Sound On: Drone Ambassador Mark Hamill on Helping Ukraine

on with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. Vladimir Putin expands martial law in Ukraine and targets more civilians in another barrage of drone strikes. Welcome to the fastest hour in politics. As Washington condemns Russia's behavior, We're joined tonight by someone try to make a difference, actor, Mark Hamill. Yes, that Mark Hamill, who has agreed to help Ukraine as its new ambassador of drones, helping to raise money for the resistance of Fascinating conversation ahead you will not want to miss.

Later midterm politics will check in with Bloomberg. Government's Emily Wilkins on the ground in Nevada tracking tight races for Senate and Governor. Will also bring you inside last night's Senate debate in Florida, which is still echoing here inside the Beltway. Our signature panel helps us make sense of it all. Bloomberg Politics contributors Jeanie Chanzano and Rick Davis with us for the hour and on this thirty fifth

anniversary of Black Monday, the onslaught continues in Ukraine. The sound of drone strikes from Russia, Irani and Bronze aimed at civilian infrastructure, power and water facilities, targeted killing seventeen civilians since we last spoke yesterday, wounding twenty nine more of a Tollyklitchko is the mayor of Keivs. They destroyed

our country, they destroyed hometown, They killed the Anouns. Right now, as Vladimir Putin extends martial law to the so called annexed areas of Ukraine, clamping down on movements, President Biden was asked about it today at the White House. Vladimir prudent finds himself in an incredibly difficult position, and what it reflects to me is it seems his only tool available to him is to brutalize individual citizens in Ukraine,

Ukrainian citizens, to try to intimidate them into capitulating. They're not going to do that, thank you, not going to do that, he said, And of course that is what we are hearing from President Zelenski and Ukrainians who are now more than eight months into this war. As we discussed yes today, there is a debate that is emerging about how much financial support, how much weaponry the US and allies, but specifically the US should continue to provide Ukraine.

And as we heard, there are concerns by some Republicans who expect to take control of the House in November, that the days of blank checks are about to end, considering the inflationary environment, talk of a recession. Other priorities here domestically, and it's part of the reason why we're seeing private fundraising kick in. Now United is a program that was launched by President Zelenski, launched by the government of Ukraine to help raise money in any number of areas.

One of them is acquiring drones, and they've turned to none other than Luke Skywalker for help. Mark Hamill, the actor from Star Wars fame is now officially signed on as Ukraine's Ambassador of Drones, and I had a chance to talk about him, to go deeper inside how all of this began with Mark Hamill Listen, well, I appreciate you giving me the coverage because it's it's such a

crucial thing. I mean, just to start at the beginning, my wife said, you've been contacted by President Zelenski, and I thought, am I being pranked by one of my merry band of friends. But once we realized it was true, I first I spoke to the people in his administration, and then they did a zoom with the president himself and he asked me to join United four, which is their fundraising platform. And there were different people being involved.

Was Live Schreiber and imagine Dragons at Barbara streisand but we all had different areas. In my particular area was Army of Drones. I think they picked me because it sounds like another episode of are I figured that was no accident to have Luke Skywalker by the Ambassador of drones. Well, the thing is very simply, Ukraine needs drones and you know they define war outcomes. They they protect their land, their people. There they monitor the border, their their eyes

in the sky. To donate, you go to you two four dot g O V dot U a forward slash drone nation d R O N A t I O N you two for dot gov dot you a forward slash dronation and not just we're not just looking for voluntary contributions, but if you have an actual drone that I was really shocked because I mean, they give me these updates at least two or three times a week about what's going on, and they said that they've received over five drums. So I started this, I know, because

you've seen what's gone on in the last week. Russia launched on Monday, they launched an attack on Ukrainian capital using Iranian made shah Head drones. Thirty seven of the forty three drones were down and and six they say arrived. I bet you she means survived. I mean, I listen kama Kaze drones, you know, I mean, if it's if it's like it wasn't World War two, that means hit their target and explode. The drone itself is the weapon exactly.

