Balance of PowerWatch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with:
- Bloomberg's Gregory Korte about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night in Chicago.
- Bloomberg Politics Contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Sheehan Zaino about Walz's introduction to American voters.
- Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall about the possible environmental policies of a Kamala Harris administration.
- Former US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy about how a Harris administration would approach climate policy
- Illinois Senator Dick Durbin about the differences in messaging between Harris and Donald Trump.
- Tara Setmayer and Crystal McCrary McGuire of the Seneca Project about their efforts to mobilize women voters in the 2024 election.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon Eastern on Appocarplay and then Roudoto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube. It's the honor of my life to accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States.
Thank you for your.
Passion, thank you for your determination, and most of all, thank you for bringing the joy to this fight.
The Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walls on his big night the running mate of course, holding forth on night three. Here, welcome to the Thursday edition of Balance of Power. We're live in Chicago on what is now day four, culminating all of this exercise this week. The speech is the organizing everything, leading us up to the moment that Kamala Harris will accept her party's nomination in prime time, assuming things Kaylee go on schedule.
Well, that might be a big ass considering the way the convention has gone thus far, but it is worth noting this is a very different convention than Democrats thought they would be throwing just one month ago. It would have been Kamala Harris that gave the vice presidential acceptance speech last night. Instead, she is accepting the Democratic nomination for president tonight, and in doing so becomes the first ever woman of color to claim that title as Democratic nominee.
We're in an historic period of time here in American politics, with a whole new reason here, and you're right, just four weeks ago, imagine the extent to which this race has changed leading us up to this moment today. There are thousands of delegates here in Chicago at a fever pitch coming off the last couple of nights of speeches Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Tim Walls, and now of course the Vice President Kamala Harris.
Well, and it raises the question of who else is going to speak tonight because you don't yet know, We have no idea who will introduce Kamala Harris or whether there will be a surprise musical guest. After John Legend gave a nice rendition.
Of you can just say Beyonce out loud, well, yeah.
That's what everybody's hoping for, whether or not the Queen comes to town. That's correct, And the beehive inside the United Center goes Wild joining us now for more as we look ahead to this evening's festivities. Bloomberg's Gregory Cordy, So, Gregory, I think it is a valid question. We have seen the most elevated people in democratic politics, frankly speak already last night included former President Bill Clinton speaker married and Nancy Pelosi, Hockey, Jeffrey's, Pete Boudajete, Josh Shapiro. They have all spoken. So who's left that's going to tee up build the momentum to Harris's big speech.
Yeah.
And one of the things, in contrast to the Republican Convention, which was really Donald Trump's convention, and you've got a speaking slot based on your orbit around Donald Trump, Democrats have had former presidents, former nominees, and it's been embarrassment of riches for them trying to squeeze all of the different speakers in. I haven't seen the formal list for tonight, but I think you can expect, you know, some some governor, some senators. I'm thinking people like Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, mar Kelly, the senator from Arizona, you know, really trying to show off the full breadth of the Democratic Party and also emphasize some of these key Senate races. They are going to be so important to Kamala Harris if she does get elected, she's going to need support from the Senate in the House to pass her agenda.
Brought up show has been a problem. This thing's going way over every night. They're cutting videos, in some cases speeches. Last night was not an exception. It's been very difficult to get the headliner in prime time and reports say the DNC is not fooling around tonight.
Well, people on the East coast see Kamala Harris.
Yeah, one of the problems we had last night is that Bill Clinton spoke, and of course he probably holds the unbreakable wreckord that's got most minutes spoken at. But Joe and I were talking last night about his nineteen eighty eight speech where the biggest appause line the Clinton said in conclusion, and so it's sort of a breath of fresh air. Though to hear Tim Walls last night give a what fifteen to sixteen minute speech? I saw him again this morning at the Minnesota delegation breakfast. It was maybe a three or four minute thank you. This guy is going to be for reporters easy to watch because we can get in and out pretty quickly. But yeah, it has been a challenge just because everybody wants to have their say. This is everybody for any politician, this is the most important moment. It's a career making moment potentially, and they all want to make the most of it. And when you squeeze in all these performances, the pop culture, everything that the DNC is going to trying to do to make a very slick produced television event, it's going to run long, and it's going to run past prime.
I was on the floor for Bill Clinton last night, Kayley, among some other speakers. He went off the prompter at one point for twelve minutes and we were looking at the prompter. It's not moving and he's vamping. He's still getting applause lines. But it does remind us that just because things are produced a certain way, the show does an always go.
The way you plan it well, And don't we know that we're in broadcast television and radio. But of course, as you just alluded to, it's a big night for anyone who gets to speak on that stage. But it is perhaps the biggest night of all for Kamala Harris, probably the most important one of her entire political career thus far. Yes, she's been vice president for over three and a half years, but this could still be an introduction to many Americans to who Kamala Harris really is. What does at stake for her this evening?
Yeah, absolutely, And I wish I could come here and tell you that I have a whole bunch of reporting about what it is she's going to say. I don't think any of us know. We're waiting to see what does who is Kamala Harris and what does she sound like when she's not in the immediate shadow of Joe Biden. Because when you're a vice president, the job is to be joined at the hip on policy, and so the question tonight is how does she differentiate herself from Joe Biden in subtle or not so subtle ways, especially on issues of the economy. She's already seemed to be maybe going a little bit to the left in terms of her taxing and spending policy, but also on Gaza is going to be the real tight rope where we're going to watch how she talks about that, and of course, as you suggest, she's got to reintroduce herselfself to the American people. Even among the delegates that I've talked to, they don't know as much about her as they feel like they should, and they're going to want to hear her introduce herself to the American people as the former prosecutor, the former attorney general, and Joe Biden's loyal vice president. And because it's only seventy five, seventy four days until the election and she's a brand new candidate.
