Masters in Politics Archives - Page 2 of 3 - White House Correspondents Insider

Masters in Politics: Roger Stone Calls John Kasich a “Pathetic Stoner” and a “Sore Loser”

July 19, 2016 By WHC Insider

The host of Bloomberg Masters in Politics podcast Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin are in Cleveland, Ohio this week for the Republican National Convention and they spoke with longtime GOP operative Roger Stone, who has worked on the presidential campaigns of both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Stone is a longtime friend and adviser to Donald Trump and hosted a pro-rally Trump rally on the first day of the RNC. He spoke to Haddad and Martin about Ohio’s governor and Trump’s rival during the primaries, John Kasich, calling him a “pathetic stoner who will never be elected President of the United States,” and “a sore loser.”

According to Stone, “As far as John Kasich is concerned, he signed a pledge to endorse the candidate.” Referring to the document each candidate signed early in the Republican primary battle that asked each candidate to pledge support for the eventual nominee.

Roger Stone also promised a different sort of convention from the ones we have seen in previous years, “I think that what you’re going to see over the next couple of days will be far preferable than a bunch of cigar-chomping politicians talking from the podium, and politics is entertainment. So I do not think we are going to present a boring convention of career politicians going on and on about their nine-point plans for America that they never have any intention of implementing.”

He also made some predictions for Trump’s cabinet picks if he were to become president. “So I would not be shocked to see Newt Gingrich as a policy advisor in the White House, or the Secretary of Defense, or any number of other jobs for which he would be extremely well qualified.”

You can check out the full interview here.

Masters in Politics: Stuart Stevens Predicts Gingrich as Trump’s VP

July 9, 2016 By WHC Insider

Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, the site of the RNC where Donald Trump will announce his VP pick

The hosts of Bloomberg Masters in Politics caught up with Stuart Stevens, author and top strategist on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign to discuss his new book The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear, a fictional depiction of a contested convention set in 2020, and get his thoughts on Donald Trump’s general election strategy, including making a prediction about his Vice Presidential pick.

According to Stevens, “If I had to bet, I would bet on Newt for all kinds of reasons. He’s been through this process and it’s something that’s unique to the process of running. He’s a known quantity. He can be a formidable debater and I think that the relationship between Trump and he would be a comfortable one.”

Stevens had some harsh words for the Republican presidential nominee saying, “I don’t think Donald Trump thinks, I think he feels. He just emotes. He literally is just incapable of expressing coherent thoughts unaided by a script. He can’t argue a case in 5 logical sentences. Everything is about him. He reacts to everything. It’s one of the reasons I thought he would be so easy to beat, and I think he’s going to go down to historic defeat. He responds to everything. If I was in a campaign against Donald Trump I’d have three or four teams of people who are competing with each other to get Donald Trump to react to whatever they do. Every weekend I’d take the group that won the most out to dinner.”

You can check out the full interview here.

Masters in Politics: Trevor Noah Criticizes Cable Media, Says “To Call Themselves News is a Stretch”

July 8, 2016 By WHC Insider

New Hampshire Primary 2016, Trevor Noah, Donna Brazile, Michael Steele. Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media.

Trevor Noah, the South African comedian who replaced Jon Stewart as host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”, gave a wide ranging interview with Bloomberg Masters in Politics hosts Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin. The 32-year-old comedian who landed the most coveted job in comedy has some pointed words for cable news media and addressed the “strange” American political landscape and the high unfavorables of both major candidates.

Noah finds that young people are hungry for news that isn’t simply comedic, but truthful. “I find there is a ravenous appetite for the truth right now. When I say that I don’t mean fact vs. fiction. It almost feels at times as if people almost don’t want jokes, they just want a place where they can find the truth.”

For Noah, the reason behind this is that young people, including himself, have become disenchanted with traditional news sources. “I’ve come to realize it is partly due to the fact that so many other sources that are supposed to be providing that truth are not. So the news has become this world of opinion now. For most news corporations to call themselves news is a stretch because it’s really not completely news. It’s opinion with a few news bites here and there.”

As a native South African raised during the apartheid era, Trevor has a unique view of American politics, and has no trouble calling the state of the country’s politics out. “Everyday I’m perplexed at how America, a country founded on ideals and a country that really is based on an idea, is so behind in its politics. It’s a very strange thing for me. This was a country that had the most advanced Constitution, and at some point it stopped getting updated. It’s very strange. It’s like launching the first iPhone and then never updating the software.”

Noah finds that South Africa’s politics have advanced farther than America’s, and takes issue with the idea that Americans should “settle” with candidates that the majority of Americans view unfavorably. “Even the presidential election itself, to see two political parties, I mean one more than the other with the Republicans, but to see two political parties basically settling to a certain extent and saying, “Okay, this is our candidate. This is what we’re doing. We have to do it like this,” is very strange because where I’m from, the party would have no qualms replacing that person because the party and the voters and the ideals are more important than the individual.”

