Loading summary
Transcript105 lines
- [00:01]
IBM Representative
The thing about AI for business, it may not automatically fit the way your business works. At IBM, we've seen this firsthand. But by embedding AI across hr, IT and procurement processes, we've reduced costs by millions, slash repetitive tasks, and freed thousands of hours for strategic work. Now we're helping companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business IBM from coast
- [00:31]
Host Bob Pittman
to coast Unlock Adventure at Red Lion Hotels by Sonesta where restful sleep, friendly service and trusted local knowledge are part of every stay, Red lion makes it easy to feel welcomed, comfortable and connected wherever the road takes you. Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, you can spend less and make more of every trip. When you sign up for Sinesta TravelPass, you'll get their best rates instantly. Go to sonesta.com to book your stay and unlock the best rates with Sonesta Travel Pass here today, Rome tomorrow. Join now@sonesta.com Terms and conditions apply.
- [01:04]
Adobe Acrobat Advertiser
If you follow markets, you know the value of long term thinking. You plan, you diversify, you prepare for volatility. But in life, even the best strategies can't prevent every bad day. A fire, a loss, a disruption that demands immediate attention. When that happens, what matters isn't just what you planned, it's who shows up. That's where Cincinnati Insurance comes in. For more than 75 years, they've helped individuals and businesses navigate life's toughest moments with care, expertise and personal attention. Together with independent agents, Cincinnati Insurance focuses on relationships, not transactions. Their approach is grounded in experience, follow through and trust built over time. Bad days happen, and when they do, you deserve an insurance partner who understands risk, respects what you've built, and is ready to help you move forward. The Cincinnati Insurance companies Let them make your bad day better. Find an independent agent@cin fin.com
- [02:08]
Host David Gura
Bloomberg Audio
- [02:09]
Adobe Acrobat Advertiser
Studios podcasts Radio News welcome to the Bloomberg this Weekend Podcast with David Gura, Christina Raffini and Lisa Mateo.
- [02:23]
Host David Gura
Thanks for joining us for today's selection of conversations from the show.
- [02:26]
Host Bob Pittman
You can listen to our favorite discussions right here on the podcast, but also make sure to join us live every Saturday and Sunday morning starting at 7am Eastern.
- [02:34]
Host David Gura
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.
- [02:47]
Host Bob Pittman
That CPAC conference was underway in Texas this week. The focus, of course, was what its Republican Party looked like post Donald Trump, but there was also something of great conversation there had to do with the Iran war and sort of where all of that is headed and especially top of mind for attendees there, including Iranian Americans. Let's take a listen. I am from Iran, but I am US Citizen also. Maybe you think why US should be in war, actually I am going to say is the best time to make America great again. And Iran can be biggest part of the puzzle to be this help. But first we have to need freedom. David Mansori, one of the attendees there at that CPAC conference in Grapevine, Texas. Jeff Mason was there covering it for us. He's a White House correspondent at Bloomberg News. Jeff, great to have you with us once again. Talk a bit about the degree to which this conflict was reverberating around the halls of that Gaylord Hotel in Texas. How much was it front of mind for those who were participating there?
- [03:44]
Jeff Mason
I think it sort of overshadowed a large part of the conference. Honestly, as we've talked about earlier, the support for President Trump is still extremely high. But the fact that the president went back on a promise with this war, the fact that the war has gone on for several weeks now and the fact that fuel prices are up with no particular site or end in sight are all things that are that are concerning to people at cpac. Even if they continue to say they support the president, they support the war, they're just question marks about it. And the question marks are both about those promises that we that I just mentioned and about the impact that it's going to have politically going into the November elections.
- [04:29]
Host David Gura
And Jeff, President Trump didn't speak at CPAC this year. Is that significant? Why did they make that choice and did attendees notice? Did they care?
- [04:38]
Jeff Mason
Well, I think, I don't think that was a choice by CPAC organizers. I think they would have been delighted to have President Trump come. And there was, there was even a little bit of rumor milling while I was there that they were still trying to get a big name speaker like Vice President Vance or Secretary of State Rubio to come. I'm sure they would have been delighted if the president had come. All of that said there's a lot of forgiveness for President Trump in that room. And that would apply to both a lack of attendance as well as breaking some promises that he made as a candidate.
- [05:09]
Host Bob Pittman
Jeff, you've covered a number of these over the years and I'm curious sort of how much energy and enthusiasm there was this one compared to one's past. They used to be in Washington, D.C. then they were in Maryland, a little ways away from the Capitol. Now we have it taking place in Texas, does it retain the level of energy and enthusiasm among participants that it had in the past?
