Transcript of Governor Katie Hobbs Defends Arizona from Trump’s Extremist Plans

Who would have thought, ripping away people's health care, making prices surge even more in the United States while bragging about all the gold in the oval office and how rich you are and maybe adding to that, now launching a Qatari military base in the United States, and that's somehow supposed to be helpful to America. Those things aren't popular. Who would have thought those things weren't popular? When you actually take a look at some of the states that were voting for Donald Trump in this past election, whether you're looking at Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, you look at it, Donald Trump is deeply underwater in these states. I just think people want normalcy. They want promises kept about making things affordable. I think people are just seeing in particular, what's going on with this government shutdown as their health care is being ripped away, and they're absolutely livid. I mean, just take a look right here. Let's go to Arizona. Let's take a look at Arizona's fifth Congressional district because this guy is running for governor. He's the Republican candidate, Andy Biggs. Andy Biggs says, We're not going to talk to Democrats about giving people health care at all.

They're terrorists. We don't talk to terrorists. Okay, Andy, let's take a look at your district right here because in 2024 or 2025, a couple earning $82,000 a year, they're paying $492 a month in premiums on their Affordable Care Act plan. But if the The Affordable Care Act subsidies are not extended, they'll be paying, what, three times as much? $1,481 a month? What family making $82,000 a year is able to afford close to $1,500 a month? So, Andy, maybe you should do what we teach fifth-grade students to do in American government classes, which is you talk to the other side, you figure it out, you don't rule like dictators. By the way, this is what Big said, just so you know, he called him a terrorist. Yeah, watch what Big said. Here, play this clip.

I don't think you should be negotiating with these people because they're political terrorists, just like they are domestic terrorists.

I think they do. I think they care about health care, and I think they want to open up the government but ensure that people get health care and not just billionaires are the ones getting subsidized. Then Andy Biggs has said that we need to eliminate all courts, just get rid of federal judges. Just if the federal judge rules against Donald Trump, I guess the federal judge in Portland, Oregon, for example, who ruled against Donald Trump, are these the types of judges who need to be eliminated? Here, play this clip.

I've got my bill that I keep asking for support on, and that bill would basically say, you're not in good standing. If you're not in good standing, you're not in good behavior, then you're no longer qualified to be a federal judge. These are the things that we have to do. We can actually eliminate courts.

We can limit jurisdiction. That's the priority right now, not delivering health care, eliminating courts. Also, apparently, Biggs doesn't believe in the concept of having reasonable suspicion before you just pull people off the street and put them into prisons. Here, play this flow. Judge says, You got to have a reasonable suspicion before you arrest somebody, before ICE can take people into custody. Your reaction?

Well, this is another time where the judge has gotten this wrong for political reasons. And this judge is trying to also issue a national injunction. Again, that's what you're saying. That's the intent of this.

I want to bring in Arizona's governor, Katie Hobbs. Governor Hobbs, it's great to see you because what you've done in Arizona, I think, is a model of how you actually govern, how you engage in by parts, a balanced budget. You talk to the other side, even if you disagree with them a lot of issues, you figure it out, as opposed to what seems to be on with bigs and these Republicans in Washington. You've announced your re-election campaign, and you're running on, look, this is how you govern. Talk to us, though, about what you've seen in Arizona right now as the governor being able to pass balanced budgets and actually do the work and show up.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I launched in the face of coming off of the most successful legislative session that we've had under my tenure in a divided government. And I think Our State is stronger because I have continued to focus on Arizonans first and the politics last. I've taken on the tough challenges that so many of my predecessors, career politicians, have ignored for years. And we got I got stuff done because I'm willing to work with anyone to deliver for Arizonans on the tough issues we're facing. When extremists in the legislature sent me a partisan budget that slashed services for Arizonans across the state, I betoed it, and I forced them back to the table. And what we got instead was this bipartisan balanced budget that delivers for Arizona families in contrast to the partisan Washington budget that skyrockets the debt, that slashes Medicaid for millions of Americans. We protected health care for 60,000 Arizonans with disabilities. Their budget slashes meals for Kids and Nutrition Assistance. My budget invests in school meals for 68,000 kids from working families. Their budget cuts law enforcement budget. My budget gives much-deserved raises for state police and fire. Their budget makes college unaffordable for so many Americans.

