Speaker 1: Now from our nation's capital. This is Bloomberg Sound on
Speaker 1: those people who live in these four regions by becoming
Speaker 1: our citizens forever, you will expect to this. It was predicted,
Speaker 1: but nonetheless shock. United States will never, never recognize Russia's
Speaker 1: claims on Ukraine. Sovereign Terry Bloomberg Sound on politics, policy
Speaker 1: and perspective from DC's top name. Power is a big issue.
Speaker 1: The water was up over the rooftop. We had a
Speaker 1: Coast Guard rescue swarmer identified that it appeared to be
Speaker 1: human remains. Bloomberg Sound on with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 1: Vladimir Prutin says the annexation is forever. Welcome to the
Speaker 1: fastest hour in politics, as the Russian president completes Europe's
Speaker 1: biggest land grab since World War Two. The UN calls
Speaker 1: the move illegal. The US is cranking up the sanctions.
Speaker 1: Will be joined at this critical point in the war
Speaker 1: in Ukraine by Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Speaker 1: Later this hour, Hurricane Ian makes landfall for a second
Speaker 1: time after leading a leaving a wide path of destruction
Speaker 1: in Florida. We'll get the latest from Bloomberg's Will Wade,
Speaker 1: who is still in Florida surveying the damage, and we'll
Speaker 1: look at a wild week in politics with our signature
Speaker 1: panel Bloomberg contributors Rick Davis and Jeannie Chanzano or with
Speaker 1: us for the hour. Everyone saw it coming, but it
Speaker 1: was still startling to hear from Vladimir Putin today as
Speaker 1: he formalized Russia's annexation of what is fifteen percent of Ukraine,
Speaker 1: the regions we've talked about throughout the war, Curson, Zaparisha,
Speaker 1: Donas and Luhansk, four territories. He spoke to a massive
Speaker 1: white ballroom full of lawmakers and elite. As we hear
Speaker 1: through a translator, I want the key of authorities, and
Speaker 1: they're real masters in the West to hear me and
Speaker 1: remember but those people who live in these four regions
Speaker 1: by becoming our citizens forever, our citizens forever. Now. Of course,
Speaker 1: the international community condemns this move as illegal. We have
Speaker 1: heard from the U n on this prutent clearly does
Speaker 1: not see it that way. Here he is again it
Speaker 1: is their lawful right, which is stated in the an
Speaker 1: Article one of the Charter of the United Nations for
Speaker 1: people's right for self determination. Uh u N Secretary General
Speaker 1: Antonio gu Terrorists says in a statement qulled the Charter
Speaker 1: is clear any annexation of a state's territory by another
Speaker 1: state resulting from the threatned use of force is a
Speaker 1: violation of the Charter. Here's reaction today from the White House,
Speaker 1: President Biden, the United States, who want to be very
Speaker 1: clear about this. The United States will never, never, never
Speaker 1: recognize Russia's claims on Ukraine sovereign territory and more. Where
Speaker 1: that came from the US increasing pressure today on Russia
Speaker 1: with who knew there were more sanctions that we could
Speaker 1: add here, sanctions against the head of Russia's Central Bank,
Speaker 1: it's deputy Prime Minister, hundreds of other prominent Russians and businesses,
Speaker 1: the Commerce Department adding fifty seven entities to its Russian
Speaker 1: export blacklist. Of course, there's a lot of worry that
Speaker 1: Putin could use the annexation, which again covers fifteen of Ukraine,
Speaker 1: is grounds for escalation. Will he see an attack on
Speaker 1: land that Ukraine considers its own as an attack on
Speaker 1: sovereign Russian territory. This is getting more dangerous and certainly
Speaker 1: more complex, and we wanted to talk about it with
Speaker 1: Michael O'Hanlon, author and Senior Fellow and director of Research
Speaker 1: and Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution. He's with us now, Michael,
Speaker 1: thank you for being here with this. This move by
Speaker 1: Putin lead to a wider war. Well, thank you, and
Speaker 1: thank you for the excellent praying of the issue. I
Speaker 1: think your point that Russia may want us to believe that,
Speaker 1: at least in their own, you know, Russian minds, this
Speaker 1: is now Russian territory, the swath of land from the
Speaker 1: Dome Bus over to Crimea, I think that's you know,
Speaker 1: that's possible. On the other hand, you know, Ukraine has
Speaker 1: been attacking Crimea in various states of this fight, Russian
Speaker 1: positions in Crimea and Russia next Crimea quite a while ago,
Speaker 1: you know, according to Russia's own rules and regulations and
Speaker 1: Putin's of view. So I don't know that we need
Speaker 1: to be scared of our own shadow on this. I
Speaker 1: don't think that we need to sort of hold back
Speaker 1: the Ukrainians from trying to liberate more of these four
Speaker 1: provinces just because Russia might manufacture some argument that even
Speaker 1: Putin would know is ridiculous and therefore justify an opportunity
Speaker 1: for further retaliation. You know, Putin, Um, I think when
Speaker 1: he talks and when he speaks and when he writes,
Speaker 1: there's at least two different levels of seriousness and maybe three.
