Sound On: Inflation Threatens Biden Legacy, Ad War Against Oz (Radio)

Sound On with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. Democrats get their climate and tax bill, but which party will win the war of words? Welcome to the Fastest hour in politics. After the Senate passes the so called Inflation Reduction Act on a party line vote, Republicans say it will actually make inflation worse. We'll talk about what this means for the president and the mark to the mid terms with Alan Lickman, presidential historian and professor of politics at American University.

Another Sea pack is in the books. Will talk about what we heard and saw and whether any of it will help Republicans in the fall With Bloomberg National political reporter Mark Niquette. He was there, and we put the band back together with our signature panel, Bloomberg Politics contributors Rick Davis and Jeanie Schanzano back with us today to help make sense of it all, and we start. It's a sound that President Biden and a lot of Democrats have been waiting for. On this vote, they's a fifty,

the names of fifty, the Senate being equally divided. The Vice President votes in the affirmative, and the bill as amended is past, and there it is. After God, they must have been punch drunk. It's not drunk drunk. By then, nineteen hour vote rama up all nights on Saturday into Sunday, just in time to do the Sunday morning shows. Democrats get it on reconciliation. All you need and is a vice president to get on the motorcade income break the tie in. There, we have the deal. The House says

it's on board, gonna vot Friday. Chuck Schumer, of course, the Senate majority leader, who scores a pretty big win here, politically invokes Paul McCartney on the victory lap. Here he is it's been a long tough and winding road. But at last, at last, we have arrived. I know it's been a long day and a long night, but we've gotten it done. Today after more than a year of hard work, the Senate is making history. I am confident the Inflation Reduction Act will endure is one of the

defining legislat defeats of the twenty first century. Well, I mean, we'll see about that, but more than a year. As a statement, we have been talking about this since it was built back better, since it was before. Remember it was human infrastructure. This isn't exactly that, and it's gone through remarkable change and has been squashed significantly in size. But that's been the same debate really, just with some

on again off again. Now the messaging war. As you heard Chuck Schumer there, the way he put it most significant. You know, we're talking history here and clearly a win in his eyes for Americans. When you hear the talking points from the other side of the aisle, and of course everyone's got their talking points, Republicans are just going for the direct opposite. If you've been listening to this program, you know where I'm going here. They say the Inflation

Reduction Act in Grace's inflation. But Senator Rick Scott took it to a new level as he did the Sunday morning shows. Of course they had been up all night. He showed up on CBS, UH, face the nation with a whole new name for this bill. Listen, this bill actually had to be called the War on Seniors Act. I mean, this is a war on Medicare. You look at this. This is a two billion dollar cut in Medicare. So what's going to happen is Medicare is gonna be a cut and there's gonna be seniors that don't get

life saving drugs because benefits. Though you know that, Margaret, it's two or eighty billion dollars that would have been spent, it was anticipated to be spent. It's not going to be spent now, okay, And that you'll be hearing that, right. He's it's his job to help get people Republicans elected to the Senate. So you're gonna hear that only increases inflation, but it cuts medicare spending. Uh, the direct opposite of, of course, what we have been hearing from Democrats. That's

gonna be very confusing for voters. And the War of the words is a real one is we had for the mid terms. And this is where we begin with Alan Lickman, presidential historian, professor of Politics, American University, author of course, and the the inventor of the Keys to the White House presidential prediction system. Professor Lichman has been some time, and it's great to talk to you. I'm pre shape you're being here with us as as we try to gauge the significance of all of this, uh

from the eyes of the White House. Here you're Joe Biden, and you look back the last couple of presidents thinking what they got done in the first two years. You got done this. You've got the Reconciliation deal, biggest climate deal you could come up with, helping the lower the deficit. Say what you will about inflation. I'm not an economist.

