Machado Nobel Giveaway Stuns, Iran Blackout Raises Fears, More
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Nathan Hager. Norway is reacting with disbelief to the news that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Medal to President Trump. Machado compares it to the Marquis de Lafayette presenting a medal of George Washington to Venezuela's Simón Bolívar 200 years ago.
Why did Maria Corina Machado give her Nobel Peace Medal to President Trump?
The people of Bolívar are giving back. To the heir of Washington, a medal. In this case, a medal of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Maria Karina Machado spoke after meeting with President Trump at the White House. Former Norwegian politicians call the move pathetic and embarrassing. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has said its awards are non-transferable, and it's unclear if the gesture will put Machado in the president's good graces. The New York Times reports CIA Director John Ratcliffe had his own meeting yesterday with acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez. President Trump has said he would hold off on attacking Iran if it stops killing protesters, but the country remains under its most extensive internet blackout on record. It's going on eight days and counting, and that's raising fears the deadly crackdown on dissent could continue.
Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall has the latest from Washington.
President Trump earlier this week said that he was canceling all meetings between U.S. and Iranian officials. But we know that there is this diplomacy going forward, as previous White House officials have suggested that that is always going to be an option on the table.
Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall, the current blackout in Iran is longer than the one that lasted during demonstrations in 2019. Activists say nearly 3,500 people have been killed and at least 20,000 more arrested in Iran since late last month. A congressional delegation is in Denmark today for talks with lawmakers as Danish and Greenlandic officials step up their lobbying against President Trump's threats to the island. Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen is traveling with the group.
I don't think there is any concern on the part of our allies, Denmark and Greenland, about partnering with the United States. And that's the route we should be taking. It be engaging in conversations if there is an interest on the part of this administration in additional operations there.
Jeanne Shaheen is the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She was a guest on Bloomberg's Michelle Hussein show. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett says he's headed to Davos next week with President Trump to attend the World Economic Forum. Hassett says the president will unveil a plan on housing affordability, including more on his push to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes.
How did Norway and the Norwegian Nobel Committee react to Machado’s gesture?
I think that what we're likely to see is an executive order that describes what an institutional investor is, what a single family home is. And then when that comes out, there'll be a clear guidance to people about when they can feel free that they're playing on a level playing field when they're competing for a home.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett also told Fox Business he hopes there's nothing to see here when it comes to the Justice Department's probe into Federal Reserve cost overruns. Hassett says if he were named Fed chair, he would pledge central bank independence. The heightened pressure on the Federal Reserve is raising expectations that Chair Jay Powell might not leave the Fed board when his time as chair runs out. Bloomberg's Alistair Bull has more on that.
It's a mess, but the reason it's a mess is, in a way, illustrating a very deliberate design feature of the Federal Reserve. When lawmakers set the institution up at the early part of the last century, they knew that it would be subject to political interference, so they granted Fed governors 14-year terms. The very reason that Jerome Powell has the option of staying on the board after his time as chair ends in May is because of that institutional feature.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:20
2
Why did Maria Corina Machado give her Nobel Peace Medal to President Trump?
0:20–2:33
3
How did Norway and the Norwegian Nobel Committee react to Machado’s gesture?
2:33–4:40
4
What is the scale and impact of Iran’s ongoing internet blackout and protests?
4:40–4:57
Speakers
6 identifiedMore from Bloomberg News Now
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