Speaker 1: Now from our nation's capital. This is Bloomberg sound on
Speaker 1: the shift in strategy is a horrible one, is an
Speaker 1: immoral one, receives his only tool available is to brutalize
Speaker 1: individual citizens. Very simply, Ukraine drone Floomberg Sound on Politics,
Speaker 1: Policy and perspective from DC's top name. She supports no
Speaker 1: limits of any kind that is out of the mainstream.
Speaker 1: That is radical. No, Senator, I don't think it's okay
Speaker 1: for a ten year old girl to be raped and
Speaker 1: have to carry the seed of her rapist. Bloomberg Sound
Speaker 1: on with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. Vladimir Putin expands
Speaker 1: martial law in Ukraine and targets more civilians in another
Speaker 1: barrage of drone strikes. Welcome to the fastest hour in politics.
Speaker 1: As Washington condemns Russia's behavior, We're joined tonight by someone
Speaker 1: try to make a difference, actor, Mark Hamill. Yes, that
Speaker 1: Mark Hamill, who has agreed to help Ukraine as its
Speaker 1: new ambassador of drones, helping to raise money for the
Speaker 1: resistance of Fascinating conversation ahead you will not want to miss.
Speaker 1: Later midterm politics will check in with Bloomberg. Government's Emily
Speaker 1: Wilkins on the ground in Nevada tracking tight races for
Speaker 1: Senate and Governor. Will also bring you inside last night's
Speaker 1: Senate debate in Florida, which is still echoing here inside
Speaker 1: the Beltway. Our signature panel helps us make sense of
Speaker 1: it all. Bloomberg Politics contributors Jeanie Chanzano and Rick Davis
Speaker 1: with us for the hour and on this thirty fifth
Speaker 1: anniversary of Black Monday, the onslaught continues in Ukraine. The
Speaker 1: sound of drone strikes from Russia, Irani and Bronze aimed
Speaker 1: at civilian infrastructure, power and water facilities, targeted killing seventeen
Speaker 1: civilians since we last spoke yesterday, wounding twenty nine more
Speaker 1: of a Tollyklitchko is the mayor of Keivs. They destroyed
Speaker 1: our country, they destroyed hometown, They killed the Anouns. Right now,
Speaker 1: as Vladimir Putin extends martial law to the so called
Speaker 1: annexed areas of Ukraine, clamping down on movements, President Biden
Speaker 1: was asked about it today at the White House. Vladimir
Speaker 1: prudent finds himself in an incredibly difficult position, and what
Speaker 1: it reflects to me is it seems his only tool
Speaker 1: available to him is to brutalize individual citizens in Ukraine,
Speaker 1: Ukrainian citizens, to try to intimidate them into capitulating. They're
Speaker 1: not going to do that, thank you, not going to
Speaker 1: do that, he said, And of course that is what
Speaker 1: we are hearing from President Zelenski and Ukrainians who are
Speaker 1: now more than eight months into this war. As we
Speaker 1: discussed yes today, there is a debate that is emerging
Speaker 1: about how much financial support, how much weaponry the US
Speaker 1: and allies, but specifically the US should continue to provide Ukraine.
Speaker 1: And as we heard, there are concerns by some Republicans
Speaker 1: who expect to take control of the House in November,
Speaker 1: that the days of blank checks are about to end,
Speaker 1: considering the inflationary environment, talk of a recession. Other priorities
Speaker 1: here domestically, and it's part of the reason why we're
Speaker 1: seeing private fundraising kick in. Now United is a program
Speaker 1: that was launched by President Zelenski, launched by the government
Speaker 1: of Ukraine to help raise money in any number of areas.
Speaker 1: One of them is acquiring drones, and they've turned to
Speaker 1: none other than Luke Skywalker for help. Mark Hamill, the
Speaker 1: actor from Star Wars fame is now officially signed on
Speaker 1: as Ukraine's Ambassador of Drones, and I had a chance
Speaker 1: to talk about him, to go deeper inside how all
Speaker 1: of this began with Mark Hamill Listen, well, I appreciate
Speaker 1: you giving me the coverage because it's it's such a
Speaker 1: crucial thing. I mean, just to start at the beginning,
Speaker 1: my wife said, you've been contacted by President Zelenski, and
Speaker 1: I thought, am I being pranked by one of my
Speaker 1: merry band of friends. But once we realized it was true,
Speaker 1: I first I spoke to the people in his administration,
Speaker 1: and then they did a zoom with the president himself
Speaker 1: and he asked me to join United four, which is
Speaker 1: their fundraising platform. And there were different people being involved.
Speaker 1: Was Live Schreiber and imagine Dragons at Barbara streisand but
Speaker 1: we all had different areas. In my particular area was
Speaker 1: Army of Drones. I think they picked me because it
Speaker 1: sounds like another episode of are I figured that was
Speaker 1: no accident to have Luke Skywalker by the Ambassador of drones. Well,
Speaker 1: the thing is very simply, Ukraine needs drones and you
Speaker 1: know they define war outcomes. They they protect their land,
Speaker 1: their people. There they monitor the border, their their eyes
Speaker 1: in the sky. To donate, you go to you two
Speaker 1: four dot g O V dot U a forward slash
Speaker 1: drone nation d R O N A t I O
Speaker 1: N you two for dot gov dot you a forward
Speaker 1: slash dronation and not just we're not just looking for
Speaker 1: voluntary contributions, but if you have an actual drone that
Speaker 1: I was really shocked because I mean, they give me
Speaker 1: these updates at least two or three times a week
Speaker 1: about what's going on, and they said that they've received
Speaker 1: over five drums. So I started this, I know, because
Speaker 1: you've seen what's gone on in the last week. Russia
Speaker 1: launched on Monday, they launched an attack on Ukrainian capital
Speaker 1: using Iranian made shah Head drones. Thirty seven of the
Speaker 1: forty three drones were down and and six they say arrived.