You've got the Packed Act right the burn pits. You've got a major deal on gun safety legislation, UH, major, at least in its difficulty over the years to get done. I think we had a big infrastructure deal there. All this done with the fifty fifty Senate, and Joe Biden's looking in the mirror seeing how the heck do I have an approval rating in the low thirties, Professor, is this really as simple as the cost of gas? Well,

I think it's a number of things. Look, when his approval ratings started to drop, it was that awful by press coverage of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Yeah, there were a lot of problems, but it was nowhere close to the disaster that the media portrayed as Maybe the media was trying to show, you know, willing to go after a democratic president, just like we wrent after Donald Trump

when marines die. It's pretty hard to make that sound good. Yeah, but that was a terrorist act that was not directly tied. But I understand your point. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was the beginning of this downturn for him. Yes, even though it was a very much more successful, for example, than the withdrawal from Vietnam in the nineteen seventies. They got just about everybody out. You can't stop a terrorist attack that was, you know, it could have happened regardless of

the withdinal. Then, of course, as you point out, you had the inflation, people being sour about the economy, and when the economy is rough, who are you gonna blame. You're gonna blame the president. He didn't cause the inflation. Inflation is a worldwide problem, and the president has limited control over the uh operations of an economy is huge as the United States. A lot of Republicans seem to think the American Rescue Act film made it worse, that we poured gas on the fire. As they say, yeah,

but that there's no evidence for that. Here's the problem for Republicans. Don Joe Biden has achieved the greatest accomplishments and democratic reform since Linda Johnson and the Civil Rights Act, of Voting Rights Act, Medicare, and medicated So forget the last two presidents. Professor I said, you know, you compare this to Trump Obama. You're going back decades now to the significance of this presidency in his first two years. I'm an astoria and that's what we do. We put

things in historical perspective. Now, does that mean they're going to reverse fortunes in the midterm election, Maybe not, but it's certainly I move in the direction that has the potential to do that. And we've already seen even before this President Obama's approval rating kicking up. I looked today at the Erasmus in report, which tends to lean right, he's he's not in the thirties. He was in the thirties a month ago. Now he's at forty five percent.

And the generic ballot, which previously on average from five thirty eight had strongly favored Republicans, all that has been erased. And that's before this extraordinary accomplishment. The problem Republicans as twofold one can't just be the party of no. What is the Republican solution to any of our problems? Nobody has any idea of what it is. Secondly, context is everything, and you've got to put this in the context of

the Supreme Court overturning Row and tremendous momentum. Although who are opposing force pendency in a conservative state of Kansas, a primary which tends to have Republican turnout voted for a Now, this presumes that the Democrats can overcome their tremendous messaging. Sorry, now you're getting to something though, because you've been talking policy, you've been talking you know, political

issues until this point of the conversation. So what if the what if the I appreciate you, you don't think Republicans have anything going on. But in the case of Joe Biden, he's still underwater. Granted, is a lot better

than load of mid thirties. Uh. But considering the messaging around this, to your point and the packaging, if this were a young, strapping man, uh and not Joe Biden, and if there was a different communications office, could this be a very different looking situation now when it comes to public approval. His age is working against him then, and his and communications office, how do you fix those? Yeah? Biden is not a great communicator. He never has been.

He's seventy eight years old. He mumble and ram and ramble. But let's remember this is not a national election. It's going to be fought out in the individual states and the congressional districts, and it's up to the Democratic incumbents and the Democratic candidates to sell this and sell the whole gamut of accomplishments to the American team. But well,

how about the next election. As the man behind the keys to the White House, people, Professor are asking him every day if he's going to run for re election, and the the mindset is he's gonna have to say something after the mid terms. My God, that there will be debating next June, which is just incredible to think about. Well, but it's coming, right, So how long is the window when we come back from the mid terms for him to tell Democrats what his plan is? Does he actually

say he's not going to run again? Well, uh, you guys then need on my great friends, you're really really good, but you got to write a story every day. But that's not that far away, professor. I mean, you know a lot of Democrats are asking, Yeah, here's my point. The media is that, oh, my god, Biden is old. He's not a good communicator. Democrats are better off without him. But my system, which has predicted correctly every election since

nineteen eight four, the keys to the light House. Two of the keys are incumbency and an internal party battle for the incumbent party nomination. If Biden doesn't run, you lose the incumbency, surely will lose the party battle. Alan Lackmann, presidential historian, American University. I thank you, got I'd like to hear the end of that. On the Fastest Hour in Politics, I'm Joe Matthew. This is Bloomberg. This is Bloomberg.