And it's just so disheartening to see them attacking civilian outlets, civilian targets, infrastructure, hitting children's playgrounds, schools. It's just awful. And I think after the Ukrainians bombed the Crimean Bridge it really irritated Putin and he's been particularly brutal since that happened. And you know, I think of this, it's

not just the Ukraine's problem. I think the whole world UH should be aiding Ukraine because the entire civilized world is united against this hostile invasion by into a sovereign nation the likes of which I've never seen in my lifetime. I guess you have to go back to World War Two to figure out the last time something like this happened. So um, I was struck by your tweet of October one, and this is the first time I heard anything about

your involvement here. It had the image of a lone X wing fighter colored blue and yellow, facing off with a fleet of star destroyers, and it had simply the words resist stand with Ukraine. Was this a personal thing for you, Mark? Absolutely? I mean the thing is, you sit and you watched the New Island news junkie, I read papers every day, I watched the news, and you feel so it seems so futile. I mean you can go what I feel so helpless? What can I do? Well?

When I was contacted and asked to do this, I didn't have to think for a second. I mean, I'll do whatever they want me to do. And uh, you know, I mean, and I hope you know over a hundred and fifteen countries have donated, which is why I think, Uh, it's it's such a David and Goliath situation. You talked about that poster with this little tiny X wing going up against this gigantic armada of star destroyers. It is

Verry David and Goliath. So I mean, I like everyone assumed, I guess they invaded on the twenty four February, that they would be offered no resistance, that they just fold. I didn't know much about Ukraine at all. I I knew I knew about President Zelenski after the first impeachment is what robbed him on the radar screen. So I started like researching him and the country of Ukraine must

be impressed. He as an actor. Yes, I didn't go to law school like he did, but do you know life imitates art and for him to portray this fictional character who winds up becoming then happen in real life. It's you know, that's that's that's that's a movie in and of itself. I have to ask you, Mark about the debate that's just emerging here in Washington, and it's not one that you're going to be glad to hear about.

Maybe already have. But Kevin McCarthy, who wants to be the next speaker, says, if Republicans take over the House, basically we're going to have a second look at funding for Ukraine. He was telling a punch bowl that you know, this is not going to be a blank check. So I guess my question for you is, and we don't have to get political in this interview, is this going to be a private sector fundraising operation much like you're doing as we move forward? Well, I expect to continue

until they say you're you're you're done. I mean, I'm not going to give up. But is this going to replace government funding from the US? I guess is my question? Look, Uh, it's impossible not to get political. The coalition that we have now are our Democrats, Independents, and reasonable Republicans that live in the fact based community, you know, because there's

no evidence whatsoever. And I think of all the damaging things the former president did, one that will have reverberate into the future and affect us for years to come. Is this election denying things? I have Republican friends, I have independent friends, and we disagree on policy, but it didn't make us enemies. We're still friends. Now it's gotten so toxic? Is your next? No? No? I look, I always vote. I've never not voted up for some reason,

even as a kid. I'm old enough to remember in grade school when Nixon was running against Kennedy and I didn't know any of the issues. I just knew one sort of beamed sunshine, had a great smile and made people laugh. He was funny. The other one loses, glowering, sort of scary by that reminded me of my one

of the teachers I was afraid of at school. If we could get the eighteen to twenty five year old I don't know what percentage of them voted, I think it's around but whatever the number is, if you get at that up, five young people could rule the world. I mean, I think they've awoken a sleeping giant. Between the Dobb's decision getting rid of Rogue, the Wade and I've never seen an election where a threat to democracy

is one of the top issues. Would you come to Washington to testify if if they asked you to on behalf of Ukrainian funding. Look, I'm going to do what they want me to do. I don't see the value. And I said to them, I said, you know, most people know because of my social media and so forth, that what my politics are. I mean, I was never

an activist or a pundit in any way. And I mean I've been asked to be on um MSNBC and CNN before, but that was before this, and I always declined because I thought, you know, that's not my area and I should shut up. And I would say to people that, you know, people don't want me to campaign in their states and so forth. I said, look, it could backfire. I mean, the opposition will point me as an elitist Hollywood celebrity and and so I you know,

I have to be very careful about that. But you know, like I say, I'm here to do whatever the Ukrainian government wants me to do. Well, you know, Vladimir Putin certainly knows who you are, which must be odd to think about. What's your message? To him. You know, that's funny that you should mention that, because it never occurred to me that he would. I mean, I guess now you're right. Uh. I just hope he finds a way to save face and you know, declare his version of

victory so that he can stop. But you know that's you know, that's just the optimist though. I mean, there's got you've got to find hope where you can find it, and I would hope that there's a way to maneuver him into a situation where he can say, Okay, I've accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. But I don't know. I mean, you're talking to one of the wealthiest audiences that you'll find in American broadcasting. Here, we're un Mark, That's what they tell me at least, So so tell

them what they can do now to make a difference. Well, like I say, I mean any amount of money. I mean, kids, give up that pint of Ben and Jerry's and send that ice cream money, or your wealthy viewers and listeners can send as much as they can afford to the website that I mentioned that United absolutely and and and as Mark said, you can donate money or you can, as they say, dronate a drone. I love that. I thought that was pretty good. Well, I mean that's my

