Capitol Report Full Broadcast (Oct. 29)

Good evening. Tonight on the Capitol Report, the U.S. economy posting its best quarter in a year. How is President Trump working it into his midterm strategy? The numbers came out way, way, way above expectation. Oh, you haven't seen anything yet. And what issues are driving voters this midterm cycle? Pollster Nick Weinstein joins us to break down the key issues and the challenges of polling. And Alaska's governor ordering an investigation into an alleged plot to recruit a spoiler candidate in that state's Senate race. Why President Trump is calling it voter fraud. This is a guy that never ran for office. He never had anything to do with politics. He just happened to have the name Dan Sullivan. And real estate values in China plummeting. This as the nation grapples with a severe demographic crisis. Managing Principal at Macrolens Brian McCarthy will explain China's zombie companies. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. And good evening. The United States economy just recording its best quarter in a year. President Trump campaigning on it while also weighing in on potential election fraud. And today's Washington correspondent, Jack Bradley, joins us live. Jack, good evening. So the president touting this number on the trail five days before the midterms while also questioning the integrity of that election in Alaska. How is he tying those two messages together? Good evening, Steve. Well, first, the U.S. economy is growing faster than expected, having the best quarter in a year. Growth accelerated to an annual rate of 3.4 percent in the third quarter. That's up from 2.2 percent. And that's as consumer spending increased. And we have new manufacturing investments coming into the U.S. President Trump is crediting his tax cuts, but mostly his tariff policies for the growth. Here he is at a midterm rally earlier today Today in South Carolina. The numbers came out way, way, way above expectation. Oh, you haven't seen anything yet. It's because of the tariffs, because all these companies are coming in. They're flooding America. They're coming in from Europe, from Asia, Canada, Mexico. They're all pouring in. We have more car plants being built right now in the United States than at any time ever before. The president's also doubling down on his attacks against Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola, calling on her to step down from the race, following reports alleging that members of her campaign tried to recruit a candidate with the same name as her opponent, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, to split the vote, hurt his re-election chances and confuse voters. The Peltola campaign and Democratic officials have denied these allegations in an Alaska And after these reports have just come out, tying them to this alleged scheme, they have also denied that as well. Here's President Trump earlier today. This is voter fraud at the highest level. And the Democrat candidate who was involved in the scheme, Mary Peltola, should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted. And so should the fake Dan Sullivan. This is a guy that never ran for office. He never had anything to do with politics. He just happened to have the name Dan Sullivan. And the president is also weighing in on a separate election dispute in California. A federal judge has just rejected the Justice Department's emergency request to stop California from counting mail-in ballots tied to roughly 20,000 people that the government says are non-citizens on voter rolls. The judge says that the move would disrupt the election already underway with millions of votes cast by U.S. citizens in early voting, But the Justice Department has already appealed the ruling. And here's President Trump. We found 20,000, but there are hundreds of thousands of bad ballots, bad votes in California. Millions, in my opinion, millions. It's a corrupt state and very, very corrupt elections. And tonight, the President and the First Lady holding a Halloween celebration at the White House with a live orchestra handing out chocolate to trick-or-treaters and their families. And this weekend, the President is attending more midterm rallies as well as tele-rallies just a few days before Election Day this coming Tuesday. Steve, back to you. NTD's Jack Bradley reporting live. Thank you, Jack. And GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton continuing his campaign blitz across Texas. Voters turning out to his rallies to hear what he has to say. NTD's Fiona Gee is still on the ground in the Lone Star State. Let's go to her now live. Fiona, forecasters calling this race a coin flip. If we can bring Fiona up here with us, if we have her. And if we don't, we'll try to get her up there. What's the energy like right now at Paxton's events and does the enthusiasm you're seeing on the ground match what Republicans will ultimately need to turn out? Hey, Steve. Well, yeah, I'm in Beaumont today. We're on the east side of Texas, right across the border from Louisiana. And, you know, based on what you were mentioning there, I have heard yesterday I was in Abilene. Some people are saying, you know, conservatives, they don't usually come out as often to vote, early voting especially, compared to Democrats. But today, earlier, I was just speaking with Brian Marklin. He's the chair of the Jefferson County Republican Party. And what he was telling me is that they're seeing, at least in Jefferson County, very high numbers. of early voting this time around, a lot higher than last midterm season. And it's also interesting because Jefferson County is a purple area. So, you know, half red, half blue. And he's saying that the policies of these nominees like Democratic nominee James Tallarico, they're actually putting off some of the more moderate, centrist Democratic voters. And that's the type of trend he's seeing. Now, in terms of what we're seeing out here at today's Ken Paxton rally, if you can see Behind