Sound on on Bloomberg radio, so Alan Lackman says, the suggestion that Joe Biden not run for re election is ridiculous. You heard that just now on sound On. But well, then again, I think he was calling me ridiculous to what are you gonna do? Welcome to the fastest hour in politics. As we assembled the panel, our signature panel for the first time and over a week. Rick Davis is back in the mix. As we put the band back together. Rick Davis, Genie Chanzano, Bloomberg Politics contributors. It's

great to have you both here. I feel like we should start there before we even get to what happened over the weekend and its potential impact in November. Uh, Rick, welcome back. I haven't talked to you in a bit. I wonder your thoughts on this because Joe Biden, uh boy, even members of his own party are suggesting that he

not run and that he and make that announcement soon. Uh. I realized a lot can happen in the course of two years, but he's made this first two years UH look like a pretty tough grind on an aging man.

Thanks Joe, It's great to be back, and I must say I thought I was leaving for a week, and it seemed like about a year's worth of legislation past Capitol Hill while I was gone, Um, yeah, you know, look, I think this is part of the undoing of the Democratic Party, right, that they're having this great run on the hill. And all I want to talk about is, you know that Joe Biden can't be successful in another

term and and and they're the ones who were doing it. No, no, Republicans are sort of lifting against Joe Biden because the Democrats are doing a good job themselves. Uh. And and look, I mean, I think the one thing that that was left out of your earlier conversation with Alan was, uh, that that he's a very old man, would be eighty by the time the campaign was in a full swing.

And and that will dictate as much as any political issue or any issue related to the recession of the economy in the calculations to whether he can survive a grueling presidential campaign. Is the suggestion he would not run for re election ridiculous, genie or or very much in the realm of reality, or a conversation we need to have. Yeah, I mean, I was thinking when I read Maureen Doubts column this weekend. You know, Joe Biden the greatest week he's had in his presidency. And it was quite a

successful week. And I think there are arguments both throwing con as to how much of a role he played in all of this. But great week for the Biden administration and the Democrats. And he wakes up to Maureen Dowd saying, good job, Joe. Now time to leave. And you know, to Rick's point, that's not the way, not that she's a Democratics post person. I need stretched to the imagination um. And you also, let's not forget you had in New York. You had Caroline Maloney and others

who are running into the house. These are real Democrats. In debate, she had to apologize. You know, so Democrats have got to sort of get back on track. And I you know, we we heard Richardson over the weekend saying, you know, he should run. So they've got to get back on track. But more important than that, they've got to sell this plan to the American public as they go home. That's what they have to do now once

it passes the House, that's their job. Right now. They've got to get off the you know, Joe, you need to step away bandwagon at least until the mid terms are over. Let's get to that, because this sales pitch looks awfully difficult to me. Just hearing the talking points play out on both sides on Sunday morning shows just makes it clear that that people could be so confused they don't know what's in the in the damn thing.

It doesn't matter who's right or wrong. You've heard from Chuck Schumer, you've heard from the President, You've heard Rick Scott there call it should be called the War on Seniors Act. I played a couple of minutes ago. Senator Mike Rowns, who was not quite as animated again if it was a long night, was on ABC this week talking to George Stephanopolis about how you know he he was a little bit more nuanced than Rick Scott in this case, realizing that there are no tax hikes that

he could specifically point to. Listen to what he said. Now, they talk about it being on big corporations, but a big corporations race prices. They do pass it all down. So from our perspective, we will see those tax increases coming down the line and America's are going to feel it. If Rick if they if Republicans connect the dots between corporate tax hikes and people's own job security or paychecks, what does that do to this great story Democrats have

to tell you know, it's it's it. Look it undermines the story, right if you're paying for it out of your pocketbook to uh basically do these uh priorities around climate and health care that are in the bill. Uh. You may or may not like that as an outcome of how to use your money in the best possible way. That being said, it is an awful tough case to make, right. I mean, when Americans look at their W two and they see the increase in withholding, they think that's a

tax increase. That's that is, It's not the only way people feel they get taxed. Um. But the bottom line is, uh, everyone has been feeling to pinch of inflation. Everyone's spending more for the same thing that they're getting. Now, how you then say that the reason you're doing that is because of this one bill. Very tough and a very short period of time to make that case. So what's

