Joe Biden Passes the Torch to Kamala Harris | Pivot

1. 0:00 – 0:24

   Emotional whiplash after Biden steps aside

   1. KSKara Swisher0:00

      ... how are you feeling? How, what are your feels, Scott Galloway?

   2. SGScott Galloway0:03

      (laughs) It's nice of you to ask. I felt a mix of relief, excitement, and sadness.

   3. KSKara Swisher0:07

      Mm-hmm.

   4. SGScott Galloway0:08

      And, uh, uh, uh, I was actually quite stressed over the week. I-

   5. KSKara Swisher0:11

      Yeah.

   6. SGScott Galloway0:11

      You know, in general, I don't know if it's I'm getting older or the world is really a shittier, more unstable place, but between October 7th, Donald Trump, Biden, I have... I, I find this all quite actually quite stressful. What, what are your, how do you, how are you feeling?

2. 0:24 – 1:52

   Fundraising surge signals pent-up Democratic enthusiasm

   1. KSKara Swisher0:24

      This has got a lot of interesting possibilities. Obviously, the, the Republicans are, uh, lo- uh, are very nervous, I think. And they are, 'cause it's exciting and the fundraising is just indicative of that. Um, and so, uh, how... Spe- speaking of fundraising, how many texts did you get from Democrats yesterday? They got, they... More than $50 million online on Sunday, making it the single biggest-

   2. SGScott Galloway0:44

      Yeah.

   3. KSKara Swisher0:44

      ... day for online Democratic contributions since the 2020 election. People were, b- b- there was an... Everybody was waiting. They didn't wanna give it to Biden, uh, 'cause they felt sad and, like, they're gonna lose, they're gonna throw the money away. Uh, how do, how many did you get?

   4. SGScott Galloway0:57

      Oh, it's, it's, it's everywhere. But it's exciting. It's, people seem really... Um, I, I do, uh, I, I empathize. I, I felt like when he first announced, I was just like, there's... I had this cathartic release of a mix of sadness and relief. And then as we came into this morning, I just, there's a palpable sense of hope and optimism and excitement. And one of the stats, uh, I love is that Trump immediately boasted that post-his conviction, he raised $53 million. Uh, and what it ends up is that 50 million of that came from one person. (laughs)

   5. KSKara Swisher1:31

      Right, right, right.

   6. SGScott Galloway1:32

      And, uh, the, the biggest haul, I believe, in this election cycle so far has happened in the last 24 hours-

   7. KSKara Swisher1:37

      That's right, yeah.

   8. SGScott Galloway1:37

      ... for, for, for Vice President Harris, so that's very exciting. And not only that, it's small, it's mostly small donors, which, which I think people are just really excited-

   9. KSKara Swisher1:46

      Yeah, young.

   10. SGScott Galloway1:46

       ... to get behind-

   11. KSKara Swisher1:46

       Fresh.

   12. SGScott Galloway1:47

       ... yeah, to get behind, to get behind s- uh, someone other than Biden and specifically someone other than Trump.

3. 1:52 – 2:44

   Reassessing Kamala Harris: accomplishments vs. perception

   1. KSKara Swisher1:52

      That's right. It's given them an alternative, especially if she makes the right choices. Now you've been lukewarm on her in the past.

   2. SGScott Galloway1:57

      Mm-hmm.

   3. KSKara Swisher1:58

      Have you changed your... I have not. I know her very well, and I really think she's still... It's not unsung, it's just she's had a lot of accomplishments that oth-

   4. SGScott Galloway2:06

      Yeah.

   5. KSKara Swisher2:06

      Like, JD Vance has no accomplishments, and he gets-

   6. SGScott Galloway2:09

      Agreed.

   7. KSKara Swisher2:10

      ... touted. And she has real accom- like, real... Up and down, by the way. I don't agree with everything she's done.

   8. SGScott Galloway2:15

      Yeah.

   9. KSKara Swisher2:15

      But certainly an accomplished person. I really like her husband quite a bit. I think he's-

   10. SGScott Galloway2:19

       Yeah.

   11. KSKara Swisher2:19

       ... fantastic. Um, uh, and she's not what people think she is. Like, you know, she's much more conservative. She's much more, um, she's certainly open-minded, but-

   12. SGScott Galloway2:30

       Yep.

   13. KSKara Swisher2:30

       ... she's not the left-wing, there's... Uh, she's conservative.

   14. SGScott Galloway2:34

       Uh, she's an attorney general.

   15. KSKara Swisher2:34

       For California, she's conservative.

   16. SGScott Galloway2:36

       Yeah, yeah.

   17. KSKara Swisher2:36

       I'll tell you that. But anyway, what, uh, what is... Has it changed your mind at all, or is it just her being vaunted there makes her more substantive to you?

