'Trump is somebody who fundamentally hates America,” says Director of strategy for Republican Voters Against Trump

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00:00I want to thank you for joining us.

00:03You are, have, being a Republican in your DNA, and yet you've this time been campaigning

00:10for Kamala Harris, Michigan, one of those places you went to.

00:14First off, let's begin with Michigan.

00:16What was it like when you went?

00:17Yeah, we took our Republican Voters Against Trump campaign on the road.

00:21We went through Pennsylvania and Michigan, and we wanted to let the communities in Michigan

00:25know that there are Republican voters, not only in the state of Michigan, but across

00:29the country, who will be supporting Kamala Harris this November, because they understand

00:33that Donald Trump is categorically unfit to be in office, and they don't love everything

00:36about Kamala Harris.

00:37They don't agree 100% with what Kamala Harris stands for, but they understand that Donald

00:41Trump is somebody who tried to overthrow our democracy on January 6th.

00:45They understand that Donald Trump has become even more extreme since the last time he's

00:48been on the ballot, and they're going to reject him today, because they're going to put our

00:52country over our party.

00:53And so even though they're Republicans, and even though they don't agree 100% with Kamala

00:56Harris, they're going to vote for her today regardless.

01:00The inflation that's spiked post-pandemic has since subsided, but people we've been

01:04speaking to saying, look, I'm getting battered.

01:09That's why I'm going to vote for Trump.

01:10And what did you say to people in places like Michigan and Pennsylvania when they gave you

01:14that answer?

01:15Yeah, we've been doing focus groups with swing voters all cycle, and one of the common refrains

01:20we hear from some voters who are interested in voting for Trump is exactly that.

01:23It's the economy and it's immigration.

01:25And ultimately, we've had some strong economic numbers come out, and especially during this

01:30recovery over the last year out of COVID, the United States has been one of the leaders

01:34in terms of global recovery, but voters still aren't feeling the effects of that.

01:38And ultimately, the pitch we're making to voters is that policy and the economic stability

01:44of the country right now, we can always work on that, right?

01:46We can always change direction.

01:47We can always continue to work for the betterment of the American people.

01:51But Donald Trump is somebody who doesn't care about the American people.

01:53He only cares about himself.

01:54He's on the campaign trail right now, talking about his own grievances, his own legal battles,

01:58his own feuds with his enemies.

02:00He's talking about his enemies list.

02:02Kamala Harris is fighting for the American people, and she has a plan in place in order

02:05to make our lives better.

02:06And Donald Trump only wants to make his life better, and that's why he's running for president

02:09this time.

02:10No matter what country you're in, politics are always a bit tribal.

02:14You're with, like, you support a sports team your whole life.

02:17You support a party, generally, your whole life.

02:20What was the moment where you, John Conway, thought, wait a minute, I have to cross the

02:26aisle here?

02:27What was the moment, the moment?

02:30I've always thought that Donald Trump was somebody who does not represent the best of

02:33America or the best of the Republican Party.

02:35And I think when he launched his nomination in 2015, he did so by attacking immigrants

02:40and attacking people that were coming to the United States for a better life.

02:43And I think that the Republican Party that I cherish is the one of Ronald Reagan, where

02:47he said the United States is a shining city on a hill.

02:51And Donald Trump doesn't represent that vision of America.

02:52Donald Trump is somebody who fundamentally hates America.

02:54He says that we're garbage.

02:55He says that everything is turning against him and against this country.

03:00And I think, you know, the Republican Party that I believe in is one that stands for free

03:03markets, leadership, and supporting our democracy at home and abroad.

03:07And Donald Trump doesn't represent any of those values.

03:09And that's why I could never support him.

03:11You say you support free markets.

03:12How much of a minority view is that these days, when the most pressing issue for many

03:18on the international stage is a rivalry with China, which is accused of unfairly subsidizing

03:26its industry?

03:27Well, see, Donald Trump has fundamentally changed the Republican Party in this respect.

03:31He's talking about, you know, slapping 100, 200 percent tariffs on goods, not only from

03:35China, but around the world.

03:36And what he doesn't understand is-

03:38And there's been a continuity.

03:39Joe Biden has not reversed Donald Trump's policies.

03:42Well, there's been some tariffs that the Biden administration has kept, especially strategic

03:45tariffs.

03:46But Donald Trump, what he's proposing is flat tariffs across the board.

03:50And I think that we can deal with the challenge of China while also promoting free trade around

03:55the world, because we know that our leaders are able to do that.

03:58We've done that in the past.

03:59And Donald Trump is somebody who doesn't fundamentally understand how to craft good policy in this

04:03regard.

04:04And that's why I think that Kamala Harris has a vision and a plan to make the United

04:09States better that also includes trade across the globe without putting 200 percent tariffs

04:14on goods.

04:15These don't have to be mutually exclusive things.

04:17John Conway, four years ago, you know, each election cycle, we discover campaigning in

04:23a new form because of where the digital age goes so fast.

04:26And four years ago, the big social media groups pushed back against some of the disinformation

04:33that was spouted.

04:35That pushing back has now loosened, not only, not just at Twitter, which was bought by Elon

04:40Musk, who supports Trump.

04:42My question to you is, can they regulate themselves, these tech companies?

04:48Or is there going to be a need for the United States to review not only its politics, but

04:53the way it regulates, the way information is disseminated?

04:59I think it's really important for all of America to once again restore our value of free speech.

05:05And I think-

05:06Can that be done without a government regulation?

05:08I think ultimately, the free market and self-regulation on these tech companies is what's best.

05:13I think whenever you start mixing the government with speech, we know from history that there's

05:18a very dangerous, slippery slope.

05:19And I think for the most part, these companies have standards that they need to be enforcing

05:25in terms of content moderation, but also-

05:26Self-enforcing.

05:27Self-enforcing.

05:28I think whenever we start mixing, you know, government authority with our free speech

05:32rights, that's a dangerous slope.

05:34And I think, you know, we need to let the free market of ideas ultimately decide.

05:38That's how it's always been in this country.

05:39And I think it's been that way for very good reasons, because it promotes the best freedom

05:44for all Americans to speak their mind without any government interference.

05:47What's the biggest difference for you in the way the campaign's happened, unfolded, compared

05:52to four years ago?

05:53This is obviously an unprecedented campaign, with Kamala Harris being the nominee for only

05:56three months.

05:58She had to reintroduce herself to the American people, because there was a lot of voters

06:01across the country who weren't very familiar with who Kamala Harris was as to her time

06:05as vice president.

06:06So I think she's running a really smart campaign with a positive vision.

06:09And Donald Trump is running a campaign not for the American people.

06:12This is a presidential campaign that exists in order for Donald Trump to go after his

06:16enemies and for him to benefit and for him to profit.

06:19And so I think America is a stark choice between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and I think

06:24ultimately Kamala Harris is going to be successful today.

06:26All right.

06:27There's a prediction.

06:28John Conway, so many thanks for being with us.

06:29Thank you very much.

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