I'd have to tell you. When my kids are always complaining about my Twitter, they go, Dad, your your Twitter account is just so full of dad jokes? What are you talking about? Dad jokes? That I have three kids? And the one said obvious, The second one said full of ponds. The third one said not funny. It said, why you If it makes me laugh, it should make other people laugh, not just all the senior citizens. But

you know you need to do what you can. Well, I just they couldn't have found a better ambassador, a better emissary, And we're delighted you came here to help deliver the message, and we're going to spread the word. Mark Hamill, I really appreciate you. Thanks. I appreciate Bloomberg giving me the the airtime because, like I say, it's a it's crucial that we all continue to do whatever we can to make this dreadful war come to an end.

President Zelanski issued a statement upon your meeting, and there was a photograph of you guys talking there on the screen and the first line is, may the force be with you. Did he say that to you? Yes, Well, the thing is, I've always shocked. I mean I was, I was on the air with Jim Acossa. I had had no idea. It was a Star Wars nerd depression

on the air, and I find it delightful. But you see, one of the things that I understand about that is that Star Wars was conceived as a fairy tale for children. George want to tell the story, he said, if he put it in reality would be so corny, you know. He brought back to the old westerns where the good guy wore a white hat, you know, And he thought, the only way to get away with this without people laughing it off the screen is to put in the galaxy far far away. Because it's it's it's it's it's

The good is clearly defined, evil is clearly divined. And they're they're endlessly optimistic films. They're telling you that if you do the right thing for the right reasons, selflessly, not thinking about your own you know, not to help yourself, but to help everyone around you, you will see exceed And those are things that probably resonate with both Jim Acosta and Zelenski. They you know they're my son's age. They probably were six or seven years old when they

saw those movies. So yeah, not only did he say that, but he referred to Russia as the evil Empire. Now how can you argue with that? Well, I was five and uh and I'm still watching him and Mark Hamill thinks. I'll tell you if I wasn't an actor, I'd love to have your job, because I told you I'm a news junkie. To get paid to follow what's going on in the world and interview people and write articles, it must be the best job in the world. It's well, I get to talk to people like you. It is

pretty great. And you know this microphone is yours. Anytime you want to host this program. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much, Mark Hamill for being with us, and good luck with this effort my pleasures.

Do you think he'd fill in? I think we haven't fill in on the fastest hour in politics, Mark Hamill for you there only on Bloomberg Radio, an unlikely conversation with an unlikely ambassador at this time of war, and realizing not everyone agrees with his politics, I'm still glad we could bring you that interview. That's when you will

not hear on the radio tonight anywhere else. We assemble our panel now having had our conversation with Mark Hamill and updating you on not only the effort here to help in Ukraine raise money for drones, among other things, but the terrible news from the last twenty four hours in Ukraine, this endless barrage of drones in the skies over cities like Kiev, another seventeen civilians killed, and now and expanded martial law is called by none other than

Vladimir Putin in the areas he claimed to have annexed. Ginnie Schanzano is here. Rick Davis is to Bloomberg Politics contributors make up our signature handle Rick, this is a very difficult situation here, and it seems the more desperate Vladimir Putin gets as his troops lose ground, the more drones are going to be raining on Ukraine. Yeah, you know, we every day it seems we talk about, you know, how is Vladimir Putin? How do we keep him from escalating?

