With just days left in the 2020 presidential election season, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci is doubling down on a Joe Biden win next Tuesday.
Scaramucci told Cheddar that "weapons-grade-style" propaganda and a focus on culture war issues, rather than his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, are the only reasons President Donald Trump has held onto his supporters.
"He's made us weaker, sicker, and poorer, but he's got a standing because of the way they've set this up as a culture war narrative," he said. "That's why he's still in the race. I mean, he's going to get annihilated, but he's still in the race."
Scaramucci also blamed Trump's own coronavirus diagnosis, and the erratic tweeting during his recovery, as one reason the administration was unable to push another stimulus package through Congress. He alleged that inconsistent messaging from the president gave House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an opening to delay the vote until after the election.
"He could have probably gotten one, but I think it was the unpredictability of his personality that led to where we are right now," he said of a fourth stimulus bill.
On the current polling, Scaramucci pointed out that results have been fairly consistent over the last year, as opposed to the "roller coaster movement" of the 2016 election season.
"If anything, they may tip more into [Biden's] favor because of what's going on with COVID-19 now," he said.
In the case of a loss for Trump, Scaramucci offered this insight on his former employer:
"I think he's going to surprise people because, listen, all that is bluster and overcompensation born from his personal insecurities," he said. "I think if he gets annihilated — I predict he will — he'll give a concession speech, and then he's got to figure out how to work with Vice President Biden."
The prospect of Trump denying the election results is "smoke and mirrors," he added.
A planned summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump is in jeopardy. In a statement this morning, North Korea's foreign minister said the country has no interest in a "one-sided discussion" on its nuclear program. On Tuesday, North Korea also canceled planned talks with South Korea.
Starting today, Amazon Prime members will receive exclusive discounts at Whole Foods. Customers will now get 10% off hundreds of sale items in stores and will also get access to rotating weekly specials. The perks are only available in Florida as of today but will be rolled out nationwide starting this summer.
Chris Carter and James Peisker, co-founders of Porter Road, join us to talk about their expansion into the digital landscape. Porter Road is a whole animal butcher shop based in Nashville, but the founders recently decided to take their business online.
Mayor Karen Weaver is exploring legal action against the state of Michigan for its decision to stop providing the city with free bottled water three years after unhealthy amounts of lead were discovered in Flint's water supplies. "When you had the biggest hand in poisoning a city and making this crisis happen, you ought to have some moral, some ethical responsibility to seeing us through this crisis," said Weaver.
The Seattle City Council passed a new law that will require companies making more than $20 million a year to pay a 'head tax.' Amazon and other Seattle-based companies will pay a tax of 14 cents per employee per hour worked, which comes out to roughly $275 per employee each year. The tax will raise money for affordable housing since home prices have risen recently in Seattle. In response, Amazon's vice president said this move "forces us to question our growth here." A Starbucks exec criticized the city for spending "without reforming and fail[ing] without accountability."
A number of top Tesla executives have left the company in the past few months. Aaron Cole, managing editor at Motor Authority, joins us to discuss whether investors should be worried that this 'drain brain' will have negative consequences for the electric carmaker. The company is ramping up production to meet its ambitious Model 3 targets.
Cheddar's Brad Smith speaks with Joe Gibbs, Pro Football Hall of Famer and owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, at a special event outside the New York Stock Exchange celebrating Stanley Black & Decker's 175th anniversary. Gibbs talks about how NASCAR is focusing on expanding its digital outreach to reach a younger audience. He also weighs in on the Supreme Court's decision to reverse a ban on sports gambling.
The Supreme Court decision to effectively lift the ban on sports betting in most of the U.S. will create a vast, competitive market for online bookmakers, says Jason Robins, the CEO and co-founder of the fantasy sports site DraftKings. He has positioned his company to quickly take advantage of the opportunity to get into the legal sports gambling business.
The tax overhaul and President Trump's tough stance on the world stage has left the Republican party in a strong position to hold on to its majority through the midterm elections in November, says the former press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence.
The Daily Show host says the dinner is "weird" because it creates an environment where "the press, and the people the press are reporting on, are all chummy-chummy." But he'll step up and take the mic...if President Trump personally asked him to host the annual dinner.
Richard Painter, a former ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, is running for U.S. Senate in Minnesota as a Democrat because he says the Republican party has been hijacked by President Trump and his supporters. "No one is allowed to run for elected office at the federal level who does not really swear allegiance to Donald Trump," Painter says.
The coffee chain announced anyone who walks into a store can use the bathrooms, even if they didn't make a purchase. This is "the absolute right thing" to do, says communication and reputation strategist Deirdre Latour. Starbucks came under fire last month after arresting two black men accused of "loitering" at one of its stores.
The president laid out a plan that promised to bring down the costs of drugs. But it could amount to just minimal changes that don't end up pressuring drug makers enough to bring down prices, says Adriel Bettelheim, health care editor at Politico.
The state became the first in the U.S. to require almost all new homes to have solar panels, part of an effort to get half the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