Speaker 1: I bet you she means survived. I mean, I listen
Speaker 1: kama Kaze drones, you know, I mean, if it's if
Speaker 1: it's like it wasn't World War two, that means hit
Speaker 1: their target and explode. The drone itself is the weapon exactly.
Speaker 1: And it's just so disheartening to see them attacking civilian outlets,
Speaker 1: civilian targets, infrastructure, hitting children's playgrounds, schools. It's just awful.
Speaker 1: And I think after the Ukrainians bombed the Crimean Bridge
Speaker 1: it really irritated Putin and he's been particularly brutal since
Speaker 1: that happened. And you know, I think of this, it's
Speaker 1: not just the Ukraine's problem. I think the whole world
Speaker 1: UH should be aiding Ukraine because the entire civilized world
Speaker 1: is united against this hostile invasion by into a sovereign
Speaker 1: nation the likes of which I've never seen in my lifetime.
Speaker 1: I guess you have to go back to World War
Speaker 1: Two to figure out the last time something like this happened.
Speaker 1: So um, I was struck by your tweet of October one,
Speaker 1: and this is the first time I heard anything about
Speaker 1: your involvement here. It had the image of a lone
Speaker 1: X wing fighter colored blue and yellow, facing off with
Speaker 1: a fleet of star destroyers, and it had simply the
Speaker 1: words resist stand with Ukraine. Was this a personal thing
Speaker 1: for you, Mark? Absolutely? I mean the thing is, you
Speaker 1: sit and you watched the New Island news junkie, I
Speaker 1: read papers every day, I watched the news, and you
Speaker 1: feel so it seems so futile. I mean you can
Speaker 1: go what I feel so helpless? What can I do? Well?
Speaker 1: When I was contacted and asked to do this, I
Speaker 1: didn't have to think for a second. I mean, I'll
Speaker 1: do whatever they want me to do. And uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, and I hope you know over a hundred
Speaker 1: and fifteen countries have donated, which is why I think, Uh,
Speaker 1: it's it's such a David and Goliath situation. You talked
Speaker 1: about that poster with this little tiny X wing going
Speaker 1: up against this gigantic armada of star destroyers. It is
Speaker 1: Verry David and Goliath. So I mean, I like everyone assumed,
Speaker 1: I guess they invaded on the twenty four February, that
Speaker 1: they would be offered no resistance, that they just fold.
Speaker 1: I didn't know much about Ukraine at all. I I
Speaker 1: knew I knew about President Zelenski after the first impeachment
Speaker 1: is what robbed him on the radar screen. So I
Speaker 1: started like researching him and the country of Ukraine must
Speaker 1: be impressed. He as an actor. Yes, I didn't go
Speaker 1: to law school like he did, but do you know
Speaker 1: life imitates art and for him to portray this fictional
Speaker 1: character who winds up becoming then happen in real life.
Speaker 1: It's you know, that's that's that's that's a movie in
Speaker 1: and of itself. I have to ask you, Mark about
Speaker 1: the debate that's just emerging here in Washington, and it's
Speaker 1: not one that you're going to be glad to hear about.
Speaker 1: Maybe already have. But Kevin McCarthy, who wants to be
Speaker 1: the next speaker, says, if Republicans take over the House,
Speaker 1: basically we're going to have a second look at funding
Speaker 1: for Ukraine. He was telling a punch bowl that you know,
Speaker 1: this is not going to be a blank check. So
Speaker 1: I guess my question for you is, and we don't
Speaker 1: have to get political in this interview, is this going
Speaker 1: to be a private sector fundraising operation much like you're
Speaker 1: doing as we move forward? Well, I expect to continue
Speaker 1: until they say you're you're you're done. I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: not going to give up. But is this going to
Speaker 1: replace government funding from the US? I guess is my question? Look, Uh,
Speaker 1: it's impossible not to get political. The coalition that we
Speaker 1: have now are our Democrats, Independents, and reasonable Republicans that
Speaker 1: live in the fact based community, you know, because there's
Speaker 1: no evidence whatsoever. And I think of all the damaging
Speaker 1: things the former president did, one that will have reverberate
Speaker 1: into the future and affect us for years to come.
Speaker 1: Is this election denying things? I have Republican friends, I
Speaker 1: have independent friends, and we disagree on policy, but it
Speaker 1: didn't make us enemies. We're still friends. Now it's gotten
Speaker 1: so toxic? Is your next? No? No? I look, I
Speaker 1: always vote. I've never not voted up for some reason,
Speaker 1: even as a kid. I'm old enough to remember in
Speaker 1: grade school when Nixon was running against Kennedy and I
Speaker 1: didn't know any of the issues. I just knew one
Speaker 1: sort of beamed sunshine, had a great smile and made
Speaker 1: people laugh. He was funny. The other one loses, glowering,
Speaker 1: sort of scary by that reminded me of my one
Speaker 1: of the teachers I was afraid of at school. If
Speaker 1: we could get the eighteen to twenty five year old
Speaker 1: I don't know what percentage of them voted, I think
Speaker 1: it's around but whatever the number is, if you get
Speaker 1: at that up, five young people could rule the world.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think they've awoken a sleeping giant. Between
Speaker 1: the Dobb's decision getting rid of Rogue, the Wade and
Speaker 1: I've never seen an election where a threat to democracy
Speaker 1: is one of the top issues. Would you come to
Speaker 1: Washington to testify if if they asked you to on
Speaker 1: behalf of Ukrainian funding. Look, I'm going to do what
Speaker 1: they want me to do. I don't see the value.
