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.
Stock trading app Robinhood already has been offering cryptocurrency investments but seems further excited about the asset class following President Biden's recent announcement of an executive order. Dan Gallagher, the chief legal and corporate affairs officer for Robinhood, joined Cheddar News to talk about the White House's tentative vision for digital currency. "I think this executive order firmly states that, yes, crypto is here to stay, which it talks about the important competitive issues around crypto and how the United States needs to be a leader, a global leader, in innovation and technology regarding crypto," he said. Gallagher also discussed having clarity around meme stocks going forward but worried about overregulation slowing down innovation.
As Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the latest inflation report showed the consumer price index rose 7.9 percent — a 40-year high. Heather Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, joined Cheddar News to discuss what American consumers might be in store for as prices keep rising. "Forecasters at this point believe that the American economy will be resilient," she said. "They’re still predicting that the unemployment rate will continue to be lower at the end of the year than it is today, and we are still seeing folks believe that over time prices will come back down." Boushey did note that it would be dependent on how long the current situation lasts.
Simon Shuster, TIME's Moscow correspondent joins Cheddar to discuss how Ukraine could become part of the EU and what it would mean for politics in Europe.
President Biden has banned imports of Russian oil to the U.S. in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The president warned of higher prices at the gas pump, leading some analysts to think it could propel the transition to clean, renewable energy. Michael Jones, chairman and CEO of investment solutions company Caravel Concepts, discussed how the ban is hitting green energy stocks as gas prices continue to surge. "I think the 10-year prospects for renewables just got a whole lot better because ultimately this is going to force a transition into renewables," he said.
Amid ongoing tensions in the Russia-Ukraine region, many American travelers are nervous about traveling to Europe.
It comes at a time when international travel was set to make a comeback, but uncertainty surrounding the conflict may delay the overall recovery. Francesca Page, Travel Expert, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is coming for the global food supply. Ongoing tensions in the region are threatening the supply of various agricultural products including wheat, barley and corn. Vladik Rikhter, CEO & Cofounder of Zenput joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss how this could impact food prices overseas.
Chris Natividad, CIO of EquBot, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on what ultimately dragged the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq lower on Tuesday and discusses how investors are reacting to rising oil prices and February CPI data coming out later this week.
Adam Johnson, Portfolio Manager at Adviser Investments, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why he believes we saw markets jump during Wednesday's session, and adds that investors have already priced in 'every possible kind of bad news we could have.'
Jennifer Klein, the White House Gender Policy Council's co-chair and executive director, spoke to Cheddar News about the economic impact of the pandemic showing the need for a group like the Gender Policy Council, and the need to address issues that have affected women the most,