me, there's already a lot. long line forming. And I'm actually here with two lovely rally goers. We've got Sandra and Patrick. Tell us, how are you feeling out here tonight? Encouraged and excited for the results and very hopeful that the results will continue the pattern we have. Yes, ma'am. We are very excited. We're so proud of Ken Paxton and we want the people to get out and vote early. Don't take a chance on something happening Tuesday. Go vote. Tomorrow's your last day. Well, can I ask, have both of y'all voted early already? Day one. We both voted on day one. I'm a Republican Party precinct chairman for my precinct, and we've been working very hard getting signs out, encouraging people to go vote, even some of those annoying texts that you get come from us. Why was it so important for you guys to go out and vote early? To protect the the world we live in today. The other side is trying to threaten that world and I just feel very negative about what they're trying to do. So very much support to continue what we're doing now. It's encouragement of the people getting out to vote. It gives you a stake in the outcome, and you want other people to support your candidate. And if you wait till the last minute, you may not make it. So if there's one sentence, one message you want to give to fellow Texans out there, what is it? Be sure you do vote and support our country in the best way. Yes, ma'am. I'm here for my children, grandchildren, and great-grandson. I'm beyond. I'm 80. So it's their future that I'm more concerned about. Please go vote and go vote red. Well, there you have it, Steve, Sandra and Patrick, two of the rally goers here. And that type of sentiment is what I have been hearing all along this Ken Paxton campaign trail and also at that President Trump rally in Corpus Christi a couple of days ago. Luckily, we're having better weather today than we did a couple of days ago in Corpus Christi. But doors should be opening soon. People are going to start heading in. We're rallying in a plane hangar today. And I'll keep you updated. Steve, back to you. NTD's Fiona Xie on the ground in Beaumont, Texas at the Ken Paxton event coming up. Fiona, thank you. So what are the issues driving voters to the polls? And how much can early voting numbers tell us about what to expect on Election Day? Joining me now to discuss is principal and pollster at Signal, Nick Weinstein. Thanks so much for joining. My pleasure. So Nick, with election day fast approaching, what are you seeing as some of the biggest issues driving voters to the polls this year? Are you seeing any differences between what Republicans, Democrats, and independents are caring about most? Yeah, that's been a big indicator about the direction that this election is going in. And for middle-of-the-road voters, undecided voters, it's been the economy and cost of living that's been the issue this entire year. It's what folks are talking about as they're making up their mind about who to vote for around the kitchen table. And that's also been the big issue for Democrats. Now, some partisan Democrats, they also care about President Trump and Trump's rhetoric and some of those democracy-related questions. For your average, everyday American, the number one issue is cost of living and jobs, and that's the issue that the Democrats are talking about more effectively than Republicans. Now, President Trump has been traveling across the country to get his message out, rallying support for GOP candidates, while former President Obama also on the campaign trail for Democrats. How much enthusiasm are you seeing among voters on both sides, and how could that translate into turnout on election day? Yeah, I think that's always the question. And it's something to watch, particularly when we get into states that maybe don't have those high profile races at the top of the ticket, right? If you're a voter in Michigan or in Texas or Georgia, North Carolina, all you've seen are political ads. All you've heard from are these high profile national figures. And certainly there's a lot of energy on the left right now. And so, you know, President Trump has You know, an important job of trying to motivate folks who have voted Republican in the past to make sure that they, you know, get out and vote for him. But, you know, where I think the real danger is for Republicans and where you might see some surprise candidates the morning after election night are in these places where there isn't, you know, a lot of high profile national figures, you know, beating down folks doors, reminding them that this is an important election and motivating Republicans to actually get out and vote. There's been some controversy around polls, there always is. Several polls suggest Republicans are at a disadvantage heading into midterm. How does that compare with historical midterm polling? And given that polls have underestimated President Trump in past elections, how should Americans interpret these numbers? Give us a look under the hood. Yeah. And the first thing that I caveat every single one of these conversations I have about polling is no one should look at a poll and say there's not a reason to go out and vote, right? Because there's a lot of folks that are not nearly as reputable as Signal, the firm that I work for, and a lot of the folks that are doing this polling who are putting polls out there with the intent of trying to influence the outcome one way or the other. What I would say is in all of our national polling, as well as in our state polls, it's a really challenging political moment right now for Republicans, you know, we're at a point where the national generic ballot is at about D plus eight, which is roughly what it was back in 2018 when the Democrats had a really good night during the midterms in President Trump's, you know, first term in office. So, look, it could be a tough night for Republicans in some of these races. But you're right. Pollsters have have missed before. You know, we do a