Skip to main content

tv   Smerconish  CNN  June 3, 2023 12:00pm-1:00pm PDT

12:00 pm
world to celebrate pride. they'll be at the major theme parks wearing red shirts to be seen. in a statement from the ceo of gay days, he said they are working with their hotels and differently venues to make sure they don't run afoul of the new law. according to website, there is a drag queen bingo event that is advertised as open to all ages. we'll see how they navigate that. they've also invited governor desantis to the event. it's unlikely he will attend. victor blackwell, cnn, orlando. thanks for joining me today. i'm paula reid and i'll be back tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. smerconish starts right now. what's in a name? i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia. s smerconish, not a bad ring.
12:01 pm
we can go with the more accurate polish version, or how about the ukrainian spelling and pronunciation? the polish version probably closer to my roots. of course, i'm not the only one with name pronunciation on the brain these days. florida governor ron desantis kicked off his presidential run last week, perhaps the only thing more confusing than trying to watch the campaign launch on twitter spaces was hearing the candidate's last name. >> i'm ron desantis and i'm running for president to lead our great american comeback. >> come again. the same day that governor desantis released that video, he appeared on fox news and he said this. >> anybody that's so inclined to help us, i would love to have your support at rondesantis.com. >> this was low-hanging fruit for the trump campaign. >> i'm ron desantis.
12:02 pm
>> this is governor ron desantis. >> hello, this is governor ron desantis, wishing everyone a merry christmas. >> who knew the long versus short version of a vowel could cause all this political calamity? but the governor seemed unfazed when asked what the final word was on how to pronounce his name. he said this. >> it's ridiculous, these stupid things. the way to pronounce my last name, winner. >> well, a name or pronunciation change in the midst of a presidential campaign, that is unusual. surname alterations intended to americanize, that's a prime-honored practice decision for many families. bill clinton, he changed his name from william jefferson blythe iii. senator gary hart was born gary
12:03 pm
hartpence and his family changed his name long before the thought of running office entered his mind. the trump family are not immune. it's not always been trump. it was originally jrump and got changed when his late grandfather, frederick trump, arrived in the united states. the governor of florida finds himself in an even more crowded field of challengers to the president, proving the point i made last week that everybody is jumping in the candidate pool despite trump's lead in the polls. no doubt because they think his standing is imperilled by prosecutors. now it's nikki haley and tim scott, asa hutchinson, vivek ramaswamy and larry elder. next week former announcements expected from former vice president mike pence, chris christie and north carolina
12:04 pm
governor doug bergham. maybe glenn youngkin from virginia as well. trump claims he's baffled as to why he has so many opponents but seems to relish them all, cutting into desantis' second place. >> i don't know why people are doing it. they're at 1%, some are at zero. i think the one who is second is going down so much and so rapidly, i don't think he's going to be second that much longer. i think he's going to be third or fourth. >> trump's analysis assumes that everything remains static but that's highly unlikely. this week in the classified documents investigation came the news that federal prosecutors have an audio recording of trump acknowledging that he held onto a classified pentagon document after leaving office and the document in question still seems to be mia. sources tell cnn that in mid-march trump attorneys turned over material connected to a classified military document, an iranian attack plan. it's unclear if the document
12:05 pm
itself was ever actually returned to the government. and then there's the other side of the aisle led by president president biden, or should i say president obiden. his name, too, evolved to what it is at some point during immigration to the united states. last night the potus took an oval office victory lap after solving the battle over the debt ceiling. maybe because he wanted to turn attention away from a tumble that he had just taken. you know, it's an old washington trick to name a bill with a unifying sounding title. in this case biden's term for the fiscal responsibility act, he calls it a bipartisan budget agreement. it actually applies. the resolution of the debt deal got done with 63 votes in the senate. that included 17 republicans, and 314 votes in the house, 149 of them republican. speaker kevin mccarthy was able to herd enough cats in his caucus and work with the
12:06 pm
president, and it should be noted in the end president biden did negotiate. the extremes in both parties were the outliers, analysts offered different opinions as to who won politically, to which i say america did by staving off economic default. here is how "the new york times" put it. the compromise was structured with the aim of enticing votes from both parties. it allowed republicans who refused to raise the debt ceiling and avert a default without conditions to say that they succeeded in reducing some federal spending, even as funding for the military and veterans programs would continue to grow, while allowing democrats to say they spared most domestic programs from severe cuts. here is hoping there's more compromise to come on other issues. despite the fact that president biden used his veteran skills to orchestrate a bipartisan solution to the debt ceiling crisis, the news this week instead dominated by an unfortunate video of the president taking a tumble as he