Speaker 1: And I said to them, I said, you know, most
Speaker 1: people know because of my social media and so forth,
Speaker 1: that what my politics are. I mean, I was never
Speaker 1: an activist or a pundit in any way. And I
Speaker 1: mean I've been asked to be on um MSNBC and
Speaker 1: CNN before, but that was before this, and I always
Speaker 1: declined because I thought, you know, that's not my area
Speaker 1: and I should shut up. And I would say to
Speaker 1: people that, you know, people don't want me to campaign
Speaker 1: in their states and so forth. I said, look, it
Speaker 1: could backfire. I mean, the opposition will point me as
Speaker 1: an elitist Hollywood celebrity and and so I you know,
Speaker 1: I have to be very careful about that. But you know,
Speaker 1: like I say, I'm here to do whatever the Ukrainian
Speaker 1: government wants me to do. Well, you know, Vladimir Putin
Speaker 1: certainly knows who you are, which must be odd to
Speaker 1: think about. What's your message? To him. You know, that's
Speaker 1: funny that you should mention that, because it never occurred
Speaker 1: to me that he would. I mean, I guess now
Speaker 1: you're right. Uh. I just hope he finds a way
Speaker 1: to save face and you know, declare his version of
Speaker 1: victory so that he can stop. But you know that's
Speaker 1: you know, that's just the optimist though. I mean, there's
Speaker 1: got you've got to find hope where you can find it,
Speaker 1: and I would hope that there's a way to maneuver
Speaker 1: him into a situation where he can say, Okay, I've
Speaker 1: accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. But I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, you're talking to one of the wealthiest audiences
Speaker 1: that you'll find in American broadcasting. Here, we're un Mark,
Speaker 1: That's what they tell me at least, So so tell
Speaker 1: them what they can do now to make a difference. Well,
Speaker 1: like I say, I mean any amount of money. I mean, kids,
Speaker 1: give up that pint of Ben and Jerry's and send
Speaker 1: that ice cream money, or your wealthy viewers and listeners
Speaker 1: can send as much as they can afford to the
Speaker 1: website that I mentioned that United absolutely and and and
Speaker 1: as Mark said, you can donate money or you can,
Speaker 1: as they say, dronate a drone. I love that. I
Speaker 1: thought that was pretty good. Well, I mean that's my
Speaker 1: I'd have to tell you. When my kids are always
Speaker 1: complaining about my Twitter, they go, Dad, your your Twitter
Speaker 1: account is just so full of dad jokes? What are
Speaker 1: you talking about? Dad jokes? That I have three kids?
Speaker 1: And the one said obvious, The second one said full
Speaker 1: of ponds. The third one said not funny. It said,
Speaker 1: why you If it makes me laugh, it should make
Speaker 1: other people laugh, not just all the senior citizens. But
Speaker 1: you know you need to do what you can. Well,
Speaker 1: I just they couldn't have found a better ambassador, a
Speaker 1: better emissary, And we're delighted you came here to help
Speaker 1: deliver the message, and we're going to spread the word.
Speaker 1: Mark Hamill, I really appreciate you. Thanks. I appreciate Bloomberg
Speaker 1: giving me the the airtime because, like I say, it's
Speaker 1: a it's crucial that we all continue to do whatever
Speaker 1: we can to make this dreadful war come to an end.
Speaker 1: President Zelanski issued a statement upon your meeting, and there
Speaker 1: was a photograph of you guys talking there on the
Speaker 1: screen and the first line is, may the force be
Speaker 1: with you. Did he say that to you? Yes, Well,
Speaker 1: the thing is, I've always shocked. I mean I was,
Speaker 1: I was on the air with Jim Acossa. I had
Speaker 1: had no idea. It was a Star Wars nerd depression
Speaker 1: on the air, and I find it delightful. But you see,
Speaker 1: one of the things that I understand about that is
Speaker 1: that Star Wars was conceived as a fairy tale for children.
Speaker 1: George want to tell the story, he said, if he
Speaker 1: put it in reality would be so corny, you know.
Speaker 1: He brought back to the old westerns where the good
Speaker 1: guy wore a white hat, you know, And he thought,
Speaker 1: the only way to get away with this without people
Speaker 1: laughing it off the screen is to put in the
Speaker 1: galaxy far far away. Because it's it's it's it's it's
Speaker 1: The good is clearly defined, evil is clearly divined. And
Speaker 1: they're they're endlessly optimistic films. They're telling you that if
Speaker 1: you do the right thing for the right reasons, selflessly,
Speaker 1: not thinking about your own you know, not to help yourself,
Speaker 1: but to help everyone around you, you will see exceed
Speaker 1: And those are things that probably resonate with both Jim
Speaker 1: Acosta and Zelenski. They you know they're my son's age.
Speaker 1: They probably were six or seven years old when they
Speaker 1: saw those movies. So yeah, not only did he say that,
Speaker 1: but he referred to Russia as the evil Empire. Now
Speaker 1: how can you argue with that? Well, I was five
Speaker 1: and uh and I'm still watching him and Mark Hamill thinks.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you if I wasn't an actor, I'd love
Speaker 1: to have your job, because I told you I'm a
Speaker 1: news junkie. To get paid to follow what's going on
Speaker 1: in the world and interview people and write articles, it
Speaker 1: must be the best job in the world. It's well,
Speaker 1: I get to talk to people like you. It is
Speaker 1: pretty great. And you know this microphone is yours. Anytime
Speaker 1: you want to host this program. Thanks so much. I
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. Thank you so much, Mark Hamill for
Speaker 1: being with us, and good luck with this effort my pleasures.