And the reality is there's nothing we can do to keep him from escalating. This is his plan. Uh, it hasn't probably always been his plan. I'm I think he's probably in Plan C, D or E by now because the others have failed. But the reality is he's not going to stop killing people in the Ukraine until he gets what he wants. And the fact that he's turning Russian into terrorist state, he doesn't care. It's all about Vladimir Putin. And so the fact that the EU is now,

you know, we've talked about secondary sanctions. Now they're going after I ran for a given uh you know, drones to uh to to Russia. I think that's a very good strategy. And anybody in between shipping companies that are moving them, and anybody who helps try and ship these things should be caught up in sanction regimes too. We've

got to start shutting down Russia's access to outside equipment. Uh. You know, Russia, we we talk all the time about, oh, we don't want to give them weapons, you know that would go into the Russian territory. What do you think these drones are coming from Iran? So I think we've got to start to change our minds on how we feel about escalation. When you see the images Genie there, it's a horror movie it's a horror show here. I mean, at what point do we say, you know what, whatever

you want, whatever you want, we're gonna send it. Well, you know it's going to be increasingly difficult if in this election, and you mentioned this in your interview, Republicans takeover. And you know, we had Mike Pence out today reacting to Kevin McCarthy suggesting there's no more blank check for Ukraine if Republicans take over. Mike Pence pushing back on that, saying the Conservative movement can't be apologist or putin. But that is increasingly what we're seeing in the Republican Party

and the polls reflect that as well. We've seen a drop off in support. And this is why I think your conversation with Mark Hamill was so important, because you know, as horrific as the images are, and you've talked about that, media coverage in the United States has dropped off a bit and support in the polls is dropping off a bit as well, and we may see that reflected and

coming down the pike in the funding. So it's really important that you have conversations like this, and Joe Matthew, I have to ask you a question when you are a little kid and you watch Star Wars. Did you ever imagine you'd be talking to Luke Skywalker and he'd want your job. I'm just amazed by that. Technically I thought I was Luke Skywalker. So I guess it all comes together here and he should have this job. He seems pretty engaged in things, but he can't lose you,

Joe Matthew co host. Fine, you two guys, let's be honest. Or are much more steeped in the politics of Washington than Mark Hamill ever would be while he's obviously engaged in the news and what's happening here. Rick, do you see this as a as a private fundraising movement that might replace government funding? No, Uh, there's no way that you could replace. There's just a billion dollars that you know, the government has already committed in its last trunch in May.

So it's a good thing. Uh. And I applaud people like Mark Hamill to get involved with Ukraine and and and we should do everything we can to support that

corporations and private individuals and charities and foundations. But the reality is that this is a geopolitical situation where the free countries of the world need to ensure that that Vladimir Putin's plan does not get achieved, and that is to not only subjugate Ukraine, but to subjugate the democracies all around the world who are at risk by Ukraine

losing this war. You know, Genie, I wouldn't leave you like that, to be left with Luke Skywalker at the same time, I mean, it would be a pretty good option. I feel like, not he's not you, but you know he he would be okay, yes, of course, And indeed, stay with us the panels here all hour. We're gonna turn to domestic politics here coming up. Be careful who you talked to in this place, by the way, a hive of villany and the fastest hour in politics. We're

gonna bring in Emily Wilkins next. Actually she's already there. It's called Las Vegas, Nevada politics. This is bloom booked. They both had the same job. They were both Attorney General in Nevada. Now they both want to be senator. Well, of course, she already is the senator from Nevada, Catherine Cortes Masto up against the Donald Trump endorsed Adam Laxall.

Both held the job of a g one wants to keep coming to Washington, Laxalt I would like the same for the first time here, and it's been quite an ad war with a race that is too close to call. They stormed the capital because they were told the election was Stormer who helped push that line. Let's bring in one of the President's foot soldiers in the battle, Adam Lasol. Senator Cortez Masto undermining the federal investigation into Biden family corruption.

Just a taste of what Bloomberg Government's Emily Wilkins is enduring every time she walks past a TV in the great city of Las Vegas. That's where she joins us right now. I'm just just guessing what the signs must be like, what the ads must be like. It's in the air, Emily, what are you seeing? I was watching

the local news today. The ads are thick. And it's not just for the Senate race, obviously one of the most competitive Senate races we have right now, but you also got to remember, Joe, we have a competitive, competitive governor's race here, and we have three competitive House races

now that has only got four seats. Three of them are considered very competitive cycle with incumbent Democrats really have to defend their record in a state that's been very hard hit, was hard hit by the pandemic, is still grappling with high gas prices, high rent prices. Economic concern is a really big deal here and Democrats are trying to figure out a way to message to voters so that they are able to hold onto their seats. But

it's not it's not an easy task. It's been a pretty contentious debate here, as we just heard with a sampling of ads. Have they had a debate? Are they going to Emily? They haven't had debate. They're not going to have a debate. We saw to all the lawmakers. If this is happening kind of across the country right now, I know we're seeing a lot of debates, but we are.