12:07 pm
completed handing out diplomas at the air force academy commencement. he later joked that he had been sandbagged. interestingly, when a reporter in iowa gave trump the opportunity to reinforce the right wing talking point that this tumble showed biden's feebleness and old age, trump was uncharacteristically charitable. >> well, i hope he wasn't hurt. you've got to be careful about that. you've got to be careful about that, because you don't want that. even if you have to tiptoe down a ramp. that was the best speech i think i've ever made and it was pouring rain and it was horrible and cold and windy, and they have a ramp that was like an ice-skating rink. i tiptoed down and i suffered, they never covered my speech. the smart people understood that. that's too bad. if he fell, it's too bad. >> pouring rain? you saw. maybe trump knows that all of his challengers are waiting for
12:08 pm
him to slip and fall, legally and bigly. we're still eight months from votes being cast, but the campaign seems to have a frenetic pace. the majority of attention still happied on two unpopular front-runners, talking about a third-party challenge from the group no labels. when all is said and done, i'm still wondering if biden nor trump will be the party's candidate. all the gop jockeying is to see who can best position as a trump alternative if and when the field should whittle because of the troubles. and if it's not trouble for the republicans, even more pressure is going to mount for a biden alternative. remember, it remain as marathon, not a splint. and america may be searching for other names, however they're pronounced. ahead, it is pride month, but big national retailers with campaigns and products that celebrate the lgbtq+ community, they're experiencing threats and
12:09 pm
boycotts and plummeting market value. is such affinity marketing more harm than help? i want to know what you think. go to my website at smerconish.com and answer this week's poll question. is it in the best interest of companies to embrace pride month? plus, it's graduation prime and many commencement speakers are telling students to follow their passion. is that actually a bad idea? professor scott galloway has some thoughts and he's here to share them. ♪ to guide you through a changing world. ♪ (bridget) with thyroid eye disease
12:10 pm
i hid from the camera. and i wanted to hide from the world. for years, i thought my t.e.d. was beyond help... but then i asked my doctor about tepezza. (vo) tepezza is the only medicine that treats t.e.d. at the source not just the symptoms. in a clinical study more than 8 out of 10 patients taking tepezza had less eye bulging. tepezza is an infusion. patients taking tepezza may have infusion reactions. tell your doctor right away if you experience high blood pressure, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath or muscle pain. before getting tepezza, tell your doctor if you have diabetes, ibd, or are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant. tepezza may raise blood sugar even if you don't have diabetes and may worsen ibd such as crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. now, i'm ready to be seen again. visit mytepezza.com to find a ted eye specialist and to see bridget's before and after photos. - representative! - sorry, i didn't get that. - oh buddy! you need a hug.
12:11 pm
you also need consumer cellular. get the exact same coverage as the nation's leading carriers and 100% us based customer support. starting at $20. consumer cellular. ♪ choosing miracle-ear was a great decision. like when i decided to host family movie nights. miracle-ear made it easy. i just booked an appointment and a certified hearing care professional evaluated my hearing loss and helped me find the right device calibrated to my unique hearing needs. now i enjoy every moment. the quiet ones and the loud ones. make a sound decision. call 1-800 miracle now, and book your free hearing evaluation. sometimes you're so busy taking care of everyone else you don't do enough for yourself, or your mouth. but eventually, it will remind you. when it does, aspen dental is here for you. we offer the custom dental treatments you need, all under one roof, right nearby. so we can bring more life to your smile... and more smile to your life...
12:12 pm
affordably. new patients without insurance can get a free complete exam and x-rays, and 20 percent off treatment plans. schedule your appointment today. ♪ the only thing i regret about my life is that i did what everyone else did at the time. i hired local talent. if i knew about upwork, i would have hired actually talented people from all over the world. instead of talentless people from all over my house. -grandpa... -shh.. shh.. shh.. -but... -shh.. shh... shh... -but... -oh... ♪ this is how we work now ♪ the subway series is getting an upgrade! the new #19 the pickleball club. who knew the subway series could get even better? me, i knew. maybe you should host a commercial then. sure, okay. subway series just keeps getting better.