you know, what's the answer for for Democrats here? Genie Joe Biden says, I will not hike taxes on anyone in any family making less than four hundred thousand dollars a year. Republicans say, no, he's lying. How do how do you move on from there? Well, you move on because you know the reality is there is a very very minor, what is at point one percent tax increase. It doesn't directly hit families less than four hundred thousand dollars. I mean that that's true. Can it be passed on

by corporations? Yes, it can. But Republicans who passed sweeping tax reform with in Donald Trump's first year didn't seem that concerned with cutting the taxes on corporations. And listen, there are big things in this bill. It's not everything they wanted, but there are big things that they can be proud of, including the corporate minimum tax, including the excise tax. But more important than that is the healthcare and climate provisions. And that's what they really have to

talk about. We heard that from Yeah, we heard that from Biden today as as he was, you know, out he was saying, this is gonna be all about capping prescription drugs, extending those subsidies. Those are big, big things. This is a big deal for Democrats and Americans. Should Democrats talk about the benefits for fossil fuel as well? Here? Rick, Uh this, this Democratic Party can't get themselves to talk about domestic production of energy. You know, if it's if

it's in there, it's in there. But you know, they just can't do it. You look at how tough it's been for Biden to to talk about that, and I just can't see them making the change. Wouldn't have Joe matching without it, right, It's funny. No one will read the bill, of course, but it's in there. Uh spack another seatpack in the books. As I mentioned, Boy, that was a line up. Did you see President Trump? Did you see Victor Or von Mark? Niquette was there for

all of it? Bloomberg Politics reporters with us. Next, This is Bloomberg broadcasting live from our nation's capital, Bloomberg to New York, Bloomberg eleven Frio to Boston, Bloomberg one oh six one to San Francisco, Bloomberg nine sixty to the country, Serious x M General one nine and around the globe, the Bloomberg Business app and Bloomberg Radio dot Com. This

is Bloomberg Sound On with Joe Matthew. Donald Trump was the headliner at Sea Pack over the weekend, delivered the big speech Saturday night, went on to win the presidential straw pole after teasing plans to run again as he does. But it was the Prime Minister of Hungary who raised the most eyebrows. We'll talk about the big confab with Bloomberg Politics reporter Mark Niquett. He was there. You you wouldn't think Dallas necessarily would be the place your your

pick to hear Victor Orban speak about politics. But that was the deal at Sea Pack in Dallas over the weekend, a long weekend of course that they have every year at this conference that's changed a lot over the years. The Prime Minister of Hungary, though, was one of the headliners, having opened a Sea Pack conference UH overseas in in Hungary was like an offshoot of Sea Pack that happened. Uh a big favorite of Donald Trump's and he was as controversial as you would expect. This is, you know,

a much more likely crowd than you might think. As I read the headline from Mark Niquette Orban as an outsider in Europe at Sea Pack, he fits right in and a great piece of writing as Mark says orbon is used to being pigeonholed as a pariah in Europe. In Texas, though before an audience of die hard Trump supporters, his spiel against progressives, immigrants, and the media was warmly embraced. Give a listen. You managed to confuse a lot of

people by inviting me, for example, the leftist media. I can already see tomorrow's headlines far right, European racist, an anti semi strongman, the Troyan horse off twitching horse speech

at Closer Votive conference. He wasn't too far off right or wrong, and he made headlines with his positions on any number of issues, including one that hits close to home right now in the US, and that, of course, is same sex marriage following the royal ruling this iss Do you know if you're in political circles something that democrats are talking about a lot. Here's Victor Orban again at Seapack Hungry shap Protect the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. God loved it.

Family ties. Family ties shall be based on the marriage, all the relationship between parents and children. To sum up, the mother is a woman, the father is a man, and leave our kids alone, full stop and of discussion standing ovation there? Do they really full stop? And is that slang in Hungary? Mark Niquette was at Spack for what I believe was four days Bloomberg Politics Reporter Markets.

