A historic presidential nomination looks to be in reach of Kamala Harris, who's rapidly gaining traction among Democratic supporters.
The US Vice President's campaign has raised $81 million in the 24 hours since she announced her intentions to run as candidate.
She's gained more than a thousand endorsements from Democratic delegates and is being backed by influential party figures, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Former US Ambassador to New Zealand Mark Gilbert told Mike Hosking that Harris has grown incredibly in her time as Vice President.
He says she's travelled the world and met with scores of world leaders and he believes she's the right person to carry the torch forward.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, in the past twenty four hours since the US
president has quit the election race, the Kamala Harris team
seems to have cemented some real support and a lot
of money. So where does this race go now? Mike
Gilbert was the US ambassador to this country between twenty
fifteen and twenty seventeen, nominated, of course, by President Obama.
He's a longtime friend of Joe Biden. Says some real
insight now. Mark Gilbert is with us.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Mike Morning, Good morning the order.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I was going to ask you about the last couple
of days. Let's go back a week to Butler and
encompass all of that. What do you make of what's
happening in your country.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
It's a real tragedy. And something I spoke about when
I was in New Zealand is we have what I
believe are inappropriate gun laws for any country, and I
do believe in people's right to bear arms, but there's
no reason for anyone to need a military style rightful.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
When President Biden spoke of taking the temperature down, did
you believe that that was possible? Do you still believe
that's possible or he was hopeful?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I do not. I know that it's something that the
president cares about. It's something that he had always cared about.
Thirty plus years ago, he was the first one to
get through gun laws to reduce the kind of arms
that are not needed for hunting or for self protection.
(01:22):
And during the ten years that that law was in effect,
we saw a dramatic decline in those kind of shootings
here in the US. And although he was able to
pass very significant gun laws, it's still not where we
should be.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
When he asked to take the temperature down and it wasn't.
It lasted about three and a half minutes. What's gone
wrong with American politics that it is this visceral well.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I think our politics have become performative, and because of
social media, many politicians leave by saying something outrageous, something
you know that will catch the attention and get many
likes and have many people watch. They see that as
(02:13):
a way of gaining name recognition, and they believe that
it helps them politically. I personally think it's terrible for
our system and we need to get back to where
we were, where we had two outstanding parties with great
people with good ideas who work together to pass the
(02:34):
best legislation for our country, and today we are nowhere
near there.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
No is that the view of most Americans of I
rounded up Urine pac City, Utah. If I round up
the first hundred people I find, would they, broadly speaking,
no matter what side they're on, tell me the same thing.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Utah is a very interesting place. It's probably seventy to
eighty percent Mormon. And although it's a very conservative state,
people here really care about other people. And the temperature
of the politics that you see in Utah is very
different than you will see in many red states around
(03:16):
the country. The governor of Utah, Governor Pox, has an
outstanding relationship with President Biden, and the two first Ladies
have a wonderful working relationship. And sure they disagree on abortion,
they disagree on the border, but in mostly everything else
they agree because there are two people who really care
(03:40):
about other people, and that's what's important.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
So what you need to more Utahs.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
We need more people who speak civilly to each other
and work on the problem that we need to get solved.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Having non President Biden, as long as you have two
part question one, did you think he was always going
to go? Who was Sunday? Your time of surprise?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Sunday was not a surprise when President Biden ran in
twenty twenty, and he felt compelled to run because of
what happened in Charlotte's felt when President Trump equated people
on both sides of being good people, he taught compelled
to run. He ran, he won. He's been an incredibly
(04:27):
succesful president, but he was also always going to be
a transitional president from his generation to the next generation. Now.
I didn't know when that point was going to be,
But in the last month here in the United States,
there has not been I shouldn't say it hasn't been.
There's been very little discussion about the issues of the race.
(04:54):
All the discussion has been about his age and help.
And unfortunately he was not able to change the narrative.
And because of that, he felt that he needed to
get the focus back on what are the important issues
for people here in the United States. And I believe
that's why he passed the torch to the vice president.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
They say he would be angry. Would that be your assessment?
