly to blame for this as well, 0:37:06.480 --> 0:37:08.000 because that's not what we pick up it. 0:37:07.920 --> 0:37:09.960 Was the second point, Yeah, exactly, I was going to 0:37:10.000 --> 0:37:11.520 say that's part of the problem, whether it's the media 0:37:11.640 --> 0:37:13.960 or the algorithms. It doesn't reward someone who wants to 0:37:14.000 --> 0:37:16.080 sit and say have you read my substant of white 0:37:16.080 --> 0:37:19.080 paper on this issue. Instead, it's the kind of snappy 0:37:19.120 --> 0:37:21.279 SoundBite that gets the political reward in the end. So, 0:37:21.840 --> 0:37:23.600 you know, I think that these elected officials need to 0:37:23.600 --> 0:37:25.880 step up and remember that they are really elected to 0:37:25.920 --> 0:37:28.680 be in many ways chief citizens. But simultaneously, both the 0:37:28.680 --> 0:37:31.319 media and of course the tech platform is et cetera 0:37:31.520 --> 0:37:33.760 need to also recognize that they play an important moderating 0:37:33.760 --> 0:37:34.480 force in all of this too. 0:37:34.600 --> 0:37:36.399 I will read your snappy white paper or whatever you've 0:37:36.560 --> 0:37:37.280 David Gara. 0:37:37.080 --> 0:37:40.919 Reads all of the snappy white papers. John McCarthy Leslie said, 0:37:40.960 --> 0:37:42.880 hang on, we're going to keep you here. Actually we've 0:37:42.880 --> 0:37:45.000 got to go to break but we want to keep 0:37:45.040 --> 0:37:47.759 talking to you more about all of this because a 0:37:47.760 --> 0:37:50.040 lots of breakdown and we do want to talk. We 0:37:50.080 --> 0:37:52.080 don't want you to fight, but we want to talk 0:37:52.120 --> 0:37:54.359 a little bit about some of the contentious issues going 0:37:54.400 --> 0:37:56.560 on on the hill. We are still in a partial 0:37:56.600 --> 0:37:58.440 government shutdown. We've got a fed chair, we've got a 0:37:58.480 --> 0:38:00.000 whole bunch of other stuff, and the King is going 0:38:00.040 --> 0:38:01.680 a visit, so we want to discuss all of this, 0:38:01.840 --> 0:38:04.000 So stay in your seats and you at home, please 0:38:04.000 --> 0:38:05.080 stay in your seats. 0:38:05.200 --> 0:38:06.640 Bloomberg this weekend will be. 0:38:06.719 --> 0:38:09.239 Right back on all the platforms and stick with us 0:38:09.280 --> 0:38:09.800 this morning. 0:38:17.400 --> 0:38:19.600 Welcome back to Bloomery this weekend. David Gerr with Pristina Rafina. 0:38:19.640 --> 0:38:21.319 We have John McCarthy and Leslie shed with a skin 0:38:21.880 --> 0:38:24.600 as well. John, let me start with you on what's 0:38:24.680 --> 0:38:26.680 just transpired over the last hour. That is, Senator Tom 0:38:26.719 --> 0:38:29.600 Tillis of North Carolina has dropped his opposition to the 0:38:29.640 --> 0:38:32.800 nomination of Kevin Warsh. He had locked it in protests 0:38:32.840 --> 0:38:34.360 because of what had been happening with the Department of 0:38:34.480 --> 0:38:37.080 Justice and Jerome Powell. He writes in a statement that 0:38:37.080 --> 0:38:39.520 he's posted on x with the assurances that he's gotten. 0:38:39.680 --> 0:38:42.120 I look forward to supporting Kevin Worsh's confirmation. He's an 0:38:42.120 --> 0:38:45.080 outstanding nominee and it's time for the Federal Reserve to 0:38:45.120 --> 0:38:48.000 move beyond this distraction and return its full attention to 0:38:48.040 --> 0:38:52.359 its mission. Curious for your reaction broadly, but more specifically, 0:38:52.400 --> 0:38:56.440 your reaction to this. Emboldened Tom Tillis, who yes, is 0:38:56.520 --> 0:39:00.160 outgoing his days are numbered as a Senator from North Carolina. 