Great to have you. I know you've covered a lot of these be war and you would think that I'd be playing Donald Trump cuts right now from the speech, But it was Orbon that just seems really rise to the surfaces the most newsworthy portion of the conference. Uh. Not a lot of places would invite him to talk

politics in this country. What's his connection to conservatives in America? Yeah, it was especially interesting that he was invited to speak at Seapack because he's just coming off a lot of controversy over his speech he gave in Romania where he talked about how Hungary should not become a mixed race country and he railed against the threat of Islamic civilization to white Europeans and prompted the resignation of a Jewish aide, and you know, broad condemnation from EU leaders who thought

these remarks were racist. Um. In fact, Seapack had to sort of defend why they were allowing him to speak after that controversy. But you're right. He he was warmly embraced by the Seatpac crowd. Who um, you know, these are really conservative folks who I think appeal or bon sort of approach appeals to them. Um, and a lot of the themes he echoes are definitely appealing to this crowd. Uh. In fact, you know, if you if you listen to Orbon's speech, like you said, you could have heard you know,

Trump saying the exact same things. In fact, even you know, touched on a lot of the you know, common things you hear in a Trump rally speech, like you know, the need of you to win. Uh, you know, he talked about the fake news and even you know issues like immigration anti immigration where you know, he stressed the need for for a border wall and how he built the wall in Hungary before Trump built his wall in the US. Maybe he's planning a move over here. I

don't know. It's it's an interesting Uh, I mean, does this help him at home or is he just loved getting the applause and all the attention here. Yeah, there's some thought that maybe this helps legitimize him a bit at home. But uh, you know, getting getting exposure on the national stage in the United States at this conference.

But um, I think it was really more just a sign that, you know, the conservative movement in the US, you know, represented by the spack folks, you know, is just really much more aligned with you know, sort of this authoritarian, uh no nonsense populist approach that Orbon has taken. In fact, you know that the crux of orbon speech was, you know, conservatives unity need to unite in the culture wars and follow the example that I've said and how I ruled Hungry. There you go. I'm sure Donald Trump

would put it differently. By the way, Donald Trump had an approval rating of the choice of sixty of about a thousand attendees. The straw Pole is something that you know makes news every year, whether it shoot or not. But it's interesting that among those who voted, Rhonda Santis

got for Trump to Santa said, nobody else even close. Right, it falls off a cliff the single digits after that, So it really does reinforce this idea that Rhonda Santis is the alternative right in fact, that the straw Pole had a separate question that did not include Trump. If Trump didn't run, who would um the Sea Pack attendees select and De Santis was overwhelmingly the choice. Uh there.

In fact, I think only Donald Trump Jr. The President's son, was was you know, the second place, and he hadn't like eight percentage points to like de Santis. Lastly, Mark, you've done a few of these. As I mentioned, I used to go to Sea Pack when it was still in Washington and it was an event that was covered by more news agencies. It's changed a lot. It's not this is not to confuse our listeners, not a Republican event. This is a conservative event, and in fact, the Republican

Party can take a lot of criticism. How far away from the GOP is Sepack at this point? Um, well, it's hard to say. I mean, there's some who would argue that, you know, the folks who go to Sea Pack are the the Republican Party now or at least you know, the controller or the majority of the Republican Party, because you're right used to be, you know, very policy oriented. You know a lot of speeches about Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race at Sea Pack. I remember

I was there. They wouldn't let him in there. Now, Mark, to talk to you, by the way, that's your completely out of time. Mark Niquette with us, will reassemble the panel next. This is Bloomberg So Long with Joe Matthew on Bloomberg Radio. So Donald Trump wins the straw Pole. But as Mark Niquette told us, there was a separate question at Sea Pack, what would you do without Trump as a candidate? In Ronda Santis was the overwhelming choice at six. After that, again, off a cliff, it's down

to single digits. Let's reassemble the panel for a quick turn on this and some of the other stories that were following. Rick Davis is back with us, Jenny Shanz and it was here Bloomberg Politics contributors. Rick, you've spent your time, I'm sure going to Sea Packs you probably chuckle up the straw pole. But it's interesting just to look at everything after Trump on here. If he does not run, Rhonda Santis is your nominee, right, is anyone

close to him? Well, I would first have to preface everything by saying Sea Pack does not decide to nominate the Repulican Party. Most of them they've endorsed in the past have not actually succeeded, so so this is like death either. But this is the party. I think they reflect actually more the Donald Trump Party of the Republican Party now than they probably ever have, in the sense that they're kind of extreme right wing. Nationalism is where the party is. It used to not be, but it