12:13 pm
- [announcer] do you have an invention idea but don't know what to do next? call invent help today. they can help you get started with your idea. call now 800-710-0020. i have a question, is it sound advice to say to graduates follow your passion? so many commentment speakers do exactly that. it's what senator raphael warnock said to this 2023 class. >> i challenge you to find your passion, i challenge you to find that thing in the world that feels like such a deep moral contradiction that you cannot be silent, you have to express yourself, you have to stand up and try to make the world better. find that thing that you would do for free, except that you have to pay the rent.
12:14 pm
>> senator warnock echoing similar words from ken jung back in 2019. >> i encourage you, good times and bad, keep moving, keep finding your passion, and i honestly say to every single soul in this coliseum, if i can do this, and if i can do what i want, so can you. >> in fact, through the years many esteemed leaders have given similar advice. here is steve jobs and oprah winfrey both addressing stanford graduates. >> you've got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. >> when you're doing the work you're meant to do, it feels right, and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid. follow your feelings. if it feels right, move forward.
12:15 pm
if it doesn't feel right, don't do it. >> joining me now to discuss is scott galloway, a professor of marketing at nyu stern school of business, he's an entrepreneur, the host of the professor g podcast and author of best-selling books, most recently "adrift america". always great to have you. so many in gen-z look up to you. do you buy into the conventional wisdom of just follow your passion? >> michael, it's great to see you. it's terrible advice. when i heard from your producer, i realized last week was the 30-year anniversary of my commencement at berkeley, and this is a brag, i was the student commencement speaker. and then the guy after me gave the same advice, follow your passion. and in the audience was my mother, who lived her life as a secretary, who had cancer. we had $40,000 and i had a bunch
12:16 pm
of student debt. but i was supposed to go follow my passion? what utter bullshit. this is your job. your job is to find something you're good at. invest 10,000 hours and become great at it, endure the sacrifice, the perseverance, the injustice that is guaranteed in the workplace, and become great at something. and become great at something that people will pay you for. you had an actor giving a commencement address, 98% of actors don't make a living. you and i both have a podcast. 1% of podcasters make 97% of revenue. your chances of becoming a global fashion designer are 1 in 160,000. the good news is if you become great at something, prestige, economic security, relevance, pride, camaraderie, will make you passionate about whatever it is. when someone tells you to follow
12:17 pm
their passion or follow your passion, it means a couple things. it means they're already rich, and typically the guy telling you to follow your passion made his billions in iron or smelting. find something you're good at, find something you're good at that people will pay you for, and then making money in a capitalist society and being relevant and being able to take care of your parents and take care of your kids and take care of yourself will make you passionate about whatever that thing is. and here is the problem. people mistake passion for hobbies. work is hard. and you will struggle and you might stop and think, i'm not loving this, it must not be my passion. no, that's called work. >> okay, what if i'm good at it, but it sucks, it's drudgery. is that still your advice? >> no. you can't be great at anything that you drithink is drudgery. my first job was at morgan stanley.
12:18 pm
i got the gold ring and if i stayed there i would have been economically secure, but i hated. it if you hate something, you're never going to be great at it. so i left and do something else. if you're good at something, you have an aptitude for it, because being great at something has a tremendous amount of reward. you're never going to be great at anything you find drudgery. >> i think of malcolm gladwell, i take it you buy into the school of thought that says you're going to have to invest a lot of prime before you're an expert in whatever that chosen field might be. >> not only grit, but also perseverance. i know you, michael. the key to our success is rejection. the only thing you know that's going to happen to you is you will get fired and you will endure rejection. if you want to be successful professionally and romantically,
12:19 pm