Speaker 1: One is what he really believes, and he actually sometimes
Speaker 1: tells you what he really believes, like that essay he
Speaker 1: wrote last summer, or the Munich Security Speech of two
Speaker 1: thousand seven when he railed against the West and all
Speaker 1: of its supposed offenses against him and against Iraq and
Speaker 1: Georgia Ukraine. Then there's the Putin that is manufacturing pretexts
Speaker 1: for something he already wants to do, like in Book
Speaker 1: un Charter, to defend this annexation. And then there's the
Speaker 1: Putin that just flat outlies, uh. And that's and that's
Speaker 1: and that's in regard to things like you know, interfering
Speaker 1: in our elections or arming separatists and Dome Boss and
Speaker 1: you've you've sort of got to think hard about which
Speaker 1: level of communication are you dealing with with Putin, because
Speaker 1: they're all relevant and they're not that hard to tell apart, uh,
Speaker 1: you know. But but of course he's trying to use
Speaker 1: them all in a way that's confusing and at least
Speaker 1: maybe for his own people, and for some wavering countries
Speaker 1: around the world, maybe they're not as sure about And
Speaker 1: they were all in that speech today, All those all
Speaker 1: three of those Putin's you mentioned have played a role
Speaker 1: in this address. But you mentioned Crimea. That's interesting. This
Speaker 1: was informed by what he did in crime You How
Speaker 1: is it different, Well, it's different in the sense that,
Speaker 1: you know, if you're going to have a good old
Speaker 1: fashioned high school or college debate or something like that,
Speaker 1: you could you could you could put pretty smart people
Speaker 1: on each side of the Crimea issue as to who's
Speaker 1: it should rightly be and have a good long conversation
Speaker 1: without having to bring in Russian duplicity. Doesn't wouldever justify
Speaker 1: the way Putin took it in, of course, but but
Speaker 1: you could certainly argue that historically, if you know, if
Speaker 1: you go back centuries, Crimea was occupied by the Ottoman
Speaker 1: Turks for a while, and it's just had a much
Speaker 1: more complicated role in Russia and Ukrainian history than some
Speaker 1: central parts of the country. Beyond the case to be made, though,
Speaker 1: just I wonder does it end differently? You know, this
Speaker 1: is actually Crimea annexing Crimea worked out pretty well, for Putin,
Speaker 1: he didn't. I mean, there were some sanctions, but he
Speaker 1: didn't really have to face that much opposition. They've got
Speaker 1: tanks on the ground this time around. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, in addition to the fact that Primea has
Speaker 1: a lot of Russians and Russian speakers and a lot
Speaker 1: of history with Russia and was given by Krushov to
Speaker 1: Ukraine just sort of as an internal rearrangement within the
Speaker 1: Soviet Union, when it didn't really matter. The four provinces
Speaker 1: that Putin's just grabbed or claim to grab, you know,
Speaker 1: they have a lot of historically have had a lot
Speaker 1: of pro Russian and Russian speaking populations. But but this
Speaker 1: is a completely manufactured argument compared to Crimea, where you know,
Speaker 1: I obviously didn't support what he did in Crimea, but
Speaker 1: you could sort of see the case for not what
Speaker 1: he did, but for a referendum that would allow uh
Speaker 1: citizens of Crimea to choose between Russia and Ukraine. That
Speaker 1: might have been a close call, but not so much
Speaker 1: with these four regions. I mean, the separatists in certain
Speaker 1: parts of Dombas in the east are in Russia friendly territory,
Speaker 1: but especially given what's happened these last few years and
Speaker 1: these last few months. I just don't think there's any
Speaker 1: argument that Putin can make that these four provinces belong
Speaker 1: with Russia. So I guess that's an even more stark
Speaker 1: offense against sovereignty and against the UN Charter what he's
Speaker 1: just done this week. Michael, what do you think of
Speaker 1: the sanctions the response today? Clearly they kind of had
Speaker 1: this in their pocket for the next shoot to drop. Um,
Speaker 1: And I just asked myself every time, you know, we
Speaker 1: we thought we had done everything we could. Why didn't
Speaker 1: Why didn't we front load the sanctions more? Because it
Speaker 1: certainly didn't slow down Vladimir Putin the way we did it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're right, Um, we'll probably have in our pocket. By
Speaker 1: the way, Well, since it's a Friday afternoon and I
Speaker 1: like looking on the positive, I will say the way
Speaker 1: in which we've reacted hopefully has been noticed in Beijing.
Speaker 1: Because as bad as this war is in Ukraine, and
Speaker 1: it's of course nowhere near over, and it could still escalate. Uh,
Speaker 1: even worse would be a Chinese attack on Taiwan. And
Speaker 1: even though it turns out we didn't have a full
Speaker 1: range of sanctions conceptualized in advance, and you're right, we
Speaker 1: should have done better. And I did some writing about
Speaker 1: this two or three years ago, and which I argued
Speaker 1: for having that kind of a range of sanctions in
Speaker 1: better place and also some better resilience in the West
Speaker 1: so we can withstand the counter reaction, you know, whether
Speaker 1: it's from Russia China nonetheless, Um, you know, it's been
Speaker 1: pretty painful for Russia to see that they're basically not
Speaker 1: getting any high tech goods from anywhere on the planet,
Speaker 1: even from China. And and I hope the Chinese themselves
Speaker 1: have noticed that. You know, if they were attacked Taiwan,
Speaker 1: it might take us a while to figure out how
Speaker 1: to decouple from them economically, and in some ways it
Speaker 1: would hurt us just as much as it hurt them.
