Trump's First Campaign Manager Paul Manafort Breaks Down the Current State of the Presidential Race

So who's, you've been in politics. what Ford campaign 76 is that when. you started. So-. Who's going to win this race? Trump. You sound pretty authoritative on. that. I think it's his. to lose at this point. Yes.

Why do you say that? Well, you look at the composition of. the undecided voter. And, you know, in some battleground. states, the undecided. voter overwhelmingly thinks the. country has been going in the wrong. direction. They feel like they. have not benefited in the last four. years. They remember because Trump was. president just four years ago, what it was like when he was. president pre-COVID.

And so they can compare his record. versus the Biden-Harris record. And then you look at the undecided. issue agenda. It's it's the Trump issue. agenda. The number one issue is the. economy. Inflation. Number two is the border. and illegal immigration and crime. And the third issue is. safety in the world. And somewhere there's abortion. Somewhere there is. Is fear for democracy. But when you look at how the voters.

feel on the issue of democracy, it splits 5050 every. half. The country is fearful because. of what Biden has been doing and. the other half is fearful because of. what Biden says Trump will do. Except Trump has been president. So you can't say Trump. will do something beyond what he. did as president before. So the issue doesn't count with. the remaining undecideds. What cuts is the economy, the. border, the wars in. Ukraine and in the Gulf? And there he has.

a 10 to 12 point lead. when those major issues over here is. among the undecideds. So it's kind of that simple. I mean, so their issues, Harris's issues are. Trump's personality. Abortion in January. 6th, Trump's issues are. the economy, the border. crime, and the threat of nuclear. war. It seems like. he's got a much stronger hand than. she does. Yeah, I mean, if she had run a.

different campaign, it might have. been more difficult for Trump. But she basically gave Trump. his issues to. be the deciding issues of the. campaign. She's realized that. I think you see now when she talks. about, you know, she's the. closing narrative of her campaign. is Trump is unhinged, he's unstable, and she's using. former Republicans as. advocates to make the point. She's doing that because the.

undecided voters left out. There isn't a vote. that is inclined towards her for the. reasons I just said. And so she's got to peel off soft. vote from Trump or people. who would not be for. who would not be for her but. don't like Trump. And so they're not. going to vote. And so she's trying to get that sort. of, I guess, to the the old the right or. Republican and the the anti. Trumpers, the suburban women, Republican women.

And so she's her job is. to get those type of people. to come out to vote for her. But the people who are undecided and. are going to vote in the election. are the ones that have the profile. that I've described. And and so. as long as Trump stays on message, you know, they're going to break. into my judgment in favor. It's you know, because I've been. around a long time. But in 1980, I was. involved in 1980 Reagan campaign at. a senior level. And in that campaign,

it was there are a lot of parallels. to this race. You had a failed Democrat. president in Jimmy Carter. The issues were economic and the. issues were the Iran hostage. situation. and ID. But Reagan was an unknown commodity. He'd been governor of California, but he the Kerry campaign against. him was he was a cowboy. He was reckless. He would there'd be World War three. ad, but the issue. agenda was an economic issue agenda.

and ID like with Trump. this year. And so Reagan had to prove himself. as being capable of President. Trump doesn't have to do that. because he's already been president. So that first hurdle that Reagan. had, Trump. doesn't have, although. Harris has trying to break that into. a negative hurdle for her for Trump. But once Reagan was able to. demonstrate he was he could. be president, which he did, and. the only debate that he had with.

Carter, the. undecided vote, just all moved. over to Trump in the last ten days. of the campaign. To toward Reagan. I mean, to Rich Reagan in the last. ten days of the campaign, because. they saw Reagan as a strong leader. and they they were voting against. Carter's economic record. You've got that same kind of dynamic. in this race right now. So 45 years later, I think very few people remember. that the Carter Reagan. race in the fall of. 1980 was considered too close.

to call or maybe Carter's to. lose. Correct? That is correct. That is correct. And it was a. it was a landslide victory. It certainly was. I mean, it changed American politics. for the next 30 years at least. So. So you were in it. Was it obvious to you that. Reagan was going to win? We knew the last week of the. campaign he was going to with. our data was all. very, very clear. And we did know the landslide would.

be as big as it was. But we knew it was going to be a big. win. We we actually started spending. time covertly at some of. the Senate races because we were. looking at we we won a number. of searches that we weren't supposed. to win in 1980 because the. tide was that strong. It but the but. what had happened in 1980. is all the polling companies, national polls shut down the last. week of the campaign because it. showed. Carter went in. They all thought he was going to. win.

Had it. So there was no pull in the last. week of the campaign except for us. We we we we were doing our. our targeted states. The internal polling from the. From the campaign ad, it's a we saw the break. We saw what was happening. And and. so we weren't surprised on Election. Day. The every. legacy media account I read of. the state of the race today. tells me that it's just too close to.

call. Is that you? You don't seem to think that is too. close to call. Why are they saying. that? Well, I think it's you know, I think it is a close election. I think that the undecideds, when. they break, are going to break. three, two, two, 2 to 1 four. for Trump. He's ahead now in all seven. battleground states. And in fact, you know, I draw your. attention to start watching. Virginia, Minnesota and maybe. even New Mexico, where the. races have gotten. close, real close.

Made a couple points. and the movement is against theirs. in those states, though. Do I think they'll close for Harris? Probably. But it could we could see. happening in those states. What we do see happening in the. seven battleground states that then. decides the differences is the. battleground states were already. ahead in every one of them. And so any break in. did disproportionately to. Trump will enhance the lead. as opposed to Virginia or Minnesota, where we need to take the lead from.

the break in. But it's possible. I mean, the clues you see. is when you look at. what's happened this past weekend in. some of the key Democrats and. incumbent races in the blue. wall states, in Wisconsin and. in Michigan and Pennsylvania, you have incumbent Democratic. senators running. who are in dead. heat races with Republican. challengers and. by public polling.

And you look. they've all put up ads this weekend, all three races where. the Democratic senators. are endorsing Trump policies. by name in their political. advertising. Using the word Donald Trump. Using the word touted. They support the Trump border. plan. They support the Trump. fracking plan. They support the Trump tariff plan. Depending on the states. they would be. You have a Democrat supporting the. Trump border plan. Yeah.

Well, that's like a violation of the. catechism. That's a big deal to say. something like that, I think. And the Trump tariff plan. in in Michigan is not something. that Harris is supporting at all. And yet Slotkin is. in it are in her advertising. When you see that kind of evidence, you know, they're seeing in their. private polling, what we're seeing. in our primary polling, which is that the undecideds. that are left in the race. probably are theirs and are, since. they're tracking,

are on the same issue agenda. and they wouldn't be beating. on economics. Trump's position on tariffs in. Michigan, Trump's position on. fracking in Pennsylvania. And it's so. you see it empirically there. You see in our data, we we we. feel like watching the. shift in the in the narrative. that Harris has taken. the past week since her. Fox interview where she. now is totally on this personality.

cult attack and that he's too. dangerous to be president given. up all the issues she's giving up. the issue agenda. and making her race all. about. Why would she do that? Because I think she believes. she sees what we see, which. is that the the the. main issues she has not. sold her case and Trump. has. They view Trump as better. on dealing with inflation. by 12 points in some of the. public polls.

They see Trump on the border by over. 12 points of over 15 points. over. entrusting him to deal with overseas. issues by ten points. She sees that. So, you know, it's too late in the. campaign, though, to to. change that that. direction. So she's got to throw. the Hail Mary pass, which was the. other core part of her strategy, which is Trump is unhinged and. unstable and she's focusing. on the soft. vote and Republican vote.

or the Republican vote that's. not voting, which is suburban. women and targeting. them. And the message and using Liz. Cheney and others. So if you're. if you're pulling out the Cheney's. as a Democratic presidential. candidate in the last. moments, I mean, first of all, you. you know, you deserve to lose more. than anything for doing that. But if someone had told you five. years ago that the most left wing. American senator would become the.

Democratic presidential candidate. and trotted Cheneys out, I mean. You can't make that stuff. Yeah, I know. And the thing is, both parties have got. their base. I mean, with Trump getting in all. the public polls that between 1,993%. of the Republican vote, she's. getting between 1993, 2% of the Democratic vote. So this is not a base election. anymore. The base.

But what she's trying to do. is mix up the base a little bit. by voice. Some of these anti-Trump. Republicans who are not. voted for the most part of her. ad and try. and peel those votes over to her. because she's not confident. she can win over the undecided. voter in western Pennsylvania. because of where the Trump's. position over her is on. the economy, on fracking. And this is this is where she failed.

in her debate with Trump. And her job. at that debate was to introduce. yourself to the country, but to also. show that she had a plan. She didn't do that. And by going dark with. the media for so long, she. never defined herself. And in what the Trump campaign has. done, using her. in her public appearances and her. recorded statements from. 2019, as well as the. while vice president, we've defined.

her using her and. her positions, and that's worked. And as a result, you have. a lot of the will to carry. the independent vote. If we could carry the Hispanic. vote. Like the majority, like. Majority in a couple of the. battleground states. Yes, like a majority. He's getting 25% of the. That's a history changing. change in politics, if that happens. Yeah. And, you know, it's. for a lot of reasons, but all of.

them make sense. It's independent in. Nevada and Arizona. It's because of the border. It's because of the crime. It's because of the impact of. illegals on their communities. But it's also a cultural values and. wokeism, you know, and family. values. It's it's school board issues and. transgender and things like that. You know, we're in the Hispanic. families. It's a culturally tight knit. family situation. These are issues that bother them.