the key is batting 100. what do i mean? if you're in the antiterrorist group of the fbi, you have to bat a thousand. if you're willing to endure rejection, you just need a hundred to be ultimately successful. try things, be aggressive. express friendship. ask people out. express romantic interest. call people you don't know and ask for an interview. and guess what? if you get rejected, that means you're on your way to success. the key to success is getting beaned in the face and getting up and getting back to the plate. >> you don't know this about me, but i delivered a commencement address a couple of years ago, and i walked through all of the times i had been rejected in this business. all of the hosts for whom i had guest hosted, thought that i had sweat equity, so that when it was no longer their gig that i would get it. and like in five very high-profile circumstances,
12:20 pm
scott, i didn't get the job. i don't know if it resonated that day with the grads, but that's exactly the tack that i took. >> yeah, look, people think success is a line that's up and to the right. it's not. it's a zigly line. i've started nine companies, i'm generously two, three and four. and the key to my success is rejection. i have been beaned in the face, shot in the face a few times professionally and personally. and i never lost confidence. the key to success is the ability to mourn, give yourself prime to be upset if you get fired or something happens terrible to you personally. there's nothing wrong with being down. and then get up and move on. that's the key. there is no person that's successful that i know that hasn't endured real failure. that's part of it. if you're skiing and you're not wiping out every once in a while, you're not going to get better. what do world class skiers have in common? they have wiped out severely
12:21 pm
several times. that's okay. rejection means you're on your way. but this notion that you should go into fields that have 2% employment rates, that's just a recipe for upset. beyonce followed her fashion and is now a billionaire. assume you are not beyonce. >> can we do this over a drink sometime? because i want to tell you about the five years that i was the fill-in host for bill o'reilly's radio program. and when he signed off, they said you're really not a known name and they went with fred thompson, the actor. same five years i was chris matthews fill-in for "hard ball" and they said you do a great job, but we're young, liberal and nerdy. you're not going to get this gig. let's catch up and have a cocktail and swap our war stories. >> i just want to finish with one thing. i look at this through the context of my experience, recognizing the context and
12:22 pm
experiences may be different and some of this may be wrong. the only thing i can tell recent grads with 100% certainty they won't regret is write a list of everyone at your graduation and call them and tell them you care about them. ex expressions of affection always age well. that is the only piece of advice i know to be true. >> and i'm going to add to that, don't do it in an email, write it out old school if you really want it to be heard. scott, you know i love it when you're here. thank you so much. >> thank you, michael. via social media, what do we have? that was fun. passion in a career is a rare phenomenon. those who have it, why not follow it? when ai takes over, the safest professions today may be the first to go. yasmin, i know from prior conversations with scott, if he followed his passion, ed have been pursuing a sport for which he just didn't have the expertise. it makes total sense to me the way he expressed it.
12:23 pm
you've got to figure out something for which you have a skill set and your passion will come. it's like the total reverse of each of the commencement addresses that we played at the outset of the program. up ahead, the ukrainian military reported on friday that in 24 hours russia had carried out a least 62 air strikes, 15 missile strikes and more than a dozen ground assaults. as the war intensifies, poland is setting up a training schedule to help ukrainian pilots learn how to fly f-16s. is that going to help? the united states ambassador to poland, mark brzezinski, is here to discuss. and it's pride month, yet companies that have tried to reach out to the lgbtq+ community, like bud light and target, they now find themselves in the cross hairs of a costly cultural war with their market value dropping by the billions. might it be better for corporations to stay out of it? just be switzerland. go to my website at
12:24 pm
smerconish.com this hour and answer this question. is it in the best business interest of companies to embrace pride month? my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think bigger.
12:25 pm
i brought in ensure max protein with 30g of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. uh... here i'll take that. -everyone: woo hoo! ensure max protein with 30 grams of protein, one gram of sugar. enter the nourishing moments giveaway for a chance to win $10,000.
12:26 pm
when covid hit, we had some challenges. i heard about the payroll tax refund that allowed us to keep the people that have been here taking care of us. learn more at getrefunds.com. can a can of lysol take care of my snotty sofa? can-do. mildewy tiles? can-do. these? yup, it's the can-do can. nothing kills more germs on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. lysol. what it takes to protect.
