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Narrator/Announcer
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- [02:04]
Host/Anchor
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts
- [02:07]
Narrator/Announcer
Radio News welcome to the Bloomberg this Weekend podcast with David Gura, Christina Raffini and Elisa Mateo.
- [02:19]
Host/Anchor
Thanks for joining us for today's selection of conversations from the show.
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Co-Host/Anchor
You can listen to our favorite discussions right here here on the podcast, but also make sure to join us live every Saturday and Sunday morning starting at 7am Eastern.
- [02:31]
Host/Anchor
We're on Bloomberg Television Radio and the Bloomberg Business App bringing you unique takes and in depth interviews on news, politics, lifestyle and culture. All right, New this morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the US Is ready to restart strikes in Iran if there is no deal between the two countries. In a speech in Singapore, Hegseth also took some swipes at NATO allies. Speaking at the Shangri La dialogue, he talked about the Middle East, US Partnerships and China's military expansion.
- [03:01]
Government Official/Defense Department Spokesperson
There is rightful alarm regarding China's historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond. We share a clear eyed assessment of that security environment and a mutual understanding that a Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power and undermine the equilibrium we all seek to preserve. The Department of War is working with the utmost focus to prevent any such unraveling. We do not approach this challenge with needless confrontation, but with a posture of measured and deliberate strength.
- [03:41]
Co-Host/Anchor
On the sidelines of that important security and defense summit is our colleague Haslinda Aman, who is a Bloomberg Editor at large and the host of Insight with Islinda Amin on Bloomberg Television. Haslinda, always great to speak with you. And I wonder if you could set the scene for us first, maybe pick up on what the defense secretary said there and how that's coloring the proceedings that are taking place in Singapore this weekend.
- [04:02]
Haslinda Amin (Bloomberg Editor at Large)
Well, you heard from Hexaf himself. I mean, it is a balancing act. The tone that Hexif adopted this time round reflects a relationship with China which is still being redefined. He talked about how relations are constructive, that China is possibly a part partner and that communications between the two sides are open. In fact, the two militaries are in communication. And that is what is interesting here, David, when you speak to experts, they point to how relations between the two till now have been lacking in communication. And that's led to some big misunderstandings prompting to that relationship being on the brink at some point. Case in point, back in October when the US Imposed heightened tariffs and that prompted China to retaliate by withholding critical Minerals to the U.S. bringing the U.S. economy to its knees. Now that's because of a lack of communication and I think the US And China are trying to rectify that. If you take a look at what happened in Beijing just two weeks ago, we had President Trump before leaving Beijing after that summit telling Xi Jinping, you know what, call me maybe if there are issues between the two sides, it is an attempt to redefine that relationship. And communications are pretty much key. And you know what, it is interesting to note as well that the Pew research recently stated what the Americans themselves think about China. They no longer think of China as an enemy, as a foe. They see China as a rival. They can coexist. And perhaps this is is that defining moment.
- [05:44]
Host/Anchor
It's so nice to finally get to talk to you. This is the first time I've gotten the opportunity since joining the team here. But I do want to ask you a little bit more about Hegseth before We kind of broaden out a little bit because in this Q and A, he was also asked about future arms sales to Taiwan. And if, if he was able to do that, there's been reporting that those stockpiles are low and that. So there's two ways to look at this. It's either being used as a bargaining chip, as the President said, or. Or it's put on hold because those stockpiles are low and the US Will need them. What was his response and how is that playing out at the forum?
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Haslinda Amin (Bloomberg Editor at Large)
First of all, I want to say that Taiwan is the red line in relations between the US And China. Taiwan, that China. China has warned time and time again that if it is mismanaged, that could be severe consequences. So Taiwan really is the red line. The fact that hacks a speech did not mention Taiwan at all, that is a big deal. Because if you recall back in a speech a year ago, this time last year in Shanghai, he talked about Taiwan. He mentioned Taiwan five times. This time around, no mention of Taiwan. Even though Taiwan is a key issue for the world today. It was only during the Q and A when he was asked about the deal, that arms deal, which, you know, China took issue with that he said, you know what? President Trump will decide on that. That in itself is a reflection of how sensitive he is to the topic of Taiwan. So I think the fact that he refused to answer that question says everything.
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Co-Host/Anchor
You, of course, are watching all of the proceedings. You are participating them as well. You're doing interviews on the sidelines here. And you spoke to NATO's military chief a little bit earlier today. And yes, the focus is very much on the Indo Pacific, but also on Europe. There are a lot of European security and defense officials there as well. And you asked him about the relationship between the US and NATO. Let's take a little bit of a listen to the colloquy that you had with the NATO military chief.
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Haslinda Amin (Bloomberg Editor at Large)
In the speech by Pete Haxus, the Secretary of War of the US he talked about how they are great benefits for allies that help themselves. It seems to be a dig for Europe and NATO's. How. How do you assess what's been relayed by taxes?
