Speaker 1: You're listening to the Bloomberg Sound On podcast. Catch us
Speaker 1: live weekdays at one Eastern on Bloomberg dot com, the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, and the Bloomberg Business app, or listen on
Speaker 1: demand wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2: US fighter jets strike targets in Syria. Is this the
Speaker 2: Second front? Welcome to the fastest show in politics. As
Speaker 2: American jets hit two facilities believed to be used by
Speaker 2: Iran's Revolutionary Guard. This as Israel conducts new raids inside Gaza.
Speaker 2: We're going to take the wide view on what could
Speaker 2: become a regional conflict if it isn't already. With James Jeffrey,
Speaker 2: the former ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, now Chair of
Speaker 2: the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, is back
Speaker 2: with us here on Bloomberg. The new Speaker of the
Speaker 2: House says he wants to buifer Kate Israeli funding. We'll
Speaker 2: have that and a lot more as well with our
Speaker 2: signature panel on this Friday. Rick Davis and Genie Shanzano
Speaker 2: Bloomberg Politics contributors. Welcome to the Friday edition of Bloomberg
Speaker 2: Sound On. I actually had to check a couple of times.
Speaker 2: It has been a week at least. We have a
Speaker 2: speaker of the House to show for it. I'm Joe
Speaker 2: Matthew in Washington. It's great to see you join us
Speaker 2: on YouTube along with the radio or the satellite. We've
Speaker 2: got the cameras, litt and love to have you join
Speaker 2: us here in the studio. Go to YouTube and search
Speaker 2: Bloomberg Global News. And we've got a lot to talk
Speaker 2: about here today. As we begin with the situation in Israel,
Speaker 2: I really should say the Middle East, because we're talking
Speaker 2: about a regional story at this point. Here the latest
Speaker 2: from Israel. As I read on the terminal, they sent
Speaker 2: troops on a limited raid into Gaza for the second
Speaker 2: night running here kind of punch and holes and things
Speaker 2: getting ready for surveilling, and the surveilling doing a lot
Speaker 2: of things ahead of what will likely be a ground invasion.
Speaker 2: But we're seeing headlines now on extensive bombing to the
Speaker 2: north in northern Gaza. Phone service and internet service has
Speaker 2: completely gone down. We may be in the midst of
Speaker 2: something here that is important. Massive air strikes underway now.
Speaker 2: We learned as well the US was flying jets in
Speaker 2: Syria yesterday, and this is important where we want to
Speaker 2: get started with Ambassador Jeffrey back with US today.
Speaker 3: F sixteen's flown.
Speaker 2: By the United States striking targets in eastern Syria, believed
Speaker 2: to be used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, raising great
Speaker 2: questions about the scale of this potential military conflict. He was,
Speaker 2: of course, the Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, also Special
Speaker 2: Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS. He's
Speaker 2: now at the Wilson Center, where he chairs the Middle
Speaker 2: East Program. Ambassador James Jeffrey, Welcome back, sir. It's good
Speaker 2: to see you. I wonder your thoughts when you hear
Speaker 2: news like this. This is not a proxy war when
Speaker 2: American jets are striking targets, is it.
Speaker 4: Thank you for having me on, Joe.
Speaker 5: It's important to know this is as important as Ukraine
Speaker 5: normally for the survival of a state, because that's what's
Speaker 5: in play. But secondly, the American capability all across the world,
Speaker 5: this collective security system that's been placed since nineteen forty
Speaker 5: five produced prosperity, peace and political freedom for much of
Speaker 5: the world. Hamas is allied with Iran and Iran's other allies,
Speaker 5: including his bela very powerful for in southern Lebanon. The
Speaker 5: risk is if the israelis going on the ground, which
Speaker 5: they seem to be preparing to do as you just said,
Speaker 5: that Iran and his Beulah will strike Israel will possibly
Speaker 5: strike the United States, which has put forces in the
Speaker 5: region exactly to deter intervention from the outside. What we
Speaker 5: have now is low skill shooting back and forth between
Speaker 5: the United States and Iranian surrogates in Syria and in
Speaker 5: Iraq to try to maintain a lid on this. But
Speaker 5: there's no telling where this will go.
Speaker 3: Well, the sure isn't.
Speaker 2: Does it make you nervous when you see US aircraft
Speaker 2: inside Syria knowing that there could be Iranian involvement at
Speaker 2: any moment the moment, never mind Iranian cooperation with Syria.
Speaker 5: Well, we've had, of course aircraft there for a long
Speaker 5: time fighting these Islamic state at times attacking the Syrian government,
Speaker 5: as you know, wiping out the Wagner Battalian I'm in Syria,
Speaker 5: which I was responsible for for two years, is a
Speaker 5: rock and roll battle zone and always has. That's why
Speaker 5: we took targets out of Iranian surrogates in Syria. Nobody
Speaker 5: will mind the bigger and Juicia. Targets, of course are
Speaker 5: in Iraq, but that's a fairly friendly government. We don't
Speaker 5: want to bomb their territory, and the most important are
Speaker 5: in Iran, but that would be an escalation. What the
Speaker 5: Biden administration is saying is that day is coming if
Speaker 5: you start killing Americans, I.
Speaker 2: Believe well, I'll tell you the headlines that are crossing
Speaker 2: now are potentially significant. Ambassador the Palestinian telecom provider now
Speaker 2: says that internet service throughout the Gaza strip has been
Speaker 2: cut off by Israeli bombardment. What does that tell you
Speaker 2: about the next phase and how soon it might begin.
Speaker 5: I don't want to be cynical or satirical, but frankly,
Speaker 5: I'm wondering what took the Israeli so long. This is
Speaker 5: the main vehicle for Hamas to get their propaganda out
Speaker 5: and also frankly, to communicate with each other. Of course,
Speaker 5: as we saw in the attack on Israel in the
Speaker 5: seventh of October, Hamas has very extraordinary technical and electronic capabilities.
Speaker 5: What the Israelis have been doing with this bombing and
Speaker 5: pot is to knock that down, and that was another
Speaker 5: step today. Again it indicates they're thinking of a ground
Speaker 5: encourasion much bigger than the ones they've done so.
Speaker 2: Far, right, sending troops in and what they're referring to
Speaker 2: as a limited raid. They actually had troops in armor
Speaker 2: rolling into Gaza last night. Some thought it might be
Speaker 2: the beginning of something larger. What type of that operation?
Speaker 2: What type of operation do you think that was? Are
Speaker 2: they actually just surveying land looking for tunnels? Are they
Speaker 2: doing more in terms of taking out targets while they're
Speaker 2: at it now?
Speaker 5: As a farm of tank command, I recognize this doctrine.
Speaker 5: It's called a tank raid. It is designed to another doctor,
Speaker 5: prepare the battlefield by probing enemy weak points, seeing how
Speaker 5: they react, seeing how their communications light up when you
Speaker 5: send forces in, and in general putting them off base,
Speaker 5: because soon Hamas will get used to these is really
Speaker 5: raged and will be less quick to react when the
Speaker 5: big one comes.
