You dont get the voice over. Just following your lead. Good morning, everyone. I am the head of news here at politico. Im joined by georgia governor brian kemp. Thank you so much of a new today. Got a l into, Governor Kemp as you all know has been a leader in setting not just a policy but nationalthe state les ranging from Economic Development to the future of transportation and muche. I do we you and i talked we mostly talked about electric vehicles and hightech investment in georgia, and the headline on the pc came out that was brian kemp and the electric car, a love story. So i like to ask you how does a romance of going these days . I dont have one yet but its going great. Just want to thank everybody for being here, thank politico and cisco, were big fans at cisco. They got a great presence ingeoe conversation. And look, my goal as governor in my signature is to make georgia the imo thatthe United States o, just because of the investment that we have come to our state long before the ira past, even before i governor we had an ascii battery plant might predecessor announced. I was entering the transition for the great announcement and then we did an expansion with secretary ross from the Trump Administration shortly thereafter that they expanded the battery plant and landed rivian and ten hyundai which with the two largest Economic Development projects weve ever done in history of the state back to back in the same year and all that happened before i pay. So this market was coming. We are a state of leaves in the Market Driving innovation and sd what their vision is for their customers. And i ran totrengthen enrolled georgia and create Economic Opportunity in all parts of our state. The matter somebodys zip code and thats what these companies offered. We had a plan to develop mega site spread out across ae jordan when we could have real goodpaying jobs in rural parts of our state. Of the sites that we have developed and really had shovel ready. Off we went, and then ira lot of issues that we can get into if you want to. We landed dozens and dozens of suppliers off of a hyundai plant, rivian, their site is cleared and graded and are starting to put pilots and o they would be going vertical very shortly. We announced other battery plants and other great things of a defense manufacturing going on in georgia, even outside the imo building space. You menti issuesith ira. Im curious people get into the complications that you run into, what are the pieces that love that you see it is useful to georgia youhe next president of the next congress to basically leave as it is . Given financial incentives to companies in the mart that was already there you have to question why you would do that. But i mean its only been helpful for the companies. You would not want socalled■ free government money. The problem is that Big Government spending has driven up deficit. Its increased interest rates, mortgage rates. We had fortyyear hyperinflation because of that whi is continue to cause American Consumers especially when we go to the grocery store. My opinion most of that was not needed to drive that interest. It was over the coming anyway along with the idea mandates that really pushed the market to quickly without charging been out there and other thing look at the Minerals Market comps to its collapse a mess. I just bel, string covid with Vaccine Mandates that we never did because we felt like that was taking a vaccine. H on getting when the government starts mandating things and pushing people, it turns a lot of people off and to think thats whats happened a lot in the easy marketplace. Versus letting the product drive the market. The government is trying to do that and in many ways its work in reverse. Plus i have a recent letters to our two u. S. Senators politico reported building a vote on this bill saying this built the picking winners and losers. Its helping the union backed automobile manufacturers, its hurting Companies Like hamdan rivian kia along with the traditional products. Thats been bad for the marketplace. You see whats happened with the big three. They are starting to pull back on ev and go into more of a hybrid model or other things. Thats upset some fi middles. Yet the big three going to hybrid which in my eyes let the market wor its helping move the discussion on that and having clean energy solu out there that a lot of people support. Politico reported this week the bike manager cicilline mandates, lengthening the time horizon for the real server orphans to bite him him and wonder ifhe administration would do that with it be helpful in georgia . I think if they can do to undo some of that will be helpful. The time frames are putting out there simply unrealistic and letting the market continued to develop unbelievably helpful to know exactly what their plan on doing but it wouldve been a lot better if they just listen to us from the start. If the ira were to go away■ a or basically what you are going on there in terms of ev develoen it would, i mean that might disrupt what people are doing just like fiery disrupted what people are doing. But it think it would end up killing the market. I also dont think that would happen. You may have some negotiations on the spending side of what you going to get to do. My whole thing is that in think we did the ira but it are going to pass ira, aire, make it equitable for everybody. Make it fair to all the companies. Dont pick winners and losers. Thats a washington d. C. Is really good at. But thats not really whats good for the marketplace out there. Mandates, people recall from the government telling them what to do. You