Speaker 1: Do you think he'd fill in? I think we haven't
Speaker 1: fill in on the fastest hour in politics, Mark Hamill
Speaker 1: for you there only on Bloomberg Radio, an unlikely conversation
Speaker 1: with an unlikely ambassador at this time of war, and
Speaker 1: realizing not everyone agrees with his politics, I'm still glad
Speaker 1: we could bring you that interview. That's when you will
Speaker 1: not hear on the radio tonight anywhere else. We assemble
Speaker 1: our panel now having had our conversation with Mark Hamill
Speaker 1: and updating you on not only the effort here to
Speaker 1: help in Ukraine raise money for drones, among other things,
Speaker 1: but the terrible news from the last twenty four hours
Speaker 1: in Ukraine, this endless barrage of drones in the skies
Speaker 1: over cities like Kiev, another seventeen civilians killed, and now
Speaker 1: and expanded martial law is called by none other than
Speaker 1: Vladimir Putin in the areas he claimed to have annexed.
Speaker 1: Ginnie Schanzano is here. Rick Davis is to Bloomberg Politics
Speaker 1: contributors make up our signature handle Rick, this is a
Speaker 1: very difficult situation here, and it seems the more desperate
Speaker 1: Vladimir Putin gets as his troops lose ground, the more
Speaker 1: drones are going to be raining on Ukraine. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: we every day it seems we talk about, you know,
Speaker 1: how is Vladimir Putin? How do we keep him from escalating?
Speaker 1: And the reality is there's nothing we can do to
Speaker 1: keep him from escalating. This is his plan. Uh, it
Speaker 1: hasn't probably always been his plan. I'm I think he's
Speaker 1: probably in Plan C, D or E by now because
Speaker 1: the others have failed. But the reality is he's not
Speaker 1: going to stop killing people in the Ukraine until he
Speaker 1: gets what he wants. And the fact that he's turning
Speaker 1: Russian into terrorist state, he doesn't care. It's all about
Speaker 1: Vladimir Putin. And so the fact that the EU is now,
Speaker 1: you know, we've talked about secondary sanctions. Now they're going
Speaker 1: after I ran for a given uh you know, drones
Speaker 1: to uh to to Russia. I think that's a very
Speaker 1: good strategy. And anybody in between shipping companies that are
Speaker 1: moving them, and anybody who helps try and ship these
Speaker 1: things should be caught up in sanction regimes too. We've
Speaker 1: got to start shutting down Russia's access to outside equipment. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, Russia, we we talk all the time about, oh,
Speaker 1: we don't want to give them weapons, you know that
Speaker 1: would go into the Russian territory. What do you think
Speaker 1: these drones are coming from Iran? So I think we've
Speaker 1: got to start to change our minds on how we
Speaker 1: feel about escalation. When you see the images Genie there,
Speaker 1: it's a horror movie it's a horror show here. I mean,
Speaker 1: at what point do we say, you know what, whatever
Speaker 1: you want, whatever you want, we're gonna send it. Well,
Speaker 1: you know it's going to be increasingly difficult if in
Speaker 1: this election, and you mentioned this in your interview, Republicans takeover.
Speaker 1: And you know, we had Mike Pence out today reacting
Speaker 1: to Kevin McCarthy suggesting there's no more blank check for
Speaker 1: Ukraine if Republicans take over. Mike Pence pushing back on that,
Speaker 1: saying the Conservative movement can't be apologist or putin. But
Speaker 1: that is increasingly what we're seeing in the Republican Party
Speaker 1: and the polls reflect that as well. We've seen a
Speaker 1: drop off in support. And this is why I think
Speaker 1: your conversation with Mark Hamill was so important, because you know,
Speaker 1: as horrific as the images are, and you've talked about that,
Speaker 1: media coverage in the United States has dropped off a
Speaker 1: bit and support in the polls is dropping off a
Speaker 1: bit as well, and we may see that reflected and
Speaker 1: coming down the pike in the funding. So it's really
Speaker 1: important that you have conversations like this, and Joe Matthew,
Speaker 1: I have to ask you a question when you are
Speaker 1: a little kid and you watch Star Wars. Did you
Speaker 1: ever imagine you'd be talking to Luke Skywalker and he'd
Speaker 1: want your job. I'm just amazed by that. Technically I
Speaker 1: thought I was Luke Skywalker. So I guess it all
Speaker 1: comes together here and he should have this job. He
Speaker 1: seems pretty engaged in things, but he can't lose you,
Speaker 1: Joe Matthew co host. Fine, you two guys, let's be honest.
Speaker 1: Or are much more steeped in the politics of Washington
Speaker 1: than Mark Hamill ever would be while he's obviously engaged
Speaker 1: in the news and what's happening here. Rick, do you
Speaker 1: see this as a as a private fundraising movement that
Speaker 1: might replace government funding? No, Uh, there's no way that
Speaker 1: you could replace. There's just a billion dollars that you know,
Speaker 1: the government has already committed in its last trunch in May.