Speaker 1: But we would do it because we in the West
Speaker 1: still have a certain amount of backbone and principle. We're
Speaker 1: still ratcheting up things on the military side too. It's
Speaker 1: not just the sanctions. Jake Sullivan today said we might
Speaker 1: consider sending tanks. Uh do you see that? And is
Speaker 1: that any different than sending MiGs a couple of months
Speaker 1: ago when when the Ukraine was begging for them. It's
Speaker 1: a good question whether it's that much different than sending
Speaker 1: fighter aircraft. But I think it is different ultimately than
Speaker 1: sending fighter aircraft or long range missiles that could reach
Speaker 1: into Russia, because we at least are clarifying that we're
Speaker 1: trying to create capable for Ukraine to liberate its own territory. Now,
Speaker 1: in theory, a tank can drive a thousand miles from
Speaker 1: North I get I get the point though, right, but
Speaker 1: it needs a logistical support line, and um, you know,
Speaker 1: it's not the kind of thing that can you can
Speaker 1: just wake up one day and fire on Moscow, whereas
Speaker 1: with or attack coms you could. So I think the considering, uh,
Speaker 1: considering sending tanks. By the way, the polls have already
Speaker 1: sent a lot, and so it's not like we would
Speaker 1: be crossing a threshold for the first time. We would
Speaker 1: just be sending traditionally Western tanks, you know, and sending more.
Speaker 1: I think that makes sense because the Ukrainians are not
Speaker 1: going to liberate all of their currently Russian occupied territory
Speaker 1: just with high mars, just with these precise artillery rounds.
Speaker 1: They're gonna need to be able to move across open terrain.
Speaker 1: So I think you know Jake Sullivan may have it right. Lastly, Michael,
Speaker 1: I have only a minute, and I appreciate your time today.
Speaker 1: That the ideas that we heard, the theories we heard
Speaker 1: come from Vladimir Putin today, Uh, we're really jaw dropping
Speaker 1: at times. I mean, he invokes Satanism when talking about
Speaker 1: the US. Is after what you saw and heard today?
Speaker 1: Is is this a man of sound mind? Unfortunately? Yes,
Speaker 1: Well maybe it's not unfortunate. Maybe it's better than the alternative.
Speaker 1: I think he's whipped himself into a frenzy. You know.
Speaker 1: I was just rereading Bill burns memoirs this week. Bill Burns,
Speaker 1: the CI director who has been ambassador to Moscow and
Speaker 1: had been under secretary and then Deputy Secretary of State,
Speaker 1: and has known Putin for twenty plus years. And the
Speaker 1: way Bill Burns describes Putin, he he says his views
Speaker 1: have hardened over the years, and I think that's a
Speaker 1: night Bill Burns is always a master of understatement, but
Speaker 1: he's also a master of precision, and I think that's
Speaker 1: a good way to look at it. I don't see
Speaker 1: any sign yet that Putin is either crazy or dying. Um,
Speaker 1: I guess just as yeah, and I think what he
Speaker 1: does is he uses in this kind of a situation,
Speaker 1: he'll use rhetoric, He'll he'll ramp it up, he'll go
Speaker 1: a little off the rails. He himself knows that he's
Speaker 1: doing in that um. But I don't think he's really
Speaker 1: lost his marvels. And that's probably just as well since
Speaker 1: he has five thousand the day left. God Michael O'Hanlon,
Speaker 1: great conversation from Brookings. Thank you. We assemble the panel
Speaker 1: next on a Friday, Rick and Genie, this is Bloomberg.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg who sound on with Joe Matthew
Speaker 1: on Bloomberg Radio. Satanism, neo colonialism, the ideals that drive
Speaker 1: America in the eyes of Vladimir Putin. It was quite
Speaker 1: a speech today, quite a show at the Kremlin, and
Speaker 1: we did catch a few people falling asleep. Yes we
Speaker 1: see you, Sergey. Here's Vladimir Putin addressing what appeared to
Speaker 1: be hundreds in the room gathered for this. They wanted
Speaker 1: to see us as a colony. They don't want to
Speaker 1: have an equal partnership and corporation. They don't want to
Speaker 1: see us as a free people. For them directs threat
Speaker 1: are you our philosophy, and this is why culture and
Speaker 1: our philosophy is not to their la king through a translator.
Speaker 1: Of course, let's assemble the panel Bloomberg Politics contributors Jeanie
Speaker 1: Chanzano and Rick Davis together again. Rick is back with us,
Speaker 1: and boy just in time. Rick, what a what a
Speaker 1: display in Moscow this morning. But this was kind of
Speaker 1: a new level from Vladimir Putin. I mean he was
Speaker 1: going back to Vietnam, he went back to the Korean War,
Speaker 1: he went back to Hiroshima uh to frame the United
Speaker 1: States as this, you know, colonial empire that wanted to
Speaker 1: make Russia its own colony. And yes, people were falling
Speaker 1: asleep in there because it was a long speech, but
Speaker 1: most of them were nodding along with this. This is
Speaker 1: their reality. Yeah, this is Russia as we know it
Speaker 1: in the leadership. I'm not sure how much of this
Speaker 1: would be wholly supported amongst the people of Russia. We
Speaker 1: see a different reaction happening on the ground there now
Speaker 1: toward the war, and you can assume that we sort
Speaker 1: of fit into that Ukraine perspective. But look, this is
Speaker 1: Vladimir putting on the ropes. I mean, he's used to
Speaker 1: given stem Winders and and and and and and and
Speaker 1: bloviating about you know, the past, and and we know
Speaker 1: his view of the past, right, it's it's it's it's fascist,
Speaker 1: it's dangerous, it's it's an ugly view of the past.
