Speaker 1: Now from our nation's capital. This is Bloomberg's sound on
Speaker 1: the American people are looking for progress right now. They're
Speaker 1: looking for action. We want secure and safe schools, and
Speaker 1: we want gun laws that won't make it so easy
Speaker 1: for the bad guys to get these Damn Guy. Bloomberg's
Speaker 1: sound on politics, policy and perspective from DC's top Names,
Speaker 1: Urban Magic Johnson and I'm so proud to endorse my
Speaker 1: friend camp Hi, I'm Gwyneth Paltrow. I am endorsing my
Speaker 1: old friend Rick Caruso for mayor. Bloomberg Sound On with
Speaker 1: Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. The biggest primary day of
Speaker 1: the cycle has arrived. Welcome to the fastest hour in
Speaker 1: politics as we follow key races from California to New
Speaker 1: Jersey that will help set the stage for the mid
Speaker 1: term elections. Bloomberg's elections guru Greg Giro joins us in
Speaker 1: just a Moment with what you need to know tonight
Speaker 1: as we lead into tomorrow morning. Later on, President Biden
Speaker 1: meets with the Democrat leading gun legislation talks in the Senate,
Speaker 1: as the White House invites Matthew McConaughey to help make
Speaker 1: the case we'll have the latest on a possible compromise
Speaker 1: from Bloomberg Government's Emily Wilkins and analysis from our panel.
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Politics contributors Jeanie Chanzano and Rick Davis are with
Speaker 1: us for the hour. We step out of Washington to
Speaker 1: start the hour because people are voting right now in
Speaker 1: seven states across the country, the busiest day in the
Speaker 1: cycle before the general election, and we've got a close
Speaker 1: eye on California we have for a couple of days
Speaker 1: here along with several other states that Bloomberg's Greg giro
Speaker 1: is writing about. Says it will help decide nominees for
Speaker 1: almost one fifth of the four dred and thirty five
Speaker 1: House districts. So let's call it super Tuesday. Can we
Speaker 1: say that Greg's got a comprehensive right up and I
Speaker 1: encourage you to find it on the terminal. Make it
Speaker 1: sound smart at the cocktail parties later, Greg Giroux, welcome back,
Speaker 1: Happy primary day. We're gonna get to the l A
Speaker 1: mayor's race, which has apparently divided Hollywood. I'm hearing, but
Speaker 1: I want to start with a Republican member of Congress
Speaker 1: who could be endangered, and there's a Trump connection. David
Speaker 1: Valadeo the son of immigrants. He's a farmer with deep
Speaker 1: roots in the Central Valley. David Valadeo among ten Republican
Speaker 1: members who voted to impeach Donald Trump in January and
Speaker 1: the first to face primary voters, at least among those
Speaker 1: seeking reelection. Graduo is he the canary in Trump's coal mine.
Speaker 1: It's definitely a district to look at. California has fifty
Speaker 1: two districts, more than any other state, and the other
Speaker 1: I have what's known as a top two primary, where
Speaker 1: everybody runs on one ballot, Democrats, Republicans, candidates and other parties,
Speaker 1: and I can read some mischief and confusion. And the
Speaker 1: problem for the challenge for the Republicans in that district
Speaker 1: and at least one other district, is that the Democrats
Speaker 1: have one candidate, but the Republicans have several. David Valadeo
Speaker 1: has a challenger on his right who's very running as
Speaker 1: a Trump aligned Republican. Although the former president has stayed
Speaker 1: unusually quiet about this race. I was going to ask
Speaker 1: you about that. You've got two Republicans challenging him, right,
Speaker 1: the former City council and Chris mathis Education Board trustee
Speaker 1: Adam Madeiros neither endorsed by Trump. What happened to the retribution? Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a good question. I think, um it may have
Speaker 1: something to do with the fact that m Valadeo represents
Speaker 1: a district that's next door to Kevin McCarthy's, and it
Speaker 1: may be the case that McCarthy prevailed on the former
Speaker 1: president or his advisors that this district, which leans Democratics,
Speaker 1: an anti Trump district. It's probably the only It's a
Speaker 1: district where David Valadeo, who has crossover appeal, is probably
Speaker 1: the only Republican who could win that district. This is
Speaker 1: gonna be though a bit of a foreshadowing for the others.
Speaker 1: I think there are six if I remember, seeking re
Speaker 1: election who voted Republicans that is to impeach. That's right,
Speaker 1: you have six of them. You had ten total, and
Speaker 1: six of them are seeking re election, and David valaday
Speaker 1: was the first to face the voters. Fascinating. These are
Speaker 1: some of the races you might not be hearing as
Speaker 1: much about in in mainstream election coverage. So we want
Speaker 1: to bring it to you, and I really hope the
Speaker 1: best that person behind you, Greg. I'm starting to worry
Speaker 1: a little bit um the mayor's race. We've got to
Speaker 1: talk about this. It's a fascinating one because we read
Speaker 1: it his divided Hollywood, and how can you go wrong
Speaker 1: with a story like this. Celebrity endorsements sunned both sides
Speaker 1: here as we consider the way this has unfolded with
Speaker 1: Rick Caruso and Representative Karen Bass. We've talked about the
Speaker 1: money Caruso dropping thirty four million dollars two Karen basses too,
Speaker 1: but it's the battle of the endorsements Greg that is
Speaker 1: really cut my attention here, my goodness, listen to Kim
Speaker 1: kardash you. The election is coming up, and I just
Speaker 1: wanted to share my thoughts on Rick Carew. So I
Speaker 1: think that he um really can help with the crime
Speaker 1: in our city, which is such a big issue and
Speaker 1: super scary, but also the homeless issue. It's it's such
Speaker 1: a problem. You're going to hear that, by the way,
Speaker 1: and almost all of these for both candidates crime, homelessness.