- [05:29]
Jeff Mason
You know, there was, there was plenty of energy there. I mean, I. It's interesting in terms of people watching you go and people are wearing red MAGA hats or black MAGA hats. I spoke to one woman who was dressed up in a Statue of Liberty costume, all of whom were very happy to talk about their love of the president and their hate of communism and socialism and the other buzzwords that CPAC very successfully has associated with the left. You know, it is. You're right, it was in Dallas as opposed to in. In the D.C. area. But there's a lot of. A lot of conservative energy in Dallas for sure, and people from all over the country who came. So, yeah, I didn't notice a dip in energy. I just certainly noticed at least some concern. And that would include at the very top of the organizer level. I spoke to Matt Schlapp, concerned about the impact of this war on the elections. And when I spoke to Matt, he discussed the fact that this is an interesting and tricky political. The impact on Republicans and the impact on the MAGA faithful when it comes to those elections, which, as you all know, I love to talk about is. Is looming. So they're thinking about that, but they're also, again, using. They use their time in Dallas to, to. To talk about the things that they care about, both in the US and globally in terms of the conservative movement.
- [06:56]
Host David Gura
Jeff, we just got about a minute or so left, but I do want to let you talk a little bit about those midterm elections that you hold so near and dear to your heart.
- [07:03]
Jeff Mason
Politics, baby.
- [07:04]
Public Investing Advertiser
I love it.
- [07:04]
Jeff Mason
Let's do it.
- [07:06]
Host David Gura
Better you than me, buddy. All right, so CPAC is the diehards, of course. These are like the most loyal people to the president, and as you said, they're willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But as you talk to Republicans at large, maybe outside of that bubble, just slightly, are they getting concerned about things like oil prices, about how long this conflict in Iran is going? Especially as we are coming up on those midterms, there's always another election around the corner, but this one, the president keeps saying, you know, oil prices are a blip, it's going to wind down, it's going to resolve. It doesn't seem to be going as quickly as he would like.
- [07:36]
Jeff Mason
I think that's right. And, you know, it's. It's easy for a political reporter to talk about the next election, but this next election is so critical for President Trump. It will have, it will have so many, so many implications for the second half of his second term in terms of legislation, in terms of policy priorities, in terms of the potential investigations that Democrats would launch if Democrats take over the House and potentially the Senate. I think the risks that you just highlighted, Christina, are spot on. I think that those risks are present both within the Democratic and independent base, but also among the Magna folks who he will need to go out and vote as well.
- [08:14]
Host Bob Pittman
Jeff Mason, who covers the White House for us and the CPAC conference. He was there over the course of last week. Jeff Mason, thank you very much for the time.
- [08:19]
Host David Gura
Thanks, Jeff. We'll see you soon.
- [08:22]
Host Bob Pittman
Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend right after this.
- [08:29]
IBM Representative
So there's a lot of noise about AI, but time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now a global workforce of 300,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94% of common questions, not noise. Proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business.
- [08:58]
Adobe Acrobat Advertiser
IBM, you need to make a huge presentation in an hour. Adobe Acrobat uses AI to take all your documents and generate a presentation with a single click. Build slides quickly and streamline the process. Need a last minute pitch deck? Do that with Acrobat. Need to level up your presentation design? Do that with acrobat. You have 30 plus documents that need to be simplified into a proposal. Do that, do that, do that with Acrobat. Learn more@adobe.com do that with Acrobat.
- [09:31]
Public Investing Advertiser
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.
- [10:53]
Host David Gura
Emily Gregory went from owning a fitness center for pregnant and postpartum women to defeating a Trump backed Republican for state representative. The special election surprise victory is raising eyebrows not only because she's a Democrat who won a conservative district, but because she represents Mar? A Lago and her most famous resident is, of course, President Donald Trump. Joining us now is Florida State Representative Emily Gregory. Emily, I understand that you're also a first time politician. You've not run for anything before. What made you want to get involved and why did you think you could win?
- [11:24]
Emily Gregory
Yes. So this has all been a whirlwind. I filed last summer just not happy with the representation we were getting out of Tallahassee. I felt that for years they have not been focused on the issues my friends and my neighbors and I are talking about that we need solutions to, and they're focused on distractions. And I thought, hey, if those dummies can figure it out, why not supporting
- [11:49]
Host David Gura
tv but we can allow dummies. Yes. Go ahead.
- [11:54]
Host Bob Pittman
Let me ask you about sort of what you did focus on. You mentioned some of those issues that you and your friends were talking about, indeed cared about Christina, bringing up perhaps your most famous resident constituent. How much did you, over the course of the campaign talk about him, focus on him, address national policies vis a vis him, how large did Donald Trump loom in the campaign that you waged?