Speaker 1: So it's a good thing. Uh. And I applaud people
Speaker 1: like Mark Hamill to get involved with Ukraine and and
Speaker 1: and we should do everything we can to support that
Speaker 1: corporations and private individuals and charities and foundations. But the
Speaker 1: reality is that this is a geopolitical situation where the
Speaker 1: free countries of the world need to ensure that that
Speaker 1: Vladimir Putin's plan does not get achieved, and that is
Speaker 1: to not only subjugate Ukraine, but to subjugate the democracies
Speaker 1: all around the world who are at risk by Ukraine
Speaker 1: losing this war. You know, Genie, I wouldn't leave you
Speaker 1: like that, to be left with Luke Skywalker at the
Speaker 1: same time, I mean, it would be a pretty good option.
Speaker 1: I feel like, not he's not you, but you know
Speaker 1: he he would be okay, yes, of course, And indeed,
Speaker 1: stay with us the panels here all hour. We're gonna
Speaker 1: turn to domestic politics here coming up. Be careful who
Speaker 1: you talked to in this place, by the way, a
Speaker 1: hive of villany and the fastest hour in politics. We're
Speaker 1: gonna bring in Emily Wilkins next. Actually she's already there.
Speaker 1: It's called Las Vegas, Nevada politics. This is bloom booked.
Speaker 1: They both had the same job. They were both Attorney
Speaker 1: General in Nevada. Now they both want to be senator. Well,
Speaker 1: of course, she already is the senator from Nevada, Catherine
Speaker 1: Cortes Masto up against the Donald Trump endorsed Adam Laxall.
Speaker 1: Both held the job of a g one wants to
Speaker 1: keep coming to Washington, Laxalt I would like the same
Speaker 1: for the first time here, and it's been quite an
Speaker 1: ad war with a race that is too close to call.
Speaker 1: They stormed the capital because they were told the election
Speaker 1: was Stormer who helped push that line. Let's bring in
Speaker 1: one of the President's foot soldiers in the battle, Adam Lasol.
Speaker 1: Senator Cortez Masto undermining the federal investigation into Biden family corruption.
Speaker 1: Just a taste of what Bloomberg Government's Emily Wilkins is
Speaker 1: enduring every time she walks past a TV in the
Speaker 1: great city of Las Vegas. That's where she joins us
Speaker 1: right now. I'm just just guessing what the signs must
Speaker 1: be like, what the ads must be like. It's in
Speaker 1: the air, Emily, what are you seeing? I was watching
Speaker 1: the local news today. The ads are thick. And it's
Speaker 1: not just for the Senate race, obviously one of the
Speaker 1: most competitive Senate races we have right now, but you
Speaker 1: also got to remember, Joe, we have a competitive, competitive
Speaker 1: governor's race here, and we have three competitive House races
Speaker 1: now that has only got four seats. Three of them
Speaker 1: are considered very competitive cycle with incumbent Democrats really have
Speaker 1: to defend their record in a state that's been very
Speaker 1: hard hit, was hard hit by the pandemic, is still
Speaker 1: grappling with high gas prices, high rent prices. Economic concern
Speaker 1: is a really big deal here and Democrats are trying
Speaker 1: to figure out a way to message to voters so
Speaker 1: that they are able to hold onto their seats. But
Speaker 1: it's not it's not an easy task. It's been a
Speaker 1: pretty contentious debate here, as we just heard with a
Speaker 1: sampling of ads. Have they had a debate? Are they
Speaker 1: going to Emily? They haven't had debate. They're not going
Speaker 1: to have a debate. We saw to all the lawmakers.
Speaker 1: If this is happening kind of across the country right now,
Speaker 1: I know we're seeing a lot of debates, but we are.
Speaker 1: There are also so many where we're not seeing debates,
Speaker 1: or in things like Florida where it's like, okay, we
Speaker 1: saw one debate between the two senators, but that was
Speaker 1: the only one, and you're seeing that trickle down to
Speaker 1: house races as well. I think part of that is
Speaker 1: that you know you're we're in kind of this new
Speaker 1: eraw where candidates don't necessarily feel they need to talk
Speaker 1: to the media or go up on the debate stage
Speaker 1: to get their message chout that they can just much
Speaker 1: more closely drive the narrative by not doing anything except
Speaker 1: for their own media and own friendly press. But you know,
Speaker 1: it is, it is a trend worse thing, not just
Speaker 1: here in Nevada, but not really all over the country.
Speaker 1: But I think it speaks to just how contentious things are,
Speaker 1: uh in this particular race in between these two candidates,
Speaker 1: where his lax Alt been on the election denying issue
Speaker 1: as he backed off, that is, as this became a
Speaker 1: general election contest. I mean, lax it's very interesting because
Speaker 1: he's gotten support both from sort of the Trump wing
Speaker 1: of the party as well from Mitch McConnell and sort
Speaker 1: of the more mainstream Republicans, and so he's done what
Speaker 1: he's can to really appeal to both groups on that
Speaker 1: He's definitely tried to sort of downplay um any concerns
Speaker 1: about the election. But for Cortes Masso, it's something that
Speaker 1: she's really trying to push along with issues like abortion.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's the big one for for Democrats that
Speaker 1: I've seen while I've been down here. So no, I
Speaker 1: mean it is still something that that that could and
Speaker 1: is a factor in the overall race. But I think
Speaker 1: when you're talking to people about what sort of their
Speaker 1: top of mind issue is a lot of folks don't
Speaker 1: necessarily say that that it's the future of our democracy,
Speaker 1: despite the fact that that's, you know, something that I know,
Speaker 1: you and I and and many folks have studied the
Speaker 1: government closely. Are really watching right now? Yeah, of course,
Speaker 1: I see. Barack Obama made an endorsement in the governor's race,
Speaker 1: endorsing Governor cecilac against Joe Lombardo, who is backed by
Speaker 1: Donald Trump. Does this become an Obama Trump proxy? Tell
Speaker 1: us more about it. Well, it's very interesting because Obama
Speaker 1: announced today that he will be here on November first.