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Publicity/Advertising Voice
Well, this is nothing new. We had a message loud and clear a long time ago. I think that we react. I mean, we had a commitment, a strong commitment in the Hague to reach the 5% by 2035. We are on that path. We are progressing on that. We are just doing it. We have a NATO defence planning process to give us the capability that we need and we will acquire that in time. So I think we are in good, in a good shape. And of course we as a military side, we don't have any drama going on.
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Co-Host/Anchor
Big Cabo Dragon there has been to put that into a broader context. Again, the focus here among those allies still very much on President Trump's call for these European nations to contribute more larger percentage of their GDP to defense. How much is that being talked about at this forum thus far?
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Haslinda Amin (Bloomberg Editor at Large)
You know what, the NATO military chief was pretty plain and clear. He talked about how they are listening to the US they are bringing that defense spending up to 5%. It won't happen overnight, it will take time. But they are getting there. They have listened and they know their commitment. I think that's one. The other thing he talked about was how relationship, the relationship between the US And NATO is mature, it's stable and it will go through all these challenges and it is adapting to the current challenges and the current time. And I think that's key. I think you need to draw that comparison with the relationship that the US has with this part of the world, the Indo Pacific, which is very much reliant on the US for I guess in a way for lack of better expression, protection. I mean, with the China's buildup in this part of the world, you know, it is only a US Led alliance, a US Led response that can counter the defense. But in any case, I think the point to note really is the US can't do anything alone. It requires NATO in Europe, it requires, you know, the partners in this part of the world to actually counter that build up that, that we see from China right now.
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Host/Anchor
Certainly an argument NATO allies making pretty strongly to the White House. Hasan, quickly, before we let you go, there is news that the New York Times has kicked out. I'm sorry, excuse me, China has kicked out the New York Times Long, long standing, very accomplished China reporter Vivian Wang, after that outlet did an interview with a separate reporter with the president of Taiwan. Historically, China's been pretty tolerant of Taiwanese officials doing media outlet interviews, especially with, with American outlets. Does this mark a change? Is China cracking down and is it concerning that this is coming on the heels of that Trump Xi summit?
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Haslinda Amin (Bloomberg Editor at Large)
Well, it's really hard to say what really is happening because it's hard to say what US Policy is towards Taiwan right now. I think there is a reassessment of how the US Views Taiwan. Some people view that under this current administration, the Taiwan issue is no longer a key issue in America's policy towards China, there are other bigger issues that it needs to handle. So it's really hard to say whether the crackdown is continuing and how, you know, the world should be responding. I think there's a lack of clarity and we just have to wait and see what the actual policy is towards
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Host/Anchor
Taiwan Haslin, I mean, Bloomberg at her at large in Singapore. Thank you so much for joining us today.
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Co-Host/Anchor
Appreciate it. Well, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was also asked about Iran after President Trump ended that two hour meeting in the Situation Room on Friday without announcing a final determination on a deal. As we mentioned.
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Government Official/Defense Department Spokesperson
And I had a chance to talk to President Trump this morning. He, he wanted me to reiterate how patient he is in ensuring that with America undertaking this kind of historic endeavor, any deal will be a good one, a great one. And he's patient in the pursuit of that because of how the implications of how that sorts out. And certainly our department, we were in a Cabinet meeting just a couple of days ago and the president said, hey, it will be a great deal. And if Iran doesn't want to make a great deal that ensures they don't get a nuclear weapon, they can deal with the guy on my left. That was the only time I've ever been accused of being on the left. And he was pointing at the War Department. And we're serious about that. Our ability to recommence if necessary is we are more than capable. Our stockpiles are, are more than suited for that both there and around the globe because of how we balance exquisite and more plentiful munitions.
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Host/Anchor
Overnight, the White House issued a statement that reads, president Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his red lines. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon. Joining us now is Laura Davidson. She is Bloomberg's deputy Washington bureau chief. Laura, thank you so much for joining us. For first of all, it's a little bit of deja vu all over again. I feel like we had this exact same talk last weekend, but you weren't here. So let's get your take on all this. It was very interesting. Yesterday you had this pronouncement from the president as we referenced the top of the show, going in, huddling in the Situation Room, going to make this decision and now crickets. Do we have any idea where this stands or what the holdup was?
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Publicity/Advertising Voice
We don't.
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Laura Davidson (Bloomberg Deputy Washington Bureau Chief)
He went into the Situation Room for this two hour meeting. He yet again set a deadline for himself saying that he would make a decision by the time he was coming out of this meeting. And there has been no response from the White House other than to say that, you know, the meeting happened, it concluded, and that essentially that the president's red lines, which are the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran agreeing to give up its nuclear program, as well as its enriched uranium stockpile, those red lines have not yet been satisfied. So this continues to be quite a pickle for the president. We've seen Trump, you know, kind of time and time again try to get this deal to come together, but markets and investors and kind of the world has sort of been bracing for some sort of response, but it started to take some of these pronouncements with a grain of salt, because we've seen him now, you know, for weeks, if not months, you know, sort of set up a deadline that he then completely blows past. And so, you know, he was even interesting just on the terminal yesterday and seeing what readers were reading, and there was an interesting, you know, every. Every true social post you put out, people were, were, you know, gleaning to see if there's any. Any information. But instead he was talking about the Kennedy center are putting out memes, not about the one thing that really has the world captivated, Iran.