- [12:16]
Emily Gregory
I would say he did not loom large, not because it's not important, but because it's outside the scope of the State House. And one thing our campaign is very strong on is staying disciplined on the issues. So right you go. I went into the campaign with an idea of what issues were affecting me most. And I really, really listened in all the conversations we had knocking on doors and at campaign events to what are the biggest issues at the state level that are affecting District 87 voters. And we heard housing and health care and public education so that we were laser focused on those issues.
- [12:51]
Host David Gura
It's very tempting, especially those of us who cover politics, to extrapolate from one race and try to make it a trend and try to broaden it out. But I do wonder, as you look at other Democrats who are struggling to make gains or break through. Do you think focusing more on those cable, excuse me, kitchen table issues and less on the president would be more effective for the party? If they're trying to gain more seats, especially in the midterms, I can say
- [13:16]
Emily Gregory
it was the successful formula for me. And it just makes sense. Right. Things that are abstract and don't impact your day to day life are just not going to have as much of an impact on your decision making. And I we don't have the final numbers, but it looks like a large number of independents and a really significant number of Republicans also voted for me as well as large support across political parties. And I'm very proud of that because that was my theory of the case going into this was that most people I talked to, regardless of their political stripe, were talking about the same things. We were talking about property insurance, we were talking about the skyrocketing cost of healthcare, we were talking about our public schools being gutted. So those really, it's not a partisan slant and I don't think railing against something is as successful as defining what you're for.
- [14:13]
Host Bob Pittman
We pull back lastly, and I think we could focus on the patio at Mar a Lago and the wealth that exists in some parts of the district that you represent. But maybe you could kind of introduce viewers and listeners who don't know it to a wider audience. What is your district like and sort of what are the principal challenges that you see it facing here in the year ahead?
- [14:33]
Emily Gregory
Yeah, thank you for asking. So it runs down the coast. There's a population at the center at the top. So Jupiter is where I live. Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Juno. So it's kind of like a circle up there and then skinny, skinny, skinny all the way down the coast to Manalapan and Hypo Luxo, which is actually very large distance wise for a state house district with some carve outs to include downtown West Palm and downtown Lake Worth Beach. Downtown West Palm Beach. Big, big number one concern is this rapid, rapid growth and how you balance that with smart growth. And in Lake Worth they have some real water quality challenges and infrastructure that really need to be addressed through the legislature. And it would have been really important for them to have a District 87 representative in this legislative session that just wrapped up. So that is the importance of representation as these local issues that need, you know, you need a representative to go fight, fight for that, fight for your needs at the local level.
- [15:32]
Abby Livingston
All right.
- [15:32]
Host David Gura
Local government, very important. Emily Gregory, thank you so much for joining us on this Sunday.
- [15:36]
Host Bob Pittman
Great to get that perspective. Joining us now, Puck news writer, reporter Abby Livingston, Bloomberg opinion columnist and two time Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Brownstein is with us. And Rutgers University director of the Eagleton center for Public Interest Polling, Ashley Koening is with us here on set in New York as well. Ron, let me start with you and let's use what we heard over the last couple of minutes to kick off this conversation. Christina, asking the very good question, what can you extrapolate from a local race like this one about Democrats directionally going into the midterm elections? What did you hear there? What is your sense of the degree to which Democrats should focus on Donald Trump going forward or focus more specifically on the issues of affordability and health care and the like?
- [16:12]
Ron Brownstein
Yeah, it's really good morning. Good to be with you. First of all, it's both and especially in a midterm, I think if you look at modern American politics, the single dominant force in midterm elections is the voter assessment of the performance of the incumbent president. I mean, in 2018 and 2020, at least 90% of voters who disapproved of Trump voted Democratic. Each time we saw that again in the New Jersey and Virginia governor's races. We're in the exit polls, Mikey Sherrill and Abigail Spamberger each one over 90% of voters who disapproved of Trump. So that is obviously a central focus. But she's right that to get those last few points of voters that you need either side really, and this was true for Trump in 24, they are not voters who are fundamentally enlisted into the ideological battle between the parties. They are voting on results. And to convince them that you have an agenda or a plan that can address their real material concerns I think is critical. But I will say it is probably more important in 28 than 26. As I say historically, midterm elections are predominantly a referendum on the incumbent president. President.
- [17:22]
Host David Gura
All right. But I'll be looking at 26. You and I were talking and you're saying one of the big issues is these Republican retirements. We just had another one this week. How big does that factor into the map?
