Bed, Bath, & Beyond Executive Chairman Marcus Lemonis sparked a firestorm in Gavin Newsom's Press Office yesterday when he announced that Bed Bath & Beyond, which is coming back from bankruptcy, would NOT be opening locations in the state of California due to the high costs of doing business in the state. Gavin Newsom launched an attack on Lemonis, but he joined Glenn to share that he's not backing down, and many CEO's in the industry may be on Bed, Bath & Beyond's side here...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Marcus Lemonis is joining us next, the chairman of Bed, Bath & Beyond. Let me tell you about Tunnel2Towers. Imagine being told that your husband or your wife, the love of your life is not coming home tonight. Or ever again.

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(OUT AT 8:29 AM)

GLENN: Marcus Lemonis. He's the executive chairman of Bed, Bath & Beyond, and he's currently in a -- some sort of a fight, if you will. I don't think he's fighting it. I think he's reacting like a gentleman and a businessman, with his responses to Governor Newsom, but he's in this argument with Governor Newsom. Because he said, yesterday, Bed, Bath & Beyond just cannot do business in California anymore. It's just too expensive. It's just too overregulated. It no longer makes sense for Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Welcome to the program, Marcus.

MARCUS: Good morning, how are you?

GLENN: I'm very good. I'm very good. I just want to point out before we go. Because I think this is important to say.

Because you started yesterday saying, this is not about politics. And I just want to point out, that you're not a Trump supporter. You know, in 2017, you came out. And I'm not going to go through it because you went back and forth and corrected and everything else.

But, you know, you criticized what Donald Trump said in Charlottesville, when it was thought that he had said, you know, hey, and the Nazis are pretty good too.

Which we all know because the full audio and video is out. And we can show that's not what he was talking about at all.

But you came out, as did a whole buttload of other CEOs.

And said, you know, if that's what you believe. Then, you know, please.

We tonight necessarily want you shopping here.

So it's not that you are doing this because you're a big Trump supporter. I -- when I saw your name attached to this. I thought, no, no, no. This is about business.

Because he's not on either side on this.

MARCUS: Yeah. I'm not on either side --

GLENN: Is that accurate?

MARCUS: Yeah. It's kind of accurate from a historical standpoint. It's not accurate from a modern standpoint.

I think as time has gone and the facts have been revealed, and things have played out and moves have been made by this administration. That I think advanced business. And advanced the American, you know, citizen. In a way that I think, it puts us back on track.

I would say that I feel very differently today, than I used to. And that's really not an emotional reaction. That's an intelligent reaction, and just looking at what the administration is doing to try to deregulate business.

Not to the advantage of -- of a worker. And not to the disadvantage of anybody. But to the training of capitalism in our country.

And to the advantage of investing in American business. And, you know, just as a reminder, Glenn. You and I met a long, long time ago when I had the profit at CNBC. That, you know, can't be -- and I've been through hell and back, trying to defend the flag from the same kind of ideology that I'm seeing out of California.

Which is, your flags are too big. They're not approved. And everybody does a little research. They'll see, that cities have sued me.

Cities have threatened to take me to jail. And the flag still hasn't been taken down. What you'll find with me is I'm trying to be really pragmatic. I also happen to be a resident of Chicago. And if anybody wants a preview to the movie of what's going to happen in New York City, come to my apartment on Michigan Avenue. And I'll give you a preview of what's happened and how socialism is just crushing not only my personal property, but other businesses around.

So I would say, as one gets smarter, one gets older. One learns more. One listens. But, you know, you evolve as a human. And I want to make sure that we're clear about that.

GLENN: I have to tell you, I -- it doesn't change my point of view that this is about business.

But I'm so glad that you cleared that up. Because, you know, that's all people should be striving for. Is when there are new facts available, you will actually say, oh, wait a minute.

I didn't see that.

I didn't know that.

MARCUS: I was wrong. I was wrong.

GLENN: And that's so rare.

So thank you for that.

MARCUS: Yeah. Yeah.

GLENN: So, you know, let me give you -- let me give you another slam from the left, or from, you know, the people on Twitter.

