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Masters in Politics: Ana Navarro Says “Republicans Have Lost the Presidential Race No Matter What Happens”

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On the latest episode of Bloomberg’s Masters in Politics podcast hosts Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin interviewed Neera Tanden, the President of the Center for American Progress, and Ana Navarro, CNN and Telemundo contributor.

Ana Navarro, whom the Miami Herald called “the voice of the outraged Republican women,” says there is no hope for Trump to win the White House. “The Republicans have lost the presidential race no matter what happens. It is a damn shame that somehow we managed to have nominated the only Republican candidate who could lose to Hillary Clinton. But it is what we did and we have to live with the consequences. And now that we know that, if you are a realist, you realize that we have got to focus on the down ballot candidates. We’ve gotta focus on keeping the House, we’ve gotta focus on keeping the Senate, because god only knows what the effect of Trump will be on some of those tight races for the Senate and even the House.”

Neera Tanden, whose emails were also leaked in the Wikileaks data dump, finds it suspicious that the email leaks were so well timed. “I do not think it’s a coincidence that the weekend before the Democratic convention they leaked out these e-mails at the DNC. and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that as their candidate is up against the ropes.Roger Stone said these emails were coming. How does Roger Stone know these emails are coming? He tells us he is directly connected with Wikileaks and Julian Assange. He also says he talks to Donald Trump. I’m not saying that Donald Trump is leaking these things. I think he’s the direct beneficiary and his response is to take a weakened position on a host of issues; for example, on NATO and the United States direct relationship with Russia.”

You can listen to the full interview here.

Masters in Politics Special Edition: Tammy Haddad Goes Inside the Post-Debate Spin Room

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The Press Room at the debate, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

The Press Room at the debate, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

In this special debate edition of Bloomberg’s Masters in Politics podcast Tammy Haddad was in attendance at Monday’s debate and went inside the spin room to interview top campaign officials including Donald Trump himself, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Hillary campaign chairman John Podesta. Haddad also interviewed architect of Obama’s 2008 campaign David Plouffe, retired Lieutenant General and current Trump surrogate Mike Flynn, the Clinton campaign’s chief strategist and Masters alum Joel Benenson, and Trump senior advisor Sarah Huckabee.

John Podesta revealed his doubts about whether Trump will appear in subsequent debates saying, “I think we have very substantial questions given his performance tonight. We’ll see whether his campaign holds a meeting tomorrow and says, ‘What’s a way that we can get out of these last two debates?’ We’re very worried about that.”

Former NYC mayor and current Trump supporter Rudy Giuliani blasted Secretary Clinton and defended the controversial stop-and-frisk program, “Mrs. Clinton doesn’t understand the difference because Mrs. Clinton is a phony and you guys don’t get it. She doesn’t understand economics and she had a chance to as Secretary of State. Look at the condition of the world. Do you want more of that? Well then vote for her. I think the American people want a change. She’s a phony as a lawyer and when she said it’s unconstitutional, which is totally incorrect. Stop and frisk is going on right now as we speak all over America. It is approved by the United States Supreme Court and I can give you the entire definition.”

Top strategist to the Clinton campaign Joel Benenson was in the spin room to criticise Trump for his birther comments. “I don’t know what’s worse, the the keeps repeating the lie, whether he really believes it or not, or whether he’s just trying to stoke some kind of racial animosity that he thinks benefits hit. But it’s disgraceful and he continues to do it and it’s shameful.”

You can check out more of Masters in Politics’ coverage from the spin room here.

Masters In Politics: Ben Carson Refuses to Say Whether Obama is a Better Leader than Putin, Clinton Foundation COO Craig Minassian Does a Deep Dive on Their Policies and Procedures

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Ben Carson at the first Republican Primary Debate in Cleveland, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

Ben Carson at the first Republican Primary Debate in Cleveland, Photo Courtesy of Haddad Media

On the latest episode of Bloomberg’s Masters in Politics podcast, hosts Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin spoke with Clinton Foundation’s Chief Communications Officer Craig Minassian and former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson. Carson attempted to clarify Trump’s comments on Vladimir Putin, and Minassian discussed controversial donations to the foundation.

Carson, who has lent his services to the Trump campaign as an informal advisor, believes Trump has no need to apologize for his comments regarding Russian Leader Vladimir Putin. “He’s saying that Putin is looked upon in his country with a great deal more respect than Obama is in this country.” When asked whether Putin was a better leader than President Obama, Carson ducked. “He tends to be more aggressive, more assertive, and more of a leader, and therefore gains more respect in his country.”

Hosts Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin questioned Craig Minassian on the controversies surrounding the Clinton Foundation’s donors and programs. “Countries were donating before [Clinton] was Secretary of State, and most of those donations came pre-2004”. When asked about Saudi Arabia’s contributions to the foundation, Minassian explained, “Saudi Arabia never donated while she was Secretary of State. They did contribute again after she was out of office but the majority of countries did not.” He also noted to the fact if Saudi Arabia wrote a check today to the foundation that they would be unable to do so. Minassian is a longtime Clinton advisor going back to the Clinton White House years.

You can check out the full interview here.

Masters in Politics: NYT Media Columnist Jim Rutenberg Says Too Much Media Attention On Trump Rewards Hillary Clinton

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On the latest episode of Bloomberg’s Masters in Politics podcast, Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin spoke to media writer extraordinaire Jim Rutenberg about how candidates manipulate the media or hide from it in order to control the narrative.