- [17:32]
Abby Livingston
This is a very big issue and this special election could influence that. Any underperformance might encourage an incumbent. There's a few more filing deadlines ahead and that's sort of the go time to make a decision. And so incumbents may be looking at this and going, my reelection may be a lot harder than I ever expected. And so these there are repercussions to this little local race that will go national.
- [17:53]
Host David Gura
That's really interesting.
- [17:54]
Host Bob Pittman
Ashley, let me ask you what we're seeing in the public opinion data which you study so closely. What is it indicating about the issues that are most animating voters going into the midterms right now?
- [18:02]
Ashley Koening
I mean, again, these are things that we saw with, you know, down in Florida. These are things we just saw in New Jersey in the fall. It's all about cost of living and that buzzword of affordability and inflation. And these are the issues that President Trump, his numbers have been failing on. When it to comes comes to approvals of individual issue areas, we have not seen a president in recent history if they are not above the 50% mark going into the midterms, they will very likely lose seats. So that given with the combination of economic sentiment, sets a very bad path for Republicans heading into the midterms.
- [18:36]
Host Bob Pittman
Just had up there that poll, Fox News poll and I saw 71% of voters are disapproving of the way the President has been tackling inflation.
- [18:43]
Host David Gura
Ron, I also want to ask you, there's an article in the LA Times today talking about Donald Trump and the Latino vote, which was a big part of his win, and that those numbers may not hold the next time around. It's interesting because you have people who are upset with the President about how his administration has handled immigration and enforcement, things like that. But then you also have a sector of the population, especially in Florida, that would be very happy with the President if he does what he is hinting that he's going to do. And that's go into Cuba and make some moves there. Can you talk to us about that voter base? It's not a monolith. Where do they stand and are they likely to come support the President in the same numbers this next time around?
- [19:18]
Ron Brownstein
Yeah, I mean, look, without question, the aspect of the 24 results that was the most discussed in the days and weeks after the election were Trump's improvements broadly among non white voters, particularly non college, non white voters, Hispanics, black men, to some extent Asian Americans. And the argument was that he was now building a cross racial working class coalition, that he was making the same kind of gains among blue collar nonwhite voters that he had earlier recorded among blue collar white voters. And you fast forward a year and a half and a lot of that, virtually all of that has rolled back. And because many of those voters who move toward Trump in minority communities and Latinos were certainly among them, I think fit into what I was Talking about before, they were primarily results voters. They were disappointed in the results they were getting under Joe Biden. They remembered that their cost of living was more affordable under Trump. You would talk to democratic pollsters in 24 and they would all have the same phrase and say what they would describe as the nightmare phrase they heard in focus groups, which is that they would be talking to a group of Hispanic or black voters. And someone would say, yes, I think Donald Trump is insensitive. I think he's a racist, but if I'm telling the truth, I have more money in my pocket when he was president. And that I think was what moved a lot of those voters toward him. And now he's basically overplayed his hand on immigration and he is facing a backlash among Latino voters on that. And he has failed to deliver what they wanted most. The Cuban American and Central and South American diaspora in Miami is just a different kind of cohort than really any other group of Hispanic voters in the country. They're the last ones that will move away. I mean, you're looking more at places like Texas, Colorado, Nevada, even Pennsylvania. It's going to be really important whether Republicans see a regression from the gains Trump scored in 24.
- [21:09]
Host David Gura
You got a couple Coloradans here at this table. Ashley, quickly, before we go to break, I do want to ask you about how Iran is factoring into all of this. This is the party of non interventionist, not forever wars. Are you seeing those numbers impact even the most hardcore of Trump supporters? We've been talking a lot about CPAC this week. Jeff Mason telling us for the most part that support is holding. They're giving him the benefit of the doubt. But are you starting to see flickers of some doubt in that voter base?
- [21:34]
Ashley Koening
You know, I think like Ron was saying, we definitely have seen these key groups that kind of propelled him to victory in 2024, breaking away with him, especially when it comes to white men, white, non, college educated men. And this is also playing into the Iran factor. The number one thing in polling that adults say is that they do not want to to see gas prices rise. And so I think that is a big factor here. They do not want to see the repercussions of this war come back home, especially when it comes to cost of living and affordability issues that are affecting their everyday lives. So we do see that MAGA voters are predominantly still in the corner. But there has been some slippage in the polls among Republicans when it comes to things like the war in Iran and that combination of foreign, you know quagmire abroad combined with prices skyrocketing at home is not a good combination for the president with whether it's his voters or other voting blocs.
- [22:25]
Host David Gura
We've only got about 30 seconds, but are Dems going to take advantage of that?
