Former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu Talks Tax Bill
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Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. And on that note, we turn to Kristen Nunez, the former Republican governor of New Hampshire, who is joining us here on Balance of Power on Bloomberg TV and radio. Governor, welcome back. It's always great to have you. You, of course, are familiar with both of these characters that we are talking about here. Are you surprised that there has been a falling out between these two or at the very least surprised by the velocity of the break?

No, I am. I actually am. I worked with both of them and I thought cooler heads would prevail over the bill. I think Elon probably, Elon has never been great with understanding the value of messaging and the timing. And he probably went a bit too far, not just saying, hey, we need to push back on the big, beautiful bill. But I think it was the one-to-one Pennsylvania without me comment.

that really probably got under Trump's skin more than anything, and that escalated things. I do believe, though, cooler heads will prevail. There'll be some reconciling, a private conversation here. Things will quiet down. They'll get beyond the bill. They still want the best for this country.

on on a couple issues they may differ here and there but you know things that are inflamed i think the democrats are excited there could be a breakup of uh... of the two bros so to say but at the end of the day i think they'll be some some uh... a cold war peace found

Well, Governor, it's good to see you. Welcome back to Bloomberg. We just heard from Elon Musk. He just posted while you were talking on X. Very simply, Bannon is a criminal. Yeah, we're going to get right to the point here. I don't know if you've heard some of the remarks that Steve Bannon has made about Elon Musk over the course of.

This second term for Donald Trump, he weighed in with Politico saying that he and Peter Navarro are recommending executive orders to implement the Defense Production Act to seize both SpaceX and Starlink, take them under government control while Elon Musk is investigated for his immigration status, security clearance and drug use. What is MAGA's hang up with Elon?

Well, I don't think it's a MAGA hang-up or even a Republican hang-up. I think Bannon and a few others have just never understood the relationship that the president and Elon had. I think Bannon is, again, he's giddy because finally the guy he never really appreciated and wanted in the White House in the first place is kind of getting his comeuppance, if you will, with the president. So I think there's just a select group of people that are just like, okay, you know, they're...

they didn't have that relationship that the president had. Remember, I mean, Trump and Elon would talk every day, multiple times a day, every night. They have a very long and firm relationship that is obviously under some severe fire right now, but it's not

built on a on a house of cards i mean it really is built on i think a vision that that the two of them share so ultimately you know i don't think it'll ever go back to the way it was don't get me wrong but i think cooler heads will prevail on both sides especially elon but on both sides because you know there's there's benefits to you that that each of them have to the other not just commercial and financial benefits but political benefits in and try to get the country back on track so

You know, I think this will be an interesting chapter when someone writes the book on it all, to be sure. But I don't think it's going to define the presidency or crash the bill or be. It's more of a trivial thing at this point.

Well, forget the book, Governor. I'm waiting for the docuseries or whatever is going to show up on Eve. There's going to be a reunion of some kind hosted. I'm watching it right now. Made for Bravo. I think we're in it. Fair enough. We are living it, certainly. Governor, we've spoken with you before on this program about how you actually admired Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency's fundamental mission, which was to reduce the size of the federal government, get our fiscal house in order. So in that vein, do you think Elon is fundamentally wrong?

about his accusations around this bill being too big to be beautiful and having too much of an impact on the debt and deficit of the United States? He's right. Elon is right on this one. There's no question about that. The federal government has to start making tough decisions.

And we can put it in the Elon context. He was asked to come in, do things that no one else has ever done in terms of exposing waste and fraud and finding places to cut tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars. No one had done it. No one had ever done it that fast and that strong. He did it for the president. He sacrificed a lot for it.

And now he's like, wait, but I don't get anything for this. I make all that sacrifice and you guys aren't even going to go through with it. Now, there'll be some rescission bills, but already we all know those rescission bills are a very small piece of the pie that the federal government really needs to take on. So I completely get the frustration and the disappointment that he has when it looks like that we're going to, the fiscal conservatives are adding to the debt. Like, what?

Like, what are we doing here, right? This is crazy. And it's not just him. You see it from the more independent fiscal minds, whether it's the Jamie Diamonds and the hedge fund managers and these guys that really watch this economy deeply saying yes.

They are hedging themselves into other currencies right now, not because they don't believe in America. But let's let's remember, we don't no longer have a triple bond rating. Right. It's just good practice right now from a financial standpoint to look at other currencies. We're still going to be the reserve currency in the short term. But there are threats to that. There's no question to that. And nobody wants to see it. But it's all because of the debt.

and inability. I believe there's a bit of a political revolution coming where all this money that goes to candidates is going to start to go back to the states and issues where there's opportunities. I think we've talked about it on your show before. I'm a believer. There's 27 states that have passed balanced budget amendment resolutions for the federal government. You need five or six more. That's it.

And then the states impose a balanced budget amendment on the federal government. That's how the founding fathers designed it. And we're right at the finish line there. That's a great opportunity for an Elon Musk to come in, right? And say, look, I'm going to fund that. I'm not going to fund these conservative politicians anymore who say one thing and don't do another. I'm going to fund opportunities in the states to force the federal government to get their act together fiscally. So there's just going to be a different mindset given that this was the golden opportunity.

this is where america said we know you have to make up decisions that might be a bumpy road we're ready for it and then they backed off they all chickened out yet josh holly senator holly's was me conservative in the selling people we can't touch medicaid because it would be a political uh... political suicide

We didn't elect you to go there and make decisions based on politics. We elected you to go there and make tough decisions because America has some really tough financial times ahead of it, and we're standing it. And what a great opportunity. For the first time in a long time, the public is thinking about debt and deficit. They're willing to understand that there could be some bumps in the road. The economy is strong. What better time to do it with a strong economy? And I know Trump wants the 1% cut right now. I would tell the president...

Don't waste it. You're going to need that in the fall, by the way. You're going to see the jobless number really skyrocket this fall. That's when all these federal employees are going to really come on the rolls. I'd love to know what Anna thinks about the timing of all that as well. She's brilliant. But a lot of these jobless claims out of the federal government will really accelerate this fall, and that's when you're going to want the cut, not to 1%, but maybe a quarter, a half percent.

I think the Fed Reserve chair knows that. So all these are big pieces of the puzzle, and Republicans should be doing their job, and they're kind of blowing it. So I get Elon's frustration here.

Well, boy, we're going to be playing back a bunch of this tape in the fall. Governor, we only have a minute left. You got me going. It sounds to me it sounds to me like you see Elon Musk as somebody who came to Washington and saw too much to take it seriously. And maybe the same dialogue you had with yourself when you had a chance to run for Senate and you said no way. If you were in the Senate, you'd vote no on this.

Yeah, I'd vote no on this bill. Yeah, I couldn't get it. Look, if you're not appreciating that of all these smaller issues we talk about,

The debt and deficit are number freaking one. And there's no two, three and four behind that because the car crash is coming. It's not politics. It is math, people. Right. Inflation is going to skyrocket when we have to borrow when Social Security goes bankrupt. So, look, everyone just needs to get their heads together, make some tough decisions and put America's financial future first. The world is counting on us to do the right thing.

Wow. Thanks for not making us have to bleep you, Chris Sununu, the former Republican governor of New Hampshire. Come back and see us soon. With Kaylee Lyons, I'm Joe Matthew. This is Bloomberg.

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