Speaker 1: And and he put that on full display. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think this was as much about trying to push
Speaker 1: the West into pushing Ukraine to try and negotiate a
Speaker 1: settlement as it was laying the groundwork for potential escalation. So,
Speaker 1: you know, on one hand, he's de escalating by trying
Speaker 1: to force us to the table by you know, being
Speaker 1: so rhetorically over the top, and then on the other hand,
Speaker 1: lays down a marker in the sand. It says, anybody
Speaker 1: who fights on this territory is now fighting in Russia
Speaker 1: and and we'll see that as an attack on the
Speaker 1: onland and therefore escalates. So uh, only he could do
Speaker 1: both in one speech. And uh, and I think that's
Speaker 1: what we witnessed today. That's fascinating thought, Jennie. We've talked
Speaker 1: about this possibility, we saw it in Crimea, we've talked
Speaker 1: about it on this show. And sure enough, he schedules
Speaker 1: the the votes and the so called referendums and then
Speaker 1: followed by almost immediately the annexation. Uh. This time around, though,
Speaker 1: the world is watching in a different way than when
Speaker 1: he annexed CRIMEA. Does this make it more dangerous or
Speaker 1: is it possibly an off ramp that that he's paving here?
Speaker 1: You know, this speech was remarkable in so many ways.
Speaker 1: You know, I think in large part was intended for
Speaker 1: the audience at home to show the people who are
Speaker 1: of course suffering, and we've seen a lot of pushback
Speaker 1: against his his call to get you know, more people
Speaker 1: and scripted into the military. He is trying to show
Speaker 1: them their sacrifices were not in vain. The to me,
Speaker 1: it read like an attempt at a Russian victory speech.
Speaker 1: You know, we are now victorious, if you will. As
Speaker 1: they held hands together with these you know, Fox leaders
Speaker 1: of these four annexed areas. And I agree completely with
Speaker 1: with Rick's interpretation. You know, what we're seeing here is
Speaker 1: he is saying, Okay, we've gotten what we wanted. Now
Speaker 1: we're ready to go to the table. But how on
Speaker 1: earth could Ukraine's president go to the table. And then
Speaker 1: on the other hand, he's saying, and if we don't
Speaker 1: you know, the reality is that we were going to
Speaker 1: use all means at our disposal to keep this territory,
Speaker 1: and that includes this continued threat of nuclear attacks. So
Speaker 1: you know, it is a very very difficult time and
Speaker 1: what a show from all perspectives. Well, he really wanted
Speaker 1: to frame this as a cultural war as well. He
Speaker 1: spent a lot of time talking about the competing cultures here,
Speaker 1: uh and even sounded a little bit like a victor
Speaker 1: orban I don't know if he's trying to get a
Speaker 1: book at CEPAC, but Vladimir prutents go on all the
Speaker 1: way to like the tram this issue here in schools
Speaker 1: in the United States. Listen to this. If we want
Speaker 1: in our schools, primary schools for children being taught about
Speaker 1: degradation and be told that there women and men and
Speaker 1: then there they and that someone is having a sex
Speaker 1: change operation, No, we don't want it for us. It
Speaker 1: is not acceptable. That's I mean, this is really getting
Speaker 1: out there. Rick, what who is he talking to? Probably
Speaker 1: Tucker Carlson that he wants want to go on Fox News.
Speaker 1: Tucker might be a speechwriter. The reality is this is
Speaker 1: all part of this same elaborate attempt that that Russia
Speaker 1: is making to divide the US along cultural lines, along
Speaker 1: race lines. I mean we've we've been learning even this
Speaker 1: week that there have been all kinds of efforts, you know,
Speaker 1: by the Russian disinformation Bureau to try and penetrate um
Speaker 1: what's happening in our mid term elections. I mean this,
Speaker 1: this is this is a constant struggle for truth, and
Speaker 1: Vladimir Putin is the master of the lie. And so
Speaker 1: I think that part of what this speech should do
Speaker 1: is galvanize the West, not divided, and empower them to
Speaker 1: realize that this is not going to stop in Ukraine. Right,
Speaker 1: we were focused on Ukraine. Right, the free people Ukraine
Speaker 1: to prevail. We want to deliver anything we can, but
Speaker 1: this war will not end in Ukraine. Genie, We're out
Speaker 1: of time. But do the sanctions meet the moment this
Speaker 1: time around? You know, I think they are okay. And
Speaker 1: watch for him to try to conscript some Ukrainian men
Speaker 1: from these works territories, and that's com'll see those images
Speaker 1: this weekend. Great to have Rick and Jennie with us
Speaker 1: for the hour. We're gonna turn to the hurricane next
Speaker 1: and head to Florida with Bloomberg's Will Wade. This is Bloomberg.
