Speaker 1: Now from our nation's capital. This is Bloomberg Sound on
Speaker 1: the course. It was another right decision, was wrong decision.
Speaker 1: So I don't have him to say the parents other
Speaker 1: than what at half Bloomberg Sound on Politics, Policy and
Speaker 1: perspective from DC's top names. I wanted to thank the
Speaker 1: true American of the twenty eight years later. There's a
Speaker 1: reason a lot of us are not optimistic. Why were
Speaker 1: to a fair winds and following seas Because I know
Speaker 1: you well, remain always faithful. Hey, God protect you Off
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Sound On with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. The
Speaker 1: n r A convention kicks off in Texas as police
Speaker 1: in Vivaldi admit they made the wrong decision at the scene.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the fastest hour in politics, as we seek
Speaker 1: rational thought again at the end of a harrowing week.
Speaker 1: And we start this hour in Houston, where former President
Speaker 1: Donald Trump is to address members of the National Rifle
Speaker 1: Association a few hundred miles from the scene of this
Speaker 1: week's school massacre. We're gonna get an update from Bloomberg's
Speaker 1: Joe Carroll. He's in the room right now covering the convention,
Speaker 1: and we'll get analysis from our panel today. Adam Goodman,
Speaker 1: Republican strategist. Edward R. Murrow, senior fellow at Tusk University
Speaker 1: Fletcher School, is back with us along with Jim Davis,
Speaker 1: former Democratic Congressman from Florida. It's going to be an
Speaker 1: interesting conversation today. We'll also update efforts on Capitol Hill
Speaker 1: to find some compromise on gun legislation, if that's even possible.
Speaker 1: A conversation ahead with Bloomberg's Steve Dennis will have the
Speaker 1: latest and thanks for being with us this Friday edition
Speaker 1: of Bloomberg Sound On. It's going to be a little
Speaker 1: bit different this hour because we're following a live event
Speaker 1: in progress, with one eye on the n r A
Speaker 1: convention that's kicking off in Houston, and our other eye,
Speaker 1: of course, on what's happening in Uvaldi, where Governor Greg
Speaker 1: Abbott is spending his time instead of attending the meeting.
Speaker 1: And we've got news on both ends here of the
Speaker 1: state of Texas. I'm Joe Matthew and Washington. The n
Speaker 1: r A kicking off the convention today in Houston. As
Speaker 1: I mentioned, even after the mayor of that city you
Speaker 1: might remember, urged the group to postpone because of this
Speaker 1: week's events, The n r A CEO Wayne Lapierre spoke
Speaker 1: to members once again, kicking things off once again against
Speaker 1: the backdrop of gun violence in America. Here he is
Speaker 1: these tragedies caused gut wretching, unimaginable pain that too many
Speaker 1: are being forced to go through right now. It's not right.
Speaker 1: It should never happen again. If we as a nation
Speaker 1: we're capable of legislating evil, how do the hearts and
Speaker 1: minds of criminals who commit these heinous acts? We would
Speaker 1: have done it a long time ago. He wrapped his
Speaker 1: speech by asking that police officers in the room stand up.
Speaker 1: Law enforcement officers, they've got a big round of applause us.
Speaker 1: He then followed that with firefighters, they too got applause,
Speaker 1: and then went through a long list of other occupations,
Speaker 1: a lot, you know, a lot of everyday jobs. Contractors
Speaker 1: stay plumbers or their plumbers, stay at home moms until
Speaker 1: the whole place was up, and what he called the
Speaker 1: heart of the nation who believe in the right to
Speaker 1: self defense. Now, as we've reported, some have chosen not
Speaker 1: to speak at this meeting, including the aforementioned Governor Abbott.
Speaker 1: He instead went to Vivaldi, although he sent the video
Speaker 1: that addressed gun laws and the massacre here he is
Speaker 1: there are thousands of laws on the books across the
Speaker 1: country that limit the owning or using of firearms, laws
Speaker 1: that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts
Speaker 1: on innocent people and peaceful communities. In New Vality, the
Speaker 1: gunman committed a felony under Texas law before he even
Speaker 1: pulled the trigger. So you get a sense of the
Speaker 1: messaging coming from the Exhibit Hall in Houston that we
Speaker 1: just got a breaker on the terminal right now with
Speaker 1: Bloomberg reporting. Governor Greg Abbott, again in Uvaldi, not at
Speaker 1: the n r A convention, says he is quote absolutely
Speaker 1: livid unquote that he was given inaccurate information about details
Speaker 1: of the shooting holding a news conference, says he was
Speaker 1: misled a new wrinkle here in the story. And we're
Speaker 1: gonna walk you through some of the stuff we heard
Speaker 1: earlier from police in Uvaldi, an extended briefing that we
Speaker 1: brought to you live on Bloomberg Radio. It was during
Speaker 1: balance of power, as a matter of fact, and the
Speaker 1: timeline was stunning. Back to Houston, also not in the hall,
Speaker 1: Texas Senator John Corny, and remember he said personal reasons
Speaker 1: kept him in d C. This time couldn't make it.