really. We spend a lot of time on the back end looking at our responses to make sure that we're not undercounting or underrepresenting a segment of the electorate. And I think we're kind of on the money as to where our numbers are. But just because it may be a tough night for Republicans doesn't mean you should not show up and vote, regardless of what side of the aisle you're on. Certainly, we've seen some of these races in the past that look like they're going to go very big for the left, and then some of those folks stop showing up. Yep. So, uh, Use polls to get a direction of the country. Don't use them to decide whether to go out and actually vote on election day. Last time I checked, it looked like we were getting close to 30 million folks who've gone out to cast their ballots early in some regions, you know, historic numbers these are when it comes to early voting. What is that painting telling you about where things are at? Yeah, early voting is a bigger and bigger segment of the electorate, certainly post-COVID and some of the reforms to the way that these states vote. What that means is in some states, there's not a lot of time for Republicans to try to make up ground as more and more voters are actually going out and going to the polls. I would say trying to read too much into the tea leaves on early voting can be a little bit. dangerous just because there's so many factors and so many states have different rules and you see different communities may have early voting on days that strongly favor one party or the other party just based on geography and the partisanship. But what I would say is kind of what we're seeing in the early voting, at least nationally, is a lot like what we're seeing in our polls nationally, which is that early voting is favoring Democrats. It always does, but it's favoring Democrats a little bit more than it did in 2024. And it's looking a lot more like what an electorate would look like in 2018, a year that really did favor the Democrats. Pollster and principal at Signal, Nick Weinstein, thank you so much for joining. Thanks, Steve. And coming up, the alleged ballot spoiler scheme and Alaska's race for Senate now under investigation. Our panelists, Richard Goodstein and John Rogers, will join us for analysis just after the break. that truly matters for each and every one of us. This is what you've been waiting for. See it at least once in your lifetime. Shen Yun. Get tickets now at shenyun.com. Come to Matthews Home today and get Black Friday deals on your new living room. Plus, with our new five-year promotional financing, you don't have to wait. Get the room of your dreams today with easy monthly payments. Here's a hot buy, this generously padded sofa in a durable performance fabric has two power recliners for comfort at the touch of a button. It even has charging ports. Get it today for just $8.95. We make it easy with Black Friday deals and five years to pay at your furniture superstore, Matthews Home. If you've watched the skin on your body go from this to this, you know the frustration. That loose, thin, crinkled-looking skin that shows up out of nowhere? Crepey skin. 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Joining me now to discuss the final push toward the elections are Democratic strategist and former Bill Clinton advisor Richard Goodstein and executive director of America First Works at the America First Policy Institute, John Rogers. Great to have you both on the panel. So let's play a quick soundbite here of President Trump explaining his midterm strategy and why he's hitting the campaign trail so heavily. You sort of take it easy, stay home, you don't do that much, you won your race, everything's nice and rosy, sit around, then you turn on television and you see results and you say, what the hell is that all about? I think this is number 28 stop, and it's two or three for Darlene, we got to make sure. So, Richard, the president campaigning as if he was on the ballot. He's likely pointing to how presidents tend to lose the House in the midterms. Do you during the midterms, do you think this rallying streak is going to help change the tide for the Republicans? Well, there's certainly no indication, Steve, that it will as of yet. And here's why I say that he started. Hitting all these states over a month ago. And since then, the generic ballot question, do you want Democrats or Republicans to control Congress, has been getting worse and worse and worse for Republicans in South Carolina. He just said he was there for a third time. A poll came out today from CNN and New York Times that showed that race tied. If somebody had told you eight months ago that South Carolina's Senate race would be tied, Four days before election day, you say, that must be a problem. There must be a problem there. Well, again, this is the fact. This is what he's dealing with. And, you know, he's doing his best. I will only finally say this. In 2019, when he was president, he campaigned very hard for two Republicans, one running for the governor in Kentucky, one in Louisiana, both of them lost. When Trump's not on the ballot, he has a double of a time getting his people to come out. John, Darlene Graham is the favorite in this race. She has the name recognition, obviously her late brother, Senator Lindsey Graham, longtime senator in the state. But President Trump still wanted to pay extra attention to this race. Why is it so crucial that Republicans don't underestimate their competition, even in some of these deep red districts? I think in a state like this, I mean, you look back six years ago and there was a survey that had Lindsey Graham tied right before he went on to win by 10.3%. You know, I think as we've seen him travel throughout the country, we've seen a boost in Republican turnout. You look at states like Ohio, South Carolina, Republican turnout is way up in the state of South Carolina. I think it's up 37% over the same time in 2022 when the president wasn't hitting the campaign