12:27 pm
12:28 pm
the war most resonating with americans, it's got nothing to do with putin's invasion of ukraine. instead it's the domestic war on pride. this year pride month, a commemoration of the 1969 stonewall uprising is taking place during strong pushback against the lgbtq+ community. and the conflict has been costing some of america's biggest corporations dearly. companies that created pride friendly campaigns, including disney, bud light, target, north face and others, they've been suffering the punishing consequences of boycotts, often from both sides. things are so complex and contentious that even chick-fil-a, a company with christian roots is finding itself accused of being woke. it's proving to be a no-win situation. their attempts to respond hasn't pleased either side or investors. target stock went on its longest losing streak in 23 years. the company's value has taken an
12:29 pm
estimated hit of $13.8 billion. anheuser-busch estimated to have lost $27 billion in value. so what's driving the battle? well, it depends on who you ask. this week florida governor ron desantis described his fight against disney and others as being against the sexualization of children. >> i'm standing for parents, i'm standing for children, and i think a multibillion dollar company that sexualizes children is not consistent with the values of florida or a place like iowa. >> is it that or a cloak for old-fashioned bigotry? target angered certain right wing customers for selling a pride month collection that included a transgender trendily swimsuit. it was misrepresented on social media as being aimed at children when it was for adults. after there were some rough altercations in some stores around displays, the company pulled some of the items, citing the need to keep workers safe. which then, of course, angered
12:30 pm
some of the lgbtq+ community. in a statement, target's ceo brian cornell said, quote, it's been gut-wrenching to see what you've confronted in our aisles and then reaffirmed to the community, we stand with you and we'll continue to do so, not just during pride month, but each and every day. the war on pride comes at a prime when according to the human rights campaign, more than 520 antilgbtq bills are in play in state legislaturers, including ones restricting access to care for youth. what's a company to do? on a recent earnings call, the anheuser-busch ceo was asked about the boycott over its campaign using tran influencer dylan mulvaney. he said while beer will always be at the table while important topics are debated, the beer itself should not be the focus of the debate. i want to know what you think. please visit my website at smerconish.com. answer this week's poll
12:31 pm
question, is it in the best business interest of companies to embrace pride month? joining to discuss is daniel deermeyer, chancellor of vanderbilt university and a scholar and has authored several weeks on corporate reputation. mr. chancellor, thank you for being here. yes, reputation for business, that's your bailiwick. i notice that a lot of times the conflict here is between the employees of the business and a large swath of the public. so how do you deal between those competing thoughts? >> good morning, michael. glad to be on the program. this is really a new environment for companies. it's different even compared to a year ago. companies who are still very much thinking about how to embrace very different stakeholder groups and constituencies are living in a hyper polarized environment and that polarization is among their customers, but also employees,
12:32 pm
different employee groups, and employees and customers. and the first thing that companies have to understand is how does this affect their business. there's no general answer here. what is good for patagonia may not be good for budweiser. and then the second question is to really think carefully about how do you want to communicate your stance, your positioning in a way that is least likely to inflame these kind of culture wars. >> do you think that increasingly businesses will just decide to stay out of everything? >> i think the period when businesses were willing to take a stance on almost thing, that is coming to an end. i think business will be much more reluctant to get involved in areas that are beyond their business, general policy questions, for example. but very often it affects their operations. what products they sell, how do they sell it, what their marketing campaigns are. my sense is that they have to take this more seriously.
12:33 pm
companies take a lot of prime to get their logo just right, but make decisions on these political issues in a very, very polarized environment with much less care, with much less, i think, intentionality. so i think they're a little behind the times. they'll look at these lessons and they will be more thoughtful and intentional about how to do this next prime. >> does it matter whether the issue in play directly pertains to the business that you are running, the business is running? does it matter if it's far afield from what their mission statement might be? >> absolutely. i think that there was a period where companies were willing to comment on broad policy issues, really, really driven by the sense of a kind of social responsibility. but now i think that this is more and more challenging territory and politicians have been willing to push back. now, in certain aspects you're going to have to be clear about how that affects your business,
12:34 pm
that's the first question. the second one, if it does, how are you going to position yourself? we saw this, for example, with the controversy of walgreen, and getting these decisions right when they affect your business is really tricky in today's environment because it's so hyper polarized, and many of these things are related to our cultural wars, so symbolic issues by themselves have a high impact of how people feel about a company. >> chancellor, the anheuser-busch example is the most stunning. they were never intending to sell beer cans with dylan mulvaney's image. instead an individual in marketing thought it would be wise to engage a so-called social media influencer by sending those cans and letting them be used for social media purposes. but the backlash against it was stunning, and, by the way, i know you're a political scientist. i made the comment to somebody this week, if you want to understand why donald trump starts at 40%, no matter what it is he may have said or done,
12:35 pm