also had of course, i do want to record reflect we wih eight minutes before mentioning donald trump. You also have, like the republican president ial nominee out of any way that ev is ourjoh that makes your job more challenging . Will listen i have a lot of, were letting the georgia. I had easy Companies Come to be going hey, were looking at the second we want to build a plant, create jobs and invest in your state. Thats great. If it build a combustible automobile or an airplane or diesel fueled, we would have taken the same approach. We want to create goodpaying jobs in our sector. We are not trying to■ 8 manipule what Companies Market is. We are letting them decide that. Thats really how these decisions came about. I do people all the time especially republicans talking to me, i do want to get an easy. We shouldnt be that. Im like i agree with you. I agree with letting the market work. You dont want an easy, dont get one. Go buy something else. His automobiles manufactures believe this can be a lot of people buying evs in the next year and the next five years and ho but also to be so people have you ever ridden in one . Have you driven one . And may not be good for a guy pulling his bass boat to the lake, but somebody whos going rock climbing or if your hunter like me and you want to have ino the woods, i could see where a rivian truck or a hyundai suv could there. And so theres a lot of rhetoric on the campaign trail. I also remind people theres a lot of republicans that play golf o your weekend and ride around in electric golf carts. [laughing] so like it were going, we just need to be consistent with people. I mean, theres people that go bass fishing every weekend, every day using electric trolling motors. So like theres reasons for all these things and its my belief that the Company Still better than a covenant with the market should be and we should let them experience the American Dream and t american way and see whos right. I want to press you though, thats a very good line about the golf carts. You have the former president out there campaigning across the country saying evs are killing jobs come right . Its part of a chinese plot and all that. I do want to push you on, did he wish he would stop saying that . The message or delivering in georgia, the last time we talked you want the jobs of the future. Well look, President Trump advice. [laughing] you know . I give it sometimes and im sure he has his i mean, i share some of his concerns about the ira. I definitely share his concernsy evs and their controlling American MineralsRare Earth Minerals and the production of all all the saints and all of a sudden they decide to get us up to were sitting on push. For people who work of his, you thinkn the place we can get masks, surgical gowns and others covid supplies renewed was from china. That is a we should not be in the same situation with our defense industry. We■ shouldnt be in other Key Industries of any type manufacturing. But the fact is we are in nevada regards anything the marketplace is changing to that and we in td states to work with our friends around the world to build us why those materials applicable we can do in the United States to level the Playing Field so that they are as much depend on us economical a on them more for their products. I definitely think that that it is worth having and we need to continue texo pushkhat regard. Does that imply at least at the conceptual level maybe not specific some interest in the cut of industrial policy is doing, if we just let the market take its course, that doeshina e Semiconductor Manufacturing . Well, i think that, we didt talk about the chips act. And then well talk about ira, thats what ive been focusing on in my comments, but its the same thing. But i think when you look back at the Top Administration and the Biden Administration, look, everybody wanted to offshore manufacturing back to the United States. We are seeing that happen but were not going to see all of a come back. We need to diversify our supply chains. You look at whether you want to believe this or not whether you like it or not, you look at american businesses, theres a lot of investment in china, and is not going to get out in the next year or two. Something were going to have to deal with and a lot of these corporations and Big Companies are trying to diversify their supply chain. I think thats a good thing. But to meet it was the goal of the conversation would look at tariffs and other things to try to get some manufacturing b uni. I think that happened. And i also think start of the Biden Administration that was continuing, even before ira. We saw that with rivian, hyundai, sk bad replacement of the things going on in the United States because the marketplace and other things. We have to compete in the marketplace. But i do think a lot of these policies have been, and its not just the federal government and focus on this. States have as well. When President Biden cameries by a little bit and he was delivering this message in a bring the country together. I just wonder, do you hear from him . That he reach out to . I dont think that bringing the country together has worked so well. Clearly not what i just wonder on a personal level, like hear from the president was to hear from the Vice President . Have been made an effort with you . While, i dont really talk to them that much. They do let me know when they comet like every administration does. I got to speak to the president and the Vice President , along with a lot of first ladies and former president clinton at rosalynn carters funeral when marty and i with her anger is