- [22:29]
Abby Livingston
I think absolutely. I mean, and they have no political blame over this in the way they did with the Iraq war when so many Democratic senators and House members voted. So this is sort of they can have their hands clean of this if this does not go well.
- [22:40]
Host David Gura
All right, Abby, Ron, Ashley, stay with us. We're going to have a of lot, lot more ahead on Bloomberg this weekend. We're going to talk about DHS more Iran and where we all go as again, it's always there's always another election around the corner. Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend right after this.
- [23:00]
IBM Representative
So there's a lot of noise about AI, but time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now a global workforce of 300,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94% of common questions, not noise. Proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business IBM.
- [23:30]
Adobe Acrobat Advertiser
Everyone has been there. Your team's feedback is scattered across emails, chats and sticky notes. It's a mess, but PDF spaces in Adobe Acrobat gives you one collaborative workspace to streamline every file and comment. So if you need six departments to finally agree on a proposal, do that with Acrobat. Need to turn a mountain of feedback into one plan of action? Do that with Acrobat. Want to stop searching for files and finally get everyone on the same page? Do that, do that, do that with Acrobat. Learn more@adobe.com do that with Acrobat.
- [24:07]
Public Investing Advertiser
Support for the show comes from Public Lately it feels like there are two types of investing platforms. Some are traditional brokerages that haven't changed much in decades and others feel less like investing and more like a game. Public is positioned differently. It's an investing platform for people who are serious about building their wealth on public. You can build a portfolio of stocks, options, bonds, crypto without all the bugs or the confetti. Retirement accounts? Yep. High yield cash? Yes again. They even have direct indexing. Public has modern design, powerful tools and customer support that actually helps go to public.com market and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com market and 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 All In Investing involves risk of loss. See complete disclosures@public.com disclosures.
- [25:15]
Host Bob Pittman
Back with us are Abby Livingston, Rob Brownstein, Ashley Koning as well. Abby, let me start with you. We've been through this week where the Senate stayed up late and the House stayed up late and there was no resolution.
- [25:24]
Host David Gura
We stayed up late.
- [25:25]
Host Bob Pittman
We did as well as we watched all this unfolding, this roiling conflict about funding the Department of Homeland Security. Now members of both those houses go back to their home districts for a two week recess where they're going to hear from constituents. The lines remain, I assume, longer than normal. Who has played this right or best in your estimation? The Democrats? The Republicans? As this has gone on now for more than a month, I think it
- [25:47]
Abby Livingston
can go both ways. They each have an argument to point the finger at the other. But I just think it's, it's interesting that this hit during the spring break and that is a travel season for families and planes have probably been missed and that's going to hit really hard. And so I think those things stick with them. And I think that whoever the member of Congress is who's out and about in the community is probably going to get an earful and it's not a good position to be in. And it just shows how dysfunctional our government is.
- [26:10]
Host David Gura
And you've got this really interesting thing with TMZ of all people putting a bounty out for photos of members of Congress enjoying spring break while the shutdown continues and TSA lines are still long. Ashley, when you look at polling on Congress, it's, it's not good. Is it getting any better and are there specific places that people want to see action that might help it?
- [26:31]
Adobe Acrobat Advertiser
Yeah.
- [26:31]
Ashley Koening
No, I think that's the simple answer.
- [26:33]
Host David Gura
Fair enough.
- [26:33]
Ashley Koening
It's just not getting any better. And we haven't seen, you know, as much iron polling for this partial shutdown as we may have seen in the fall, but it's increasing. I mean, these are tangible things that people are experiencing every day that impacts their lives. And so, you know, it is just kind of increasing the negativity, the dissatisfaction with, with Congress and with the President as well. I mean, the buck always stops with the president. So this is yet another thing that is, is not working necessarily in his favor. But you know, we see that, that trust, satisfaction with Congress, these are all at all time lows. This is not a legislative body that Americans are proud or approving of.
- [27:15]
Host Bob Pittman
Ron, you write about the way in which this animates kind of insurgent candidates, those who are kind of vying against or going against the mainstream and sort of status quo in Washington. And Graham Platner certainly comes to mind. He the subject of your latest columns of what's going to happen in Maine between him and Janet Mills and which of the two of them is going to face off against Susan Collins. Your sense of the way that this, what we've become inured to, the dysfunction of Washington is going to be an animating factor here in the, the midterm elections.