4. 2:44 – 3:49

   Strategic advantages: infrastructure, history, and contrast with Trump

   1. SGScott Galloway2:44

      I'll give you what I see the pluses and minuses, and I'll... And also, I just wanna acknowledge, I, I think you're a great judge of character, and it's heartening for me that, that you admire her and, and think a lot of her. Um, so here are the pluses. The reality is we are where we are, and she starts at letter E or F-

   2. KSKara Swisher2:59

      Mm-hmm.

   3. SGScott Galloway2:59

      ... if she just, they just pivot the infrastructure, the field offices, the money, the staff.

   4. KSKara Swisher3:05

      Mm-hmm.

   5. SGScott Galloway3:05

      I mean, she, she, she doesn't... She starts at a, a, not a sprint, but-

   6. KSKara Swisher3:09

      Mm-hmm.

   7. SGScott Galloway3:09

      ... or not a gallop, but a canter, right?

   8. KSKara Swisher3:11

      Right.

   9. SGScott Galloway3:12

      It just, the momentum is maintained if she's the pick. I do think that while, uh, Secretary Clinton didn't, didn't break the glass ceiling, I think she shattered it.

   10. KSKara Swisher3:21

       Mm-hmm.

   11. SGScott Galloway3:22

       And I think that America looks back on that election and says, "You know, we're, we were ready for a woman president then, and we're definitely ready for one now." I, I really do think people, America is ready for its first female president. In terms of a race, in a competition, I think in terms of brand, it's about offering distinct lines of differentiation. When she gets on a stage with him at a debate, she's gonna make him look as old as he made Biden look.

   12. KSKara Swisher3:48

       Right. Yeah.

5. 3:49 – 4:18

   Age flips from Democratic liability to Democratic weapon

   1. SGScott Galloway3:49

      The having a woman of color who's attractive, he's just gonna... I mean, the first tweet I put out this morning was that every presidential candidate in history at this age has dropped out. Donald Trump is too old to be president.

   2. KSKara Swisher4:01

      Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, I liked-

   3. SGScott Galloway4:03

      All of-

   4. KSKara Swisher4:03

      ... the, the-

   5. SGScott Galloway4:04

      All of a sudden, he's the... There's gonna be stark relief. And what's-

   6. KSKara Swisher4:07

      Mm-hmm.

   7. SGScott Galloway4:07

      ... interesting is that just as age was the primary consideration-

   8. KSKara Swisher4:12

      Mm-hmm.

   9. SGScott Galloway4:12

      ... in Trump versus Biden, I actually think it's gonna be the primary consideration here.

   10. KSKara Swisher4:15

       It is.

   11. SGScott Galloway4:15

       But it's gonna be our asset, not our liability.

   12. KSKara Swisher4:17

       Right.

6. 4:18 – 4:23

   Core messaging idea: 'Prosecutor vs. felon'

   1. SGScott Galloway4:18

      The brand, um, positioning I would absolutely go after if I were her is-

   2. KSKara Swisher4:23

      Mm-hmm.

7. 4:23 – 4:54

   Risks for Harris: weak past campaign, limited VP resonance, messaging problems

   1. SGScott Galloway4:23

      ... "I'm a prosecutor, he's a felon." I would just be like, (laughs) "This is what I did to people who ripped off people." She put a bunch of, uh, degree mill universities out of business, and say, "This is what Trump did. He was the degree mill g- guy." I would absolutely macho myself up around the AG stuff. "I'm the prosecutor, he's the felon." Now, the downside. She has not been a successful presidential candidate. She is not battle-tested. She dropped out before she ever won a single dele- delegate. She has not resonated with the American people in her role as vice president.

8. 4:54 – 5:25

   Pragmatism over perfection: the singular goal is beating Trump

   1. SGScott Galloway4:54

      Some people will say that she hasn't been given a fair shot. There's probably some truth to that. But I think actually the most, uh, the most negative thing you could say about her is that I find her staff has done a really bad job of messaging. Because what they talk about, or what I hear, is that she hasn't been given a fair shake, as opposed to saying she's outstanding. So, I think there's, uh, no- nothing's perfect, but I'm sort of at a point where, I gotta be honest here, I'm, I, I just want someone who can beat Trump. I'm not gonna get...

   2. KSKara Swisher5:22

      Mm-hmm.

   3. SGScott Galloway5:22

      Perfect is not on the men- me- eno- the menu for me right now.

   4. KSKara Swisher5:25

      Well, I think-

   5. SGScott Galloway5:25

      And I-

9. 5:25 – 6:02

   Compressed timeline and VP pick: what Democrats must do next

   1. KSKara Swisher5:25

      I think if they wrap her with tal- with talented people, they'll... They, there's not enough time for-

   2. SGScott Galloway5:29

      Well, they already have that.

   3. KSKara Swisher5:30

      By the way, there's not enough time for her to fuck up that much. That's the one thing, is the timeframe is squeezed.

   4. SGScott Galloway5:36

      Huh.

   5. KSKara Swisher5:36

      Right? And she's the best-known person. If she makes the right, two things, if she makes the right choice on vice president, she'll get a lot of credit. Um, and-

   6. SGScott Galloway5:44

      That's interesting.