Asked whether he would have Donald Trump on the show Noah said, “I don’t think he would ever come. I think Donald Trump purposefully stays away from places where he feels like he’ll be tested so I don’t think that would ever happen,” while adding “We’d have him on the show, I don’t know what he would say. We’d have anyone on the show.”

The Daily Show show under Trevor Noah is the #1 daily late night talk show among adults ages 18-24, men 18-34 and men 18-34, and is also the #2 rated late night talk show with adults ages 18-34, with a growing young, millennial audience.

You can listen to Trevor’s full interview here.

Bloomberg Masters in Politics: Mitch McConnell Says Own Party’s Nominee ‘Doesn’t Know A Lot About The Issues’; Clinton Comms Director Jennifer Palmieri Lays Out Game Plan for Defeating Trump

June 10, 2016 By WHC Insider

Now that the primary battles on each side of the presidential race are over, the calls are growing for party leaders to rally around each party’s nominee. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are combating high unfavorability numbers and will each face an uphill battle when it comes to unifying their party after a scorching primary season.

Bloomberg’s Masters in Politics hosts Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin heard from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is on a media blitz to promote his new book, “The Long Game.” McConnell doesn’t think GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has all of what it takes to work effectively with Congress, suggesting rather candidly that he make up for it with a Vice Presidential candidate who has the requisite political experience. “He needs someone highly experienced and very knowledgeable because it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t know a lot about the issues.”

McConnell, who is serving in his third decade in the Senate, didn’t end his criticism of Trump there. When pressed about the numerous accusations of racism that are currently being lobbed at the presidential hopeful, he said, “I object to a whole series of things that he’s said — vehemently object to them. I think all of that needs to stop. Both the shots at people he defeated in the primary and these attacks on various ethnic groups in the country.”

Haddad and Fischer Martin also got a glimpse into the Clinton campaign’s strategy for the general election with Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri.

“What we’ve settled on, how we think about it is Donald Trump is not a serious man, but he’s a serious candidate,” said Palmieri. “And even though he’s not a serious person, what he’s proposing is a real threat, and it’s a real danger.”

Palmieri also touched on Elizabeth Warren’s role in bringing Democrats together against Trump. Warren, whose endorsement is the most coveted in the world of Democratic politics outside of President Obama’s, endorsed Clinton last night and just today held a meeting at Clinton’s home in Washington, DC, fueling speculation that Clinton may tap Warren as her VP. Palmieri suggested that Warren has been one of the most effective voices in the fight against Trump, saying “she’s just been extraordinary in taking on Donald Trump, she’s also obviously very effective in getting under his skin,” while adding “she’s somebody that Hillary has said that she would consider as a running mate, too.”

Following are more headlines from coverage of the McConnell interview:
Washington Post: Mitch McConnell just made a devastating admission about Trump — and the GOP
Politico: McConnell doesn’t rule out revoking Trump endorsement
The Hill: McConnell won’t rule out rescinding Trump support
Washington Examiner: McConnell: ‘Pretty obvious’ Trump ‘doesn’t know a lot about the issues’
The New York Times: Mitch McConnell Won’t Rule Out Rescinding His Endorsement of Donald Trump

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MASTERS IN POLITICS: Gov. John Hickenlooper and Bill Kristol

May 27, 2016 By WHC Insider

This Memorial Day weekend, Episode 9 of the MASTERS IN POLITICS Podcast, hosted by Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin, features interviews with the Democratic Governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper, and the Editor of the Weekly Standard, Bill Kristol.

The presidential swing-state of Colorado will get a lot of attention this fall and there’s no doubt that their Governor (often buzzed about as a potential VP pick) will be pulling out all the stops for likely nominee Hillary Clinton. Gov. Hickenlooper shares his impressions of the race so far – including his dismay at the popularity of Donald Trump in his state.

EXCERPT: “There is a lot of support for him. I do think as time goes on … people haven’t really examined that this is the president. This is the person who more than any other person, young kids in elementary school and middle school they admire and try to emulate. And is this who parents are going to want to be the model for their children? And I think, as kind of a bully and a braggart, I think that’s probably something that’s not going to go well with a lot of parents.”

Hickenlooper, a former geologist, turned brewmaster, turned politician, is out with a new book about his life in politics and beer called The Opposite of Woe. In his book – and with us – he shares a mix of funny tales, personal challenges and life lessons that he’s encountered along the way.