Speaker 1: We set you up for this already. On the other side,
Speaker 1: for and I'm not trying to compare celebrities here, I mean,
Speaker 1: my goodness, there are several on each side. I'm Irvan
Speaker 1: Magic Johnson and I'm so proud to endorse my friend
Speaker 1: cam Bass to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: I've been so blessed to know Karen and work with
Speaker 1: her for over twenty seven years. Greg, I could play
Speaker 1: these all hour. The number of celebrities who have gotten
Speaker 1: involved in this race is remarkable, and some of them
Speaker 1: might stump you. I mean, you've got Gwyneth Paltrow going
Speaker 1: for Caruso, the Republican turned Democrat. What's going on here? Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's called a motley crew of people who have decided
Speaker 1: to endorse either the major candidates there, Crusoe Invtance, you mentioned, Kardashian, Peltrew,
Speaker 1: Elon Musk has praised the Crusoe, Wolfgang Puck, maybe even
Speaker 1: Snoop Dog. It's quite quite a group of Oh Snoop
Speaker 1: is Caruso as well? Right? I think? So? Yeah, It's
Speaker 1: kind of hard to keep track of all of but
Speaker 1: but certainly I think if we'd ever see anything like this,
Speaker 1: it would be in a Los Angeles race. And um, yeah,
Speaker 1: you mentioned Crusoe's big spending of money. Karen Bass um
Speaker 1: not as much, although she has a long record as
Speaker 1: an office holder, former Assembly speaker in California and as
Speaker 1: a member of Congress in the Los Angeles area. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and you know, I see Adam Schiff Nancy Pelosi to
Speaker 1: those kind of endorsements matter in this race, in a
Speaker 1: citywide race. Oh it could, I mean it can. You know,
Speaker 1: It's kind of like a nice good housekeeping seal. It
Speaker 1: can help, you know, deliver some money. Um. I don't
Speaker 1: know how many votes it will actually bring in favor
Speaker 1: for the candidate, but it's uh, it's certainly hurt helps
Speaker 1: more than hurts. We'll listen to the way Karen bass
Speaker 1: is framing Rick Caruso, her challenger in this race. What
Speaker 1: do we know about Rick Caruso? We know he was
Speaker 1: a registered Republican for decades, and not just any kind
Speaker 1: of Republican. Caruso served as a senior advisor to President Trump,
Speaker 1: It's true. And now he's taking a page straight from
Speaker 1: the Trump playbook and another Trump connection here, Greg, is
Speaker 1: that fair in the ad by the way? Uh? Well, um,
Speaker 1: I'm not too familiar with Caruso's background enough to to
Speaker 1: know that, but he does. I do know that he
Speaker 1: was previously registers of Republican. I don't know that that
Speaker 1: end of his Trump ties. But Los Angeles is so
Speaker 1: overwhelmingly Democratic that any uh, you know, certainly any past
Speaker 1: Republican ties. I think, you know, a Democrat would like
Speaker 1: to uh tie to that candidate. Although you know, I
Speaker 1: think what Caruso is trying to do is uh try
Speaker 1: and win in the same way that Richard Reardon did
Speaker 1: three decades ago, kind of a wealthy, modert Republican businessman
Speaker 1: spent a lot of money on the race at a
Speaker 1: time when crime was a big issue as it is
Speaker 1: today in Los Angeles. We'll see though, Um the Laze
Speaker 1: polls I've seen have um pass and cruise of both
Speaker 1: both around the thirties, and so this is gonna be
Speaker 1: real close. I think it should be. Well, you mentioned crime,
Speaker 1: as I mentioned crime and homelessness in every one of
Speaker 1: these endorsements is mentioned at some point and in some form.
Speaker 1: Not everybody uses the same the same verbiage, of course,
Speaker 1: but it brings us to the recall election for District
Speaker 1: Attorney in San Francisco. Chase A. Boudin, elected in ten
Speaker 1: and was a number of d as elected in districts
Speaker 1: across the country by progressive voters who wanted to lower
Speaker 1: incarceration rates and maybe take a different approach. And my goodness,
Speaker 1: a recall election is all you need to know about
Speaker 1: how well it's been going. Uh. Is this something that's
Speaker 1: getting an enormous amount of tention in San Francisco? And
Speaker 1: do we have a sense of of how much danger
Speaker 1: the d A is in. I'm not sure how much
Speaker 1: danger the d A is in, but it's a very
Speaker 1: serious recall election. UM, And yeah it's UM. It's certainly
Speaker 1: getting a lot of attention I think, certainly in San
Speaker 1: Francisco and in California. Maybe not as much on the
Speaker 1: East coast, but I think it will certainly if the
Speaker 1: if boudin is UH is recalled. But it does really
Speaker 1: call to attention some of the you know, that wave
Speaker 1: of progressive district attorneys who got elected in twenty nineteen
Speaker 1: on campaigns of reducing incarceration, ending cash bail and so forth.
Speaker 1: So that's certainly one of the UH, certainly one of
Speaker 1: the more local races I'll be keeping a eye on tonight.