Speaker 1: The headline on the terminal says it all here a
Speaker 1: death toll from hurricane and likely to take weeks to finalize.
Speaker 1: And that is the story in Florida, whereas I read,
Speaker 1: it's one of the first questions asked in the aftermath
Speaker 1: of a massive hurricane like Ian, and at this point
Speaker 1: one of the hardest to answer. How many people have died?
Speaker 1: Kevin Guthrie is the head of emergency management in the
Speaker 1: state of Florida. This is from his most recent briefing.
Speaker 1: We have twelve unconfirmed fatalities in Charlotte County. We have
Speaker 1: eight unconfirmed fatalities in Carrier County. We have one confirmed
Speaker 1: fatality in um in Polk County. So that brings us
Speaker 1: up to one total twenty one. Here they're trying to
Speaker 1: when he says unconfirmed, the state is trying to verify
Speaker 1: whether they were a result of the storm or unrelated causes.
Speaker 1: But I think we know that this number is going
Speaker 1: to get worse. If you listen to Guthrie again, Florida's
Speaker 1: emergency management director, he just just paints this terrifying picture.
Speaker 1: As now, coach Guard divers are starting to head underwater
Speaker 1: to continue with their search. Listen, the water was up
Speaker 1: over the rooftop right, but we had a Coastguard rescue
Speaker 1: swarmer swim down into it and he could identify that
Speaker 1: it appeared to be human remains. We do not know
Speaker 1: exactly how many. We do not know what the situation is.
Speaker 1: And before we comment on that, we know we want
Speaker 1: to be transparent, but we just don't know that number.
Speaker 1: And we got a couple of other situations where we
Speaker 1: had that particular type situation. Yeah, a couple of other
Speaker 1: situations indeed, and what these rescuers are going through right
Speaker 1: now is something that we'll never know. You'll never know
Speaker 1: without doing it. Will Wade is in Florida still, he's
Speaker 1: been driving around. Joined us yesterday from Tampa and he's
Speaker 1: made his way to Venice, Florida. Bloomberg Energy reporter Will
Speaker 1: Wade with of course an eye on the electric grid
Speaker 1: and so much damage that has come. Well, thank you
Speaker 1: so much for being back with us today on Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Sound on. What is it like in Venice? Well, Venice
Speaker 1: is starting to come back to life. I was in uh,
Speaker 1: Charlotte yesterday. It was pretty trashed. Venice didn't get hit
Speaker 1: as hard. Uh, nobody here has electricity. Nobody nobody even
Speaker 1: knows when they're going to get electricity. But a lot
Speaker 1: of the street signals are working and that's helping traffic flow.
Speaker 1: I'm seeing some of the gas stations are back in service.
Speaker 1: Yesterday there weren't any gas stations pumping gas around here,
Speaker 1: and the huge lines of cars to get gas. I
Speaker 1: actually really struggled to fill my tank yesterday. I finally
Speaker 1: found a place in Tampa, so it's coming back to normal.
Speaker 1: I saw a car loaded with surfboards. So people have
Speaker 1: their priorities. Uh interesting though, that my gosh, there's just
Speaker 1: been no progress in some areas when it comes to power.
Speaker 1: We should let people know. By the way, Venice is,
Speaker 1: it's Gulf Coast. It's south of St. Petersburg, south of Sarasota.
Speaker 1: That about right, Well, yeah, yeah, it's it's a little
Speaker 1: further north of Charlotte her which is where it was yesterday.
Speaker 1: How much of a story was flooding there. I don't
Speaker 1: think the flooding was that huge a story. What I
Speaker 1: saw was a lot of trees that had been blown down.
Speaker 1: I know, it's amazing, it's kind of the randomness. I
Speaker 1: was talking to one woman She had this beautiful, huge
Speaker 1: oak tree in her front yard and it was fine,
Speaker 1: although a lot of branches fell down, big branches. But
Speaker 1: there was another oak tree in her backyard, even bigger,
Speaker 1: and that one blew down. So it can come by
Speaker 1: and destroy one house or one tree and leave the
Speaker 1: next one standing. Incredible. The hurricane is going to cost
Speaker 1: us insure a sixty three billion dollars, according to a
Speaker 1: risk modeling firm that Bloomberg spoke with today. Are are
Speaker 1: are their folks already going out there to assess damage
Speaker 1: at this point or is it still kind of rescue
Speaker 1: mode across the state? You know, I don't actually know.
Speaker 1: I'm sure that it's probably both. The rescue mode people
Speaker 1: are have a lot of work to do. It can't
Speaker 1: possibly be done. I'm sure they're still in the first
Speaker 1: is of search and rescue. I did talk to a
Speaker 1: couple of people that said they had already filed insurance claims.
Speaker 1: I talked to gentlemen. He he lost his whole house.
Speaker 1: So he was a in a mobile home community and
Speaker 1: he came back yesterday morning and the roof was gone,
Speaker 1: so it's a goner. So he's already filed for insurance
Speaker 1: but he's planning to rebuild. He said he loves it there.
