Trump Accuses China of Election Meddling; US and Iran Escalation Fears

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0:42At that level, managing risk becomes an ongoing discipline. At the Hartford, the focus is on helping businesses manage risk before it turns into something more disruptive. And when losses do happen, that work is paired with insurance coverage shaped by years of underwriting, risk engineering, and claims experience. Learn more at thehartford.com slash risk mitigation. Policy is provided by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its property and casualty affiliates, Hartford, Connecticut. Support for the show comes from public.com. If you're actively involved in your portfolio, you probably catch yourself repeating the same actions.

1:17Buying the dip, manually sweeping idle cash, putting on a hedge. On public, you can now create AI agents that handle all these tasks on your behalf. Just describe what you want to do in plain English. Like, if the VIX hits 25, buy a put option on the S &P 500. or if my cash balance goes above$20 ,000, move the excess into my direct index. You approve the workflow and your agent handles the rest. Monitoring the market, watching for your conditions and executing your strategies exactly as defined. An investing platform driven by your intent, not just your clicks. You can also get full read and write access to your account via the public API.

1:58Go to public.com slash market and fund your account in five minutes or less. That's public.com slash market. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokered services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., Member FINRA, and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures. Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. Karen, we begin with a primetime address from President Donald Trump. The president took to the East Room of the White House last night and used a roughly 25-minute speech heard live on Bloomberg Radio to revive claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

2:50Tonight, I'm announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure. President Trump pointed the finger at China, claiming it tried to access Americans' voter data. Over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China's illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files. President Trump also accused U.S. government officials of trying to cover up Chinese interference and alleged hacking of voting machines from Venezuela.

3:36Bloomberg News senior editor Derek Wahlbank reports the president's made many of these claims before. A lot of things you're hearing litigated around the 2020 election, some things that came up at that time that came forward. Now, the White House said that there was there were new things that they were declassifying and that they were going to put an awful lot of documents out. And they did drop an awful lot of documents on the White House website. It will take time to go through all of those. In Bloomberg's Derek Walbank reports, Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen plans to hold a briefing today on voting systems.

4:10Nathan, let's get to the latest now in the war in the Middle East. The U.S. is continuing its strikes against Iran. It has carried out a sixth consecutive night of strikes intended to degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping. Iran responded by attacking U.S. bases in the Middle East. We get the latest with Bloomberg News Director Will Kennedy. Well, we seem to have fallen into a bit of a pattern. Every night, the U.S. launches relatively limited strikes against Iran, targeting its infrastructure along the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. says that that will limit its ability to enforce its will in the region.

4:46And Iran strikes back by launching missiles at countries in the region that post U.S. bases, Qatar, for example, last night. Thus far, it doesn't seem to have spiraled into a full-blown conflict. Bloomberg's Will Kennedy, the latest escalation as oil on the rise once again. NYMEX crude oil up 1.7 % at$80.25 a barrel. Brent up 1.3 % at$85.35. Oil up about 12 % this week. And Iran was a big focus of the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Karen. Bloomberg's David Gura is there. He sat down with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut to get his take on the situation. This is the most significant foreign policy disaster in the last 20 years.

5:31Iran effectively has control of the strait. They are going to have control of the strait for the long run. As a price of opening that strait, they want all the sanctions released, which is going to put a lot of new money into their economy, but also allow them to send money out to their proxy groups in the region. This war should have never started. it's hard to figure out what to do now because it's kind of like asking somebody, now that the raw egg is splattered over the floor, how do you put it back together? That was Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy speaking with Bloomberg's David Gurra. You can hear the full conversation and all our coverage of the Aspen Security Forum on Bloomberg this weekend.

6:09Catch it live Saturday and Sunday starting at 7 a.m. Wall Street time on Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg Television, and the Bloomberg Business App. Nathan, right-wing political commentator and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson was one of President Trump's most prominent allies during his reelection campaign. In an interview with Bloomberg's Michelle Hussain, Carlson reiterated that going to war with Iran was a mistake. I was in agony when I criticized Trump. I like Trump. I didn't want to, and I endorsed Trump and campaigned with Trump and spoke at the Republican National Convention. And I've defended Republicans for 35 years in public.

6:43and I had zero interest in having a spat with them. And so I felt driven to my positions. Trump allowed the US government to be completely steered by this tiny little country in the Middle East, Israel, to our great detriment. And I watched it happen. I was offended by it. I argued against it directly to him. That had no effect at all. And then we wound up in a war with Iran that has gravely hurt the United States. And Tucker Carlson added that if J.D. Vance were president, the U.S. would not be at war. We should note a White House official said no country or leader pressures President Trump to do anything, and he makes decisions based on what serves America's interests.