trail as hard as he was. So everywhere that he's been, everywhere that you see him go, Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, across the board, you do see a spike in Republican turnout. And I think that's exactly why he's doing it, is because it is actually leading to more of his voters realizing what's at stake at this election, realizing that he does actually need some sanity in the United States Senate as a partner over there with him. And they're getting out to vote as he makes the rounds out there. I want to turn our attention now to the state of Alaska, where Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into that alleged plot to recruit a spoiler candidate to confuse Republican voters and siphon votes away from the incumbent, Senator Dan Sullivan. Here's Vice President J.D. Vance on why he supports the investigation. I think we should certainly look into whether she committed election fraud. I mean, she is a person who for months now has pretended that she has had nothing to do with the fact that they have put a fraudulent person, a person explicitly designed to confuse Alaska voters on the ballot. She is trying to steal a Senate seat from the voters of Alaska, and it's disgraceful. Richard, state election officials previously ruled the other Dan Sullivan ineligible, but a judge reversed that, finding no basis. Does this new report justify another investigation? No, and let me tell you why I don't think so. We all saw the Vivek Ramaswamy ad with Amy Acton's mother. That was a sign of desperation, right? And it totally backfired. She's now much more than she was before that ad. And I think this, too, is a sign of desperation. They saw that that Mary Fotola was winning. Two years ago, when Mary Patola was running for re-election to the House of Representatives, the Alaskan Republican Party pushed to get on the ballot as a Democrat, a guy who to this day and was then serving time in a jail in New York, okay? So this notion that somehow the Alaska voters are so stupid, on the actual ballot it says, Daniel S. Sullivan, incumbent Republican Senator. I mean, Well, I think this is kind of accusing Alaskans of being illiterate if they can't read that. And I don't think they are. So this notion that somehow they're trying to steal anything or confuse people when it says incumbent Republican senator, I mean, how fair can it get? So I'm sorry. I think it's a sign of desperation, not any sign of fraud. And no Republican has yet pointed to a law that was broken anyway by doing this. John, I want to give you a chance to weigh in. I really want to get your thoughts on it. And also, is this an October surprise, perhaps, that we'll have reverberations outside of Alaska to adversely affect the Democrats, perhaps? Yeah, I think for starters on the actual, the Dan Sullivan piece, I believe he appears on the ballot as Dan Sullivan incumbent. It doesn't say United States Senator on there. But you are seeing inside the surveys when you do a true rank choice voting survey, which is the system that they have in place up there, where you get to pick multiple candidates, whoever you, you know, rank your first choice, your second choice, third choice, et cetera. You do see a confusion out there where Where there are some Republicans that actually rank the. The wrong Dan Sullivan is their first choice, and then the real Dan Sullivan is their second choice. So there is some confusion out there, and I think it's actually, you know, if you look at, it's drawing attention to the fact that, you know, one of these is actually the real Dan Sullivan, the incumbent U.S. Senator. I think it's actually a fairly smart play drawing attention to the fact that, you know, voters shouldn't be confused by that because you are seeing in some of the surveys that they actually are. We'll have reverberation in other states. You know, I doubt that. I think it's isolated to Alaska because of their, you know, the system they have in place up there and the shenanigans that have been going on up there this cycle. I do believe it's actually just going to be isolated to Alaska Switching gears here just a bit, New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, just signed a law banning AI companies from offering certain chatbot features to minors. It passed with bipartisan support unanimously, 130 to zero. Richard, the law bars chatbots from claiming to be human, flattering its users, or encouraging harmful behavior. It all seems to be common sense. Do you think it will protect kids ultimately from AI's worst effects? I mean, let's hope, Steve. I mean, we're seeing. Efforts to eliminate kids from having their phones up until age 16 in school or being able to access the Internet in some respects. You know, we all see the effects on kids of what's happening with modern technology. And it's, for the most part, not to the good. Suicide rates, you know, over-focus on weight, et cetera. And I commend Governor Hochul and the legislature for passing something like this. Will it move the needle? Let's hope that there's little steps, step by step, that in the aggregate really do make a difference because something needs to happen. We're on a bad trend. John? Yeah. And I think we should go further. I think that there needs to be federal legislation. I believe Ted Cruz has a bill. I think Holly has a bill as well, if I'm not mistaken. I think that's where we're at right now because Facebook, now Meta, is, I think time and time again, just even recently even proven to be bad actors, not protecting children's information, all sorts of different things with that company. And should they be allowed to just run rampant in this wild west of AI right now? No, they shouldn't. And that's why, you know, I, You know, I think that it's time for federal legislation to step in. So that way there's a national framework. It's not just a state-by-state, piecemeal approach to this. This does seem to be something that's rising to the national level. Richard Goodstein, John