According to Rutenberg, journalists are finding it difficult to remain impartial this election season with the unprecedented rise of Donald Trump and his near-daily controversies. “All the focus on Trump takes some of the onus off of Hillary Clinton, who almost gets rewarded for not doing press conferences. I think her refusal to do press conferences is disgraceful,” Rutenberg said. “The email story and the stories about the interplay between her foundation and the State Department, which is a story that broke last week. We have to chase that really hard.”

Rutenberg also discussed the Trump campaign’s decision to bring on Roger Ailes to assist with debate prep. “They just spent the weekend together, Ailes and Trump. Here’s the thing about Roger Ailes, whatever you say about him, he is the best living television strategist and producer and maybe the best of all time, one of the best for sure. He knows how to game moderators, he knows how to work a debate, he invented it! He will be a formidable tool in Donald Trump’s toolkit. Donald Trump knows how to debate, sure. But he doesn’t know how to debate in a general election. He couldn’t have a better or more politically potent coach than Roger Ailes.”

You can listen to the full interview here.

Masters in Politics: Clinton State Campaign Director Talks Battleground States, CBS Face the Nation Host John Dickerson Discusses Trump Leadership Shakeup

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Bloomberg Masters in Politics hosts Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin interviewed Hillary Clinton’s man leading her campaign’s ground efforts. Marlon Marshall, state director for all 50 states, broke down the strategy for this year’s battleground states. In their conversation with John Dickerson, host of CBS News’ Face the Nation and the author of the new book Whistlestop: My My Favorite Moments from Presidential Campaign History, they discussed news that Donald Trump has recently enlisted former FOX News chairman Roger Ailes to assist with debate prep.

Many have pointed to Utah, which has solidly voted Republican in presidential elections since 1968, as state Clinton could pick up. According to Marshall, “President Clinton was out there the other day. He did a meeting with some community leaders in Utah. I think a lot of public polls will show Utah to be closer than one would expect. I attribute it to a couple of things: One, I think our message is resonating on the economy and what Hillary wants to do to build an economy for everyone and not just ones at the top. But I do think Trump’s rhetoric is very divisive rhetoric. In some states it’s really turning people off. I think in a state like Utah, which is typically more conservative, they’re saying, ‘This is not the type of person who should represent this country or our state.’ So, are we going to win Utah? I don’t know. But is it something that’s on our radar? Yeah, we’re gonna take a look.

When it comes to the differences between Trump’s ground game and Clinton’s Marshall says, “I think, one, we just have a general belief that organizing matters. I think you’ve heard out of his mouth that these big rallies and other things are kind of what he’s done in his campaign. I think rallies are good. One of the things you’ve probably seen us doing at rallies, when we have rallies, we actually are signing people up as potential volunteers.”

The hosts also caught up with John Dickerson to get his take on Trump’s new hires, Breitbart exec Stephen Bannon as the campaign’s chief executive and veteran GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway as Trump’s new campaign manager. Dickerson also discussed the optics of a Trump-Ailes alliance given Ailes recent controversies. “You can imagine a more traditional campaign not wanting to be associated with a figure who’s in the news for allegations that Ailes has been but Trump doesn’t really give into that kind of stuff. Will it help? He’s had a pretty good track record. What will be interesting is Donald Trump has a pretty big base of support but he needs to build his support with voters who want him to behave a little bit differently. And the question is whether he can behave differently, whether he wants to, and whether you can even imagine what behaving differently means in this context.”

You can check out the full interview here.

Masters in Politics: Reince Priebus Slams Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Email Flub

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The hosts of Bloomberg Politics’ Masters in Politics podcast Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin caught up with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who is in Southern Philadelphia this week to crash the Democrat’s big show with a converted boxing studio replete with “rigged” arcade games, to talk about the departure of Debbie Wasserman Schultz from her position as Democratic Party Chair.

Priebus admits that he worked well with Wasserman Schultz but doesn’t hesitate to condemn what many viewed as an intrusion into the outcome of the Democratic primary. “I think it was a fraud that they committed upon their own base. It’s a fraud that they committed to the Democratic voters and actually a fraud upon the American people.”

The RNC chair still believes an investigation is necessary for the Democrats to come out from under this scandal.  “It’s not what national parties are supposed to be doing. It should be an investigation as to who or what entity hacked into their emails”.

Priebus was quick to note that nothing similar happened under the RNC’s watch, essentially calling the ousted chairwoman’s emails a rookie mistake. “Number one, I don’t think that’s happened to us, number two, we weren’t doing things like that. I know our staff well, and number three, if someone had those views they wouldn’t be dumb enough to put it in an email. I’m kinda like a second Chief of Staff, the way I operate in the building, so I know those things didn’t happen.”

You can check out the full interview here.

 

Tammy Haddad Speaks With Former Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski

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Tammy Haddad, President and CEO of Haddad Media and co-host of Bloomberg’s Masters in Politics podcast caught up with Corey Lewandowski.

When asked about his plans for the convention Lewandowski says, “I’m just here to sit back and take it all in and enjoy it,” adding “I’m really excited for the Trump team and the Trump family tonight.”

On Eric Trump’s primetime speech he said, “It’s going to be a fantastic speech.”

You can watch the full clip here.

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

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

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

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.

 

Masters in Politics: Kate Brower Dishes on the First Ladies

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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.