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Co-Host/Anchor
Laura, let me ask you lastly here, just about what we've heard from other administration officials. So I guess that is what's different this time. We heard from the vice president, these negotiations have been ongoing, heard from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, who's at the Reagan forum yesterday, a lot of detail about the efficacy of the sanctions policies that have been put in place on Iran. What did he have to say, Bessant in particular? Just about the strength of the vice that the US has put on Iran as this conflict has continued.
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Host/Anchor
Yeah.
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Laura Davidson (Bloomberg Deputy Washington Bureau Chief)
Besson's comments came after sort of the latest round of sanctions, and he said there were more, more to come, potentially on airlines. He also mentioned that there was a, you know, $1 billion of Iranian crypto that had been seized, that US cyber forces had been able to basically go seize that money straight out of the wallets themselves, putting additional pressure on the Iranian government's finances. But the important thing to remember here is that the Iranian public and the Iranian government's threshold for pain is a lot higher than where the American populaces might be. If this is, you know, their country, of course, it's an authoritarian country. We don't have a great sense of what's going on inside, you know, the borders of Iran. Internet has been shut down for the better part of three months now, and there's but even with, you know, hunger levels rising, with, you know, kind of an economic crisis that could potentially be brewing, there's an asymmetrical, you know, sort of balance here on, you know, what, what they might be able to withstand. You know, Trump has sort of pivoted to making this point that, you know, he's patient, he's willing to make a deal, you know, but he doesn't want to, you know, rush to the finish line if he doesn't think that the US Is getting a good deal. But, you know, he's facing a much different set of circumstances when it comes to rising gas prices and economics here.
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Host/Anchor
Laura, we're so sorry, we're gonna have to leave it there, but thank you so much for joining us. It's always nice to see you. I'm glad you're back in D.C.
- [16:04]
Co-Host/Anchor
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Narrator/Announcer
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- [19:00]
Host/Anchor
All right, the global health community is trying to contain a fast moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Co-Host/Anchor
Meanwhile, new questions are emerging about global preparedness as the US Begins to screen passengers for signs of infection and Kenya temporarily blocks plans for a quarantine facility that would be backed and run by the U.S. joining us now is Dr. Tom Frieden. He's the former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and now the president and CEO of the organization Resolve to Save Lives. Dr. Frieden, great to have you with us. I confess the reason that I wanted to have you on as we were speaking with Jeremy Kannandyk last week about this outbreak as it unfolded and he said back when he was running point For USAID in 2014, 2015, this was your full time job that you as the head of the CDC had a complete focus on the Ebola outbreak. I'm curious as you look at the response thus far, if you have confidence that somebody within this administration is doing just that, paying as much attention to this outbreak and focusing on containing it?
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Dr. Tom Frieden (Former CDC Director)
Well, I'm not directly involved, so I can only comment as an outsider. I do see the US providing some financial assistance and I do see the many, many scientists, doctors, nurses, lab experts at CDC very dedicated to trying to stop things. But it is a world of difference and I think first we have to start with what the context is. This is going to be really hard to control. Just to give you a flavor of that, by the time we started responding in 2014 there were between 40 and 50 cases by the Time the world started responding this year, there are between 400 and 500 cases.
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Host/Anchor
And why is that? Is that partially because the reporting structure was reliant on things like usaid. They're just no longer there.
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Dr. Tom Frieden (Former CDC Director)
You know, to be blunt, I think that that's what some people are saying. I think that's a knee jerk response. It may or may not be correct. I don't know that. There are plenty of reasons to explain a delayed detection without that. And there'll be plenty of time to assess whether or not that contributed. The point right now is we need an emergent, immediate, meticulous response. Just so quickly. I can't express just how important it is to work with urgency. And the reason for that is with Ebola, what we, what we figured out in West Africa and I went there multiple times and worked with the teams, we had fantastic staff. You know, when I ran CDC, all, all 158 disease detectives went to Ebola. We had went to respond to the Ebola outbreak. At some point we had close to 4,000 people working. Within days we had put 50 people in the field in the three countries. We had on average 200 people a day in the field, 400 working at CDC for years of this outbreak. But what we found early on was that if you get there in days, you can stop it in weeks. If it takes weeks to get there, it's going to go on for months. And if it takes months, it may go on for years. So we really need to surge in support, understanding that 90% of the response will be local doctors, nurses, community leaders. But still they need funds, they need logistics, and they need some partnership on some of the more specialized elements of care and disease detection and control.
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Co-Host/Anchor
Walk us through what you make of the plan that was floated. I guess it's been struck down by a Kenyan court here to have a quarantine facility in Kenya for those from the US who have been exposed to Ebola. What do you make of that? I know that some pushback against this that I've seen is that if you have been exposed, there's no way for you to get back to the US to get treatment here. What do you make of the plan that has been floated there by the US Government?