Speaker 1: Some musicians, including Don McLean, have canceled, but South Dakota
Speaker 1: Governor Christy Nome spoke told members now is not the
Speaker 1: time to cave to the Woka jen to Ted Cruz
Speaker 1: is speaking. We're waiting to hear from Donald Trump. We
Speaker 1: also would love to hear from Joe Carroll, who's in
Speaker 1: the middle of all this right now in Houston reporting
Speaker 1: for Bloomberg from the n r A convention. Joe, the
Speaker 1: the feeling must be energetic for the members, knowing the
Speaker 1: former president's about to speak. What's it like there, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a it's a it's a festive crowd down on
Speaker 1: the exhibit floor. The estimate was about eighty thousand people
Speaker 1: would show up. It's a truly massive convention center. Uh.
Speaker 1: The exhibit floor, you know, is uh vendors talking everything
Speaker 1: from silencers to American made a K forty seven's to
Speaker 1: switch blades. It's uh, there's gun raffles at every other booth.
Speaker 1: The mood here is that, uh they expect gun control
Speaker 1: activists to uh to sort of capitalize on the valdi
Speaker 1: as they would say, to push their agenda, and and
Speaker 1: so it's sort of a defensive, defensive approach at this
Speaker 1: So it is in the air, though it's not like
Speaker 1: if if if you just were sort of parachuted into
Speaker 1: this convention, would you know that that a massive shooting
Speaker 1: so place a few hundred miles ago, a couple of
Speaker 1: days ago. You know, as soon as you spoke to somebody,
Speaker 1: like I said, it's a festive crowd. People have been
Speaker 1: shinned up for this for for a couple of years
Speaker 1: because the pandemic canceled the last two NY conventions. Um.
Speaker 1: But as soon as soon as you speak to people,
Speaker 1: obviously with all these the person that comes up, Trump
Speaker 1: is the headliner here, right. Do you have a sense
Speaker 1: of what this crowd wants to hear. I think they
Speaker 1: want to hear the president of a former president, UM
Speaker 1: defend this. You know, it's not a new position for him.
Speaker 1: He's very posulibly crowd. He's a trust these events before,
Speaker 1: and uh, it would seem that they want to hear
Speaker 1: us a sort of a stout defense of the Second Amendment. Again,
Speaker 1: we've got a sense of that from Christie Gnome. Now
Speaker 1: is not the time to cave for the woke agenda.
Speaker 1: We need to press harder than ever, Ted Cruz, Now
Speaker 1: you're delivering a very similar message. Uh. The events of
Speaker 1: this week have certainly not watered down the messaging here, Joe,
Speaker 1: and we were curious what the tone would be. But
Speaker 1: to your point, is it one that's defensive? Is that
Speaker 1: the best word? It really is? And you know it
Speaker 1: was it seemed like there was a chink in the
Speaker 1: armor last night when when we all heard that the
Speaker 1: governor Greg Abbott had had canceled plans to attend. It
Speaker 1: doesn't appear that was the motivation, as we have learned, Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, as the day progressed today, he's got an
Speaker 1: unfold He's got an unfolding police candal on his hands.
Speaker 1: I mean, is Will his state police chief? Uh? And
Speaker 1: the resigning I mean that that that seems like it
Speaker 1: may be in the card. So so he's really got
Speaker 1: his hands for it. Is pretty remarkable for him to
Speaker 1: now say that he is misled on what happened, because
Speaker 1: a lot of us, Joe and I'm sure you're included,
Speaker 1: have been trying to connect the dots between a lot
Speaker 1: of the stuff we've heard in these few police briefings
Speaker 1: and none of it seems to add up. Is that
Speaker 1: getting attention in the room as well, or is that
Speaker 1: a separate story. It really is because because of if
Speaker 1: among this crowd, in this culture, law enforcement, law enforcement,
Speaker 1: just like the military, is expected to perform, to do
Speaker 1: what they're trained to do. And so there's a lot
Speaker 1: of disappointment. You know, the thing is, in the past
Speaker 1: couple of days, the timeline of what it unfolded anuvality
Speaker 1: from the law enforcement perspective, never really added up. There
Speaker 1: were gaps, there are contradictions, and so you know that
Speaker 1: really came to a head today when they came out
Speaker 1: and said, yeah, we we waited too long, right, It
Speaker 1: was a pretty remarkable moment. We'll bring that to our
Speaker 1: listeners in just a moment. But while you're with us, Joe,
Speaker 1: a lot of us have never attended an inn R
Speaker 1: a convention. Bring our listeners inside. I mean, this could
Speaker 1: this be any industry convention or are you surrounded by
Speaker 1: paraphernalia and and guns and cannons And I have no
Speaker 1: idea what you are surrounded by those things? This is Texas.
Speaker 1: This is part of the culture here. Um, it's it's gleaming.
Speaker 1: It's glossy, it's it's it's it's totally professional. Um, but
Speaker 1: it's just I think if you transplanted somebody from outside
Speaker 1: of a of a gun culture, I guess he'd say
Speaker 1: it might be a little shocked. Interesting. Where where was
Speaker 1: Don McClean in a player that is this part of
Speaker 1: the event in the hall or their parties after or something. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they do concerts every night and lots and lots of stars.