Speaker 1: The big one, of course, the gubernatorial Uh. Is this
Speaker 1: the slam dunk for Gavin Newsom, even though he's got
Speaker 1: twenty five people running against him? Yeah, it's um yet
Speaker 1: yet another long ballot in California. Um, I think he'll
Speaker 1: be fine. You know, there was some when he know,
Speaker 1: he survived a recall election last year, as as our
Speaker 1: listeners know, and you know, there was some I think
Speaker 1: some uh talk kind of early in that camp campaign
Speaker 1: that perhaps there was an opening or some vulnerability for
Speaker 1: new somebody wound up when that race about as handily
Speaker 1: as he won his original race inen have more than
Speaker 1: twenty percentage points. California is just so overwhelmwhelmingly democratic. Excuse
Speaker 1: me that there's just really isn't really an opening for
Speaker 1: a Republican. Yeah. What does it say about the progressive
Speaker 1: brand though, in California of all places, Well, it's I
Speaker 1: think it's still pretty pretty pretty strong there at least, um,
Speaker 1: you know, notwithstanding what we might see in some of
Speaker 1: those local races that d A races, But just to
Speaker 1: see Gwyneth Paltrow and others, you know, making videos of
Speaker 1: themselves talking about street crime and home homelessness, it's just
Speaker 1: a different vibe than it was in the last election. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it really is. I think it's I think it's a
Speaker 1: very different vibe in kin of those local elections. Maybe
Speaker 1: l a mayor San Francisco d a recall. But in
Speaker 1: statewide federal elections, UM yeah, it's still overwhelming the Democratic
Speaker 1: state and um yeah. Typically a progressive Democrat can win
Speaker 1: statewide in California in most statewide federal elections and then
Speaker 1: also most of the congressional districts. Ye, Greg, I could
Speaker 1: throw races at you all night, and my goodness, the
Speaker 1: way you've laid this out on the column makes it
Speaker 1: very accessible for people. But of course we don't have
Speaker 1: enough time to do that. I would ask you, what
Speaker 1: are you watching that I might not be thinking about tonight?
Speaker 1: Where should we be casting our eyes here when results
Speaker 1: are coming in? Uh? Well, we've got um. We mentioned
Speaker 1: David Valadio at the top. There's also a race in
Speaker 1: Orange County in southern California where you have a first
Speaker 1: term Republican Congressman Young Kim running in a district that's
Speaker 1: about new to her and kind of like in the
Speaker 1: Valideo race, who faces a much more aggressively conservative challenger,
Speaker 1: and there's only one Democrat on the race, and in
Speaker 1: both races that Democrats would like to see the more
Speaker 1: conservative candidate to non incumbent advance. So you know in
Speaker 1: these top two primers is always some opportunities for a
Speaker 1: little bit of mischief. We'll see if that if that works,
Speaker 1: but that's a race to watch. And also Ryan Zinki
Speaker 1: and Montana He's trying for a comeback after being Trump's
Speaker 1: Interior secretary. That Republican primaries tonight and do a whole
Speaker 1: show on that one. Greg, great to go through this with, right,
Speaker 1: Duro Bloomberg Government Elections Reporter five on the terminal. Love
Speaker 1: the panel. Next, this is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg.
Speaker 1: You sound on with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. I
Speaker 1: mentioned Kim Kardashian, right, did we hear? No? Was that
Speaker 1: Gwyneth Paltrow. I can't keep track of the endorsements. Even
Speaker 1: Norman Lear got involved. I'm not I'm not kidding, And
Speaker 1: yes he did endorse Karen Bass This of course the
Speaker 1: l A mayor's race. If you're just joining us, welcome
Speaker 1: to the fastest hour in politics, Bloomberg Sound On. I'm
Speaker 1: Joe Matthew and Washington back in the bubble and we
Speaker 1: assemble the best panel in the business. Rick Davis is
Speaker 1: here along with Jeannie Chanzano, Bloomberg Politics contributors. I don't
Speaker 1: know who you'd rather meet. You know, the election is
Speaker 1: coming up, and I just wanted to share my thoughts
Speaker 1: on Rick Caruso. I think that he um really can
Speaker 1: help with the crime Kardashian or Paltrow. Hi, I'm Gwyneth
Speaker 1: Paltrow and I'm a native Angelina. I was born here
Speaker 1: and I've spent much of my life in this amazing
Speaker 1: city that I love very much. I think we need
Speaker 1: to be honest with ourselves that l A is experiencing
Speaker 1: a tough time right now, and I think we really
Speaker 1: need a leader who can come in and has the
Speaker 1: strength to solve some really tough problems. So that is
Speaker 1: why I am endorsing my old friend Rick Caruso for
Speaker 1: mayor Are they really old friends, Jeanie? How are this
Speaker 1: many movie stars, musicians, athletes, Hollywood elites getting involved in
Speaker 1: such a personal level. Everyone's making a video for crying
Speaker 1: out loud. Yeah. You know, when you're a billionaire and
Speaker 1: you've developed all these popular outdoor shopping centers like the Grove,
Speaker 1: they you imagine Kim Kardashian's boyfriend, Can we call them that?