Rogers, appreciate you both coming on. Thanks, Steve. And the Labor Department releasing a first-ever list of the 16 most wanted fraud suspects. The 16 fugitives are accused of stealing more than $55 million. NBC correspondent Jason Blair reports. Labor Department Inspector General Anthony Desposito releases a first-of-its-kind, most-wanted list. Sixteen fugitives are named, with a total of $55 million in theft accusations. The alleged crimes include visa fraud, unemployment fraud, labor trafficking, and money laundering. Most of the suspects are believed to be overseas in Romania, Iran, Nigeria, China, and elsewhere. There are victims when it comes to fraud. We're going to claw back that money. We're going to find the fraudsters, and we're going to put them behind bars. One fugitive has already been caught. A former FBI official accused of roughly a $4 million kickback scheme was arrested in Hungary and is awaiting extradition. D'Esposito says investigations are seeing that fraud fuels violent crime. When you're fueling violent crime, you also see so many of these people that are connected to some of our greatest adversaries, whether it's the Chinese Communist Party or whether it's Russia. The biggest fraud case on the most wanted list is an alleged $45 million Medicare scheme. Josephine Tinibang was charged in a 33-count federal indictment in Chicago a decade ago in 2016. In 2016, investigators ...paid kickbacks for Medicare patients and faked records to make them look sicker. say her son's home health More than $3 million has already been seized. And outside of this list, companies paid him $1,000 other labor-related fraud actions this month include a North Carolina man who got five years in prison for using stolen identities to take about... a month to get him out Coming up, how is the CCP propping up of the hospital. ghost cities in China to drive up its GDP? Brian McCarthy will join us to discuss China's ongoing demographic and financial crisis, just after the break. It's time for the nation to decide. This election will bring you must-watch races, on-the-ground coverage, and the balance of power. Our panels will break down the results and what it all means for you. And we'll track the nation's direction with real-time voter data as soon as it drops. The economy, socialism, and a lot more is on the ballot. The Nation Decides, 2026 midterms. Next Tuesday at 6 p.m. Eastern, only on NTD. You've done the hard part. You quit smoking. Now do the easy part and get scanned for lung cancer. If you smoked, you may still be at risk, but early detection could save your life. Talk to your doctor and learn more at SavedByTheScan.org. We come from a long line of farmers and there's a sense of pride with being part of these multi-generational businesses. There's also a significant amount of pressure. My senior year of high school, My dad made the decision that this world no longer needed him in. I don't know if he was overwhelmed by the bills and checks that weren't going to be coming in because of the strawberries dying off, but it breaks my heart that my dad made a permanent decision for a temporary issue. Don't feel like you have to go through it alone. Farmers have to take care of their physical and their mental health because what's a farm without a farmer? The mornings, that's my time. Watching the sun come up. I can have a cup of coffee and exercise if I want to. It helps me start the day with a sense of gratitude. Yay! Every day is a new opportunity. Don't forget to check in on yourself. Love your mind. For decades, I've taught you everything I know. But only you can prevent wildfires. Adopting you was the best decision in our life. And I am so proud to call you my son. And welcome back to the Capital Report. I'm Steve Lance. China is facing a declining real estate market amid a growing demographic crisis. I had a chance to speak with Brian McCarthy, managing principal at Macrolens, to learn more about China's so-called zombie companies. Brian McCarthy, thank you so much for joining us. Great to be here. Great to have you, Brian. So you have warned that China's largest property developers could become what you're calling zombie companies. We've heard of these ghost cities in China propped up to drive GDP and for various reasons with nobody living in them. What do you mean by zombie companies and how serious is the situation in China? Well, these these large property developers have been sort of the walking dead for two or three years now. Thank Basically, they're not. viable commercial entities anymore, but they need to be kept operating because they still have to fulfill obligations to homeowners who purchased homes and are waiting for them to be delivered. But these developers are so low on cash, you. they're struggling to get that done. So there have been a number of programs to try to funnel money through local governments to get that done. They're chipping away at it. But, you know, really, it's a large I'm sorry, residential real estate market that really is in a state of stasis right now. We go through these waves the last couple of years of policy that gets people excited for a few weeks or a couple of months about reanimation in the real estate market. And it just dies out every time because the excess supply is just overwhelming. And I think that's going to be the the state of play for many years to come. On our network here, we've been sounding the alarm over China's economy for a long time. Obviously, we're never getting the accurate numbers from appropriate departments inside of China. The books are cooked. COVID zero amplifying that situation. And Evergrande, that's one of China's largest real estate companies, they took a big crash just a couple of years ago. How significant was that? Well, the bust in the real estate market, you know, round numbers, let's say the value of residential real estate in China maybe peaked at $60 trillion U.S. dollars and it's been cut in half. So, you know, again, these are