Metro Detroit home sales drop & future of the GOP post-Trump

And thanks for joining us as we dive headfirst into all things people, power, and politics. This is The Pulse. I'm Rupert Raj. Home sales take a dip in Metro Detroit, showing just how affordability was a key concern in the month leading up to the election. Remax of Southeastern Michigan President Jeanette Schneider takes a closer look at that trend. Plus, Troy Mayor Ethan Baker is back in Studio C talking about a couple of big issues. You know, there's a lot of questions about what the Republican Party will look like since President Trump is term limited. The mayor dives into that as well as the impact of the trade war with Canada. And we're looking at the wish list for businesses in the coming year with Detroit Regional Chamber President Sandy Barua. Democrats are not only taking over Congress, but the executive and legislative branches of Michigan as well. What Sandy says, the businesses want- To see happen. We begin tonight with a war in Ukraine, two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, and now things shift to Moscow. U.S. Special Envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where Kushner says talks went well, but the two sides are still nowhere close on land concessions. You see, Ukraine won't give up eastern parts of the country controlled by Moscow, and Putin says he considers those areas a part of Russia. The U.S. wants Russia to turn in new proposals for security agreements. They want the war to end. They agreed on many of the principles, but are still apart on some of the ways to accomplish that. He goes into negotiations with a false narrative that he's winning the war, and that's not true. The fact is, on the battlefield, he cannot take control of Ukraine. Russia is a long-term threat. That's our assessment, and that's what we prepare for. The war has been ongoing since Russia invaded Ukraine back in February of 2022. Putin's ramped up attacks on civilian targets. Witkoff and Kushner are set to meet with Russian president, I should say Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. In Dublin, that's just scratching the surface. So let's pick up the pace and run through some of the other big stories we're on top of right now when we begin with a couple of election results. Yes, we know we're more than a week after the midterms, but a couple of big races were just called. Voters in Kansas elected Democrat Cindy Holsher as their next governor. She's replacing another Dem who is term limited, Laura Kelly. Democrats have a majority of governorships for the first time. In 20 years and in Mississippi, a history making vote for Senate, where Democrat Scott Colome becomes the first black U.S. senator since post-Civil War reconstruction. Colome defeated incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. The last time Mississippi chose a new Democratic senator was in 1947. But we should point out the winner was a segregationist. Cologne capitalized on the state's large black population and voter frustrations over the economy. And two Democratic senators launched an investigation into whether this guy, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., lied to Congress about his reason for a 2019 trip to Samoa. That after the AP and The Guardian published documents in August that refuted it. Now, Kennedy repeatedly told senators. His visit to Samoa before a deadly measles outbreak had nothing to do with vaccines, but a letter he sent to the prime minister ahead of the trip showed he used the words vaccine or vaccination. Eight times, the senators want a number of documents related to this travel, his 2024 presidential campaign, and his confirmation process. Health and Human Services says the visit was not related to vaccines, but adds any claim that Kennedy lied under oath based on the letters is, quote, not only false, but outright defamatory. We should point out Kennedy wasn't under oath during his confirmation hearing. All right, let's turn to the housing market because it was a tough month in October across Metro Detroit. Sales dropped nearly 14 percent and pending sales dropped as well. Remax of Southeast Michigan President Jeanette Schneider is with us now tonight with a look at exactly what happened and what will happen moving forward. She doesn't have a crystal ball, but. She has a weight of knowledge that she has with her. And so we thank you so much for joining us here tonight. My pleasure. So let's unpack the headlines for a moment. We saw a drop in home sales. Was this expected? I'm going to go ahead and Kind of talk a little bit about the affordability issue and how it relates to that. Was it, I mean, was a home sale drop expected in October? Seasonality, it's not unusual to see, you know, sales, but was this number, was this percentage expected? No, that was, you know, somewhat eye-opening and not in the direction we wanted things to go. And you mentioned affordability, which has obviously been a key word of late with the elections. That was a big, you know, topic of conversation. And that really is the issue. It's not that people don't desire to live in a home or people that currently We certainly aren't owning homes. There's a big demand and there's a big desire. It's the affordability side of it is where we're kind of coming up