Speaker 1: I hate to admit it, I didn't know Don McLean
Speaker 1: was still alive. As much a fan as I am. Well,
Speaker 1: I didn't know he was a conservative. I mean, did
Speaker 1: he hear he was going for crying out loud? It
Speaker 1: shouldn't be a surprise. Joe, thank you very much for
Speaker 1: for checking in. I didn't know what kind of surroundings
Speaker 1: you'd be in, and it's great to be able to
Speaker 1: hear you. Joe Carroll from the n r A convention
Speaker 1: in Houston, reporting from Bloomberg. Look for him on the
Speaker 1: terminal if we can get that sound from Stephen McCraw Handy.
Speaker 1: I do want to walk you through this is the
Speaker 1: other big part of this. I want to walk you
Speaker 1: through this briefing earlier today. This is the Texas Department
Speaker 1: of Public Safety and its director, Stephen McCraw, clearly having
Speaker 1: a tough time. He got emotional while he was talking.
Speaker 1: But I'll tell you what the timeline that he rolled
Speaker 1: out here, this is what people are talking about because
Speaker 1: it's shocking. At eleven seven am, that is the first
Speaker 1: time we see the door being cracked open. The door
Speaker 1: had been propped open by a teacher. We learned that today.
Speaker 1: Then this guy was the shooter. Ramos crashed his vehicle
Speaker 1: into a ditch, and this is when the firing started.
Speaker 1: The first nine one one call at eleven thirty A.
Speaker 1: M Okay, so we're at eleven thirty in the morning. Here,
Speaker 1: the suspect gets into the school at eleven thirty three am.
Speaker 1: Not much later, UH officers begin arriving round eleven eleven fifty.
Speaker 1: They get inside the school by noon, right, and so
Speaker 1: a half hour has gone by. They get inside the
Speaker 1: room by noon and they're in the hallway. They don't
Speaker 1: actually breach the door until twelve fifty PM. And there
Speaker 1: have been a series of nine one calls during this time.
Speaker 1: Listen to UH Stephen McCraw, the director, explaining the ration
Speaker 1: for why they did not run in. When they got there,
Speaker 1: a decision was made that this is a barricaded subject situation.
Speaker 1: There was time to retrieve the keys and wait for
Speaker 1: a tactical team with the equipment to go ahead and
Speaker 1: breach the door and take all the subject at that point.
Speaker 1: That was the decision, that was the thought process that
Speaker 1: particular point in time, and he called it the wrong
Speaker 1: decision a moment later when he was asked for the
Speaker 1: benefit of hindsight where I'm sitting now, of course there
Speaker 1: was another right decision. Was a wrong decision period. There's
Speaker 1: no no excuse for that. Now, the governor of Texas
Speaker 1: says he was misled on what happens, and I suspect
Speaker 1: we've got a big investigation coming and to Joe Carroll's point,
Speaker 1: maybe some resignations will assemble the panel. Next, Adam Goodman
Speaker 1: is coming in. It's been a while since we've heard
Speaker 1: from Adam, along with former Congressman Jim Davis, former Democratic
Speaker 1: Congressman from Florida. The conversation next on Sound On, I'm
Speaker 1: Joe Matthew. This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg. You
Speaker 1: Sound On with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. The idea
Speaker 1: that police were waiting to breach the door. Well, kids
Speaker 1: repeatedly called nine from the cell phones their parents bought
Speaker 1: for them over the course of an hour. It's even
Speaker 1: more than that. When you look at the timelines, it's horrifying.
Speaker 1: Everybody's feeling this, everyone's talking about it. Nobody can believe
Speaker 1: it now. Governor Greg Abbott says he was misled about
Speaker 1: the events at the scene. This just transpired since we
Speaker 1: got on the air at the top of the hour.
Speaker 1: Listen to the Governor of Texas. The information that I
Speaker 1: was given turned out, in part to be inaccurate, and
Speaker 1: I'm absolutely living about that. What is going on. He's
Speaker 1: in Uvaldi instead of Houston, where the n r A
Speaker 1: is holding its convention just kicked off. We heard from
Speaker 1: Joe Carroll in the room for Bloomberg short time ago,
Speaker 1: and members are waiting to hear from their headliner, Former
Speaker 1: President Donald Trump, will be speaking. Abbott decided to go
Speaker 1: to Uvaldi, and now we know why. Uh, he was
Speaker 1: actually supposed to be there in person. We've heard from
Speaker 1: Senator Ted Cruz and several others of course, including Wayne Lapierre.
Speaker 1: It's been the n R A convention that you would
Speaker 1: have expected, but everyone has also been acknowledging what's been
Speaker 1: going on this week in Uvaldi. Let's assemble our panel today.
Speaker 1: Great to have Adam Goodman back, National Republican media strategist,
Speaker 1: columnist partner at Ballard Partners in Washington, and the first
Speaker 1: Edward R. Murrow Senior Fellow at Tufts University's Fletcher's School.
