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00:00BE THE GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS, AND HE IS BACK TO ASK FOR A DIFFERENT OFFICE, THAT OF PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. WELCOME NOW GOVERNOR W TO BLOOMBERGEL -- WL ELD TO BLOOMBERG. THE MOST IMPORT QUESTION WHY -- QUITE A, WHY? -- QUESTION, WHY? GOV. WELD: I DO NOT THINK THE GUY DOING THE JOB RIGHT NOW IS LEANING TO DO IT. THERE IS A LOT OF PICKING FIGHTS WITH PEOPLE INTO BEING DIVISIVE. IN THE WAY I HAVE BEEN APPRENTICING FOR THIS JOB FOR A LONG TIME. I SPENT A LONG TIME IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, WORKED IN THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE, HAD TWO TERMS AS GOVERNOR, WHERE I HAD EXPERIENCE WORKING ACROSS THE AISLE. I HAVE A LOT OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE, MOSTLY IN THE BUSINESS WORLD, BUT A THIRD OF MY DUTIES WHEN I WAS THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL WAS INTERNATIONAL AS WELL. I HAVE GONE ALL AROUND THE WORLD ALL THE TIME. I AM A MEMBER OF A GROUP OF FORMER WORLD LEADERS CALL THE INTERACTION COUNCIL, WE TALK ABOUT THE GREAT ISSUES OF THE DAY. I HAVE PERSPECTIVE ON INTERNATIONAL MATTERS. SO I THINK I COULD START ON MONDAY. [LAUGHTER] DAVID: THERE IS SOMEBODY WHO HAS THE JOB RIGHT NOW. AND IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE THERE HAS BEEN A PRIMARY CHALLENGER, PARTICULARLY A REPUBLICAN. SO WHY DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DISPLACE A SITTING REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT? GOV. WELD: IN SOME PLACES LIKE NEW HAMPSHIRE IT IS ONE OF VOTER AT A TIME, THEY LIKE TO MEET THE CANDIDATES. IT WOULD REQUIRE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CHANGE, BUT AS -- WITH HOW PEOPLE IN THE REPUBLICAN ELECTORATE SEE THINGS RIGHT NOW, THAT IS FOR SURE GIVEN THE PRESIDENT ' S NUMBERS, BUT THERE ARE 20 PRIMARIES WERE UNENROLLED OR INDEPENDENT VOTERS CAN VOTE IN THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY, SO THAT IS AN OPENING. BEYOND THAT, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE CASE FOR YOURSELF AND I AM IN THIS TO WIN, AND I AM NOT APOLOGETIC ABOUT THAT. IT WOULD BE LUDICROUS TO RUN ANY WAY OTHER THAN TO WIN. AND I CAN SEE WHAT I WOULD DO IF I GET IN THERE, I KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO THE FIRST DAY -- CUT SPENDING. THE PRESIDENT HAS NOT VETOED ANY OF THE OVERSPENDING GOING ON, NOT A PENNY OF IT. WHEN I WAS IN MASSACHUSETTS I DID DO THAT AND I WAS RATED THE MOST FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE GOVERNOR IN THE UNITED STATES BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL AND THE CATO INSTITUTE. HWEN IRAN FOR GOVERNOR -- AND WHEN I RAN FOR GOVERNOR THERE HAD NOT BEEN A REPUBLICAN IN MASSACHUSETTS FOR MANY YEARS, AND I GOT TO TERMS. AND AFTER ME THERE WERE FOUR REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS. DO NOT LET INTO BUT HE TELL ME I HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING FURTHER RIPPLE CAN PARTY. DAVID: PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON TALK ABOUT THE DEFICIT AND OUR DEBT AS BUT BEING A REAL PROBLEM, BUT ONCE THEY GET TO WASHINGTON THEY TEND NOT TO DO ANYTHING. BUT PEOPLE LIKE TO GET REELECTED. NOBODY GETS REELECTED ON THAT BASIS. HOW CAN YOU BRING CONGRESS ALONG? GOV. WELD: WE SHOULD HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR THE PRESIDENT -- DAVID: THAT TAKE THE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT. GOV. WELD: YOU COULD VETO STUFF, SEND IT BACK TO ME WITHOUT THE OVERSPENDING OR I AM NOT SIGNING IT. DAVID: THE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., HE DOES NOT HAVE THE HIGHEST APPROVAL RATING OVERALL IN THE COUNTRY, BUT AMONG REPUBLICANS IT IS EXTRAORDINARY, LIKE 89%. SO HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THAT? YOU WILL HAVE TO EAT INTO THAT. GOV. WELD: I THINK HE MADE AN EMOTIONAL BOND WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO FELT THEY WERE LEFT BEHIND BY