Was he treated badly in these last couple of months.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think there were those who didn't treat him well.
This is a man who has served the country for
fifty two years, served the country well, has been an
incredibly successful president, passed significant bipartisan legislation, and that's something
(05:45):
that he was always known for. When I was asked
the question, I believe he had earned the respect and
the time to make this decision on his own, and
I realized that were some you know, that were trying
to force him out. I don't believe that that helped
the situation, and I believe he made the decision that
(06:08):
he felt it was right for him, for his family,
and for our country.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Now do you have mak Do you have a view
on Kamala Harris how this process should go forward or not?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Well? I do. I know the Vice President and just
by sheer coincident, we were hosting an event for her
at our house the day after the debate, so we
had her with about two hundred and twenty five guests
at her home for her. She was excellent. She addressed
(06:37):
the debate. She then pivoted to the issues that the
administration had worked on and the ones to work on
going forward. I think she has grown incredibly in her
three and a half years as vice president. She has
traveled the world. She's met with one hundred and fifty
world leaders, and I believe she is the right person
(07:00):
at this time to carry that torch forward.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Depending on who she picks as a running mic. Does
that matter?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I believe that it does. Because of the lateness of
the change, I think it will have more bearing than
it normally does. Although I will tell you the vast
majority of people vote for whom's at the top of
the ticket, and where I don't believe jd vance is
added it to Donald Trump. I think he reinforces Donald
(07:30):
Trump's policies. I think picking a senator like Mark Kelly,
who was a fighter pilot astronaut of course stood by
his wife, Gabby Gifferts after she was shot, you know,
more than a decade ago in a swing state, I
think he would be additive to the ticket. Or Roy Cooper,
(07:52):
a very well respected governor well wiped on both sides
of the aisle from North Carolina, which will also, in
my opinion, be a swing state in this election. But
there are other good candidates that they're out there.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Also, is America ready for a woman president? Before you
even get to the fact that woman of Kella president.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
If we're not, we should be.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
That's the problem though, isn't it should be, but maybe
you are, maybe you aren't. And is that a material
issue for the party.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Well, when you think about it, I mean, look at
New Zealand. New Zealand was the first country to have
a woman at the head of all the major divisions
at one time, you know, the first country to ever
have that happen. I think we're behind in that respect,
but you know, we elected a female vice president for
(08:47):
the first time, so I think it is time that
we elect a female president. We have many effective female governors.
You know, women in all aspects of life have shown
how they can lead. And I believe that that shouldn't
be the reason why someone votes for you. They shouldn't
be voting for you because of your color, because of
(09:09):
your ethnicity, because of your sex. They should be voting
for you because they believe that you will be the
best person to lead the country forward. And I think
when you have the comparison before between the current vice
president and the former president, I think it's very obvious
you know who airs more about the people in this country.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
As we sit and talk on this July morning, Mark,
do you want to make a call for November.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I have always believed that the American people would do
the right thing. Donald Trump is a danger to democracy.
It's a danger to the world order. Praising authoritarian praising dictators,
talking about how Russia should invade NATO countries. That's not
(09:57):
the kind of person that we should have eating this country.
And he is someone who only cares about himself. That's
why I believe the American people will vote for whomever
ends up being the Democratic nominee. I do believe that
that will be the Vice president, Kamala Harris, and I
do believe she'll win. One thing I'll note to you
(10:19):
a little inside baseball in twenty twenty two, in our
midterm elections where Democrats it's significantly better than anybody projected.