On the Republican side, just when you thought the notion of a high-profile third party candidate emerging to take on Trump and Clinton was not in the cards, Bill Kristol says he has reason to believe that Mitt Romney is now seriously thinking about making a run.

EXCERPT: “I’ve spoke to people who have spoken to him and I think he is at least having serious conversations, listening to other people make a pitch and asking questions about it. He is not sort of saying, ‘I’m sorry, I’m busy playing with the grandchildren.’ He is a patriot and really cares about the country.

“I think he thinks someone should do it. And I think that he thinks that maybe he is the right person to do it. He has the national stature and name ID, access to resources. He was right about an awful lot of things that he said in 2012. … He is a man of high character compared to Clinton and Trump and just generally and objectively. So I think we might have a shot at Mitt Romney doing it.”

You can hear much more from these two “Masters in Politics” – including why Hickenlooper keeps a $20 bill that Obama gave him in his wallet, and how, ironically as the Governor of a state that has legalized marijuana, he once got in big trouble trying to grow pot from of his bedroom window in high school.

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Sanders Campaign Manager Pledges To Continue Fighting For Every Vote, Wants Representation on Convention Committees

May 6, 2016 By WHC Insider

New Hampshire primary Bloomberg Politics pre-game briefing: Jeff Weaver, Symone Sanders, Tad Devine

Bernie Sanders’ Campaign Manager, Jeff Weaver, told Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin on Masters in Politics Podcast that “Secretary Clinton may wanna move on, but there’s certainly a contest going on and he (Sanders) is gonna fight for every vote and every delegate from now until the end.”

On the political revolution that Sanders has ignited, Weaver said, “you will see Bernie Sanders playing a strong national leadership role going forward…all of the work that has been done to demonstrate to the country that there is a huge part of America that wants to step away from establishment politics and establishment economics, I think he is playing a leadership role in the country.”

As plans for the Democratic National Convention evolve, the Sanders campaign “wants to make sure that the people that have supported Senator Sanders are represented on those committees and that we have the representation that is at least proportional to the delegate count he has.” He indicated that the campaign is currently not happy with where things stand, “but we’re hopeful that once there’s more of a public airing of it, that basic fairness will come into play.”

Weaver refuted the notion that Sanders voters would support Donald Trump in the general election. “I think that Trump’s message (of) lower wages, his outrageous bigoted comments, sexist comments, I just don’t think that Bernie Sanders supporters are going to move to Donald Trump.”

On what it would take for Hillary Clinton to gain the support of Sanders voters, Weaver said, “the Secretary has obviously moved to the left of this campaign substantially in an attempt to block out Senator Sanders, but as too-often happens, one worries that when the primary is over that candidate becomes much more centrist in a general election. And if that happens, I think you will see a lot of Sanders supporters just sit home, frankly.”

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Senior Trump Advisor Barry Bennett Floats Daily Trump Appearance During GOP Convention

May 6, 2016 By WHC Insider

During an interview with Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin for Bloomberg Politics’ Masters in Politics Podcast, Donald Trump campaign senior advisor Barry Bennett hinted at a “daily dose” of Trump during the Republican Convention.

“I think when it comes to the program, a lot of us feel that we could juice up the format just a little,” said Bennett. “More entertaining, more interesting. I don’t know why the candidate only speaks on acceptance night, why shouldn’t he speak every night from a different city?”

Bennett also suggested that Trump’s appearances wouldn’t be limited to network television time and may be supplemented by online events.

In response to Speaker Paul Ryan’s announcement yesterday that he wasn’t ready to support Trump’s candidacy, Bennett admitted that the campaign was blindsided by the announcement but remains confident that Ryan will eventually support Trump. “We are for giving him whatever time he needs, but he will support the Republican candidate for president… By the time the two meet next week, they’ll be old friends.”

Bennett also believes the campaign will be able to raise significant funds and support through social media. “He’s got 16 million followers on social media, much like Bernie Sanders, and when we turn that on, you are going to see Bernie-Sanders like fundraising.”

On Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump, Bennett said, “we are going to have a campaign unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. We’ve got two people who both have negatives well into the 60s, and it’s not gonna be beanbag…they’re both going to throw everything they can.”

So how does the electoral map work for or against Trump? Bennett believes Trump will change the map, and feels “really good about places like Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania and Michigan and the Carolinas where manufacturing has really just been beaten to a pulp.” He also believes Trump’s candidacy will help the Republican Party to embrace new voters like union households. “We talk about big tent, but guess what – we just put an addition on the tent. And some people are going to have a hard time getting used to all these new people in the party. But we have to embrace more people of the party is doomed for extinction.”