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Dr. Tom Frieden (Former CDC Director)
Yeah, I don't know the details of it, but fundamentally, if we're talking about people who are going over to fight the epidemic, that's kind of equivalent to our war fighters who we send into danger areas. And if they get hurt, we expect to bring them back to this country and treat them. As the returning heroes they are, not to put them in some slapped together facility somewhere. The, the other thing to say is it really is important that people get good quality care as quickly as possible if they become ill. Even there's no proven treatment for this particular strain of Ebola. Supportive care makes a really big difference. It can make the difference between life and death. We stopped the 2014, 2016 epidemic without significant contribution from vaccination or treatment. So it's possible to do with the core public health activities of isolating patients, providing safe and dignified burial, contact tracing, and then quarantine and, and care for contacts who become ill.
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Host/Anchor
Given where this outbreak is right now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, quote, we cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States. Do you think that's a reasonable goal? And was that the goal in the past for these kinds of epidemics?
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Dr. Tom Frieden (Former CDC Director)
Well, it's certainly a goal. How realistic it is if this spreads widely in Africa is very questionable. People travel for business, for tourism, for family reunification. People have contacts. People go from one country to another and then come here. So really there's no way to build a moat around the United States and keep everybody out. It is reasonable to reduce the risk that there will be any spread in the US and there are really good ways to do that. But what we did during my time leading the CDC was when a couple of Americans got sick overseas. We have a special biocontainment airplane that went, picked them up and brought them to a biocontainment facility at Emory University in Atlanta. And both of them survived and nobody else got infected. And that didn't serve as a deterrent for people to go stop the outbreak there, understanding that they would be well cared for if they became ill.
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Host/Anchor
I remember that. I remember that flight coming back and us live on the air where I was working at the time, tracking that movement of that patient all the way to that hospital.
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Co-Host/Anchor
Let me ask you, Dr. Frieden, about the loneliness of the WHO director making the trip to Democratic Republic of the Congo to see this firsthand in the past, somebody in your previous position might have gone. We don't currently have a permanent head of the, the CDC right now. Use that as a jumping off point, if you would, just to talk about the way that the who, the global health apparatus, is operating here without the cooperation of the kind of hand in glove relationship that we would have seen in the past between the US Public health infrastructure and global public health infrastructure.
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Dr. Tom Frieden (Former CDC Director)
There's a bottom line here for all of its problems and challenges and weaknesses. The WHO is absolutely essential. There is no replacement for it. There's no way for bilateral engagements to make the kind of interaction and intervention that the WHO can. And the stronger WHO is, the safer we are as a country. During my time at who, Margaret Chan was the director. She and I were in almost daily telephone communication. We were very closely coordinated. We provided dozens or even hundreds of staff to support and strengthen who. In the past decade, WHO has gotten stronger. They created a new emergencies unit that's more capable of responding to things like this. But the US Was always in the lead along with who, and now we're really kind of on the sidelines. And that also means that we have less intelligence, less information about what's really happening. We haven't paid our dues to who. We walked away from who. We pulled out overnight several dozen CDC experts who were embedded with who, helping them to do a better job. And fundamentally, when we turn our back on an organization like who, we can't improve it, and we are less safe.
- [27:13]
Host/Anchor
Talk to us a little bit about what this virus is like and what this strain of this virus is like. It's not as contagious as something like Covid. Right. You have to be come into direct contact with it. But I think the reason it is so scary is because. Because the outcomes can be very bad. If you are in a facility that is not what you've got in Atlanta, which is not all this supportive care, how do you treat it, and what is the best way to prevent the spread, given the resources a lot of people have at their disposal?
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Dr. Tom Frieden (Former CDC Director)
Ebola is a scary disease. It kills a significant proportion of the people who are infected. It kills in some horrible ways, including bleeding and loss of body fluids. And it spreads through close contact, especially with people who have died from Ebola, who have a huge number of organisms. And that's one of the reasons it's just not in the cards For Ebola to spread widely in this country. We don't have the kind of burial practices or health care that would lead to widespread transmission. On the other hand, it is certainly possible that a traveler will come into this country, as one did in 2014, 2015, with Ebola or without Ebola, and develop symptoms of Ebola, go to an emergency department or a doctor's office. And that's why, for the general public, there's really no cause for concern for doctors and nurses working on the front lines. Keep an eye out for people who have traveled. But there's one issue beyond this that I think is really important to emphasize even though this strain of Ebola and this Ebola outbreak is not going to cause a pandemic, it's not going to cause a significant risk to large numbers of Americans. It's a stress test. And it's a stress test the world is not doing well at. I would say so far we're failing. And that bodes ill for the future. That means that the next time there's a pandemic and there will be a next pandemic, we are not well prepared. Our defenses are down. The WHO needs to be stronger. The CDC needs to be robust. And what we saw in recent weeks is another deadly blow to the US CDC. In the past, we've seen 3,000 staff pushed out, virtually all leaders of the CDC gone acting part time. And now what we've seen is the State Department halt more than 100 different contracts CDC has with organizations around the world that provide care for 8 million people living with HIV and that can support binding problems quickly and stopping them soon. That plan is to roll out in the coming weeks and it would result basically in the CDC having to call back hundreds of disease detectives, shut offices, outposts in countries where we can support countries to find and stop outbreaks faster. This is something that would not only devastate CDC's global health footprint, but make Americans much less safe. So if this plan of the State Department isn't paused and done in a careful, thoughtful way, we will be even less prepared for the next pandemic.
