Interview with Dave McCormick

Dave McCormick is a businessman and veteran. He was the CEO of Bridgewater Associates and Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs. He is running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Water Ice

Max Raskin: I’m from Jersey, and I think being from Jersey, there's something that you get being from Jersey. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but there's something. Pennsylvania has a unique thing too. What’s the thing about growing up in Pennsylvania that forms you?

Dave McCormick: It's gritty, tough, self-sufficient — that’s the character of the Commonwealth. Whether you're in Philly or in northeast Pennsylvania where I grew up, it's a state that’s really comprised of immigrants. It’s a working family, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, make-your-way in Pennsylvania — that’s what defines it.

MR: You live in Squirrel Hill now, right?

DM: Right.

MR: What's your favorite place to eat in Pittsburgh?

DM: In Squirrel Hill there's The Bagel Factory. That's iconic, and we go there for breakfast. And then there’s Pamela's in Shadyside. Pamela's is another Pittsburgh institution where I used to take my daughters when they were little, and now Dina and I go together. And if we're going to have dinner, we typically go down to the Strip District which has all sorts of new restaurants — it’s kind of the next generation Pittsburgh.

MR: Do you eat out or do you cook?

DM: We mostly eat out because we're coming in from campaigning.

There’s also Girasole in Shadyside, which is an iconic Italian place.

MR: What do you get there?

DM: We typically get some sort of pasta — they've got a number of fresh pastas that they'll make every day.

MR: I also got to ask about water ice.

DM: I can relate to water ice.

When I was a kid, I worked every summer at the Bloomsburg Fair, the biggest fair in Pennsylvania. It was in my hometown. It's enormous fairgrounds, buildings, racetracks, horse races, car races. And it was such a big deal that school would stop. We'd have a week off from school and all the kids would work.

I worked at least five years in a row at the orangeade stand called Kohr’s. And my job there was to be the squeezer. So we had this machine and I would squeeze oranges and do it for 12 hours a day. That orange juice would then get mixed with sugar water and then it would be served over ice and that was orangeade. Your fingers would be numb, and you’d come home with everything smelling of orange. And I remember when I started, I was making three bucks an hour. And so six days, 12 hours a day, three bucks an hour, and 36 bucks a day. That was over $200. That was a big deal. I mean, you make all that money, but you couldn't enjoy the fair.

MR: Will you still have it today?

DM: Oh yeah. We were just at the Bloomsburg Fair last year, and I treated the team to a Kohr’s.

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Rocky Run

MR: For someone who’s never been to Pennsylvania, what would you recommend they do?

DM: What’s incredible about Pennsylvania is the geographic diversity. You have these incredible cities, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia most notably, and the history in both of them is remarkable. Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell…all that's in Philadelphia, and that's an absolute must.

We do the Army-Navy game every year, which is mostly in Philadelphia. I've been doing that for 20 years and I now have six daughters, four my daughters, and two stepdaughters, 23 to 17. We go for the Army-Navy weekend. When it’s in Philadelphia, we go in Friday night, we have a big family dinner, and then Saturday morning before the game, rain or shine, I've done this for years, I make them all do the Rocky Run with me. We do the Rocky Run through the streets of Philadelphia and we end running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum — the Rocky steps. Lots of pictures — lots of complaining!

Hersheypark is also a classic Pennsylvania experience.

100 years ago, Pittsburgh was the industrial capital of America. There were more corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh than any other city in the country. It has the most bridges of any other city. It is a spectacularly beautiful city with the three rivers. You come through the tunnel and it's just unbelievable. You got to see a Pirates game at the baseball park in Pittsburgh, which is gorgeous. You got to see a Steelers football game. You got to see an Eagles football game in Philly.

MR: Are you an Eagles fan or a Pittsburgh fan?

DM: I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. If the Steelers aren't in it, I want the Eagles to win, but I grew up cheering for the Steelers and have been a longstanding Steelers fan.

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Assassination Attempt

MR: I want to ask you about the assassination attempt on President Trump. Who’s your first call after it happens?