against a wall. And so what happens moving forward? The elections are over, so some of those factors may kind of fall away. And now we're left with this reality, with this blue wave, and we have a new shape taking place in Congress. What is it that lawmakers in DC can do? And the Fed to help along with this problem. Well, and I think that's where we have to be realistic about what our expectations should be. Because even though there was a very large blue wave and they're riding into Washington with a lot of momentum behind them. And let's be honest, they talked a lot about affordability and housing affordability specifically. So it is on their radar. And this is probably the one topic, if there's a bright light in all of this, this issue is probably the one topic that has bipartisan support. So, I mean, so I think that's something both sides know that they need to do. they need to deal with, because voters want this dealt with. That said, even though Democrats are going to be able to kind of push an agenda, if you will, they're going to have the ability to potentially write laws and put things into place. The timeline for any of that is never quick. And the reality of what's really impacting the housing market the most right now is interest rates. And sadly, they can't directly do anything about that issue. Now, they can maybe do some things that might help ease inflation or do some other things around that or make it supply a little bit more prevalent. Maybe they can do some tax incentives for first-time buyers. There are things that can be done. But the timeline from talking about it to us feeling the impact of it, it's not going to be a quick fix. Yeah, and politically speaking, a referendum or an indictment on one party. A new party comes in to take over the majority doesn't mean that the problems that you had before go away. And I think there are factors beyond what politicians can control that take root. And there are things like supply that you often talk about that is a long-term goal that, as you say, Republicans and Democrats want to get behind. We need more housing stock. We need more housing stock, and the reality of it is, are there things that they can do to maybe cut some red tape and, you know, do some incentives? And, you know, there's some bills sitting out there right now that have some federal tax incentives, if the bills got passed, that would help communities that want to take, you know, maybe larger buildings that aren't being used for housing currently that could be repurposed. So there's definitely things that they can probably agree on, but we... We often see good intentions get caught up in the process in Washington and things never move quickly. We should also keep in mind that when we talk about interest rates, you know, we got spoiled. Anyone who bought a house in 2020 or 2021, perhaps even past that, 2022, 2023 are deeply spoiled. And if those were first time homebuyers who bought their home in 2020 with a 3.2% interest rate, you know, refinancing down to that. They can't expect to have anything close to that happen anytime soon. And so the expectation needs to be managed. It does. And just when I felt that we were kind of this year coming to terms, I mean, I say we, the collective buyer pool was coming to terms that, you know, 6% was probably where rates were going to be. And psychologically, people had kind of gotten past that. Well, I want the 3%. They're not coming back anytime soon. And then they went over 7%. And that was kind of not only a financial potential blow to those where affordability was really already on the cusp, it became a psychological blow as well. Because you're right, compared to 3%, 7's a lot. Compared to historical average of 8 point something, it's not. But this is what we're living in right now. Well, I think that's important to point out, though, because the context is very, very critical to understand that 7% is not some outrageous number. It's not as though it's something that we've ever seen. In fact, you're saying 30, 40 years ago. We were talking about rates much higher than that. Oh, I mean, I know my parents paid 18% for one of the mortgages that they had, but it's relative to where people are at right now. And I mean, interest rate is but one factor, an important factor, but you also have what's the price of homes, what? What are property taxes? What are insurance? Because all of that is going to somewhat get mixed into that monthly nut that has to be covered. And so right now, interest rates creeping up and like on a $300,000 mortgage, it's now $200 more expensive this October than it was last October in that payment based on interest rates. You know, that really impacts people. You know, the president of RE-MAX, and I know I'm talking to some, separately, some realtors doing some research, and they said that there are areas in Metro Detroit where there are a larger stock of affordable housing that exists, and downriver is an area right now where you're seeing homes that are $200,000, and so there are areas that you can explore even if you can't find something, perhaps in an area nearby. Absolutely. And that's true kind of across different price points and different things. I mean, Downriver is a great example. Taylor and Westland and other communities like that also do well. Because