Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
0:10 ↗
Hello and welcome to this episode of Kennedy Saves the World. It's happy hour. Marcus Lemonis is here. Well, why don't you sound happy? It's like you were very formal about that.
Because you're in such a rush, and I want to get the thing underway so we can chit-chat and have a great time.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
0:24 ↗
When alcohol is involved, there's no need to be in a rush. Oh, well, cheers to that, Marcus Lemonis.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
0:31 ↗
So, this is a limoncello spritz. It is rosé sparkling wine. It's not champagne because it's from Oregon, which means it's probably superior. And limoncello. That's it.
Wait a minute. So, it has to be from France to be called champagne?
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
0:47 ↗
To be called champagne, it has to be from the Champagne region of France.
I don't think a lot of people know that. But it's good to know.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
0:54 ↗
Oh, that's good. That is lovely.
We're meeting in a different place than last time.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
0:58 ↗
The happy hour studio is different. It's vomit-proof in case I overserve. And yeah, it turns into a frat house.
I didn't expect it to get that dark that fast, but okay.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
1:09 ↗
Welcome to Kennedy Saves the World.
What do you want to talk about today?
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
1:14 ↗
I think it's fun to talk with you about anything. I want to continue our conversation about packing because Up in the Air is a great movie, especially the montage at the beginning when George Clooney is laying out how he packs. Now, Walter Kirn, who wrote it, is on Gutfeld! quite often and I think he's a genius, but I am fascinated with what people take on trips. Usually at least once a year we go on a girls' trip. And I have laid down the law: you bring a roller bag and a backpack, and that's it. I don't care how you configure things, but it has to be tight and bright. Are you an overpacker?
Why do you care about everybody else's packing situation?
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
1:55 ↗
Because number one, it slows you down. It's a pain in the ass to put stuff on a plane. It's a pain in the ass to wait at baggage claim. You're wasting time when you could be at the swim-up bar.
So if we travel together, that would be like rule number one. I think there would be a lot of questions that would keep us from traveling together.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
2:12 ↗
So, but that's not rule number one.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
2:14 ↗
Yeah, I did, and I married Guy.
Oh, okay. Well, that's lovely. So I have a little secret. I pretend to be a great packer because I'll show up with my roller bag, but when I arrive at the hotel, wherever it is in the world—
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
2:30 ↗
A steamer trunk?
There will be a FedEx box waiting for me. That is the truth. And then when I leave, I leave with my roller bag, but there's also a FedEx box headed back home.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
2:41 ↗
Okay, so you have logistics, like you have to coordinate.
Okay, but you also have a logistics crew.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
2:47 ↗
No. It's like a NASCAR pit crew.
No, it's just me. Well, actually it's my wife. Let's be clear.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
2:54 ↗
She's a packer. Like she—
She's a packer, but when I met her, she refused to check a bag because of the things that you said. So you two could travel together, I'll stay home.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
3:02 ↗
Yeah, I don't think I've ever gone somewhere and gone, "Oh, I wish I brought more stuff." What happens if you find great things to buy? I always leave room.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
3:12 ↗
Yes. But I never want to buy anything bulky. I bought a lovely ring in Fiji.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
3:21 ↗
When I went to Milan in 2023, I bought a backpack.
Okay. A beautiful Gucci backpack.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
3:29 ↗
Which you carried home.
I tossed the one that I brought with me and just shoved all the other stuff: a men's sweater, a belt, and a turban. Okay, so not much.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
3:42 ↗
Everything has to be meaningful. Like I'm a big Marie Kondo, like it has to bring joy to your heart, and most things don't.
I'm buying The Container Store.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
3:50 ↗
Oh yes, I love The Container Store. We just passed The Container Store in Westbury Common and I was like, The Container Store. I was like, "Do we have time?" You should get an employee discount now. That is so exciting.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
4:04 ↗
So, you're no longer at Camping World.
Retired from Camping World after 25 years. Took over—
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
4:09 ↗
But I still love the flag on the thruway.
The flag belongs to Camping World as it relates to being positioned in a bright light you see. But it is part of my legacy, and people have asked, "Am I going to put them up at all these other businesses that I'm buying?" And the answer is no. I am putting one up down at the World Trade Center, and I'm working on that now—a big 130-foot flagpole.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
4:33 ↗
What's happening at the World Trade Center? Is that The Container Store world headquarters?
No, it is not. There's a gentleman here in New York, Scott LoBaido, who paints all sorts of beautiful things about flags. He called me up and said, "Can you help me get a flag put up at the World Trade Center?" And I said, "I cannot help you get it put up, but I can help pay for it."
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
4:56 ↗
Wonderful.
I don't want the politics of New York City. No, thank you. But if you get it approved, we'll put up a 130-foot flagpole, 3,200-square-foot flag, the same ones you see at Camping World. It'll be the first one in New York City, the biggest flag in New York City.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
5:09 ↗
What?
I know. And I'm just waiting for Mamdani to say no. Wouldn't that be great?
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
5:14 ↗
He won't.
No, I don't think so. That's the thing about Mamdani that people don't understand: he is politically astute.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
5:21 ↗
Yeah. You don't ascend to where he's at with so little substance.
Without political deftness.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
5:32 ↗
And some street scrappiness to him. Only time will tell how far down into the gutter he allows the city to fall.
Do you feel like the city's worse today?
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
5:43 ↗
Yes. I can tell you by my house, it's filthy. Everything's dirty, like snow is dirty. Obviously they didn't pick up garbage during the snowstorm, and so much of New York is about feel, and people respond to the city based on how they feel. If they feel safe, they'll walk around at night. They'll make an extra stop at a gelato place or a bar on the way home.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
6:07 ↗
Yes, and if they don't feel good, they're going straight home and they are creating their own little den where they can feel safe. And that's not good because people retreat from the one thing New York has to offer, which is vibrancy.
We measure the GDP as a country. I'd like to see the stats on the GDP of New York City.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
6:28 ↗
Yeah. I don't know if they're disclosed, but it'd be interesting for you and I to research that a little bit. Do you think that there will truly be an exodus the way it has been promised out of New York and California?
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
6:41 ↗
Because of taxation. Okay.
Yeah, I don't want to be here. And I want to work here when I can, but I don't want to domicile or have my family here or, more importantly, have money invested in the city right now. It's a tough thing to say, but it's true. And the reality of it is that if I can catch it while it hasn't fallen completely, and I decide to come back after it's fallen more severely, then it's just really a trade. It's a swing trade at this point. But I do worry that it's going to happen. I do. And South Florida looks like a really great place to move your business.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
7:11 ↗
Why are so many people moving to South Florida? Is there somewhere else that people—I was thinking about that today. I was thinking about Mark Zuckerberg, and he's lived fairly humbly for one of the richest men in the world.
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
7:25 ↗
No, because he was like the $7 Palo Alto, "Oh, I like to wear hoodies." And now I think—
Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
7:32 ↗
Yeah, his wife is like, "We have $200 billion. Can we finally get like a $140 million beachfront awesome playground?"