Speaker 2: Well, we may see more of these, I suppose, but
Speaker 2: it doesn't signify anything to you in terms of timeline,
Speaker 2: as in going in tonight or this weekend.
Speaker 5: Ambassador, No, A very good question. First of all, as
Speaker 5: your viewers know, because everybody's following this, there are other
Speaker 5: issues we need to get American air defense reinforcements throughout
Speaker 5: the Middle East so that we can shoot down these
Speaker 5: drones and missiles that are ran inspiring at us, rather
Speaker 5: than taking casualties and having to strike back. That's an escalatory,
Speaker 5: de escalatory thing. Secondly, there's negotiations over many of the
Speaker 5: civilian hostages. There's also concerns about getting assistance to the
Speaker 5: civilian population that is in entire need in a Gaza.
Speaker 5: All of those things will feed into the Israeli planning,
Speaker 5: including intelligence on Hamas and probably refinements of the plan.
Speaker 5: This will be an extremely complicated operation. Nobody would try
Speaker 5: this unless a you have three hundred and sixty thousand
Speaker 5: troops and b you start Your country existence depends upon it.
Speaker 5: But that's where I believe.
Speaker 2: Is General pat Ryder at the Pentagon says, the US
Speaker 2: deploying nine hundred troops now to the Middle East to
Speaker 2: beef up our presence. We've spoken already about the two
Speaker 2: carrier strike groups that are heading in that direction. How
Speaker 2: much are you viewing this to what extent are you
Speaker 2: viewing this as a regional action as opposed to one
Speaker 2: specifically between Israel and Gaza with the Hamas.
Speaker 5: Everybody in the region, including Arab leaders who talk privately,
Speaker 5: not publicly in front of their people's but privately know
Speaker 5: that this is the big one. This determines whether Iran
Speaker 5: and the various terrorist surrogates of Iran will ever more
Speaker 5: dominate the region. Knock up what Israel proved that the
Speaker 5: United States will not stand by its friends and backs
Speaker 5: down in the face of Iranian threats. That's all in
Speaker 5: play now. Nobody on our side at least wanted this,
Speaker 5: but this is where we are, and there's only one
Speaker 5: way forward, which is to reinforce and be ready to
Speaker 5: respond if Iran intervenes.
Speaker 1: Well.
Speaker 2: So, with that said, when a ground operation or invasion,
Speaker 2: whatever we call it, begins against Tamas in Gaza, what
Speaker 2: will be the regional response. We've already talked about Syria,
Speaker 2: we could talk about Iran. We could even add Turkey
Speaker 2: to the conversation. What's this going to look like?
Speaker 5: Everybody will stay out except the big question. Iran and
Speaker 5: at Is particularly the most powerful Lebanese FSBLA in southern Lebanon,
Speaker 5: with one hundred and seventy thousand rockets and missiles pointed
Speaker 5: at Israel and tens of thousands of troops. Three scenarios
Speaker 5: one the United States massive, it's wanting to deter Iran,
Speaker 5: and Israel defeats Tamas in Gaza, and Iran being deterred
Speaker 5: will be shown as a paper tiger two. Iran actually
Speaker 5: does intervene and this huge American force.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I wish we had a better internet connection, mister ambassador,
Speaker 2: thank you for the time. Will be I hope blessed
Speaker 2: by the Wi Fi gods next time we speak. James Jeffrey,
Speaker 2: the former ambassador to Iraq and Turkey. He ran the coalition,
Speaker 2: was the Special presidential Envoy the coalition to defeat ISIS,
Speaker 2: and so we've been using him for perspective on this
Speaker 2: as we get closer to what appears to be a
Speaker 2: ground assault.
Speaker 3: I'm Joe Matthew in Washington.
Speaker 2: As we assembled our panel, including Geny Shanzano, Bloomberg Politics contributor,
Speaker 2: who was actually with me here in Washington. It's great
Speaker 2: to see you at the table. Rick Davis with us
Speaker 2: as well, Bloomberg Politics contributor. Great to have our signature
Speaker 2: panel together on a Friday. Every time we talk to
Speaker 2: the ambassador, it's a sobering conversation and he's clearly thinking
Speaker 2: about something wider and I know I was leading him
Speaker 2: in that direction. But Genie, when you start seeing headlines
Speaker 2: again of US jets, American flags on these jets, striking
Speaker 2: targets in Syria, this is bringing back some pretty tough
Speaker 2: memories for people already.
Speaker 6: It absolutely is, and you know you can't help but
Speaker 6: think about it and talk about it rightly, so because
Speaker 6: this is what we are seeing unfold before our eyes.
Speaker 6: And as much as the President, the administration, Republicans and
Speaker 6: Democrats alike in the US would like to avoid that,
Speaker 6: I mean, containing this was the key key focus of
Speaker 6: the administration's policy as soon as this horrific event happened
Speaker 6: on October seventh, and yet it looks like despite all
Speaker 6: these efforts that is increasingly difficult to imagine they're able
Speaker 6: to do that. And so now the US is going
Speaker 6: to have to respond. And that's what we are seeing.
Speaker 6: And this raises all sorts of challenges, domestic political challenges
Speaker 6: among them, but most importantly the safety of US troops
Speaker 6: on the ground and Americans living over there as this
Speaker 6: continues to spiral out of control, which is what it
Speaker 6: looks like is going to happen in just a few hours,
Speaker 6: let alone days and weeks I.
Speaker 3: Sure wonder, Rick. We spoke with retired General Wesley.
Speaker 2: Clark yesterday about this about the idea of a second
Speaker 2: or third front potentially being open already.
Speaker 3: Here's how he put it.
Speaker 2: I guess we don't have the general here, but I
Speaker 2: it was essentially saying, Rick that this is not hot,
Speaker 2: it's warm, And I wonder your thought right now as
Speaker 2: you look at this from a regional perspective, the things.
Speaker 7: We have to understand is that Iran does not completely
Speaker 7: control all these malign actors, right.
Speaker 3: I mean, like we think of them.
Speaker 7: As almost like divisions of the Iranian military, but they're not, right,
Speaker 7: They're independent political organizations, you know, they're terrorist groups that
Speaker 7: kind of like you know, operate in somewhat of a vacuum,
Speaker 7: and both for security reasons but also just they don't
Speaker 7: even agree with each other, you know, on what ultimately
Speaker 7: the objectives are. Some are more interested in attack and
Speaker 7: the Americans and they are the Israelis, like what's happening
Speaker 7: in Syria right now. So part of this is I wonder,
Speaker 7: you know, with all the flare ups that we're seeing
Speaker 7: outside of the primary conflict between Israel and Hamas is
Speaker 7: whether or not Iran is sitting back going Holy smokes.