I think Nevada is majority Hispanic. now. We're pretty. Close. Or Yeah, close for sure. And so the idea was that people. with Hispanic last names love. illegal immigration. But that's turned out. It's not true at all. No, because their pain, they're suffering the most. in one because. of their jobs, too. Because the impact and limited. community resources. Three, the crime is in their. neighborhoods and.

and and you've had. hear us out there for three and a. half years saying there's no. problem, there is no border. problem. They're not recognizing it, not even visiting it and being. empathetic. And that has. resonated in the Hispanic community. And we're seeing that in the. Hispanic community in places like. Pennsylvania as well. And it's. so. That framework. The electorate is totally.

tilting away in some. of this Hispanic vote and a lot. of the black vote that they'll favor. in Trump is that it has. to it's a twofer for us because it's. one vote out of the Democratic. candidate, one vote for the. Republican. It's not just a swing voter. that's, you know, for grabs, you know. You know, she's losing. a vote every time we get a black. vote, you know, that she normally would have had as. a Democrat nominee. And again, the the. reason these people the the the.

profile of the Trump black. voter this time are black. men under 25 and. 35. And it's for a reason. They've suffered economically. They've given up the. the promises of the Democratic. Party. And and Trump. in some ways is a iconic. figure to them. And but he definitely. gets them and they see that. he gets them. So it's.

that vote is that vote that's going. to slip away in the next. two weeks as we get close, close to the election. That's why she's targeting. disaffected women, Republicans. who don't like Trump, the. personality. It's just kind of weird that she'd. be running on Trump's personality. because it's the single most. familiar fact in all American. politics what Donald Trump's. personality is like, because we've. talked about it every single day for. ten years. So is. there really room for movement on.

that questions or anyone thinking, wow, Trump is kind. of volatile? I had no idea. I think I won't vote for him. She's already got those orders. Exactly. Yeah. I mean, it's baked in. And that's why the. these undecided voters, if you look. at any focus groups that are out. there, you'll see they all are. saying, yeah, I don't like his. personality, but I was. better for that under his when he. was president. And I don't know what she stands. for and I don't want to risk four. more years. And these are people who.

traditionally vote Democrat. Because they told us, remember, they. would always remember. I mean, it's all they talked about. for the better part of a decade. Trump is a racist. Trump is a racist. Let me repeat, Trump is a racist. And, you know, he's like on track. to win the majority of. the Hispanic vote and a huge chunk. of black men. I guess that didn't work. We can say. No, it didn't. I mean, it's yeah, that could have worked if it was. part of a strategy, but not. the work because it's the strategy.

and that's all. that she's offering people. who have had a very lousy three and. a half years. Do they even say that anymore? Trump is a race member. That was the only thing they said. They're not seeing it that way. anymore, although I think you will. see in the next two weeks they will. get that raw again because that's. the stage that they're at in the. campaign. So I think it's going to be a very. ugly close by. the hairs campaign. In what way? That they will be tossed around. Hitler and racism and things like. that as if they were.

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to reclaim your privacy. Yeah, they're much less powerful. than they used to be though. I remember the first time someone. said something like that, called him. Hitler, said he was a white. supremacist, a racist. I remember being really shocked by. it. Now it's like, shut up. Well, it's people are more immune. to it. Again, my personal. opinion, she's got the vote. that's going to be moved by that. Right? That's not going to be the last 5%. I had. Yeah. And.

So Trump is running a closing. campaign that's dealing. with what the undecideds. want to hear. She is running a closing campaign. that's based on fear. Trying to be trying to make the. undecided voter fear Trump. and therefore just resignedly. say, okay, I'm willing to risk four. more years of this because I fear. Trump Right. I don't think that's a winning close. ad, and I don't. see it in the data, and. I don't see it in my experience of.

politics of. being the kind of thing in a. close race, if you will, that will be. allow people to vote against their. economic interest, because that's what these undecided. people are saying is I've had. a miserable four years. I believe Trump could do a better. job for me, but I'm going to vote. against him. I don't see that happening. Do you feel confident enough to bet. on it? If I were a betting man, yes.

Do you believe in the predictions. markets, the betting markets? Well, I mean, I pay attention. to them. And. and if you look at the betting. markets today, they're at the. highest point in. all the years Trump has been in. politics saying that Trump's. going to win. It's like the the. average, I think today is like. 5,859% of. the of the betting market. is saying Trump now and.

and you can track how. they're betting market has gone. since she came into the race. when she had the first announced the. way we went through the sugar high. and the the the debate. I mean the the the. betting markets followed her and. were favoring her. But over the last month as the. campaign. the campaign strategies have. impacted the electorate at the. grassroots level. You started to see a ticking up for. Trump and now it's dramatically up.

for Trump. going into the close the last two. weeks of the close. And I don't see any major. October surprise, as we call it, that's going to come up. That can change that trajectory now. The hurricane season is almost over. Yeah. The the war situation, I think, is their war. They're waiting it out for the next. two weeks to see who wins. I could be wrong. But to me, if Israel does. something in striking in Iran,

I just didn't hurt Trump. I could hurt Harris. The economy's not going to get. better in the next two weeks. So there's no event. that's going to change. the trajectory of the race like the. debate did in 1980. Reagan versus Carter allowed. the undecideds to vote their. economic interest. There's nothing that's going to. change. I don't believe that. will allow the undecideds to vote. against their economic interests for. years. That's and again,

Trump is ahead in all seven states. right now. By the by the public. polling. summaries. So the. foundation is there. And you also have what we call. the the unknown Trump factor, where historically Trump is. 1 or 2 points better than. the polls show him to be, and in some cases dramatically more. than 1 or 2 points. You look at the national.

polls today, Harris is up. by about a point and a half. nationally. And national polls of. of all voters. It's very it's not a good measure. any longer of what's going to happen. into an Election Day. Plus, you have. people voting now. So it's not just. voting on Election Day. The changes that we're. all seeing happen in droves. Fever is happening contemporaneous. with people actually gathering.

votes. And, you know, one of the you know, the Cares campaign has had the money. advantage, but they've also been big. money and big money, David. But, you know, but too much money. advantage, meaning that we don't. need as much money as she has to. win. We were a Hillary Clinton, overspent, outspent Trump, but by almost half $1 billion. in 2016 and lost. it. So she's going to. not be much more than if she will be.

that much ahead of Trump in the end. And but. the her money advantage and her, quote, field advantage, you know, it. was supposed to make the difference. Well, she doesn't have a field. advantage. And that's one of the. myths that the mainstream media has. perpetuated during this campaign, is. that Trump has no ground game and. Harris has this juggernaut. Well, last time I heard that was in. 2016 when I was. told that the campaign we had put. together was was. a terrible grassroots campaign. and that Hillary Clinton had the. most professional field operation.

in history. Well, we know what happened there. It's the same thing. They're saying the same thing today. We. They have a very good ground. game. And when you look at the. early voting that's happening. and the millions of votes. have been cast by now between. the early voting and absentee. voting and you were everyone's. model in that stuff. And the Democrats turnout advantage. and early voting is dramatically. less than it's ever been.

over the last eight years. And so we're holding our own. or doing better than our own. in the early voting. But then guess who has an advantage. on Election Day? We do, because that's what we've. always said through all of our vote. out, because we always were against. early voting until this cycle. She doesn't have as good an. organization for the Election. Day as she has for early. voting, but she's not winning the. margins she needs. So far in the first two weeks. of the early voting that's happened. So the field organization isn't even.

an advantage at this point in time. We've got the issue advantage. and then we've got. more than enough money to do what we. need to do in our campaign. Therefore, looking. at all the pieces of an election, her race is. counting on her. getting people to vote against their. economic interests because. trouble is a threat to democracy. I don't see that happening. But I agree with you. Looking back over the last.

three months, really since June, since the debate between Trump and. Biden. What are the things that the Trump. campaign has done right? Do you think? Well, they were ready for her, Harris. I mean, we saw going into. after the debate June. the possibility that. Biden might not be a candidate. I didn't believe it. I thought he would never quit. But but the campaign saw the. possibility. And so they did their research.

on Harris and on. the other potential candidates that. could have been the nominee. So that when Biden did drop out. We were ready. We had ads ready. AD And we knew how. we wanted to define all of the. potential voters we might have. We didn't think there. They would get. rid of Biden and gives Harris. the records.

We viewed Harris as the weakest of. all the potential candidates because. she'd have to live on the record of. the administration. Exactly. And but that was. Joe Biden's gifted while Trump. because Biden was so upset. with the Democratic coup de da. against him. that he told them he was going. to endorse his vice president. When we had Nancy Pelosi. and Obama wanted an open. primary of all the leading. candidates so they could control.

who would come out of the Democratic. convention. She didn't they didn't get that. Biden announced on. Sunday he was quitting, and that's. on Monday, endorsed trailblazers. And then it became impossible for. anybody to run against her. You think that was an act of. aggression against his own party? I do. Really? So diminished, though he is. You think that Joe Biden was angry. enough at Pelosi and. Obama that he decided. to screw the Democratic Party by. gifting them? You, Michel. You've watched his Irish temper.

enough times as I have. Yeah. And you know how he's always. felt disparaged by the Democratic. establishment, including Obama. Including that Nancy Pelosi. Yeah, especially. Obama. Yeah. And when he did want. to quit, he felt and. there's a case to be made today that. he could have been a better. candidate than errors because. he felt all along that the. Democratic base, which was against. which was the reason why he was. truly badly after his debate, would have no choice but to come. together after Labor.