0:39:00.239 --> 0:39:03.000 But what is his attitude toward this, the way that 0:39:03.040 --> 0:39:05.200 he's approached this, say to you about the way that lawmakers, 0:39:05.200 --> 0:39:07.200 perhaps more broadly, could take a. 0:39:07.160 --> 0:39:09.239 Stand in a way that they haven't in recent months 0:39:09.280 --> 0:39:09.680 and years. 0:39:09.800 --> 0:39:11.960 Yeah, I mean outgoing lawmakers tend to be some of 0:39:12.000 --> 0:39:14.640 them bolden in boldened, yes, but they also, you know, 0:39:14.719 --> 0:39:15.920 are the most ones open. 0:39:15.760 --> 0:39:16.400 To deal making. 0:39:17.080 --> 0:39:18.920 When I was back in the Biden administration, when we 0:39:18.920 --> 0:39:22.160 were looking towards the bipartisan Infrastructure law, the senators who 0:39:22.160 --> 0:39:24.680 are really available to us are no longer serving. By 0:39:24.719 --> 0:39:26.600 and large, they're the ones who are willing to kind 0:39:26.640 --> 0:39:28.320 of cross the aisle get a couple things done, and 0:39:28.360 --> 0:39:30.960 they're thinking about their legacy. The only thing I would 0:39:31.000 --> 0:39:33.359 caution here is that assurances tend to not last very long. 0:39:33.400 --> 0:39:36.120 Inside of the Trump administration, I think we saw a 0:39:36.120 --> 0:39:38.760 lot of assurances given around the nomination of Secretary Kennedy. 0:39:39.160 --> 0:39:41.200 We've heard people kind of speak out since saying that 0:39:41.200 --> 0:39:42.960 they were a little concerned about some of his actions 0:39:43.000 --> 0:39:46.000 since so I don't know, you know, what these assurances were, 0:39:46.040 --> 0:39:47.480 but I don't know that I would, you know, take 0:39:47.520 --> 0:39:50.160 them to the bank if I were the senator, Let's say, 0:39:50.160 --> 0:39:50.560 I want. 0:39:50.400 --> 0:39:53.040 To get your take on why this happened. Why the 0:39:53.120 --> 0:39:56.480 dog backed off this investigation, because the President had gone 0:39:56.520 --> 0:39:59.920 really hard on this, despite members of his own part 0:40:00.000 --> 0:40:02.520 already saying, you are you know, as my mother would say, 0:40:02.520 --> 0:40:04.400 cutting off your nose, despite your face, you have a 0:40:04.440 --> 0:40:07.080 long term goal. This is going to complicate it. Why 0:40:07.200 --> 0:40:08.680 was he so set on this in the first place, 0:40:08.680 --> 0:40:10.359 and what do you think ultimately changed his mind. 0:40:10.480 --> 0:40:12.320 Well, I want to start by saying, I am here 0:40:12.360 --> 0:40:17.040 for Tom Tillis's yolo like moment right now. I honestly 0:40:17.080 --> 0:40:19.160 just can't wait to see what happens next on this one, 0:40:19.239 --> 0:40:22.360 because you know, he's funny and he cares about stuff, 0:40:22.400 --> 0:40:25.439 and he's not afraid to, you know, hold people's feet 0:40:25.440 --> 0:40:25.880 to the fire. 0:40:26.760 --> 0:40:27.919 You know, I'm a lawyer too. 0:40:28.080 --> 0:40:29.919 I like to say I play a lawyer on TV, 0:40:30.800 --> 0:40:32.480 But you know, I think if you go through and 0:40:32.480 --> 0:40:34.480 look at the case, it just wasn't a strong case. 0:40:34.600 --> 0:40:37.080 And attorneys can actually get in trouble if they are 0:40:37.120 --> 0:40:40.520 pursuing cases like aggressively over time where they just don't 0:40:40.560 --> 0:40:41.799 have the evidence to. 0:40:41.760 --> 0:40:42.359 Back that up. 0:40:42.960 --> 0:40:45.319 So I'd be willing to bet it's probably a little 0:40:45.360 --> 0:40:47.400 bit to do with that, probably definitely to do with 0:40:47.400 --> 0:40:48.480 the Kevin Morsh nomination. 