7:23You can watch the full episode of the Michelle Hussain Show on Bloomberg.com forward slash videos or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Karen, another major political story this morning is playing out in Maine. Eight Democrats took part in two debates last night in the sudden race to succeed Graham Plattner as the party's Senate nominee after his campaign collapsed over sexual assault allegations. Plattner's presence was felt, though, on the News Center main debate stage. Former state Senate President Troy Jackson was asked what his best idea is. Graham talked about is something that I've been fighting for since I got into politics.

8:00Health care, Medicare for all. Former state public health official Nerov Shah took aim at Republican incumbent Susan Collins as he highlighted another Plattner proposal to abolish ICE. Rather than abolishing it, what Susan Collins has decided to do in recent years is increase the budget to a staggering$70 billion. Maine Secretary of State Shanna Bellows and former congressional aide Jordan Wood also took part in the first debate last night. CNN will co-host another debate next Thursday before Democrats choose their replacement for Plattner one week from tomorrow. Let's turn to the markets now, Nathan, where we see the tech sell-offs spreading overseas.

8:39And once again, it's chip stocks that are leading the way lower. South Korea's KOSPI plunged more than 6%. Japan's Nikkei dropped more than 4%. And here in the U.S., Nasdaq 100 futures, they're down 2%. Yesterday, the index closed at its lowest level in more than a month. And Kelly Bogdan-Avova is a portfolio analyst at RBC Wealth Management. You know, when you see stocks move up 50, 70, 100 percent, you've got to check to make sure that your allocation to that stock isn't isn't too high, basically. So, you know, there's nothing wrong with trimming here and there and getting things closer back into balance.

9:16RBC Wealth Management's Kelly Bogdanova, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index, dropped 4.3 percent yesterday. And the pre-market shares of Micron's SanDisk and Western Digital are all down at least five percent. And shares of Netflix are sliding even more, Karen. They're down more than 9 % pre-market. The streaming giant forecasts a second consecutive quarter of slowing sales growth. Geetha Ranganathan covers Netflix for Bloomberg Intelligence. We've been used to seeing in the past engagement growth growing in the mid-teens. So when you kind of see this really dramatic slowdown to the low single digits, obviously it does spook investors.

9:56Bloomberg Intelligence's Geetha Ranganathan says Netflix still has more subscribers and viewers than any other paid streaming service, but its stock has declined more than 40 percent over the last year. The company's failed pursuit of Warner Brothers Discovery and subsequent financial results are causing investors to worry the leader in streaming has lost momentum. And Nathan, SpaceX continues to dip below its IPO price. It is down this morning more than four percent to about one hundred twenty five dollars a share. The Elon Musk-led company says SpaceX says it will aim to launch its Starship rocket again in a few days after aborting its mission yesterday.

10:31Starship was slated to take off on its 13th major mission from SpaceX's South Texas launch facility. But right at the planned liftoff time, plumes of smoke erupted from the launch tower. And finally, Karen, President Donald Trump's media company is offering to sell traders fast access to his social media posts. Trump has frequently moved global markets with his social media, and he does have the biggest following on Truth Social with almost 13 million users. The service is the latest example of how the president's political role has overlapped with his business interests.

11:08Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Karen. U.S. regulators have apparently traced a cyclosporiasis parasite outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants, identifying a single supplier as the apparent source. The supplier has reportedly been identified as Taylor Farms, used by the Taco Bell locations where sick people ate. Taylor Farms is headquartered in Salinas, California, but the company operates production facilities across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Western Europe.

11:44The CDC and FDA issued a food safety alert advising consumers not to eat the ingredient at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. The restaurant said it has voluntarily removed lettuce from the supplier and will replace the ingredient at restaurants in affected states. Now, if you feel ill, is it food poisoning or is it the cyclosporiasis-linked sickness? sickness. Krupta Kapali is an associate professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center's Department of Internal Medicine and explains your doctor must request a specific test to determine the illness. If someone has persistent diarrhea, especially now that we know this outbreak is ongoing, they need to talk to their health care provider and request the specific stool test.

12:32The CDC has reported nearly 7 ,000 cases of this intestinal illness in 34 states. Smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning across Canada and parts of Minnesota is again making for hazardous conditions across the Midwest and Northeast today. On top of air quality alerts, it's affecting airline travel as well. The FAA had to slow arrivals into Philadelphia International Airport, and pilots reported seeing thick ash in the air. Yeah, it's adhering to the windshield. I've never seen it stick to the windshield like this. Audio from ATC.com. New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani says he will forego a pay increase approved by city council members as they voted to give themselves their first salary bump in a decade.

