Trump Foe Mounts Competitive Senate Bid in Florida
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What motivated Alex Vindman to run for Senate in Florida?
From Wired, this is The Big Interview, where we get to know the people behind the headlines in conversations that explore the intersection of technology, power and culture. I'm Katie Drummond, Wired's Global Editorial Director. Over the next few months ahead of the midterm elections, we've been talking to candidates in key races across the country. And there's a pretty interesting one happening in Florida. Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman, a key witness in the first impeachment trial of President Trump, is running for one of the Sunshine State's Senate seats. That seat is the one formerly held by now Secretary of State Marco Rubio and currently occupied by Republican Ashley Moody. To unseat her, Vindman will have to first win the Democratic primary in August.
And if he does, he'll go up against a Republican in a state that President Trump won by more than 13 percentage points in 2024. Vindman was considered a long shot when he launched his Senate campaign in January. But a recent poll by Change Research shows him leading Moody.
How did Vindman's military background shape his political views?
He's here now to explain why he believes he's the right person for the job. Welcome to The Big Interview, Alex.
Thanks. Good to be here with you, Katie.
So glad to have you here. So you are maybe best known on a national level as a whistleblower. But you were also — and I'm going to list several things here, and I want to make sure I get them right — you are a more than 20-year Army veteran. You were honored with a Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq. And you were on the National Security Council. So I'm curious if you feel like your role in the first impeachment trial, first, I mean, embarrassing to even have to say that, of President Trump overshadows your work and your career.
What concerns did Vindman have about the Trump-Zelensky phone call?
What would you like to be best known for, if you could pick?
I thought you were going to say that I was best known for my appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm. A lot of folks seem to recognize me from there. Certainly, you know, the public knows me from that context. I didn't necessarily recognize the impact. I was sitting, testifying in front of Congress. You know, I was the focus of the story, but I wasn't really— You know, a part of that story, at least not in my sense. I was just doing my job. But behind the scenes, a lot of folks knew me for having a pretty exceptional military career.
What are Vindman's views on national security and foreign policy?
I finally came to the U.S. in 1979. I was four years old. We were Jewish refugees that fled from the Soviet Union. Dad landed in the U.S. at the age of 47, hauled furniture to be able to provide for us boys. It was my older brother, my twin brother. a grandmother he didn't get along with. He was a primary caregiver because my mother passed away and worked my way up through there, combat tours in Iraq, representing this nation in embassies in Kyiv, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Pentagon service, where I wrote the book on Russia, and then White House on the National Security Council. That's what I was known for with regards to the professional channels.
How does Vindman plan to address economic issues in Florida?
but the public obviously saw just a small sliver a small snapshot of an army officer that was willing to speak up and do the right thing and damn the consequences because that's what i was trying to do so if that's all they know about me if they know that i'm a fighter for for what's right that i will call balls and strikes regardless of where the fault lies then that's okay that's not a bad place to be known to be known for something
And I want to take our listeners and our viewers back in time a little bit, because this was several years ago. And not to dwell on that one moment, but that impeachment trial, that first one, you testified before Congress about a pivotal phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. This was back in 2019. And this is the call wherein Trump appears to pressure Zelensky to investigate the Bidens. Now, it has been several years and it has been arguably dozens and dozens, if not hundreds of scandals at the feet of President Trump. What you found so troubling about that call and why you felt compelled to come forward in that moment?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What motivated Alex Vindman to run for Senate in Florida?
0:00–1:00
2
How did Vindman's military background shape his political views?
1:00–1:34
3
What concerns did Vindman have about the Trump-Zelensky phone call?
1:34–2:07
4
What are Vindman's views on national security and foreign policy?
2:07–2:45
5
How does Vindman plan to address economic issues in Florida?
2:45–4:05
6
What is Vindman's stance on immigration and ICE policies?
4:05–4:37
7
How does Vindman view the role of artificial intelligence in politics?
4:37–5:14
8
What strategies does Vindman suggest for restoring trust in political leaders?
5:14–41:34
Speakers
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