is now. The party is what you're saying. And uh, And I think the fact that the SANTIS has gotten basically the same amount of support without Trump on the ballot that Trump got U indicates that unless someone knocks him off that pedestal, he is is the inheritor of the Trump legacy if Trump chooses not to run. Producer Matt Shirley makes the point Ron Paul might have the record for straw poles at SAPAX. So Mr Davis point taken. Jennie, your thoughts on this as a Democrat looking at this

from across the street, I guess you know. There was a time you'd go into the There was in the Omni Hotel in Washington. You go downstairs as a book fair. Downstairs. Everybody loved the book fair. This time you go downstairs there was a jail cell, among other things, with a guy in there in an orange jumpsuit acting as one of the January six perpetrators. Who was sent to jail apparently wrongfully, and people would have their picture taken with him. People might get in the cell with him. One of

them was Marjorie Taylor Green. Uh. To Rick's point, a Republican Party getting closer to sepack means what, though, is from an electoral politics standpoint. You know, I you know, as you watch some of this, I have to imagine and I wondered, are are the Democrats setting this up? Because this is everything Democrats want to see in the lead up to the mid term and in the presidential election. The more Trump, the better, The more extremism the better.

The more my pillow people, the more than Marjorie Taylor Green. You know all that. You know, Donald Trump has ranbo jail cells with January six rioters. It's as if the Democratic Party is putting it all out there and they're eating it up. The problem for the Republican Party, as we know is this is succeeding to a certain extent. Donald Trump has done very well in these mid term primaries. The question is can they translate that into general election wins?

And you look at the polls in these big senate states Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, is some of the others, and these more extremist Trump supported candidates are not polling so well and they're not even able to raise the money that they should. So that's the problem for the Republican Party as a whole. And quite frankly, Mitch McConnell is the one who said that early on these races are about candidates. You've got to get candidates elected in a

general election, not just a primary quality candidate issue. Uh. Is when we've been hearing a lot about Rick on the Republican side, as Democrats try to prop up what they see as easier to defeat MAGA sort of candidates. If there's a better name for them, you can tell me the herschel Walkers, the JD Advances. There are other better examples you could come up with. I'm sure, but this is going to be a big story going into the mid terms here and whether Republicans can take over

the Senate with some of these nominees. Yeah, I mean I think that if this were not a year where Republicans have an innate advantage. Uh, you know, generic party ballot is up. Uh, it's a mid term which the party out of power tends to do well. And you can't get more out of power than the Republicans right now. Um, Then then I would say none of these candidates in the fringe that you've just described, Carry Lake in Arizona

included this last week. I think they would all lose badly. Um. But the cycle could be so strong that they become competitive. And this is the thing that baffles me so much about the tea leaves at the Democratic Party of Reading where they're actually helping these candidates get nominated and if any one of them gets elected, pos on the Democrat strategy. And it's not a new one, but but if the outcome could be very different this time looking at the

at the race in Pennsylvania. We haven't had a chance to talk about this one in a while, of course, John Federman the Democrat up against Dr Oz Memo Oz. And the last time we got to this, um, I believe Snooky was the hook. Remember he did Fetterman's has has He's been trying to get people from New Jersey the home place at least at one point of Dr Ross, to try to troll him a little bit. Snooky was one. Enter Stevie van zandt let's hear it, yo dot does

Stevie vs here? What are you doing in Pennsylvania? Everybody knows you live in New Jerry See and you're just using your in laws address over there. And you do not want to mess around with John Fetterman. Trust me, he's a little out of your league. Nobody wants to see you get embarrassed. So come on back to Jersey

where you belong, and we'll have some fun. Now, we'll go to the beach, we'll go surfing there you go, come on, Okay, then there'll be more where these came from, you know, Stevie van zand uh Bruce Springsteen, sopranos and so forth. I'm sure they're gonna be more where he's come from. This whole narrative of kind of getting celebrities though to to talk about Dr Roz in New Jersey has come together to a full blown campaign. Not these celebrities,

