later in the show,
I will speak to former Marlin's president David Sampson
about a new video he made
along with filmmaker, Billy Corbin,
attacking the city's proposed deal
with soccer icon David Beckham.
But before we get to that, I sit down
with Chuck Nadd, a Republican candidate
for Ag Commissioner in Florida.
A graduate of West Point,
Nadd served eight years in the military,
including two tours in Afghanistan
flying a Black Hawk helicopter.
In 2014, he was featured in
a Super Bowl commercial for Budweiser.
>>Please join me in welcoming
Lieutenant Chuck Nadd home.
(gentle music)
>>He graduated from Harvard Business School on the GI bill
and is now running against Florida Senate president
Wilton Simpson, claiming that Simpson
is controlled by big sugar.
This is his first television interview
in what could be a wild race.
What do you want people to know about you?
>>Well, I'm a lifelong Floridian.
I was born and raised here.
My parents actually immigrated to Florida from France
to get away from socialism in the early 1980s.
They first moved to Pensacola
and then to Orlando where I was born.
They had a French restaurant first,
and then were in the hotel business.
When I turned 18, I was fortunate enough
on the day of my 18th birthday
to start in the US Military, enlisted,
enrolled at West Point, the US Military academy,
and spent four years there.
>>Why West Point?
>>I think there's two pieces to that.
One, my parents never expected I'd be in the military.
They just really raised me to be proud to be an American.
And I always felt like I wanted
to do something to give back.
And then when I was in the seventh grade,
September 11th happened
and I could have probably told you coming home from school
in the seventh grade on that day, September 11th, 2001
that I was going to join the military.
>>And you are, were a Black Hawk pilot, right?
>>That's right, I spent eight years on active duty.
So went straight into army aviation after West Point
and went to Afghanistan twice,
flying Black Hawk helicopters and spy planes,
and I still fly in the US Army Reserve.
So I've been in for about 11 years.
>>So, why are you running for office now?
>>Absolutely. Well, I was looking, building this business
that I had started back in Florida
after my time on active duty.
And I really grew up around water,
I grew up kayaking Mosquito Lagoon.
I grew up kayaking Wekiwa Springs
up in north central Florida.
And I saw that there's this really emerging important issue
of water quality and clean water.
And I think everyone watching can really attest that
this is one of the critical issues that our state faces,
not only now, but over the next five, 10 years.
And unfortunately, when I looked out
at the potential field of folks
who are running for agriculture commissioner,
I realized that my opponent Wilton Simpson
has been on the wrong side of this issue.
Specifically, he's in the pocket of big sugar.
He's been paid for throughout his entire political career
by these special interests
that are more interested in their bottom line
than in preserving the Everglades
and in protecting clean water for south Florida
and frankly, all of Florida.
>>Well, if you're gonna make the allegation
that he's bought and paid for by big sugar,
what proof do you have of that?
>>Well, look at his campaign contributions.
There are hundreds of thousands of dollars
across his various political committees,
as well as his campaign committee
from you know, these big entities like big sugar and--
>>Well, just because somebody gives a candidate money,
does that mean anyone who gives you money owns you?
>>No, absolutely not.
But you look at his voting record, right?
You take a look at, you know,
where he stood on the various issues.
You look at 2508, the Senate bill that was curtailed
because of the outcry from people here in south Florida
who saw how devastating it could be.
>>2508 is a bill regarding the flow of water south
and whether or not it goes into a holding lake, a reservoir,
people may not know at home what 2508 is.
So why did you think that was significant
that he was trying to push that?
>>It showed that his priorities were big sugar's priorities
and not the priorities of the people of south Florida.
And that's why I'm running,
because I wanna preserve the lifestyle
that really, we were able to enjoy as kids.
And I have four kids now,
I want my children to be able to enjoy the Everglades,
to be able to enjoy kayaking and the water recreation
that I was able, and frankly, for every Floridian
to have access to clean water.
>>So do you think that U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals,
the two big players in the sugar industry,
are they bad for Florida? Are they evil?
>>I think that we need to find a way where we can
manage the growth that we're having in this state
and the access that we need to clean water
with their priorities.
I think that right now, state government,
particularly legislature,
is too lopsided to these big corporations
and the vast majority of Floridians agree.
We know that corporations have too much influence
in our politics, and that's why we're laser committed
on this water issue, because it's the perfect example
of how we need to eliminate the overreaching influence
of big sugar, Florida Crystals, U.S. Sugar, as you mentioned
and really focus on solutions that can work for everybody.
>>Well, it's not just an issue of water.
It's also an issue of air, sometimes.
You know, one of the things that
the current Ag Commissioner has been criticized on by some
is that she hasn't done more to stamp down on burn permits.
>>Absolutely.
>>What's your thoughts about sugar burning?
>>Yeah, I think it needs to be curtailed significantly.
If you look, the reason why they're burning the sugar cane,
for folks who might not know, is that ultimately,
it makes it easier to pick out the sugar
out of the sugar cane, right?
It makes the whole process easier.
So in an effort to reduce labor costs,
they're burning the sugar.
Unfortunately, because of the pesticides,
because of a lot of what's applied to the sugar cane,
there are carcinogens that go up in the air.
And like you said, this isn't just an issue of clean water.
This is about clean air, too.
And when you're talking about schools that are nearby,
when you're talking about homes that are nearby,
there are folks who are breathing this into their lungs
and that's not something that we should stand for.
So I wanna be solidly against the significant burns.
We need to control those burns, and also,
we need to make sure that water
is routed in the right direction.
>>So as Ag Commissioner,
you would have the ability to sign for those permits.
You issue the permits that allow sugar to do the burnings.
Are you saying that you would deny their permits to burn?
>>Yes, I think in many cases, those permits would be denied.
