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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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Speaker 2: Joining us now live here in our Washington bureau is

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Speaker 2: Mark Short, the former chief of staff to Vice President

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Speaker 2: Mike Pence, Republican strategist. Market's great to have you. You've

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Speaker 2: heard this whole conversation, and we were just watching the

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Speaker 2: president together here. The link between Thailand, al and autism

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Speaker 2: and children is being delineated by this White House. What

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Speaker 2: will be the response from the President's base a boycott

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Speaker 2: of Thailandol.

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Speaker 1: I'm not so sure that'll be the case. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I think that there's obviously been a rise in cases,

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Speaker 1: and it's good the administration is trying to get to

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Speaker 1: the bottom of it. I happen to believe it's probably

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Speaker 1: because we're better at diagnosing the problem today, and so

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Speaker 1: when you make a comparison to Cuba, they probably don't

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Speaker 1: have the ability to diagnose cases. And I think the

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Speaker 1: reality is for a lot of expectant moms and parents,

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Speaker 1: they probably didn't take a second to say. I mean,

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Speaker 1: the HHS secretary of somebody who has boasted about his

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Speaker 1: heroin addiction and taking that instead of ADHD medicine in college,

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Speaker 1: he tells people to drink raw milk, and he still

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Speaker 1: boasts about taking testoster on injections at seventy So I

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Speaker 1: would imagine that a lot of expected parents would probably

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Speaker 1: look at that and say, you know, maybe this is

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Speaker 1: not the person I should be taking my healthcare advice from.

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Speaker 2: Wow, okay Mark.

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Speaker 3: If there is significant backlash here, do you see the

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Speaker 3: president splitting with his AGS secretary? In other words, R A.

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Speaker 3: RFK Junior still have the president's here.

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Speaker 1: I think that the President is quick to dismiss people

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Speaker 1: if he begins to feel there in albatross to him.

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Speaker 1: I don't know that this will be that. I do

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Speaker 1: think that there's probably other incoming from a lot of

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Speaker 1: things that RFK Junior is looking to do. When it

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Speaker 1: comes to I think telling you what you can eat

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Speaker 1: and drink, I think that in many cases, you know,

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Speaker 1: Republicans were those who opposed Michael Bloomberg's efforts to tell

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Speaker 1: people to get away with from speaking SODA's and you know,

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Speaker 1: Sarah Palin went to the convention and brought her big

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Speaker 1: gulp and said, you know, I stand by my big gulp.

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Speaker 1: And then Republicans stood against Michelle Obama's efforts to tell parents,

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Speaker 1: you know, what they're allowed to feed their children, and

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Speaker 1: so I think a lot of this is going to

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Speaker 1: eventually create enough of a pushback. They're pokes and be like,

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Speaker 1: you know, this is what happens when you nominate a

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Speaker 1: lifelong Democrat who also happens to be the most pro

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Speaker 1: abortioned person ever to lead HHS. Wow.

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Speaker 2: The language from the President today was interesting, and we

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Speaker 2: should note that Michael Bloomberg is the founder chairman of

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Speaker 2: Bloomberg LP. You know what it's like to prepare an

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Speaker 2: elected official to make a major announcement in front of

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Speaker 2: the media, to roll out a new program. The language

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Speaker 2: that's required in sort of claiming the authority and credibility

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Speaker 2: of the moment. When you hear Donald Trump talking about

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Speaker 2: this is based on what I feel. He said, that's

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Speaker 2: my opinion about the NMR vaccines. Should this have been

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Speaker 2: more fully baked in the communications office?

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Speaker 1: Well yes, But at the same time, I think that

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Speaker 1: one of the appealing parts of President Jump to a

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Speaker 1: lot of oters is that he does speak from the hips,

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Speaker 1: so that is part of it. Think what people understand

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Speaker 1: they're getting from him. I do think as well. He

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Speaker 1: often beta test announcements. So we'll see how this plays

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Speaker 1: and If it's a negative reaction, I think you'll see

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Speaker 1: him backtrack from it. If it's a positive reaction, I

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Speaker 1: think you'll see him dig in further.

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Speaker 2: Allowing himself the ability to back out with this is

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Speaker 2: based on what I feel.

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Speaker 1: I think he've witnessed enough after the last eight years

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Speaker 1: or so that he has an enormous ability to backtrack

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Speaker 1: out things, even when it seems like he's taking a

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Speaker 1: pretty definitive stance.

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Speaker 3: Mark Charlie Kirk's funeral was held last night at State

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Speaker 3: Farm Arena in Phoenix, and we heard his widow say

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Speaker 3: that she forgives his killer. At the same time the

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Speaker 3: President said he hates his enemies. Can both things be true?

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Speaker 1: Well, I think it was a remarkable testimony by Erica Kirk.