just look at the blowback against bud light. >> this is all the same phenomenon. what we've seen over the last decade or so is that polarization in the united states is much more calcified and it is much more defined by identity politics and cultural issues than traditional economic issues. and what's driving politics, presidential campaigns, are exactly the same dynamics that are affecting companies as well. so when you're making a decision like that -- and my understanding from what bud light wanted to do is reposition the brand in a particular way, you have to understand that you're now doing this in a hyper polarized environment and what's driving presidential politics, it's driving brand perception in exactly the same way. >> let's answer a social media together. i'll read it aloud in case you can't see it. this individual says, should corporations be guided by money and not morality, equal rights
12:36 pm
is worth fighting for. what would you say to that individual? >> i think successful companies almost always have a purpose and that purpose is driving their decisions every day. you just have to be clear what your purpose is and how it relates to your company and then be smart about how to deliver your purpose. so, for example, when nike was embracing colin kaepernick in their commercial over the black life matters, the kneeling during the national anthem, that worked really well for nike because nike has more of an edge to its brand compared to pepsi or budweiser. budweiser wants to support its lgbtq+ community, but it has to do it in a way that accomplishes that without em broiling the company in a kind of ongoing polarized battle. so it's not so much about stepping away from supporting your people. you want to support your people. but the question of how you do
12:37 pm
that is really important and tricky and much trickier than two years ago. >> i agree with you. you've got to do the right thing. but at the same prime there's a retiree out there somewhere whose 401(k) is dependent upon the stock that he or she has in your company, and the idea that their retirement would be jeopardized because of not understanding the political perception has got to be factored in. thank you so much. that was really interesting and i appreciate your prime. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> i want to remind you. answer this week's poll question at smerconish.com. this is the way that i framed it. is it in the best business interest of the companies to embrace pride month? go vote at smerconish.com. ahead, with the war in ukraine again intensifying, on friday secretary of state antony blinken spoke in finland, where he said ukraine's membership in nato will be a matter for allies in ukraine, not russia to decide. one of those allies, one of the
12:38 pm
strongest, has been neighboring poland. the u.s. ambassador to poland, mark brzezinski, is here to discuss what's ahead. ...of my plan. (vo) introducing myplan from verizon. get exactly what you want and only pay for what you need. starting at just $25 when you bring your own phones. it's your verizon. [music playing] subject 1: cancer is a long journey. it's overwhelming, but you just have to put your mind to it and fight. subject 2: it doesn't feel good because you can't play outside with other children. subject 3: as a parent, it is your job to protect your family. but here is something that i cannot do. i cannot fix this. i don't know if my daughter is going to be able to walk. i don't know if she's going to make it till tomorrow. [music playing] interviewer: you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. families never receive a bill from st. jude
12:39 pm
for treatment, travel, housing, or food so they can focus on helping their child live. subject 4: childhood cancer, there's no escaping it. but st. jude is doing the work, continually researching towards cures, giving more than just my child a chance at life. interviewer: please, call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope for only $19 a month. subject 5: those donations really matter because we're not going to give up. and when you see other people not giving up on your child, it makes all the difference in the world. interviewer: when you call or go online with your credit or debit card right now, we'll send you this st. jude t-shirt. you can wear to show your support to help st. jude save the lives of these children. subject 6: st. jude is hope. even today after losing a child, it's
12:40 pm
still about the hope of tomorrow, because. childhood cancer has to end. interviewer: please, call or go online right now. [music playing] type 2 diabetes? discover the power of 3 in the ozempic® tri-zone. ♪ (oh, oh, oh, ozempic®!) ♪ in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. ozempic® provides powerful a1c reduction. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2,
12:41 pm
or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. join the millions already taking ozempic®. ask your health care provider about the ozempic® tri-zone. you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. ♪ dads are special. fun. inspiring. always there for you. so make father's day extra special with gifts he'll love from weathertech. floorliners... cargo liner... seat protector... sunshade... ready-to-wash system and cupfone. or our newest product, the golf cart mat. order these american made gifts or a gift card at weathertech.com
12:42 pm
have a very happy father's day. as the war between russia and ukraine intensifies, president zelenskyy admits his country's membership into nato will have to wait. secretary of state blinken spoke about the strategic failures and how a cease-fire would only help russia. they require countries to assist fellow members if they're ever attacked. of course poland, ukraine's western neighbor, has joined the fight. poland became the first nato member to pledge fighter jets to assist kyiv back in march. a year ago i had the privilege of being in warsaw and spoke to the u.s. ambassador to poland about the efforts and how poland was helping. ambassador mark brzezinski is back with me now. great to see you again.
12:43 pm
i remember that day well. what's changed in the last week and who is winning? >> thank you for having me, michael. and great to see you again. what's changed in the last week is that nato has expanded in a way that just emphasizes the strategic failure of putin's decision to invade ukraine. did putin invade ukraine to bring sweden and fin land into nato? no. did putin invade ukraine to have 1 million russians flee russia scientists, tech people? a brain drain that we see here in poland benefiting the polish economy because scientists quickly assimilate here. did he invade ukraine to have 100,000, i repeat, 100,000 russian casualties in the last six months? oh, and putin is all about money. so did putin invade ukraine to see a 43% drop in oil revenue?