Day and support him. And then he thought he could beat. beat Trump again. You look at the you know, if you. want to analyze it through his. eyes, he's probably. right that the base would have come. back to him. The media would have. had to come back to him. against Trump because there's. they were always going to be against. Trump and. he would be a much better candidate. in Pennsylvania. He'd be a much better candidate. in the in the Midwest. because he's got working class.

roots. You've got an elitist Democrat, liberal. as the Democratic nominee. when the battleground states. are in the Midwest. Yeah. And so. you could make the case that he. would have been at least as strong. as Ayres. But but that Pelosi strategy was. never to have Ayres and. Shapiro or Whitmer. or even a Newsom could. have had, you know, a certain appeal. in the Midwest that Harris didn't.

have. Do you think Obama and Pelosi never. thought they were getting Kamala. Harris when they pushed Biden to. retire? I don't really. know. And that was Joe Biden's gift. to them in return for the gift. they gave him. It was knifing him. Yes, It's so. But that's why. Harris. But what we didn't analyze, nobody could have is how. all in the media would be. to just, you know, make.

her into the second Obama. to try to make her into second if. she can't speak like Obama. She's you know, she. was much more articulate. Obama stood for something that she. can't stand for. Obama was going to. be the first black president. Yeah. Now she's the first black. woman president. But the the. concierge that. Yeah, exactly. And and she's not articulate. She she's afraid of being. with the media. If they don't proper up, she can't. hold her own. And I've learned.

having done enough elections that. the American people generally. get it. They vote by Election Day. They get it. I mean, sometimes the good with. the, you know, 2020. It Covid distorted everything. And then the changing of the rules. on voting distorted everything. And the Republicans not knowing how. to deal with early voting and. participating distorted everything. Well, this is a much more normal. election. I mean, the rules are the.

same. Rules are settled rules. We fix some of the excesses. of 2020 in a. number of the battleground states. So that voter identification. is going to be important. Republicans are participating in. early voting this time in an. aggressive way. And we're seeing it in the early. voting results. So in a more normal. election, having a California. liberal who hasn't been out there. running for president.

and trying to define herself, you know, should not be a victorious. campaign. The reason she's in play is because. the media has defined her for. her as the saint in this. this turning the page. Well, again, the American people, though, turning the page from what? From the Biden-Harris. administration. How do you turn the page on yourself. and give them something different. in the world, especially when she. hasn't defined what she's going to. do or what she has?

It's in contradiction to what she. said she stood for before. And again, she's winning her vote. And most polls show this because. even in the Democratic base. that supported her, they're. anti-Trump. because a lot of those people who. weren't so anti-Trump. Democrats would be voting. for a Republican candidate right. now, not named Trump. because of the economic failures of. this administration against theirs.

But Trump brings out an additional. kind of voter that no Republican. could get, and he's changing. the composition of the Republican. Party into a working man's party, working class party to a middle. American party. I think it's finally happening. It must be weird for you, as someone who's been in top. levels, the Republican Party for all. these years, almost 50, to see all these people, you know, come out against Trump and in some. cases for Kamala Harris, like the.

pillars of the party, Dick Cheney is. just one among many. in it. Yes, it is. And it's it's because of the. personality that is the coming out, But it's also because they've. they've had their time and they just. they're settled in their ways and. they think that Trump doesn't. represent the party, that they were part of it. 20 years ago. He doesn't. Well, he doesn't. But a lot of the principles he does. Yes. And so.

but they've put they've they've. subordinated principles to. how they want the party to look, which is the. exact opposite of what the Democrats. have done. They don't care what the party looks. like. It's principles that drive. the Democratic Party and it's woke. leftist principles that are not in. the interest of the country. And as a result, you've had the. changing of the electorate, of the of the composition of of. the two parties where the Democrats. are now an elitist party from the. coast and the Republicans are.

Main Street and not Wall. Street, even though their reputation. is still there and Trump. is making it into a really working. class party. What do you think of that? Well, I think. well, I think if you want to run a. country, you have to have more than. elitist as as a. focus of where your policies should. go. Yeah. I mean, that's why I got. involved in politics. I mean, as a conservative, I, you know, back in the in the 60s, I was upset with what was emerging. as chance in kind.

of big government, the social. welfare program, you know, things like that. And it's. I was coming from a working class. background. I saw the Republican Party. that is truly the leadership of the. Republican Party. But the principles of what Goldwater. was talking about is. is something that attracted. my interest. Well, Trump is taking that to a new. level. Trump has made it into the. leadership of the party, not just. the focus of the principles of the. party. And I think long term,

that's a coalition. that can govern for a long time, especially when you take the. the negative part of Trump out of. the equation and keep all the. positives in the equation. I think that the Democrats. are either going to have to come. back towards the center or. we are going to be in power for a. long time. I mean, I think. it's not inconceivable. to think that Trump is going to have. a Republican Congress. He's going to have a Republican.

Senate. He could have 54, 55 members of the Republican. Senate. And it's probable with. him winning, with breaking the way I. think things are going to break. That will keep the house. And if we do that, then. something very different from 2017. is going to exist. You're going to have an experienced. President Trump who. understands why should a lot better. than he did in 2017 when he took the. oath of office. And you are going to have a. Republican Congress controlled.

Congress. That's people people that are part. of the Trump Make America Great. Again agenda. with the Speaker of the House who. actually is supportive of the. economic policies that Trump wants. to take versus what Paul Ryan. was doing as speaker of the. House. Convincing Trump not to do. the things that he should have done. in the first year, and therefore. having immigration reform. and economic reforms. that Trump wanted put on the back. burner to never get to the front.

burner. That's not going to happen in 2025. And so with those. changes, I believe the. country is going to get stronger. economically. I think the world is going to get. better. It gets safer. I think we're going to have borders. again. And that is going to lock. in a lot of this new support. that is voting. for Trump because they think he. will be better for them. But then they're going to see that. the party as a whole that Trump has. put together can also be better. for them after Trump.

and with somebody like JD, that. even people like Marco Rubio now. out there talking about. the Trump record, the Trump. policies, it's going to make a big. difference. And I think Hispanics. will be attracted to that. I think working class Americans will. be attracted to that. And with Trump having a. government of people for him, as opposed to a government of people. that were not for him, but. then want to be part of the. government that he created and then. undercut him as president.

Time and time again, that's. going to be different this year. The people are going to be put in. power that will implement the Trump. agenda and be supportive of the. Trump agenda. And that's why to all of these. former Republican. Trump administration people. who are now supporting Paris, they didn't support Trump in 2016. They became part of his government. after he won. But they were not supported him in. 2016. They did not buy into the Trump. policies that Trump was elected.

on. And so when they didn't follow. his direction, he fired them. The difference is Harris has people. in her staff as vice president. You know, 95% of the people who. worked for her quit. on her. They didn't get fired. They quit after they couldn't take. her because she was such a terrible. boss. That's the difference. That's what you can expect to do. Harris She can't manage people. Trump We had the wrong. people in office because he didn't. have a team in 2017. because he was an outsider coming.

into Washington. But he's got a team. now, and it's a team that believes. in what he wants to do and what he's. campaigned on. And so what he gets elected on, unlike what Biden and Harris did in. 2020 and then did as in. as is as president, Vice President Trump is going to. implement the policies. But after talking about it, he's. going to bring people in who are. committed to those policies. different than 2017. And I think we have a chance to have. a very good two years with. that. A lot of these changes. can start to take root.

What a disaster. If Trump does win, it'll be for. the Democratic Party the second. he won in 2016. That well, the first thing there was. resolve to put, you know, the people. who got him there, including you in. prison. And they succeeded. Mike Flynn. They tried to put him in. prison. I mean. Roger Stone. I mean, they really went and just. tried to imprison the opposition. and then they tried to imprison. Trump. And I think pretty clearly. stole the 2020 election. That's my view.

They eliminated free speech. That's theft enough. And it didn't work. And then he wins in 2024. after all of that. What is it like if. that happens in the Democratic. Party? I think the left takes over. Interesting. Yeah. I think. who's going to get gutted here. is the centrists in the Democratic. Party. Really? Absolutely. Absolutely. I think that.

the Washington part of the party. will be dramatically controlled. by the Sanders wing. But I think. Sanders you know, the. unspoken story here. is that the guy with a network. in the states, in the Democratic. Party is Bernie Sanders, of course. Yes. And what. you saw happen. with Ronald Reagan in 1977. after he lost the nomination. to Gerry Ford and Ford lost. the presidency to Jimmy Carter. Reagan's network of people.

spent three years. building in the states, the Reagan. organization that elected him. president. because Reagan had foreseen. the future issues. I think the Sanders people are going. to do the same thing in the. if there's a debacle if they did. in 2024. But they're going to be misreading. the future. In my judgment. The issues, unlike what Reagan did, is should they as they take control,

they're going to push the party. further and further left to the. Populist left, the economic left. What do you mean, by the way? Well, I think I think. both the populist left. and the economic left, I think. the they're going to be driven by. the economic left, but the populist left is going to be. the way they they sell their. message. So but like the tranny left, the. You know. The weird kind of. rich lady left those.

the emphasis on the sexual issues. on racial division. Does that I mean that doesn't seem. to have worked. That's what I call the populist. left. Yeah. I think the economic left is where. they will frame it because it's more. acceptable to the. the disadvantaged. Yeah. And you can make. that case to the illegal. migrants who maybe ended up. getting entrenched here. in one way or another.

But the left texts of the lesson, if. they lose to the Democrats, will be we didn't go left enough. Well, I don't know that that's the. lesson that to them. But that's the opportunity to the. left within the party, which is the. dominant part of the party. Yeah. Interesting. There's a lot of chaos out there in. the world, and that's why your bed. is your sanctuary, a. place of peace and. rest. And with cozy earth, it can be even.

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Look, look who's on the horizon. You've got Bernie Sanders. Still got Elizabeth Warren. Still. You got Amy Klobuchar. You're still you got good. Gavin Newsom still. These are all they've already. they sailed. that ship, their ships in. that direction. Now, can they. change? Yeah, of course they can. change. But the power base, the grassroots. that they have to appeal to, to. emerge victorious for 2028. is the left.

And they. are much more. Hardcore. The Republicans are punishing. if they're the opposition. So I will I. don't think there's any leadership. in Washington. With Pelosi being gone now, that that that. brings sort. of moves towards the center. I think Obama,

you know, will be where a lot of. them go. But Obama, I don't this is his. last fight. I mean, he will if. he loses this, if she loses, he loses. And he doesn't want to. spend the rest of his life. refighting that war. He is a former president. He's made millions of dollars since. he left. Yeah. You know, it's up to new leadership. to take the party over. And so I don't I don't see him. You don't even see Michelle Obama. out there right now campaigning for. her first.

I think she will in the last two. weeks. But she hasn't been out. there this year. Why do you think? There's something there. I mean, I don't know what it is, but. there's something there. Bobby even hasn't been that. aggressively out there, even though, you know, this was as good a time. I mean, she wasn't necessarily as. Kennedy, but this was this could. attack. it. But my point is, I don't see Obama. in the future trying to.

direct the Democratic Party. Pelosi will be gone. Schumer's that the national. politician. He's a you know, he's a. Washington politician. Hakeem Jeffries doesn't have any. profile of seriousness. The national Democrats in Washington. are the leftists, the Sanders, the the the war and. people like that. And so if Trump. gets the majority. in two weeks, will. the Democrats, including. their army of lawyers, just kind of. give up?