Speaker 7: This could really get out of control and all of
Speaker 7: a sudden will get dragged in to this conflict. I mean,
Speaker 7: Iran is really good at creating problems for other people
Speaker 7: through their carve outs, but they don't like to get
Speaker 7: their hands dirty directly. And they still have reminiscence of
Speaker 7: a million men being slaughtered on the battlefield with Iraq,
Speaker 7: and so you know, having a border war is not
Speaker 7: something they particularly are interested in.
Speaker 3: So this could actually.
Speaker 7: Spin out of control, not just affecting us in Israel,
Speaker 7: but also it could spin out of control of what
Speaker 7: Iran has as an expectation.
Speaker 2: Here's what General Wesley Clark said when we spoke about
Speaker 2: this yesterday.
Speaker 8: Well, let's put it this way. They're warming it up,
Speaker 8: but I don't think the decision has been made by
Speaker 8: the Ayatolas to really open up the northern front yet.
Speaker 8: It's just just it's nuisance right now. Yeah, they're killing people,
Speaker 8: they are firing, but they haven't really committed. They want
Speaker 8: to wait and see what Israel is able to do
Speaker 8: in Gaza, whether it's so deeply in measured in Gaza
Speaker 8: that it can't defend itself from the North.
Speaker 2: Wellly have a minute left for this part of our conversation, Jeanie,
Speaker 2: But is this your biggest worry?
Speaker 6: It is, and you know the Wesley Clark is talking
Speaker 6: about they haven't made the decision, and I think my
Speaker 6: bigger fear in a lot of people's is that the
Speaker 6: decision will be made because some kind of accident, somebody
Speaker 6: gets hurt, gets injured, more than one person, American troops
Speaker 6: get hurt, and that sort of spirals out of control.
Speaker 6: So questions of whether they decide or not aside this
Speaker 6: is what the fear is, is that it is such
Speaker 6: a warm area it could turn hot very quickly and
Speaker 6: people respond and that's a huge, huge challenge.
Speaker 2: We've got a lot more to talk about with Genie
Speaker 2: Shanzano and Rick Davis, including the ask for funding for Israel.
Speaker 2: The new Speaker of the House has weighed in on
Speaker 2: this officially, he says, Bifer Kate the money. We'll hear
Speaker 2: from his interview with Fox News on that and a
Speaker 2: lot of other issues, whether the government's going to shut
Speaker 2: down next month. Next with Rick and Jeannie, I'm Joe
Speaker 2: Matthew in Washington. It's the fastest show in politics. We'll
Speaker 2: have a lot more ahead. This is Bloomberg.
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Bloomberg Sound on podcast. Catch the
Speaker 1: program live weekdays at one Eastern on Bloomberg Radio, the
Speaker 1: tune in app, Bloomberg dot Com.
Speaker 4: And the Bloomberg Business App.
Speaker 1: You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our
Speaker 1: flagship New York station, Just say Alexa play Bloomberg eleven thirty.
Speaker 2: We told you around this time yesterday that Hakim Jeffreys
Speaker 2: had issued a challenge to the new Speaker of the House,
Speaker 2: you know, Mike john that's his name, to take a
Speaker 2: shutdown off the table for the rest of the year,
Speaker 2: for the rest of this session. And I guess we
Speaker 2: got our response. Speaker Johnson sits for his first interview
Speaker 2: on Fox News. Asked about the continuing resolution that might
Speaker 2: be required to avoid a government shutdown, and the answer
Speaker 2: is yes, with conditions.
Speaker 9: We're going forward a Chip and Byron are at the
Speaker 9: table with others. We're working through this with the ideas
Speaker 9: and trying to ensure that if another stopgap measure is required,
Speaker 9: that we do it with certain conditions. And I think
Speaker 9: there will be conditions that the American people can live
Speaker 9: with and the consensus that we can build around here
Speaker 9: in the.
Speaker 3: House certain conditions.
Speaker 2: As we reassemble the panel with Rick Davis and Genie Shanzino,
Speaker 2: Bloomberg Politics contributors, Rick, I don't know what conditions we're
Speaker 2: talking about here, but if so called Chip and Byron
Speaker 2: are writing the CR, that would be Jip Roy Byron
Speaker 2: Donald's of the Freedom Caucus. I believe they wrote the
Speaker 2: last one, or at least we're involved in the deal
Speaker 2: making here. Is that going to look like anything HOCKEYM
Speaker 2: Jefferies wants to sign.
Speaker 7: Probably not, and it's probably not going to look like
Speaker 7: anything that the Senate's going to want to sign. So
Speaker 7: you can already tell that we're going to get into
Speaker 7: a haggle between these two institutions, the Senate in the
Speaker 7: House over what this is going to look like. My
Speaker 7: guess is that the Speaker is not going to want
Speaker 7: to create a eminent shutdown in his first month of office,
Speaker 7: and so whatever those conditions are may be more manageable
Speaker 7: than even what we saw the first time around when
Speaker 7: the first CR was being negotiated. But at least there's
Speaker 7: an expectation that there will be a CR, and I'd
Speaker 7: say that is not something I would have assumed considering
Speaker 7: the lack of you know, sort of fiscal experience that
Speaker 7: this speaker.
Speaker 2: Has had, or the fact that the last guy got
Speaker 2: fired for doing that very same thing. Jeanie, what do
Speaker 2: you think of this those certain conditions? As a Democrat?
Speaker 3: Can you see the other party voting for what's going
Speaker 3: to come out here?
Speaker 10: You know?
Speaker 6: I thought what was interesting was he was talking about
Speaker 6: what's palatable to the American public, and that's really beside
Speaker 6: the point. This has never been about what's palatable to
Speaker 6: the American public. It's about what's palatable to the far
Speaker 6: right wing of his own caucus. They are the ones
Speaker 6: who are opposing these rs. They are the ones who
Speaker 6: have put all these conditions on, and so that is
Speaker 6: going to be his fight.
Speaker 3: What are the conditions cuts?
Speaker 6: Well, they are going they are going to want to
Speaker 6: make cuts. I mean we are just talking about Israel.
Speaker 6: He wants to separate out Ukraine and Israel.
Speaker 3: I mean, don't talk about that yet.
Speaker 6: Yeah, the list goes on and on, and so what
Speaker 6: has changed, you know, maybe just maybe the far right
Speaker 6: has decided they want to give him some runway to
Speaker 6: Rick's point, maybe they want to give him a honeymoon
Speaker 6: period of sorts for the first month or six weeks
Speaker 6: where he doesn't face an imminent shutdown. But I don't
Speaker 6: know that we know that yet. So he faces that
Speaker 6: is his big fight. And then, of course, if he
Speaker 6: tries to do what Kevin McCarthy did for a period
Speaker 6: of time until he signed the cr which is to
Speaker 6: you know, hold hands with the far right, you're going
Speaker 6: to have the moderates of his caucus who are going
Speaker 6: to balk and to your point, Democrats. And so nothing
Speaker 6: has changed. The only thing that has changed, and I
Speaker 6: wish you guys would call him by his name, magamke.