- [30:27]
Co-Host/Anchor
I'm Freedom thank you very much for the time. On this Saturday, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of course, former commissioner for public health here in New York City as well. Now with the resolve to save lives organizations. And I just want to note here, Christine, we've gotten these kind of daily digests from the State Department. The most recent statement that we got, yes, announced more financial commitments, but also noted that the U.S. mexico and Canada have announced aligned public health travel measures for individuals coming from African regions at greatest risk from the Ebola virus, centering around the World Cup. And I think that's something to watch here as well as of how they handle that transit to the US from Africa 100%.
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Host/Anchor
That team is already in Europe. So we'll have to see if they're treated as a quarantine as well. Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend right after this.
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Publicity/Advertising Voice
Support for the show comes from public. Public is an investing platform that offers access to stocks, options, bonds and crypto. And they've also integrated AI with tools that can assist investors in building customized portfolios. One of these tools is called Generated Assets. It allows you to turn your ideas into investable indexes. So let's say you're interested in something specific like biotech companies with high R and D spend small cap stocks with improving operating margins or the S&P 500 minus high debt companies. Chances are there isn't an ETF that fits your exact criteria. But on Public you just type in a prompt and their AI screens thousands of stocks and builds a one of a kind index. You can even backtest it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks, go to public.com market and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com market ad paid for by Public Holdings Brokerage Services by Public Investing member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors SEC Registered Advisor crypto services by ZeroHash sample prompts are for illustrative purposes only, not investment advice. All investing involves risk of loss. See complete disclosures@public.com disclosures running a small
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Narrator/Announcer
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- [33:24]
Tech/Product Advertisement Voice
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- [34:09]
Host/Anchor
After a bruising and exceedingly expensive primary campaign that ended with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeating incumbent Senator John Cornyn, the stage is set for what's bound to be a bruising and exceedingly expensive campaign for the Senate seat ahead of the general election, where voters are going to choose between Paxton and Democrat James Talrico.
- [34:28]
Co-Host/Anchor
New polling this week shows Talarico with a slight edge over Paxton, but it is a long way until November. Joining us now to count them to
- [34:35]
Host/Anchor
Texas bureau chiefs, dueling bureau chiefs here today.
- [34:38]
Co-Host/Anchor
The New York Times, this man in Houston along with our own Julie Fine. She is based in Dallas. Julie, let me start with you. We're going to talk about the polling and the social issues, but just tee this up for us. Let's start with how expensive that primary was and what that portends for this general election campaign.
- [34:54]
Julie Fine (Texas Bureau Chief, Bloomberg)
Well, this general election campaign expect to be well over $100 million. I want to take you back to 2018 when Beto O' Rourke and Ted Cruz, between the two of them, that was about $120 million. That was 2018. I expect this race to be more expensive when it is all said and done. The Republicans already spent a lot of money going after each other in the primary, so now they have to really get ready for a general election, whereas James Talarico has just had plenty of time to Fundraise. He's raised $3 million, his campaign says, since the primary result alone. So expect this to be a lot of money.
- [35:30]
Host/Anchor
David, I wanna ask about these kind of dueling narratives since we've got dueling bureau chiefs. Obviously, Ken Paxton, Ken Paxton has quite the history.
- [35:40]
Co-Host/Anchor
Right.
- [35:40]
Host/Anchor
He's got ethics concerns, he's got personal life is a bit messy. Republican voters in the primary seem to not be bothered by that. I'm wondering as you go into the general if that's going to be a bigger concern. And then I'm also highly amused at the swipes some Republican operatives have been taking at Talarico this week, including accusing him of being a vegan he is not for the record, and accusing him of having a secret vegan girlfriend. What is going on here and what are voters really going to care about?