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Masters in Politics: Kate Brower Dishes on the First Ladies

April 21, 2016 By WHC Insider

michelle-obama The hosts of Bloomberg: Masters in Politics, Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin, got a chance to speak with Kate Brower, author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies and The Residence: Inside the Private World of The White House, about the lives of the first ladies. They talked about the ways each of the modern first ladies handled life in the public eye and how they managed to maintain normalcy inside the White House while their husbands bore the scrutiny of the political world.

As for the current First Lady, Michelle Obama, according to Brower, “She’s counting down the days until she can leave the White House.” On the campaign trail Michelle Obama was a reluctant surrogate. “She would always push back. She was constantly saying ‘you have to have an exact reason for why I’m doing this,’ she just doesn’t want to go out and just do anything.”

The previous First Lady, now presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, “Gave up a lot to be with Bill Clinton,” early in her career, says Brower. She faced misogyny and criticism from her earliest days practicing law in Arkansas, “but even at the very beginning, from early times, she was playing the game so well. In Arkansas she would get criticism for not changing her name, she kept her maiden name when she was practicing law.”

Brower also shared some anecdotes from Jackie Kennedy’s tenure as First Lady. In her research, Brower was surprised to hear that Kennedy’s first visit back to the White House since the death of her husband was in 1971 for the unveiling of John Kennedy’s portrait. According to Brower, “Lady Bird had tried to get her to come back and Jackie wouldn’t come, it was too fresh and too painful. And so she went when Pat Nixon asked her to, and the Nixon’s sent a plane to pick them up. Caroline was 13 and John Kennedy Jr was 10 and they went to the White House to see the President’s official portrait. It was this very moving thing. Jackie later wrote to Pat Nixon saying, ‘Can you imagine the gift you gave my family? The day I always dreaded turned out to be one of the most wonderful days I’ve spent with my children,’ Pat Nixon felt a lot of sympathy for Jackie and what she went through.”

One of the things Brower also found surprising about Jackie Kennedy was her commitment to standing by her husband during the Cuban Missile Crisis. “She was told about this bunker and she absolutely refused. She said, ‘If anything happens I want to stay here with Jack and the kids do too and we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to stand on the South Lawn.’ It’s just incredible how brave she was.”

You can listen to the latest episode of Bloomberg: Masters in Politics here.

Masters in Politics: DNC Chair Says 2008 Primary ‘Far More Divisive’ Than Clinton-Sanders Race

April 21, 2016 By WHC Insider

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz says she isn’t worried about the sniping between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in the party’s presidential primary.

“At the point that we’re at in the process, it’s understandable,” Wasserman Schultz said in an interview with Bloomberg Politics’ Masters in Politics podcast.

While Sanders and Clinton have clashed over campaign finance, breaking up the big banks, and whether gun manufacturers should be held liable for mass shootings, Wasserman Schultz said the tenor of the campaign has been less heated than the last time two candidates fought for the Democratic nomination.

“Of course, you know, both of our candidates feel passionately about the issues that are important to them, and they’ve taken slightly different approaches to achieving the same goals,” Wasserman Schultz said. “But ultimately, if you look back to our primary in 2008 between then-Senators Obama and Clinton, it was far more divisive than this primary has been.”

Wasserman Schultz brushed aside Sanders’ suggestion that Clinton and the DNC may have broken campaign finance laws by raising money jointly. “It’s just simply, completely and patently false,” Wasserman Schultz said, adding, “We followed the rules and followed the law and have done so to the letter.”

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Highlights from “Masters in Politics” Podcast Episode Featuring RNC Chair Reince Priebus

April 9, 2016 By WHC Insider

During a recent conversation with Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin for Bloomberg’s “Masters in Politics” Podcast, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus admitted that if Donald Trump is the Republican presidential nominee, he will have to moderate his tone.

“You do have to reach out to Hispanics, and black voters, and Asian voters, and you do have to watch your tone. And you do have to have a general election message that builds and creates what I believe is the ultimate image of our party which should be the Open Door party.”

Priebus also insists that the GOP convention will end on Thursday as planned. “I expect to have a nominee either before Cleveland or at Cleveland, and when that happens, I can’t tell you, but I expect the convention to be done on Thursday with our nominee, if not before we even get to Cleveland.”

Despite Donald Trump’s recent declaration that he many not support the eventual GOP presidential nominee should he fail to win the nomination, Priebus has faith that Trump will not go back on the loyalty pledge he signed last year. “I’ve never had a situation where he has told me something and he hasn’t done it.”

On the possibility of a ‘white knight’ candidate, Priebus said, “highly, highly unlikely. You have to have a gazillion rounds of balloting, and everyone in the world to realize it wasn’t getting anywhere to then move on.”

Read more via Bloomberg Politics: Priebus Says He Trusts Trump Won’t Violate Loyalty Pledge

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