And even Gavin Newsom.

Oh, you were out of business. And this is just a business move to get your name out there. That's the only reason why you're taking California on.

MARCUS: Yeah. Well, let's talk about that. Number one, you know, I took over, a company called Overstock about a year and a half ago. And Overstock was a business that had been out there a long time, and they bought the intellectual property in the fall of '23 from the bankrupted state of Bed, Bath & Beyond.

And the reason that I took it over, is because the company had lost its way, was losing a lot of money. And I recommended to the shareholders, that we would get back to profitability. And as part of that, Bed, Bath & Beyond is a significant underpinning of that. And so I needed to remind both Governor Newsom and other folks, who, you know, were celebrating the fact that Bed, Bath & Beyond had gone out of business, were celebrating that Bed, Bath & Beyond had filed bankruptcy. And it's true. It's a fact. As I told Hannity last night, it happened.

The reality of it is that American is built on the modern day comeback, and we've invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Bed Bath. We run a billion-dollar online business. We bought a business called Kirklands, that is out of Jackson, Tennessee.

A family business, and we're using those 300 stores to convert. Fourteen of them are in California.

I was disappointed to see Governor Newsom, in my opinion, just the kind of level of professionalism. Instead of saying, you know what, I don't agree with your points.

And I think you're doing this for the wrong reasons, or whatever he wanted to say. However, comma, I would love to figure out how you and a bunch of other business leaders can tell me, as the governor of the fourth largest economy in the world, as he likes to remind us every single day, how to make it the third largest economy. And what I could do, what -- what things are out there, that I'm willing to comprise under, that I'm willing to help understand, that will drive investment back into my state. That will drive capital back into my state.

That will fill commercial real estate, back into my state, to appreciate commercial properties. Residential properties and be to drive value.

Because as the governor of the state. My job is to protect my people.

I get it. Fine.

But also to create positive cash flow for my state.

Which means I generate more than I spend.

But I don't want to do it on the backs of creating another nonsensical tax.

I didn't get that.

And that's really what has made me convinced, that Governor Newsom is not doing things for the benefit of California. He's doing things because he thinks that his so-called base is going to rally around his nonsense.

GLENN: So can you -- have you heard from other CEOs? In the last 24 hours?

Have you heard from anybody else in California.

You don't have to name names. Say the same thing?

MARCUS: Yeah. I won't. I've heard from very, very significant tech leaders in the state of California.

Asking if there's a way for them to set up with a meeting with Governor Newsom and myself.

Of course the answer is yes.

But they all acknowledge the silliness behind appointing capitalism and rejecting capitalism. And essentially, it's this dirty word.

And everybody who wants to make money or experience success is a bad person.

And that seems to be the theme that's coming out of the governor's office. Particularly with his -- I guess it's his intern-run pressroom Twitter account. Or whatever it's called these days.

GLENN: So this is not a final decision with you.

He could do something to change your mind?

MARCUS: I think if Governor Newsom was -- was really thinking about the political run and running a state that he believes -- is a super state in the country.

He would invite myself.

Maybe not me.

Maybe I'm not qualified to be in a room with him.

But other CEOs to say. Hey. I'm hearing this.

And I want to learn. I want to change.

Much like I said to you at the beginning of the conversation. What facts too I not have?

And how can you convince me, how I can do better? How I could learn more. That's the sign of a good leader. That's a leader I want to follow.

And that's I think, even, if you take a look at our current president's -- I think he's got a different tone in the second term than his second term.

And I couldn't be convinced otherwise. It feels far more collaborative. And that's what I'm looking for.

GLENN: Yeah. The -- let me play the opposite side here for a second. And to say what Trump is doing. I -- I see the regulation.

I see what's -- what -- he's doing to business. And thank God, it's a -- I can finally breathe again, as a businessman.

However, if I'm in your business. I would assume, you get a lot of material. A lot of -- a lot of your products from China. How -- how are the tariffs affecting you?