Speaker 1: Were also joined by former Florida Congressman Jim Davis, was
Speaker 1: in the House for a decade representing the great City
Speaker 1: of Tampa portions of St. Pete Hillsboro County. It's great
Speaker 1: to have both of you with us. Congressman, I'm going
Speaker 1: to start with you here because we're really trying to
Speaker 1: focus on the policy side of this whole story here,
Speaker 1: and we keep hearing repeatedly that that none of the
Speaker 1: ideas being floated in Congress would have stopped what happened
Speaker 1: this week. Ted Cruz just said as a matter of
Speaker 1: fact that this s O B as he put it
Speaker 1: past a background check. I don't know if that's actually
Speaker 1: true or not. But are we just nibbling around the
Speaker 1: edges here? Are we going to have a conversation about
Speaker 1: something that might actually matter. Well, we have to, and
Speaker 1: it's not just about the tragedy in Texas. I mean
Speaker 1: these massacres are increasing in frequency, in scale and savagery,
Speaker 1: and we do need to learn from each and there's
Speaker 1: lots of mistakes that are made, but it's getting worse
Speaker 1: and it's a crisis. And I think that's where you
Speaker 1: have to start, is whether the people we in trust
Speaker 1: represent a state and federal agree that this is a crisis.
Speaker 1: And if we don't act, not only is it not
Speaker 1: going to change, it's gonna get worse. And I think
Speaker 1: the public has to demand change. I know the FBI
Speaker 1: is there, it's not just local and state police. Congressman
Speaker 1: to do or this is going to lead the hearings
Speaker 1: on Capitol Hill right to actually what took place at
Speaker 1: the scene here. There's this has to affect protocol nationally
Speaker 1: well it should, and unfortunately that there has been plenty.
Speaker 1: I mean Buffalo was another example, and this is going
Speaker 1: to continue, and I do think a hearing is important
Speaker 1: because what we need to have is an open and
Speaker 1: honest debate about what works and what doesn't work. There
Speaker 1: is no panacea here and everything should be on the
Speaker 1: table and we shouldn't be afraid to have that discussion.
Speaker 1: And it's rare those discussions occur. Normally, these bills are
Speaker 1: killed in the dark of night or their disgust in
Speaker 1: the back room. Adam Goodman, are you surprised the n
Speaker 1: r A continued with the convention? The mayor refused and
Speaker 1: asked them to postpone. Maybe that never seemed like a
Speaker 1: realistic idea. But to have this convention and balance it
Speaker 1: with what's going on and you've aaldi making that a
Speaker 1: component of all the speeches. Was this the right move? Uh?
Speaker 1: It's very debatable. I mean, personally, I think it should
Speaker 1: have been rescheduled. But what first of all is as
Speaker 1: a parent, if not just as a human being. We're
Speaker 1: all just shaken by everything we're learning. And when you
Speaker 1: recounted Joe the timeline earlier in the show, I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm listening to you and I'm just like, I'm feeling
Speaker 1: something um as everyone would feel, of mixture of anger
Speaker 1: and helplessness. Unfortunately, what this is going to create is
Speaker 1: as a showdown between the incompetence of decisions of law
Speaker 1: enforcement versus the inadequacy many feel is inherent to current
Speaker 1: gun law and because of the incompetence that we're now
Speaker 1: hearing about, call it incompetence. The the police chief said, mistake,
Speaker 1: it's incompetent. Uh. And you can hear, you know, the
Speaker 1: governor of Texas kind of teen off on that. So that, unfortunately,
Speaker 1: is going to weigh against a free and open exchange
Speaker 1: at Jim Day of US was talking about a few
Speaker 1: minutes ago on gun laws. But on that, if you
Speaker 1: really want to do something, if you really want to
Speaker 1: make a difference here instead of saying and I think
Speaker 1: it was the word that Jim use, pantacea. There's no
Speaker 1: panacea if you say, let's put on the table a
Speaker 1: number of things for a discussion. Which, by the way,
Speaker 1: Donald Trump, when he was president, he was pushing for
Speaker 1: background checks. Uh. He was in favor of red flag laws. Uh.
Speaker 1: He pushed the bump stock band. So he even Donald
Speaker 1: had a meeting with the n r A. I understood, understood.
Speaker 1: But if you put everything on the table and say,
Speaker 1: let's at least make a start, and yes, a background
Speaker 1: check might not have prevented this, but damn if we
Speaker 1: don't try to do something to start feeling we're making progress,
Speaker 1: in a situation where the world's grow more dangerous. They
Speaker 1: are now four and a million guns on the streets
Speaker 1: of America, a hundred million or so our gun owners
Speaker 1: in America. We got to take this seriously. It's not
Speaker 1: just a freedom and a right, it's a responsibility. I've
Speaker 1: got a great panel here. I love this. I want
Speaker 1: to thank you both for coming in. Jim Davis, Adam Goodman,
Speaker 1: stay where you are. They're gonna be with us for
Speaker 1: the hour. As we introduce as well, Stephen Dennis to
Speaker 1: the conversation coming up, Bloomberg's legendary congressional reporter who's been
Speaker 1: following the very debate. We're discussing what's realistic? What are
Speaker 1: we talking about here, because, by the way, lawmakers have
Speaker 1: gone home, they're gonna do all this on the phone
Speaker 1: after they meet with constituents at the Memorial Day Parade.