Speaker 1: He's never gone anywhere else. That's incredible. That's Florida. Will
Speaker 1: thank you. I appreciate your reporting and thanks for coming
Speaker 1: back to talk to us today. Will wait as Bloomberg's
Speaker 1: Energy reporter. What a week he's been having down there.
Speaker 1: As we reassemble the panel, just for a moment on this,
Speaker 1: we have breaking news from the White House. The story
Speaker 1: I haven't even mentioned yet. It was one of the
Speaker 1: biggest yesterday. Well, it's not a story anymore. Joe Biden
Speaker 1: just signed the cr So guess what, everyone, The government
Speaker 1: is not going to shut down at midnight, not that
Speaker 1: anyone said that would happen. Rick Davis and Jeannie Chanzano
Speaker 1: are with us Bloomberg Politics contributors. It's been interesting watching
Speaker 1: Joe Biden these last forty eight hours as he navigates
Speaker 1: government funding a war in Ukraine, you know, the situation
Speaker 1: with Russia, everything else has been going on, but also
Speaker 1: this hurricane. Uh, it's got to be a good moment
Speaker 1: for him, knowing that Rick, he's he's been doing okay
Speaker 1: on the phone with Rhoda Santis and there's no government
Speaker 1: shutdown to worry about. Well, it's never good moment when
Speaker 1: you have a hurricane devastating a big state like Florida,
Speaker 1: and so uh, all efforts I'm sure underway, as they
Speaker 1: have been in past administrations, to do everything they can
Speaker 1: to unload resources into the state and manage, um, what's
Speaker 1: happening there now, because obviously the storm itself is really
Speaker 1: devastating and difficult, but the aftermath can also cost lives
Speaker 1: and be very very tough on on on the people
Speaker 1: of Florida, so and and now South Carolina and more so. Um,
Speaker 1: I know Joe Biden is probably the most empathetic president
Speaker 1: we've ever had, and I'm sure there's people there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but look, I mean, you know, the White House knew
Speaker 1: that this um uh spending bill was going to get past.
Speaker 1: They knew at the end of the day would probably
Speaker 1: happen at the last minute. Uh, And so I don't
Speaker 1: think that ruffled their their feathers very much. I would
Speaker 1: say they're probably more ruffled by the hurricane than anything
Speaker 1: they've done lately, because obviously this has just massive consequences
Speaker 1: on a state that frankly is an incredibly important state
Speaker 1: for the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Has this
Speaker 1: been a good week for Joe Biden? Jenny, Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean I think it has. He's been, as you mentioned,
Speaker 1: dealing with a you know, a number of issues that
Speaker 1: you know, you can imagine would take somebody, you know,
Speaker 1: the entire news cycle in a regular time period, and
Speaker 1: we've been dealing He's been dealing with all of them
Speaker 1: at once, and he has done well, I think so
Speaker 1: far in this storm, particularly by the state of Floriden.
Speaker 1: Is his discussions with Rhonda Santis. Alright, we'll get back
Speaker 1: to this with Rick and Genie on Bloomberg Sound On
Speaker 1: the fastest hour in politics. Coming up, we'll stare down
Speaker 1: the barrel of the next Supreme Court action that starts
Speaker 1: next week. I'm Joe Matthew and Washington. Thanks for being
Speaker 1: with us. This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg. You
Speaker 1: sound on with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. President Biden
Speaker 1: says he is going to Florida and Puerto Rico. We
Speaker 1: don't have details from the White House on these trips,
Speaker 1: and I suspect that they'll be they'll be announced with
Speaker 1: relatively little notice, as we just don't have a sense
Speaker 1: of when it will even be safe for him to
Speaker 1: go to Florida, never mind not get in the way.
Speaker 1: Puerto Rico is a whole other matter, though in a
Speaker 1: much more complex travel assignment for the White House staff.
Speaker 1: We reassemble the panel with Jennie Chanzano and Rick Davis
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Politics contributors are signature panel. Jennie, I wonder how
Speaker 1: important it is for Joe Biden to make both of
Speaker 1: those trips, uh and and namely, obviously Florida is going
Speaker 1: to be done pretty quickly, I'd say in the next
Speaker 1: week or two. But Puerto Rico is another matter and
Speaker 1: something that he needs to make good on now that
Speaker 1: he's put it out there. That's right. It's important to
Speaker 1: go to both, and it is going to be really
Speaker 1: difficult for him, particularly as you mentioned, to make that
Speaker 1: Puerto Rico trip and to do it safely. Um. And
Speaker 1: of course, always leaders as they go into these situations,
Speaker 1: have got to be careful that they are not impeding
Speaker 1: any sort of rescue missions or any of the efforts
Speaker 1: down there. So I know the Florida one he will
Speaker 1: be able to do, as you said, quickly. I think
Speaker 1: the Puerto Rico one is a little bit more difficult.
Speaker 1: And then of course we are hearing some really really
Speaker 1: difficult signs out of Cuba as well. Um, and so
Speaker 1: you know, he has not said anything about going there.