Speaker 6: The only thing is changed is the person who is
Speaker 6: sitting in this very difficult seat, who has got all
Speaker 6: of this ahead of him, and who comes with almost
Speaker 6: no experience. He's never even chaired a committee.
Speaker 3: It was a shutdown more or less likely.
Speaker 6: You know, I think it's a little less likely, only
Speaker 6: because they may wise up and want to give him
Speaker 6: some runway room. But I'm not convinced that we've heard
Speaker 6: that from either of these two warring sides of the
Speaker 6: Republican Caucus at this point.
Speaker 2: Well, we started this hour talking about Israel, and there
Speaker 2: is a big ask for money. It's over one hundred
Speaker 2: billion dollars for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the border. If
Speaker 2: you listen to this show, you know that already. Speaker
Speaker 2: Johnson asked about that as well last evening, and he
Speaker 2: made it clear that he doesn't want to bring a
Speaker 2: combined piece of legislation to the floor.
Speaker 3: Here's how you put it.
Speaker 9: I told the staff the White House today that our
Speaker 9: consensus among House Republicans is that we need to buifurkate
Speaker 9: those issues. I agree with your assessment in Ukraine, and
Speaker 9: that's why the American people are demanding some real accountability
Speaker 9: for the use of those dollars. Now, we can't allow
Speaker 9: Vladimir Putin to prevail in Ukraine because I don't believe
Speaker 9: it would stop there, and it would probably encourage and
Speaker 9: empower China to perhaps make a move on Taiwan. We
Speaker 9: have these concerns, We're not going to abandon them. But
Speaker 9: we have a responsibility of stewardship, responsibility over the precious
Speaker 9: treasure of the American people, and we have to make
Speaker 9: sure that the White House is providing the people with
Speaker 9: some account of ability for the dollars.
Speaker 2: Rick he just said a lot there, And I'm not
Speaker 2: sure what he means by accountability, if that's some sort
Speaker 2: of an audit or whatever that comes with the money
Speaker 2: that's allocated. But his approach here, and I know it's
Speaker 2: shared by members of his caucus, or he wouldn't be
Speaker 2: doing it, I guess to take the Israeli money out
Speaker 2: and bring that to the floor alone, I imagine will
Speaker 2: only slow things down.
Speaker 7: What do you think, Yeah, for sure, it'll slow things down,
Speaker 7: and they'll have the Senate right on top of them
Speaker 7: with the you know, sort of combined kit of funding
Speaker 7: that they'll have to deal with, and if they don't
Speaker 7: get onto it, they'll then they'll have to deal with
Speaker 7: a Senate bill that will be much more.
Speaker 3: Difficult for them to carve up.
Speaker 7: I would say, you know that, as the Speaker just said,
Speaker 7: you know, he's he's not cave in to putin so
Speaker 7: so so that's reassuring, and and he's saying he's for funding.
Speaker 7: In fact, he goes on in that same interview to
Speaker 7: talk about how he's not as concerned and I'm you know,
Speaker 7: putting words in his mouth, but to paraphrase, he's not
Speaker 7: as concerned about the money going for weapons systems because
Speaker 7: he knows what we know, which is most of that
Speaker 7: money spent on US weapons manufacturers. He's concerned about the
Speaker 7: economic assistance which is part of this formulation, and that
Speaker 7: has had fewer sort of strings of accountability. You know,
Speaker 7: that goes right into the Ukrainian economy and it's necessary
Speaker 7: almost if not equally necessary as the as the security aid.
Speaker 7: But the administration has been slow to sort of talk
Speaker 7: about what specifically those funds are going to be used for.
Speaker 7: And I think that's part of the message that he's
Speaker 7: sending to the White House is you know, let's let's
Speaker 7: drill down on that before we just give you a
Speaker 7: blank check.
Speaker 2: What do you think of this approach and what it
Speaker 2: will actually mean for getting help to Israel. We can
Speaker 2: treat these separately because Rick makes some very good points
Speaker 2: about Ukraine. But is this going to mean a longer
Speaker 2: wait for Israel?
Speaker 6: It very well could. You know, there's a reason that
Speaker 6: the Biden administration and Mitch McConnell and others want to
Speaker 6: go big on this because you're really only going to
Speaker 6: get one bite at this apple. That's why they're putting
Speaker 6: one hundred and six billion plus dollars in and trying
Speaker 6: to get this through. But you know, if you just listened,
Speaker 6: as I like to do for you, Joe Matthew to
Speaker 6: Steve Bannon's show, and you listen to Mike, you listen
Speaker 6: to Mike, and Mike matt Gates go on that show
Speaker 6: and say the Mike Johnson assuming the speakership was a
Speaker 6: win for the MAGO right, it was a win for us.
Speaker 6: And so I agree with Rick that he's saying the
Speaker 6: right things last night. He is trying to be responsible
Speaker 6: with money. We agree with all of that, but that
Speaker 6: is all beside the point. If any of those folks
Speaker 6: decide they are unhappy, and if four of them decide
Speaker 6: they are unhappy as they did previously, he's where back
Speaker 6: where we started from. So you know, you have to
Speaker 6: listen to what the are saying. Nothing about the structure
Speaker 6: of the position he finds himself in has changed. We've
Speaker 6: changed the person, but we haven't changed all of the
Speaker 6: environment going on there, and the environment is unhealthy and
Speaker 6: that has to make all of us skeptical this gets
Speaker 6: through as one package well, So Rick.
Speaker 2: It sounds like the administration needs to do a better
Speaker 2: job messaging what this Ukraine money is for.
Speaker 3: General Wesley Clark talked about it yesterday.
Speaker 2: You just made reference to, you know, American defense contractors.
Speaker 2: This is about also replenishing what we have here. Wouldn't
Speaker 2: that be a better argument than simply saying sixty billion
Speaker 2: for Ukraine.
Speaker 7: Yeah, And I think those conversations are being had within,
Speaker 7: you know, the walls of Congress and the White House.
Speaker 7: But again, I mean part of you know, President Biden's
Speaker 7: job is to convince the American public that this is
Speaker 7: important and that we are doing the right thing, because that,
Speaker 7: of course helps reinforce his standing with Congress. I mean,
Speaker 7: if the American public behind him, then it's a lot
Speaker 7: easier to get these Rakalka Trent Republicans to do the
Speaker 7: right thing on on Ukraine specifically, everybody wants to write
Speaker 7: that check for for Israel and the emergency assistants and
Speaker 7: the border assistance, those things are going.
Speaker 4: To be easy.