There are also so many where we're not seeing debates, or in things like Florida where it's like, okay, we saw one debate between the two senators, but that was the only one, and you're seeing that trickle down to

house races as well. I think part of that is that you know you're we're in kind of this new eraw where candidates don't necessarily feel they need to talk to the media or go up on the debate stage to get their message chout that they can just much more closely drive the narrative by not doing anything except for their own media and own friendly press. But you know, it is, it is a trend worse thing, not just here in Nevada, but not really all over the country.

But I think it speaks to just how contentious things are, uh in this particular race in between these two candidates, where his lax Alt been on the election denying issue as he backed off, that is, as this became a

general election contest. I mean, lax it's very interesting because he's gotten support both from sort of the Trump wing of the party as well from Mitch McConnell and sort of the more mainstream Republicans, and so he's done what he's can to really appeal to both groups on that He's definitely tried to sort of downplay um any concerns about the election. But for Cortes Masso, it's something that she's really trying to push along with issues like abortion.

I mean, that's the big one for for Democrats that I've seen while I've been down here. So no, I mean it is still something that that that could and is a factor in the overall race. But I think when you're talking to people about what sort of their top of mind issue is a lot of folks don't necessarily say that that it's the future of our democracy, despite the fact that that's, you know, something that I know, you and I and and many folks have studied the

government closely. Are really watching right now? Yeah, of course, I see. Barack Obama made an endorsement in the governor's race, endorsing Governor cecilac against Joe Lombardo, who is backed by Donald Trump. Does this become an Obama Trump proxy? Tell us more about it. Well, it's very interesting because Obama announced today that he will be here on November first. He'll be here with the governor, with Senator Catherine Cortes Masto. They expect to have other down ballot Democrats as well.

I wouldn't be surprised if you saw all three of the current House Democrats defending their seats show up for that one. But you know, this is Obama coming. Biden did not come to Nevada, and he came out here to go to California and to go to Oregon. Did not show up in Nevada, and I think that really speaks to just the sentiment that's out there right now toward Biden and toward the job that he has done

as president. Despite you know, him really sort of playing well on the campaign trail in certain areas, there are other areas of the country where you know, lawmakers aren't exactly clamoring to have him come. Fascinating, and it really speaks to the fact that you have to be there, you have to go there beyond the ground, like Emily is, to really understand what's going on. It's great to have you back, Emie. You back by Friday night or what

I actually just got the trip excented till Saturday. Well, I will listen. I'm not without you, but we miss you here inside the bubble. Emily, thank you as always a friend of the program. And of course, Bloomberg Politics

Congress reporter. Let's bring in the panel here for a moment, just to get some impressions as this is one of five Senate races rated as a toss up by the Cook Political Report, and of course that's you know, look, that's not the final word, but it does give you a sense here Nevada should be on your list of races to watch. Republicans from need a net gain of only one seat to take a majority in the Senate.

Rick Davis and Jennie Chanzano are back with us here. Jeannie, what's your take on the Senate race, specifically here Cortez Mastow Adam lax All too close to call. It is too close to call, and you're absolutely right. You know, this is one of the top two races that people say potentially Republicans can flip Nevada in Georgia the two and then of they're trying to hold Pennsylvania. Those are the three most watch this cycle. And it is just

way too close. I think real clear has Cortez Masso up to not where Democrats want to be right now. And you know, Emily's point is so important. Joe Biden staying away I think speaks volumes. I was also interested to hear her say she is hearing a lot on the ground about the issue of women's healthcare and abortion. So you know, even though it may not be the paramount issue, it is still there and something that Democrats are really hoping can keep them in that seat. Who

decides this race Rick, is this independence again? Uh, you know independence, but I mean it's it's working classvoters, right, these are the ones that are the swing voters, and they're going to decide they outcome not just this race, but many others. That's gonna be Latino voters in many cases on the strip though, right, Well it's quite a mix of these days. But yeah, they're gonna vote heavy. We'll pick this up straight ahead with Rick and Jeannie.

Not only the Nevada race. I want to go to Florida. Val Demming's pulled it out last night against Marc Ruby. Oh my god. We'll bring you in the room because we're watching, so you don't have to. This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg who sound on with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. There's a lot to be said for name recognition in politics, and when we look closely at this Senate race in Nevada, it's enjoyed by both candidates.