Speaker 1: He's not going to go there, but there are a
Speaker 1: lot of protests down there, and you know people have
Speaker 1: been really violently hurt in the last week by this storm. Well,
Speaker 1: I bet you Jim McGovern would like to get back
Speaker 1: down there as soon as possible. But Rick, when you
Speaker 1: think about that trip to Puerto Rico, Uh, the first
Speaker 1: thing that pops into everyone's mind is Donald Trump throwing
Speaker 1: paper towels. There's more than the logistical challenges here, there
Speaker 1: are the politic ones. How does he prepare to make
Speaker 1: that a trip that works for him? Yeah, these uh,
Speaker 1: these big storms can be uh really terminal to a
Speaker 1: lot of people's political career. Uh. Mind everybody about George
Speaker 1: Bush and Katrina, as it was the beginning of the
Speaker 1: end of his presidency. Um, you look at, uh what
Speaker 1: happened to Chris Christie when he hugged uh President Obama
Speaker 1: when he came there and sort of ended his national ambitions.
Speaker 1: Uh So, yeah, it's it's fraught with political trouble. And
Speaker 1: and yet I think, you know, this president probably more
Speaker 1: than any other who's he's been around such a long
Speaker 1: time as vice president for eight years, he's visited so
Speaker 1: many of these kind of uh um, challenging environments that
Speaker 1: I think, in this case, experience will be very meaningful
Speaker 1: for him. And look, you can't do any worse than
Speaker 1: than than his predecessor, uh Trump throwing paper towels and
Speaker 1: you know, things like that into a crowd. And and
Speaker 1: this of course is after he'd already beat up the
Speaker 1: people of Puerto Rico by insisting that, uh he wasn't
Speaker 1: gonna spend any federal resources on on their recovery. So,
Speaker 1: uh this will be a snap compared to what they've
Speaker 1: experienced in the most recent past. Yeah, I guess so
Speaker 1: the comparison is favorable. Um. I want to ask you
Speaker 1: both about next week, and that's, of course, the new
Speaker 1: term of the Supreme Court. And there's a lot involved
Speaker 1: here today though. It was the investiture ceremony for of course,
Speaker 1: the new Justice Katangi Brown Jackson, as you hear now
Speaker 1: walking out under the steps of the Supreme Court with
Speaker 1: the Chief Justice, and they spent some time, you know,
Speaker 1: making small talk while they had their pictures taken John Roberts.
Speaker 1: Then he peeled off and her husband met her there
Speaker 1: for a couple of photos as well. They made their
Speaker 1: way off and that where she was worn and already. Uh.
Speaker 1: This was the sort of formal ceremony. And then things
Speaker 1: begin on Monday, with of course Justice Jackson involved here
Speaker 1: and we've talked a bit about this, uh, this new
Speaker 1: term that starts on Monday. Genie, there is you know,
Speaker 1: coming off of what nobody could have predicted this year,
Speaker 1: particularly with the Row ruling. There are a lot of
Speaker 1: concerns about what we might learn this time. What is
Speaker 1: important to you as you look ahead, you know, the
Speaker 1: first Monday in October always one of my favorite times
Speaker 1: of the year. Joe Matthew as a Supreme Court takes
Speaker 1: its seat for the new term. Oh, I love it.
Speaker 1: But this term it's you know a little bit different.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think the Supreme Court has been in
Speaker 1: the public consciousness in a way that it hasn't been
Speaker 1: for many many years. At this point, we are facing,
Speaker 1: you know, less than six weeks to the mid term
Speaker 1: and whisp their last year's last terms decision in the
Speaker 1: Dobbs case is going to hang over what how pens
Speaker 1: in that mid term. So you know, I think as
Speaker 1: we look with a new justice, as you mentioned there,
Speaker 1: I don't think we're going to see, quite frankly, much
Speaker 1: of a shift. I think we're going to see a
Speaker 1: lot of six three decisions are going to be continuing.
Speaker 1: And we shouldn't forget that they have already accepted and
Speaker 1: are going to hear some really politically fraud cases, including
Speaker 1: this run. Yeah, this this one on elections, which promises
Speaker 1: if they do go six three, as some people expect,
Speaker 1: to really change the way we do elections in this country.
Speaker 1: I have to been I thought, as the academic here
Speaker 1: at the table, that you would have pointed to, uh,
Speaker 1: the use of affirmative action in college admissions. That's that's
Speaker 1: going to reverberate across the country either way. Ye that is,
Speaker 1: and of course that also raises a question about whether
Speaker 1: they respect their own precedents or not as they look
Speaker 1: at issues of affirmative actions. So that's one of several
Speaker 1: big cases they have coming up this term. We're gonna
Speaker 1: be talking a lot more about the Supreme Court, it
Speaker 1: seems like in the months ahead. Here Rick, this is
Speaker 1: yet another or sort of third rail when you consider
Speaker 1: affirmative action coming off the term they just had. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're absolutely right. I mean, these guys have found a
Speaker 1: way to work themselves into the political lexicon of America. Right.