MARCUS: Oh, we've diversified our products. And the one thing that when I came in made it a bit of a mandate. And it's a balance between providing value to our shareholders and doing what I think is right.

You know, I come from the RV world, where we make everything in Indiana. We have employ tens of thousands of people, that make products in this country.

But there are parts and pieces that come from overseas. And the reality of it is, that until manufacturing in the US is -- is set up and can handle the capacity, in the short-term, there is an alternative sourcing.

And that applies to furniture and lighting.

And certainly tech styles coming from around the world.

And the tariffs aren't great. And I don't think Trump would even try to defend they're great.

It's a rebalancing act. Here's the thing I mentioned, big money the other day. If you're really thinking about the triangulation of how Trump is approaching, rebalancing everything.

Whether it's using energy as the leverage to bring Ukraine and -- and Russia to the table.

Or using tariffs to bring other world leaders to the table.

It's all really -- being done, in my opinion, to recalibrate America's position, both politically, and financially, in a way that -- that may change our dominance.

GLENN: It is. You know, I think that is -- I think you were spot-on. And you were seeing that with the way he handled Ukraine.

You know, he went in tough with the tariffs over in Europe.

And with NATO. He was tough with them.

And then he then said, you want to support Ukraine?

You can buy the stuff from us.

But you have to do it. But we'll provide it to you.

And now look at all the world leaders are at the table.

America is leading again. Just not spending all the money and doing all the work.

We are in the actual leadership position, which is remarkable. And I think he's doing that in every -- in every category.

MARCUS: Yes. And I think -- I think the one thing that this administration can knowledge is that the national debt is at a level that nobody believes it should be at. And the deficit is at a level that nobody believes it should be at. And it's a very complicated, but not overall complicated math equation. We have a certain amount of money leaving.

And we have not enough money coming in.

And the way you rejigger that is to find the balance.

And nobody I know, including myself. Will argue that the tariff execution in the last six months has been perfect.

I don't even think this administration would argue it's been perfect.

It's been herky-jerky on the market, Herky-jerky for business leaders. And at some point, we all pray that it finds its footing, at some point.

And nobody should try to convince anybody, that the consumer isn't going to be slightly pissed.

But the balancing act of being slightly fixed on the tariff's side, is what sort of relief could happen on the variable interest rate side. And that's why you see this other piece being triangulated around.

Where is the monetary policy? And how can that be modified to provide the relief to offset?

GLENN: Let me ask you: Are you as a pretty influential business leader.

Are you -- what's your outlook look like for the first half of next year. People are kind of holding back. Holding their breath. Not sure what to do.

Are we headed towards better times?

Or same kind of times. Or worse times, do you think?

MARCUS: I think we're headed towards unfortunately, probably, a little bit more of the same, of what may be extracted from that is a little bit of the volatility.

The consumer does have, you know, a significant amount of debt.

And they do have a significant amount of pressure because of the interest rates. The balance on the interest rates are, you can't just rip them down by two points tomorrow. That's going to create chaos.

You have to stair step it down. And like in retail or any other business, you test, then you measure, then you test, and you measure.

And I think what Trump has been saying and what Bessent has been saying, is we just got to get some relief for consumers. One point, Glenn, that I want to make. And inflation during the COVID period was a function of too much money in the system.

Too much free money in the system, and demand outpacing supply. In this particular instance, we don't have a demand outpacing supply problem. We have a reset of the cost of goods problem. And it's a different type of inflation.

And some people have said to me, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

There's only one type of inflation.

And the truth is, that's not right. Inflation driven by demand, outpacing supply, is a runaway train.

Inflation, because you're resetting and recalibrating prices. When supply and demand are irrelevantly tight in nature, is an adjustment period.

It's transitory.

And you have to really look at the difference between the two. And I think the fed needs to understand the difference between two of those.

Again, that's why business leaders should be far more involved.

GLENN: Marcus, it's great to talk to you again.

And I have to tell you, I think that's the first time anybody said, this inflation is transitory, that I have agreed with.

Really great analysis on that.

Thank you so much. Marcus Lemonis from Bed, Bath & Beyond.