Speaker 1: I don't know. We'll ask Steven about it, and we'll
Speaker 1: reassemble the panel for their take on the fastest hour
Speaker 1: in politics. I'm Joe, Matthew and Washington. This is Bloomberg
Speaker 1: as Senate Democrats signal potential for compromise. We talked about
Speaker 1: this column yesterday. Stephen Dennis shares the byeline and he's
Speaker 1: with us right now. Stephen, it's great to have you here.
Speaker 1: As lawmakers, I guess, prepare for a long week after
Speaker 1: they go to the Memorial Day parades and get yelled
Speaker 1: at by constituents, a law own week on the phone
Speaker 1: trying to find some common ground. You talked to so
Speaker 1: many of them on such a regular basis. Are you
Speaker 1: hearing talk of reality or is this uh as someone
Speaker 1: pointed out, I think it was Chris Murphy to you,
Speaker 1: the part where Lucy pulls out the football. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: think there is a There is real potential for a
Speaker 1: sort of a very narrowly crafted package that would include
Speaker 1: incentivizing states potentially to enact red flag laws. Something like
Speaker 1: nineteen states already have these laws that allow courts to
Speaker 1: take guns away from people um that to say, police
Speaker 1: officers or mental health professionals, deem or or danger um.
Speaker 1: And so the that that there's a Democratic proposal in
Speaker 1: the House to make a federal red flag law. You
Speaker 1: can go to a federal district court, for example, in
Speaker 1: those states that don't have their own red flag laws.
Speaker 1: But Republicans say that's sort of a nonstarter, that's sort
Speaker 1: of maybe the lynchpin of maybe coming up with some
Speaker 1: kind of a deal. There's also talk of doing some
Speaker 1: kind of funding for school upgrades. This is something that
Speaker 1: Republicans have been interested in. We've been hearing a lot
Speaker 1: about that. Today at the n r A convention, Ted
Speaker 1: Cruz was going so far as to suggest we replaced
Speaker 1: all school windows with bulletproof or a lockable windows and
Speaker 1: bulletproof doors, I believe is what he said. That would
Speaker 1: cost an enormous amount of money, wouldn't it. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: we just spent forty billion dollars on Ukraine and their defense. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, we're pretty rich country. So I mean, I
Speaker 1: think if if, if people can sort of say here's
Speaker 1: something that actually would help. Um, I think that getting
Speaker 1: the votes to do something significant would not be all
Speaker 1: that hard in the wake of this situation. But you know,
Speaker 1: I think there's also just a a demand from Democrats
Speaker 1: that there'll be some some element that looks at the
Speaker 1: gun issue in particular. Um. You know, there were a
Speaker 1: number of gun reforms or change laws that were passed in,
Speaker 1: for instance, Florida when then Governor Rick Scott was the
Speaker 1: governor after the Parkland massacre, One of the things they
Speaker 1: passed was a red flag law that has a support
Speaker 1: of Rubio and Rick Scott in the Senate. They also
Speaker 1: passed a law saying that you had to be twenty
Speaker 1: one years old to buy a firearm. Right now, we
Speaker 1: have a federal law it says you can't buy a pistol,
Speaker 1: you can't buy pistol ammunition from a firearms dealer and
Speaker 1: federally licensed firearms dealer um until you're twenty one, But
Speaker 1: you can buy all the air fifteens you want and
Speaker 1: all the air fifteen ammunition you want. And what we're
Speaker 1: learning in this case, uh, is this particular individual they
Speaker 1: found fifty eight high capacity magazines on the school grounds
Speaker 1: and they said that he had purchased one thousand, six
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty seven bullets to go in those magazines. Um,
Speaker 1: that's a lot. And so you know, I think there
Speaker 1: are a lot of Democrats who are now asking questions
Speaker 1: about whether they can have some more restrictions for these
Speaker 1: younger men in particular, who seemed to be the ones
Speaker 1: who are committing a lot of these mass shootings, whether
Speaker 1: it be Buffalo here, Parkland, a lot of a lot
Speaker 1: of these mass shootings are young men um and so
Speaker 1: I think that's something that Chris Murphy I talked to
Speaker 1: him about yesterday. He said that there's a lot of
Speaker 1: already a lot of discussion among senators of how do
Speaker 1: you reach these young men, how do you identify them
Speaker 1: and prevent them from getting dangerous weapons? And that's part
Speaker 1: of what this red flag law idea is about. What's
Speaker 1: the timeline, Stephen, while you're here, Chuck Schumer said yesterday,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm gonna give this a minute, but once
Speaker 1: we come back, we're gonna bring something to a vote
Speaker 1: with or without Republicans. Is that we're talking weeks here,
Speaker 1: So we're going to have a vote, and we're gonna
Speaker 1: have a vote in about two weeks. Chris Murphy said
Speaker 1: that Schumer told him that when they come back, he
Speaker 1: wants to set up a vote on either a bipartisan
Speaker 1: compromise bill or one of the House passed bills on
Speaker 1: background checks. And you know, so they basically have a
Speaker 1: ten day sprint to try to come up with something
Speaker 1: while they're away and have negotiations over the phone and
Speaker 1: with staffers, and you know, I think that that does
Speaker 1: put some pressure on them to come up with something.
