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Labor MP Jo Cox Killed Outside Constituent Event

June 16, 2016 By WHC Insider

Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

Labor MP Jo Cox, a longtime advocate of women’s mortality issues and former adviser to Sarah Brown’s Maternal Mortality Campaign, was killed in an apparently politically charged attack outside of a constituent event this morning. Before the attack, Cox gave an impassioned plea this morning to aid Syrian refugees at a small event in a West Yorkshire library. She was flown to Leeds General Infirmary where died from her wounds. She is the mother of two children.

For live updates as this story unfolds, check 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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Actor Bryan Cranston: ‘If you don’t vote, I can’t talk to you’

June 9, 2016 By WHC Insider

Bryan Cranston, star of “Breaking Bad” and most recently “All the Way” as President Lyndon B. Johnson, spoke with Volta Insider’s Rachel Greenberg at the 2016 White House Correspondents Garden Brunch.

One of his first memories of having an interest in politics was after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. As a 7 year old, Cranston “noticed the ripple effect it had on everybody…It popped me out of my self-centeredness and said there’s something important going on that I need to pay attention to.” President Johnson was the first president he ever listened to and realized how important it is to pay attention.

On the importance of getting involved this election season: “Voting is a voice…if you don’t vote, you don’t have that voice.” Cranston explained that if someone tells him they don’t vote, he tells them he can’t talk to them “because they don’t have a voice…if you don’t care enough to take the responsibility to vote, you don’t have a voice, and therefore I have nothing to say to you.”

Cranston said that the national debt will influence his decision about who to vote for this year. “I don’t want to have the country continue raising the debt to leave it to our children.” He is currently supporting Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.

Download the podcast of Volta Insider’s interview with Bryan Cranston on AudioBoom or iTunes, where you can also access the full Garden Brunch podcast episode featuring media notables, Hollywood stars, and leaders from the business and non-profit sectors.

Volta Insider talks with entertainers, politicos at WHC Garden Brunch

June 1, 2016 By WHC Insider

At the annual White House Correspondents’ Weekend Garden Brunch, Volta Insider‘s Rachel Greenberg interviewed media notables, Hollywood stars, and leaders from the business and non-profit sectors as they arrived at the event.

Several big names shared the best advice they’ve ever received or given, as well as their insights about the upcoming election, including Helen Mirren, Bryan Cranston, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Cosmopolitan Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles, Scandal’s Tony Goldwyn, Uber’s Travis Kalanick, Independence Day’s Jessie Usher, Concussion’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw, model Anne V, comedian Grace Parra, The View co-host Joy Behar, actress Candace Cameron Bure, House of Cards’ Michael Kelly, and Scandal’s Katie Lowes.

The theme of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Weekend Garden Brunch was “Starting Up and Starting Out.” Brunch guests signed a Microsoft PPI on their way into the event where they provided additional insights and advice to be shared with cohorts from Halcyon Incubator. Also in the spotlight at the brunch was Yellow Ribbons United and its #PlayfieldInThePark initiative.

Download the podcast on AudioBoom or iTunes.

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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‘Table for Three’ with President Barack Obama and HBO ‘All the Way’ Star Bryan Cranston

May 7, 2016 By WHC Insider

President Obama with actor Bryan Cranston in the private dining room of the Oval Office in the White House. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times

President Barack Obama and Bryan Cranston, who reprises his Tony Award-winning role as President Lyndon B. Johnson in the upcoming HBO Films presentation of All the Way, joined The New York Times‘ Philip Galanes for a Table for Three conversation at the White House on the eve of the 2016 White House Correspondents Dinner.

The candid conversation covered topics from the impact their childhood has had on their roles as parents to the experience of being a celebrity and raising a family in the spotlight.

“It was probably our biggest worry before we came here. And it’s testimony entirely to Michelle and my mother-in-law that they’ve turned out to be such terrific grounded kids,” said Obama about raising children at the country’s most famous residence. “There was a powerful sense that I wanted to get this right. Not that I was going to be perfect, but that I was going to be there, and engage, and try to figure this out.”

Cranston agreed with the need to be present despite the challenges of balancing career and family: “My wife, Robin, was from a stable family, too. There was something so attractive about that. I thought, “This is what I want.” It’s still choppy waters raising kids, but I could never conceive of not being there.”

Galanes pointed out a scene in “All the Way” where LBJ comes out of the Oval Office and bumps into his daughter. Cranston explained that he “pitched that scene. It wasn’t in the play. I wanted you to feel the father’s love and his sense of regret that even though he’s so busy with the world’s problems.”

Obama and Cranston also discussed how the ability to tell a story is important to both of their careers. “When I set out to be an actor, I just wanted to tell stories. The fact that great fortune came and allowed me to become famous is almost a distraction from what I wanted to do,” said Cranston.

On going where people are to get the message out, Obama explained that, “when I want to sign young people up for health care, I’ve got to do ‘Between Two Ferns,’ which ended up being our biggest draw. Now, the flip side of this is the Trump phenomenon, where celebrity itself becomes a credential. If you are famous, then you have merit.”

Does playing a president qualify someone to be president? When Obama told Cranston it was too late for him this cycle, Cranston quickly replied, “It could be a brokered convention. You never know.”

Obama also gave Cranston and Galanes a tour of the White House grounds and Oval Office, a setting that is familiar to Cranston from his role as President Lyndon B. Johnson: “I’ve been in a replica of this room so much I feel like I’ve been here.” Obama noted that President Johnson’s civil rights laws are credited for “ultimately leading to the election of representatives who look like me.”

Read the full article on nytimes.com: Barack Obama and Bryan Cranston on the Roles of a Lifetime

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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Garden Brunch Guests Share Their Advice For ‘Starting Out And Starting Up’

May 6, 2016 By WHC Insider

As guests arrived at the 2016 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch, they were asked to share their advice for individuals who are seeking to launch a new career and change the world.

Scroll through the slideshow for insights shared by successful individuals from business, entertainment, media and politics.

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"Life is about filling your plate with everything you want. Don't push your food around. Don't take less than what you need or more than you can chew. But definitely wipe it clean!" - Rosario Dawson

A special thanks to Microsoft for providing the interactive PPI board.

2016 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch a huge success!

May 3, 2016 By WHC Insider

Another White House Correspondents’ Weekend is in the books, and the 2016 Garden Brunch was one of the best yet!

Watch the video from this year’s brunch featuring Halcyon Incubator and Yellow Ribbons United’s #PlayfieldInThePark and pledge to do something.

The #PlayfieldInThePark initiative serves approximately 500 children and teens attending the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) Good Grief Camp and Honoring Our Heroes Camp over Memorial Day Weekend. The program was created by Derrick and Emma Dockery, and has recently received the support of Constance Milstein, who was also a co-host of the Garden Brunch.

We ask you to visit yellowribbonsunited.org to support the organization and get involved.

Also, a big congratulations to Dr. Sachiko Kuno who recently became a United States citizen! We were so honored to feature the work of the organization she founded, Halcyon Incubator, which is changing the lives of young entrepreneurs who hope to have an impact on the world with their innovations. To learn more about the program, or if you know someone who might be interested in applying to be part of a future cohort, visit their website at halcyonincubator.org.