GLOBALIZATION, THEY FELT DOWNTRODDEN, SO THAT CREATES A STRONG BOND. I THINK THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS POPULARITY WITH THE BASE. I WOULD URGE, HOWEVER, THAT THERE IS A BIGGER PROBLEM COMING DOWN THE ROAD, AND THAT IS WHAT IF I PERCENT OF ALL THE JOBS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE ABOUT TO DISAPPEAR BECAUSE OF TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ROBOTICS AND DRONES AND MACHINE LEARNING AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES. SO, YOU KNOW, THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN AN OCCUPATION IN MOST STATES IS DRIVER, TRUCK DRIVERS INCLUDED, BUT THOSE JOBS WILL BE ABSOLUTELY GONE WHEN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES COME IN AND SUMMARY HAS BEEN THINK AHEAD ABOUT THAT. I DO NOT THINK THE PRESIDENT IS. THE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT WANT TO BE LEFT BEHIND SHOULD CARE ABOUT THAT A LOT. AND THE SKILLS THAT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR THE REPLACEMENT JOBS, AND THERE WILL BE REPLACEMENT JOBS, MOSTLY OF A TECHNICAL NATURE, THEY REQUIRE SOME POST SECONDARY EDUCATION TO FIT PEOPLE TO GET THOSE JOBS. THE GOOD NEWS IS WHEN THEY GET THEM THEY WILL HAVE HIGHER WAGES. BUT TO GET THOSE OF SKILL SETS, WE HAVE TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE THAT EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY. I TALK ABOUT IN TERMS OF A G.I. BILL FOR DISPLACED WORKERS, WHO ARE ABOUT TO BE REPLACED BY TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS. IT WILL INVOLVE THE STATE GOVERNMENTS, THAT IS WHERE THE COLLEGES ARE, BUT THERE HAS TO BE FEDERAL LEADERSHIP. DAVID: SO, WHY ARE YOU RUNNING AS A REPUBLICAN? THE REPUBLICAN HAS COME OUT WITH A STRONG STATEMENT, IT DOES NOT SEEM YOU ARE GETTING MUCH SUPPORT FROM THEM? GOV. WELD: THEY ARE RELYING ON THE PRESIDENT. DAVID: ARE YOU GETTING ENCOURAGEMENT FROM OTHER REPUBLICANS? GOV. WELD: I AM NOT ASKING PEOPLE TO ENDORSE OR GET BEHIND ME UNTIL I HAVE SHOWN I HAVE SOME TRACTION, IN TERMS OF OFFICEHOLDERS. I ' M GETTING A LOT OF, A LOT OF EMAIL ENCOURAGEMENT, SURE. WHEN I NEED PEOPLE TO SPEAK, AS I DID A COUPLE DAYS AGO, I GET WORDS LIKE HISTORIC, SO YES. DAVID: WHEN YOU RAN AS THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, YOU SAID I AM A LIBERTARIAN, ARE YOU STILL A LIBERTARIAN? GOV. WELD: THAT IS THE TRUTH, THAT IS A TRUE FACT. I DID SAY THAT AND I HAVE SELF IDENTIFIED AS A LIBERTARIAN MY WHOLE LIFE, SINCE I DISCOVERED THE CONSTITUTION OF LIBERTY IN LAW SCHOOL. NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN TERMS OF HOW I SEE THE WORLD. I RAN ON A SMALL PLATFORM WITH GARY JOHNSON ON THE LIBERTARIAN TICKET LAST CYCLE, I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED IT. AND I THINK THE THINGS WE SAID IN THAT CAMPAIGN WERE TRUE. WE SAID THE TWO PARTIES ARE LOCKED IN A DEATH SPIRAL EMBRACE AND ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS GETTING REELECTED, THAT IS PROBABLY TRUE NOW. THE FACT THEY WANT TO CAST THEMSELVES AS GEORGE III, TO THE BENEFIT OF ANYBODY WHO DOES NOT KNOW, WAS THE KING OF ENGLAND DURING THE TIME OF OUR REVOLUTION. IT WAS JEFFERSON WHO SAID A LITTLE REVOLUTION EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE IS GOOD. DAVID: I WILL CAST YOU IN THIS AS A MODERATE. NOT IN EXTREME ON THE LEFT OR RIGHT. IN RECENT ELECTIONS, IT FEELS LIKE IT HAS GOTTEN MORE OFF-CENTER, GOING TO THE LEFT OR THE RIGHT. AND PEOPLE DESPAIR REALLY OF SOMEBODY SUCCESSFULLY RUNNING DOWN THE CENTER. WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THERE IS ROOM FOR YOU OR SOMETHING ELSE TO BE A MODERATE, I WILL NOT APPEAL TO THE EXTREMES? GOV. WELD: I NEVER CALL MYSELF A MODERATE. I AM REALLY QUITE WELCOMING AND TOLERANT AND OPEN SOCIALLY. I SAID AT THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION, IN 1992, I SAID I WANT THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF YOUR POCKETBOOK AND OUT OF YOUR BEDROOM. THAT REMAINS MY VIEW. DAVID: OK.

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