Vice President Kamala Harris concedes election | The Excerpt
On Thursday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Vice President Kamala Harris has conceded. Plus, Paste BN Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page takes a look at what's next. How did President-elect Donald Trump win? Paste BN Personal Finance Reporter Daniel de Visé explains how business leaders could influence the next Trump presidency. Stocks rallied to record highs Wednesday. The Justice Department is weighing how to drop charges against Donald Trump.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Thursday, November 7th, 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, Harris has conceded as we take an early look at the next Trump White House and who are some of the billionaires and business leaders who could influence the next four years?
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Vice President Kamala Harris officially called President-elect Donald Trump yesterday to congratulate him on his historic win. Not since the late 1800s has a candidate succeeded in returning to the White House after initially losing a second term. Later in the day, Harris delivered her concession speech in front of a crowd at Howard University, her alma mater, where just half a day earlier she had hoped to declare victory.
Kamala Harris:
The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But hear me when I say ... Hear me when I, the light of America's promise will always burn bright.
Taylor Wilson:
So, what's next? I caught up with Paste BN, Washington Bureau chief Susan Page, to take an early look at the next Trump White House, what the future holds for Democrats and more. Susan, election day is in the rear-view mirror. Thanks for hopping on.
Susan Page:
Yeah, you bet. Great to be with you. What a night.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah, what a night, Susan. And it really does beg the question of what's next? That's the crux of this piece that you wrote. Let's start by getting into what another Trump White House might look like. What are some of the expectations for his first moves in office early next year?
Susan Page:
The first test is considering what a strong position he's going to be in. He's won the White House. He's won not just the Electoral College, but also the popular vote. He has strengthened Republican hold on the Senate. We're still waiting for final word on the House, but Republicans are very optimistic about that. So he goes into the White House, able to get some things done, and we expect him to do the things he said he was going to do. Tariffs on imports, deportations of undocumented migrants, rolling back federal regulations on energy and the environment, extending those big tax cuts that were passed in his first term, an America first foreign policy that might imperil some of the US aid that's been going to Ukraine and its war against Russia. He's going to be able to go to Congress to get things done and he's going to be able to sign executive orders.
Taylor Wilson:
And Susan, who really might be some of his biggest allies or people in his circle over the next four years?
Susan Page:
This is going to be different from his first term. You remember, early on in his first term, he had some people around him who were Republican establishment types who urged him to be cautious and to pay attention to convention. We don't think he'll do that this time. He knows more about how things work. He is more confident that he does that. He says he's going to have Robert F. Kennedy Jr. working on health care policy and Elon Musk, the world's richest man has turned out to be a close advisor, a big backer of Donald Trump. He's going to have some influence as well.
Taylor Wilson:
Wow. So do we have any sense, Susan, on whether or how this changes his legal strategy, as he continues to face a slew of cases there?
Susan Page:
It overhauls his legal problems. He has made it clear that he will end the federal prosecutions and the charges that he tried to overturn the last election, or that he mishandled some of the nation's most sensitive documents. He also says he will pardon those who've been convicted for their part in the January 6th insurrection. And finally, he's proud to seek retribution against his political foes. We'll see exactly what that means.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Another interesting part of this piece that you wrote about Susan, was how Trump and his win here might really reshape the Democratic Party. How so? And really, where do Dems go from here?
Susan Page:
This is remarkable. Donald Trump already had reshaped the Republican Party. It's more populist, it's more male, it's more working class than it used to be. But with this election, he's reshaped the Democratic Party too. He has managed to win a majority of Latino men. No Republican has done that before. He's gotten about one in five of the votes of Black men. That is a significant erosion in what has been the most loyal group that Democrats have. He has now swept the blue wall. The blue wall is no more. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, they all went to Trump. So Democrats will now face the task of figuring out why they did so badly and what they're going to do themselves ahead.
Taylor Wilson:
There's another election in two years, Susan, the midterms. What significance will those hold and what's next as we march toward them?
Susan Page:
So this might be cold comfort to Democrats today, but the fact is we will have another election in two years. And historically, midterm elections have been tough for the party in power. In the past five midterm elections, the president's party has lost an average of 31 house seats, which of course would change power there.
Taylor Wilson:
Susan Page is Paste BN's Washington Bureau chief joining us on this election week. I thank you, Susan.
Susan Page:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
So how did Donald Trump pull this off? The defeated president in 2020 and a convicted felon in 2024 reclaimed the White House with a one of a kind campaign that relied on a new kind of turnout operation that hinged on a familiar issue, the economy. His turnout produced enough young men overall, Hispanic voters, and Black men to beat Vice President Kamala Harris in key battleground states, including Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. In an election similar to Trump's 2016 victory over former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, the outcome this year also turned on immigration and the economy, particularly the high inflation rates of recent years under the Biden administration.
The job of getting new Trump voters to actually vote belonged to a turnout operation that drew questions throughout the Republican's presidential campaign. The Trump team outsourced much of its canvassing and door knocking to private organizations. It also targeted what officials called low propensity voters, people who don't often get to the polls, as opposed to swing voters who could have gone for either major party candidate and it worked. Exit polls showed that Trump increased his totals with a number of groups, particularly Hispanics, young men, and Black men. The campaign adopted strategies designed to attract different kinds of voters.
Trump and his aides said the effort to appeal to young men is the reason he did Joe Rogan's popular podcast. Trump also campaigned in a number of urban areas with people of color. You can read more with the link in today's show notes.
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Who are the billionaires and business leaders who might shape a second Trump presidency? I spoke with Paste BN personal finance reporter, Daniel de Vise, for more. Daniel, thank you for making some time here after election day.