It's because the American people stood up for democracy. Now. Granted,
in our House of Representatives, it was pretty tribal. If
you were a Republican, you voted for the Republican in
(10:39):
your district. If you were a Democrat, you voted for
the Democrat. But when it came to statewide races for
people who control the levers of democracy, whether it was
the governor of the Secretary of State or an attorney
general in those individual states, all of the election deniers,
(10:59):
all the people who did not promote democracy, every single
one of them lost and that made me feel good
about the people here in the United States that they
differentiated between who cared about democracy and who didn't. And
I believe those same people will stand up in November.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Mike, listen, I appreciate you time very much. And inside
Mike Gilbert, who's the former US Ambassador to New Zealand,
appointed under President Obama. For more from the Mic Hosking Breakfast,
listen live to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
Well, in the past twenty four hours since the US
president has quit the election race, the Kamala Harris team
seems to have cemented some real support and a lot
of money. So where does this race go now? Mike
Gilbert was the US ambassador to this country between twenty
fifteen and twenty seventeen, nominated, of course, by President Obama.
He's a longtime friend of Joe Biden. Says some real
insight now. Mark Gilbert is with us.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Mike Morning, Good morning the order.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I was going to ask you about the last couple
of days. Let's go back a week to Butler and
encompass all of that. What do you make of what's
happening in your country.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
It's a real tragedy. And something I spoke about when
I was in New Zealand is we have what I
believe are inappropriate gun laws for any country, and I
do believe in people's right to bear arms, but there's
no reason for anyone to need a military style rightful.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
When President Biden spoke of taking the temperature down, did
you believe that that was possible? Do you still believe
that's possible or he was hopeful?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I do not. I know that it's something that the
president cares about. It's something that he had always cared about.
Thirty plus years ago, he was the first one to
get through gun laws to reduce the kind of arms
that are not needed for hunting or for self protection.
(01:22):
And during the ten years that that law was in effect,
we saw a dramatic decline in those kind of shootings
here in the US. And although he was able to
pass very significant gun laws, it's still not where we
should be.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
When he asked to take the temperature down and it wasn't.
It lasted about three and a half minutes. What's gone
wrong with American politics that it is this visceral well.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I think our politics have become performative, and because of
social media, many politicians leave by saying something outrageous, something
you know that will catch the attention and get many
likes and have many people watch. They see that as
(02:13):
a way of gaining name recognition, and they believe that
it helps them politically. I personally think it's terrible for
our system and we need to get back to where
we were, where we had two outstanding parties with great
people with good ideas who work together to pass the
(02:34):
best legislation for our country, and today we are nowhere
near there.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
No is that the view of most Americans of I
rounded up Urine pac City, Utah. If I round up
the first hundred people I find, would they, broadly speaking,
no matter what side they're on, tell me the same thing.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Utah is a very interesting place. It's probably seventy to
eighty percent Mormon. And although it's a very conservative state,
people here really care about other people. And the temperature
of the politics that you see in Utah is very
different than you will see in many red states around
(03:16):
the country. The governor of Utah, Governor Pox, has an
outstanding relationship with President Biden, and the two first Ladies
have a wonderful working relationship. And sure they disagree on abortion,
they disagree on the border, but in mostly everything else
they agree because there are two people who really care
(03:40):
about other people, and that's what's important.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
So what you need to more Utahs.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
We need more people who speak civilly to each other
and work on the problem that we need to get solved.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Having non President Biden, as long as you have two
part question one, did you think he was always going
to go? Who was Sunday? Your time of surprise?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Sunday was not a surprise when President Biden ran in
twenty twenty, and he felt compelled to run because of
what happened in Charlotte's felt when President Trump equated people
on both sides of being good people, he taught compelled
to run. He ran, he won. He's been an incredibly
(04:27):
succesful president, but he was also always going to be
a transitional president from his generation to the next generation. Now.
I didn't know when that point was going to be,
But in the last month here in the United States,
there has not been I shouldn't say it hasn't been.
There's been very little discussion about the issues of the race.
(04:54):
All the discussion has been about his age and help.
And unfortunately he was not able to change the narrative.
And because of that, he felt that he needed to
get the focus back on what are the important issues
for people here in the United States. And I believe
that's why he passed the torch to the vice president.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
They say he would be angry. Would that be your assessment?
Was he treated badly in these last couple of months.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think there were those who didn't treat him well.
