00:00Hello Maine, Barack Obama here.
00:03Troy Jackson is running to be your next senator, and I'm proud to be on board.
00:07In this economy, we need a fighter like Troy, a fifth-generation logger.
00:13Troy worked 80 hours a week and still struggled to get by.
00:17So as Maine's Senate president, he fought to raise wages, lower the cost of prescription
00:22drugs, and provide free lunch to every student in the state.
00:27After Roe was overturned, Troy helped protect the right to an abortion in Maine.
00:32And now we need Troy to deliver for us in the Senate.
00:36So do not sit this one out.
00:39Get out there and vote for Troy Jackson.
00:42You can vote early from October 5th to the 29th, or vote in person on November 3rd.
00:49Troy, any comment on the ProPublica report alleging corruption in Senator Collins' campaign
00:54in 2020?
00:56Well, I mean, obviously, that was a very detailed report.
01:01I think it does answer a lot of questions for me about why Senator Collins has been voting
01:06with Donald Trump 96% of the time.
01:09You know, I mean, that's obviously the worst type of corruption.
01:13And, you know, something that, I mean, I don't know what else to say.
01:18I mean, you're not supposed to be the chair of appropriations to steer money towards people
01:21that fill your campaign coffers.
01:26And, you know, I mean, I think we deserve a better government.
01:29Troy, any comment on the ProPublica report alleging corruption in Senator Collins' campaign
01:34in 2020?
01:37Well, I mean, obviously, that was a very detailed report.
01:41I think it does answer a lot of questions for me about why Senator Collins has been voting
01:47with Donald Trump 96% of the time.
01:50You know, I mean, that's obviously the worst type of corruption and, you know, something
01:56that, I mean, I don't know what else to say.
01:58I mean, you're not supposed to be the chair of appropriations to steer money towards people
02:02that fill your campaign coffers.
02:05And, you know, I mean, I think we deserve a better government.
02:09Let's go WNPW.
02:13We're at a family event.
02:15How do you plan to close child care gaps in Maine if you're elected?
02:19Well, I don't think that's really hard at all.
02:21I mean, I think if you don't pump $70 billion in a rogue agency like ICE, if you don't fund
02:27foreign wars, if you don't fund bombs going to Israel, you know,
02:33if you don't give tax cuts to wealthy people, I think you have resources to do child care.
02:39You know, and, I mean, we've proven in the state that, you know, Republicans and Democrats
02:43can support that because they know it makes the economy better.
02:46It's obviously better for the kids.
02:48So, I mean, that should be an easy thing to just prioritize where we're going to put our money.
02:54You know, I know where they want to put it, but this is one I want to, you know, this
02:59is an area I want to put it into.
03:00I believe that child care is going to make our economy stronger, but certainly make our young people,
03:05our kids, a lot stronger, and that's really what's important.
03:09And when you hear Senator Collins say that you and others are lying about this corruption that has been reported,
03:17as well as just lying about her votes on certain things like the Epstein files,
03:21I guess, what's your response to that?
03:24Well, I mean, as far as the corruption, I mean, there's a man in jail with two felony counts.
03:31You know, I didn't write the article.
03:34There's a very detailed article about, and there's a check that went to her pack from that guy.
03:39I mean, those are all facts.
03:43And as far as, you know, other things like Epstein files, stuff like that,
03:47I mean, she's supposed to be the most powerful senator in the country.
03:51Why haven't Epstein files been released?
03:54You know, why has she voted against them?
03:55And, you know, I would say because she's protecting the people on that list
04:00that have given to her campaign, you know, Republicans and Democrats probably.
04:04I don't really care.
04:05I mean, that is an issue that people should know.
04:10I mean, nobody should be able to get away with that,
04:12and she and others have the power to release them, and they're not.
04:16Greg, let's go to you.
04:17Sure.
04:18So Collins and her team, they say, you know, she voted against the one big, beautiful bill.
04:23She's pressing for heating assistance.
04:27She's against the tariffs.