>>You've made it clear that you're a big fan
and supporter of governor Ron DeSantis.
Did you discuss with him before getting into the race?
>>I did not, I did look at the race
and saw that Ron DeSantis needs
a strong conservative ally by his side.
I saw that throughout the course of
this last legislative session and over the last two years,
and really the six, seven, eight years before that,
Wilton Simpson, my opponent, has not been a friend
of conservative values in Florida.
If you look at things like gun control,
he enacted the bill, after Marjorie Stoneman Douglas,
that brought red flag laws to Florida
and that raised the age of ownership.
These are issues that are non-starters
with the Republicans that are gonna be voting
in the primary in August 23rd of this year.
>>So you oppose red flag laws.
>>I do.
>>Marco Rubio supports red flag laws.
There are Republicans that support red flag laws,
especially after what happened in Parkland.
Why do you oppose them?
>>I think it's very important that we base
all of our decisions in constitutional basis.
And when you look at the arguments
that Ron DeSantis has made,
Ron DeSantis has been very clear
that he would've been against
and he would've vetoed the legislation
after Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, it just went too far
in curtailing the constitutional rights of Floridians.
So I am strongly in favor of a pro gun agenda
and I really do believe ultimately,
that we need to have a state that has constitutional carry
like 25 other states.
Because I think about people like my wife,
I think about people that I see across the state
who just want to protect themselves.
It's becoming a more dangerous world out there.
And everybody watching knows that.
It crosses all different political divides.
Folks realize that they need to protect themselves now.
We can't have a candidate who stood against
Floridians protecting themselves.
>>So let's talk about what you've referred to
as constitution carry or permitless carry,
there's several names for it.
Currently, as the Ag Commissioner, you would be
the person who issues concealed weapons permits.
>>Absolutely. >>Right?
There are 2 million people in the state of Florida
who have a concealed weapons permit.
Clearly it's not an onerous task to go through the process
of applying for one, of taking a safety course.
Why would you oppose that? Why?
I mean, if I need a license and need a safety class
and driver education before I can operate a vehicle,
why not have something for just the operation of a handgun?
>>Well, Jim, I don't think it's mutually exclusive.
I think you can still have permitting
in addition to constitutional carry.
In fact, if you look at the studies, time after time,
we see that in states that institute constitutional carry,
the amount of permits actually goes up.
And the reason is you've got a grandmother who wants
to, you know, visit her grandkids across state boundaries.
She knows she needs that permit.
So even though she's already carrying,
she's able to get that permit and cross state lines.
>>But she wouldn't need that permit
if she just stayed in the state of Florida, correct?
>>Absolutely, but the facts bear out that
it's, you know, really critical that--
>>But why is it so onerous
to have someone apply for a permit
to carry a concealed weapon?
>>Well, I think it's a question of what it means
in terms of the constitution
and the way I read the second amendment
and the way I look at history, I'm a student of history,
and I see how important it is
that societies maintain their individual citizen's ability
to keep and bear arms.
>>Just to go back to Wilton Simpson for a second.
President Trump supports and endorsed Wilton Simpson.
Doesn't that give him the conservative bona fides
he needs for an election?
>>Look, Donald Trump wants to support winners
and I am a winner and I'm going to win this race.
He endorsed Wilton Simpson almost a year before
I got into the race.
So I don't think he's got the full set of facts.
>>Do you expect to get Ron DeSantis'
endorsement in the race?
>>I think Ron DeSantis has a lot of options
in what he can do.
He's got a very robust agenda
that he's trying to get passed right now,
but I know he's very interested
and I think it's gonna be very interesting
to see what happens.
>>Did Donald Trump win the 2020 election?
>>I think ultimately, when you look at the election,
it's tough to say where on the spectrum.
There's never a perfectly pure answer
to how well an election was run.
There's always, you start at a high school election,
there's always gonna be some level of disenfranchisement.
I think it's really important
that we analyze election integrity.
And frankly, when you look at the issue
of election integrity,
there are some open questions about Wilton Simpson.
He got involved in some really key races here
in south Florida, in the Florida Senate.
And for those who don't know, he helped,
along with some of the folks that he was working with,
prop up candidates who were so called ghost candidates.
I think it's really critical that if people
are thinking about election integrity,
they think about how Wilton Simpson has, again,
been on the wrong side of that issue.
I'm going to stand up for election integrity.
Ron DeSantis had a very strong bill
that he was passing through the Florida legislature
but it got watered down by Wilton Simpson.
I think the real question is why Wilton Simpson
doesn't stand up for election integrity.
>>I'm just gonna come back to it.
Let me ask it this way, was Joe Biden elected
as president of the United States fairly?
>>I don't have the information to be able to say
one way or the other.
>>You serve in the reserves,
is Joe Biden commander in chief
and the president of the United States?
>>Joe Biden's the commander in chief
of the United States Army.
I think every board that I see says that,
but ultimately-- >>Do you believe it?
>>I do, I believe, ultimately,
that we have a system of laws and frankly,
Donald Trump left the white house on his own volition
on January 19th or January 20th of 2021.
So I think that's a question
that you would have to ask Donald Trump,
why he left the office if, you know,
he didn't think that the election
had been settled at that point.
>>What's your views on marijuana?
>>I am strongly in favor of medical marijuana.
I really believe, and this is coming
from a deep place for me, 'cause I've seen
a lot of my friends in the military,
folks who are still in, folks who are veterans
deal with severe PTSD, severe pain from war time injuries.
And I think it would be malpractice
to not allow for medical marijuana prescribed by a doctor
and really pushed in a way that's safe and effective.
>>Do you believe in the legalization
of recreational marijuana?
>>I do not believe that now is the time
for the legalization of recreational marijuana.
I think there's a lot of analysis
that still needs to be done.