Speaker 7: The only thing that's going to be tricky is to
Speaker 7: get a straight vote on Ukrainian assistance. And frankly, that
Speaker 7: was what I thought was so smart about combining it,
Speaker 7: because you know, they can they can just get that
Speaker 7: done in one swell swoop and and ride on the
Speaker 7: backs of those more popular measures.
Speaker 2: Rick Davis and Jeanie Schanze know our signature panel with
Speaker 2: us on the Friday edition of sound On. We've got
Speaker 2: some breaking headlines from Israel that we'll talk about. And
Speaker 2: we haven't even gotten to this yet. Joe Biden has
Speaker 2: a new challenger and can we call it the Democratic Primary?
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Bloomberg sound On podcast. Catch us
Speaker 1: live weekdays at one Eastern, Bloomberg dot Com, the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: and the Bloomberg Business app, or listen on demand wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcast.
Speaker 2: There is another a Democrat running for president.
Speaker 3: His name is not Gavin Newsome.
Speaker 2: I don't think Joe Biden is losing sleep over it,
Speaker 2: but the representative from Minnesota, Dean Phillips, is running. The
Speaker 2: ad is up. The exclusive interview has been had. Here's
Speaker 2: what it sounds like.
Speaker 4: You ready.
Speaker 10: I'm Dean Phillips, and I'm running for president of the
Speaker 10: United States of America, and I'm coming to New Hampshire
Speaker 10: to answer your questions. I love New Hampshire. I spent
Speaker 10: my summers as a kid in the White Mountains, going
Speaker 10: to camp, got to canoe the Saco River, learn how
Speaker 10: to fish, learn how to shoot a gun, got to
Speaker 10: climb the presidential.
Speaker 2: Rule including Mount got the gun reference in there. I
Speaker 2: used to go to New Hampshire as a kid. I
Speaker 2: can't imagine that really being the way I introduced myself
Speaker 2: to the nation running for president. But he had more
Speaker 2: to say when he sat down with CBS News. Here
Speaker 2: is again, Dean Phillip.
Speaker 3: Are you running for president?
Speaker 10: I am? I have to I think President Biden has
Speaker 10: done a spectacular job for our country. But it's not
Speaker 10: about the past. This is an election about the future.
Speaker 10: I will not sit still and will not be quiet
Speaker 10: in the face of numbers that are so clearly saying
Speaker 10: that we're going to be facing an emergency next November.
Speaker 2: An emergency in a hypothetical race against Donald Trump. Let's
Speaker 2: reassemble our panel with Genie Shanzano at the table here
Speaker 2: in Washington and Rick Davis Bloomberg Politics contributors.
Speaker 3: Genie, are you shaking in your boots?
Speaker 2: Here is Dean Phillips, the next Democratic nominee.
Speaker 3: What's he thinking?
Speaker 6: Having climbed Mount Washington many times since spent many summers
Speaker 6: on the presidential range. I have to say I do
Speaker 6: like that introduction. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2: I went to six Gun City as a kid. Does
Speaker 2: that count White mountains?
Speaker 6: Absolutely? And it's beautiful. So he knows what he's doing
Speaker 6: when he's putting that out. But you know, there's a reason,
Speaker 6: as you said, Gavin Newsom and and you know, some
Speaker 6: of the other very popular governors who he let's not
Speaker 6: forget not that long ago said, should consider running. There's
Speaker 6: a reason they're not running is because number one, it
Speaker 6: is very very late at this point, and number two,
Speaker 6: it's going to be difficult to get name recognition, get
Speaker 6: yourself out there against an incumbent president. And number three,
Speaker 6: I think biggest of all is that no Democrats want
Speaker 6: to be spoilers and help Donald Trump get elected. So
Speaker 6: you know, there's a lot of reasons they aren't running.
Speaker 6: That said, I think Phillips has a point when he says,
Speaker 6: looking at the polls, almost seven out of ten Democrats
Speaker 6: are concerned about Joe Biden's health, about his age, and
Speaker 6: they are looking for new leadership, particularly young people and
Speaker 6: African Americans. So he is trying to build on that.
Speaker 6: I don't think Joe Biden's worried at this point, nor
Speaker 6: should he be, but I do think it's something Democrats
Speaker 6: have to take seriously.
Speaker 3: The polls have.
Speaker 6: Been unswavering and unwavering. I don't think swavering word, but
Speaker 6: on wavering on this point about concerns about Joe Biden's
Speaker 6: ability to serve another four years, and he is taking
Speaker 6: that mantle and running with it.
Speaker 3: What do you think, Rick, should we take this campaign seriously?
Speaker 7: You know, I don't think you can take it seriously
Speaker 7: from the point of view of Joe Biden losing the nomination.
Speaker 7: I think you can take it seriously from a Democrat,
Speaker 7: you know, who has credibility with independent voters because he's
Speaker 7: in the president's own party. Criticizing the president's age, which
Speaker 7: they care about already, is probably one of the most
Speaker 7: important things that's driving their vote preference. So this is
Speaker 7: a horrible thing for Joe Biden, but that kind of
Speaker 7: set it up for themselves. I mean, this idea of
Speaker 7: bypassing Iowa, New Hampshire and oh, we're going to start
Speaker 7: the primary in South Carolina, I mean this is.
Speaker 3: Like a gift.
Speaker 7: I mean, if he can't win a state that the
Speaker 7: president's not even on the ballot, then he should really
Speaker 7: wrap up his political career. But the bottom line is,
Speaker 7: you know, it's sort of misstep after misstep by the
Speaker 7: Biden camp in pain and and and now they've got
Speaker 7: they got to pay the piper, and and and this
Speaker 7: is this is not a shock that somebody would come
Speaker 7: out of there in a different generation who wants to
Speaker 7: content it, contest us. And by the way, they are
Speaker 7: dying to get uh uh uh Donald Trump to be
Speaker 7: the candidate against them next November, because you look at
Speaker 7: every other match up with people like Nicky Haley and
Speaker 7: it's a lot worse for President Biden. So I think
Speaker 7: if they can set this table the way it is now,
Speaker 7: they'd be happy to try and run. But as you've
Speaker 7: seen from our own Bloomberg polling, you know, even that
Speaker 7: is looking pretty grim from a targeted state basis, where
Speaker 7: in places like Arizona and Georgia, Donald Trump's already got
Speaker 7: a lead on on the president. So it's it's a
Speaker 7: pretty tough fall for the president right now.
Speaker 2: Well, Dean Phillips said in his interview with CBS Genie
Speaker 2: that he was alarmed, as the word he used, by
Speaker 2: the prospect of Donald Trump beating Joe Biden after studying
Speaker 2: polling data that compelled him to make this move are
Speaker 2: you alarmed when you look at the numbers.