That's true.
It's been really interesting to watch Democrats leverage celebrity entertainment. The influencers, we talked a lot about it, two hundred of them in the hall Oprah Winfrey was the late ad last night. We thought she might speak, but wasn't on the initial schedule. They're trying to get the element of surprise, get the element of culture involved here in a different way than Republicans seized with Kid Rock and Paul Cogan.
Point last night, I had to think to myself, am I watching a political convention on my watching the oscar?
Isn't that something? It wasn't MC and the whole bit. Yeah.
Stephanie Cutter is the is the Democratic strategist who had to put together a virtual convention four years ago because we were in the middle of COVID it had to be a televised event. They brought her back this year to really continue that. You saw it with that with the role Call of the States, which is for quirky and fun and different, and they've really turned this into a television show. It has been for many decades, but now I feel like it's turned the corner that this is a full on, over produced extravaganza.
Well, and to this exact point, someone else who stood out to me last night was Keenan Thompson. They brought a comedian in specifically with a giant prop book of Project twenty twenty five to talk to everyday Americans who could be affected by that. Instead of like painting it as this very dark, scary thing, which we've heard Democrats do a lot of, they tried to make it funny and perhaps more accessible in.
That way, and I thought that was a really maybe getting a bachelor little leader do it.
Yeah, by the way, they had some zoom problems. Couldn't hear people? It happens to the best of us. I think it's the Yeah.
I went there Kayley rat to have Gregory cording with us here reporting for Bloomberg here on the ground in Chicago. Gregory, thank you so much for joining us. Of course, it was a big night for the Democrats last evening. It wasn't just the celebrities involved here, a lot of folks speaking about the element of joy.
Kamala Harris.
Is the only candidate in this race who.
Has the vision, the experience, the temperament, the will, and yes, the sheer joy. That kind of politics also just feels better to be part of. There is joy in it as well as power.
Most of all, thank you for bringing the joy to this fight.
Let us choose joy.
That's twining us now.
Our signature panel Rick Davis, partner at Stone Court Capital, at the table, of course, longtime Republican STRATAG just had Jeanie Shanzano as well, Democratic strategist, senior democracy fellow with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress Democratic strategist. As I mentioned, Bloomberg Politics contributors here. We all are the big day. This is why we're here. I want to start with last night though, before we start asking you guys, what Kamala Harris is going to say Later Oprah Winfrey the secret weapon for the Democrats in this convention.
Absolutely, Now, why did Rick and I not get an intro like she gave to Kamala Harris?
Right?
That needs for the special tonight.
You know, absolutely one of the great speakers. I mean, this is the thing as we look forward to tonight, Kamala Harris has.
A huge bar to leap over.
You know, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, Tim Walts, who I thought did an amazing.
Job, did I short speech?
It was a touchdown Joe Matt But I thought, yeah, but that was it?
Right?
What did Mark Twain say? I rid have written a shorter letter if I had the time. I mean, thank god for Governor Waltz Coach Walts for keeping it brief. Other people did not. They have a problem with the timing on this convention to a certain extent. But you know, Oprah absolutely a huge star of the show. I thought it might have been Bill Clinton. I think she may have outshined him, but he did a great job as well. But yeah, I thought Tim Waltz stole the show. And his son Gus, how sweet was that?
Very emotional, very proud of dad's Yeah, she watched him from the floor. But you mentioned Oprah. Certainly, a lot of moments of Oprah's speech have gone viral, including a little bit of a dig at jd vance over the whole cat lady thing.
We are not so different from our neighbors. When a house is on fire, we don't ask about the homeowner's race or religion. We don't wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No, we just try to do the best we can to save them. And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat.
Lady, well.
We try to get that cat out too.
Clearly, quite the reception to the words of Oprah Winfrey last night, Rick, But it raises the question of if there's a little element of stealing the show here, is it good for the ticket If the speech of those who are teeing up the vice presidential nominee might stand out just as much as the speech of the vice presidential candidate himself.
No, I don't think they have any risk of that.
I mean, Wednesday Night's you know, a different audience probably than what we're going to see tonight, and voters have short memories. They're not going to compare Oprah to Harris. I don't think that's a big risk. If anything, you want to have as many eyeballs on each night as you can get. And as we heard from Gregory, this is a you know, a bunch of really well known speakers the Democrats have thrown out there. They they all exceed the whole Cogan factor. I mean, it's a it's a it's a it's a good group. But I would say I think it's been way too subtle. Right conventions are about putting that red meat out on the table. You know, it's hard to get Americans attention and a subtle dig at vice president nominee or vice president can Advance about cat ladies that have no name ID. I mean, if you took a poll today and said what do you think about cat ladies, They's like, what are you talking about? So like, I think the whole thing was way too subtle. I mean, there's it's it's not over selling, it's under selling. I mean there were very few direct attacks on Donald Trump, direct attacks on JD.
Vance.