0:40:49.280 --> 0:40:51.320 I personally thought always that this was a bit of 0:40:51.360 --> 0:40:51.960 a distraction. 0:40:52.880 --> 0:40:55.000 We've got a really big election coming up in November 0:40:55.239 --> 0:40:58.040 and a little bit, and i'd really like to see, 0:40:58.080 --> 0:41:00.880 you know, the president and the administration one hundred percent 0:41:00.880 --> 0:41:01.640 focused on that. 0:41:01.760 --> 0:41:04.520 Right now, we're talking about jerrymandering. What happened in Virginia 0:41:04.719 --> 0:41:06.719 a couple of weeks back, And I'm curious how you 0:41:06.760 --> 0:41:10.320 see the evolution of this story. So Florida is poised 0:41:10.360 --> 0:41:12.919 perhaps to do some of this itself. But I think 0:41:12.960 --> 0:41:15.360 a warning that we got early on was if Republicans 0:41:15.360 --> 0:41:17.480 initially were to start doing this, it would be this 0:41:17.560 --> 0:41:19.400 kind of tit for tap thing, and lo it seems 0:41:19.400 --> 0:41:21.239 to have been that. Where do you see all of 0:41:21.280 --> 0:41:24.200 this leading this conversation about the way that states decided? 0:41:24.280 --> 0:41:27.799 Yeah, Io, I think no offense to John, but I 0:41:27.840 --> 0:41:30.440 think that there was kind of a belief among Republicans 0:41:30.440 --> 0:41:33.080 that Democrats would roll over because they had been for 0:41:33.320 --> 0:41:36.680 quite you know, several months at the beginning of the administration. 0:41:36.280 --> 0:41:39.960 Several years, perhaps Democratic party right there look at this agreement. 0:41:41.440 --> 0:41:43.239 So you know, I think what we're at a wash 0:41:43.320 --> 0:41:46.000 kind of right now. Right like ten seats for Democrats, 0:41:46.080 --> 0:41:50.000 nine seats for Republicans. I go back again to you know, 0:41:50.360 --> 0:41:52.160 I just feel like this is a bit of a distraction. 0:41:52.280 --> 0:41:54.839 It's taking time away from people, it's taking money away, 0:41:54.880 --> 0:41:58.320 it's taking political capital away that I would. 0:41:58.160 --> 0:41:59.560 Rather be seen invested in. 0:41:59.680 --> 0:42:02.800 Racist is that we need to try to protect members 0:42:02.800 --> 0:42:05.520 that we already have, as well as really great candidates 0:42:05.560 --> 0:42:07.520 that we've got coming up. And you know, I know 0:42:07.560 --> 0:42:10.600 there's a lot of attention paid to these federal races, 0:42:10.800 --> 0:42:13.000 but we've got a lot of really great governor's candidates, 0:42:13.040 --> 0:42:16.680 attorney's general candidates. There's gonna be a lot of interesting 0:42:16.760 --> 0:42:18.320 races this November. 0:42:18.440 --> 0:42:20.600 So all right, we've got about two minutes left. 0:42:20.680 --> 0:42:21.720 Yeah, okay. 0:42:22.440 --> 0:42:24.840 I would just say that it actually exemplifies the tension 0:42:24.840 --> 0:42:27.160 that's in the Democratic Party right now, because, you know, 0:42:27.200 --> 0:42:29.440 this is something that Democrats would largely not be for. 0:42:29.680 --> 0:42:29.839 Right. 