guesstimates round numbers, but $30 trillion loss of household wealth. As we saw in the U.S. in the wake of our real estate bust and Japan in the wake of their their real estate bust. This depresses the neutral rate of interest. It makes it very hard. For the central bank to stimulate the economy with monetary policy. So the interest rate in China is a little above one percent. Nobody cares. They don't want to borrow because, you know, prices are in freefall. And like Japan, China has a demographic problem as well, which also motivates household savings and discourages spending. So they're in a nominal growth sort of trap. Basically, it's a debt deflation trap. I think the best analog is maybe the U.S. in the 30s, Japan in the 90s, that kind of thing. And this is going to go on, I've been saying for, I don't know, four years now. This will end when China devalues the RMB. You cannot escape this trap with a strong currency. But if you're a Chinese household, you know, not such a great situation. There's some nuance here culturally. Chinese people, historically, in the recent decades, perhaps certain mentalities coming out of the Cultural Revolution, have really made an emphasis on keeping cash or putting that cash into real estate. And so this spells even more disaster inside of China for the Chinese people if all of that real estate depreciates precipitously, As you're pointing out. Talk to us about how or why this should matter to Americans. Well, to be honest with you, I run a global macro shop with an emphasis on China, and I really haven't had much to say about China. It is in a state of stasis. So as long as they keep the RMB steady, you know, they'll continue to run big trade surpluses. We may or may not have a trade tussle with them before Trump leaves office. I have a I have a feeling he might go back at that as a legacy building. But, you know, maybe not. It's very difficult. It'll depend on whether we can extract ourselves from this rare earths problem. But unless the U.S. really wants to enlist trade partners, Europe. Canada, Mexico, Australia all get together and say, we're not taking Chinese imports anymore. You know, we could blow up their economy that way. I mean, it's heavily indebted, 320 percent of GDP in debt. But, you know, if you look at the U.S., we've got like 250 percent of GDP. But our equity market is two and a half times, three times GDP. China's equity market is less than one times GDP. So we have wealth to service our debt. China has more debt. And no wealth, because again, that's not what the system is designed to do. It's designed to build the geopolitical power of the Communist Party of China. So if we don't want to push China over the edge into a financial crisis, they're probably not going to have one. And it's just going to be a place where every three or four years, there's a little speculative frenzy of Chinese equities. And it ends in tears, like it does every time, which it's doing again. So I would advise your viewers, if at some point in six, nine months, people start talking about how great Chinese equities are, just recognize we've been through this every few years since, I don't know, 20 years now. But the Chinese equity market, it's not there for you and I to get rich. It's just a vehicle to bring in some outside capital. But the bulk of the capital in China has been and will remain. directed by the Communist Party, again, for their objectives, not those of the household population of China. If the president of the United States sees a need to dial up the political warfare strategy on China, and perhaps after the midterms enhances some form of the trade war that triggers the Chinese economy to spiral, or if we see a situation where the real estate markets collides with markets inside of China, is there a concern or what would it mean for American investors, Thank Probably don't even realize that their pensions you so are invested inside of China. Well, you've hit the nail on the head. much That's why it doesn't happen, right? Basically, China, the Chinese economy has become too big to fail. for So, you know, if we wanted to win a relative game. joining Okay. Where we take a bunch of pain, but we knock, if we were trying to try to knock over the Communist Party of China, us. I would say you get together with all the, you know, our trading partners in the developed world and say, we all need to tariff China because this is just, you know, not fair. They're going to take over global manufacturing and then they're going to take over everything and we can't have that. So, you know, you take their 1.2, 1.3 trillion dollar trade surplus and you cut that off. And then you allow the dollar to strengthen, you run tight monetary policy in the U.S., you need a strong currency, you kill their exports with tariffs, you strengthen the dollar, the Chinese RMB will blow up. Okay. And, you know, then everybody across the world is going to lose a lot of money. Chinese assets are going to get wiped out. And, you know, China may just retreat and put up a wall and become North Korea. There may be another Tiananmen. Who knows what that leads to? It's a big mess. But, you know, the alternative is we allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue to extract resources from Chinese households. There's a lot of Chinese households. They work really hard. So there's a lot of resources there for them to extract and for the Chinese Communist Party to invest in, you know, their own geopolitical objectives, build, you know, whatever industry they want to build next, right? It was manufacturing, there was autos, and they're moving up the value chain, and, you know, AI, they're going to commoditize compute, probably. So, you know, how it ends, I don't know. I was arguing in Trump's first term that he really shouldn't have backed off with that phase one trade deal. Maybe it would have been a manageable situation to try to knock China over. Then everything's only orders of magnitude bigger in terms of, you know, dollars invested and the fallout would be all the more spectacular. So we're damned if we do, damned if we don't with this U.S.