13:17The legislation raises salaries by 18 % for the city's elected officials, including borough presidents, district attorneys, and comptroller. Global News, 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Michael Barr, and this is Bloomberg. Karen. Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer. Thanks, Karen. A relative unknown leads the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The American Jackson Super had an eagle on 17, shot a 5 under 65, leads by one shot. Bryson DeChambeau trails by two, and Scotty Schauffler, defending champion, trails by three as they begin round two today.

13:56First baseball game after the All-Star break was in Philadelphia. The Mets have struggled so far this season. They got a victory. Two home runs from Francisco Alvarez. as he went back-to-back with Brett Beatty, seventh inning, the Mets beat the Phillies, four to one. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. Support for the show comes from Public.com. If you're actively involved in your portfolio, you probably catch yourself repeating the same actions. Buying the dip, manually sweeping idle cash, putting on a hedge. On Public, you can now create AI agents that handle all these tasks on your behalf.

14:33Just describe what you want to do in plain English, like if the VIX hits 25, buy a put option on the S &P 500. Or if my cash balance goes above$20 ,000, move the excess into my direct index. You approve the workflow and your agent handles the rest. Monitoring the market, watching for your conditions, and executing your strategies exactly as defined. An investing platform driven by your intent, not just your clicks. You can also get full read and write access to your account via the public API. Go to public.com slash market and fund your account in five minutes or less. That's public.com slash market.

15:12Paid for by Public Investing. Brokered services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures. Let's talk about health care for a second. It doesn't always work the way people expect it to. If you've ever waited on a prescription refill or had a hard time getting the care you needed, you know the feeling. The system should just work better for everyone. That's exactly what the people at Optum are trying to do every day. They're a health care company linking patient care and pharmacy services and using data and technology to drive the whole system so care is connected, not complicated, for patients and providers.

15:54Things like making it easier to get care that looks at the whole person, from primary care doctors to mental health support and even in-home care, and then using technology to make sure they all work together. Technology designed to help doctors spend less time on busy work and more time with their patients. And those prescriptions? Optum is working to bring costs down, save patients money, and make it easier to get refills. Little by little, Optum is helping make healthcare work as one for everyone. Head to business.optum.com to see how.

16:51That moves the business. Let's create smarter business. IBM. Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio. Nationwide on Sirius XM. And around the world on Bloomberg.com and the Bloomberg Business App. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. President Donald Trump used the backdrop of the White House East Room last night to revive claims he has made many times since the 2020 election that the vote was stolen and his loss to Joe Biden can't be trusted. You have to trust your country because if there can be no trust, there can be no greatness. And that's very simple. No trust, no greatness.

17:31President Trump in the primetime address heard live last night on Bloomberg Radio. This morning, we're joined by Jennifer Lawless, professor of politics at the University of Virginia. And I'll just open up, professor, by asking your reaction to the speech last night. Good morning. Good morning. My reaction to the speech was that it was a lot of nothing and no new information. It's the same kinds of broad, vague claims that we've been hearing since the 2020 election. And to do it during prime time is dangerous, and it really sows a lot of doubt into the election system. Now, he did say that there is newly declassified intelligence findings of Chinese interference, 200 ,000 fraudulent voters, non-citizens on state voter rolls.

18:18As you say, those are claims he's made before. Why does the evidence not seem like enough to you? Well, I think there are a couple of things going on here. The first is that even if those things are true, and we know that there was Chinese interference, at least in terms of trying to undermine democracy in previous elections, that doesn't mean that they succeeded. And I think what Donald Trump does is he looks at intelligence as though it's the final story. It's the verdict. When it's not, it's just information that elected officials and analysts need to use to assess where we are as a country.

18:53The second reason is that there's no evidence that any kind of interference or lists of people on voter rolls led to any change in outcome. There may be people on voter rolls who should not be there, but there's no evidence that they actually voted. There may have been interference in U.S. elections or attempts to interfere, but that doesn't mean that any foreign power affected the outcome. And he conflates those two things. And, of course, the speech is coming at a time when the U.S. is in conflict with Iran. There are still concerns about heightened inflation and so many other issues happening in the country.

19:31Why do you think the president is making this speech now? Donald Trump wants to pass the SAVE Act in Congress, and he wants to basically implement various voter suppression efforts. He doesn't have enough support in the Senate, even among Republicans. And this was his attempt to go directly to the American people. At the end of the speech, he very clearly tells people to call their elected officials and pressure them to pass this piece of legislation. And Donald Trump knows heading into the midterms that he needs a win. He's not getting a win on affordability. He's not getting a win on the war in Iran.