Speaker 6: Now very alarmed and the Bloomberg poll showing that in
Speaker 6: those seven swing states, Donald Trump is beating Joe Biden
Speaker 6: in five of those, they are tied in one, and
Speaker 6: Biden assume Joe Biden, I do not, and I agree
Speaker 6: with Rick. It has long been the view of the
Speaker 6: Biden folks that get Trump on that ballot. In fact,
Speaker 6: the only way we can win is against Biden, against
Speaker 6: Trump rather because we can show him as crazy and
Speaker 6: him as you know, unable and and somebody who should
Speaker 6: not be re elected to the presidency. So let's get
Speaker 6: him on the ballot. But the danger here is is
Speaker 6: be careful what you wish for, because in these matchups,
Speaker 6: in this Bloomberg poll, Trump is winning, He is overperforming
Speaker 6: in those states. It is an enormous concern and the
Speaker 6: biggest concern for Biden putting Israel, Ukraine. Everything aside is
Speaker 6: the state of the economy for people in their daily lives,
Speaker 6: living expenses, inflation, the price of gas, the price of groceries,
Speaker 6: and housing, mortgages. Young people can't get mortgages. Their mortgages
Speaker 6: are seven to eight percent, as you know, So you
Speaker 6: know Boomers are looking at three and four percent because
Speaker 6: they were lucky enough to get in early. All of
Speaker 6: that votes very poorly for the president, and they have
Speaker 6: to take that seriously because those constituencies are critical for
Speaker 6: them to win, and they are not feeling good about
Speaker 6: where the economy is right now. It's not to say
Speaker 6: the president hasn't done some really important things, but the
Speaker 6: economy is still it and it is not a good
Speaker 6: sign for Joe Biden.
Speaker 3: Rick, we only have a minute left.
Speaker 2: We've talked a lot about a no Labels candidate, about
Speaker 2: even Cornell West campaign. Do you put Dean Phillips in
Speaker 2: the same category as a potential spoiler?
Speaker 7: No, I mean I think that the reality is he'll
Speaker 7: be long gone by the time the general election occurs,
Speaker 7: and people like Cornell West and Robert Kennedy and the
Speaker 7: no Labels candidates, if they have them, are going to
Speaker 7: have actual impact on votes that would otherwise be cast
Speaker 7: for Trump or Biden. So no, he will be the
Speaker 7: sort of you know, winter candidate, the winter soldier of
Speaker 7: the Democratic Party, and all of the you know, sort
Speaker 7: of heroes of the Democratic Party will emerge in January
Speaker 7: and February and March to ensure that this Winter Soldier
Speaker 7: gets beat just like it but was a Marvel comic.
Speaker 3: Wow, that's brutal.
Speaker 4: Rick.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Rick Davis and Jeanie Shanzino, our signature panel
Speaker 2: in a great conversation on a Friday.
Speaker 3: Wow.
Speaker 2: We learned a lot this week and we live through
Speaker 2: it with Rick and Jeannie and Kayley's on the way.
Speaker 2: Next hour two of sound On starts right now.
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Bloomberg Sound On podcast. Catch the
Speaker 1: program live weekdays at one Eastern on Bloomberg Radio, the
Speaker 1: tune in alf, Bloomberg dot Com, and the Bloomberg Business App.
Speaker 1: You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our
Speaker 1: flagship New York station Just Say Alexa playing Bloomberg eleven thirty.
Speaker 2: Welcome to Friday, an hour two of Bloomberg Sound On.
Speaker 2: I'm Joe Matthew in Washington alongside Kaylee Lines.
Speaker 3: She is with us. Now we made it to the
Speaker 3: end of the week. It's good to see you. I'm
Speaker 3: just trusting myself that it is Friday, because I thought
Speaker 3: that a few times over the last couple of days.
Speaker 3: It better be.
Speaker 2: Indeed, at least we got a speaker that got done
Speaker 2: and we heard from and saw the speaker in action.
Speaker 2: He sat down with Sean Hannity did an extended interview
Speaker 2: on Fox in which I learned probably more about Sean
Speaker 2: Hannity's views on things than the new speaker, But that's
Speaker 2: sometimes the.
Speaker 3: Way it goes.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but we're going to talk about a couple of
Speaker 2: the breadcrumbs he left for us here, beginning with a
Speaker 2: continuing resolution, Kaylee, this is the very thing that basically
Speaker 2: got Kevin McCarthy fired. That's correct, the short term bill
Speaker 2: that would keep the government from shutting down in this
Speaker 2: case on November seventeen. But it sounds like there could
Speaker 2: be some strings attached to this one.
Speaker 11: That was his suggestion. He acknowledged that he's working against
Speaker 11: a clock or they only have about three weeks or
Speaker 11: so to get something done. So it does seem like
Speaker 11: a continuing resolution, another stop gap measure is going to
Speaker 11: be what has to happen while they continue to try
Speaker 11: to pass single subject appropriations bills. And what he said
Speaker 11: was you got Byron Donald's and Chip Roy working things out,
Speaker 11: and there's going to be conditions. We don't exactly know
Speaker 11: what those might be. The Speaker last night suggested that
Speaker 11: they would be ones the American people could live with.
Speaker 11: But basically, Joe, there's going.
Speaker 3: To be a catch, that's right.
Speaker 2: It sounds like it not sure what that is. It's
Speaker 2: almost like you watch the interview.
Speaker 11: All forty one minute.
Speaker 9: We're going forward, a Chip and Byron are at the
Speaker 9: table with others. We're working through this with the ideas
Speaker 9: and trying to ensure that if another stopgap measure is required,
Speaker 9: that we do it with certain conditions. And I think
Speaker 9: there will be a conditions that the American people can
Speaker 9: live with and the consensus that we can build around
Speaker 9: here in the House.
Speaker 2: And so this is where we begin our conversation with
Speaker 2: Congressman Tim Burchett. He's back with us, the Republican from
Speaker 2: Tennessee's second district.
Speaker 3: Congressman. It's good to see it.
Speaker 2: You're probably really glad to be home after the throws
Speaker 2: of the last weeks here in Washington, d C. I'm
Speaker 2: sure you're glad to have a speaker. And I wonder
Speaker 2: to what extent we should read into certain conditions and
Speaker 2: what a package here might look like.
Speaker 12: I don't know if you want to read too much
Speaker 12: into all that. The reality is is that a continued
Speaker 12: resolution was original. I believe the history of it was
Speaker 12: under an emergency situation and then it just got abused
Speaker 12: by the swamp or whatever you want to call it
Speaker 12: both parties. This is an emergency, and I was going
Speaker 12: to say this could be an emergency.
Speaker 4: You know that we ran up against the barrier last time.
Speaker 12: If you remember, we took off as we've done under
Speaker 12: Democrats and Republicans, the whole month of August and two
Speaker 12: weeks into September, you know, and we pushed it right
Speaker 12: up against the September thirtieth deadline.
Speaker 4: So this is a little different.