This is the opportunity to speak to twenty million people, and it was almost like, oh, we're just going to be kind of cool, and you know, I actually think that on a messaging front, totally fun, great eye candy, you know, hooplaw for the crowd. But making progress in this campaign is about leveling your message and directing attacks, and there were very little messaging there that is going to be good for voters, especially swing voters in key states, and very few attacks are going to stick to the president and JD Vans.
Bill Clinton tried to get to that at some point. He seemed to be the attack dog.
Last night.
He was through we the people versus me myself, and I called Donald Trump al winer. He even got to Hannibal Lecter with some pretty good laughs for the crowd. But to Rick's point, does Kamala Harris need to name Donald Trump tonight and talk about him directly?
See?
I don't think so. And this is where we disagree. You know, the job for the Democrats is to try to win over these moderate voters in these swing states, some of whom are very attracted to Donald Trump and particularly where he stands on these issues. And so I think attacking Donald Trump front on is not the way to go. And I thought, speaking of Bill Clinton, his remark yesterday was brilliant when he said, stop telling us how much he lies and start counting how much he talks about I because the reality is, voters know that Donald Trump lies quite frankly, they think all politicians lie. So that's no big message. What is is this argument? It's all about him, and that's what Bill Clinton tried to underscore last night. So I don't think she should take Donald Trump on in the front on attack. I think she should let voters know that this is a party that is open to them, and particularly on the all important issue of the economy, which still reigns supreme. So I think they don't have to attack him straight on. There's been enough subtle attacks. And by the way, on the cat lady, did they have to swing to that one woman in the audience and stare at her?
I love cat? This was not right?
Yes, it'd be a dog leader.
Well this is very true. That definitely got some attention on social media. But to this point, Rick, and I'll let you respond to what Genie said. But also, isn't it worth pointing out voters do know Donald Trump. They know him probably better than most anyone else. He was president for four years. He has not left the forefront of American thought. Frankly, political thought, at least since he left office. So do you really need to go after a man that voters.
Know so well?
Yeah, I think that there's a difference between being well known and being well known for something that is going to come up over the next four years. I mean, his record on the economy is ahead of where Kamala Harris is. She cannot win this election if we go into election day and Donald Trump is more popular on the economy than she is.
How much of the economy did we hear about? This is Bloomberg.
We actually think that those things matter. We think Donald Trump's economic plans are in and add enormous amount of money to the national debt. Did you hear any of that at this convention?
Not a peep.
You don't have to attack that.
The personality contest, you're always going to lose against Donald Trump, because he's always going to say something more outrageous, more inflammatory than any normal person's going to do. But he has a policy that he has actually articulated, and it's not just a big book called twenty twenty five, and they've done a good job of demonizing that. Why don't you crack it open, start talking about some of the things that are in there. I just think that this was an opportunity the last three days to lay out what the Democratic attack against Donald Trump's next four years are going to be. And it's not about cat ladies and it's not about you know, Donald Trump is a person that's a settled case. Voters have already made their minds up. What they want to know is how am I going to live better? And if his policies are going to make that worse, you should be talking about it.
We have less than a minute. Can that be fixed tonight? When Kamala Harris gets on the stage.
I would be shocked, based on what we saw last week when she articulated her own tax policy, her own economic plan, that they're going to go anywhere near that. So they will have missed this opportunity with millions of Americans looking in for the first time saying what's this all about?
All right?
Rick Davis and Jeanie Shanzino, our signature political panel who will be with us for the duration today on this final day of the Democratic Convention.
You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast kens Just Live weekdays at noon Eastern on Applecarplay and enrouid Oro with a Bloomberg business app. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station, Just say Alexa, play Bloomberg eleven thirty.
Kamala Harris speaking in primetime. At least that's the plan tonight, assuming all things stay together, and we expect maybe some surprises along the way as well. Having heard from many Democratic luminaries over the course of this week, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Blue Clinton, They've all had a chance to speak, Nancy Pelosi, and a lot of questions about who might grace the stage.
Tonight, indeed, but we do know we will hear from Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States, the first woman ever, of course, to hold that title. She will now become tonight officially the first woman of color ever to become and accept the nomination for president from the Democratic Party. And we have a few questions about her speech tonight, Joe, the extent to what she attacks her opponent, Donald Trump, how much of this is a reintroduction to the country, a relisting of her resume, if you will, and also whether or not she's going to get in to real specific policy we've been warned not to expect too much in terms of substance.
Well, remembering the hour and a half long stem winder we got from Donald Trump on his fourth night of his convention in Milwaukee, there is a thought that maybe keeping this efficient would be helpful and not going too deep into details. There'll be time for that as we move closer to a presidential debate on the tenth of September. But of course, Kaylee, when it comes to issues like the economy, when it comes to the border, we could hear about that. And energy policy is going to of course be a major theme in this campaign, and I suspect we're going to hear about it tonight.
Yeah, it's already shaping up to be a top issue on the campaign trail, but we haven't received many details yet when it comes to Kamala Harris's plan. Bloomberg Tyler Kendall has more on what we do know.
Tyler, Yeah, Hey, Cayley, We're still waiting for additional details from the Harris campaign when it comes to their energy agenda. But for the Trump campaign's part, they have been capitalizing on this issue on the campaign trail, urging more domestic drilling in a bid to lower energy pricing. For a sense of the messaging from the former president, take a listen to him on the campaign trail this week as part of his counter programming to the DNC.