Just say you you won. I think, you know, January 6th is. their playbook, right? I mean, I. Was last time, too. Exactly. So do I think that they're. just going to accept the results, as. Trump says correctly? Hillary Clinton is still contesting. the 2016 election. They will never give Trump the. benefit of winning an election. no matter how big he wins it. But he's going to be president. in January of 2025 and.

they're going to have to deal with. that. But they'll make it. It'll it'll be a difficult, you know, transition period. There'll be a lot of protests. I mean, the week after between. people running to the their. psychiatrist offices and people. were, you know, running to the. streets to burn things, you. know, it's going to be a mess. But can you think of any legal. mechanism they could use to prevent. Trump from being seated as President. in January? No, no. I mean, they tried to set some of. those things up when they were. trying to play with electors for. this time around and and rules about.

the states not having to follow the. results of the election. But no, it is the system. works. Our system works. And as far. as against a. coup d'etat, if you will, a. democratic right. And. the difference between 2020 and. 2024 is you will have the media. defining whatever the grievances. are of the losing Democratic Party. as being fair grievances. when in fact, they're not whatever.

I don't know which ones they'll come. up with, but they'll come. up with stories that are not true. And that's what. they're good at. Republicans. accept results for the most part, which is why Trump's. push back in 2020. was it was so out of. character for the world to. understand. Democrats always contest results. I mean, I can't remember a campaign. nationally that they didn't contest. once one way or another something, whether it was Gore, where they.

lost, he. ended up. And so it will be a contentious. transition period. But I think the difference is if. Trump has the results that. I think he's going to have. He'll be close to her. Over 300 electoral votes. That's hard to turn over before. they have to fight. You really think so? Trump's going. to get 300? Well, I mean, there are seven. battleground states. Trump's if Trump loses. all seven, I think he's.

it's something like 254. If he wins, all seven is a 312. if you win some combination in. between. You know so and the only one where. he's below 270 is. where she sweeps to the blue wall. And I don't see her doing that. I wish we could troop the blue wall. right now. We're leading in all. three of those states. And I don't. See. Remind us what the blue wall. is. Blue walls, Michigan, Wisconsin and. Pennsylvania.

Yeah. And the three Midwestern. states. She has to win. Why are those Democratic seats? I've never understood that at all. Those seem like natural Trump. states, given the realignment. between the parties. What Labor was Labor's got. big hold. And how corrupt is Labor when every. member of a public sector labor. union overwhelmingly is for Trump? Like, how corrupt are they that. they're. You mean for Harris. You know is for the actual you know. what percentage of the Teamsters. What percentage. You know the great IBEW. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. No, you're right. Well, that's why we're winning those. states. Yeah. You know, Trump has made the. economic argument to the. wood. The auto workers. that the Biden-Harris administration. was the worst administration for. them. And she'll be even worse as. president. Ayres And that's why. the local members are there. I mean, yesterday in. Pittsburgh, the the. the steel Union for. members from western Pennsylvania. endorsed Trump. Now, the the senior leadership of.

the union is for Harris. But the rank and file workers the. the the the. the union bosses. in the regions in the states. are for Trump and they endorsed him. yesterday in western Pennsylvania. So. But she has to win all three of. those states. She's got a problem with the Muslim. vote in in Michigan. And it's their major. piece of a Democratic coalition. to carry that state. They're fragmented there.

There's going to be a lot of non. vote voters in that region. And Trump was endorsed by. the largest Muslim Pakistan. organization in Michigan last week. So, you know, if. they're doing that because they know. that Trump is. somebody who could bring peace to. the Middle East. I mean, he almost did that. If he had had a second term, he. would we wouldn't have had this war. in the Gulf. And at the same time, the Jewish. support, Trump's getting close to. 40% of the Jewish support.

because they know that he protected. Israel. And he's when he says. he's going to protect them, he means. what he says versus what Biden. says when he talks about being. pro pro-Israel. but not but anti Netanyahu. Right now in a war, you can't be. both. You have to be. pro product, you know, and. pro-Israel. Trump has credibility in the. Israeli community. He has. credibility in the Muslim community. There's nobody in the Democratic. Party like that. Ad And in Michigan,

that's a real price pressure. on Harris at the base. So the three states that she has to. win to be president, she's trailing in all three. That will have. a long term impact, I think, on realignment because, you know, Trump. Also understands that. that the leadership. may not before the rank and file. is. But he makes if he makes the. rank and files lives better,

the leadership has to start to do. open up and be less less oppressive. And really, when you look at the. the the. public service unions and. the private sector unions, you know, there's a real. break now at the at the grassroots. level and. in the public. sector. Unions are going to have a. hard time under Trump because. he's going to make changes that are.

going to be they're going to cut. government reductions. I hope he extinguishes them, crushes. them. We shouldn't have a single. public sector union in the United. States. The whole idea is grotesque. Well, it's the. Tax dollars held hostage by. by federal employees or state. employees at the for all things, not. that they pay for their own. politicians. And they're not union leaders. They're Democrats with. union position. Who run copy machines in man. some desk at the DMV.

I mean, these are not there's not. laborers. These are people living off. the public debt of. The well off. Very well. Yes. No, that's right. Ed, And. that's why you had people like the. Teamsters, head of the Teamsters. nationally coming in, speaking to. the record, Pittsburgh. Man Sean O'Brien from Boston. And, you know, Trump didn't require. a litmus test support. He said come and make your case. Yeah. And that resonates. with the rank and file people that. when you show respect to the union,

when the union is just. being is not taking. a pro position. But that's who Trump is. I mean, he recognizes that. every day is another day. And you build by consensus. and and and communication, which is why, you know, again, the. the the globalist and the elite. is that the State Department can't. handle a guy because he doesn't. read from their playbook. And and he doesn't even. look at their playbook because.

he thinks their playbook is wrong. and frankly haven't dealt with a lot. of those kinds of people over my 40. years in politics. He's right. Yeah. So given. Trump's position, the seven. battleground states ahead, what you know within the margin but. still ahead in all of. them and given the vibe shift, Elon Musk coming out for Trump, bunch of tech people coming out for. Trump. I think most people, if. they're honest, think Trump's going. to win. What if he doesn't win?

Well, Republicans accept that result. as legitimate. The answer is. ultimately yes. I think I mean, honestly, I don't deal with that. scenario now because in my. mind, we're not going to lose. I mean, if. we lost, how we lost. would be relevant here. And I don't.

believe that if you lose, you don't. have a right to to question. But then you there. comes a point when you have to move. on. I don't know. So how we lose would be relevant, but I don't see that happening. A lot of Republicans. think that the system is rigged. against them. And I understand that. I have good friends.

You do? Do you understand that? But. the point is, you just can't. give up. And. And you just have. to be better than you were before. To to to succeed. the next day. And you can't. Complain about the past. You have to do something about the. future. One of the things that I'm. actually very. proud of, what Trump has done in.

this cycle is. he doesn't think you should have. early voting. You know, he thinks Election Day. should be Election Day. But he recognizes. that you've got to play by the rules. that are the rules today. And and. it's the core of what. we've done in the past two election. cycles of ignoring early day. voting is like in baseball having. designated batter. But since he's not on the field, you. just don't let him.

go up to bat. You just, you know, take him out. every time he that spot comes up in. the batting order. That's what we were doing in early. voting. We were not participating. And and the Democrats. were. And it did two things. It energized their people. early. It got it banked votes. before the campaign was over. so that we always win. 2020, our closing campaign. was much stronger. than the campaign and then around. the convention and in September.

But so many people had already voted. that many of them would have. possibly changed and voted. differently if they had only been. one election Day. You know, right now, the reason one. of the things the Trump campaign did. very well this time is. we were doing a. mid-October campaign. campaign. program in. August and September. because we knew that early voting. was starting in October.

And so we had to have the. electorate's mindset where they. normally would be on October 20th. there on October 1st. So that means we had to be defining. her heavily in. in September. We had to be defining the. differences between Trump and her, you know, in August. And we had to be spending the kind. of money that was necessary to. have the penetration. so that by now we're focusing. on the last 5%, not and the 50%.

we need. And we've done that well. And that's why the campaign is. closing, where. you're starting to see the race tilt. publicly towards Trump. The betting markets are tilting that. way. The market the. stock market, I think, is pricing. in. If you look at the kind of companies. that are going up there, companies. that would deal well in. a deregulated economy under. a President Trump. So all of that is happening because.

our closing campaign was happening. in September and now we're. getting out the vote because. they're ready to vote. We've talked to them and they're now. voting. That's all stuff we gave up last. time we were running our October. campaign last time in October. And by September, they. made their dive the dead to. find us. Because early voting isn't just. who gets to vote. It's how you persuade them to. before they vote. And they were doing their.