Speaker 12: This speaker had just taken over, and obviously he's getting
Speaker 12: his feet wet up to about his the top of
Speaker 12: his hairline, I guess, but he I think he's done
Speaker 12: pretty well because yesterday passed a very tough appropriations bill.
Speaker 4: And it got through with.
Speaker 12: Overwhelming Republican support, which is something you didn't see under
Speaker 12: the prior speaker. So I think, as I've stated, you
Speaker 12: got a new sheriff in town. His name is Mike Johnson,
Speaker 12: and he's.
Speaker 11: Doing a good job indeed, and I would say he's
Speaker 11: not necessarily just getting his feet wet. He might have
Speaker 11: just been thrown right into the deep end. Congressman, as
Speaker 11: we talk about continuing resolution, which I know historically is
Speaker 11: something that or an idea, a concept, you haven't been
Speaker 11: ultra supportive of. What conditions would you need to see
Speaker 11: in order to vote yay on that bill.
Speaker 12: I'd like to see some borders, some real border security,
Speaker 12: not with the President's putting down more bureaucrats to allow
Speaker 12: illegal aliens to get further into our country and never
Speaker 12: show up at court, you know, just their permit. And
Speaker 12: i'd like to see some of these funding single issue
Speaker 12: funding bills, things like that, I mean, just on down
Speaker 12: the line. But I think I think he's going about
Speaker 12: at the right approach. He's asking us his opinion, our
Speaker 12: opinion and not telling us his opinion, and so I
Speaker 12: think that's a different style and leadership, something we're not
Speaker 12: used to. And I think i'm and it's some honesty
Speaker 12: too that we're not used to.
Speaker 2: Well, it sounds like you're going to have some conversations
Speaker 2: about the forum that this takes. As he says, Chip
Speaker 2: Roy and Byron Donald's are authoring something.
Speaker 3: I don't know how soon you think you're going to
Speaker 3: see it.
Speaker 2: But there's also a supplemental budget request worth more than
Speaker 2: one hundred billion dollars coming your way from the White House,
Speaker 2: and last evening, Speaker Johnson made it clear that he
Speaker 2: does not want to address Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan on the
Speaker 2: border all in one package. I'm going to let our
Speaker 2: listeners and viewers get a sense of this in his answer, Congressman,
Speaker 2: and hear your reply.
Speaker 3: Here's the Speaker.
Speaker 9: I told the staff the White House today that our
Speaker 9: consensus among House Republicans is that we need to bifurcate
Speaker 9: those issues. I agree with your assessment in Ukraine, and
Speaker 9: that's why the American people are demanding some real accountability
Speaker 9: for the use of those dollars. Now, we can't allow
Speaker 9: Vladimir Putin to prevail in Ukraine because I don't believe
Speaker 9: it would stop there, and it would probably encourage and
Speaker 9: empower China to perhaps make a move on Taiwan. We
Speaker 9: have these concerns, We're not going to abandon them. But
Speaker 9: we have a responsibility of stewardship, responsibility over the precious
Speaker 9: treasure of the American people, and we have to make
Speaker 9: sure that the White House is providing the people with
Speaker 9: some accountability for the dollars.
Speaker 2: So he said a lot there, Congressman, And I'd like
Speaker 2: to hear you speak to accountability when it comes to Ukraine.
Speaker 3: What that would look like.
Speaker 2: What kind of system can be put in place that
Speaker 2: might make you feel better about accountability and auditing maybe
Speaker 2: the money that's already been spent.
Speaker 3: But let's start with Israel.
Speaker 2: If the Republican Conference, if the speaker brings that to
Speaker 2: the floor as a standalone, knowing that the is it,
Speaker 2: the White House don't support it that way, do you
Speaker 2: worry that that would slow down potentially money getting to Israel?
Speaker 4: No, I don't you know.
Speaker 12: They already have pretty much on auto check three point
Speaker 12: eight billion dollars that we supply we've just sent over.
Speaker 12: It hasn't been much reported, and it's out in the
Speaker 12: public domain, so I can talk about it. But there's
Speaker 12: been two more of the Iron Dome implements have been
Speaker 12: sent to Israel that we had. We've got the Gerald,
Speaker 12: our four carrier group probably. I mean, that's the biggest,
Speaker 12: you know, that's the biggest dog in the park. You
Speaker 12: put that thing in the Mediterranean, everybody knows it's there,
Speaker 12: plus six more probably mercenaries on the ground everywhere, And
Speaker 12: so I think Israel knows where we are and the
Speaker 12: last thing they really want is our military presence on
Speaker 12: the ground. There boots on the ground in god So
Speaker 12: because of our rules of engagement and their rules are
Speaker 12: totally different.
Speaker 4: You know, our rules of engagement.
Speaker 12: At the end of Afghanistan got a bunch of people
Speaker 12: killed because they wouldn't take out a bomber, a suicide bomber.
Speaker 12: And I talked to the steiper who had him in
Speaker 12: his sites twice. What was told by you know, the
Speaker 12: war pimps at the Pentagon that he couldn't take this
Speaker 12: guy out. So Israel doesn't need that. But I think
Speaker 12: Israel knows who we are. But why would you, knowing
Speaker 12: that there's going to be an objection, why would the
Speaker 12: President of the United States allow that bill to come
Speaker 12: out with Ukraine money tied to it? Because he wants
Speaker 12: to put somebody in a political spot. And that's the
Speaker 12: only reason we've had. You know, we haven't been doing anything.
Speaker 4: We haven't.
Speaker 12: It's been probably the most productive twenty some odd days
Speaker 12: really if you want to look at overall outcome by
Speaker 12: electing Mike Johnson our speaker. But what's the Senate been doing?
Speaker 12: They haven't been doing anything. We haven't even seen this.
Speaker 12: They haven't even sent the bill over yet, so you know,
Speaker 12: it's just it's just politics as usual in Washington. Cut
Speaker 12: the bs. Send three different bills over. Send one with Ukraine,
Speaker 12: send one with border security, or so called congressman, send
Speaker 12: one with Israel. That's all you got to do. Three
Speaker 12: sheets of paper, and yet they want to politicize it
Speaker 12: and want to try to tie it up. They're the ones,
Speaker 12: I submit to you, They're the ones tie it up.
Speaker 12: Let's get the business, let's cut the garbage out and
Speaker 12: do what's right for the people of Israel.
Speaker 11: But Congressman, arguably the reason why the White House is
Speaker 11: trying to tie these together is because there is a
Speaker 11: certain resistance to you continuing to fund Ukraine within your
Speaker 11: party in the House of Representatives. Are you saying if
Speaker 11: the White House were to send three separate packages, that
Speaker 11: that Ukraine bill could pass on the House floor.
Speaker 12: Yeah, I mean all the Democrats had vote for it,
Speaker 12: and you probably you know, we had one hundred I
Speaker 12: don't know, one hundred and some odd votes I think
Speaker 12: in favor of Ukraine the last time something came through.