What they've done to inflation, and they close it with energy. If we were there, with our energy, we would be so dominant all over the world. Right now, we were already energy and dependent. I make you energy and dependent, but we would be energy dominant.
Trump has also repeatedly highlighted and then candidate Harris's twenty nineteen comments she would support a BI on fracking. The Harris campaign says that's no longer her stance, alleging this is instead part of Trump's quote attempt to distract from his own plans through enriched oil and gas executives. We should note US oil output has reached record highs under the Biden administration, but it's becoming a key issue in some energy producing battleground states like Pennsylvania, which is the second largest producer of US natural gas. It's also where Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle is from. You two had the chance to catch up with him yesterday on Balance of Power and ask him about Vice President Kamala Harris's reverse when it comes to fracking.
I would expect and certainly hope for an evolution on certain issues. I think it's appropriate, and in the end of the day, I think she arrived at the right place, both in terms of policy and politics.
Harris's campaign is expected to shepherd a more progressive energy agenda and vice presidential pick. Minnesota Governor Tim Wallas is considered to be an aggressive advocate when it comes to climate policy. Even so Joe and Kelly without so many details. Climate groups this week actually pledged a fifty five million dollar advertising campaign to the Democratic ticket.
Tyler, Thank you so much, Bloomberg.
Tyler Kendall setting us up for an important conversation now with former Environmental Protection Agency administrator and former White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, straight from Dorchester. It's great to see you in Chicago. Thanks for joining us today. We'd like to get specific with you, because you can clearly get the sense that people are looking for details.
But I want to start more broadly.
Are we going to hear about climate and energy policy tonight? When she speaks to people not just in the hall but those who.
Are at home, well, clearly you're hearing from a ton of climate advocates, and it was already mentioned that it's a fifty five million dollar plan that they're putting out to invest in Kamala Harris and Tim Walls because they are climate champions and they.
Have approven record that we can rely on.
So just how much she wants to get into details on policies and including climate change really is not a concern for all of us who know where she lands on climate and how much effort she's going to take to actually address the climate challenge and accelerate our ability to advance claim energy.
Well, and certainly she's attached to this current administration which got flew the inflation reduction actually, of course, and her role as vice president had to be active on the Senate floor for that one, but that has passed and they were able to do so because they did with her tie breaking vote. Have both chambers of Congress. We don't necessarily know that will be the case even if she does win the presidential election, which would leave much more up to regulators say, given that the Chevron doctrine has now been reversed without control of Congress, what really is going to be the power of the presidents and the regulators they appoint to lead agencies like the EPA to do things on their own.
Well, I think it's really important to recognize that Chevron doctrine often applied to EPA requirements and rules and regulations, and EPA is very good at figuring out how to address those challenges and move forward with the kind of protections we need, not just on climate, but air and water, all the kinds of pollution that families care about. But we also have to recognize that Kamala Harris has really been a champion on this issue, and I fully expect and I have seen already from a release that was put out just two days ago, between Biden and Harris to talk about what's next. So we are not worried that we're going to stand still. And frankly, I'm not worried about the American public really getting behind these climate actions because they say families money.
They grow jobs.
You see the unions there at the DNC, they're excited about how much is being built again. So we've already seen a great shift, and remarkably, it almost looks like the IRA is bipartisan.
Now hopefully it was and it will be.
But you have Republicans now who recognize that most of the money is going to the districts in the as signing letters saying we're not going to get rid of the IRA. So there is something very new afoot, and I think it's all about the shift from talking about anybody's personal interest to actually the interests of the people in the United States of America, and that is beginning really to grow.
What do you make of this whole fracking flat Republicans have seized on this urn by Kamala Harris having at one time called for a federal ban on fracking and obviously has turned away from that. Now you heard what Brendan Boyle said in an awfully important state like Pennsylvania. Are you disappointed that Kamala Harris has turned away from her original stand on this? Or is fracking an essential component of our energy infrastructure?
You know?
I think this is all being put in the context of trying to figure out how the shift to clean energy and away from oil and gas can become some kind of a platform for the Republican Party. None of this is a fight right now. What we need to talk about is how do we make that shift to clean energy and how do we keep people people's energy.
At a lower cost.
And we can't shut off oil and gas today tomorrow. We have to make that transition forward. And part of the challenge is that I think the oil and gas sector hasn't actually responded well to the climate crisis. In fact, they're supporting a lot of the Republican sort of platforms that seem to make it a controversy, when in the end, it's very simple. You know, people need to have clean energy because they need cheaper electricity costs. People need to have vehicles that they can move forward in that won't pollute them and kill their kids. There's a whole range of opportunities here. And part of the excitement today is that the DNC has never been more hopeful. You know, I've seen a lot of these conferences, and honestly, we now seem to have an ability with the Vice President and with the governor to actually land together to bring unity here in the United States again, to get away from the bipodisan nonsense, to bridge the gaps that we have seen before. And that's what makes us so hopeful and such an opportunity moment.
And I just hope we can all grab.
It well as we consider what is going to happen next in the United States. Who's potentially going to become president here is worth noting when it comes to these issues and the pursuit of net zero. Different countries are on different timelines, but this is a global issue, and criticism that frequently comes from Republicans is that the US can't do this alone as long as China and India are still polluting as much as they are. So how much should we be considering not just the policy that these candidates would bring domestically, but how they would interact with adversaries and allies alike in the pursuits of a cleaner environment.