Lack Salt's grandfather, Adam lack salts grandfather Paul, was both governor and Senator. Cortez Masto's dad, Manny, head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and was tight with a guy named Harry Reid. And you wonder as you fast forward to two what either of those legacies represent for people in Nevada. Of course, a transient community in many cases, a lot of people coming and going in a city like Las Vegas, and a lot of growth.

People moving into Las Vegas or other parts of Nevada from various parts of the country might not have that history. Let's bring in Rick Davis and Jeanie Chanzano again, reassemble the panel for our final moments here on Bloomberg Sound on, Rick, to what extent does name recognition when you come from a political family like that, help you or hurt you in a race like this one? You know, I think it helps you. Initially, it helps you develop a team

of supporters, professional staff. Uh. Donors are gravitated towards name I D early on. But once the campaign starts and those ads start to burn in, UH, your name I D is going to be caught up fast by anybody else in a race. So it's something you can buy. But if it's really positive. Paul Axalt left the state, left the political scene as an icon, and so that really is one of the best things about name idea.

If you're a laxalt is it's positive as opposed to a little bit of Harry Reid rubbing off on Eugenie. I'm not sure how that how that impacts a Democratic vote. We're an independent one in this day and age. Yeah, it could be a mixed bag today. Um, you know, but like so many other professions, politics is something of a family legacy sport. At least I agree with Rick initially. It gets you sort of the name recognition, the funding out there you have, You're able to attract people to

the campaign. There's a great deal of interest. I mean, you know, there are a lot of years when we had choices for president and they were either Clinton or Bush, you know, and so we've all seen that in the United States. But that wears off, I think as the campaign goes on and they have to prove their metal. And I think one of the frustrations, quite frankly, for Democrats out in Nevada and in Washington in d C. Is that Cortez Masso is the incumbent and they expected

her to be up more than she is. But granted it is a tough year for Democrats. Well, I want to ask you both about the situation in Florida's quite a debate last night, Congresswoman val Deming's up against Senator Marco Rubio, a race that we shouldn't even be talking about right now in the state of Florida. But it was quite a performance. And I'm not going to weigh

in on who won or whatever. This may may have no impact on the race at all, but Valve Deming's raised a lot of eyebrows last night, having been clearly well prepared for this debate, but also just brought a very disarming sort of posture to the conversation. It wasn't a typical back and forth. Listen to Marco Rubio here going after val Deming's and he came loaded for bear as well. He had a lot of attack lines, a lot of things to criticize Demmings about, and she tended

to be ready for all of it. She's been in Congress for over half a decade. She's never passed a bill, not PPP, not anything. Not a single bill she's passed as become law. I'm proud of the fact we say millions of jobs. I'm proud of the fact we did it in a bipartisan way. That's not true. I know the senator look and I'm really disappointed and you, Marco Rubio, because I don't I think there was a time when you did not lie in order to win. I don't know what happened to you. You know that it is

not true. My first term in the in the United States House, I passed legislation to help law enforcement officers certain mental health programs. Now this and in many of these exchanges, Val Demming's turns all the way to her right and looks directly at Marco Rubio, who's looking straight ahead at the camera. Now, I've got a couple of questions for both of you. I will set the sort of baseline here. According to Real Clear Politics, Rubio is up almost five points in the poll of polls. This

is Marco Rubio country, right. But I wonder if if this debate moved the needle for you, Rick Um. You know, it's hard to say that the issues weren't a surprise. They've been debated for quite some time. I do think anything that Val Demings could do to get noticed. I mean, it's unfortunate that this campaign was interrupted by Hurricane in and and devastation it brought and everything got put on a hold. Uh. And and when you're the challenger, you

don't like that. That's an unfortunate set of circumstances. So she was clearly under pressure to use this debate to get back in this game and try and get people's attention on her. And I would say that the mention you said about looking at Marco Rubio, I think when you are trying to communicate with voters and have a conversation with him, you gotta look at the camera. They don't understand that you're looking sideways at another candidate standard

on this stage. So that wasn't good for you. You You wouldn't if you're if you're preparing a candidate, Rick, you tell them you keep your eyes trained on that camera, don't engage the person to your left or right. Yeah, you have so few opportunities to talk directly to voters, Uh, during a campaign, it's not muted by some kind of media interference. And so here's you got a whole hour to have a conversation with voters and you're looking in the other way. And it's just I would never advise that.