typically, first time... Buyer markets, you know, older stock homes that have been well-maintained do well. It takes them longer to kind of feel the crunch in the long term. Well, and they're great communities as well with a lot of people who love living there. So if you choose to go there, you're going to be pretty happy. Jeanette Schneider, it's so good to talk to you as usual. Thanks for your perspective. My pleasure. Thanks for having me. We'll continue our conversation about what the future holds for the Republican Party after the break. Troy Mayor Ethan Baker, who ran for Congress, he weighs in on that. You're watching The Pulse on Fox News. Back now on The Pulse, looking at all things people, power, and politics. Here to dive into a couple of big topics, Troy Mayor Ethan Baker, the mayor of Troy. You know, as a nonpartisan mayor, obviously you're running the city for all people, Republicans and Democrats. You made a bid for Congress out in Washington. And like so many Republicans out there, you had a good base of people who loved you, care about your campaign, wanted you to win, and then it didn't happen. And so many people are saying it was... A referendum and indictment on President Trump and his administration. I want you to just kind of open the conversation there and have you reflect on that. It's like a therapy session. All right. We're doing therapy on the pulse. That's good. 150 bucks an hour. All right. My wife's a therapist, not me. Mine too, yeah. You're serious. You can go home and do that. But I do want to ask you, for the people at home, perhaps it's therapy to them, to really understand. Lift the curtain for us. What does that feel like? I mean, was this a clear, this blue sweep? Was it something that you look at now and go? Man, as a party, we just could have done better. Yes, I think there's something to be said about what the party could do overall. I think a lot of it obviously rests with the president. And there's no question people were motivated to vote against the president in this election. And that affected every Republican running. And I mean, you look at every congressional seat in Michigan, every district tilted to the left. I mean, it tilted towards the Democratic candidate. Some had major swings. My district didn't have as big of a swing as some of the other districts. But you look and you see, you saw incumbents lose, obviously, Representative Barrett, Representative Huizenga. And you saw the John James seat in the 10th go Democrat. So I mean, there was definitely a huge sweep towards the Democratic candidates. But I mean, I think there's a lot that can be done over the next coming years and coming cycles to kind of rehabilitate what the Republican Party is to most people. And I think we'll get to that. I mean, I think a big part of it is we have to go back to the politics of addition and not subtraction, and that's something kind of in this unique era we're in, and we will be able to. I think there's good people out there to do it. And I wanna unpack that in a moment here, but I do think it's worthy of note that you worked for former President Reagan in his post-presidency in the library and elsewhere, and you got to know President Reagan and his wife. If President Reagan was alive today, And I know you can't quote him, I know you can't pretend to channel him, but knowing him as well as you did compared to how many people who didn't know him, what would he say about the Republican Party today? I think that he would be, a lot of people say he wouldn't do well in the Republican Party today at all. I think there's a piece of that. He'd be a Democrat. Well, he used to be a Democrat. He said the Democratic Party left him and that's when he became a Republican and he may be going back a little bit. But he was still a Republican. I mean, from a principled standpoint, he would still be a Republican. But I think the idea is he was very much about... Working with people, talking to people, getting to know people and understanding them on their level. He wasn't so much about, you know, pointing out what was wrong with other people. He was about trying to find what was good and common among everybody and then using that to get elected or using that for a good policy. So I think he would be a little bit taken aback by the amount of vitriol, the amount of division and hatred that just exists at the party level. I mean, he was not about that at all. There's two times that I've seen President Trump. Change his tone and his mood. It was after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania at the convention where you saw a different President Trump. You saw a man who looked like he'd been humbled by the experience. And then there was this, this Mack truck that ran through the Republican Party and his reputation. And he comes out of that a day later saying, I wanna work with Democrats and perhaps I was too tough on immigration. Do those stances surprise you a bit? With President Trump? I think that's what he should have said. I think he'll walk a lot of that back, and I think he has walked a lot of that back already as he's found his base. He's not so thrilled about hearing some things about immigration reform. But that is exactly the reaction that any normal, typical politician would have, in a good way. That's what leaders