12:44 pm
we're seeing an amplified total failure on the part of putin regarding his decision to invade poor, weaker ukraine. and there is no way, no way putin's war in ukraine has improved the lives and the futures of the russian people. and that makes this a true tragedy. >> mr. ambassador, the news far removed is always about the spring offensive or summer offensive and counteroffensive. there's never a report of peace negotiations. are there peace talks taking place between ukraine and russia today? >> well, i was so proud that my boss, secretary of state tony blinken, in a speech in finland yesterday, welcomed finland in its membership in nato, made clear that diplomacy is a path russia could choose, and every minute of every day the american government stand ready to advance the path of diplomacy.
12:45 pm
but instead, russia is advancing the path of aggression. what i thought was particularly important that secretary blinken emphasized yesterday, is that we're going to make sure not only that the ukrainian people win this war and survive, but that they thrive. and that when they win, it will be the biggest endorsement of political democracy and free market economy in this part of the world in 100 years. and you have to take a step back and look at this from a historical perspective, michael. 30 years ago the soviet bloc fell apart, 26 countries emerged out of the rubble of the soviet bloc. some were successful, like poland. the baltic states. some were weaker and victimizable like ukraine and moldova and others. and as you can see in the case of ukraine, we're victimized and we are committed to a path of
12:46 pm
making sure a lasting peace includes a complete reconstruction of ukraine and a drawing into it as it wants into a western institutional orbit. and that is the opportunity here, to have a renaissance emerge out of this crime of a war in central and eastern europe. if you consider all the countries, 330 million plus people live here, so it's a big block of humanity that is being put under siege by putin. >> mr. ambassador, here at home it's game on for the 2024 election. how worried are you about continued support for ukraine being at issue in the presidential election and potentially being jeopardized by whomever wins this thing? >> well, i can tell you this, michael, when i was ambassador to sweden for four years, i
12:47 pm
hosted over four years six members of congress. in the last year alone here at u.s. mission poland, i've hosted over 150 members of congress, republicans and democrats, kevin mccarthy, nancy pelosi, the previous speaker and the current speaker respectfully. and what i have seen is that in this crisis politics stops at the edge and that our members of congress are political representatives, support the people of ukraine. and the good part of this story is as well, the ukrainian people are winning. they're pushing back the, quote, organized, end quote, russian army in a way i don't think anyone anticipated, and the person who called this right from the very beginning, the person who read the room when it comes to central and eastern europe, was president joe biden, who before the war broke out shared intelligence with the
12:48 pm
pols, with romanians, to carefully clarify for our allies what are the defensive and offensive structures of the russian military and what does putin intend to do with it in ukraine. and that decision by president biden allowed us over here to get ready. we were ready on game day, february 24th, 2022, when millions of ukrainian refugees began to pour across the border into poland. and the reactive mobilization of the polish people, who embraced the ukrainians, brought them into their homes and their apartments, they did that because the pols did not feel scared. yes, this is 1939 for poland and finland. this is an invasion by an oppressive foreign attacker. >> i saw it for myself. i saw it for myself, the refugees facilities. before i lose you, let me quickly put up on the screen a social media reaction.
12:49 pm
i'll read it aloud and we can both respond. this whole idea that ukraine cannot attack the country that attacked them is probably the dumbest way to win a war in military history. quick response from you, ambassador. >> ukraine is showing the world that it knows how to fight and the people, whoever wrote the social media post, the people who know that best are the russian soldiers being marched into the meat grinder of russian men in ukraine right now. >> nice to see you. thank you, mr. ambassador. i appreciate it. >> thank you, as always. still to come, more of your best and worst social media comments, and the result of this week's poll results. have you been to smerconish.com yet? go there now, answer this question. is it in the best business interest of companies to embrace pride month?
12:50 pm
so, we're in norway - first trip together, and it's going pretty well. but on our way to tour this troll-themed town: we get into a dumb argument. hard to stay mad when you're literally surrounded by trolls in a place called trollstigen, but we manage it. that's when our tour guide steps in. we hear his voice float out from behind a troll statue, saying: “don't fight, little ones. you're missing the view.” haven't missed a view since. one app over 300 thousand experiences you'll remember. do more with viator. way back in 1982 we took care of about forty kids and had to turn away over two hundred and fifty. it's the emotion of that moment that said man that just isn't fair, and i think it was at that moment that operation smile was born. every three minutes a child is born with a cleft condition. thousands are waiting for the cleft surgery and care your support gives. they need you. give joy and a new smile. scan the code or go online to give today.