October close in September, getting their votes banked. And we were talking to people that. already voted. And by the time we did our closing. campaign in October. That's changed this time. Trump did a masterful job. His campaign leadership has been. brilliant at this, at putting. the calendar of what people vote. into the strategy of how we. run the campaign. And they've done so. And, you know, and as. you said, to your point a little. while ago, this is a guy.

that should have been dead 5. or 6 times the East, and he's now heading into the last. two weeks as the frontrunner. And cheerfully and you're doing. the same. And it does feel. like that's part of the key to. living a successful, happy life is. dealing with reality as you find it. and letting go of the past when. you know you've been in D.C. since the entire time I was there as. a very famous Republican. operative working in foreign. countries and all over the all of. the world was all fine. Then you become Trump's campaign.

manager for like 20 minutes. and the next thing you know, they're. setting you off to prison. You get sent to prison because you. work for Trump. Nobody, Republican or Democrat in. DC do that for one second period. So. I think that's a fact. It is a fact. It was. Andrew Weissman did this because you. work for Trump. How do you let go of that and stay. cheerful and forward looking? You don't seem bitter at all. We just had breakfast. You weren't. ranting about anything. How do you do? How do you do that? Well, you have to have faith, which I do have family,

which I do, and believe. in yourself. Which I do. And. And when you're advising people, I. know all of the contradictions. of politics and in the world, you got to recognize that that. affects you to it. So if people have got to make. adjustments because of. contradictions, they see that they. don't like, then I felt I needed to. as well. I look Yeah. But that's a lot easier to describe. than to pull off. Well, except it's over now.

for me. I have gone through that. crucible and pulling. it off was hard, but that's where. faith and family came into account. And that was where the strength. Would you make a decision not to be. angry? Yeah. When? Well, when I was in solitary. confinement. When I was in solitary confinement. You know, the biggest. Part of a crisis Like what I went. through was before. you're thrown into the fire, when. you're standing by the fire and.

you're seeing the fire flames. grow in in the fear. of being in that fire. is overwhelming. Once you see in the fire, you. either give up and die. It literally in some cases, but. certainly figuratively. Or you make adjustments to how to. live in the fire. And I made the adjustment. that that I. had credible family, lots. of good friends, some. people who weren't my friends. anymore, but they would find that. they were really good friends.

And and my faith carried. me through. And I decided that when I. got through it, when it was over, if I then was going to be bitter. and angry, then that means. I'd be reliving the worst. parts of it all. And why would I do. that? And so I decided. I was going to move on. I mean, you know, my wife. said something to me that was very. prophetic in the beginning. I mean, I started my career in. Washington with nothing. I was from a blue collar family.

I you know, I really had no money at all. I made a living. I did well. They took it all away from me. My wife was saying to me in the. process, look, we started with. nothing. We have we found each other. We'll still have each other. And that's what counts. And she was right in that. That kept me going. When we started this show, we were. looking for a very specific sponsor. We wanted to find a company that. could send us good meat. better than anything you could buy.

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and ten for a discount at Meriwether. Farms. I watched you walk. through a crowd at the Republican. Convention in Milwaukee this. summer and absolutely. treated like an old friend and hero. by everybody there. And you seemed there was a lightness. about you. And I thought, man, if I. were Paul Manafort, I would just be. enraged. And you didn't seem enraged. at all. You seem it was it was.

like the family welcome me home and. and a family who knew. that I had given of myself. for them. And there was a lot of love. in that room. I noticed. I saw. And it may be really feel. Validated that I did the right. thing. He's sick. Well, with that said, I just. I. I mean, from my heart, I could not admire your attitude. more. I really couldn't. I hope that I.

would behave as manfully as you have. and as forgiving as you have. That said, the forces that put. you in jail because you were Donald. Trump's campaign manager, that's the. reason they. still exist and they still have. power. And so if Trump. becomes president, what does he do. about that? What does he do about. Andrew Weissman? I see him on television. I can hardly believe that guy has. any credibility. I mean, what Trump will do, Trump will do, but what I think. he'll do. I mean, you will remember in 2016,

one of the rallying. rally's key, you know, campaign slogans was. lock her up. Lock her up. When he got elected president, you. never heard that word once. No, you didn't. And that's because that's not who. he is. He's not a vengeful man. No, that's for sure. And if he can, he could use. A little bit of all that some time. But he's not. And. And he put contrary to what. Gears and Biden has said about him, he put the country first as. president. And he said that I got to work.

with the Democrats. If I try and lock her up, you know, I will destroy my ability. to to be an effective president. And even when they were impeaching. him, he was still working with the. Democrats on policy stuff. So what will. he do as president? The number 47, I think he'll do a lot like he did. number 45. He will focus on things, an agenda. that will make the country better, that make America great again, which.

is his, because he sees this is his. legacy term now, and. he doesn't want it to be filled. with the the kind of. anger and and. and volatility of the first term. with all the impeachments and things. like that. And so I think he. understands getting even. is not getting smarter. And I will be surprised if he does. anything but reach out across the. aisle and try and pass. the legislation that will make the. country better. What do you do about CIA.

and DOJ and. these institutions which have been. instruments of the Democratic. Party's political agenda? Yeah, I think he understands. government better than he did. 26 or 17. and. He knows the dangers that. the wrong people in office can be. can cause, not just at. the top level, but inside the system. as well. And so I think there will be Blue. Cross blue ribbon kind of. commissions, too.

You know, like Carter did with. Stansfield Turner at the CIA. when the CIA was going through all. the Iran-Contra stuff and things. like that. Every erection that Iran-Contra, but. the Watergate stuff where he. He had a commission put together. that cleaned up the CIA, neutered. the CIA. Something I thought was better at. the time. I realize was probably. good. Probably pretty good. Yes. Add and I think. that just the CIA, I think all of.

the departments and agencies where. you have bureaucrats. who have got their own agendas, not. the American people's agenda. I think they will all be tested. And that's really what he's talking. to Elon Musk about. I mean, government government. cutting government is getting rid. of not just the fat of government, but getting rid of the poison. of government. And and. some of them are not just policies, they're people and. or departments, I should say, in the. departments are defined by the. people.

And and I. think Trump is looking to reform. government, not that. reform in a getting. rid of anybody who doesn't agree. with them but reform government. to put people make the system work. the way the system is supposed to. work to protect the American people, not a political party or a political. structure. Are you confident that he's got the. right candidates for, say, State. Department, for CIA director. of DOD? Yeah.

Well, I mean, the I'm. not sure who he's planning to put in. in those positions. I don't know that he is yet. I think he knows what he needs. now versus what he needed last. time. And I think there are enough people. who have manifested themselves. as committed to his Make America. Great agenda, which is an agenda that. is pro-American, that. pro-Trump, that he'll be able to find the right. people to do that.

You don't seem worried that the. country's going to fall into some. sort of permanent conflict after. November. There'll be conflict. But I think you can't let yourself. be governed by the fear of conflict. versus the fear of doing something. right. And I. mean, I believe in I mean, you know, I hear all these things, but I know. trouble. I've known Trump since. 1981. Since 81. 1981. Where did you meet him? He was one of our first clients.

When I first started Black Manafort. and Stone in 1980. After Reagan was elected president. What did you do for him? Well, he he wanted to. be Roger Stone, one of my partners. in 92. He handled the Northeast. for Ronald Reagan in New. York. And in the course of running. that operation, he got to know. Trump. And Trump was always interested. in politics and. wanted to have sort of eyes. and ears in Washington. He liked Roger. And so he hired us to.

just be his political eyes. and ears in Washington. And he had things we did. But as a result, we got. Like, what? So there were legitimate. issues that we get involved in in. government. But but. you're just going to a slide right. over that. I'll be glad about that. But but. I've known I know him. I know what's in his heart. I've seen the way people who work. for him really respect.

him and appreciate him. I've seen him do things that. you never hear about. before. For people that. are, you know, the doorman at one. of his hotels or, you know, somebody who worked on one. of his construction sites or a. family of one of his families. that worked for him. He's got a big heart. He doesn't have he's not. motivated by vengeance or anger. is motive by getting things done. He doesn't start fights. He finishes them, doesn't know. Sometimes it stopped sooner.

But he he doesn't. live a life. that's directed at revenge. And he's not the person that the. media is trying to define him. I know he had it. So I think it. the greater good is what's going to. move him in his legacy to. What's the relevance of. cryptocurrency in this election, do. you think? Well, the crypto people. seem for Trump. Is that meaningful? The know what I do know. Trump feels like the crypto.

world is part of the future. of our of the economic structure. of the world. And he sees that. the Biden-Harris administration. is pushing it offshore. into the hands of China and. into the hands of of. the darker side of the of the. of the economy. And his attitude is the best way to. influence through proper growth is. to bring it onshore, to regulate. it properly and let it. become an American industry just.

like Bretton Woods did to. the dollar in the aftermath of World. War Two. And it's as simple as that. I mean. That seems like it's going to. happen, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. Well, you said that one of the. reasons people. are voting for Trump or one of the. issues on which he has the advantage. is his stewardship of the rest of. the world, of the American empire, which, you know, has been. in a very different place for the. last four years.

We have we're on the verge of global. conflict under the stewardship. of Biden-Harris. Not an overstatement if Trump's. elected. How is he going to. prevent World War Three from. happening? What does he do? Well, first of all, he knows. the world leaders. The world leaders. know him. Yep. And they respect. him as a strong leader, something that they don't feel about. Biden or Harris. And so they.

know they can negotiate with him. They can talk with him. But they also know there's a fine. point, that there's a real line. in the sand to use the Obama line, a red line, this analogy. And for example, in the Gulf, you know, with this mess in the. Gulf. Why did that happen? Why is that? Why is the Gulf in. the kind of tumult it's in right. now? Because there's. no the countries in the Gulf. don't trust the United States. That's true. I mean, that's the. bottom line.

And Trump understood who. the enemy of the. Gulf states were. As well as the enemy of the United. States. It was one country. It was Iraq. Biden is an apologist for Iran. Harris is a apologist for Iran. They buy into the John Kerry theory. of Iran and. the Saudi Arabia, the United. Arab Emirates, the Oman Omanis. None of them buy into.

Iran as a as a country. of the of a leader. in the Gulf. What Trump was doing with the. Abraham Accords was. meant to bring peace to the region. What he was doing with Iran from day. one was been meant to. defang Iran, impoverish. Iran as a political country, and allow the people the opportunity. to rise up against the. the fascist regime. that the mullahs are running their. And.

And it was working. I mean, the Abraham Accords, if. Trump had been reelected, Saudi. would have signed it. Jordan was, you know, signing it. Israel was bound to it. And they were and that was moving. towards a peaceful. resolution and isolation of. of Iran. When Biden became president. He immediately, you know, reinstituted as best he. could the nuclear deal with with. Iran, giving them even more. than they had and wanted, gave.

them billions of dollars that they. then used to fund terrorist. activities around the world and. against Israel. And he told more importantly, the other Gulf states. that they can't trust the United. States. So what is they? What did the embassies of this world. do? What did the. Emiratis do? They started reaching out to China. They started reaching out to Russia. Why? Because they needed protection. against an unreliable. United States.