- [36:09]
David Goodman (New York Times Houston Bureau Chief)
Well, I mean, that remains to be seen. But you know, it's important to remember that Attorney General Ken Paxton has won several statewide races, statewide general elections in Texas, you know, with a lot of the baggage that he's bringing into this general election already known to the voters so one of the challenges for Democrats here is going to be, you know, making those issues, you know, salient again. And it's, you know, this argument that, you know, Ken Paxton is unfit for the job and that he has this, you know, messy personal life and history of corruption allegations. That's something that John Cornyn tried in the, in the primary. And it really didn't work at all with Republican voters. And you know, it may not work here with general election voters either. But that is the tactic that, you know, James Talrico is focused on so far and he believes that, you know, Ken Paxton hasn't run a general election since 2022. Some of these accusations are, if not new, at least newly adjudicated. His impeachment in 2023 happened in the interim. So he may be a little bit more vulnerable than in the past. On the other side, what Ken Paxton's trying to do is really make James Talarico seem un Texan or sort of other to the voters here. And one of the ways he's doing that is by using the vegan word. And James Tar is not a vegan, but it does, it sort of resonates on some level with the idea among Republican voters anyway that this candidate is outside of the mainstream of what attention a Texan is. And you know, it's a bit ironic because, you know, James Tallarico is a multi generational Texan, whereas Ken Paxton moved here from elsewhere. And so, you know, both of them of course are Texans now. But this question of what does it mean to be a Texan is at the center of this race.
- [37:36]
Co-Host/Anchor
Julie, pick up on that. I mean, I'm curious how much this is sticking with the general electorate. Is this something that could be solved if James Tellarico went to like Lockhart tomorrow and went to Smitty's and Blacks and Cruises and got a few points.
- [37:47]
Host/Anchor
So excited to know the those names,
- [37:49]
Co-Host/Anchor
didn't use cutlery, used white bread to eat the barbecue. I mean, is this something that's likely to stick as we move to November? Is it something he can dismiss or get out of voters minds pretty quickly here, do you think?
- [37:58]
Julie Fine (Texas Bureau Chief, Bloomberg)
Well, I think this is something you're going to see until November. I mean you talk about going to a barbecue joint and doing that kind of thing. He will have those opportunities to do it. The question really is is this going to all be personal attacks and who's more Texan and who's done this or who, who's done that or do they get down to the issues of affordability and the border. So certainly there's time. As my dueling bureau chief knows, it's a long time in politics until that general election. But I expect these themes to come up because they were so prevalent during the primary.
- [38:33]
Host/Anchor
Julie, is there enough barbecue to be eaten, though? When you look at the numbers, this is not a place that elects Democrats. Even at a time when there are a lot of folks, based on polling, that are unhappy with the way the country is being run with the Republican majority, it may not matter at the end of the day. And to David's points, the. The kryptonite of Ken Paxton's kind of ethics problems, it's old. Voters either know it or don't at this point. Are the numbers there, no matter how well Talarico does, do you think, to actually pull out a victory? Because right now, as we've talked about, Paxton is pulling slightly ahead.
- [39:09]
Julie Fine (Texas Bureau Chief, Bloomberg)
Yeah, I mean, David said it perfectly. A lot is already known about Ken Paxton. John Cornyn really tried to get that out more, but this has been known for a long time, and he continues to get reelected, so you have to keep that in mind. Texas has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994. So James Talarico is really going to have to appeal to. To moderates and get more people registered to vote. That is something that Beto o' Rourke really tried to do, but only came within three.
- [39:42]
Co-Host/Anchor
David, I think I speak for all of us. We'd love to see these two men on stage hashing it out, making their platforms known, trading barbs with one another. What is the likelihood of that happening between now, May and November?
- [39:54]
David Goodman (New York Times Houston Bureau Chief)
I would say it's pretty close to zero that that scenario plays out. Ken Paxton hasn't done a debate in a primary or general election for many, many cycles. I think back to 2014 was the last time he was in some kind of onstage debate. And part of the reason why is that he never has had to do that. He's always been in a kind of pole position in his races and here as well. I think if we see a debate, it'll be because Republicans are quite worried that they're not getting their message across and that James Tallarico is appealing across party lines in the way that you're really suggesting. And so we. We at this point, you know, I can't imagine a scenario where he does agree to a debate, but if we see one, I think it's. It's a signal that Democrats are closer than Republicans want them to be.
- [40:37]
Host/Anchor
Julia, quickly, before I let you go what happens to the Cornyn voters? I mean, we've got a poll that says most of them said they would now choose Paxton, 23% undecided. Do you think Telorico can get enough of them?
- [40:51]
Julie Fine (Texas Bureau Chief, Bloomberg)
That's what Democrats have been trying to do here for years. I think a lot of this depends on, again, how much is on personal issues and how much really does get down to the issues that matter to voters. It is a steep road for any Democrat. As David said, they're certainly going to be trying, but it's going to take a serious amount of effort and you're going to have to really work to pull those voters over. Many of them, like you pointed out, said they will go ahead and vote for Ken Paxton when they were planning on voting for John Cornyn.
- [41:21]
Co-Host/Anchor
Great to have both of you again. Two Texas bureau chiefs on the show, a first for us.
- [41:26]
Host/Anchor
Dueling.
- [41:27]
Co-Host/Anchor
Let's revise it as we move to November. Thanks to both you. Julie Fine, our Texas bureau chief based in Dallas, David Goodman, who's based in Houston for the New York Times. Thanks to both you on this Saturday. Really appreciate it.
- [41:37]
Host/Anchor
Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend, right after this.