My budget invests in community college scholarships, so more Arizondians have access. The list goes on and on, but these are the kinds of things you can get done. When you're focused on working with anyone who wants to come to the table with solutions, and you're focused on the people who sent you to the Capitol to deliver on these issues.

It's such an interesting thing that I think deserves more attention because, as you said, the extremist faction of Republicans, they tried to push forward what would have been a disastrous situation in Arizona. They were testing you. They were trying to call your bluff. They had their whole propaganda machine ready to go. Governor Hobbes doesn't support you. She's vetoing this. And they rolled out all their usual tricks, which we're seeing now at a macro level in DC. They're doing the same playbook. But you said, I'm not going to be bullied. Absolutely not. This does not benefit the people. And then you put forward your own budget and you won. And you didn't win for you. You won for the people. And whether the people in Arizona are Republican or Democrat, I think they looked at what you did and say, I respect I see that's the way government's actually supposed to function. A Republican may say, I disagree with Governor Hobbes on this issue or this issue, and a Democrat may say, I agree with her, but you brought people together. I think that's what people are seeing not happening in DC, where you heard Biggs who's running for governor.

He calls them terrorists and says, I'm not even talking to them. You got to talk. That's our system. You speak, you negotiate, you figure stuff out.

Yeah, no, absolutely. I'm really not sure what ideology you come from when you think that government shouldn't be there to help the people who elected you to serve in that government, like ripping away health care and thinking that you're helping Americans by doing that. And then also you played the clip about the courts. The courts are an important check and balance, and obviously, they don't want to be checked on their abuses of power right now.

How is this even a... I'm thinking about DC now. How is this even a partisan issue? I showed you bigs, but I could go every one of these Republican Congress members. I can go Crane. If you're paying $499 a month in premiums. Right now, you will be paying $2,141 if these subsidies are not extended, so over $25,000 a year. I'm just wondering what Arizona couple who's making $82,000 a $24,000 can afford $24,000 a year in health care. This was never Republican, Democrat, independent. This would be an American issue, it seems. I imagine that's what you're hearing a lot from Arizonaians right now.

Yeah, Absolutely. Whether it's health care costs or any other costs, when I talk to Arizonans, the thing I hear the most about this President is, look, he ran on lowering costs. He says he won because costs were too high and he was going to do something about that. He's doing exactly the opposite, whether it's these insurance premiums that we're going to see going up or ripping away Medicaid that's going to also drive up insurance premiums for everyone, or The Tariffs, his Trade War, that is the biggest tax we've ever seen that's making costs go up everywhere for businesses, for Arizonans. It is exactly the opposite of what he ran on. And Biggs and the other two Republicans that are in this primary against me are the biggest cheerleaders for these failed Washington policies at the expense of Arizonans.

We know it's the worst housing market in the country since 1995. Construction and manufacturing are basically in recessionary territories as a result of, of course, the country, as a result of Trump's Tariffs Against the world. And tourism down significantly significantly because people see the images, one of these ice agents who are roaming the streets, and if you look a certain way, disappearing you. Also, people don't like traveling here when Trump's threatening the existence of their sovereignty. Lots of Canadians would visit Arizona. That's down across the country, in Vegas and Arizona and elsewhere. How are you weathering those challenges and the headwinds that you face as a Democratic governor in a purplish Yeah.

So economic growth is a huge priority for me. I have worked to continue creating good paying jobs. Under my tenure, we've created over 100,000 jobs. And Arizona is one of 12 states right now that's experiencing economic expansion. But there is this climate of uncertainty from the Trade War, from so many other policies that are just creating uncertainty. When I talk to small business owners, whether it's from the tariffs or other factors, they're very cautious about making growth plans about hiring. So that's definitely impacting us. But I continue to keep my head down to focus on what's right for Arizonans and move forward on those policies, again, with whoever wants to work with me to solve these challenges. You brought up housing. Housing is a huge issue, not just here in Arizona, but across the country. And I know here in Arizona, the housing costs have gone up, and that didn't happen overnight. We're not going to solve it overnight, but we're taking aggressive action to help address it. I invested huge amounts in our State Housing Trust Fund, where we've been able to build thousands of units of affordable housing. We use that fund to invest in down payment assistance so Arizona families could purchase their first home.