Speaker 1: He'll be here with the governor, with Senator Catherine Cortes Masto.
Speaker 1: They expect to have other down ballot Democrats as well.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if you saw all three of
Speaker 1: the current House Democrats defending their seats show up for
Speaker 1: that one. But you know, this is Obama coming. Biden
Speaker 1: did not come to Nevada, and he came out here
Speaker 1: to go to California and to go to Oregon. Did
Speaker 1: not show up in Nevada, and I think that really
Speaker 1: speaks to just the sentiment that's out there right now
Speaker 1: toward Biden and toward the job that he has done
Speaker 1: as president. Despite you know, him really sort of playing
Speaker 1: well on the campaign trail in certain areas, there are
Speaker 1: other areas of the country where you know, lawmakers aren't
Speaker 1: exactly clamoring to have him come. Fascinating, and it really
Speaker 1: speaks to the fact that you have to be there,
Speaker 1: you have to go there beyond the ground, like Emily is,
Speaker 1: to really understand what's going on. It's great to have
Speaker 1: you back, Emie. You back by Friday night or what
Speaker 1: I actually just got the trip excented till Saturday. Well,
Speaker 1: I will listen. I'm not without you, but we miss
Speaker 1: you here inside the bubble. Emily, thank you as always
Speaker 1: a friend of the program. And of course, Bloomberg Politics
Speaker 1: Congress reporter. Let's bring in the panel here for a moment,
Speaker 1: just to get some impressions as this is one of
Speaker 1: five Senate races rated as a toss up by the
Speaker 1: Cook Political Report, and of course that's you know, look,
Speaker 1: that's not the final word, but it does give you
Speaker 1: a sense here Nevada should be on your list of
Speaker 1: races to watch. Republicans from need a net gain of
Speaker 1: only one seat to take a majority in the Senate.
Speaker 1: Rick Davis and Jennie Chanzano are back with us here. Jeannie,
Speaker 1: what's your take on the Senate race, specifically here Cortez
Speaker 1: Mastow Adam lax All too close to call. It is
Speaker 1: too close to call, and you're absolutely right. You know,
Speaker 1: this is one of the top two races that people
Speaker 1: say potentially Republicans can flip Nevada in Georgia the two
Speaker 1: and then of they're trying to hold Pennsylvania. Those are
Speaker 1: the three most watch this cycle. And it is just
Speaker 1: way too close. I think real clear has Cortez Masso
Speaker 1: up to not where Democrats want to be right now.
Speaker 1: And you know, Emily's point is so important. Joe Biden
Speaker 1: staying away I think speaks volumes. I was also interested
Speaker 1: to hear her say she is hearing a lot on
Speaker 1: the ground about the issue of women's healthcare and abortion.
Speaker 1: So you know, even though it may not be the
Speaker 1: paramount issue, it is still there and something that Democrats
Speaker 1: are really hoping can keep them in that seat. Who
Speaker 1: decides this race Rick, is this independence again? Uh, you
Speaker 1: know independence, but I mean it's it's working classvoters, right,
Speaker 1: these are the ones that are the swing voters, and
Speaker 1: they're going to decide they outcome not just this race,
Speaker 1: but many others. That's gonna be Latino voters in many
Speaker 1: cases on the strip though, right, Well it's quite a
Speaker 1: mix of these days. But yeah, they're gonna vote heavy.
Speaker 1: We'll pick this up straight ahead with Rick and Jeannie.
Speaker 1: Not only the Nevada race. I want to go to Florida.
Speaker 1: Val Demming's pulled it out last night against Marc Ruby.
Speaker 1: Oh my god. We'll bring you in the room because
Speaker 1: we're watching, so you don't have to. This is Bloomberg.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg who sound on with Joe Matthew
Speaker 1: on Bloomberg Radio. There's a lot to be said for
Speaker 1: name recognition in politics, and when we look closely at
Speaker 1: this Senate race in Nevada, it's enjoyed by both candidates.
Speaker 1: Lack Salt's grandfather, Adam lack salts grandfather Paul, was both
Speaker 1: governor and Senator. Cortez Masto's dad, Manny, head of the
Speaker 1: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and was tight with
Speaker 1: a guy named Harry Reid. And you wonder as you
Speaker 1: fast forward to two what either of those legacies represent
Speaker 1: for people in Nevada. Of course, a transient community in
Speaker 1: many cases, a lot of people coming and going in
Speaker 1: a city like Las Vegas, and a lot of growth.
Speaker 1: People moving into Las Vegas or other parts of Nevada
Speaker 1: from various parts of the country might not have that history.
Speaker 1: Let's bring in Rick Davis and Jeanie Chanzano again, reassemble
Speaker 1: the panel for our final moments here on Bloomberg Sound on, Rick,
Speaker 1: to what extent does name recognition when you come from
Speaker 1: a political family like that, help you or hurt you
Speaker 1: in a race like this one? You know, I think
Speaker 1: it helps you. Initially, it helps you develop a team
Speaker 1: of supporters, professional staff. Uh. Donors are gravitated towards name
Speaker 1: I D early on. But once the campaign starts and
Speaker 1: those ads start to burn in, UH, your name I
Speaker 1: D is going to be caught up fast by anybody
Speaker 1: else in a race. So it's something you can buy.
Speaker 1: But if it's really positive. Paul Axalt left the state,
Speaker 1: left the political scene as an icon, and so that
Speaker 1: really is one of the best things about name idea.