do, is they pivot, and they find out, and they evolve to what the circumstances are. But you don't hear contrition from President Trump ever? No, the President doesn't apologize ever. He doesn't accept any wrongdoing. And I think this was as far as he'll ever go in that ground. And I think that ultimately, listen, he's got two years. Two years left. Of his term, he's at a certain age in life where he doesn't probably have a lot of life left regardless. I think ultimately on the inside, just like most human beings, he wants to be liked and he'd like to do good things. And I think he would actually like to work with Democrats to solve some of the challenges facing so he can take credit for them and that's a very Trump thing to do. But I believe that's sincere to who he is, whether or not he's going to be able to, I don't know. I think we're gonna have two years of investigation, two years of further finger pointing and name calling on all sides of the aisles and that's not gonna make it any better for the American people. Does it kill the blue wave buzz that we've seen by Democrats going in there with retribution on their plate instead of. The progress that people at home really want? I think that'll help fuel the Democratic base just like it would the Republican base. For 28. But for people that are really concerned about the cost of living, you know how people are treating people and all the actual bread and butter issues that most people vote about, it's not gonna do them any favors. You've been talking a ton about young people, for example, I've been watching. And you're talking a lot about that. And I think that the young people who are voting now and interested are gonna have another whiplash, another pendulum swing if they feel like the Democratic Party that they just helped Put into power doesn't actually address those issues. Now it's incumbent on them to deliver. You can sit here and be proud and cocky and all that, but you got to humble yourself and go figure out what the work is. Very important for 28, but also for their own legacies. In the one minute we have left, I want to ask about Canada. You actually sit on a board, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, not a board but a commission, in which you work very closely with Canada. Where are we right now from a relationship point of view? And we're going to talk to Sandy Barua about this more in a minute. But where are we? What are we not seeing in the headlines? What are we not covering well enough about Canada and Michigan? Well, obviously, I'm not involved in the trade war aspect of it. That's not my component of it. And I think that there's an understanding that a lot of this is related. The president is saying one thing, but there are most people in government on both sides of the border really want to make things work. I think we're finally seeing a little bit of a softening. You saw the president try to pull back some of the tariffs. Too late, frankly, before the midterm election. Nine tariffs that would affect Maine, because Susan Collins said you got to do that, right? But that was a little bit of a blink, for lack of a better term. And it said, OK, they're willing to look at this. But Michiganders know that Canada is our friend and our partner, and we have to have a good relationship. It overwhelmingly has hurt the state of Michigan, hurt the people of Michigan to have this trade war. You hear Prime Minister Carney say, hey, we are working. I agree with the president. I agree with the United States position that we're working a little bit better towards talking again and having a deal. We have to do something about it, Rupert. It overwhelmingly affects this state. The thing is, it's up to the president, frankly. A new Democratic Congress really can't do anything about it. They could pass legislation, but unless it's veto proof, the president will just override it or will just veto it. It's one of the only things the four people who ran for Senate and for Governor in the state agreed on. John James, Jocelyn Benson, Abdullah Al-Sayed, and Mike Rogers all said, hey, let's get back to business with Canada because it's important. Ethan Baker, too. I mean, absolutely. We'll add you fifth on that list. Yeah, right. Mayor Ethan Baker, the city of Troy, great to have you with us and great to have the only thing that, you know, we're glad that you're back on the show more regularly now that the campaign is over. So we're glad for that. I'll be here. Thanks for being with us. We're turning to the wish list of businesses after the break. Detroit Regional Chamber, Sandy Barua, with what he's hearing from businesses ahead of the Democratic takeover And the relationship with Canada. You're watching The Pulse on Fox 2. It is people, power, and politics. Welcome back to Detroit's only nightly political talk show, The Pulse. Here to dive into what businesses hope comes from the Democratic-led government, Detroit Regional Chamber President and CEO Sandy Baruah. And Sandy, it's always good to see you. Thanks for joining us here tonight. Great to be with you again. It is very rare to have two guests on the same show who both knew well. Past presidents, and you have, we should, if you read this man's bio, we'd be here all night because you've done a lot of work for government. And most