Daniel de Vise:
Yeah, it's been a busy 24, 48 hours, hasn't it?
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah, yes it has, Daniel. So let's start with Elon Musk. This was an interesting piece. Musk is the world's richest person. He's clearly cozied up to Trump, including a formal endorsement. What can we expect this relationship to look like going forward?
Daniel de Vise:
Yeah, well, Elon Musk very publicly sided with Trump, partnered with him in the closing months of the campaign and I think pretty much ran his ground game. Very, very much involved. In the Trump administration, I'm not sure that it's clear what exactly Elon Musk might do, but I can't imagine that he wouldn't have the president's ear. I don't know when's the last time there was such a high profile pairing of a president elect and a leader of industry. It makes you think of the days back when Ben Bradley at The Washington Post would be hanging out with President Kennedy, that sort of thing. But I guess it's a kind of a question mark. I think though Musk would probably push for things that might help the Silicon Valley and in his mind, help entrepreneurship.
Taylor Wilson:
We know Peter Thiel has long used his money to influence Republican politics. How might he be a player over the next few years and what do we know in particular about his support of Vice President Elect J.D. Vance?
Daniel de Vise:
Peter's been up and down in his support for Trump and had a falling out with him, I think, last year. But he's a huge ally of the Vice President elect. Of course, Peter Thiel made his fortune in PayPal and Facebook. He's a longtime Republican donor. He's a libertarian by his own description, and Vance worked for Thiel in Silicon Valley and Thiel helped Vance win a seat in the Senate.
So here too, I haven't seen any specific prediction about what role he might play in the Trump administration, if any. But again, he's a big name. He's better known than most of the 12 names on this list of these people I wrote about. So I guess, if I were the Trump administration, he'd be somebody to put into some sort of a public role.
Taylor Wilson:
You also wrote about Linda McMahon. She was in Trump's cabinet during his first term. Daniel remind us who she is, what role did she previously hold, and what might be next for her?
Daniel de Vise:
Yeah, she's been a busy person. She and her husband, Vince McMahon, built the world wrestling entertainment empire, and I think Trump himself dabbled in that. Trump had this whole first career as a television star and Linda McMahon served Trump in his first term as head of the Small Business Administration. Not a lot of people might remember that. They sat basically together at the convention. And Linda McMahon co-leads the Trump transition team along with another Trump supporter named Howard Lutnick. And Politico, which did a great article on this, names her, Linda McMahon, as a potential pick for commerce secretary.
Taylor Wilson:
You mentioned Howard Lutnick, Daniel. He has had a lot of power in the financial services world. What do we know about him and his potential role here?
Daniel de Vise:
Howard Lutnick is chairman CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, which is a major financial services firm. He's a big Trump donor. He's co-chair of the transition team along with Linda McMahon. So I think expect to see his name again moving forward. He's apparently close to Trump. Mr. Lutnick once appeared on the Apprentice, Trump's big reality television showcase, and according to Politico, he is considered a potential candidate for treasury secretary.
Taylor Wilson:
There's also Vivek Ramaswamy, who was once a presidential candidate in this same election. It seems like a world away, but it was the same election. He's also a billionaire with a lot of influence. How has he approached Trump since dropping out of the race, Daniel, and might he want to orbit this president in the coming years himself?
Daniel de Vise:
Well, this is a common story, where you have somebody who was running against the guy who won and said critical stuff about him, that happens on both sides of the aisle, right? But now Vivek Ramaswamy is supportive of Trump. I believe he spoke at that big Madison Square Garden rally. He is a biotech billionaire. He was once considered as a potential pick for VP, and though he wasn't picked as VP, he himself has hinted at possible roles he might play in a Trump White House, maybe overseeing immigration as secretary of homeland security. The significance there is that Ramaswamy is from Ohio and is the son of Indian immigrants himself.
Taylor Wilson:
Interesting stuff. Folks can find Daniel's full piece with a link in today's show notes. Daniel de Vise covers personal finance for Paste BN. Interesting next four years. Daniel, thanks for coming on.
Daniel de Vise:
Thank you, sir.
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Taylor Wilson:
Stocks rallied to close at record highs yesterday following Trump's election win. The Dow Industrials, S&P 500, and NASDAQ Composite each ended at record levels. Investors likely are expecting lower taxes and deregulation. Though fresh tariffs could bring challenges in the form of a higher deficit and inflation. The Republican's win sent us Treasury yields up sharply. Bitcoin hit a record high, and the dollar was on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain since September of 2022.
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Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith is discussing ways to wind down the two federal criminal cases against Trump before he takes office, according to a department official familiar with the matter. Continuing to pursue the charges against the former president would violate long-standing policy against prosecuting a sitting president. Because of two looming deadlines for documents to be filed in the federal cases, the department's decision about how to withdraw the charges could come within weeks.
Trump's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, said the decision came after Trump was elected with an overwhelming mandate to unify the country. Before the Justice Department discussions were revealed, Trump had suggested he could fire Smith or pardon himself. He has also vowed to prosecute his rivals. Trump has shared social media posts calling for the imprisonment of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and representative Nancy Pelosi, among other high-profile Democrats, for unspecified crimes. When he was in office, he asked an aide to have the Justice Department prosecute Hillary Clinton and former FBI director James Comey.
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Is Google simply too big? The Department of Justice is accusing the tech giant of maintaining an illegal monopoly in its search and advertising sectors. If Google is dismantled, how might that impact the way Americans access information? Florian Ederer, a professor at Boston University's Questrom School of Business, joins by co-host Dana Taylor to discuss what happens next in the DOJ's case that could lead to a historic breakup. You can find that episode this afternoon beginning at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, right here on The Excerpt.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt, from Paste BN.