20:08This was a last ditch effort. And I think it will fail. Do you think, though, that this speech last night will lead some Republicans who have held out their support for the SAVE Act to reverse themselves and go toward supporting it? We only have about 30 seconds left. I don't think the speech is going to matter for two reasons. The first is it wasn't as broadly covered and aired as the president assumed it would be. Not all of the networks covered it and the cable networks kept breaking in and out. And second, there was no new information and no gotcha moment that the president provided. So it makes it very difficult for any elected official to claim that he or she has been pressured to change his or her mind.

20:50Appreciate your analysis this morning, Professor. Thanks so much again for being with us. That is Jennifer Lawless. She is a professor of politics at the University of Virginia. Karen. Nathan, let's turn now to our coverage of the Aspen Security Forum happening in Colorado this week. Bloomberg This Week, and host David Gurra is there and had the chance to sit down with Democrat Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. They spoke about the influence of President Trump on the Republican Party and the impact of the Iran war on the midterm elections. This is the most significant foreign policy disaster in the last 20 years.

21:24Iran effectively has control of the strait. They are going to have control of the strait for the long run. As a price of opening that strait, they want all the sanctions released, which is going to put a lot of new money into their economy, but also allow them to send money out to their proxy groups in the region. This war should have never started. It's hard to figure out what to do now because it's kind of like asking somebody, now that the raw egg is splattered over the floor, how do you put it back together? But it seems as if the United States is going to have to pay that VIG, billions of dollars to Iran in sanctions relief.

21:59and we're going to have to prevail upon the Israelis to permanently stop the war with Lebanon. And if those two things happen, maybe we can get that strait reopened. I have no confidence that ultimately there's going to be any bigger deal between the United States and Iran. I don't think they're going to make any commitments on the nuclear program. So I guess the best we can ask for right now is to just stop the shooting, get the strait reopened. And we're still seemingly far away from that. As we look at Humpty Dumpty there on the floor, do you think the administration gets that? Are they still confident that they can stare down Iran, I guess, and find some solution by doing that?

22:37Yeah, I think we sort of can't overhype the degree that just plain old incompetence plays in this story. I mean, the Trump administration doesn't know what it's doing. Its primary diplomats with Iran are the president's son-in-law and a guy who was a real estate developer two seconds ago who's never done diplomacy. So it's not surprising that they're failing. They're going to either have to put actual adults like experienced diplomats in charge, or they're just going to have to step out of the way and ask our European friends or our Gulf friends to come in and try to seal an ultimate deal on reopening the strait.

23:13So I have very little confidence that this crowd that's in charge of our national security is going to be able to get anything done. We've seen in recent weeks your colleagues on the other side of the aisle, many of them expressing more reservations about this. Do you detect a real change kind of in their position as this is attenuated, as it plays out? I mean, this is, of course, a deeply unpopular war. The American people don't support the war. They want it to end. And they're paying the price, not just in higher gas prices and higher diesel prices and higher fertilizer prices, but also in the cost of the budget.

23:43You know, this is$100 billion to$200 billion. And what is going to happen is that Republicans are going to cut funding for schools, for transportation, for nutrition in order to pay for the war. That's part of the reason that the American public don't want it. So as you get closer to the election, this becomes an issue that Republicans are going to have to deal with, because this will be an issue where voters are going to say, are you for the war or against it? And it's going to matter in their choices. So, yes, I expect that you will get more Republicans saying time to end the war for the first time ever.

24:15About three weeks ago, we passed a resolution in the Senate to end the war. It ultimately was stymied by some procedural moves in the Senate. But there is evidence that Republicans are starting to wake up. You mentioned Israel a moment ago, and I go back to that memo of understanding, which it seems was not worth the paper that it was printed on. I think the president would agree with that now. Israel, of course, is not a party to those conversations. And I'm curious how you look at the U.S.'s power to persuade Israel to scale back, pull back its campaign in Lebanon and change tack. I think you'll have to use the leverage that we have.

24:49And the leverage that we have is our defense relationship. So long as Israel believes that the Trump administration is going to continue to feed them the weapons and the intelligence that they need to carry out war on Lebanon, they're going to continue to carry out that war. That's a very blunt tool. It took me a long time to accept it as a tool to try to influence their behavior in Gaza. But if it is a precondition to getting the strait open, then we have to consider using that tool because as long as the strait is closed, it is American citizens, families that are bearing the cost. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond.

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