- [27:40]
Ron Brownstein
Look, it has become an animating factor in our elections for quite a while. I mean, people make the argument that virtually every election of the 21st century has been a change election, maybe with the exception of 2002, where, you know, you're in 2004, where you're seeing at least some backlash against the party in power. I mean, that is the core dynamic that we are facing. As I said, midterm elections. I think the single, the evidence is that the single most powerful factor in them are voter assessments of the incumbent president. And it, you know, it is an ominous trend for Republicans that Trump is really at his lowest point of his second term this close to the election. That is a big wave, but there is a big wall, David, in front of it, which is that, you know, the battlefield is more tilted toward red places than it was in 2018. Democrats have won a lot of those. Easier to win House districts. There are only eight Republicans in districts that voted for Harris even after redistricting. And to win the Senate after you get past those first two in North Carolina and Maine, Democrats are gonna have to win states that Trump won by double digits. So there's no question he's weaker than he was in 24. Has he receded enough that Democrats have a shot on some of these places that really are pretty far on the red side of the 50 yard line?
- [28:52]
Host David Gura
Abby, talk to us about the primaries to watch. I know you want to talk about Maine. What are the other races that you think are going to be impactful or that are getting you excited as you get excited about primaries like you have yours?
- [29:03]
Abby Livingston
Well, Maine is absolutely fascinating. We have the Texas runoff, which is an ongoing soap opera of will he or will he not endorse? This is the Cornyn versus Paxton, Ken Paxton. Let's see what else. Minnesota Senate on the Democratic side is going to be fascinating. That's not till August. Michigan Senate Democratic primary is probably the race that most fascinates the Democratic Party and to an extent, the Republican Party because there's so many different, different issues, Israel, the economy. But it also seems to be the one that's most in the direction of where we can see 2028 going.
- [29:35]
Host David Gura
And how big of a deal has redistricting played in these maps?
- [29:39]
Abby Livingston
Staggering. And it is ongoing and it is. So they're about to redraw in Florida and the special election we just discussed that might help spook Republican incumbents who don't want to give up Republican voters. And then you have Virginia, where the credibility of Governor Abigail Spamberger is on the line of whether she can get this statewide initiative through to redraw their maps. But it is, it is a difficult issue. It's very toxic, and there's a lot of collateral damage.
- [30:02]
Host Bob Pittman
Ron, I want to ask you about these no Kings protests that we saw yesterday across the country in your backyard, ours as well, in many, many places across the United States. What do you take away from that when it comes to kind of dovetailing the sentiment, the anti incumbent sentiment that's in place there among Democrats, of course, with actual political action? How much does this, that expression of dissatisfaction lead to political change or the agitation for it?
- [30:25]
Ron Brownstein
Yeah, it's a measure of intensity, I think. You know, if the organizers say 8 million people showed up yesterday, obviously we have to wait for independent sources to confirm that. But if it is 8 million people, it's the largest single day of protest in American history. And it is a measure of the intensity of the opposition that President Trump face. And it's kind of reinforced by polling. I mean, even in the FOX poll last week, roughly half of Americans strongly disapprove of Trump performance as president, compared to only about a quarter who strongly approved. And that gap is really important because strong disapprovers are different, particularly in a midterm, than those who say they only somewhat disapprove. Strong disapprovers are more likely to turn out. And what we have seen in midterm elections pretty much through the 21st century is somewhere around 95% of people who say they strongly disapprove of a president vote against his party's candidates in the typical House and Senate race. So the no Kings rally, I think, was another measure of the intensity of the opposition that Trump faces at a time when the Republican base is somewhat fractured over issues like Iran. And that could produce a differential turnout problem for them in November. That might allow Democrats to get over some of those high walls. I just talked about in places that have leaned historically pretty red.
- [31:39]
Host David Gura
Ashley, we've talked a lot about Republican numbers and where they're not doing well. People aren't happy with Republicans, but people aren't really thrilled with the Democrats either. I mean, one thing I hear even from people within the Democratic Party is do something. Are you, is that reflected in the numbers and are you seeing disappointment there as well? Even as we have these no Kings rallies, there doesn't seem to be a focus or a purpose or an action item for a lot of these policies.
- [32:01]
Ashley Koening
You know, I would say I think we should point to a lot of these special elections or these off year elections that we've seen, whether New Jersey and Virginia, whether we're talking about Florida, Florida, Texas. I think these are the Democrats that are emerging for the party that are showing we are doing something when it comes to these kitchen table issues. And maybe that is the strategy. That's the playbook moving forward. In the midterms. Right now, Democrats have about, in the generic ballot, 3 to 5% on Republicans and that should increase if we keep going on the same path. We usually will see five more points for the opposing party when it's the fall kickoff of, of the midterms. So, you know, this could be a pretty big wave. But like Ron said, we also have to be careful about where these races would be taking place, how competitive these areas are and how difficult some of these races are, despite what we do see in the generic ballot. But you know, we also see that 13% of Trump supporters from 2024 regret their vote. So even if there are silent Trumpers
- [32:54]
Host David Gura
out there, it's a decently big number.