This is a man who has served the country for
fifty two years, served the country well, has been an
incredibly successful president, passed significant bipartisan legislation, and that's something
(05:45):
that he was always known for. When I was asked
the question, I believe he had earned the respect and
the time to make this decision on his own, and
I realized that were some you know, that were trying
to force him out. I don't believe that that helped
the situation, and I believe he made the decision that
(06:08):
he felt it was right for him, for his family,
and for our country.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Now do you have mak Do you have a view
on Kamala Harris how this process should go forward or not?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Well? I do. I know the Vice President and just
by sheer coincident, we were hosting an event for her
at our house the day after the debate, so we
had her with about two hundred and twenty five guests
at her home for her. She was excellent. She addressed
(06:37):
the debate. She then pivoted to the issues that the
administration had worked on and the ones to work on
going forward. I think she has grown incredibly in her
three and a half years as vice president. She has
traveled the world. She's met with one hundred and fifty
world leaders, and I believe she is the right person
(07:00):
at this time to carry that torch forward.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Depending on who she picks as a running mic. Does
that matter?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I believe that it does. Because of the lateness of
the change, I think it will have more bearing than
it normally does. Although I will tell you the vast
majority of people vote for whom's at the top of
the ticket, and where I don't believe jd vance is
added it to Donald Trump. I think he reinforces Donald
(07:30):
Trump's policies. I think picking a senator like Mark Kelly,
who was a fighter pilot astronaut of course stood by
his wife, Gabby Gifferts after she was shot, you know,
more than a decade ago in a swing state, I
think he would be additive to the ticket. Or Roy Cooper,
(07:52):
a very well respected governor well wiped on both sides
of the aisle from North Carolina, which will also, in
my opinion, be a swing state in this election. But
there are other good candidates that they're out there.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Also, is America ready for a woman president? Before you
even get to the fact that woman of Kella president.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
If we're not, we should be.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
That's the problem though, isn't it should be, but maybe
you are, maybe you aren't. And is that a material
issue for the party.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Well, when you think about it, I mean, look at
New Zealand. New Zealand was the first country to have
a woman at the head of all the major divisions
at one time, you know, the first country to ever
have that happen. I think we're behind in that respect,
but you know, we elected a female vice president for
(08:47):
the first time, so I think it is time that
we elect a female president. We have many effective female governors.
You know, women in all aspects of life have shown
how they can lead. And I believe that that shouldn't
be the reason why someone votes for you. They shouldn't
be voting for you because of your color, because of
(09:09):
your ethnicity, because of your sex. They should be voting
for you because they believe that you will be the
best person to lead the country forward. And I think
when you have the comparison before between the current vice
president and the former president, I think it's very obvious
you know who airs more about the people in this country.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
As we sit and talk on this July morning, Mark,
do you want to make a call for November.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I have always believed that the American people would do
the right thing. Donald Trump is a danger to democracy.
It's a danger to the world order. Praising authoritarian praising dictators,
talking about how Russia should invade NATO countries. That's not
(09:57):
the kind of person that we should have eating this country.
And he is someone who only cares about himself. That's
why I believe the American people will vote for whomever
ends up being the Democratic nominee. I do believe that
that will be the Vice president, Kamala Harris, and I
do believe she'll win. One thing I'll note to you
(10:19):
a little inside baseball in twenty twenty two, in our
midterm elections where Democrats it's significantly better than anybody projected.
It's because the American people stood up for democracy. Now. Granted,
in our House of Representatives, it was pretty tribal. If
you were a Republican, you voted for the Republican in
(10:39):
your district. If you were a Democrat, you voted for
the Democrat. But when it came to statewide races for
people who control the levers of democracy, whether it was
the governor of the Secretary of State or an attorney
general in those individual states, all of the election deniers,
(10:59):
all the people who did not promote democracy, every single
one of them lost and that made me feel good
about the people here in the United States that they
differentiated between who cared about democracy and who didn't. And
I believe those same people will stand up in November.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Mike, listen, I appreciate you time very much. And inside
Mike Gilbert, who's the former US Ambassador to New Zealand,
appointed under President Obama. For more from the Mic Hosking Breakfast,
listen live to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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