California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg are the most formidable of the two dozen Democratic presidential candidates, according to Anthony Scaramucci.
Harris is a “very gifted person ... she has a very good track record to run on,” Scaramucci told Cheddar on Tuesday, noting the she has the ability to rebuild the coalition of voters that elected President Obama.
Better known as the Mooch, Scaramucci also praised Buttigieg’s calculated approach to politics and his sober responses to attacks from President Trump.
Buttigieg has “never once taken President Trump’s bait,” Scaramucci said. “The more successful way to counteract some of the president’s media onslaught and his deft skills at criticizing people is not necessarily go in the mud with him.”
He said that a presidential ticket with Harris and Buttigieg — or Buttigieg and Harris — was a winning strategy. “I’m not a democratic strategist but I would go in that direction,” he said.
Scaramucci is a prominent New York investment banker and the founder of Skybridge Capital. He also served a brief stint as White House Communications Director in 2017, which gave him what he called an “11-day PhD” on Washington culture. His tenure was cut extremely short after he gave an interview to The New Yorker in which he criticized other members of the administration with expletives and derogatory language.
Scaramucci added that Democrats do better in elections with younger nominees — a reality that does not bode well for former Vice President Joe Biden despite his strong polling numbers.
“If they go with Joe Biden … the president will be able to run against his 50 years of sedimentary record inside the Washington establishment,” he said.
Scaramucci also lauded Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s fundraising capabilities and impressive staffing in key states, but predicted that she would lose in a general election against Trump.
“She just has the wrong ideas and the wrong policy solutions for where the American people are right now,” he said.
Cheddar Politics takes a deeper look at the takeaways from the Georgia primary elections on Tuesday. Georgia Public Broadcasting's local and state politics reporter, Stephen Fowler, joins us to discuss the limits of Trump endorsements and break down what the outcome in each race means.
After learning that the suspect in the Uvalde school shooting posted about his intentions on Facebook, activists are urging social networks to make changes. Lena Derhally, a licensed psychotherapist and author of "The Facebook Narcissist," joined Cheddar News to discuss the role social media plays in school shootings. "They're not really invested in taking down hateful content," she said about social platforms."In regards to the shooting, it was 15 minutes before that actual threat. It would be pretty hard for a social media company to trace that threat that quickly. But what they can do better is take down threats and hateful content much faster and more than they're doing now."
Following the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead, the debate over gun control has been reignited. While studies have shows most Americans agree on some additional regulations, there hasn't been much legislative traction even as gun violence worsens in the country. Brian Lemek, the executive director of Defend The Vote and the former executive director at Brady PAC for gun control, joined Cheddar to discuss reform efforts. "The lawmakers that we have aren't passing these at the federal level," he said. "That's the problem. We have the wrong people in charge."
The crypto industry is still reeling from Terra's recent crash. The company's blockchain was temporarily halted earlier this month after the collapse of its cryptocurrency Luna (LUNA) and its stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), which led to almost $45 billion being wiped from the tokens' market caps within a week. Now, many are left wondering what Terra's struggles mean for the broader crypto market. Reeve Collins, CEO of the NFT platform BLOCKv, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell from Davos 2022 to discuss.
The average city in California has a 38% higher cost of living than the average American city, according to a cost of living index. For many, the general minimum wage of $15/hour just doesn't cut it. Anti-poverty activist Joe Sanberg wants to get the minimum wage changed to $18/hour. He joins Cheddar News to discuss the Living Wage Act of 2022.