- [32:55]
Ashley Koening
It's a big number and very small in comparison for Democrats. So, so, you know, there's, there's a lot at play here that could go either way. But I think there are Democrats out there that are forging ahead with some sort of platform of doing something instead of just commenting against Emily Gregory who
- [33:11]
Host David Gura
flipped Mar A Lago, saying that was her strength, talking about kitchen table issues and not the president.
- [33:15]
Emily Gregory
So.
- [33:16]
Host David Gura
All right, Abby Livingston, Ron Brownstein and Ashley Koening, thank you all so much for joining us. Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this week, weekend, right after this.
- [33:29]
IBM Representative
The thing about AI for business, it may not automatically fit the way your business works. At IBM, we've seen this firsthand. But by embedding AI across hr, IT and procurement processes, we've reduced costs by millions, slash repetitive tasks and freed thousands of hours for strategic work. Now we're helping companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business. IBM.
- [33:59]
Adobe Acrobat Advertiser
Everyone has been there. Your team's feedback is scattered across emails, chats and sticky notes. It's a mess, but PDF spaces in Adobe Acrobat gives you one collaborative workspace to streamline every file and comment. So if you need six departments to finally agree on a proposal, do that with Acrobat. Need to turn a mountain of feedback into one plan of action. Do that with Acrobat. Want to stop searching for files and finally get everyone on the same page. Do that, do that, do that with Acrobat. Learn more@adobe.com do that with Acrobat.
- [34:36]
Public Investing Advertiser
Support for the show comes from Public Lately it feels like there are two types of investing platforms. Some are traditional brokerages that haven't changed much in decades, and others feel less like investing and more like a game. Public is positioned differently. It's an investing platform for people who are serious about building their wealth on public. You can build a portfolio of stocks, options, bonds, crypto without all the bugs or the confetti. Retirement accounts? Yep. High yield cash? Yes again. They even have direct indexing. Public has modern design, powerful tools and customer support that actually helps 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. All investing involves risk of loss. See complete disclosures@public.com Disclosures.
- [35:44]
Host David Gura
For the first time in nearly 50 years, NASA is sending astronauts back to the moon.
- [35:49]
Host Bob Pittman
The Artemis 2 mission set for liftoff from Florida as early as Wednesday of this coming week. Joining us now is Ed Ludlow, co host of Bloomberg Tech. He's going to be there in Florida for this launch, should it, regardless of whether or not it transpires. I should say, Ed, help us understand the magnitude of this, what this means kind of in the history of space exploration.
- [36:08]
Ed Ludlow
Yeah, this is the great next step in America's ambition to have humans back on the moon. In this mission, Artemis 2, they're basically doing a flyby or a fly around the moon. So they travel deep into space 285,000 miles, go around the moon and come back. But it's the great dress rehearsal for the technology essentially that's planned to get humankind and driven by NASA America Back to the moon maybe 20, 28. And it's is the Space Launch System principally built by Boeing and then the Orion spacecraft principally built by it by Lockheed. And you know, it's a project that is way behind schedule frankly and massively over budget. But a big moment. If we go off this week, we
- [37:00]
Host David Gura
know there are four astronauts. I do know one of them is named Christina. I also know that you noted that none of the three of us were invited to go on this mission, which we're little salty about. But what do we know about these individuals and how they got selected?
- [37:13]
Ed Ludlow
Yes. So there's essentially three U.S. citizens and one Canadian. It's a great international collaboration, you know, beyond the crew themselves. The European Space Agency has a, has a hand in some of the, the technology of the full stack as well. But you know, they are people with vast experience. Reid Wiseman is the commander of the mission. He's, you know, classic former Navy test pilot, has previously been to iss. Victor Glover will be the first black astronaut to travel to lunar distance. So it's kind of a significant moment in history from that standpoint. But he's been on prior SpaceX driven missions. SpaceX Crew 1. Christina, who you mentioned is the mission specialist electrical engineer, she actually holds the record for longest continuous space flight by a woman. And then the Canadian is Jeremy Hansen, first Canadian assigned to a lunar mission. So a lot of first but highly decorated and experienced crew mission specialist.
- [38:16]
Ashley Koening
I feel like I could adopt that
- [38:17]
Host David Gura
title for myself here in Bloomberg Spirit
- [38:19]
Host Bob Pittman
of Dream Mission Specialist.
- [38:20]
Host David Gura
Go ahead, David.
