With less than a month to go before the presidential election, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, is among the growing list of Republicans backing the Biden-Harris ticket.
‘[Joe Biden] is the only one who’s prepared to actually reach his hand across the aisle, sit down, listen to people who don’t agree with him, and work together to solve problems,” Fiorina told Cheddar’s Closing Bell. “That’s what our nation needs now.”
Fiorina first announced her support for Joe Biden in June. She told Cheddar it was the end of 2019 when she realized she could not support President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. “As a businessperson, I judge someone on the results they produce, their leadership, and their behavior,” Fiorina said. “I think he has honestly failed most leadership tests that have come his way.”
When it comes to the 2020 election, Fiorina says it’s more than just various issues at stake; she called it a matter of the nation’s unity. “This country has got to come back together otherwise we cannot move forward.”
Unsurprisingly, Fiorina said she doesn’t agree with everything on the Democratic platform. She also admitted she doesn’t agree with some policies “the Trump Republican Party” has pushed. Specifically, Fiorina pointed to the administration’s handling of immigration and what she described as the growing consolidation of power in the executive branch. As a businessperson, she also pointed to the country’s growing debt and deficit and Trump’s foreign policy record.
When it comes to foreign policy, relations with China are top of Fiorina’s mind. It’s one point she agrees with the president on. “I think it was right for Donald Trump to say we are going to have to challenge China.” But she did have criticisms for the way the Trump administration went about negotiating with the superpower. “If we're going to be successful in challenging China, we need to be consistent, persistent, and strategic,” Fiorina said. “Donald Trump has been extremely inconsistent.”
Fiorina highlighted China’s increased aggression in the South China Sea, its actions against Taiwan, and continued theft of U.S. intellectual property. She said the only way forward is for the government and businesses to find a way to work together. “Which we’re not doing right now,” she added.
As a former tech CEO, Fiorina knows about the power the tech industry has in the marketplace and with consumers — and the response Washington has to that kind of largely-unregulated power. She stated that the pandemic’s acceleration of trends around the tech sector's influence is concerning lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. “Big tech is not going to have an open field going forward, in my view, no matter who wins the White House.”
As the standoff between the U.S. and its allies continues with Russia over its possible designs to invade Ukraine, President Biden held a video conference call with European leadership and had 8,500 American troops put on high alert. Jamil Jaffer, a former associate White House counsel for the Bush Administration, joined Cheddar to discuss his views on the escalating crisis in Eastern Europe.
As controversy dogs the run-up to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, China is hiring TikTokers and other social media influencers to promote the nation's history, culture, diplomatic efforts, and current trends.
The Supreme Court has rejected another request to block Texas' strict abortion law. This marks the third time the high court has declined to intervene in challenges to the law that bans abortions after six weeks, well before many women even know they're pregnant. Aziza Ahmed, professor of law at the University of California, Irvine, joined Cheddar News to discuss the impact of the law so far on women seeking abortion services in Texas.
Mayors in cities like Miami and New York City are considering introducing cryptocurrencies as a way to reduce economic inequality. Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez has even pushed for distributing Bitcoin dividends to the city's inhabitants.
The U.S. will be implementing a vaccine mandate for all people entering through its land borders, removing exemptions for "essential" travelers such as truckers, students, and business people. While the Canadian Trucking Alliance argues that the new, stricter rule might exacerbate ongoing auto supply chain issues, some health experts see the potential for helping curb the ongoing pandemic. Anthony Santella, a professor of health administration at the University of New Haven, joined Cheddar to give his take on the updated border crossing restriction. "We can't just focus on one type of travel. We need to ensure that it's clear and consistent across all types of travel," Santella said.
Will Rhind, CEO of GraniteShares, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says he believes the Fed's plans of increasing rates is taking its toll on some of the more speculative stocks and the technology market.
Mona Zhang, states cannabis policy reporter at POLITICO Pro joins Cheddar News to discuss major factors that caused Canada's retail marijuana sales to drop last year.
The January 6 committee has asked Ivanka Trump to give voluntary testimony, saying there's evidence she was in "direct contact" with her father on the day of the capitol insurrection. I's unclear whether she will comply with the invitation, but it marks the first time the House committee has sought testimony from a member of the former president's family. Bradley Moss, national security attorney, joined Cheddar News to discuss what the committee hopes to learn from Ivanka and what the Supreme Court's decision on Trump's Jan. 6 materials means for the investigation.