Speaker 1: If you're a laxalt is it's positive as opposed to
Speaker 1: a little bit of Harry Reid rubbing off on Eugenie.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure how that how that impacts a Democratic vote.
Speaker 1: We're an independent one in this day and age. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it could be a mixed bag today. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: but like so many other professions, politics is something of
Speaker 1: a family legacy sport. At least I agree with Rick initially.
Speaker 1: It gets you sort of the name recognition, the funding
Speaker 1: out there you have, You're able to attract people to
Speaker 1: the campaign. There's a great deal of interest. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, there are a lot of years when we
Speaker 1: had choices for president and they were either Clinton or Bush,
Speaker 1: you know, and so we've all seen that in the
Speaker 1: United States. But that wears off, I think as the
Speaker 1: campaign goes on and they have to prove their metal.
Speaker 1: And I think one of the frustrations, quite frankly, for
Speaker 1: Democrats out in Nevada and in Washington in d C.
Speaker 1: Is that Cortez Masso is the incumbent and they expected
Speaker 1: her to be up more than she is. But granted
Speaker 1: it is a tough year for Democrats. Well, I want
Speaker 1: to ask you both about the situation in Florida's quite
Speaker 1: a debate last night, Congresswoman val Deming's up against Senator
Speaker 1: Marco Rubio, a race that we shouldn't even be talking
Speaker 1: about right now in the state of Florida. But it
Speaker 1: was quite a performance. And I'm not going to weigh
Speaker 1: in on who won or whatever. This may may have
Speaker 1: no impact on the race at all, but Valve Deming's
Speaker 1: raised a lot of eyebrows last night, having been clearly
Speaker 1: well prepared for this debate, but also just brought a
Speaker 1: very disarming sort of posture to the conversation. It wasn't
Speaker 1: a typical back and forth. Listen to Marco Rubio here
Speaker 1: going after val Deming's and he came loaded for bear
Speaker 1: as well. He had a lot of attack lines, a
Speaker 1: lot of things to criticize Demmings about, and she tended
Speaker 1: to be ready for all of it. She's been in
Speaker 1: Congress for over half a decade. She's never passed a bill,
Speaker 1: not PPP, not anything. Not a single bill she's passed
Speaker 1: as become law. I'm proud of the fact we say
Speaker 1: millions of jobs. I'm proud of the fact we did
Speaker 1: it in a bipartisan way. That's not true. I know
Speaker 1: the senator look and I'm really disappointed and you, Marco Rubio,
Speaker 1: because I don't I think there was a time when
Speaker 1: you did not lie in order to win. I don't
Speaker 1: know what happened to you. You know that it is
Speaker 1: not true. My first term in the in the United
Speaker 1: States House, I passed legislation to help law enforcement officers
Speaker 1: certain mental health programs. Now this and in many of
Speaker 1: these exchanges, Val Demming's turns all the way to her
Speaker 1: right and looks directly at Marco Rubio, who's looking straight
Speaker 1: ahead at the camera. Now, I've got a couple of
Speaker 1: questions for both of you. I will set the sort
Speaker 1: of baseline here. According to Real Clear Politics, Rubio is
Speaker 1: up almost five points in the poll of polls. This
Speaker 1: is Marco Rubio country, right. But I wonder if if
Speaker 1: this debate moved the needle for you, Rick Um. You know,
Speaker 1: it's hard to say that the issues weren't a surprise.
Speaker 1: They've been debated for quite some time. I do think
Speaker 1: anything that Val Demings could do to get noticed. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's unfortunate that this campaign was interrupted by Hurricane in
Speaker 1: and and devastation it brought and everything got put on
Speaker 1: a hold. Uh. And and when you're the challenger, you
Speaker 1: don't like that. That's an unfortunate set of circumstances. So
Speaker 1: she was clearly under pressure to use this debate to
Speaker 1: get back in this game and try and get people's
Speaker 1: attention on her. And I would say that the mention
Speaker 1: you said about looking at Marco Rubio, I think when
Speaker 1: you are trying to communicate with voters and have a
Speaker 1: conversation with him, you gotta look at the camera. They
Speaker 1: don't understand that you're looking sideways at another candidate standard
Speaker 1: on this stage. So that wasn't good for you. You You
Speaker 1: wouldn't if you're if you're preparing a candidate, Rick, you
Speaker 1: tell them you keep your eyes trained on that camera,
Speaker 1: don't engage the person to your left or right. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you have so few opportunities to talk directly to voters, Uh,
Speaker 1: during a campaign, it's not muted by some kind of
Speaker 1: media interference. And so here's you got a whole hour
Speaker 1: to have a conversation with voters and you're looking in
Speaker 1: the other way. And it's just I would never advise that.
Speaker 1: What was your thought on on that? The sort of
Speaker 1: optics of that debate Genie and was this just an
Speaker 1: interesting hour of television or something that actually factors into
Speaker 1: the race. You know, I thought the debate overall was
Speaker 1: pretty substantive, and I actually liked the debate format itself
Speaker 1: because it felt like they really actually engaged each other.
Speaker 1: You know, it did get down to calling each other
Speaker 1: liars and other other things, but you know, it didn't
Speaker 1: seem as much of an interview as some of these
Speaker 1: debates seem. It really did seem like they debated. And
Speaker 1: I thought Val Demming's you know, this is a this
Speaker 1: is another hard race for Democrats. It's a red state.
Speaker 1: You know, all of the numbers show that Marco Rubio
Speaker 1: has been up and likely will you know, maintain his seat.