- [38:22]
Host Bob Pittman
And we're looking at live pictures now. Our viewers on TV and at bloomberg.com and on the app can see those pictures there in Florida. What can you expect as you make your way there? And as I said, there's some uncertainty of course whether or not this is going to happen. You mentioned the delays this program has faced over many, many years now. Yeah, walk us through what's going to transpire here over the course of the week leading up to that final countdown.
- [38:40]
Ed Ludlow
Yeah, I mean NASA, you know, is communicating very regularly and whether you take that as indication of confidence, you know, it's hard to tell. Space launch when it involves human life is complex. There are systems issues. They will run tests. They are not doing a full dress rehearsal which they had done in the month of March, early March, late February. They will track the weather very closely. But it all gears toward the earliest opportunity to Launch, which is 6:24pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, April 1. The system is a mix of highly synchronized autonomous technology, human judgment call. And again, the weather is a big factor, you know, on the range of ksc, so that will constantly be launched. But the crew are there, you know, they, they've arrived, I believe Friday afternoon having been in quarantine and mandatory quarantine. And it is all tracking to that early launch window. But there are backup windows over consecutive days through, through Monday night.
- [39:43]
Host David Gura
You said this mission is essentially kind of doing a lunar flyby. Is it the next mission that the hope is they will actually get boots on the moon? And why do this? Is it just because, as that legendary West Wing episode says, this is what's next in human progress?
- [39:58]
Ed Ludlow
Yeah, I mean, there's the politics of it, frankly. You know, the Trump administration had put the moon front and center of its own belief of what NASA should be doing. The Artemis program has its origins back in the Bush era, George W. But Obama didn't really go for the moon as a priority. And then Trump presidency one carried through Biden and Trump too. Artemis one, which was testing the Orion spacecraft and space launch system, was supposed to go in 2017. It went in 22. And that's had a cascading effect. But the goal on paper is to get human boots, American boots, on the moon's surface in 2028 with the geopolitics of knowing China has the same ambition and they're saying 2030. So, you know, I wouldn't underestimate that part of the story. The political will to do this, which was a big part of Jared Isaacman's path to becoming administrator. Maybe we can talk about that on another edition of Bloomberg this weekend. I would love it.
- [41:03]
Host David Gura
Absolutely.
- [41:03]
Ed Ludlow
Yeah. It's seriously important to this administration.
- [41:07]
Host Bob Pittman
Very quickly. Got about a minute left. I'm curious. You mentioned that this is a Boeing and Lockheed joint project. These are kind of old standby government contractors. How has the advent of Space X and Blue Origin and the rest have changed the shape of this, this program, this, this particular mission in any way?
- [41:21]
Ed Ludlow
NASA is committed to that. Those two as principal contractors through Artemis 5. But as Lauren Grush and I broke the story on 10 days ago and the administrator confirmed on Tuesday morning, they have two new proposals from, from Space X and from Blue Origin to take over the actual role of getting Orion from low Earth orbit to the moon. So right now, Space Launch System takes to orbit and carries it or propels it to the moon. There is a. You can read about it on bloomberg.com, but there is now a proposal where actually those two newer names will probably step in and do what those others have struggled to do.
- [42:01]
Host Bob Pittman
And come back if you would. That's Ed Ludlow, of course, the anchor of Bloomberg Tech, and he's headed to Florida. As we said, anytime you can take that victory lap for any scoops you have, Ed, we'll have you back on the show.
- [42:12]
Host David Gura
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.
- [42:20]
Host Bob Pittman
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. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast Math and Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest businesses and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing. Coming up this season on Math and Magic, CEO of Liquid Death, Mike Cesario. People think that creative ideas are like these light bulb moments that happen when you're in the shower where it's really like a stone sculpture you're constantly just chipping away and refining. Take two Interactive CEO Straus Selnick and our own Chief Business Officer Lisa Coffey. Listen to Math and Magic on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [43:16]
Host David Gura
Dog Grooming Genius Here most people see
- [43:19]
Abby Livingston
a busy dog salon, but I see operational excellence thanks to genius. From global payments, scheduling, personalized checkouts, instant absolutely genius. From game day crowds to every groomer in this shop, Genius keeps everything flowing seamlessly. Schnauzer is styled flawless execution, big league reliability for any business, that's genius.
- [43:46]
Host David Gura
Mornings can feel like a lot. But there's one small choice that can make mornings feel good. Silk Protein. It's a smooth plant based beverage with 13 grams of complete plant protein and 50% less sugar than dairy milk. Pour it into your cereal, blend it into a smoothie, Stir it into your coffee. Silk Protein makes mornings feel a little calmer, a little brighter, a little more. Okay, I got this Silk Protein feel planty, good.