Well, I'm not sure that the Republicans are really that interested and talking about climate change in a way that's really much more reality based. Look, they've tipped their hand with Project twenty twenty five.
Right.
That plan is all about not just minimizing and challenging our democracy itself, but it's all about going back to oil and gas is the winner here, right, It's all about getting rid of the effort of clean energy. And we now know that climate change is such a global problem that we have to bridge gaps between the United States in every country that's out there. And I don't frankly think that any administration has done a better job of trying to make sure that we are investing in the future.
Here.
Part of it is engaging the private sector, and private investors are waking up to both the challenge of climate that they know they can see and we can all feel and taste and touch. But it's all about building resilience at home. But it's also about engaging the private sector to invest not just in developed worlds but in the developing world, in the global South, and.
The opportunities to do that are enormous.
And so I am seeing a shift not just in politics around this, but really in the fundamental way in which our country and others are looking at their economic opportunities moving forward. We don't have to invest in a way that's going to disadvantage our country. We need to invest in a way that provides opportunities to our country. But more broadly, that makes this the global challenge and opportunity of our lifetime. It is every country that needs to engage, but the US, frankly, because of curmudgeons on the Republican side in Congress, and I used a nice term that they just have blocked our ability to actually vest in a way that really shows the United States leadership and what we're trying to do.
So hopefully that can get.
Corrected as well as we advance some other races in a way that will make this an opportunity for us as well.
You hear from the other campaign. Of course, it's not just Republicans in Congress. Donald Trump largely seems to think that your movement is a hoax. He's questioned the role of evs, despite his new relationship with Elon Musk. He says that wind mills don't work, that kill birds and cause cancer, Solar doesn't work when the sun isn't out, you can't watch TV at night. A lot of people take him at his word there. How do you go up against a message like that.
I think you just have to tell the truth, you know.
Plus the other exciting thing is, first of all, wind mills. Seriously, wind mills. I feel like we're back in Holland from.
That fifteen years ago. But the issue is that people are.
Beginning to see both the threat but they're also of climate change. But they're also seeing that it makes a difference in their lives. We already have three point four million homes that have grabbed Inflation Reduction Act monies in order to reduce the costs associated with putting solar in their homes and making their homes more efficient. When people start seeing these benefits, I mean we are talking about four hundred billion dollars in private sector investment. That is thousands and thousands of jobs, and that is real human beings getting a shot at being in the middle class because they have a job again.
You know.
So it's that excitement that we have to really amplify. We need people to understand that it's not about the planet. It is about the people and them, their families, their communities, and as money get gets invested, we are really seeing significant opportunities for individuals to sort of feel it themselves. That's when it's going to take off. And frankly, the outline of new proposals and how much we can do that was just delivered by Biden and Harris really show you the path.
Forward, all right.
Gina McCarthy, great to see you here in Chicago, of course, the former administrator of the EPA. Thank you so much for your time.
You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast kens Just Live weekdays at noon Eastern on Applecarplay and enroyd Otto with the Bloomberg Business App. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station, Just Say Alexa Play Bloomberg eleven thirty.
Now, as we consider the messaging we have gotten out of this convention, in this conversation around freedom, whether it be reproductive rights or otherwise, there also has been another message surrounding American democracy. And this is actually something we heard about from House Speaker America Nancy Pelosi, as she on the stage last night recalled the of January sixth, twenty twenty one.
January sixth was a perilous moment for our democracy. Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy, so leeffully embraced political violence, so wilfully betrayed his oath of office. Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January sixth, he did, But let us not forget who saved democracy that day. We did, and thank god we had a democratic House of Representatives. Then we returned to the capital that very same night, we insisted on certifying the election results on the floors of the House and the Senate, and we demonstrated to America and to the world that American democracy prevailed.
Joining us now here in Chicago is Senate Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin of Illinois. We are here in his home state for this Democratic National Convention. Sir, thank you so much for joining us on Bloomberg TV and radio. It's great to see you.
Good to be here.
And this is, as we've been remarking upon all week, a very different convention than maybe some expected just four weeks ago. Certainly we have a different candidate, but it also feels like we have a bit of a different message. Joe Biden was making his campaign very much about democracy, talking about January sixth, as we heard Nancy Pelosi do last night. Certainly Donald Trump hasn't shied away from that. Either he's calling them patriots or prisoners in the case of some of those who have been convicted. It feels like that's not getting focused on as much now that Harris is at the top of the ticket. And I wonder what you think about that. Is that actually still the winning message for Democrats.
The message is freedom and so many different aspects of it. Certainly when it comes to reproductive choice, we've found all across the United States, so called safe red states are voting for women's rights, women's right to have the freedom to decide the future of their bodies and their families. I think that is an underlying theme you continue to hear. So freedom is the heart of the issue of this campaign.
Freedom is pretty broad.
And I'd like to stay at a thirty thousand foot level with you here, because you've been doing this longer than some of the people in this hall. Where told the economy is the number one issue. We're told that people are very concerned about the border. But when you look at this broadly, this election, what is the choice beyond freedom when it comes to the actual issues that people will make their decisions on here.