- [41:44]
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- [42:57]
Narrator/Announcer
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- [43:57]
Tech/Product Advertisement Voice
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- [44:40]
Publicity/Advertising Voice
Well, well, well.
- [44:41]
Co-Host/Anchor
It is time once again for this weekend's Pointed News Quiz. Lisa Mateo, Quiz Master is here.
- [44:46]
Host/Anchor
Lisa, be nice to us.
- [44:47]
Co-Host/Anchor
Be nice. I don't know. I'm just still stuck on the fact in the last vlog you said you didn't have a chance to study. I didn't realize that that's a thing that you do.
- [44:54]
Host/Anchor
Christina she does, yes. You always accuse me of malfeasance, but I do go through the terminal and I literally click on the most random stories I can find in preparation for
- [45:02]
Co-Host/Anchor
the it's not malfeasance, it's just method. Curious about the method that goes into.
- [45:05]
Host/Anchor
Well, I've heard there's no method today. There's no method today.
- [45:08]
Co-Host/Anchor
Mostly madness. Lisa, where are we telling about the game we should save?
- [45:12]
Host/Anchor
I'm so sorry guys. This is a. Okay, here we go. Let's get right to it. For those of you playing at home, preemptive apologies. Here are the rules. Okay, there are going to be three categories. They each have 30 chips in front of them. They're going to base how they place those chips on each category based on how confident they Feel all right. You feeling confident? Pretty good.
- [45:31]
Co-Host/Anchor
Well, what are the categories? Let's do that first.
- [45:32]
Host/Anchor
First category is Wexit.
- [45:34]
Co-Host/Anchor
Don't know what that is.
- [45:36]
Host/Anchor
Category. This is going really well. All right. Category is hungry.
- [45:40]
Co-Host/Anchor
Okay.
- [45:40]
Host/Anchor
And the third category. Food and beverage. Okay, so are we going even across the board? No, no, no.
- [45:49]
Haslinda Amin (Bloomberg Editor at Large)
Okay.
- [45:50]
Host/Anchor
He's putting all on food on food and beverage. Wait, really? Yes, he is. I think he is in for quite a treat. I'm doing usual.
- [45:58]
Haslinda Amin (Bloomberg Editor at Large)
I'm gonna.
- [45:59]
Host/Anchor
I'm gonna split all the way across. You're splitting all the way. I have no confidence. So I think I already know who the winner is. Here we go. Okay, let's start with Wexit. Okay. A Canadian premier called for a, quote, referendum on a referendum to determine if which province should hold a vote to secede. Which province is it? What is the name of this province?
- [46:22]
Co-Host/Anchor
I should have adjusted my chips.
- [46:24]
Host/Anchor
Oh, well, you don't lose.
- [46:26]
Co-Host/Anchor
I don't lose.
- [46:26]
Host/Anchor
No.
- [46:27]
Co-Host/Anchor
I can see I can still gloat.
- [46:28]
Host/Anchor
Which I'm fine with your good hat.
- [46:31]
Co-Host/Anchor
Yeah.
- [46:31]
Host/Anchor
Are we ready, Christina? Yeah.
- [46:33]
Co-Host/Anchor
Three.
- [46:33]
Host/Anchor
Yes. Two, one. Go ahead. Quebec.
- [46:35]
Co-Host/Anchor
Alberta.
- [46:36]
Host/Anchor
Alberta. Correct.
- [46:37]
Publicity/Advertising Voice
Alberta. It is. Alberta.
- [46:39]
Host/Anchor
Alberta.
- [46:40]
Dr. Tom Frieden (Former CDC Director)
Alberta.
- [46:40]
Co-Host/Anchor
Yeah.
- [46:41]
Host/Anchor
So Wexit, western exit. Alberta being the westernmost of the so called prairie provinces. I didn't even know this was us. Hand him over, Christina. Just reminder. See, this man is so excited. I have your chips all right so far. Oh, he's feeling good now.
- [47:00]
Co-Host/Anchor
Okay, good. But I. For not but yeah.
- [47:02]
Host/Anchor
Let's go to Hungary. You got no points for that, Captain.
- [47:04]
Co-Host/Anchor
He didn't.
- [47:05]
Host/Anchor
But he keeps his. He keeps his 30. All right. All right. Hungary.
- [47:08]
Co-Host/Anchor
Hungary.
- [47:09]
Host/Anchor
Under the leadership of Peter Magyar. Hungary withdrew its decision to exit. Which global organization? What is the name of that organization?
- [47:18]
Co-Host/Anchor
Say it one more time.
- [47:19]
Host/Anchor
Sure.
- [47:19]
Co-Host/Anchor
Sorry.
- [47:20]
Host/Anchor
He withdrew his decision to exit. Which global organization? This is Peter Magyar, Hungary. It must have been something that Orban had them join. There was a certain name of an organization, so they had to withdrew I I their decision to exit.
- [47:35]
Co-Host/Anchor
All right.
- [47:35]
Host/Anchor
It's a tough one.
- [47:36]
Co-Host/Anchor
It's a tough one.
