Matters of State Strategies Vice President and Pundit Matt Grodsky appeared on Dennis Welch’s Politics Unplugged Show on AZ Family yesterday (February 2, 2025). They discussed recent political current events with Republican consultant Barrett Marson.
The segment with Grodsky and Marson starts at 10:00
Among the subjects discussed were Trump’s attempts at freezing discretionary federal funding, the proliferation and onslaught of Trump Executive Orders, voters starting to remind themselves that, yes, federal programs do help me, Attorney General Kris Mayes’s conveyed a more forceful presence than Governor Katie Hobbs, the resignation of the Governor’s point person on the budget, the appointment of the first Black-Latina to the State Supreme Court, and Andy Biggs’s gubernatorial candidacy.
On the Trump freeze and the chaos that followed, Marson commented:
“…The memo was rescinded but we don’t know if the actions are rescinded. So look, you know, Donald Trump is putting, you know, he’s flooding the zone, right? And while Democrats are complaining about these three things and sort of you know, middling upset about these three things. There are four of the things that people are missing because they’re so focused on these other six things. So they are doing a good job of flooding the Zone and creating chaos and getting some stuff done that he promised on immigration for instance…this whole freezing of funds and the Medicaid System payment systems going down in multiple States, including Arizona for a spell. It’s creating chaos and people are unsure of what’s going on…”
Grodsky replied to that, calling the Trump freeze “A civics lesson in real-time…They (the people) voted for a change agent but I think a lot of Americans voted to bring the prices down. Prices are up. How are eggs looking these days.”
When Welch mentioned that Trump had to work to solve the Bird (Avian Flu,) Grodsky quipped about Trump’s “good track record with pandemics” in a reference to the 45th President’s mishandling of the Coronavirus.
On Welch’s comment that Arizona Attorney Kris Mayes “has cemented herself as the face of the resistance,” compared to Governor Hobbs, Grodsky commented that Democratic Attorney Generals had been preparing for this Trump Executive Order Avalanche “Since December” and she and the other Attorney Generals called out “An Unconstitutional Executive Order.”
On Hobbs, Grodsky said that she “Has to focus on governing and not reacting.”
Marson poked fun at Hobbs by referring to Mayes as the Governor in his sarcastic praise of the Attorney General taking the lead on these Trump actions.
On the Governor’s point person on the budget leaving, Marson criticized the move at this time given the Governor’s budget was just released a couple of weeks ago and predicted that Matt Gress, who used to run budgets for former Governor Doug Ducey may have the upper hand in future budget negotiations, especially given how the Governor and the now former budget director, Sarah Brown, seemed to give into Republican fiscal demands during the first two years of her administration.
He also kind of mocked them for not being able to deal with “the complicated” intricacies of the budget process.
Grodsky replied “That the legislative session just began and I think she is making her case to voters,” saying that the people, when it comes time to vote, are not going to care who the Budget Director was.
On Hobbs’s selection of Judge Maria Elena Cruz as the first Black-Latina pick for the Arizona Supreme Court, (she was sworn in today,) Grodsky called the selection, the first for a Democratic Governor in 20 years, a “Great choice” and “Historic.”
Marson pointed out that if Hobbs does not get re-elected, having one pick for the State Supreme Court would not amount to much of a legacy.
On “MAGA darling” Andy Biggs running for Governor, Grodsky said “I wouldn’t sleep on the craziness of MAGA primaries…Biggs and Trump do have a relationship. I wouldn’t sleep on the idea that it could be Biggs vs Hobbs.”
Marson commented that Trump’s “endorsement” of Karen Taylor Robinson for Governor is, like Grodsky said, “soft” and unlike Kari Lake, Biggs “Can not rally (energize) a crowd.”
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