What was your thought on on that? The sort of optics of that debate Genie and was this just an interesting hour of television or something that actually factors into the race. You know, I thought the debate overall was pretty substantive, and I actually liked the debate format itself because it felt like they really actually engaged each other. You know, it did get down to calling each other liars and other other things, but you know, it didn't seem as much of an interview as some of these

debates seem. It really did seem like they debated. And I thought Val Demming's you know, this is a this is another hard race for Democrats. It's a red state. You know, all of the numbers show that Marco Rubio has been up and likely will you know, maintain his seat. But she came out very strong. And you know, in a campaign, when you're on the defensive, it's usually means you're losing. And I have to say, during much of this debate, Marco Rubial felt to me like he was

on the defensive. Whether it came to an issue like climate change, or it came to an issue like abortion, or it came to an issue like guns. She really really held her her strength there in all of those cases. So you know, I think that Marco Rubio has got to be a little bit shaken by what happened, and I think she's got to feel very, very good. But you know, whether it's enough is a big question. Well, sometimes that's just the wake up call you need to write.

Even as a front runner UH. The issue of abortion indeed was resonating in the hall, a lot of questions about Marco Rubio's UH wishes here and whether he actually supports exceptions to the law. On the issue of exceptions, I'm being attacked on a bill that has exceptions. It's written right in there. My name is on that bill. My name is on that bill. There's a reason why no bills are ever introduced without exception that because I

because that can't pass without that in there. And I understand and recognize it, and that's why I have continued to support bills that have exceptions. But she supports no of any kind that is out of the mainstream. That is radical, said, how gullible do you really think Florida votas are? Number One, you have been cleared that you

support no exceptions, even including rape and incests. As a police detective who investigated cases of rape and incests, no Senator, I don't think it's okay for a ten year old girl to be raped and have to carry the seed of her rapists. I'm assuming that line from Val Demming's was prepared in advanced rick is that is that the right way to go in a debate that brings you

into people's living rooms at night. Yeah. Look, Marco Rubio is a very canny politician, right, Uh, he can be on both sides of this issue, and he was in this debate where he personally uh supports life inception and doesn't want to back off of that except that he'll he'll admit to uh sponsoring and supporting legislation that gives exceptions. So you know, it's very hard to tie that down.

But I think, you know, Demings did a good job of sort of demogoguing it to the point where this example, which has so many people have already heard about, of a ten year old girl, you know, being forced to have carry a child a term you know from a rapist. You know that just that just fives people's sensibilities. And to be on the other side of that, Marco Rubio did the right thing and just didn't respond at all. That is that I mean, what else can you do, Genie,

This is such a difficult conversation. It's it's hard to have on the air. It's hard to do it on TV in front of people you are trying to win over. It is, and it's an incredibly difficult issue. And one thing I thought she did really well is something some Democrats haven't been doing in the last few weeks is making the issue of abortion personal. It's not enough to talk about it as something was taken away by the

Supreme Court where there was some change somewhere. You've got to talk about these horrible kinds of cases, as difficult as they are, and make it real to people. You know, the President was out yesterday talking about abortion and about he's promising to put forward legislation next year if possible, but even he didn't go to those stories. And unfortunately, that's the very type of thing you've got to do to make it real to people what this actually means

and what's at stake in this election. And I think she did that well. And Rubio again had no answer. He basically was arguing, it's not going to pass the legislature, so it's not an issue, but it is an issue, and it's his position on the issue that matters, and she held him to that. Genie Chanzano and Rick Davis our signature panel here on Bloomberg Sound on great insights. As always, these are two people not afraid to talk about anything, which is why, of course you're with us

here every night. And on this thirty fifth anniversary of Black Monday, can you get over that? Thirty five years we spent a lot of time obsessing over losses these days on Wall Street and it has been painful, but my goodness to put that in perspective, the fact that we lost over that day, if that happened today, it

would be for seven thousand points on the Dow. And with a little perspective here, as we go back to that very day, someone close to our hearts here as the home now of Wall Street Week, lou Ruth Kaiser spoke to America that night that evening. I'm Louis lu Kaiser. This is Wall Street Week. Welcome back. Okay, let's start with what's really important tonight. It's just your money, not

your life. Everybody who really loved you a week ago still loves you tonight, and that's a heck of a lot more important than the numbers on a brokerage statement. The Robbins will sing, the crocuses will bloom, and we'll all wake up and see the sun tomorrow