Speaker 1: The key guy I think in all of this is
Speaker 1: Texas Senator John Cornyn. John Cornyn is an A plus
Speaker 1: rated n r A member. He is also the author,
Speaker 1: with Chris Murphy and some others of the only Signal
Speaker 1: If Again gun legislation I can remember, which was after
Speaker 1: after the Sutherland Springs murder. Yeah, we talked about that
Speaker 1: yesterday and played his his comments on the floor and
Speaker 1: indeed after Mitch McConnell gave him the green light. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is gonna be really interesting with Cornyn and Murphy.
Speaker 1: Stephen Dennis, thank you for coming on to talk to
Speaker 1: us about it late on a Friday. Bloomberg Congressional reporter
Speaker 1: Stephen Dennis is roaming the halls of Congress talking to
Speaker 1: the people that you're hearing about on a daily basis.
Speaker 1: I don't know if we can bring Jim Davis back
Speaker 1: in quickly, the former congressman from Florida, but Parkland came
Speaker 1: up there and uh if if, if you can hear me, Jim,
Speaker 1: I just wonder how difficult was it to pass a
Speaker 1: red flag law to the extent that you were following
Speaker 1: this at the time in the state of Florida. How
Speaker 1: much how much support and how much opposition was there.
Speaker 1: I mean there was opposition, but you have to give
Speaker 1: the Governor Rick Scott now the US Center for Florida
Speaker 1: from credit because he supported. There's been a lot more
Speaker 1: opposition since it passed because it happened so quickly and
Speaker 1: it was the heat of the moment. But it is
Speaker 1: an excellent example where Florida did do the right thing
Speaker 1: after way too long because of the pressure. And I
Speaker 1: think that's the opportunity in the Senate they get the
Speaker 1: details right while the public is very transfixed on this
Speaker 1: and the need for something. I totally agree that Chris
Speaker 1: Murphy is looking very hard to find the middle ground
Speaker 1: right now, and so it's center coryn and there four
Speaker 1: other senators who have openly said there. We'll talk more
Speaker 1: about that conjum and when we just wanted to check,
Speaker 1: I covered the red flag being passed in Massachusetts. That's
Speaker 1: a lot different than Florida. We'll have our panel next
Speaker 1: on sound On. This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Sound On with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. The Governor,
Speaker 1: Greg Abbott, Senator John Corny, and we're not the only
Speaker 1: ones to miss this nr A convention, having been scheduled
Speaker 1: to speak originally. Daniel Defense also chose not to attend.
Speaker 1: That's the maker of the gun used in the Vivaldi
Speaker 1: School massacre. This week, the company issued a statement saying
Speaker 1: it dropped out of a planned appearance quote due to
Speaker 1: the horrifying tragedy in Uvaldi where one of our products
Speaker 1: was criminally misused. Unquote, signed by a spokesman for the company,
Speaker 1: which is based in Georgia, entered the House Oversight Committee
Speaker 1: now demanding info about the marketing of assault weapons from
Speaker 1: gun manufacturers, including Yes, Daniel Defense. We reassemble the panel here.
Speaker 1: Adam Goodman is with US Republican strategist along with former
Speaker 1: Congressman Democratic Congressman from Florida Jim Davis. Thanks to both
Speaker 1: of you for being here. Where is this gonna go?
Speaker 1: Adam Goodman? This is gonna be hearing is the rest
Speaker 1: of the summer. Maybe we don't have Adam with us?
Speaker 1: How about Congressman Jim Davis. I'm so sorry, Joe. I
Speaker 1: was gonna I was gonna compliment you, and I'm gonna
Speaker 1: have to say it again. Uh, you were very sharp
Speaker 1: and bringing Joe cornin into this conversation because a lot
Speaker 1: of eyes are gonna be on him. Uh. But to
Speaker 1: hear Chuck Schumer talk about we're gonna do this with
Speaker 1: or without Republicans is not what the parsiple body want
Speaker 1: to hear. It's not what the parents of America want
Speaker 1: to hear, it's not what anyone wants to hear. We
Speaker 1: want to get something done. And as I said earlier
Speaker 1: in this show, I think, unfortunately the incompetent decision making
Speaker 1: among some in leadership and law enforcement in this particular
Speaker 1: issue is going to be the way that a lot
Speaker 1: of people are gonna go on this. The governor is
Speaker 1: already on top of that, and you better believe he's
Speaker 1: gonna press the pedal to the metal. When you talk
Speaker 1: about the gun reform that Steve Menis was talking about
Speaker 1: having to move very quickly in Washington, it's gonna be
Speaker 1: slowed down by all this focus on law enforcement what
Speaker 1: they should or shouldn't have done. And in the Florida
Speaker 1: situation that you mentioned earlier and that Jim Davis commented on,
Speaker 1: it was all about protecting and safeguarding and strengthening our schools.