Well, I think the choice spoils down to a very simple phrase, do we want to go back to the era of Donald Trump as president and all that that brought us? We kind of laugh it off now when he suggested somehow another bleach was going to be the answer to the COVID crisis that had just disappear and some of the other things that he did as president. We really destrugged our shoulders and said that may not be normal for the rest of the world, but it's normal for Donald Trump. I think the American people, if they watched this convention, understand there's going to be a clear choice here whether we're moving forward with a new outlook that's more positive towards relationships of Americans, are returning to that Trump.
Era well, And part of the Trump era was marked by his ability to appoint a number of conservative justices to the Supreme Court, some of whom, of course, have come under fire or have been looked into by the Judiciary Committee within the last years. There's been concerns raised about ethics. How much of this election is also about the next president's ability to potentially change the shape of the court. Knowing that one of the things Joe Biden wants to do before leaving office, or has suggested being done, is Supreme Court reform.
Dobbs' decision was a grim reminder to the American people that the selection of a Supreme Court justice can affect their lives personally. I mean, just look at the reaction across the United States of repealing Roe versus Wade. Donald Trump brags about that, but I can tell you most Americans don't brag with him. They think this is a serious problem, and it is a serious problem for women and their families all across the country. So it's a reminder too that that basic freedom needs to have someone to protect it. And Kamala Heiris will do that.
When I think Dick Durban, I think Chicago, and I'd like to hear from you on what this convention means for the image of this city, maybe the economy as well. You've got thousands, tens of thousands of people from around the country in town here, and Donald Trump is comparing Chicago to Afghanistan. He says it's more dangerous than Afghanistan, pointing to one hundred and seventeen shootings on the fourth of July. What do you want people to take away? People are watching this from all over the country about Chicago that they might not know this week.
Well, crime and gun violence is an American problem. It is just a Chicago problem. And they can try all I wish to blame this administration or the Democrats because of the political makeup in Illinois. The bottom line I'm hearing from conventioneers is they've been dazzled by the city. Luckily, the weather couldn't be better for in August in Chicago. But in addition to that, the mayor has done a great job and cleaning up the city and a terrific job with law enforcement to make sure that we give people their First Amendment rights, but to stop them short of violence or vandalism. It really makes me sick to my stomach when I hear JD. Van's going up to Wisconsin and talking about the terrible situation with crime in Chicago. It was JD. Advance personally stop the appointment of a permanent US Attorney to the City of Chicago. Jdevans personally. They confronted him on the floor of the Senate several times over that decision. He said he wanted to grind the Department of Justice to a halt. You tell me that's a law and art of candidate. I think it's a weird candidate, to be honest with you. It suggests that closing down the Department of Justice is the right thing to do, and he did it.
Senator, you just alluded to some of the protests we have seen since being here in Chicago, they have been I think it's fair to say smaller in scale than many expected or even feared coming into this week when it comes to the protests over the war ongoing in Gaza, has it surprised you the degree to which they haven't been as disruptive or as robust, And do you think that may be attributable to the change in candidate? This isn't Biden's convention, it's Harry.
I think that's it. I think you put your finger on it. Plus, there was a conscious effort by the mayor and other leaders to work with the demonstrators and say, we will protect your First Amendment rights, but we're not going to condone violence and vandalism. We just not accept it. We're not going to accept that. And so the police have done a good job here, I think, and when you consider past conventions, that is a very positive thing to say. But the bottom line, as far as I'm concerned is we understand, and they understand if the alternative is Donald Trump in making these foreign policy decisions, they're willing to work with Kamala Harris to see if there's a reasonable way to resolve.
These Is that right?
And Joe Biden has struggled to reach a ceasefire here. It was back in May when you rolled out that initial six point plan, and he says he's going to make this the priority for the rest of his term. If he cannot secure a cease fire, is Kamala Harris going to have an easier time doing well.
It's a big challenge for whoever as it coming up with the agreement and then enforcing it. But we all know. At least I feel I was with the first Senator to say so that there should be a cease fire and stop military operations and release the hostages. That I think was a starting point to eventually finding some solution in the Middle East. I've been disappointed with mister Nett Yahoo when it comes to a two state solution. I believe in it. I think that's been a all seeing the past and should be again.
Well, obviously he wants to see that done. As I mentioned earlier, he had also would like to see reforms to the Supreme Court, something that would take congressional cooperation. And I'm not sure, sir, how realistic you think that may be, which brings us to the point of whether or not you have more faith now than you would have maybe four weeks ago, for your party to retain control of the Senate, for you to be able to retain your place as the majority.
There is no question there is a new spirit and energy in the Democratic Party for this election. It started when the decision was made by Joe Biden to step aside, a selfless decision that I respect him for very much. And that new attitude and approach is something that Donald Trump's been unable to match. He just can't do it, and he's frustrated by it. That's why he says these bizarre things about We'll have one election, this will be the last one. What in the hell is he talking about. This is America. He doesn't get to dictated. The Constitution makes it clear what the law is. And he's reaching out in every direction, flailing away because this is a new candidate he didn't anticipate.
I suspect that you've had a chance to talk with your old colleague from the Senate about his decision to drop out of the presidential race.
Did you give Joe Biden any advice? Did he have words for you?
We did not, And I made a point, after thirty years of friendship not to make a public statement, but be in contact with him and talked to him. And I've done that since after he made that decision. But what it boiled down to her two sentences and his speech to this convention, I love this job, but I love this country even more. And I think that really spelled out his resignation to the fact that he is now going to be moving on and has to live with his record, which I think has been one of the best in history.