04:28She's not behind the policies that are driving up prices from Washington.
04:31What is your response to that?
04:33I think Senator Collins thinks that we're all stupid in this state and in this country
04:37because, you know, you can't say on one hand, I'm the most powerful person.
04:41I'm the chair of appropriations.
04:42You know, don't replace me.
04:44We'll never be this powerful again.
04:45But all these things that she could have done something significant to stop, she wouldn't.
04:50I mean, she let the bill go to the floor.
04:53She could have blocked it then.
04:55You know, I mean, that is clear.
04:57You know, as far as the ICE, she put no guardrails on that $70 billion.
05:02That's her committee.
05:04The Iran war, she could block funding for that.
05:07Tariffs.
05:07I mean, she's the chair of appropriations.
05:10She could leverage that to do so many things to stop what's going on in this country, and
05:15she's not willing to.
05:16And honestly, that article that came out Tuesday makes a lot of sense why she's not willing
05:21to do that because Donald Trump owns her.
05:24And he helped her get out from underneath that article, that investigation, and now she
05:30lets him do whatever she wants, and she doesn't block anything in there.
05:35So I, look, I've been in government for 20 years.
05:38I've put people on appropriations, things like that.
05:41I know the power.
05:42She's not using the power.
05:44And Charlie, we'll finish with you.
05:45Thanks.
05:45I wanted to ask you about communities like the one you're from on the border with Canada.
05:49How are these kind of communities being affected by the trade war, by the fuel prices?
05:52Could you kind of encapsulate that for me?
05:55I mean, it's not just the communities on the border, but it's, you know, the fishing
05:59industry, the firemen, the forestry industry, tourism in the old orchard.
06:04I mean, tourism has been down for a couple of years now.
06:07Cross-border shopping has stopped.
06:09Parts are coming out of Canada.
06:11Our products have to go to Canada.
06:13I mean, this is devastating in the economy, and the Iran war on top of that, like the
06:18fuel prices are seven times more than what I used to pay working in the woods, and the
06:24rates are pretty much the same.
06:26They've been stagnant all that time, so a lot of those people are working for about the
06:29same amount of money and paying seven times more for their fuel, and, like, this is not
06:35drama or anything.
06:38This will not go on.
06:39You know, they will end up going bankrupt.
06:43They'll end up losing their equipment.
06:45They'll end up losing their homes, because many times that's how they got their equipment.
06:48There's no way that they can continue like this, because we're, like, in the forest products
06:53industry, we're a production-based service contract.
06:57And so, you know, there's no way to make it up.
07:00If you don't have the product to actually charge more, much less, I don't think the consumers
07:05would pay more.
07:06But we're looking at a big crash here if something doesn't happen with fuel prices.
07:10And also, folks from the border a bit more-
07:24No time for a follow-up.
07:26Just a quick quick quick.
07:26I've been on the ballot with Donald Trump three times, Susan Collins three or four times.
07:31You know, people- I don't think people thought I was too progressive.
07:35What they thought was I was a mainer that was fighting for them.
07:37And I'll take that against her record every day, fighting for Elon Musk.
07:42Okay, that's all we have time for.
07:43Congratulations to the grandchild as well, by the way.
07:47Well, I mean, I don't know how many people know.
07:49But, yeah, we had a little baby granddaughter yesterday morning, my first grandchild.
07:55And she's about that long, and she's just as cute as can be.
07:58She doesn't look like me.
07:59That's why she's cute.
08:00But I'm pretty damn excited about her.
08:02Beautiful.
08:02I mean, it's, you know, obviously, I'm not trying to use her as a campaign prop.
08:07But it certainly makes, you know, what I've been trying to do even more important.
08:12And, I mean, what we talked about here today is the same mindset.
08:16I mean, you know, people should have time with their kids,
08:18and they shouldn't have to stress about making it work.
08:21And I just think that our world's upside down,
08:24and I'd like to make it better for them and my granddaughter.
08:29And now we're done.
08:31Thank you, everyone.
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