Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. I'm Ris in Washington with a special guest, the Democratic Congresswoman Heidie Stevens of Michigan. I am axious, abati.
Thank you so much, John, and Congresswoman Stevens. You're also going to be in Michigan tomorrow with Biden. Yes, I am a star supporter of him, and you're not backing down.
Why. I'm really enthusiastic about this campaign and what we've built in Michigan. I've been rigorously on it since the beginning of the year. Detroit is at its lowest levels of unemployment and fifty years we have manufacturing growth. I have a really popular governor, Gretcham Whitmer, who's endorsed this president, who's a co chair of his campaign, who's met with him since some of the debate fallout and is sticking
by him. And the commitment to stand up for women's reproductive rights, to tackle our gun violence epidemic that has hit us pretty hard in Michigan, and there's a team right have built an incredible ground operation and it's hard work with persuasion voters, with turnout. I don't want to turn away from this though now I want to keep going. Fifteen some weeks left. Let's bring this over the finish line. And I believe and know that the Biden Hearris ticket is the one to get this done for us.
Do you think he's the best candidate though, I do. You see the polling today from Washington Post ABC more than fifty six Democrats say six and ten independents say he should step beside. Is it that he's the best candidate at this moment or there's concern about basically telling a sitting president, the leader of the party, that it's time to go.
Look, the stakes are high. The other thing that the polling is showing you is that people are freaked out about Donald Trump coming back. What that means for young women, what that means for our economy that spiraled out of control when he was president during a global pandemic that was not well hand him.
And so polling also shows people think Trump would be better when it comes to things like the economy, which our polling shows is still the number one issue.
It is the number one issue, and it's not just look at the facts today. Look, polling is absolutely important. I have to look at polling and I have had polls that have led me down a path of success, and I've had polls that have led me wrong before. But what I know is that people are concerned about Trump. I mean, I hear that on the ground in Oakland County, Michigan.
It is pulpable. People want to win. These stakes are high. Obviously, when President Biden was gathering his delegate votes and campaigning in the small primary that he had earlier this year, it wasn't one hundred percent clear every step of the way that Trump was going to be the nominee. Now he's hiding in mar A Lago. We don't see him really very much. He's come to Michigan maybe once or twice, a few surrogates here and there. Pretty quiet from him.
And in part we've got a president who's governing, who's leading NATO, who's got the backing of international leaders who support his plan. We have, by the way, a major foreign aid package that got done in a divided government. That's exactly what Joe Biden asked for.
I think the concern is not so much can he lead right now? It's what does the next four years mean? And you mentioned Governor Whitmer. She was on CNN last night and she was asked should he take a cognitive test? Her answer was it wouldn't hurt. Do you agree with the governor? Yeah?
Well, Trump joked around about his own cognitive tests, and you know that he was some super genius and was spouting off things. Look, anything the president needs to do to reassure people. I have been recently with him when he announced tariffs on Chinese evs and critical minerals. I was in the Oval Office with him for an extended period of time. I haven't seen one decision coming out of this administration under his leadership that concerns me. I also know that we have got a message for the
next four years. It's clear people are spooked. It's also clear, though, people are united to do whatever it takes to beat Donald Trump, and we've got the campaign to do it. We really do.
You've spent time with him recently, You're going to be with him tomorrow. You said, there's not a decision that makes you rethink this that's coming from President Biden. Not a decision you see that concerns you. But what about his speech, the way he walks actual deterioration is health. Have you seen any of.
That not really to be honest with you. I mean, look, I know I can't tell people to unsee what they saw on the debate. I thought he answered it honestly. Look, it's not news that he is the age that he is. I look at this and I see flawless execution from this administration. COVID relief, infrastructure dollars, not just bills that have gotten pasted, but things that are being executed flawlessly, like the Chips Act, which is so important to our
Michigan manufacturing economy. Something that President Biden has championed his campaign message is let's finish the job. There is more to do. It's promises made, promise has kept. There are more things that we need to accomplish here that are on the horizon, paid leave, funding for our public schools, support for our educators, the next generation. This is a real campaign. And look, this is a tough moment. It's been quiet. We've had twenty four to seven Trump TV
and his convictions and all that insanity. I don't want to go back to that. My voters in Michigan are terrified of going back to that. The former president pretends that he supports unions, goes to a non union shop. We worked for the UAW, we got the UAW endorsement. We've had this whole process here where weeks out from our own convention. We got to stand up to this trus team.
Leaders our concerned Washington Post this morning, there was a behind the scenes meeting yesterday Sean Fain. President Biden went and stood on a picket line with this man. He is now voicing his concerns. So when you're in Michigan and you hear from union leaders, Trump is chipping away at these people Michigan, potentially Biden can movese. That's what Congresswomen's Lackin even said on a reason Donor call.
Yeah, look, we want we want the winning campaign. And our union leaders they're deploying their members to knockdoors to evangelize this effort. And that's what you do in closed door meetings, you know, you do say, hey, what's our plan, how we're going to do this. We're the Democratic Party, you know, differing opinions, expression of opinions. I've had four to five Republican members of Congress from Michigan who've either left their party, impeached the former president, or got voted out.
I mean give me a break like this is how it works in our party. It's a good and healthy thing. And I'm going to tell you something else that I know about Joe Biden. He is the ultimate comeback king. He's the most underestimated individual in American politics. He always has been. He's got a good north star. He's tapped into his faith, He's been through things that have tested him for this moment. And yes, he's our older, wiser president.
He has not steered us wrong, and he has got a vision alongside this amazing team that he has to continue to win
The future for US Commerceoman Haley Stevens, thank you so much for your time.