Well, it's great for you to come and see us in Chicago. Thanks for showing us around.
So good to have here. Come back sometime when there's no.
Absolutely weather like this, might see a little more of the city that way as well. Senator thank you. We'll see you back in Washington. That's Dick Durbin of course, if Illinois. Thank you for the time today.
You're listening to the Bloomberg Balance of Power podcast. Catch us live weekdays at noon Eastern on Evocarplay and thenroud Otto with the Bloomberg Business app. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube.
We've already heard from a lot of the powerhouses within the Democratic Party, including some others who were on the vice presidential shortlist as we understood it. We heard last night from Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. We also heard from the former South Bend, Indiana mayor and Transportation Secretary Pete Budajech.
When the dog is barking and the air fryer is beeping, and the mac and cheese is boiling over, and it feels like all the political negotiating experience in the world is not enough for me to get our three year old son and our three year old daughter to just wash their hands and sit at the table. This kind of life went from impossible to possible, from possible to real, from real to almost ordinary in less than half a lifetime. But that didn't just happen. It was brought about through idealism and courage, through organizing and persuasion and storytelling, and yes, through politics, the right kind of politics, the kind of politics that can make an impossible dream into an everyday reality.
Joining us now here on set in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention is Tara Setmeyer, co founder and CEO of the Seneca Project, and Krystal McCrary maguire, Seneca Project's national finance chief. The Seneca Project is a bipartisan super pac led by women with their goal of mobilizing women voters in support of Kamala Harris. Welcome to you both. Great to have you here on Blueberg two and Radio Terror. Just speaking with you because you're trying to elect Kamala Harris as someone who up until a few years ago the Republican Party. So how does it feel being here in Chicago, surrounded by some of the most faithful Democrats that there are, and to be in this moment right now?
Yeah, it's frankly, it's very surreal, but you know what, this is what happens when you're on the right side of history and the right side of our democracy. And for women, this is our moment. We have really never seen a moment like this for women, the impact that this election will have on women and what's at stake for women. So when Michelle Kinney and I my co founder of the Seneca Project, decided to do this and embark on this, coming from a bipartisan perspective was important because what's happening to women in this country impacts all of us. It doesn't matter whether you have a D or an R next to your name. If you are bleeding out in a lobby of an emergency room in a state that has now criminalized women's healthcare, that's what we're facing, on top of other extremist agendas trying to take women back. So the idea of us at Seneca we have an ad called we Won't Go Back that we made even before Kamala Harris was in the race. So we felt like, well, we're on the right track here. But that's the vibe we were getting from women, women regardless of their political affiliation. So seeing this and being here and being in this environment is markedly different than the Republican Party. And the joyful warriors that are here, the camaraderie, the energy, the enthusiasm. It's inspiring and we firmly believe that if you galvanize women, we'll save this democracy. And that's our goal at Seneca Project.
Well, we spent a lot of time talking the last couple of weeks about the rapid turn that this election has taken. This campaign, it was just a couple of months ago people were talking about suburban women breaking for Donald Trump, that this whole thing was falling apart for Democrats.
And because it's happened so fast. We haven't had so much.
Of a conversation about the historic nature of this candidacy or this election.
Have we No, we haven't. And that's something that is so compelling to me in so many women.
I look at my mother.
We're Michiganders. She's ninety eight years old, and she was talking to me actually a few months ago about how we're angry. And I was like, who's angry?
And she's like, me and my.
Crew are girls that are like seventy five to one hundred and three years old. I said why, and she said, because they're trying to take away our rights. They're trying to take away our rights to choose. And I was like, mom, you're ninety eight. You talk about reproductive justice or reproductive freedom And she said, do you know how many women I knew pre row who died during childbirth? And that hit me in the core. And what I love about the Seneca Project is that it's bipartisan. We are all Americans, we are women in this organization, and we are trying to fight and make sure that women ultimately have the right to reproductive justice. And that is one of the things that the Seneca Project is going to ensure across the country we're getting the messaging out that this just doesn't affect Democratic women, independent women, or Republican women. The issues around IVF, the issues around contraceptives, that is something that affects all families, and that is one of the things that really appealed to me about the Seneca Project.
Well, and of course you serve as the finance chief, and as you talk about getting the message out, most of the time that requires money. And we've had a conversation not just about the re energizing of female voters and the attention they're paying to this race, but the way in which more people are donating. The Harris campaign says sixty percent of the three hundred and ten million dollars they raised in July was from women. And I just wonder if you think that's sustainable, If that money is going to keep flowing.
Oh yeah, I not only think it's sustainable, but I think it's going to continue to grow as we see more and more what is actually at stake when we continue to see the rights of women that are being attacked. That's something that I've continued to see a trend, and not just with registered voters, which we are seeing more women registered to vote, but we're seeing it with young people.
Well, so we leave the convention tomorrow and it's the sprint. We've got a debate in the beginning of September, and it's going to be amazing how fast this goes by. To think we have seventy five days is somewhat scary to consider right now. So what's the strategy for Seneca to seize on that very short window.
What's the roadshow going to look like? What do you have planned?