-China relationship at this point, unfortunately. Managing Principal at Macro Lens, Brian McCarthy. Really appreciate your insights. Thank you. Thanks. And China's political purges are reaching record levels. A key Chinese Communist Party meeting seeing its lowest attendance in decades. So what might this signal for Xi Jinping and China's future? Find out more tonight on China In Focus with Tiffany Meyer at 9.30 p.m. Eastern. And in South America, Venezuela's opposition leader says the U.S. wants the country to hold presidential elections next year. Venezuela's acting president says elections will be held as mandated by their constitution. And today's Jason Perry has more. After returning to Venezuela, opposition leader Maria Karina Machado says the U.S. wants Venezuela to hold presidential elections next year. Machado was previously barred from running in Venezuela's 2024 election. In a press conference on Thursday, Machado thanked the U.S. government for the opportunity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has outlined a sequence of events aimed at moving toward a democratic transition, making it clear that presidential elections will be held in 2027. Thank you very much. Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on the same day speaking on the country's elections. I've said it before. Elections will be held. All the ones mandated by our Constitution. The responsible exercise of political rights is guaranteed for all. The doors are open. Although the U.S. has not publicly confirmed that it wants to see Venezuela hold presidential elections next year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this earlier this month. Our desire for Venezuela. He said, and not just simply have elections. Elections, of course, are very important to have a democracy, an enduring democracy. This is a country that's recovering from almost a quarter century of trauma, a very deep trauma. This is the best opportunity Venezuela has had almost in a generation. President Trump earlier this week thanking Venezuela, saying their relationship with the U.S. has become a great one. Jobs are happening in Venezuela that nobody would have thought even possible just one year ago. And we're bringing out a lot of oil for ourselves, a lot. It will become a prosperous country, and who knows, maybe someday soon it will become a prosperous 51st state. That's possible. Let's make it. Let's make it the 51st state. Jason Perry, NTD News. Coming up, so what do everyday Americans think about Alaska's alleged ballot spoiler scheme involving two candidates with similar names? Same names, actually. We'll hear from folks right here in D.C. That's next. As a parent, your child's safety is your top priority, especially if your child has autism. Did you know that 50% of children with autism elope, often leading to drownings and other tragic situations? Consider using a home security system designed to ensure your family's safety. Alert. Front door is open. Every door has a sensor. When a door opens, a unique chime sounds, and you'll receive instant alerts on your cell phone and home panel. Alert. Back door is open. 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And when you do, we'll send you this soft, comforting blanket as a reminder of the warmth and safety you're providing a young person tonight. Coming here just like helped me become the person I am today. I have a family. I'm getting my doctorate in social work. And I'm giving back to help other young people. Right now, another young person is waiting for a chance to be safe, healed, and loved. Please call or donate now at safeplacetosleep.org. And welcome back to the Capitol Report. California's high-speed rail project facing another roadblock. The CEO of the rail authority has left his position to focus on other priorities. The project has been facing delays and an ever-growing budget problem. And to these, David Lamb with more. The head of California's high-speed rail authority resigned late Wednesday. CEO Ian Chudry said he needs to focus on important personal and family priorities, according to CalMatters. Chudry had led the agency since 2024. In 2008, California voters approved a $10 billion bond to build a high-speed rail by 2020. It aimed to transport people between San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours, a distance of roughly 400 miles. But it faced project delays to 2040, and the expected budget has more than doubled from $45 billion to between $120 and $230 billion. In July, the Inspector General of California High Speed Rail warned that the train agency could run out of cash by December 2027, calling for transparency to help his audit of the agency. Also give me, my office, access to higher level job classifications that other state agencies are using. Those two things will allow me to produce more timely, effective investigations and reviews of the project. Last month, investigators found that the rail agency's consultants misused $600,000 in taxpayer money on questionable premium travel, including flying first class and visiting a nightclub. Joe Stephenshaw, who has led California's Department of Finance since 2022, will replace the CEO. California's gubernatorial candidates both have their reservations on the rail project. Democratic candidate Javier Becerra says he will scrap the current configuration and complete the project. Republican Steve Hilton says he will stop funding the project unless it complies with the law. David Lam, NTD News, California. And with Alaska's alleged ballot spoiler scheme making headlines, how are everyday Americans reacting to it? NTD's Sam Wong was out in the National Mall right here in DC to hear from the people. I don't know if you guys have been following what's happening in Alaska. The two Dan Sullivan situation, are you guys aware? Yeah, what do you make of that? If