0:42:29.920 --> 0:42:33.040 Democrats have overwhelmingly each Congress introduced a lot of good 0:42:33.040 --> 0:42:36.040 government bills, from money out of Politics to independent redistricting. 0:42:36.719 --> 0:42:38.480 But there's also this new lane of the party that's 0:42:38.520 --> 0:42:41.239 telling them that they want their nominee to fight more So, 0:42:41.280 --> 0:42:42.719 I think that this is playing out in a really 0:42:42.760 --> 0:42:44.719 weird way where Democrats are trying to find their new 0:42:44.719 --> 0:42:47.520 footing in this new generation. And I think that's why 0:42:47.600 --> 0:42:49.280 you're seeing some of the kind of you know, outside 0:42:49.280 --> 0:42:51.360 groups come in and support with such vigor some of 0:42:51.360 --> 0:42:54.440 these independent redistricting efforts, you know, reforms, but you know, 0:42:54.760 --> 0:42:56.960 these kind of more partisan efforts in practice. 0:42:56.640 --> 0:42:59.400 Trying to correct the over correction, right with Joe Biden, 0:42:59.440 --> 0:43:02.000 that was this over correction, I think, to President Trump 0:43:02.040 --> 0:43:04.879 and trying to figure out this new happy medium. How 0:43:04.880 --> 0:43:07.160 can they be you know, against the way that they 0:43:07.400 --> 0:43:09.960 don't like the way the President speaks or his policies, 0:43:10.600 --> 0:43:13.200 but still be interesting and you know, get attention. 0:43:13.400 --> 0:43:13.840 Exactly. 0:43:13.960 --> 0:43:16.560 We've got a very short jump ball here when it 0:43:16.560 --> 0:43:20.080 comes to kitchen table issues and the midterms and November. 0:43:20.200 --> 0:43:22.360 Which party is going to do it better easily? 0:43:22.400 --> 0:43:25.759 Democrats and the Republican Party. The Republican Party has not 0:43:25.760 --> 0:43:27.319 been able to focus on this since they got here. 0:43:27.320 --> 0:43:29.400 I mean, the president had a mandate to lower costs, 0:43:29.440 --> 0:43:32.120 and I mean take your pick ballroom wars, you know, 0:43:32.200 --> 0:43:34.680 foreign invasions, you know, none of that is bringing down costs. 0:43:34.680 --> 0:43:36.120 I don't need to ows the mentalist here too. 0:43:37.760 --> 0:43:41.160 Exacinitely Republicans, Oh, you know, and I know, I know 0:43:41.200 --> 0:43:44.320 everybody's surprised, right, but I think to the biggest reason 0:43:44.480 --> 0:43:47.120 is that Republicans have a record to run on right now. 0:43:47.160 --> 0:43:49.480 I just see a lot of anti Trump stuff for Democrats, 0:43:49.520 --> 0:43:51.280 and you know, not a lot of ideas. 0:43:51.560 --> 0:43:52.640 Leslie Shad John McCarthy. 0:43:52.640 --> 0:43:54.000 Thanks to both of you if you're joining us here 0:43:54.040 --> 0:43:56.600 on this Sunday after what was an eventful and difficult 0:43:56.600 --> 0:43:58.800 weekend for a lot of folks, but appreciate your perspective 0:43:58.800 --> 0:43:59.959 here on the Sunday morning. 0:44:02.120 --> 0:44:05.080 Thanks for joining us on today's Bloomberg This Weekend podcast. 0:44:05.200 --> 0:44:07.439 Don't forget to tune in live for the show every 0:44:07.480 --> 0:44:10.120 Saturday and Sunday morning, starting at seven am Eastern. 0:44:10.200 --> 0:44:13.200 We're on Bloomberg Television Radio and the Bloomberg Business App, 0:44:13.320 --> 0:44:16.799 bringing you unique takes and in depth interviews on news, politics, 0:44:16.920 --> 0:44:18.120 lifestyle and culture.