Speaker 1: Used to think that, uh, you know, the Supreme Court
Speaker 1: would sort of function in a political way, that they
Speaker 1: were behind the pearly gates of justice, and you know,
Speaker 1: really those things were sort of torn down by this
Speaker 1: last uh this last term where they entered into so
Speaker 1: many very very fraught political debates. And this is I
Speaker 1: think a little less charged than last year, but nonetheless,
Speaker 1: we'll have a pretty significant impact. And and you know
Speaker 1: these kinds of cases you were talking about affirmative action,
Speaker 1: Genie's you know, talking about these laws governing voting rights
Speaker 1: and giving absolute control by the legislatures, and they have
Speaker 1: a they have a significant impact on how things happen
Speaker 1: in this country functionally. So these aren't just s S
Speaker 1: Terek things that the Supreme Court are doing and not
Speaker 1: gonna affect everyday lives. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. I mean,
Speaker 1: just October is going to be packed here, Uh, Jeanie,
Speaker 1: how important will it be for the country to get
Speaker 1: used to uh justice? Katangi Brown Jackson. Uh, it's been
Speaker 1: a minute since we've had a new justice. Obviously, that
Speaker 1: brings us back to the last president here, and it's
Speaker 1: something that so many people have looked forward to. Are
Speaker 1: are we beyond that point of this story here? And
Speaker 1: she's going to become you know, part of this thing
Speaker 1: we call the Supreme Court? Or will she stand out
Speaker 1: and draw more attention as an individual? You know, she
Speaker 1: is a formidable justice and she you know, is the
Speaker 1: first female African American on the court. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: she is uh, you know, answering the the hopes and
Speaker 1: prayers of so many Americans as she takes this important seat.
Speaker 1: She's going to be there an awfully long time. Um.
Speaker 1: One of the things we haven't talked about is the
Speaker 1: fact that despite the President's promise to think about reforming
Speaker 1: the core, there's been very little discussion of that in
Speaker 1: the administration. So no sort of decisions, as you will,
Speaker 1: in terms of you know, whether to allow these people
Speaker 1: to to you know, mandatory retirement, those kinds of things.
Speaker 1: So she will be there for many, many years. And
Speaker 1: you know, she's entering a court while she will be
Speaker 1: in the clear minority, and so also entering a court
Speaker 1: in which you know, the American public is really questioning
Speaker 1: the legitimacy of this institution. For out of ten Americans
Speaker 1: feeling like it is an institution that is run by
Speaker 1: politics versus objective law. That's a big problem for the Court.
Speaker 1: We heard the Chief Justice try to walk it back
Speaker 1: this summer, but even his own Justice Elena Kagan, said
Speaker 1: she disagreed with him on that. Pretty remarkable, Rick, I
Speaker 1: guess maybe a better way to ask that question is,
Speaker 1: you know, as as as an historic member and newest
Speaker 1: addition to the court, will she be under a greater
Speaker 1: spotlight as a new justice and as an historic one.
Speaker 1: You know, it's hard to tell at this point. Um,
Speaker 1: there's been so much change on the Supreme Court over
Speaker 1: the last few years that, um, you know, you're gonna
Speaker 1: need sharp elbows to get noticed in this court. There
Speaker 1: are gonna be a lot of new justices who are
Speaker 1: going to be fighting for the ability to write opinions
Speaker 1: and stake out turf. The reality, based on a six
Speaker 1: three split of the court, uh is, if she's going
Speaker 1: to write any opinions, they'll be in a minority. So
Speaker 1: I think this court is so new that it's going
Speaker 1: to be a while before American public really gets a
Speaker 1: sense of the Court. Obviously, there's a really negative reaction
Speaker 1: to the Court's last term, worst numbers and I've seen
Speaker 1: in the Court in thirty five years and and so
Speaker 1: this Court has to make decisions as to whether it
Speaker 1: is going to become more uh engaged with the public
Speaker 1: in order to kind of repair that damage, because that
Speaker 1: damage speaks to the credibility that the Court has and
Speaker 1: its rulings and the impact the rulings have in society.
Speaker 1: In the past, they've been sacrosanc I'm not sure they
Speaker 1: can count on that now. The Voting Rights Act, Clean
Speaker 1: Water Act case, and uh, the race conscious admissions or
Speaker 1: if you will, affirmative action at some universities will all
Speaker 1: be heard in October. So we'll be talking a lot
Speaker 1: more about that coming up. I just wanted to remind
Speaker 1: everybody that this is starting on Monday. Boy, how about it? UH,
Speaker 1: great moment today at the White House. We try to
Speaker 1: end the week, my goodness, on a positive note. Joe
Speaker 1: Biden held an event here with the First Lady to
Speaker 1: celebrate the Jewish New Year. They did this this afternoon.
Speaker 1: I want to bring you into the East Room with
Speaker 1: a couple of words to think about here. Just consider
Speaker 1: this as you're driving home, as you walk into the weekend.
Speaker 1: Here's Joe Biden. Later, Rabbi Jonathan Sachs, who passed away
Speaker 1: two years ago, once said that the most important lesson
Speaker 1: of the High Holidays is that nothing nothing is broken
Speaker 1: on repair, nothing is broken beyond repair. It's never too
Speaker 1: late to change and to be better. I've always believed
Speaker 1: that message, and I also think it's universal. And we've
Speaker 1: emerged from one of our most difficult moments in our history.
Speaker 1: I believe nothing is broken beyond repair, and there's a
Speaker 1: lot we can do to change things and make people together.
Speaker 1: Nothing is broken beyond repair. Have a great weekend. We'll
Speaker 1: see you back here on Monday. I'm Joe Matthew. This
Speaker 1: is Bloomberg