12:51 pm
(vo) if you've had thyroid eye disease for years and you go through artificial tears in the blink of an eye, it's not too late for another treatment option. to learn more visit treatted.com. that's treatt-e-d.com. my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators
12:52 pm
of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think bigger. my relationship with my credit cards wasn't good. i got into debt in college, and no matter how much i paid, it followed me everywhere. the high interest... i felt trapped. debt! debt! debt! debt! so i broke up with my credit card debt and consolidated it into a low rate personal loan from sofi. i finally feel like a grown-up. break up with bad credit card debt. get a personal loan with low fixed rates and borrow up to $100k. go to sofi.com to view your rate. sofi get your money right.
12:53 pm
12:54 pm
all right, there's the result of this week's poll, wow, look at that. 27,890 votes. is it in the best business interest of companies to embrace pride month? 61% say damn the torpedoes, yes, do it. how about the point i made to the chancellor from vanderbilt where i said how about the retiree out there? maybe the corporation thinks they're doing the right thing, meanwhile there is a retiree who has whatever they have parked in a 401(k) that has as investments businesses that now see a hit like target and like
12:55 pm
anheuser-busch in sustaining but what do you say to that person? we got involved this this culture fight and now your retirement is in jeopardy. social media reaction? the answer to the poll is it depends. no, it's not a good idea if your business is near cracker barrel, yes, it's a good idea if your business is near whole foods. what about me? i have a cracker barrel and a whole foods within two miles of one another and i go to both of them. can't we all just get along? what happened to live and let live. like i'm going to turn away from bud light because, what, kid rock shot up a bump of cans he was so pissed off about dylan mulvaney. what else do we have? republicans buy sneakers too said michael jordan. yeah, whoopie boy, i remember that quote. one more and i think i do. michael jordan did say that. it's as simple as people don't
12:56 pm
want the intrusion of politics when they leave the house. it isn't transor homophobia. i don't know, steve. i mean, i get that there's age appropriate material that ought not to be in a classroom, i also think some people are so damn bigoted. if my son or daughter sees that they might turn out that way. guess what, it's the same answer as it's always been. it's in your dna, okay. what will be will be. i'll see you next week. to keep the people that have been here taking care of us. learn more at getrefunds.com. okay everyone, our mission is complete balanced nutrition. together we provide nutrients to support immune, muscle, bone, and heart health. everyone: woo hoo! ensure with 25 vitamins and minerals. enter the $10,000 nourishing moments giveaway.
12:57 pm
if we want a more viable future for our kids, we need to find more sustainable ways of doing things. america's plastic makers are investing billions of dollars in new technologies and creating plastic products that are more recyclable. durable. and dependable. our goal is a cleaner, healthier planet for generations to come. for a better tomorrow, we're focused on making plastics better today. i realized that jade was overweight. i wish i would have introduced the fresh food a lot sooner. after farmer's dog, she's a much healthier weight. she's a lot more active. and she's able to join us on our adventures. get started at betterforthem.com
12:58 pm
( ♪ ) unique style, ( ♪ ) cutting edge innovation... ( ♪ ) ...and thoughtful details... ...inspired by you. ( ♪ ) from the brand that delivers amazing ownership experiences, this is the first ever, all electric, rz. this is lexus, electrified. only at vanguard you're more than just an investor you're an owner. that means your priorities are ours too. our retirement tools and advice can help you leave a legacy for the ones you love. that's the value of ownership. mom: hey! cheap flight alert! daughter: hawaii! can we go? dad: maybe. i'll put a request in monday. sfx: shattering glass. theme song: unnecessary action hero!
12:59 pm
dad: was that necessary? unnecessary action hero: no. neither is missing this deal. with paycom, vacation is yours to manage. unnecessary action hero: not to mention benefits, scheduling, payroll. it's hr in the palm of your hand. dad: wow. unnecessary action hero: ask your employer about paycom. and make the unnecessary, unnecessary. dad: approved! as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network, with no line activation fees or term contracts... saving you up to 75% a year. and it's only available
1:00 pm
to comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities™. you are live in the cnn newsroom. i'm