Speaker 1: Pete Davidson was just pictured at the grove. So I
Speaker 1: think there's a don't ask me how I know that
Speaker 1: Joe Matthew, but I feel I'm so connected, um, so
Speaker 1: you know, it's not a stretched to me that they
Speaker 1: all know him. Um, you know. And this is Hollywood,
Speaker 1: so they're all gonna come out. But I do think
Speaker 1: the issue that the issues that are driving this are
Speaker 1: of course rising prices, crime and the homeless issue. And
Speaker 1: it is across the state and across the country, and
Speaker 1: it's really a civil war with Democrats between the progressive
Speaker 1: policies and the more establishment And I thought Greg was
Speaker 1: so right when he raised Richard Reardon, who came in
Speaker 1: in the ninety nineties and a very very liberal, progressive city,
Speaker 1: as a conservative ready to take on the issue of crime.
Speaker 1: And we're seeing something similar in both l A, now
Speaker 1: San Francisco, potentially in New York City. What's happening, Rick,
Speaker 1: when you hear progressives and movie stars making videos about
Speaker 1: crime as they sit on their couches at home, crime
Speaker 1: and homelessness. You know, I've I've always been very skeptical
Speaker 1: of the impact of entertainers on the electorate. I've never
Speaker 1: actually seen it work particularly well I've seen it backfire
Speaker 1: a number of times. Uh, and so I I don't
Speaker 1: think a lot of this noise and it's highly entertaining.
Speaker 1: I mean it's fun to listen to um uh these
Speaker 1: entertainers opine on issues like crime. But I really don't
Speaker 1: think it's gonna amount to much. I think that you
Speaker 1: look at the amount of money even in a place
Speaker 1: like I also spent, and that's gonna have a bigger impact.
Speaker 1: Even Hollywood. I mean, they're they're just like another voter.
Speaker 1: I mean, Hollywood's chuck full of entertainers. What's the difference
Speaker 1: between an entertainer and a gardener? You play a car, Okay,
Speaker 1: that's very good. And look, you're the one who designed
Speaker 1: the You're you're the man behind the celebrity ad, right,
Speaker 1: I mean the Paris Hilton Obama ad. You're called this
Speaker 1: out before, and that's yeah. I can honestly say I've
Speaker 1: put myself in front of the line on this one. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know, and even even politicians act like celebrities can
Speaker 1: have a backfire. So I I think there's much to
Speaker 1: do about nothing. It is highly entertaining. I mean it
Speaker 1: is Hollywood, as you point out, but I think at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, people vote on you know,
Speaker 1: the bread basket issues, uh, the economy, and and safety
Speaker 1: in their homes and and and and all of those
Speaker 1: are up for grabs right now. And in this rice.
Speaker 1: You heard the ad I think the Karen Bass ad
Speaker 1: a short time ago that I that I played Genie
Speaker 1: where she's framing Caruso as a Trump colleague that you know,
Speaker 1: this is not who you think he is. The former
Speaker 1: Republican who just dropped thirty four million dollars on this
Speaker 1: race is misleading you. Is that resonating it? Can? You know?
Speaker 1: I thought we were going to play a game where
Speaker 1: you played some of these endorsements and had Rick identified
Speaker 1: the voices, and Rick actually hangs out with all the people.
Speaker 1: Does that he does? Um? You know, I do think
Speaker 1: that that is probably an effective strategy. I mean, we
Speaker 1: can't forget Carusoe was a Republican just switched to the
Speaker 1: Democratic side recently. Um, you know, he does have these connections,
Speaker 1: but I don't think that overcomes the reality of the situation.
Speaker 1: You know, you look at some of the data. Shootings
Speaker 1: up from two years ago in l A, a robbery up,
Speaker 1: almost comicides up almost thirty Those are big numbers, and
Speaker 1: of course we've had you know, really high profile crimes
Speaker 1: against wealthy people in San Francisco, in l A. So
Speaker 1: you know, when you talk about lifestyle people paying a
Speaker 1: lot of money and taxes, inflation is high, homelessness is high,
Speaker 1: crime is high, and they want relief. So it's not
Speaker 1: enough to simply say, you know, and I'm not saying
Speaker 1: Bass is doing this, but that Carusoe is connected with Trump.
Speaker 1: She's got to make the case that she has the
Speaker 1: policies and she's not somebody who's going to you know, embrace,
Speaker 1: you know, sort of this idea that people think went
Speaker 1: too far when it comes to criminal justice reform that's
Speaker 1: not also keeping the city safe. That's a real issue.
Speaker 1: We talked about David Voladeo a little bit earlier his
Speaker 1: race in this primary that's taking place today. Rick one
Speaker 1: of ten Republican members of the House who voted to
Speaker 1: impeach Donald Trump. What happened to the retribution tour? Trump
Speaker 1: did not endorse the Republicans challenging him. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: that you're the point that was made earlier about the
Speaker 1: district being next to Kevin McCarthy's might have had something
Speaker 1: to do with it. Uh, it is actually kind of refreshing,
Speaker 1: Uh that with all these states in play and all
Speaker 1: these districts, that there's actually no real Trump footprint on
Speaker 1: any of these races in a big way. We just
Speaker 1: got through last week which was just all Trump all
Speaker 1: the time. So Uh, the fact that David Valadeo has
Speaker 1: has escaped that, um, I think is a tendency maybe
Speaker 1: for the future where it's like, maybe Donald Trump isn't
Speaker 1: on the vengeance tour anymore. Rick and Jenior with us
Speaker 1: for the hour the Signatures Sound on Panel. I'm Joe,
Speaker 1: Matthew and Washington. We're gonna turn to what happened today
Speaker 1: at the White House, Matthew McConaughey as Press secretary, and
Speaker 1: the road to compromise on gun legislation. We'll talk about
Speaker 1: it with Emily Wilkins. Next. This is Bloomberg and welcome
Speaker 1: to Sound on the Tuesday edition. As we returned to
Speaker 1: the nation's capital here and just in time to bump
Speaker 1: into Matthew McConaughey at the White House. That happened today.