it's true that the Democrat found a guy with an identical name, basically a clown, to run against her opponent, she should be disqualified. Late-stage Republican antics. This is an endless clown show that would be funny if it weren't so tragic. It does seem a little fishy on the surface to find somebody with the same exact name to run for a position. But, you know, in a state like that with a not-large population, I mean, it could make a big difference. They're going to find out for sure if it's illegal or not, because I know the Justice Department will find out for sure. If not, they're bringing it to the forefront, and they'll make sure that there'll be laws against it in the future. President Trump has been honing in on the point of election integrity. Do you think the president has sort of the right to be concerned there? Yep. Oh, yeah. So if they do it at one place now. They're going to try to do it eventually somewhere else in the future. So let's make sure they can't do it again. I find it kind of humorous that the whole thing, that there's any pushback at all about showing an ID and making the election more secure. I mean, that should be our principal effort. Absolutely. The Save America Act, the fact that the Republicans... Controlled all three chambers and couldn't even pass fundamental legislation to protect the people who are here already is an abomination. I'm not to the point where I feel our elections are rigged, but I don't understand why simply showing an ID to vote is a bad thing. I mean, I would like to actually see the voter rolls go away completely and make everybody re-register. In just a few days after the midterms on November 8th, a parade honoring America's veterans is going to aim to bring the nation together across political divides. Joining us to discuss the special event, Francis Ventura of the National Veterans Parade Foundation. Francis Ventura, thank you so much for joining. Thanks for having me. It's great to have you with us. So, Francis, what can people expect to see at this year's Veterans Parade right here in the nation's capital? What are some of the highlights that we should all be looking forward to? Well, Steve, it's going to be really the last 250th anniversary national event in Washington, D.C., celebrating what our veterans have fought to give us in our Constitution in our 250th year. So it's the great way to finish out the 250 celebration year here in Washington, D.C. It's going to be just a fantastic event. I cannot say more and be more excited about the number of units we have, The type of response we've got, what we feel is going to be spectators showing up, what we should expect really is just hopefully good weather, which we think we're going to have. But we'll have every member of every branch of service represented from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Space Force, the National Guard is going to come out, and it's a great opportunity for the public to thank them for what they've done here in Washington, D.C. So we're expecting a great day. Absolutely. You know, as you just pointed out, duty, courage, sacrifice, these are values embodied by our veterans. How important is it to pass these principles on to future generations of Americans? It's extremely important and you know Washington DC has never had an annual national parade for our veterans before 2023. This will be our fourth year and we really have encouraged our junior ROTC groups, the scouting groups, the young marines, sea cadets, a lot of young young people that will someday be active military and then of course someday be veterans. So it really appeals to our active duty that they have something to look forward to once their service is ended. And of course our veterans, all the way back to World War II this year, we have at least four World War II veterans in the parade. Now the parade taking place just after the midterm elections at a time when our country is hyper-partisan, deeply divided, some might say. Honoring our veterans though has long been a bipartisan cause. Pause. Do you envision this event, this parade, bringing all Americans together and perhaps a stepping stone to bridging some of the divide? And that's a great question. Five days after the election, this is a perfect opportunity for the country to come together in unity, no matter what side of the aisle. Our veterans reflect the fabric of our nation, every race, Race, creed, color, religious, and political. So, 90% of the country, I believe, really does support our veterans, so no matter where you come from or what side of the aisle, this is a great time to turn out and to celebrate our veterans, and it will be, it's a healing time, and our veterans are relying on once more to help us and heal our country. Kevin Patton- Executive Director at the National Veterans Parade Foundation, Francis Ventura. Appreciate you joining us. Francis Ventura Thank you. Sunday, November 8th. And for a closer look at the festivities at the White House this evening, with Halloween upon us, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosting their annual Trick or Treat event on the South Lawn. The event is open to ticket holders, including military and law enforcement families, foster and adoptive families, and administration officials and their children. Several federal agencies are handing out giveaways, including mini pumpkins from the Department of Agriculture and coloring books from the Treasury Department. Kids will also get to experience an Air Force One flyover. And that is all we have for you tonight on the Capitol Report. Tomorrow, from the rise of democratic socialists to election integrity and the war in Iran, what's at stake in this midterms? I sat down with Heritage Foundation President Dr. Kevin Roberts to discuss the key issues driving voters, President Trump's campaign strategy, and his outlook for November 3rd. Be sure to join us from the nation's Capitol. I'm Steve Lance. Have a nice evening. See you back here tomorrow.