of it's true. Most of it is true, the majority of it. I have some questions about some points in it, but the parts that we know are true is that you worked for George W. Bush during his time in the White House. You also have been a part of three transitions. Yes. From. There are presidents that have left and presidents that are coming in. Yeah, Bush 41 to Clinton and incoming 43, excuse me, and then when we handed off the reins to President Obama. So when you look at what's going on here, I mean, this is not your first rodeo. You and I were joking before the show started that in our TikTok Instagram culture, in our swipe culture, people just kind of quickly want to know what's next, what's going on. They want to simplify things. But government is complicated. Thank you very much. It isn't everything that the headlines read. Why? Well, certainly, midterm elections are different than the transition between one president to another. So obviously, actually, I just came back from Washington. I was in Washington as recently as yesterday, trying to give my Republican friends the hemlock that they're asking for, trying to celebrate with my Democratic friends at the bar at the Capitol Grill. So it's a very different vibe, but one of the things that you and I have talked about But in the past, is that We do have short memories, and because Lord knows people are busy doing, they're raising their kids, they're buying groceries, they're getting their car repaired, they don't have time to think about politics. But every election since 2010, since Barack Obama was elected, other than 2012, was a change election of some type. We either changed presidencies or there was a flip in the House or the Senate. Even though this last election, just a few days ago, was Watergate level, I mean, 41, soon to be probably 47 House seats, five gubernatorial seats, maybe now six. Thanks. And that last happened in 1974, you're saying, after Watergate. But remember what happened right after 74. Jerry Ford almost won his own term as president, and shortly thereafter, in 1980. It was the Reagan Revolution, and for the first time in 40 or 50 years, the Republicans took the United States Senate. Which worked out well for me because my boss was a U.S. Senator. Sure. So we've seen these movies before. We understand that change has happened. And I do think it's important to note that this isn't something that's new. But for a lot of these new voters out there and some of the younger viewers out there, they may say, man, we've never seen anything like this. Well, no, we have. In fact, we've seen the referendum on Democrats before. They say we don't like what's going on. We want someone- As recently as two years ago. Two years ago we saw that. So talk for a moment about, bring this back home for us here in Detroit. Ahead of Detroit Regional Chamber, the businesses and the business leaders that come to you, what is it that they're concerned about? What is it that they have questions about? What is it that they assume or suppose will happen? Both at the national level and at the state level, it's about consistency. We have had such inconsistent policies, both the state and the national level, especially for an economy like ours here in Michigan, which is very capital intensive. We make big, heavy things that take a long time to design and build, and they're very heavy to ship. The swinging back and forth in terms of how are we dealing with environmental policy, what are we dealing with in terms of manufacturing policy, the businesses, it's hard to succeed, because you can't have a long-term strategy for your business if you don't know what the policy is going to be year to year, and sometimes it's even month to month. You think a little bit about, you throw the Canada equation into this, and as I said, Republicans and Democrats who understand and advocate for the state of Michigan know the import of the relationship with Canada. What do you suppose will happen moving forward, and what are you hoping for? Well, certainly we've been very clear, very vocal that this Trade war with Canada is not helpful at all. Let's just take a look at the stats. Michigan is Canada's largest trading partner and vice versa. Austin Goolsbee, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago, has clearly said that Michigan is the state most at risk through trade policy and tensions with Canada. Nationally, the tariff policies that we see implemented now costing the average American household about $2,000 a year. In Michigan, it's close to six. Does it bother you a little bit as the head of the Detroit Regional Chamber when you hear the nationalized conversation in the press from MSNBC to Fox News? It's Canada. It's fine. We'll be all right. We don't need them kind of a deal. When here in Michigan, we kind of do. Yeah, well, fortunately, I think this campaign, this most recent campaign that ended a week and a half ago, really highlighted the importance of Canada. I think people get it. Well, Sandy Baruah with Detroit Regional Chamber, it's so good to just start scratching the surface on this topic with you. Thanks for being with us here tonight. Always good to be with you. We appreciate you. That is the pulse for tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rup Raj. As always, it was good to be with you.