Speaker 1: He was on Capitol Hill yesterday and you might wonder why.
Speaker 1: Just hours after President Biden was briefed by Senator Chris Murphy,
Speaker 1: the Democrat from Connecticut, on the talks that have continued
Speaker 1: here with Senator John Cornyn, this bipartisan group of senators
Speaker 1: working on some compromise over some new gun laws. Matthew
Speaker 1: McConaughey is brought into the briefing room by the Press
Speaker 1: Secretary Karine Jean Pierre. You Valdi, Texas because where I
Speaker 1: was born, I swear my my mom talked kindergarten less
Speaker 1: than a mile from rob Elementary, the valleys where I
Speaker 1: learned to master Daisy bb gun. Took that two years
Speaker 1: before I graduated to a four ten shotgun. Your valley
Speaker 1: is where I was taught to revere the power and
Speaker 1: the capability of the tool that we call a gun.
Speaker 1: Your valley is where I learned responsible gun ownership. Remembering
Speaker 1: he recently considered a bid for Texas governor, decided not
Speaker 1: to run, and he was up there for a while,
Speaker 1: ten fifteen minutes. I'd have to go back in time.
Speaker 1: This most of it was written. He did add lib
Speaker 1: around the text. He had a piece of paper on
Speaker 1: the podium there, hair slicked back the glasses. He was,
Speaker 1: you know, jacket on the serious approach. This was not
Speaker 1: this is not alright, alright, alright, and he got emotional,
Speaker 1: held up green converse sneakers belonging to one of the
Speaker 1: kids and his wife. H apparently spent quite a bit
Speaker 1: of time with the victims families, and he did have
Speaker 1: his recommendations for how to handle this, as you just heard,
Speaker 1: not only from Vivaldi where he learned how to shoot,
Speaker 1: but one who is involved in policy. Now, we need
Speaker 1: to invest in mental health care. We need to say
Speaker 1: for schools, we need to restrain sensationalized media coverage. We
Speaker 1: need to restore our family values. We need to restore
Speaker 1: our American values. And we need responsible gun ownership. Responsible
Speaker 1: gun ownership. We need background checks. We need to raise
Speaker 1: the minimum age to purchase in a our fifteen rifle
Speaker 1: to We need a waiting period for those rifles. We
Speaker 1: need red flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them.
Speaker 1: These are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations. Gives you a sense
Speaker 1: of what this was like. Did it work? Can't imagine.
Speaker 1: I kept thinking this is either a good idea or
Speaker 1: it's going to be a bad one for the White House.
Speaker 1: I don't know how this will be received. Of course,
Speaker 1: the White House asked repeatedly, Well, why was Matthew McConney there. Again,
Speaker 1: it's his karine, John Pierre, the Press secret Matthew was
Speaker 1: here because, as you heard, he has a very personal
Speaker 1: connection to you. Of all day he met with the family.
Speaker 1: He is from there, he was born there, he lives
Speaker 1: in Texas, and we thought hearing from him directly him
Speaker 1: using his platform is incredibly important. Is that true. There's
Speaker 1: a controversy over how does McConaughey McConaughey, which one is it.
Speaker 1: It's McConaughey. So I had it right, Okay, I think
Speaker 1: I had it right. Thank you. Emily Wilkins is with
Speaker 1: us because, as I mentioned, Matthew McConaughey, he was also
Speaker 1: on Capitol Hill yesterday. He's trying to speak with lawmakers
Speaker 1: about this, and talks have been going on by phone
Speaker 1: with these lawmakers, namely Murphy and Corn and Bloomberg. Government's
Speaker 1: Emily Wilkins a friend of the program. Um, I don't
Speaker 1: know if anything's change generalely. We've been talking about this
Speaker 1: every couple of days here, but it does sound to
Speaker 1: me when I hear from Corn and Murphy like there
Speaker 1: will be a product they're going to have a bill
Speaker 1: at some point here in the next week. That is
Speaker 1: what we continue to hear. We know that negotiations are
Speaker 1: alive and well, and we know the lawmakers tend to
Speaker 1: negotiate that are when they are actually in the same
Speaker 1: space with each other, rather than you know, via zoom
Speaker 1: or or remotely as they were doing for the past week.
Speaker 1: And so we are trying to accords focus on exactly
Speaker 1: what this bill might actually look like, and we're starting
Speaker 1: to see a little more of the shape of it. Uh,
Speaker 1: certain things like raising the minimum age for purchasing semi
Speaker 1: automatic weapons to one from its current eighteen. It doesn't
Speaker 1: seem like that is going to be something that's going
Speaker 1: to be included. You're hearing a lot of strong opposition
Speaker 1: from Republicans on that, but you do see movement to
Speaker 1: and act these so called red flag laws. These are
Speaker 1: the ones that you know if if you have a
Speaker 1: loved one, a family member, someone in your community who
Speaker 1: you think is going to be violent to themselves or others,
Speaker 1: that is going to sort of you have a process
Speaker 1: now to be able to make sure that person law
Speaker 1: is off the table. We're hearing right this is gonna
Speaker 1: be some it's going to be an incentive for states
Speaker 1: to pass their own red flag So I mean we're
Speaker 1: talking about it. It does sound like tell me if
Speaker 1: I'm wrong the bare minimum here, Emily, I mean, yes, yes,
Speaker 1: I mean this is not I think if you ask
Speaker 1: kind of Democrats what their ideal gun legislation would be,
Speaker 1: I mean, you've seen them pass things like experieting background control.