   7. KSKara Swisher5:45

      ... and sh- there's just, it's just not enough time, but you know her pretty well. And, like, one of the things I've noticed is on- online-... he's popular on crazy Twitter. She's popular on TikTok. Uh, what, what should, w- first of all, what should Democrats do in the next week from your perspective and-

10. 6:02 – 7:06

    Coronation vs. competition: should Democrats run an open contest?

    1. SGScott Galloway6:02

       Well, I wanna, I, I'm gonna push it back to you. It sounds like you're advocating for what I loosely call a coronation versus a competition. You think they should all run-

    2. KSKara Swisher6:09

       It's not, why is the word coronation? She's the obvious choice. She, she's the, she's the vice president.

    3. SGScott Galloway6:13

       Oh.

    4. KSKara Swisher6:13

       She's been, speaking of those f- those 14 million votes, they were voting for Biden, but she was on the ticket.

    5. SGScott Galloway6:18

       Kara, no, no presidential candidate, with the exception of Gerald Ford, has not been forced or asked to run something resembling a campaign with competition.

    6. KSKara Swisher6:27

       I just, I, I don't think there's time for it, unfortunately. I, I think-

    7. SGScott Galloway6:30

       I think that's a good argument.

    8. KSKara Swisher6:31

       Yeah.

    9. SGScott Galloway6:31

       But let's be honest, it's a coronation, not a competition.

    10. KSKara Swisher6:34

        Well, well, except that they, that, that the people that are picking are the Democratic Party. It's not just the, the pooh-bahs. No, it's not.

    11. SGScott Galloway6:40

        (laughs) Which, by the way, there are some problems. Uh, should it be, should it be the party elders making the pick?

    12. KSKara Swisher6:44

        Well, I s- I heard the Dean Phillips argument. I heard the Dean Phillips argument that he made yesterday.

    13. SGScott Galloway6:49

        Well, I, I, uh, uh, I'm kind of, quite frankly, I think, I, uh, uh, at the end of the day, I think I'm on board with you.

    14. KSKara Swisher6:54

        Mm-hmm.

    15. SGScott Galloway6:54

        I think I'm just sort of, we've gone through... I feel like we're like a, a, like an abused family at this point, and we've, like, got some re- reasonable sense of function back in our household, and we just need to go with it. You know what I mean? I'm not-

11. 7:06 – 7:37

    Party health vs. GOP cult dynamics; unity as contrast

    1. KSKara Swisher7:06

       Well, also, by the way, I don't think we're dysfunctional at all. I think the Republicans are dysfunctional. They, there's so many Republicans who don't want Trump, and they can't say anything. They're in a cult. The, uh, look at JD Vance. He's had to literally castrate himself for Trump, in terms of he's a eunuch. He used to be, uh, anti-Trump, then he had to do things. Um, these people are, th- this is healthy to argue in public.

    2. SGScott Galloway7:26

       But you're... Okay, I, I won't use the word coronation.

    3. KSKara Swisher7:28

       Mm-hmm.

    4. SGScott Galloway7:28

       You think we should rally around Vice President Harris.

    5. KSKara Swisher7:30

       I think they have. I think they have.

    6. SGScott Galloway7:31

       You don't want, you don't want a series of debates to try and battle test a candidate.

    7. KSKara Swisher7:34

       I'd be happy, I'd be happy to have her do that.

    8. SGScott Galloway7:36

       Yeah.

12. 7:37 – 8:28

    Rapid endorsements and Biden’s legacy: was there a coordinated handoff?

    1. KSKara Swisher7:37

       Uh, oh, I think she's quite good on the stump. Newsom, Whitmer, Buttigieg, they've all, like all the ones that would be her competition-

    2. SGScott Galloway7:45

       They all signed up. Yeah.

    3. KSKara Swisher7:45

       ... have, have, have, have peaced out, and they're-

    4. SGScott Galloway7:48

       Do you... Let me ask you a question. Do you think that was part of the deal? Do you think that was-

    5. KSKara Swisher7:50

       I don't think they could organize it that fast, but maybe. Uh, they're certainly in touch with each other, I would guess.

    6. SGScott Galloway7:55

       Right, right. I, I wonder if, if part of the deal was Biden saying, "Look, uh, this needs to be... M- part of my legacy is handing it off to my vice president."

    7. KSKara Swisher8:05

       Mm-hmm.

    8. SGScott Galloway8:05

       And he called all these folks and said, "I'm going to drop out, and you're going to endorse her within 12 hours," because it all happened pretty fast.

    9. KSKara Swisher8:11

       Uh, they didn't quite... Obama didn't immediately, hasn't immediately done it. I think all the candidates were smart from a, from a, a, a, a, a political perspective. There's no reason for more chaos at this point.

    10. SGScott Galloway8:22

        Yup. I think it's a good argument.

Episode duration: 8:28