American Scandal King

Chapter 137 I also want to pursue her
While the outside world is still immersed in grief, the rich people are rejoicing.

That night, a sumptuous banquet was held at James Pelley's home.

On the balcony of the huge villa, James Perry and Ian sat on the rattan chairs on the balcony, drinking wine and looking at the moonlight.

Giampelli smiled and said, "By the way, Giuliani wants to see you."

"Giuliani? The mayor of New York?" Ian asked.

James Pelley nodded: "Well, he performed well in this disaster relief effort, and many people admire him."

Is this considered good?

That's because you haven't seen the real good! Ian was disdainful in his heart.

Americans' disaster relief efforts are notoriously lackluster. Three days after the incident, excavation and rescue efforts are still woefully slow—few have been rescued. But shameless people will say anything. Any dusty-looking person on the street could be said to have been dug out from under the rubble.

After all, the people have no mouths.

They don't even have thoughts!

At this moment, James Pelley said, "America needs a hero right now, and you and Shawna are the perfect fit. After a few days of recuperation, it's time for you to show up in public. CBS has prepared a series of programs for you."

Ian smiled and said, "That's fine with me. But you have to pay what you owe."

"Of course." James smiled, then he leaned over and said, "But you know that these are not the key points?"

Ian nodded gently: "Next year is the midterm election, we can start preparing after the New Year."

James Pelley was slightly startled.

Then he laughed. "Wow, Ian, you're amazing! You don't even need a reminder! So who are you rooting for?"

"Of course it's the Democratic Party. CBS has always supported the Democratic Party, hasn't it?" Ian asked.

James Pelley excitedly pumped his fist. "I knew it! I knew Ian, you won't let us down! We will win a glorious victory in this midterm election!"

In the world of the past, who won the midterm elections?
I don't remember and I don't care.

Many things are bound to change, at least now, Ian has enough influence.

You should know that midterm elections are different from presidential elections. The former is a congressional election and affects the number of seats in Congress.

A president who comes to power with 51% approval rating and a president who comes to power with 80% approval rating are both presidents, there is no difference.

But in the midterm elections, 51% and 80% directly represent seats in Congress, so even if you are already capable of winning, it will not affect your ability to continue striving for higher support rates!
And that’s exactly what Ian wanted!

When you can decide the promotion and demotion of a group of politicians, you can also gain their support, and this support can be quickly converted into money!

Of course, the U.S. midterm elections are essentially local elections. For example, each state elects two senators. Due to the different political inclinations of each state, many things cannot be resolved by a single word from a person with charisma.

In a sense, Ian's appeal actually has a greater impact on the presidential election than on the midterm elections - unfortunately the presidential election is not until 03.

At this moment Ian said: "I hope to focus my influence on a specific area."

James Pelley was puzzled: "What do you mean?"

Ian replied: "California, New York, Nevada, and Michigan."

California and New York are easy to understand.

After all, the former is Ian's base, and he must control his home base well - City Councilman Brand has fallen behind before he has played much of a role, and Ian's political tentacles are now moving from city councilors to senators and congressmen.

California's next governor is none other than Mr. Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he's already preparing for it.

Even though the guy was a Republican, Ian didn't care.

Capitalists always support winners and interests, without any real party affiliation.

New York is easy to understand. It is the center of the world and the most prosperous city. Even if Gemini is gone, it will not affect its status.

Nevada and Michigan are different.

Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are known as swing states, meaning they often swing politically. Successive presidential elections have often been decided in these states—Trump being a rare exception, having eroded his opponents' traditional strongholds.

Whoever can influence the swing states will have the influence to decide the outcome.

Ian said that I am still small in stature, and although I have the title of world hero, my actual net worth is only a few hundred million, so let's strive for these two places first.

There are reasons why these two were chosen.

Nevada has Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the world, which is also a good place to get confidential news;

Michigan has Detroit, the famous car city - although Detroit later went bankrupt, the city's bankruptcy did not affect the votes.

The poor and the rich are equal, at least in terms of votes.

You have to know that the reason why the US election needs the support of the financial tycoons is not only because they provide political donations, but also because they can actually influence the vote.

Imagine that you are the boss of a company with tens of thousands of employees under you, and you support A to take the position. What would you do?
Donate millions of dollars?
No! That's nothing.

You will inform all your workers: Go and vote for A immediately. If you dare to vote for someone else, I will fire you!

This is elections. It involves not only bribery but also coercion!
According to Ian and Gaskell's plan, they will use the media as the core to control the American political situation in the future.

The first step is to control the media, the second step is to improve investment and obtain money (this is Ian’s own plan, after all, he is the only one who has the advantage of rebirth), and the third step is to get involved in the real world and control the political arena.

Although the profit of the entity is low, there are many jobs and more votes can be influenced!
So he said, “Do we have the right friends?”

James Pelley smiled and said, "There's no shortage of friends in the media. It just depends on what kind you want."

Ian replied, "In California, I will definitely focus on developing film and television. I need friends who are influential in this area. As for the media, there's no rush. We must first hurt them and then acquire them. As for other areas, I will consider investing in some physical entities, such as prisons, hospitals, factories, construction companies, etc. Casinos are also an option."

James Pelley thought for a moment and said, "Those unscrupulous guys in Hollywood are not easy to deal with. Even Wall Street has been cheated by them."

Ian laughed and said, "No matter how difficult they are, they have to be afraid of me!"

Jampelli asked, "Where's the entity?"

Ian replied: "Oh, to make money, of course."

Although influence can be monetized, unless you use it for blackmail, monetization itself is a science.

The most typical example is political monetization.

For example, a certain richest man in India became very successful because of his friendship with the Magic Flute Immortal. He acquired land at the cheapest price and developed pillar industries such as docks.

There are so many places where influence can penetrate, and anything in the world can be linked to the news, but you need to have an industrial foundation to realize its value.

So when Ian, who has enough influence, wants to get involved in the physical world, there will be many business owners who welcome him.

He can get shares with the least amount of money, and then just wait for dividends with peace of mind - in a sense, what he invests is not money, but his ability to protect and promote these companies!

From this perspective, Ian's path is destined to make it impossible for him to become the sole proprietor of a super enterprise like other protagonists - this is a huge waste of monetizing influence.

He should become a super investor, owning a small amount of shares in each company, but there may be thousands of large companies in the United States, and he has shares in them. When he owns 10% of the shares of these companies, it means that he owns 5% of the United States.

Hearing this, James Pelley smiled and said, "That sounds good, but where do you get so much money?"

Ian replied: "Lino Bank will support me."

James Pelley was speechless.

Linuo Bank...

Was that how Gaskell helped?

After a while, he said, "Can I pursue Lena?"

Ian: "..."

(End of this chapter)