Speaker 1: You're going to see them take up legislation tomorrow that
Speaker 1: would have a federal red flag gun law. So this
Speaker 1: isn't what Democrats would be hoping for. I think for
Speaker 1: most gun groups, it's not what they would be hoping for.
Speaker 1: But I think there's also an understanding in Washington that
Speaker 1: this is such a difficult issue to move forward on
Speaker 1: that there is a willingness to accept what can be done,
Speaker 1: even if it's only sort of seen as as a
Speaker 1: very small baby step in light of everything. They think.
Speaker 1: We're gonna be getting a better sense tomorrow. You know,
Speaker 1: as we get members of the House, they're coming in
Speaker 1: this evening, they're coming back kind of get a better
Speaker 1: sense of where they stand, kind of how they're thinking
Speaker 1: about this. They'll be voting on legislation in the coming days.
Speaker 1: On gun storage um on again raising that minimum age.
Speaker 1: But but really, Joe, kind of everything right now is
Speaker 1: is looking at the Senate, because that's that's the tricky one.
Speaker 1: How much time does Chris Murphy and John Cornyn have? Lastly, Emily,
Speaker 1: do they have the rest of the week, they have
Speaker 1: next two weeks? When does Chuck Schumer say, all right,
Speaker 1: we're going ahead without you. I'm going to say they
Speaker 1: have until the end of the session, which gives them
Speaker 1: the rest of this week and tomorrow aditional weeks after that.
Speaker 1: We hit that July every for more recess, and sometimes
Speaker 1: it gets really difficult to do stuff after that. You
Speaker 1: lose that momentum, you get into the mid terms, and
Speaker 1: things just get harder. Appreciate the update as always, joining
Speaker 1: us from the Capital itself. Emily Wilkins Bloomberg Government, who
Speaker 1: I'm sure we'll be talking with again soon. Senator Chris
Speaker 1: Murphy said it to himself today. My hope is that
Speaker 1: we will be able to have a compromised product that
Speaker 1: saves lives on the table for our colleagues to consider
Speaker 1: very shortly. I'm encouraged by the discussions that we have
Speaker 1: had with Republicans over the course of the last week
Speaker 1: and a half. Every day we get closer to an agreement,
Speaker 1: not further away. Sounds like they're progressing on something. We'll
Speaker 1: reassemble the panel next. You got to hear from Rick
Speaker 1: and Genie on Matthew McConaughey, the prospect for compromise on
Speaker 1: the fastest hour in politics. This is Bloomberg. You're listening
Speaker 1: to Bloomberg. You sound on with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 1: As we reassemble the panel, Rick Davis and Jeannie Chanzano
Speaker 1: back together here Bloomberg Politics contributors, as we consider what
Speaker 1: the President calls a step forward. He said, any step
Speaker 1: is a step forward. In couraged by his briefing today
Speaker 1: by Senator Chris Murphy, the Democrat from Connecticut, as you
Speaker 1: heard a short time ago, tapped to lead the charge
Speaker 1: on this. He's been dealing with John Cornyn, Republican from Texas.
Speaker 1: Enter Matthew McConaughey in the briefing room, trying to thread
Speaker 1: the needle here, of course, at Democratic White House, a
Speaker 1: Hollywood actor trying to transcend partisan politics as the native
Speaker 1: of Vivaldi told stories of meeting with families of the victims.
Speaker 1: Also told stories of learning how to shoot in Texas
Speaker 1: and went on, we are not as divided as we
Speaker 1: were being told we are. No, how about get inspired,
Speaker 1: give ourselves just cause to revere our future. Again, he
Speaker 1: called for family values, which has been ridiculed in conservative
Speaker 1: media because again he's a Hollywood actor. What do you
Speaker 1: think about this choice, Rick Davis? You know, I said earlier,
Speaker 1: I thought, boy, this could either go real well or
Speaker 1: maybe this is a really bad idea. And I'm not
Speaker 1: sure we have a sense of how this is going
Speaker 1: to resonate yet maybe nobody, you know, maybe he was
Speaker 1: the tree who fell in the woods, but he certainly
Speaker 1: leaned into the speech, got emotional at times. Uh. What
Speaker 1: was the point that the White House was trying to make?
Speaker 1: Who was the audience? It's hard to tell. This is
Speaker 1: a bit of a wild card, but my guess is
Speaker 1: this was the White House attempt to try and keep
Speaker 1: focus on the issue. Right. These these horrendous events have
Speaker 1: a tendency to um fade from people's memories very quickly.
Speaker 1: And this administration, I think wants to get something done.
Speaker 1: Uh and and and by bringing a superstar into the
Speaker 1: White House, uh and having them talked about their close
Speaker 1: connection to the rob Elementary School shooting and the people
Speaker 1: of Vivaldi. Maybe just keeps the public focused a little
Speaker 1: bit longer, and maybe that keeps the pressure on the
Speaker 1: Senate to get a deal. How does that come together?
Speaker 1: You know? Was did the actor make a phone calls?
