00:00I don't know what will come at us.
00:02I would expect with all of the dark money groups that are out there and all of the billionaires
00:07and with President Trump's money that there will still be money coming into North Carolina
00:12to run those deceptive ads.
00:15And we're going to continue to make sure that we're setting the record straight and getting
00:20our message out.
00:24Thank you guys for waiting tonight.
00:26I'm just grateful to be here in Western North Carolina.
00:30People have worked so hard to recover from Hurricane Aline, and I'm so ready to get to Washington
00:36to work to make sure that we secure federal funding for the people here.
00:42And it was just great to hear from so many people tonight about the challenges that they're
00:47facing from health care to child care to groceries costing too much, and when you listen to people,
00:53you learn a lot.
00:54So I'm grateful to be here and grateful to take your questions.
00:56Tom, will you?
00:58Yeah.
00:58I'm curious.
00:59I'm sure everyone wonders the stories about Michael Watley's money being pulled away and
01:05sent to, I believe, Oklahoma, or at least some of it from the Senate Leadership Fund.
01:10What impact do you think that's going to have on the remaining 31 days of the campaign?
01:15Will there be an October surprise from Michael Watley?
01:18Well, we're not changing anything about what we're doing, because one thing we know, in almost
01:2440 years there have only been two Democratic senators from North Carolina, and both of them were one-termers.
01:32We haven't elected a Democrat in almost two decades, and we've had so many Democratic candidates who have
01:40been ahead in October polls who've lost in November.
01:46And I encourage everyone to understand that that is the case.
01:51We're going to continue to work hard and work to earn every single vote.
01:56I don't know what will come at us.
01:59I would expect, with all of the dark money groups that are out there and all of the billionaires
02:04and with President Trump's money, that there will still be money coming into North Carolina
02:09to run those deceptive ads.
02:12And we're going to continue to make sure that we're setting the record straight and getting
02:16our message out.
02:17C-SPAN.
02:18Hi, Kevin.
02:19C-SPAN.
02:20We heard a lot of candidates in the past talk about passing sort of ethnic reforms banning
02:25to candidates or office holders who trade stops, things like that.
02:28How would you actually get something done with the election?
02:30Well, I think the people at the end of the day are going to demand it, and I'm going to
02:36work to try to bring people to Washington to demand it.
02:41One of the ways that we got Medicaid expanded in a southern state like North Carolina with the
02:46Republican legislature was encouraging the rural red constituents to go to the state legislature
02:54to say we need to keep rural hospitals open, rural law enforcement officers saying there
03:01are mental health problems and addiction problems in our communities that are making our jobs
03:05harder, and we were able to get Medicaid expanded.
03:09The people are tired of corruption.
03:11They're tired of people who run for public office and leverage those offices to make money.
03:18And it's happening in Washington across the board, and it has to stop.
03:24And I will work to pass anti-corruption laws.
03:28I think that a lot of people, they've worked the bills so that they get to vote for a bill
03:34to say they did something when they know the bill is not going anywhere.
03:37I'm sick of that.
03:38We've got to make sure that we get things done.
03:42And I will work across the aisle.
03:43I think it's important to pass bipartisan anti-corruption legislation.
03:48And I know that my opponent, Michael Watley, will not do that.
03:52He still has his stock.
03:54He was a D.C. insider and lobbyist working for the big companies, the big oil and utility companies.
04:02He's part of that culture.
04:03He won't vote to change it.
04:05I will.
04:07WIFF.
04:08Hi, Alex.
04:09WIFF.
04:09A huge story of this area has been Haleen recovery.
04:12We just passed the two-year mark.
04:14What would be your plan to help people continue to recover and to prevent another storm hitting
04:19this area as hard as Haleen did?
04:21I have never seen devastation in my life like I saw when Hurricane Haleen hit here.
04:30There were so many counties that were devastated.
04:34What really stuck with me is how people stepped up to save their neighbors, to help each other.
04:44We worked while I was governor for the three months after Haleen hit.
04:50We worked to put 3,000 soldiers on the ground, open hundreds of roads and water systems,
04:57and get communication back up and rescuing people.
05:01But now we need the federal government to step up.
05:05And right now, the federal government has only funded 15% of what Western North Carolina needs.
05:12And when the president came to Western North Carolina, he appointed my opponent, Michael Watley,
05:19as the Western North Carolina federal recovery czar.
05:23And Michael Watley has been AWOL.
05:26There's been bipartisan opposition to him because he hasn't done anything.
05:32And it's wrong that the federal government has only done 15%.
05:38You heard President Trump joke about recovery when he came to Gastonia.
05:44It's not a joke to the people here.
05:47I will work across the aisle.
05:49I will work with anyone I can to make sure that Western North Carolina gets the federal recovery that it
05:55needs.
05:56Smoking out news.
05:57Hi.
05:58I'm Alex.
05:59Smoking out news.
06:00Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians are expected to lose Medicaid due to cuts in HR1.
06:07What methods of recourse does Congress have to address some of the impacts of these cuts come 2027?
06:14It is amazing to me that people like my opponent, Michael Watley, cheer on this one big, beautiful bill,
06:21when what it did was to take away people's health care in order to fund tax breaks for billionaires.
06:28I can't understand how they are proud of that.
06:33We worked so hard to get Medicaid expansion in North Carolina.
06:38So many people just did not have health insurance.
06:41These are working people.
06:42And now this one big, beautiful bill has Medicaid cuts that are designed to throw people off the rolls who
06:52are otherwise qualified.
06:54What they're doing is doubling and tripling the red tape so that people trip over it and then are disqualified.
07:03I think it's going to be critical for us, particularly, and I think it's going to be important for us
07:08to do this in a bipartisan way,
07:09and I hope that we can.
07:10But we need to put legislation on this president's desk as soon as we get to Washington and restore those
07:19cuts.
07:20Because when people lose their health insurance, not only does that put them and their family in danger, it increases
07:29the cost for everybody else.
07:31Because when people who are uninsured get medical treatment, medical providers have to raise premiums for other people.
07:39So we live in the richest country in the world.
07:42We should not be having a situation where people have to choose between paying for a doctor and putting food
07:48on the table.
07:49And too many North Carolinians are facing that choice today.
07:54And there will be even more tomorrow because of this one big, beautiful bill.
07:59Thanks. That's all the time we have.
08:00Thanks, guys.
08:01Can I just follow up on the guest on your visit by the president?
08:03Sorry. I got to roll.
08:04Thanks, guys.
08:05Any impact of the president's visit here when he repeated those attacks on you?
08:10You know, I think clearly it was wrong, and people are frustrated to hear that kind of thing, for sure.
08:16Thanks, guys.