Speaker 4: That's stupid. Just send it over there. Separate. If they
Speaker 4: want to really pass it, do it separately.
Speaker 12: I would vote against Ukraine funding again because there again,
Speaker 12: it's not our war.
Speaker 4: Show me the reason we're over.
Speaker 12: There, if you know, if we're going to say that, look,
Speaker 12: we got dictators down in Central America that are abusing people.
Speaker 12: The Chinese are putting the Wiger population in concentration camps.
Speaker 4: Why are we not going to war with China over it?
Speaker 12: If we're If we're so ethically challenged on this front, ma'am,
Speaker 12: this is just policed.
Speaker 2: I'm not the guy with answers. But the administration says
Speaker 2: that if Vladimir Putin succeeds in Ukraine, and I know
Speaker 2: a lot of Republicans on the Hill agree with him,
Speaker 2: that it would be a national security problem for the
Speaker 2: United States and our allies in Europe. And is that
Speaker 2: part of the argument that you disagree with.
Speaker 4: I disagree with that premise.
Speaker 12: The GDP of Russia is somewhere between France and Canada.
Speaker 12: This is a European situation. Let them decide it. Europe
Speaker 12: needs to be kicking in more money.
Speaker 4: They're not.
Speaker 12: They The number two contributor to this whole thing in
Speaker 12: the beginning was Estonia. We were profiting off of both
Speaker 12: sides because of me, and we were fund excuse me,
Speaker 12: we were funding both sides of this war in the
Speaker 12: beginning because of.
Speaker 4: The oil situation.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 12: You know, this thing and the shady dealings have been
Speaker 12: going on between between them and people in Washington had
Speaker 12: been going on too long.
Speaker 4: And eventually we'll get to the bottom of it.
Speaker 12: It'll probably our grandkids that you know, have made for
Speaker 12: TV special or something, if TV is even around then.
Speaker 12: But I just it's a crooked country and they and
Speaker 12: and people are getting fat. I get too many reports
Speaker 12: of stuff from people that are there in Ukraine telling
Speaker 12: me that the stuff what.
Speaker 2: About the people who are starving, who are who are dying?
Speaker 2: That the civilian and death has been overwhelming, has it not?
Speaker 4: What about this?
Speaker 12: What about people dying in this country because we don't
Speaker 12: have the guts to preserve our own or our own board.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't want to get into it a what
Speaker 2: about conversation with you? We're just talking about Ukraine.
Speaker 12: No, I know that, but I'm just saying, you know,
Speaker 12: our priorities are out of whack. We we put the
Speaker 12: focus on Ukraine, and yeah, it's awful, but there's stuff
Speaker 12: going on all over the world that's awful. People are
Speaker 12: starving to death in Africa. We've got these dictators down
Speaker 12: in Central America. There's people that are that are being
Speaker 12: brutalized in Central America, Mexico for instance, on our borders.
Speaker 4: They're they're at the wheel of the cartels.
Speaker 12: People getting raped and murdered every day, and yet we're
Speaker 12: not doing anything about that.
Speaker 4: But we're all the way off.
Speaker 11: Congressman. Congressman, there's people being killed in bowling alleys just
Speaker 11: this past week. What should the response be to yet
Speaker 11: another mass shooting in the United States.
Speaker 4: It's a mental health issue.
Speaker 12: You've got a guy who apparently, from what I understand,
Speaker 12: got these guns.
Speaker 4: He was a.
Speaker 12: Reservist in our own military. There's obviously a problem there.
Speaker 12: Every The thing that ties into every one of these
Speaker 12: folks together is mental health issues. It's a mental health crisis.
Speaker 12: They could do it with a gun, they could do
Speaker 12: it with a knife, they could do it with an automobile.
Speaker 12: You remember, the one of the largest mass killings in
Speaker 12: this country, Oklahoma City, was done with ammonium nitrate fertilizer
Speaker 12: you could buy at Walmart literally, and diesel fuel and
Speaker 12: he killed over one hundred people. And so it's just
Speaker 12: a we've got a mental health issue in this country,
Speaker 12: and until we address that, this will continue. It'll just
Speaker 12: move into another avenue. We lose more people to drunk drivers,
Speaker 12: and then we have the mass shootings. But nobody's wanting
Speaker 12: outlaw alcohol or cars.
Speaker 11: All right, Congressmen will on the subject of things that
Speaker 11: are against the law, or at least people have been
Speaker 11: accused of breaking the law. Just yesterday, several of your
Speaker 11: colleagues from New York introduced an expulsion resolution for a Congressman,
Speaker 11: George Santos, who of course has been indicted on a
Speaker 11: number of counts. When that comes to the floor next week,
Speaker 11: would you vote to expel him?
Speaker 12: Probably not, ma'am. It's we've got a court of law.
Speaker 12: Let's let it work.
Speaker 4: It's it's let's let it work.
Speaker 12: You're still innocent until proven guilty, and you can have
Speaker 12: dozens of.
Speaker 4: Accusations you can indict.
Speaker 12: I remember old Democrat buddy of mine, who was a
Speaker 12: very prominent lawyer in Nashville and was a state senator
Speaker 12: as well. He just tell me, said, Tim, you can
Speaker 12: indict a cheese I am in cheese sandwich, and I
Speaker 12: never really thought anything of it, but I did, you know,
Speaker 12: an indictment is just an accusation until he goes to
Speaker 12: court and is found guilty. That's then that's another issue.
Speaker 12: But indictment is.
Speaker 3: Gus as some pretty wild accusations. Though for you is it?
Speaker 2: Is it a process issue? Would you feel the same
Speaker 2: way if you had a wider majority.
Speaker 12: No, I wouldn't change it one bit. It's I mean,
Speaker 12: and I'll be honest with George is my buddy. George
Speaker 12: is a friend of mine. You know, I I worry
Speaker 12: about folks.
Speaker 4: I don't. I've lost friends to suicide and other things.
Speaker 4: And you know, and and I don't.
Speaker 3: Wit to worry for for George Santos.
Speaker 4: No, but I don't. You never know. You never know.
Speaker 12: And I always said I always tell him, I say, George,
Speaker 12: you know, I tell the other guy.
Speaker 4: I've told other members of Congress.
Speaker 12: That both parties that have been going through indictments or
Speaker 12: troubles at home or or things. I say, you know,
Speaker 12: other kind. I'm a Christian. I'm not a very good one,
Speaker 12: but I worry about people. I worry about their soul.
Speaker 3: Congress. I appreciate the time.
Speaker 4: Sir I wish we had more of it.
Speaker 3: This is bloomber Thanks for listening to the Sound On podcast.
Speaker 2: Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already, at Apple,
Speaker 2: Spotify of anywhere else you get your podcasts, and you
Speaker 2: can find us live every weekday from Washington, d C.
Speaker 2: At one pm Eastern Time at Bloomberg dot com