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Speaker 1: I think that the amount of grace that she demonstrated

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Speaker 1: in that moment, I just think is remarkable. And I

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Speaker 1: think that she deserves an enormous amount of credit and

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Speaker 1: support for that. And she'll be raising two children without

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Speaker 1: a dad. I think that part of President Trump's has

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Speaker 1: always been that people view him as a fighter, and

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Speaker 1: for a lot of Republicans, they elect him because they

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Speaker 1: wanted him to come to DC. And you know, turn

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Speaker 1: the tables upside down and to fight what is DC.

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure was the appropriate venue for that in

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Speaker 1: light of what Erica Kirk's comments are, but I also

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Speaker 1: think that's who Trump is, and.

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Speaker 2: I want to bring everyone in the room for that moment.

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Speaker 2: It happened on a Sunday in Phoenix. Here's President Trump

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Speaker 2: from yesterday. On that terrible day September tenth, twenty twenty five,

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Speaker 2: our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal. He's a

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Speaker 2: model now for American freedom. We have to stop in

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Speaker 2: such a busy news cycle market to acknowledge the unprecedented

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Speaker 2: nature of that event. I mean, you had almost the

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Speaker 2: entire presidential cabinet speaking there, including the Chief of Staff,

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Speaker 2: Susie Wilds, the President of course there Charlie Kirk's widow,

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Speaker 2: as Kate, has established the important of that event. In

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Speaker 2: terms of closure, I'm curious where your head is right now,

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Speaker 2: because a couple of days ago it was a blame game.

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Speaker 2: The President said we need to beat the hell out

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Speaker 2: of the radical left, and people, in many cases fear

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Speaker 2: we were on the precipice of more violence. What did

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Speaker 2: yesterday serve to the Nation.

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Speaker 1: Well, I think in a pretty young career, Charlie Kirk

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Speaker 1: did a remarkable job because for many years conservatives have

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Speaker 1: complained about the imbalance on college campuses, and he identified

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Speaker 1: that problem and looked to build outreach. And I think

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Speaker 1: what he built was pretty phenomenal in a short amount

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Speaker 1: of time. And I think in many cases, as you

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Speaker 1: heard Suzy wild said, credited much of the young male

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Speaker 1: vote that went to to Donald Trump. So it is

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Speaker 1: a remarkable moment, but there were remarkable circumstances. I think

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Speaker 1: at the same time, though there has been a lot

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Speaker 1: of different messaging. I think that as the President looked

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Speaker 1: to go after Disney and Jimmy Kimmel, and I know

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Speaker 1: there's news on that even as in the last hour

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Speaker 1: or so, But I think for conservatives for so long

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Speaker 1: we look to limit the power of the FCC. It

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Speaker 1: was the Democrats to expand the power. If you go

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Speaker 1: back to the nineteen eighties, it was the Republicans that

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Speaker 1: they were looking to push back on it and to

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Speaker 1: eliminate some of the ability they had to have the

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Speaker 1: fairness doctrine, and many people believe it gave rise to

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Speaker 1: Rush Limbaugh. Republicans should be looking to I think candidate.

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Speaker 1: In today's world, what's the purpose of the FCC The

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Speaker 1: nineteen thirties was really different it today. People can get

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Speaker 1: their communications in all sorts of ways. We should be

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Speaker 1: looking to eliminate that agency, as opposed to saying the

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Speaker 1: FCC should have the power to tell ABC who they

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Speaker 1: should put on the network and who they should put

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Speaker 1: on network.

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Speaker 3: Mark, you mentioned Jimmy Kimmel the news that he's returning

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Speaker 3: tomorrow night to ABC. What's the takeaway from this. Did

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Speaker 3: Jimmy Kimmel prevail here? Or did the president just establish

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Speaker 3: that he has the final say over free speech?

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Speaker 1: I don't know that it's that. I think that I

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Speaker 1: might disagree the decision. I feel like from a private company,

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Speaker 1: I think Jimmy Kimmel said and done enough that they

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Speaker 1: should have removed him. But that decisionship belong with ABC

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Speaker 1: and viewers across America make their decision whether they tune

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Speaker 1: him in or tune him out. That should not be

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Speaker 1: the heavy hand of government try to decide, you know,

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Speaker 1: what a private company airs interesting.

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Speaker 2: So he'll be back tomorrow. Does he come in hot

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Speaker 2: or does he does he behave in a different different

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Speaker 2: manner because of Donald Trump.

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Speaker 1: I have to believe he'll comme on because he'll drive ratings. Right,

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Speaker 1: I guess, so you're in the business. I'm not, but

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Speaker 1: I would out to think that. See what works.

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Speaker 2: We'll meet back here the day after.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, Mark for being with us. Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 3: Mark Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike

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Speaker 3: Pence and Republican strategists. Thank you