Speaker 1: But she came out very strong. And you know, in
Speaker 1: a campaign, when you're on the defensive, it's usually means
Speaker 1: you're losing. And I have to say, during much of
Speaker 1: this debate, Marco Rubial felt to me like he was
Speaker 1: on the defensive. Whether it came to an issue like
Speaker 1: climate change, or it came to an issue like abortion,
Speaker 1: or it came to an issue like guns. She really
Speaker 1: really held her her strength there in all of those cases.
Speaker 1: So you know, I think that Marco Rubio has got
Speaker 1: to be a little bit shaken by what happened, and
Speaker 1: I think she's got to feel very, very good. But
Speaker 1: you know, whether it's enough is a big question. Well,
Speaker 1: sometimes that's just the wake up call you need to write.
Speaker 1: Even as a front runner UH. The issue of abortion
Speaker 1: indeed was resonating in the hall, a lot of questions
Speaker 1: about Marco Rubio's UH wishes here and whether he actually
Speaker 1: supports exceptions to the law. On the issue of exceptions,
Speaker 1: I'm being attacked on a bill that has exceptions. It's
Speaker 1: written right in there. My name is on that bill.
Speaker 1: My name is on that bill. There's a reason why
Speaker 1: no bills are ever introduced without exception that because I
Speaker 1: because that can't pass without that in there. And I
Speaker 1: understand and recognize it, and that's why I have continued
Speaker 1: to support bills that have exceptions. But she supports no
Speaker 1: of any kind that is out of the mainstream. That
Speaker 1: is radical, said, how gullible do you really think Florida
Speaker 1: votas are? Number One, you have been cleared that you
Speaker 1: support no exceptions, even including rape and incests. As a
Speaker 1: police detective who investigated cases of rape and incests, no Senator,
Speaker 1: I don't think it's okay for a ten year old
Speaker 1: girl to be raped and have to carry the seed
Speaker 1: of her rapists. I'm assuming that line from Val Demming's
Speaker 1: was prepared in advanced rick is that is that the
Speaker 1: right way to go in a debate that brings you
Speaker 1: into people's living rooms at night. Yeah. Look, Marco Rubio
Speaker 1: is a very canny politician, right, Uh, he can be
Speaker 1: on both sides of this issue, and he was in
Speaker 1: this debate where he personally uh supports life inception and
Speaker 1: doesn't want to back off of that except that he'll
Speaker 1: he'll admit to uh sponsoring and supporting legislation that gives exceptions.
Speaker 1: So you know, it's very hard to tie that down.
Speaker 1: But I think, you know, Demings did a good job
Speaker 1: of sort of demogoguing it to the point where this example,
Speaker 1: which has so many people have already heard about, of
Speaker 1: a ten year old girl, you know, being forced to
Speaker 1: have carry a child a term you know from a rapist.
Speaker 1: You know that just that just fives people's sensibilities. And
Speaker 1: to be on the other side of that, Marco Rubio
Speaker 1: did the right thing and just didn't respond at all.
Speaker 1: That is that I mean, what else can you do, Genie,
Speaker 1: This is such a difficult conversation. It's it's hard to
Speaker 1: have on the air. It's hard to do it on
Speaker 1: TV in front of people you are trying to win over.
Speaker 1: It is, and it's an incredibly difficult issue. And one
Speaker 1: thing I thought she did really well is something some
Speaker 1: Democrats haven't been doing in the last few weeks is
Speaker 1: making the issue of abortion personal. It's not enough to
Speaker 1: talk about it as something was taken away by the
Speaker 1: Supreme Court where there was some change somewhere. You've got
Speaker 1: to talk about these horrible kinds of cases, as difficult
Speaker 1: as they are, and make it real to people. You know,
Speaker 1: the President was out yesterday talking about abortion and about
Speaker 1: he's promising to put forward legislation next year if possible,
Speaker 1: but even he didn't go to those stories. And unfortunately,
Speaker 1: that's the very type of thing you've got to do
Speaker 1: to make it real to people what this actually means
Speaker 1: and what's at stake in this election. And I think
Speaker 1: she did that well. And Rubio again had no answer.
Speaker 1: He basically was arguing, it's not going to pass the legislature,
Speaker 1: so it's not an issue, but it is an issue,
Speaker 1: and it's his position on the issue that matters, and
Speaker 1: she held him to that. Genie Chanzano and Rick Davis
Speaker 1: our signature panel here on Bloomberg Sound on great insights.
Speaker 1: As always, these are two people not afraid to talk
Speaker 1: about anything, which is why, of course you're with us
Speaker 1: here every night. And on this thirty fifth anniversary of
Speaker 1: Black Monday, can you get over that? Thirty five years
Speaker 1: we spent a lot of time obsessing over losses these
Speaker 1: days on Wall Street and it has been painful, but
Speaker 1: my goodness to put that in perspective, the fact that
Speaker 1: we lost over that day, if that happened today, it
Speaker 1: would be for seven thousand points on the Dow. And
Speaker 1: with a little perspective here, as we go back to
Speaker 1: that very day, someone close to our hearts here as
Speaker 1: the home now of Wall Street Week, lou Ruth Kaiser
Speaker 1: spoke to America that night that evening. I'm Louis lu Kaiser.
Speaker 1: This is Wall Street Week. Welcome back. Okay, let's start
Speaker 1: with what's really important tonight. It's just your money, not
Speaker 1: your life. Everybody who really loved you a week ago
Speaker 1: still loves you tonight, and that's a heck of a
Speaker 1: lot more important than the numbers on a brokerage statement.
Speaker 1: The Robbins will sing, the crocuses will bloom, and we'll
Speaker 1: all wake up and see the sun tomorrow