And they didn't want to be. find themselves isolated. in some kind of axis of the world. against. That is that is literally true. I mean, the Emirates was attacked by. Iranian proxies and the U.S. was incredibly slow to. respond to protect them. These are small countries. That's correct. Right. And so. this is an area where Trump. immediately has credibility. as the right leader in the Gulf. with everybody but Iran. I mean, I happen to think that.

Iran is already measuring what. it's going to be like to be under. President Trump. And they're backing off certain. things right now. And they're right to do that because. Trump is going to come in and. reinstitute the Trump policies on. Iran. I mean, there were two. countries that were enemies of. the United States, in Trump's eyes, that needed to be impoverished. in order to then be brought into the. world community. Iran was one of those two. And the other was Russia.

And he. was with Iran. He could the bullies wouldn't talk. to them with Russia. Couldn't was smart enough to know. you talk to Trump and that's why. a dialog was existing that. could grow into some kind. of a. relationship. And for all of these. two people who accused Trump of. being soft on Putin, one, they. know that's not true. But two, it's part. of a philosophy at the State. Department and in the Davos.

world that if. you just ignore your enemy, it's going to get better. And Trump said, if you don't engage. your enemy or your adversary. or your competitor, whatever the. case might be, that. the that you're never going to get. better and that things will. find a way to get worse. And so that's why he would cross. over the DMZ to see Kim Jong. un, his own, without State. Department freaking out, that he.

decided, waking up that. morning that he wanted to do it. I was. With him. I saw that. Yeah. Yeah, that that. was a kind of acid trip. Yeah. And but he understood. Let Kim Jong Un look in my eyes. Let Putin look in my eyes. Let Xi Jinping look in my eyes. I mean, the message Xi said, the. thing that was the most impactful. message he sent to China during his. whole presidency was. when he was having the state. state dinner for Xi Jinping. And he was sitting right next to his. vision ping and he leaned.

over in the middle of the dinner, said, I just want you to know we. just killed Soleimani. If you look at the cameras. Xi Jinping's face. turned white. I mean, the leader, the President of. United States before any of the. people in that room who were part of. his government, U.S. government knew President. Trump was letting Xi know. This is how we treat our enemies. And the world. got the relationship between China.

and the US under Trump. Tense at times, but it worked. The relationship worked. They were dealing with issues. You know, they were solving. everything, but they were dealing. with them. And the same thing was going on with. Putin. Same thing was going on with. with Iran, although he wasn't. communicating with them directly, but indirectly. He was letting them know that we're. going to impoverish you and we are. going to do everything we can until. you become a reliable nation. of the world.

But more important than that, the. way he was treating Iran was giving. confidence to the allies. in the Gulf. That will be your friend. and will be there for you. What is what is you know, what are the UAE and. Saudi Arabia want in the future. to try to bring their countries into. the modern world? They're trying to expand that. petrodollars into improving. their economies. And then each. of them is doing a different, different way. But all is looking at. how do we protect ourselves against.

our number one enemy, which is Iran. And that's the U.S.. What do they want? They want an umbrella of peace. How do they get an umbrella of. peace? The Abraham Accord was part. of it. The Saudis would like to have. the kind of commitment from the. United States that we gave to Japan. after World War Two, where we said. that we would. You are under our. protection, and that. is that they have a military. force there not to be fighting wars.

there, but just to be under our. protection, because that sends. sufficient signal to the center. in the in Southeast Asia. and it'll send it in the Gulf to. Iran to not mess with. the Sunnis. How does he is he going to end the. war in Ukraine, which doesn't seem. to be helping anybody? I think so. I think. I think he understands. that you cannot have this. war continue. And I think he will sit.

down with all sides. He's got I mean, he's. done that, given you say anything. out of school. But he's going to make them all. understand it's in the world's best. interest and their best interests to. put this war behind. And he's there's some. tools that he can use to. make each side come. to the table and seriously. negotiate. But he will personally inject. himself into it. He won't. give it to a, you know, third party.

person to do it. He will make this on the front end. his responsibility. And I think he believes that. Without getting way too complicated. You know, all the parties at the. table, the Europeans, the. Russians, the Ukrainians. all have have reason. to want this thing to end. And there's pieces that can. forget the public rhetoric and the. public positions. There are there are things that can. happen that all sides can.

accept if. they know that it's going to be. pushed on them by somebody who. will enforce it. Biden is not that person. Blinken doesn't scare personally. when he sits down. In fact, they. would surprise he sits at the table. as opposed to this chair behind the. table. He's just not a leader. And it's so. that presence of of. the president hovering over. everything, injecting himself into. it. Plus his relationships with all.

of those people. I mean, you know, even Zelensky. was there when Trump was the. president the first time. We'll have a lot more impact. Right now, there's nobody running. the Ukraine peace process. Nobody. The Europeans don't have the. the proof. Vision or the will. to take a. ready position against Putin.

that will force Putin. to give in to Ukraine. And they don't have a strong enough. position against Putin that. will force Ukraine to give it to. But I mean, Europe, if you. look at Europe, does go to Europe. over the last almost three. years now since this war started in. February of 2022, Europe has declined. in every sense. I mean, it's just a poorer, more. chaotic place than it was three. years ago. I mean, this is crushing.

Europe. So I don't understand why there's no. European leader who can, particularly in Germany, but not. just and take. control and bring this to an end. because it's killing their. continent. Who's a European leader of his. stature? Affair. I mean, it's. all just a bit enmeshed. in their own self survival. inside their countries. I mean, Merkel had a sort of. more European oriented reputation, but Germany's not the one to lead.

Europe in a way that's a disaster. Yeah. And yeah, and. there's nobody else. There's no Thatcher. I mean, there is no there's no even. Berlusconi who could have, you know, pressed certain things. You know, Schulz is probably on his. way out in Germany. Machen is on his way out. You know, the Spanish are you know, they don't even know who's in office. these days. Right. You know, the Italians Belloni is. emerging. She's she's becoming one of the more.

forceful leaders in Europe. But she's doing it gradually. She has not emerged as a pan. European. No, she certainly hasn't. But but she's but she is emerging. because she's been willing to do. certain things. And the Eastern Europeans. are frozen out by the Western. Europeans. We have some of the. stronger leaders. So there is nobody. to solve the problem. The even though it's the European. Union, it's really the European. disunion, because all the countries.

have their own interests. And they they always they. use the bureaucracy of the EU. to enhance their interests. to the diminishment of the other. members of the European Union. But so none of them have the stature. to lead a united. front against. Putin or against Zelinsky, depending. on what your position is. Do you think that they sense that. their continent is dying? No, because they've created this. world and so they think it's the.

right world. Yeah. I mean, that's you go to. Davos and you sit around and you. realize these people live in a. bubble. Yeah. They have no idea. No, they have no idea. And but. But the bubble that is the bubble. they created. And it's like. you see on the left here in the. United States, they think, you know, transgender. is the future. They think that women. and men should be able to. participate in female sports. if they're transgender. Well, same thing in Europe with.

globalism. They think this. is the right way of just everybody. will do what we say, we say, then they'll be better off. And it is that that. Davos mentality. Yeah, well, they're a joke to the. rest of the world. And I guess. they're always the last ones to know. that they are. So you think Trump what would. peace terms look like in Ukraine? And I should say for those who don't. know, you spent, I don't know, at. least ten years. How long did you spend working. there? Ten years working in Ukraine. Almost one of the most powerful.

outside political figures in. Ukraine. In Ukraine, deeply. knowledgeable about it. You were in office there, not on the pro-Russia side, I should. say. But what given your knowledge. of that country and region, what would a settlement, realistic. settlement look like? Well, I mean, I think. they will a lot of the pieces. we don't necessarily be a part of. Ukraine. It's other things that. Russia might feel is important to. them in Russia or. in dealing with certain other parts. of the world or or.

some of their technology needs or. things like that. There are pieces to a game that. will interest Putin, that. can facilitate getting to Russia. sooner than later in a peace. process, negotiation. to the. Borders of Ukraine change, do you. Think? Well, it depends on how. you look at Crimea. Ukraine still accepts, we've says. Crimea belongs to Ukraine. Russia says no, Crimea is. now part of Russia. I think. Crimea probably stays where they.

currently are positioned right now. for sure. I don't see that happening. But Zelinski and the Ukrainians. say we got to have Ukraine back. That's you, Crimea. But that's just silly. I mean, they're not going to give up the. naval base, Right? I mean that. Yeah. I mean, you know, Putin. thinks one of the biggest mistakes. in the history of the Soviet Union. was when Khrushchev, who was from. Ukraine in. a moment of enthusiasm, gave Ukraine independence.

from Russia. As you know, the independence. in the Soviet Union was not really. independence. But it gave them the ability to be. considered a country on their. own, not a vassal state. of the Soviet Union. But never accepted that. And so when he became into power, one of the first things he wanted to. do was get Ukraine. back into Russia where. he thought it belonged. As you know, Kiev was the first. capital of Russia.

And to. in Crimea, which had an important. The military component. for for Russia where they had. their their bases and where. it was that access to the Black Sea, you know, that was. and was a very Russian. enclave. As opposed to Ukrainian. You know, that was the first place.

he struck when it when it when he. had the opportunity. under Obama. I had it. So I think that will be. I will be surprised if anything. changes on Crimea. That's too much of a swallow. without Russia losing the war. Yeah. And do you see that happening? I don't I don't see them winning the. war, but I don't see them losing the. war. I think that. yeah, there's their economic.

issues of, of rehabilitation. of the country reconstruction. because Eastern Ukraine has. destroyed. both the industry and the and the. whole infrastructure. I think Eastern Ukraine. will be. in some capacity still part of. Ukraine, whether they have. autonomous zones. But as a part of Ukraine versus. autonomous zones, as autonomous, truly autonomous, you know, that. will be part of the negotiation. Zelensky can't give up Eastern.

Ukraine, but. Zelinsky and the. the center. of Ukrainian universe. is Kiev and west, not. east of Kiev. And so the destruction. allows for some creativity. The structure of the east will allow. some creativity and the resolution. of how we define the geo. structuring of it. I don't think they don't think they. give it up, but. there may be some kind of.