just a great tribute to a great lady. And i spoke to the president about the troubles weve had an atlantaublic Safety Training center with people trying to stop the project, and also assaulting, Burning Police cars and we discussed that. We got that relationship. In that conversation what did you get back from them . Is it sort of is he on receipt mode or do you feel like he is really engaging with the challenge . It was mostly receive mode, but the policy team reached out, the first of the next week. Isnt pretty much the extent of the direct communication with biden . Yeah. Am i wrong to be surprised by that, just you a republican, conservative republican, youve also shown a degree of elements of your party that President Biden has spoken out against. Why do you think is that calling once a month . Probably busy. M like yes to call me once a month. But you know, theyve reached out before and and i think r conversations with like, and i e this with President Trump. If i need her to call white house for something as the government had the ability to do that. Thats what should be regarded as the for the president is. If President Trump does return office do you worry about him . I know that you have obviously agger conflict within to tell the tale, do you worry about him taking retribution against dont really worry about that too much. Why not . Well, because we are a great state and you would be foolish i think to try to have retribution on a on a state where he has a lot of supporters. And he has a governor and the govern the United States that really i think led the Great American come back come out of covid, when he and a lot of the people in the National Media at people on the other side of it i were criticizing what we were doing. And i tell people all the te, e not listening to them. We were listening to our people. Thats it we were fighting for. And i just dont, i just dont see rlly either one of them trying to take retribution. That would be foolish. Is anything come to get it President Trump returns to office, can imagine the covid experience. I know when you were managing trying to reopen your state you find yourself on the receiving end o not just sort badgering from the present but clinical staff and white house trying to tell you how to manage Public Health in your state. Is there anything you would like to see very substantially differently about even the personnel mode of operating a second Trump Administration . Well again dont think about the matters what i think. I think theyre going to do what theyre going to do, but i just ■n like as a government of the state of georgia my first responsibility is to fight for our people. I told people when i got that wy voted for me or not, didnt matter, i was going to be the covenant, i was going be fighting for them every day and thatst i tried to do. You sign some pretty strict restrictions on abortion, and you did not suffer tremendous political backlash of these in your own campaign. I wonder if there are lessons from what youve done in georgia for the Republican Party as a whole, the party clearly struggling to connect with the country on the issue. Will look, thats a tough issue and people really disagree a lot on what the right p should be. Georgia i believe is a state that values life and theres a lot of people thathink how that should be when it comes to an abortion. And we have a heartbeat bill. My personal belief, ive seen those heartbeats, you know, in ultrasounds, that my wife had done and ive seen those, one of those heartbeats whenever two disappearing. That moved me and where i am, but i would also completely understand when people may disagree with that and may be more in line with 14 14 or 1. But the thing is and what i try to tell people regardless of where you are on that issue, there so many other issues when it comes to lifevp that we agree on. We have that adoption reform. We have done foster care reform. Our first lady and my wife marty has done more than anybody in the country at the state level to raise awareness on ending Human Trafficking to go after the perpetrators of that evil crime and also to help the victim a model for other states to follow comfortably put an end to that just heinous crime that affects a lot of different people but especially so many children. The last two years weve been focused on the Mental Health issues which if you look around thats killing as many people in the United States, maybe outside of sentinel. So weve been focused on those issues so we been able to do that in a bipartisan way. So think especially right now and this time in the country and what happened with the supreme court, its my belief we need to Work Together on issues that we agree on, we can move the needle on valuing life in our stew but also in our country. Whats your reaction to the Alabama Supreme Court this week ruling a frozen embryo has i look, were focused on getting our law implemented in georgia. Its been a long fight for that therefore focus right now. Weve got record of Mental Health funding were doing. Doing. Were trying to get another bill passed to the senate. Cut through the house last year. I have not had at the alabama legal rulings, when even want to try to pretend to understand what the issue is there. And get into that policy debates. Are you comfortable with ivf as a procedure . I am, yeah, yeah. Yesterday nikki haley has struck some courses that are similar to what you just said about the sort of need to find areas of consensus, very divisive issues, surprising to see her say she thinks frozen and through his person well, you have a lot of people out there in this c