but the ones who are friends with Dr Roz. Listen to this, add a a portion of it from John Fetterman. Do you want someone that's all about North Jersey. Look, he's not one of us. He says he'll fight for working people. Okay, Hey, Dalk, Hollywood, save your money, Pennsylvania is not for sale, Hollywood, Genie. This seems to be taking hold a bit. As I look at the average here on Real Clear, they've got Fetterman up by eight

point seven percent. That's the poll of polls. Uh. Democrats are not usually the ones on this side of the argument. You can ask Rick about that. Here we have this, you know, supposedly folksy, working class democrat calling out the celebrity Republican as at work. You know, I think it's get generated a lot of buzz and it's very funny, and and you know, you're right, it's usually it's usually Republicans calling out Democrats for being too tied to people

like Barbara streisand in Hollywood. So it's unique in that respect. Um. But you know, I think that as somebody who sat through and watched a lot of these carpet bagger arguments, I think they have buzz. And I think this is good because Veterman has been off the campaign trail. But is this really gonna come down to issues? And it's gonna be a tight race, And so I enjoy the commercial tolls, but I think the carpet bagger issue can also fall flat. Um, And so they've got to get

back on the issues. As my argument, carpet baggers one doc Hollywood is the other though, Rick that this guy, you know, he's hanging out with celebrities, he's got nine different houses. He can't relate with you. That's a message that Fetterman can sell. Yeah. I mean, when you are looking at this line of attack, you test it and you go to the polls and you ask voters, Um, does doctor Oz seem like someone you would have a beer with? Or is he someone like you? Does he

hold your values? And if you see weakness in that, you can exploit that with these kinds of advertisements. And my suspicion is that they've got some kind of poll that shows over the public say yeah, he's not one of us, and and they will echo that in an advertisement all day long because that's a dynamic number that if it's out there, they can play into it to divide the house in in Pennsylvania. It looks like it's working because whatever they're doing is is opening a pretty

big gap with Dr Oz. At this point, John fed Him is getting back on the campaign trail imminently. Here we understand, Genie, this is after the heart problem the pacemaker, whatever else went on there that we didn't know about. Uh, initially, what does he need to do to put this to rest? He goes out there and does push ups? Uh? Does he talk about it? Does he not talk about it? Yeah? I think they've done a good job, and I think

he does talk about it. I think one of the lines his wife talked about earlier had to do with the fact that or he talked about that had to do with the fact that he wasn't going to the doctor enough. A lot of us and especially men, can you know, associate with that. So you know, I are listening to his doctors. So I do think he talks about it. But I really think the real issue here, I mean, could you imagine if doctor Oz had not been endorsed by Donald Trump and his opponent had won

this race. I mean, this would be a very different race we're looking at. So I think we're seeing sort of what happens when you have these sort of more extreme Trump candidates endorsed in these primaries that just have trouble connecting in these suburbs, in these purple states where this electron electoral victory is going to happen. We will Dr Oz make an issue out of his health in

the in the final throws of this race. Rack, you know, wouldn't surprise me that if you're, you know, ten points down, you're going into election day in November, you're you're gonna throw whatever you can at the wall. And and look, I mean, he's got some credibility because he is a cardiac surgeon, and so it's not like he's guessing at

what he's talking about. I actually thought right now would have been a much better time to frame the debate about Fetterman's weakness when he's off the campaign trail and he's not being very active, and and and look, the only thing that could go wrong right now for Fetterman, and it is the summer, and it's usually meaningless when it comes to what happens in the fall. But he's just got to make sure he doesn't have any kind of medical problem in the fall, right he cannot get sick.

Cold will bring back memories of his physical condition. And so you know, he's got a different kind of bar to get over than than Oz is going to have to. And in a lot of it's gonna be out of his control. Rick Davis and Jeannie Chanzano with us. Our signature panel back together again. Great to hear from both of you, guys, and a lot to think about as we head into an important week with a couple of

bill signings and another big vote. As we mentioned on Friday, you'll have, of course, a lot of coverage when the House gets down to this reconciliation bill when it crosses over to the other chamber. I'm Joe, Matthew and Washington. Great to see again. We'll do it again tomorrow. In fact,

get up early. I'll meet you on surveillance first thing in the morning, radio and TV, and we'll get back here together on the fastest hour in politics and see what we learned with Rick and Jeannie live from the nation's capital. This is Bloomberg