Concessions that can be made that. will save face for Putin, save. territory for Ukraine, and. get money into reconstructing. that part of the world. But there's a there's a way there's. a play there. There is a way to. to get a cease fire and to. get the people talking. And everybody wants that. Just nobody has the leadership to do. it. Trump is the leader who can do. it. And there's the there's the Naito. factor too, which will be.

relevant to Putin. and some kind of. commitment that Ukraine, even. as part of the European Trade. Union Trade Association, would never it wouldn't be part of. Naito. I think that's something. that's on the table. We did a live tour last month. One of the funnest things we've ever. done. Coast to coast, 16 different. cities speaking. Well, next week, our grand. finale. Halloween, October. 31st, 2024, in Glendale,

Arizona. Our special guest that. night. Days before that presidential. election, Donald Trump. All proceeds donated to hurricane. relief. We're proud to do it. Hope to see you there. So for the years that you worked. in Ukraine, was. Ukraine joining NATO's something. that most Ukrainians wanted or. that Europe wanted? No, you.

naito is a political issue. Joining the European Union is. an economic issue. And what the Ukrainians cared. about was the economic issue. Yes, they wanted their. independence, but. there wasn't they weren't fearful of. Russia invading before. at that point. And the Russians didn't want. Naito on the border. of Ukraine. Well, yeah. And so why did the Biden. administration. So if Ukrainians.

weren't begging to be in Naito and. Naito didn't want Ukraine in Naito, which I think is all true, correct. me if I'm. Wrong, you're correct. Then why was the. Biden administration, Kamala Harris. specifically calling in public. for Ukraine to join Naito? What would be the point of that? Because they're idiots. Yeah. I mean, I can't justify. a policy that the Europeans didn't. want, the Ukrainians didn't want and. the Russians didn't want, and the. U.S. was for. Okay. So then maybe if Putin. says and says. out loud and certainly suggested.

again and again, if Ukraine. joins NATO's, I will move militarily. against Ukraine. Everyone knew that. Even I knew that. living a long way from Ukraine. And the Biden administration says. no, we want Ukraine and Naito and. says that to Zelensky. in public in early February. 2022. Maybe they wanted Russia. to invade Ukraine. Or maybe they're just stupid. because there was no.

I mean, that was the red line. Yeah. And there was. And nobody wanted it. except for Biden, you know, this macho approach to things and. and a truly a lack. of understanding. It's not like I'm telling you. anything that was a secret. This was all publicly known. Yeah. I mean. And and and universally. known in Ukraine. Right. Right. And id. very few people would have ever. suggested that. And that's what caused,

well, the Afghanistan. debacle. Right. Coupled with the threat. of Naito in Ukraine. and the lack of respect that Putin. had for anybody, a part of the the. foreign policy apparatus of Biden. that were part of the Obama. government was all that. was necessary to like this, like. this spark. that create the fire. And there was no reason. for it. It was an unforced. error of incredible consequence.

Well, yeah. How many people do you. think have died in Ukraine? All in. I'm told. over 100,000. Ukrainians and. over 300,000 Russians. I don't know that, but I'm told. that. So you were there. You were working in Ukraine in 2014. when Maidan happened. We were told by our media that that. was just a popular uprising against. a Russian aligned government. It was totally organic. Now it looks like it was a coup.

orchestrated by the CIA. What was it And did you. know what it was at the time? It was not organic, okay. It was not organic. So it would be option B Then. There was it was. there were forces that. saw an opportunity to. unseat in a democratically elected. President Yanukovych, who acted in ways that were. anti-democratic.

And. where was the Obama administration? What side were they on? They were supporting what was helped. the the revolt that. was going on in Ukraine. Yeah. Okay. So so the US State Department. was on the side of extinguishing. democracy, overthrowing a. democratically elected leader? Effectively, yes. Yeah. Where did you run into. Victoria Nuland. What was your as she was, I. think, living there part time.

overseeing all this. She was spending a lot of time there. during that timeframe. Yes. Yeah. What was your impression of. her? That she should have been back in. Washington? You're very diplomatic. So I think the overwhelming. evidence points to her. role in a coup against. a democratically elected president. of that country, a cover she worked. for. And then she comes back to DC and. gets an even better job in the Biden. administration. And then she's now.

retired, making a ton of money. Yeah. You, by contrast, went to prison. for I can't even remember why. And some fake reason that. doesn't bother you at all. Well. That seems very unfair. Well, it is unfair. Yeah. I mean, and. And not necessarily. She gets rewarded and I get. punished. But we shouldn't be meddling. in situations that are. constitutional republic that are. democratic republics, countries. that we don't like the outcome.

of an election. And and. look Yanukovich. Proved himself, in my judgment, during the term of his presidency. to be committed to Europe. There were issues he was dealing. with there. If they had been supported. by Brussels to. help ease Ukraine's. entrance into the European. Trade Association Agreement, that we wouldn't have the mess we. have today in Ukraine.

If we had respected the will of the. people and the will. of the government elected by the. people and worked with that. government to bring them into. Ukraine as opposed to punish them. for being the wrong guy to win the. election, then. there wouldn't have been the. environment that Putin took. advantage of. The cost of Crimea and of course, the destruction in eastern Ukraine. and the billions of dollars. that we've spent, you know, in support of the war.

that could have been spent for much. better purposes. How hard is it for you to sit and. listen to these exact same people, the ones who overthrew a. democratically elected government in. a foreign country with a coup, using. the CIA and Georgian snipers? Those people. telling you that Donald Trump is a, quote, threat to democracy. That must be kind of hard to watch. that. Well, it's why I got back in the. saddle this election to elected. president, because. we can't let those people win the. elections. That's a that's how I. believe. You fight.

You fight in elections. Ed, Ed. and I believe if you. look, I'm a man of faith. I believe that this divine hand. and a lot of stuff and sometimes. we may not understand. where it's leading us. But if you think you know. what's right, then you follow the. course that's consistent with that. And Ukraine, the mess that you that was created. in Ukraine in 2014, we're still paying the price for it.

today. And the the solution is not. to have the same people who caused. the problem stay in power. to manage the. issue, but to change it. And by happenstance, there was an interim period between. 2016 and 2020. when there was a U.S. president who was strong. enough to keep peace in that region, even though there was a screw up in. 2014 in the Ukraine that. was supported by the West of. change in power.

And the opportunity now exists. to bring that person back. and their focus back and finish. cleaning up the mess they. had. And that's what keeps me. going. But what Gloria, what Victoria Nuland's reward. was for creating the mess. but just helping to fix the mess and. cleaned it up for good. It's just the unfairness level is. at. An. All time highs. And unfairness as we all know. is not the way to drive your life. No, that's true.

Did you ever run into Hunter Biden. in Ukraine? I never did. I heard I heard footsteps around, but I never did. What was he doing there? Did you know at the time? Well. Joe Biden was the. link between the Obama. administration and the Yanukovich. administration. And and. he Joe Biden was showing lots. of interest in Ukraine. And. And. I actually negotiated with.

it with his people. The the day. the removal of all nuclear. fission materials in Ukraine. as part of the world conference that. was trying to collect all the. precious fission materials from. from the former Soviet. republics. And. but there was always more interest. In Ukraine for some of his people, which I attributed to. Hunter, although I didn't know it.

was actually Hunter. But some of the people whose. partners based. in doing business in Ukraine. and I didn't do any. business in Ukraine other than. politics, I specifically. didn't because Ukraine. is it's it's a corrupt. country, not one side. or the other. It's a corrupt. country. There's a Soviet mentality. It's getting better, but. it's still it's not good. And so I felt that if I. wanted to have the influence to help.

bring Ukraine into the into. the West, if I wanted to do the kind. of policy things that I that got. me involved in Ukraine in the first. place that I shouldn't do business. even though I could have done. business. I was about to say, it must have. been tempting. You must have two. energy deals coming across your. Imagine the kinds of deals and and. big money, fast money. And I said no to all of that. And because. I knew that would undercut me. And the reason that they had trouble. when they went after when Weissman.

and Mueller went after me, finding. something to stick me with is. because they kicked over every rock. they could in Ukraine and they. didn't find one single thing. And. And so I thought it was untoward. that Hunter's firm. was openly soliciting. business. And I was being asked, should we do. this? You would do that. But my point that Hunter himself, I. was was more some of his associates. that I that I was certain of. And I told the coach ministration I. said, look, if it makes sense to use.

them. They're part of a group. that is the Democratic side. I'm the Republican side. It'll help your country to. have relationships on both sides. But I didn't know what they were. doing. I didn't know about the. Burisma thing at the time. I didn't know some of the other. activities they were trying to. undertake. But I mean, it seems. by definition like influence. peddling, right. What they were doing. Well.

They had the power. They were the government, the United. States. And. it's one thing to do business. It's another thing if you if you're. related to the people with power. to be doing business the way they. were doing. Yeah. And the Ukrainians, again, because of the corruption. streak in the Ukraine, were. first to realize the opportunity. Toria Nuland announced in a hearing. in a Senate hearing in response to a.

question from Marco Rubio a few. years ago that we had a bunch. of bio labs, quote, bio. labs in Ukraine, apparently been our while. Did you ever hear anything about. that or know what those were? No, I didn't know anything about. that. When you were there, when you were. working for Kovic, how vigorous. was U.S. government activity in. Ukraine like until agencies. military cooperation? Well, we expanded military. cooperation. We expanded intelligence operations.

They had the U.S. was given a listening post. to parts of Ukraine that they were. never given under any previous. government. The cooperation level was very high. The moving of allowing. US businesses to. invest easily into Ukraine. was it was wide open. They were doing your call, which had. given the word, we want. to make the United States a. strong partner. So why did the U.S. overthrow him and threaten his life?

Because of two things. Number one, he was. the candidate of Kuchma. and the establishment in 2004. when you Schenkel won the election. or purportedly won the election. And then in 2011, after he was elected president, he did something which I. vigorously told him he shouldn't do. Which was he arrested. his opponent, political opponent.