Speaker 1: He knew somebody in the press office the White House
Speaker 1: maybe heard he was in Vivaldi. Uh. It's just interesting
Speaker 1: how these things come together, Rick, because a lot of
Speaker 1: folks who are not, you know, savvy to that process,
Speaker 1: just they see an actor up there is the guy
Speaker 1: from the Lincoln ads what's he doing? Yeah, look, I
Speaker 1: think that it could be any one of the things
Speaker 1: that you said. I mean, it's not unusual for people
Speaker 1: to be sitting around the White House going, how can
Speaker 1: we keep this on the front page? How do we
Speaker 1: keep people's attention galvinized to get a deal in Congress.
Speaker 1: If we don't keep the pressure on, Uh, they're not
Speaker 1: gonna do anything. Because that's been the habit in the past,
Speaker 1: that's been the history. And and so someone says, hey,
Speaker 1: Matthew McConaughey's from Vivaldi. I mean, like he's been talking
Speaker 1: about it in Texas. We ought to like bring him here,
Speaker 1: and it may be something as simple as that. And
Speaker 1: the fact that he was willing to hop on play
Speaker 1: and get to Washington. Uh, it had to be uncomfortable
Speaker 1: for him. That's not his typical gig standing in the
Speaker 1: White House and talking about these emotional things, especially with
Speaker 1: his connection to the town. So um, it came together fast,
Speaker 1: regardless of of of how it happened. I mentioned he
Speaker 1: was on Capitol Hill yesterday. Jeannie didn't tell any of
Speaker 1: the reporters who were up there. Why uh as I
Speaker 1: guess he was, you know, conducting his own business with
Speaker 1: lawmakers there. But Frank Luntz tweeted a short time ago
Speaker 1: the polster. Of course the performance was better, he said,
Speaker 1: mcconnie better than any political leader I've ever seen on this.
Speaker 1: You imagine if a politician showed up and spoke the
Speaker 1: way he did today. Yeah, I mean, and then this
Speaker 1: is a guy who is a famous guy, and he's
Speaker 1: an actor, and of course this is very personal for him.
Speaker 1: I would also note that we heard today from the
Speaker 1: teacher Mr. Reyas, who lost eleven students that day in Vivaldi.
Speaker 1: He gave a very emotional statement begging the parents not
Speaker 1: to be angry with him saying he did his best.
Speaker 1: I mean, these are people who are going through hell,
Speaker 1: So I agree with Franklin's he did a very good job.
Speaker 1: And I also think the White House um is doing
Speaker 1: exactly what Rick talked about. You know, there's a very
Speaker 1: famous book called Presidential Power by Richard Newsap many many
Speaker 1: years ago, where he talks about the only power in
Speaker 1: the American president has is the power to persuade. It's
Speaker 1: the power of the bully pulpit. Because beyond that they
Speaker 1: can issue executive orders and act in very narrow ways.
Speaker 1: So the White House has got to figure out how
Speaker 1: to persuade. And if getting Matthew McConaughey to stand up
Speaker 1: and do that today is going to help persuade constituents
Speaker 1: to persuade their lawmakers to do something, then that's what
Speaker 1: they have to do. Do I think it's going to
Speaker 1: lead to anything beyond incremental change. Unfortunately, no, And that's
Speaker 1: the reality because Chris Murphy was at the White House today,
Speaker 1: Biden stepping in on this today with Chris Murphy, and
Speaker 1: yet after Chris Murphy said, we're not just going to
Speaker 1: settle for legislation that checks the box and yet you
Speaker 1: look at what on Corny and said on the floor yesterday.
Speaker 1: He said no sweeping overhaul of gun laws. So we're
Speaker 1: not going to get where Matthew McConaughey wants us to
Speaker 1: get and where I frankly think we should be in
Speaker 1: this Senate. The reality is it's good. If you think
Speaker 1: it's good, it's going to be good because it's incremental.
Speaker 1: But that's about where we'll get if anywhere. At this point,
Speaker 1: here is John Cornyn on the floor. We're not talking
Speaker 1: about banning a category of weapons across the board, a
Speaker 1: band for certain high capacity magazines, or changing the background
Speaker 1: check system by adding additional disqualifying items. We're talking about
Speaker 1: common sense, targeted reforms that are responsive to the tragedies
Speaker 1: in your vality and elsewhere, and that will, I believe,
Speaker 1: save lives. He's the man who could end up leading
Speaker 1: the party in the Senate someday, or I know he
Speaker 1: wants to to think. So, Rick Davis is does this
Speaker 1: end up being a win for Cornin or Murphy? Is
Speaker 1: this a Republican win or a Democratic one? I'm assuming
Speaker 1: somebody's going to take credit for this. Oh sure, I
Speaker 1: mean I think that if there's a bill that comes
Speaker 1: out and it passes the Senate and gets through the House,
Speaker 1: everyone's gonna shake hands and said, well, finally we actually
Speaker 1: took a step forward. Uh. There'll be people, um, both
Speaker 1: sides that decry any kind of deal, but I think
Speaker 1: that that becomes noise in the system. I mean, look,
Speaker 1: I'd remind everybody that a week ago, you know, we
Speaker 1: were talking about whether or not a bill could pass
Speaker 1: at all, and nobody would have thought we'd gotten this far. So, um,
Speaker 1: let's see what they come up with and and and
Speaker 1: let's see if it actually has the potential to have
Speaker 1: an impact and certainly change the attitude that the public
Speaker 1: has towards the ability to regulate. Uh, some of this industry.
