White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

AFL CIO President Richard Trumka Praises Trump’s Steel Tariffs in Exclusive Interview with Bloomberg’s Kevin Cirilli

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Bloomberg’s Kevin Cirilli Scores Interview with AFL CIO President Richard Trumka

Bloomberg’s Kevin Cirilli nabbed an exclusive interview with AFL CIO President Richard Trumka, who out is supporting Democrat Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional district, on Friday, March 9th. The Pennsylvania election, happening Tuesday, March 13th, is the first special election of 2018. The victor will fill the seat vacated by Tim Murphy, who retired in October.

While Trumka is supporting a Democrat he is quick to give credit to President Trump for his recently proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum and says the move will help Republican candidate Rick Saccone saying, “You’re going to see steel plants expand their capacity. It’s going to create jobs. When you enforce laws, everybody gets a fair playing field.”

You can watch Cirilli’s full interview with Richard Tumka here.

Masters in Politics: Amy Klobuchar Unsure Whether Merrick Garland Will be Nominated to Supreme Court in Clinton Administration

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Senator Amy Klobuchar at at the Washington Womens' Technology Lucheon

Senator Amy Klobuchar at the Washington Women Technology Luncheon

On the latest episode of Bloomberg’s Masters in Politics podcast Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin interviewed Senator Amy Klobuchar and Kevin Cirilli, Bloomberg’s reporter covering the Trump campaign since the day he announced his candidacy.

Klobuchar (D-MN) voiced her concern over Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s claims that the election is being rigged against him. “Of course I’m concerned about that. We’ve always had our share of problems even without Donald Trump’s words. My hope is that on Election Night we’ll make a strong statement about that. You’ve had a lot of Republicans standing up to it. The Republican National Committee had to issue a statement that night saying we do respect the outcome of elections.”

Senator Klobuchar appeared unsure when asked whether Hillary Clinton would nominate Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. “That is going to be entirely up to her and I really couldn’t predict what would happen. She has said that she’s going to make her own decision. I do think he’s someone who’s qualified and would get probably confirmed rather quickly, but that it’s going to be up to her.  I think that he has gained a lot of support from people and my hope is that they just do this in the lame duck instead of waiting. Can you imagine if we wait another six months, or a year, with all of these cases pending it’s gotten to the point where it will be a constitutional crisis.”

She also applauded Bernie Sanders’ assistance with getting Hillary Clinton elected. “First of all, no one has been more loyal to her campaign since he got out than Bernie Sanders. He has been running around the country, he came to my state, and it’s not just because he gives good speeches. He has defended her many times against Donald Trump attacks. I think that’s got to  be clear. I don’t think it’s anyone surprise that he’s going to continue to his work and continue to advocate her positions. Many of which he agrees with, like they came to agreement on the student loan program. I do think you will have some differences with her when you get into the Congress and I think that’s just fine. You don’t want everyone in your political party acting the same or saying the same thing. I think his loyalty to her and the campaign since he left the race is really been extraordinary.”

Bloomberg reporter Kevin Cirilli discussed his experiences following the Trump campaign throughout the election cycle and the direction the conservative movement will take post-Trump.

“Some of the [Trump] advisers that I speak with tell me that this is exactly what the conservative movement has wanted for decades.  This is what Republicans have wanted, to take the case directly against Hillary Clinton in a way that holds her, in many ways, as an indictment.”

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

Bloomberg’s Kevin Cirilli on Life in Donald Trump’s Press Pen

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Kevin Cirilli, the Bloomberg reporter who has been covering Donald Trump’s presidential campaign from the beginning, says traveling with Trump is unlike any other in the way his unconventional campaign handles the press and the way the candidate himself utilizes the media.

Cirilli explains to Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin on Bloomberg’s “Masters in Politics” podcast just how the Trump campaign operates. “I remember back in New Hampshire ahead of the primary, ahead of Christmas and the holidays, and I had to go to events for Governor Christie, Governor Kasich, and Governor Bush and the difference in the apparatus that was surrounding them just from them having the wifi always work, they had donuts for the press corps, and they had charter buses for all the reporters. Donald Trump’s campaign doesn’t have any of that.”

Cirilli also spoke about the way Trump supporters view the press and how Trump manipulates those anti-media sentiments. “Whenever you’re a journalist and you talk to other folks, they don’t view you necessarily as a young professional who has a job and is just trying to do their work, but they view you as ‘the media’. I think that he has really tapped into that frustration that people have with institutions in general but I will say I think that there have been some rallies where the mood in the room, in the crowd, is a little bit more anxious…and a little bit more angry.”

Listen to the new episode here.

Follow Kevin Cirilli on Twitter: @kevcirilli

You can find Kevin’s latest dispatch from the campaign trail here.