I've signed legislation that cuts red tape to allow for faster approvals, to allow for missing middle and other housing, like accessory dwelling units or casitas. I signed water legislation this year that will also help solve some of our water issues by converting high-use agricultural land to housing and build the housing we need in some of the fastest-growing areas of our state. So So there's not one single issue or solution. It's not going to happen overnight, but we're chipping away at it. And I continue to just be focused on what's right for Arizonans and working in a bipartisan way to address these tough issues.

As we talk about elections and bipartisan, the idea of mail-in voting never used to be a partisan issue. I mean, mail-in is very popular in Arizona among Republicans, Democrats, Democrats' Independence. This is a way to be more efficient and secure. At the same time, you're the former Secretary of State, but Republican Secretary of State, Democrat Secretary, said Republican. This was never an issue that had these conspiracies abounding it, and just the complete assault that we see by Trump and some of these right-wing extremists about it. When you ran, you've been unapologetic that mail-in voting should It's not going to be a non-partisan issue. It makes sense. You've defended it in the face of a lot of pressure from Trump. Talk to us about that, because I know it is a big issue in the state, and it's a popular one in the state.

Yeah, about 75% of Arizonans or or more, depending on the election, utilize our system of early voting. It's been around for decades before other states implemented universal mail-in voting. In fact, David Schweikert, who's one of the Republicans running in this primary, when he was in the legislature, voted to implement mail-in voting. When Andy Biggs was in the legislature, he voted to implement the permanent early voter list, which solidified early voting as a safe way to participate in elections in our state. And now they're lockstep with the President in attacking it. It makes no sense. It's a secure way to vote and a huge number of Arizonans participate in it.

Don't you think there's a lot of things, though, that no matter what political party you're from, people are looking at this White House and also a lot of the mega sycophantic environment that surrounds it? It doesn't make sense. You can't just say you brought in $17 trillion when you didn't. You're just making up numbers. Why are you saying that inflation is gone when it's not? We're experienced these things. Just because you have some weirdo stuff, Donald Trump, about windmills and solar, stop getting rid of it. This stuff works and we need energy. To me, at a most basic level, I think that I've seen so many Democrats, Republicans, independents just look at what's coming out of the White House and they get this pit in their stomach and they're like, What are you talking about? What are you doing? And again, that, to me, is something that within beyond just the partisanship. It's like, What the hell is this?

Oh, yeah. I mean, it is a lot of chaos every single day. And I think that chaos is by design to make it hard to follow and to push back because it's so much on so many different levels. And you talk to folks on any side of the political aisle who say in private, Oh, yeah, I don't support this, but you have to to go along to get along. It's very frustrating that more people aren't willing to call this out. It's hypocrisy. It's bad policy. It's harming Americans for some political ideology rather than policies that actually work and that actually move us forward and actually deliver on what you said you would do when you ran, like lowering costs, making our community safer, whatever the issue is. And again, I think how we win moving forward is, for me, especially as governor in a state like Arizona, is focusing on the issues and not the politics and bringing whoever to the table is willing to have a conversation about solving them.

Governor, where can people find out more about the election campaign if they want to follow it and see more of the positions and platforms?

Oh, that is an amazing question. Thank you so much. This is going to be a very tough race. I need help from all over the place to win. And as you've seen, governors are the last line of defense. Folks can go to katie hobbs. Org to get more information about how you can help with the campaign. Thanks.

Governor Hobbs, thanks for joining us. First time on the Midas Touch Network. We'll see. We'll get you back on to it. We appreciate everything you're doing for the state and for the country.

Thank you.

Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. Thanks for watching. Be sure to Midas Touch podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast for new updates every single day.