Speaker 1: Interesting to think about. The next stop here. If you
Speaker 1: look at the president's schedule, uh for the rest of
Speaker 1: this week, and he's flying to l A tomorrow, the
Speaker 1: summer of the America is kicking off. And that's a
Speaker 1: whole story of its own here. But we should have
Speaker 1: made this the celebrity edition of sound On. We started
Speaker 1: talking about the celebrity impact on the l A mayor's race.
Speaker 1: We just spent time talking about an actor Matthew McConaughey
Speaker 1: trying to get involved here in the gun debate. Tomorrow,
Speaker 1: when the President goes out to the some of the America,
Speaker 1: is one of the first things he will do is
Speaker 1: tape an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. Genie, this
Speaker 1: is how the White House is trying to get to this.
Speaker 1: I'm sure it's not the only thing he'll be talking about.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be guns, right, it's gonna be inflation. He's
Speaker 1: going to go to the Port of l A on
Speaker 1: Friday to deliver his speech as well. They're trying to
Speaker 1: keep him in living rooms talking about these issues. They
Speaker 1: are and you know, there's there's been some frustration, particularly
Speaker 1: on the right, that Jimmy Kimmel is a known liberal
Speaker 1: and this is not going to be a tough interview
Speaker 1: of the way Joe Matthew would handle it. But it
Speaker 1: is it is. It is an interview. It keeps him
Speaker 1: out there. I too wish he would quite frankly, would
Speaker 1: do more sit downs um and he would be more
Speaker 1: accessible to answer questions. But they are trying to keep
Speaker 1: him in the forefront because again, he's going out there
Speaker 1: and they want to make sure they are keeping this
Speaker 1: issue and showing that the president is being active. You know,
Speaker 1: one thing I wish, quite frankly, that they would ask
Speaker 1: him is if he's really committed to gun legislation at
Speaker 1: is substantial, then why not ask for a carve out
Speaker 1: of the filibuster in this issue. If you can do
Speaker 1: it for the budget, and you can do it for
Speaker 1: economic reasons, why not to save kids lives? So that's
Speaker 1: not the kind of question we're likely to hear, but
Speaker 1: I think it's a fair one that he should be asked.
Speaker 1: I wonder Rick has mean? Is that the right form?
Speaker 1: Kimmel is an activist. We've seen him get involved in
Speaker 1: the healthcare debate. We've seen him crying over stories like
Speaker 1: these and his monologues. What if he tries to score
Speaker 1: some points go after Joe Biden on TV? You know, look,
Speaker 1: I'd I'd be shocked if Jimmy Kimmel did anything other
Speaker 1: than throw softballs in an orchestrated environment with the president. Um,
Speaker 1: and I agree with Jeannie, this is I mean, Jimmy
Speaker 1: Kimmel isn't a serious interviewer. Why, I mean, he's an entertainer.
Speaker 1: He does a night show, He tells jokes. UM, why
Speaker 1: is the president United States thinking this is a way
Speaker 1: to communicate to the people. So this is not the
Speaker 1: forum you'd be putting him in. If absolutely not, I
Speaker 1: think that he owes it to people. He said this
Speaker 1: was gonna be the month he talked about inflation. When
Speaker 1: we can talk about inflation, what is his position on
Speaker 1: what's he gonna talk about in the summit of the
Speaker 1: America's I mean, China's out there spreading its my line
Speaker 1: influence all over the region. He hasn't said a word
Speaker 1: about that this week, um, and a run up to that, So, uh,
Speaker 1: he's got a lot to tone for. But like this
Speaker 1: is the non message White House. They don't seem to
Speaker 1: have a daily message that goes out of there that says,
Speaker 1: here's what we would like to convey to the American
Speaker 1: people or the world. Well, it seems to be inflation
Speaker 1: is the priority, because god knows, that's what we've been
Speaker 1: hearing on Bloomberg Rick. But I mean, isn't this though
Speaker 1: the idea here? And this is a page from the
Speaker 1: Obama playbook? And I think you you certainly put John
Speaker 1: McCain on late night TV. Can't you get the more
Speaker 1: quote unquote real people that way than sitting down with
Speaker 1: with the a news person having that conversation. Yeah, but
Speaker 1: when John McCain went on Late night TV, he told
Speaker 1: Jokes he didn't talk about gun legislation. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: like you got to know the audience people at eleven
Speaker 1: o'clock at nine aren't looking for a lecture, They're looking
Speaker 1: for a laugh. Right. Does he show up with Dad
Speaker 1: Jokes Genie? Yeah, I assume he might. And you know,
Speaker 1: I think they've got to be concerned he may go
Speaker 1: a bit off script um, so I think they have
Speaker 1: to make sure that they're keeping him on track. But
Speaker 1: you know, there there's plenty of serious issues from to
Speaker 1: talk about. Let's not forget he's going to be in
Speaker 1: California gas prices. I had just had a friend if
Speaker 1: them out there tell me that they've seen stations with
Speaker 1: gas as high as eight to nine dollars a gallon.
Speaker 1: So that's what he needs to be talking about, whether
Speaker 1: with Jimmy Kimmel or otherwise. Yeah, we're gonna be crossing
Speaker 1: that five handle on the East coast. If Bloomberg surveillance
Speaker 1: is any guide with what I'm hearing, Rick and Jenny,
Speaker 1: great talk is always boy we've got a big one here.
Speaker 1: Happy primary day results tomorrow. This is Bloomberg