Speaker 1: That has a bigger majority opinion and support base than
Speaker 1: does whatever their respective position you have, maybe on guns.
Speaker 1: And I think that's going to be the big push
Speaker 1: by Republicans and by Americans as we started moving into
Speaker 1: and through this unconscionable strategy, uh, tragedy that we just
Speaker 1: have to you know, kind of learn something from and
Speaker 1: do something from hardening schools uh, Jim Davis? Is that
Speaker 1: is that a better time spent, a better debate to
Speaker 1: have knowing that something might pass than dragging gun manufacturers
Speaker 1: to Capitol Hill for hearings. Are they both important to you? Well?
Speaker 1: I think I think acting is more important than the
Speaker 1: hearings and when we can always learn. But I don't
Speaker 1: think fortifying schools is nearly enough, and I think it
Speaker 1: will be used as a diversion or excuse for the
Speaker 1: fundamental issues in Florida. They did not only do that,
Speaker 1: they changed the law from eighteen to twenty one to
Speaker 1: buy a tiful and they did put in the red
Speaker 1: flag we talked about earlier. So I think it's going
Speaker 1: to have to be both. But you can't turn our
Speaker 1: schools into prisons or fortresses. There are things we can do.
Speaker 1: We will learn from this terrible tragedy, but you're going
Speaker 1: to have to do all of these things. And I
Speaker 1: think it's very important to get something past, to start
Speaker 1: building a governing group of people to move forward in
Speaker 1: this because there'll be more to be done. Do you
Speaker 1: get kind of a chilling feeling there, Adam Goodman? Maybe
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter, but the idea of turning schools and
Speaker 1: the fortresses is, as the congressman put it, I mean,
Speaker 1: if that's what we're deciding to do here, we are
Speaker 1: we saying, you know, let's let let the bullets fly
Speaker 1: as long as the school building is impenetrable. Wants to
Speaker 1: go that far. And I think that's that's a that's
Speaker 1: a bit of viperbole because, uh, you know, there was
Speaker 1: an open door at that elementary school that should not
Speaker 1: a bit. There was a decision that was made that
Speaker 1: probably costs a lot of lives that should have been
Speaker 1: made for a by that individual on the way it
Speaker 1: was made. Uh, that's the tragedy of this. But if
Speaker 1: you're a parent, the first thing you're asking in the
Speaker 1: morning when you send your child to school, uh, even
Speaker 1: not asking, you're thinking, that's in the depths of your soul,
Speaker 1: are they gonna be okay? Today? When you look at
Speaker 1: a tragedy like this, that is priority number one. Whatever
Speaker 1: we can do to reassure parents that tomorrow will be
Speaker 1: safer than yesterday will be progress. I Adam, I understand.
Speaker 1: I had to force my freshman in high school, fourteen
Speaker 1: year old to go to school on Wednesday morning because
Speaker 1: we all watched the president on Tuesday night and it
Speaker 1: scared the hell out of them. Uh, Congressman, is that
Speaker 1: something that the White House signs onto now knowing their
Speaker 1: support for it? Is this going to be a movement
Speaker 1: going into the midterms. I think the movement's gonna come
Speaker 1: in Congress. I mean, elections produce accountability. I think, um,
Speaker 1: members of Congress are gonna feel pressure to go home
Speaker 1: and say they did something. Um. And I think that's
Speaker 1: why this summer is a critical time. And I also,
Speaker 1: thinking this was alluded to earlier, the states are very
Speaker 1: important partner here. The federal government cannot solve this, and
Speaker 1: so the federal government needs to do something that causes
Speaker 1: the states down because each state's gonna do this a
Speaker 1: little differently, but they all fundamentally need to move in
Speaker 1: direction of gun safety and protecting schools. The president former
Speaker 1: president speaking, Uh, at the n r A convention Donald Trump,
Speaker 1: and Uh, it's clear the side that he's coming down
Speaker 1: on here rejecting tighter gun control as I'm reading from
Speaker 1: the Bloomberg. Uh, the quote of the existence of evil
Speaker 1: in our world is not a reason to disarm law
Speaker 1: abiding citizens. Adam, is this gonna be a real fault
Speaker 1: line in the campaign, not just midterms? What twenty four
Speaker 1: We've got ro v Wade and we've got this gun issue. Now,
Speaker 1: these are massive issues that turn people into single issue
Speaker 1: voters in many cases, and fault lines have been drawn
Speaker 1: in any normal political year. Um, Joe, Yes, the answer
Speaker 1: to that is yes, this is not a normal year.