Yulia Tymoshenko, for. corruption when she was prime. minister. That even Yushchenko. acknowledged was corruption and. thought that the indictment was. appropriate of. Tymoshenko. Well, Tymoshenko was part of the. Allbright, Merkel, Clinton, you know, click. And they. Because she was female. Well, that was one way to define. them. And and they. Took great umbrage to.

Yanukovich doing that, even though. he made his case. You know, you know, very factually. Wait, so. So he made Hillary Clinton. mad and that's why. he got overthrown. Yeah, Effectively. Well, yes. Defectively. Because if he had not. done that. If he had not indicted Tymoshenko, I think which. would have been the right thing not. to do, we shouldn't have done it. Not from a legal standpoint,

but from a geopolitical standpoint. And given the history of Yanukovych, it was better, as Trump did with. Hillary Clinton, to not lock. her up. Yanukovych should have just moved on. and not locked up Tymoshenko. How many foreign leaders did Hillary. Clinton kill or overthrow because. they annoyed her? I don't know. I've never tallied that up. But you really think that that that. was the key mistake he made? That's what turned the West against. him in the West machine.

Go ahead, man. And not friends with Hillary. Would it have been different? Different outcome? Probably. Probably. That's scary what you're. describing. But. So she's part of a girl's club, so. she can't be arrested for. corruption. Well, but I. mean, it wasn't defined that way. But in fact, the point is, ironically, Tymoshenko was. the Russian candidate for president. against Yanukovich, which is what was the cause of the. corruption.

Right. And. and yet the West blamed. Yanukovych and accused. him of being the Russian candidate. So, I mean, I'm sure Putin. was laughing in the Kremlin. at the Machiavellian way. He was manipulating the West in. this little game. But that was. the critical mistake Yanukovich made. as president. That affected. a series of events that. we are still dealing with today in.

Ukraine. It sounds like the US government. was just so way up into. the internal affairs of this country. like it. This country had no. sovereignty. It doesn't still or well, of course will now. Are you worried that this. war, if it continues, could lead to. a global conflict or nuclear. war? No way. Because I think it's going to be. resolved. I don't think anybody. over there wants a global. nuclear war. Putin, Putin.

I mean, Putin right now. is living a good life. I mean, in the sense that his. economy is stronger than it's ever. been. Paul Manafort. We destroyed the. Russian economy with sanctions. Right. You've read that. We totally destroyed. Well, Trump did. put the pressure on and Biden. undid it all. And I mean, when Trump came. in, became president, he shut down. Nord Stream two, which was the. pipeline that was going to be the. solution for Germany to become. partners with the energy sector. in Russia.

And and he put sanctions. on and. some sanctions. on Putin for things that he was. doing that were causing problems. And as a result, Putin. backed off of everything and. was a. An active player but not an. aggressive player. You know, it was a nationalist. leader of Russia. It was when Trump. left office that Putin.

became the aggressive leader he was. under Obama. That led him to take in Crimea under. Obama and with the same cast. of players now in charge of. U.N. force files U.S. foreign policy under Biden-Harris. He saw the opportunity to finish the. job. And that's where and when. Afghanistan happened. And Naito became the. crazy thing that Biden. said was the best. goal for the U.S. policy for Ukraine.

That was all he needed. Those two things, the Afghanistan. debacle and. in the veto threat to justify. going back, going in to finish the. job was. policy blunder after policy blunder. with no forethought. of what it might mean. I mean, even the Poles. were not pressing for Ukraine. to be NATO at that time. And they're the front line after. after Ukraine, you know, dealing. with Russia.

It's so Biden. his administration was filled with. unforced errors in foreign policy. You know, Tony Blinken, how would. you describe him? Weak. He's a staff guy. Tony Blinken is a staff guy who. in the old, you know, organization. book, The Peter Principle by Dr. Peter, you rise up to your level of. incompetence. Well, he's risen to beyond this. level of incompetence, as has Jake. Sullivan and some of the other. people. They seem like midgets. They seem like midgets. Their staff.

Their staff who now have. policymaking. They have no creativity, no. strategic thinking. And and so. you get a lot of inconsistent things. based on what people across the. desk. And then when you have. somebody like Biden who. was not in his best health. in his during his years as president. and who when he wasn't as bad. Bethell going to people like Robert. Gates never made a foreign policy. decision. That was right. It compounded the dangers. that the Blinken's of the world.

could do. And we're seeing that the world. is a mess because of it. It certainly is. Second to last question, do you. you hear people say that. kicking Russia at a swift, the. sanctions all accelerated the demise. of the U.S. dollar. Do you think that's. imminent? No. Why? I mean, first of all. There's no competition to the US. dollar. The R and B is less than 1% of. foreign trade.

You know, they're the biggest. economy in the world. Yeah. Russia is the economy. is is not at all an. impactful it's a third world. economy. The euro as a as. a European currency. has value. But there are too many leaders. of the European Union to ever. have a consistent foreign policy, economic policy. So there's really no competition. Look where BRICs has been. China's been trying to do with the. BRICs organization in trying. to get a some.

kind of digital currency that could. be a replacement. for the dollar in foreign exchange. and foreign trade. It's failing miserably. because at the end of the day, nobody wants to hold. the weak currencies in their. treasury as part of the foreign. trade system. So it's never going to work. And it's so. and this is what Trump is very smart. on. He Trump saying, okay, crypto world, this is this is the. future economic policy.

potentially of the world. Well, we need to have the Fort Knox. of Bitcoin sitting in the. United States, not in Beijing. You know, and so what happens when. Trump makes that statement on the. campaign trail where he says he's. going to have a crypto. foreign reserve, you. know, in the in the United States. Biden immediately sells off 20%. of its bitcoin of the US Bitcoin. that it's holding. And guess who buys it? China.

It's hope for China in a. bit. Biden, in an attempt to. distinguish himself from Trump's. four new economic policy. for the US, makes. China stronger in the process. That's the kind of mentality that we. deal with, you know, in this administration. But Trump understands that. having crypto regulated, having having a reserve currency. here, you know, will make it. become a US based.

economic. structure. And therefore, like the dollar could. become part of the economic. power of the U.S. worldwide. So again, Trump is seen. around the corner ahead of people's. vision and is not seeing, you know, the blockchain, the. blockchain is the most transparent. thing you could have. You know, so if you're worrying. about money laundering and things. like that, there's so many. ways to, you know, uncover money. laundering in the crypto world.

It's got to be regulated so things. are set up the right way. Trump She said he doesn't know what. the right ways are, but he knows. He knows Conceptually, making. the potential future economic. means of the world transactions. in non-U.S. structure is probably not good. No, probably not good. Probably the end of something big. Okay. My final question. You've run all these campaigns. your whole life.

In the final week, what are the markers, the measurements that the rest of us. can look at to determine who's. going to win? Publicly available information? Well, the problem is publicly. available. Information may not be. publicly correct. It's by design. So is that true? Okay. So let me just ask that. To what extent are. public polls manipulated. to sway public opinion? Well, it's not just public polls be. manipulated. It's how they're. interpreted. Because what happens is.

people don't know how to report. People know how to read two things. Who's the first place and who's in. second place? So the ballot, who's winning? That's all they know how to do. And when you have a race that is. arguably close. and you have one side. who may be losing, having all. of the means to communicate a. different message, it's. hard for American people who don't. pay attention beyond what. they see it morning or night at news. of what it means.

I have no doubt in my mind. that the media, until Election. Day, will say that Harris. is going to win or is. leading or can win is. going to win. I think what will be signs. of what's happening? Why would they say that, do you. think? Because by. defining things, they're hoping to. make it correct. Yeah. And the effects turn up. It affects, you know, for example, effects motivations.

Right now, the public data. shows Trump winning all seven. battleground states. That's that's an improvement. over the last two weeks. Everybody recognizes that the. movement is towards Trump. You've got the media saying. because they need it. Look, that. Harris's new campaign strategy. of saying that Trump is unhinged, unstable and unsafe. is going to change the the. trajectory. And the undecided voters are going. to break for Trump.

Well, why would they? Why would that happen? There's nothing to say why it would. happen. The media scene's going to. happen because Harris is saying. there is no evidence that indicates. that that message is working. with undecideds. If you look at the data, because they're saying what's. important to them is their life has. gotten worse. They're not better off than four. years ago. They think Trump is better on. economic policy for them personally. They think Trump is better for them. safety wise. They think Trump is better for them.

to secure. the border. And they're saying these are the. most important issues, but we're. going to vote against Trump because. he's unsafe. and unhinged. That's a campaign message. That's not a direction that things. are going. The media provides. the campaign message for Harris now. So that's why I mean, what I mean. when I say it's going to be hard. to interpret unless the public. polling starts. to grow.

The meaning of the 2% starts. to be three and 4% for Trump. and in states and the 4%. has become 5 or 6. Now, interestingly, you didn't see any national polls. this weekend. Why? I don't know. Well, maybe because. the last two weeks, the national. polls in Staples. were all showing movement to Trump. And so therefore, would they take a week off and then. things start to change again.

Now, if you're in the polling. business, now is a weird time to. take off. I mean, there. Was not one the. Super Bowl. I mean I mean, I think there'll be. some polls that they're going to do. polling this week. And then if things are opening up. for Trump the way I think they. will start to show. they'll have to start tempering. their statements a little bit. But you're not going to be. able to tell. If it's the. race is close enough that there's.

not going to be like with Reagan and. Carter, there's going to be. something out there that says it's. over. We got 1984, not 1980. What it would do in Reagan, 149. states. So I think what you watch for. is incremental changes in the. ballot. But it'll be hard because. everybody's methodology is. different. So you'll have, you know, a race which drops down. one point and replace up three. points in the same place in a. different poll. So you're going to be confused.

Are there any polls that you think. are consistently more accurate than. others are? But they're not public. I think. Most likely. What's going to be important going. into the last week is. the. The rhetoric of Harris. If if there's no discussion. of economic issues, then she. knows she's lost because. that's going to be the deciding vote.

of the last week. But I think just watching. the trend of some of the public. polls give you some sense of things. Paul Manafort. I sure appreciate your taking all. his time. Thank you.