- [47:37]
Host/Anchor
Yeah. No, you never know. This could be your day. This could be your day. We're erasing. Oh, she's erasing.
- [47:45]
Co-Host/Anchor
She's erasing.
- [47:46]
Host/Anchor
I'll say it again.
- [47:47]
Co-Host/Anchor
Well, we've done it. You don't have to do it.
- [47:48]
Julie Fine (Texas Bureau Chief, Bloomberg)
It's fine.
- [47:49]
Host/Anchor
It's fine.
- [47:49]
Dr. Tom Frieden (Former CDC Director)
You get it.
- [47:50]
Co-Host/Anchor
Ready?
- [47:50]
Host/Anchor
Okay. Go for it. David, what do you put?
- [47:52]
Co-Host/Anchor
Who?
- [47:53]
Host/Anchor
No, not NATO. Not NATO. The answer is the International Criminal Court. I see. I see. Yes. Organization that wanted netanyahu arrested for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. So, yes, icc. Christina, I get another. You're quick to grab our chips.
- [48:10]
Co-Host/Anchor
Just want to make sure that everything's accounted for. Those watching on tv. I mean, you can dupe the radio listeners by not having visibility into the chips. But I should say for the radio listeners, Christina now has a deficit.
- [48:21]
Host/Anchor
She does. She has a small little 10 pile on the next category. David, you have a massive 30 pile of food and beverage.
- [48:28]
Co-Host/Anchor
Food and beverage.
- [48:29]
Host/Anchor
Are you ready for it? Okay. American demand for which Natural sweetener grew 10% this year, raising prices and increasing imports to the U.S. it is a natural sweetener. What is the name of this natural sweetener with the David Durham this year.
- [48:49]
Co-Host/Anchor
All right, I'm ready.
- [48:50]
Host/Anchor
You ready? That was quick. Okay, go ahead. Agave.
- [48:52]
Co-Host/Anchor
Agave.
- [48:53]
Host/Anchor
Agave. No, it's honey.
- [48:55]
Publicity/Advertising Voice
David, you have. Oh, here's 38.
- [48:58]
Host/Anchor
No, but you both lost. If I go down, as long as I take him with me, I'm equally happy.
- [49:04]
Co-Host/Anchor
Correct answers I did get. I know we had the same amount.
- [49:07]
Narrator/Announcer
Wait.
- [49:07]
Host/Anchor
But wait. We do have a tiebreaker. Okay, hold on. Let me get the true tiebreaker.
- [49:12]
Julie Fine (Texas Bureau Chief, Bloomberg)
I have the control.
- [49:12]
Host/Anchor
Loving all these chips today.
- [49:15]
Co-Host/Anchor
We got a minute left here. How many do we have? Minutes and a half.
- [49:18]
Host/Anchor
Timepieces is the bonus time pieces. Okay, ready? Okay. What is the name of the. Hold here. Audemars Piguet and Swatch collaboration so popular that it caused crowd safety concerns. What is the name of that?
- [49:33]
Co-Host/Anchor
The collaboration?
- [49:34]
Host/Anchor
Yes.
- [49:36]
Co-Host/Anchor
I think it looks stupid.
- [49:38]
Host/Anchor
Audemars Piget and Swatch, they had a collaboration. What is the name of it? It caused crowd safety concerns. You're writing too much. That's too much writing.
- [49:46]
Co-Host/Anchor
I wrote the futuristic pocket watch.
- [49:49]
Host/Anchor
What? No. Pop. Close.
- [49:52]
Co-Host/Anchor
No, see, we don't do close on this.
- [49:53]
Host/Anchor
We do.
- [49:54]
Co-Host/Anchor
We don't do that.
- [49:55]
Host/Anchor
I'll give her half a point. It's Royal Pop.
- [49:57]
Co-Host/Anchor
Oh, well, if only she'd gotten it all.
- [50:05]
Host/Anchor
Casualty. Okay, we will be adjudicating this in the icc. This is. I. I feel like that was a half a win. That was a half a win.
- [50:14]
Co-Host/Anchor
Royal Pop.
- [50:15]
Host/Anchor
Who knew? I'm not a big fan of it, but people were lining up for these. It was. It was really out of control. I mean, they had to, like, not open several of the stores because the situation outside was. Was concerning for staff member safeties. Don't wait in line, folks. Don't wait in line for food. Don't wait in line for shops.
- [50:31]
Co-Host/Anchor
Don't wait in line to try to test your knowledge on all 10 questions in the Pointed News quiz, which you can take@Bloomberg.com pointed as Christina's fond of reminding everyone they are multiple on the app and online.
- [50:43]
Host/Anchor
Thanks for joining us on today's Bloomberg this Weekend podcast. Don't forget to tune in live for the show every Saturday and Sunday morning starting at 7am Eastern.
- [50:52]
Co-Host/Anchor
We're on Bloomberg Television Radio and the Bloomberg Business App, bringing you unique takes and in depth interviews on news, politics, lifestyle and culture.
- [51:05]
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