Speaker 1: We have massive inflation, we have a very scary situation
Speaker 1: over with Ukraine and Russia. Um, people are really focused
Speaker 1: on the economy. The market, despite today's great news, has
Speaker 1: been relatively uncertain in times. That is the number one issue. Uh,
Speaker 1: and the lack of leadership still it kind of goes
Speaker 1: hand in hand with that is why the midterms aren't
Speaker 1: going to reflect either one of those. However, I think
Speaker 1: moving forward into two two thousand, twenty four that cycle,
Speaker 1: they could have dramatic impacts on winners and losers as
Speaker 1: we move into another world. Uh, let me get there,
Speaker 1: Jim Davis, what is the Republican majority, assuming there is
Speaker 1: one come fall? As I keep being told do with
Speaker 1: all of this, I think it's a real problem if
Speaker 1: the Republicans take back UM the House, and this is
Speaker 1: something Adam and I would agree on right now that
Speaker 1: the odds are in favor of that. UM, it is
Speaker 1: very easy to do nothing. And if they win the House,
Speaker 1: they're going to validate the election is supporting their agenda. UM.
Speaker 1: I think the Senate will stay very mixed, and that's
Speaker 1: where the action is now. So I think the key
Speaker 1: is watching some of these Republican centers we've talked about
Speaker 1: and whether they're willing to lead. And I think if
Speaker 1: they're willing to lead, it will put pressure on the
Speaker 1: House representatives. But I think that's where it has to start.
Speaker 1: What's your thought on that, Adam Goodman, Kevin McCarthy, I
Speaker 1: don't think his weight in here the House has been gone.
Speaker 1: Uh this week. It's a very different worlds in the
Speaker 1: House than it is in the Senate. What does that
Speaker 1: mean post November? Well, the reason he's been relatively mute
Speaker 1: on recent in recent times is because everything's kind of
Speaker 1: coming their way. I mean, George of the Republicans doing
Speaker 1: something really ontoward or something unexpected, becoming a major definer
Speaker 1: of political fate in the fall, I think the die
Speaker 1: is cast there. Uh, it's a little different, And I
Speaker 1: think Jim was kind of suggesting this in the Senate.
Speaker 1: Sounds gonna be very interesting. Uh. There are a lot
Speaker 1: of very close races. Uh. I happen to think though,
Speaker 1: that this this is a cycle, as a wave cycle,
Speaker 1: It's going to be determined not by personalities but bipartisanship unfortunately,
Speaker 1: and I think the Democrats have a much harder sell
Speaker 1: than Republicans this time, but that again could change by
Speaker 1: the next cycle. Jim, the President is going to Vivaldi
Speaker 1: on Sunday with the First Lady. Uh. This is the
Speaker 1: consoler in chief job. But is that is that really
Speaker 1: what he needs to do? Or is does he need
Speaker 1: to go there show some anger, try to rally the
Speaker 1: troops nationally it's what he needs to do. We we
Speaker 1: need to remember this isn't about the governor of Texas
Speaker 1: being mad. It's not about senders. It's about these people
Speaker 1: that just lost their children. And I think every one
Speaker 1: of us on this call, and many people around the
Speaker 1: country listening have children, and just it's hard to fathom
Speaker 1: the horror of waking up and your child has gone
Speaker 1: at the start of their life. So I think we
Speaker 1: need to focus on the family and the victims and healing.
Speaker 1: And Lord knows, this president has had his own and
Speaker 1: it's one of his strengths to empathize and to console,
Speaker 1: and we need to listen to them. We need to
Speaker 1: hear their voices. Going forward, many of these parents, regardless
Speaker 1: of their politics, will become advocates for change, and we
Speaker 1: should listen to them. And we should listen to the
Speaker 1: law enforcement to I think they should be our guides
Speaker 1: and where we go. He needs to play this carefully,
Speaker 1: of course, Adam, maybe he I'm by the way, I
Speaker 1: don't know anything about a speech. He could be very
Speaker 1: under the radar here meeting you know privately, no cameras
Speaker 1: with victims families. Is that which you expect or would prefer,
Speaker 1: That is what I would advise. I mean, this is
Speaker 1: not a place for speeches. Uh. I know the governor
Speaker 1: of Texas is trying to do his best in a
Speaker 1: very tough situation. But the fact that Jim just said
Speaker 1: it the fact he's angry that that means nothing to
Speaker 1: the parents who lost their loved ones. Okay, you're angry, right,
Speaker 1: we need something that's more legitimate, authentic would be great.
Speaker 1: The President uh and personally came and they were there
Speaker 1: and not for pressed, not with press releases and generating headlines,
Speaker 1: but real commiseration and human empathy. And then go back
Speaker 1: to Washington and get one thing done, don't go for
Speaker 1: the whole checklist of all. Going to try to find
Speaker 1: one thing that we make movement on so that people
Speaker 1: are going to get a sense that we're not only
Speaker 1: able to get to make change happen with something that
Speaker 1: really requires change on this front, but we can do
Speaker 1: it across the board. And I think that's the missing
Speaker 1: thing right now in America, getting stuff done. What a
Speaker 1: note to end on a great conversation with a great panel,
Speaker 1: Adam Goodman, Jim Davis. I look forward to the next
Speaker 1: time here on sound On. I'm Joe, Matthew and Washington.
Speaker 1: If somebody a hug, somebody you love this weekend, We'll
Speaker 1: see you back here next week. This is Bloomberg