Yeah, so I think that this truncated timetable actually benefits us because the enthusiasm level is so high that post Labor Day is really when everyone starts to pay attention. And so now when ballots start getting sent out and women particularly are paying attention to all of the things that are under attack and under assault that transcends party lines, they're going to go, Okay, what do we need to do? So what our plan is. We're focusing on the battleground states because that's where this is going to be one and you're only talking about one hundred thousand voters in about four states. That's it. This is going to be one in the margins. So as we're speaking to these moderate women, giving them the permissions structure that it's okay for you to vote Republican this time. You don't have to agree on everything because about the privacy aspect of this. It's your ballot, your choice, just like with your bodies, your body, your choice. It's your ballot, your choice, and no one.
Else's well in on the ballot in some of these states, including battlegrounds. Arizona is literally abortion right, and it's also on the ballot in a state like Florida, which you don't consider to be a battleground. But some Democrats, including Congressoman w Washerman Schultzeo we spoke with here yesterday, has suggested Florida might actually be in play and abortion could be a reason. Why will you spend resources there?
Well, it depends. I mean, obviously, Florida is almost a white whale for a lot of reasons, like Texas is too. But what's interesting is that Florida is even in the conversation. You have eight states with abortion on the ballot, with women's rights on the ballot. Those ballot initiatives are getting there because of bipartisan signatures. This is not just coming from one party, particularly places like Arizona, which is critically important too. Five hundred and seventy seven thousand signatures. It's a record that means that these are women from all across the board and men who were looking at the situation. We also talk to the girl dads because we know that girl The relationship between dads and daughters is a very powerful one and a very persuadable one. So we'll also be targeting those girl dads, explaining to them what's at stake and do they really want their daughters in a future where they don't have the same rights as their grandmothers. So that is all part of our comprehensive strategy of targeting those women in battleground states and places where they have initiative. Ballot initiatives is even better because the ground operations there keeps people.
Everyone's welcome, that's right, Everyone's welcome.
That's right.
Come one, come all, this is for women. We want you to help the Seneca Project get some of our ads on the air in the battleground states and beyond, because this affects all Americans.
You said something important.
Though we're talking about one hundred thousands, we'll think of what that is on a percentage. This is like a basis point of the entire Americans margins.
Yeah, oh my gosh.
So why waste time in anything other than the seven ballot.
It's like a Michigan home game, right, that's.
House.
Now.
Why would you look outside the swing states though, when you're fighting over that smaller number, Well.
That is what we're doing at the Seneca Project. We are within the swing states, to your point, and it will be decided there and we are deeply committed to getting the messaging across around reproductive freedom for all women, all families.
Do you really feel like you're being competed with on this messaging or the counter messaging rather, Because when Joe and I were in Milwaukee last month, listening to those who were on the stage, a lot of them white men, specifically the issue of reproductive rights kind of being ignored. We had a lot of conversations with this notion that the Republican Party seems to have abandoned the attempts to court suburban women, and that's unfortunate.
Will take the suburban women great, but.
Do you think you're having to fight them for that vote or do you think that vote actually you're the only one with that, with that audience that they're targeting.
I think we're not taking anything for granted, right would you say that, Tarah, I mean anything for granted?
I would agree with that. This is going to be a tough RaSE. This is by far you know we're going to win it. No, no, no, we're confident that there's a path of victory. But this is going to be incredibly close, which is why every vote matters here. And the fact that the Republicans chose a ticket that wasn't exactly friendly to women's needs or rights, and that they're taking that for granted and almost just respectfully insulting women like this. They're almost doing our job for us as far as messaging is concerned, because women can see through this. They can see through the insults, They see through the childless cat lady comments, and you know, every week it's a different set of insults for women, different demographics of women, and that mobilizes women, and you know they're looking at this and saying, we are not going to put up with this anymore, and you're not going to take our vote for granted. We make up the largest propensity of voters in this country and we're the majority in this we're coming out so that there so if Mago wants to continue to do that, it's at their own risk.
I wonder what you expect to hear on this specific issue tonight from Kamala Harris. It was noteworthy Joe Biden didn't like to say does not like to say the word abortion out loud?
He does, should she?
I think the Vice President has been an incredible spokesperson and advocate for women's rights writ large and specifically women's rights around abortion care, which is healthcare indeed, and I think that she has made that case extremely well to the American people, and I think that she will continue to make that because it is something that is so critically important. I mean, our lives are on the line, the lives of our daughters, the lives of our children. Mean, the fact that jd Vance does not believe that a person raped, a child raped has the right to an abortion is disgraceful and tragic for women and families across this country.
I mean, the messaging around freedom, I think is the most important thing. And as a former Republican that appeals to the constituency, we're talking to you because it's bigger than just abortion. We've seen that they're coming for contraception, for IVF, for no fault divorce. Do you trust women to make the best decisions for their families, for their bodies, for their daughters, and their futures. And Republicans don't seem to do that. But I think what Kamala Harris is doing messaging everything around the idea of freedom is taking that back. Republicans do not own the concept of freedom and individualism, and so that's what I think has been a very smart pivot in the messaging that's appealing particularly to those right of center women who are looking for that permission structure to vote for Kamala Harris.
Republicans don't own what it means to be a patriots, correct, And I think that that's something with the Seneca Project. We are patriots and this is for all Americans again, no matter what your political affiliation is.
Tarah set Mayor Crystal McCrary McGuire of the Seneca Project, what a great conversation.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Thanks for listening to the Balance of Power podcast.
Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already an Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and you can find us every weekday from Washington, DC at noontime Eastern at Bloomberg dot com.
