Gov. Jay Inslee hypes presidential campaign on Daily Show

When Washington State Governor and presidential hopeful Jay Inslee was the featured guest on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah Monday evening, he didn’t just push his primary issue of climate change. He faced criticism of the state’s relationship with large companies, such as Boeing — a relationship that the governor likened to being robbed.

“You can’t solve other problems unless you solve climate change,” Inslee said. “… And I can tell you, I’m pledging to you tonight, that if I’m President of the United States, I’m going to make defeating climate change the number one job in the United States of America. That’s what I’m going to do.”

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After months of speculation, Washington’s governor announced that he was running for president in early March. His primary issue is getting America to tackle the affects of climate change.

“We are moving the needle in Washington state,” he said. “We’re building a huge wind turbine industry, a $6 billion industry. We have legislation that I hope will guarantee Washingtonians a 100 percent clean electrical grid.”

But he also got a few jabs in for President Trump while he was at it. Inslee said the presidential campaign, so far, has been inspiring because he is meeting people who feel a president should believe in science.

“This is the difference between me and Donald Trump — he is a pessimistic, fearful, insecure person,” Inslee said. “I am a confident, optimistic person who believes that America, who put a man on the moon, who defeated fascism, sure as heck can build a clean energy economy. That’s who we are as Americans.”

Inslee, Boeing, and corporations

Large companies have come under fire as presidential candidates aim for headlines. Democratic hopeful Elizabeth Warren has said that large tech companies should be broken up — such as the many companies in Western Washington.

While saying tech companies have made lives better, Inslee argued they need to be reined in, mostly focusing on net neutrality and privacy issues.

“And I also believe we have to find a way to stop these corporations from blackmailing communities, saying ‘we are going to move our 20,000 jobs out of your town, unless you give us a tax treatment,'” Inslee said.

Of course, Washington gave Boeing a massive tax break — a tax package that was extended in 2017.

“If you’ve ever been mugged, you understand what that feels like,” Inslee said.

“I was not happy about the Boeing situation, because what happens is that these corporations put a gun to your ribs and say ‘you’re going to lose 20,000 jobs unless we get a tax break,'” he added. “…We should use the tax code so tax payers aren’t victimized by that … no local community should be blackmailed by any corporation.”

Inslee also briefly commented on the investigation into the FAA’s approval process of the new Boeing 737 Max, which has come under scrutiny following two crashes. He said we have an administration we “can’t trust for anything.”

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