Original Broadcaster Captioning (Enhanced). Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:00NIXON FOUNDATION, SIR, WHAT IS YOUR QUESTION?
00:00:03I JUST WANT YOU TO TAKE BACK TO TO THAT IS THAT THE AMERICAN
00:00:08NIXON OR NIXON CIVICS ACADEMY IS
00:00:13USING HIS WORK IN OUR TEACHING OF OUR YOUNGSTERS.
00:00:15WHAT CIVICS IS ALL ABOUT AND HOW OUR GOVERNMENT WORKS.
00:00:20AND WE'RE GOING TO USE THAT LONG AFTER WE'RE ALL GONE.
00:00:24FANTASTIC. I KNOW HE'D BE HAPPY TO HEAR THAT THERE IS A GENTLEMAN.
00:00:28THANK YOU.
00:00:29BOOK TV CONTINUES NOW TELEVISION
00:00:32FOR SERIOUS READERS.
00:00:36ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED TO BE
00:00:38HOSTING BEN RHODES, WHO'S HERE TO TALK ABOUT HIS NEW BOOK, ALL
00:00:42WE SAY THE BATTLE FOR AMERICAN
00:00:46IDENTITY A HISTORY OF 15
00:00:50SPEECHES. IN THIS, THE 250TH YEAR SINCE
00:00:53AMERICA'S INDEPENDENCE, BEN HAS
00:00:56TAKEN A VERY INTERESTING AND
00:00:58ILLUMINATING APPROACH TO THE
00:01:00QUESTION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN.
00:01:04THAT'S A QUESTION, OF COURSE,
00:01:06THAT WE AS A NATION HAVE BEEN
00:01:08DEBATING PRETTY MUCH SINCE THE FOUNDING.
00:01:10AND AS BEN NOTES, IT REMAINS A
00:01:14DEEPLY DIVIDING MATTER.
00:01:17TODAY, OUR AMERICANS, FOR
00:01:19INSTANCE, DEFINED AS SOME IN THE
00:01:22CURRENT CURRENT ADMINISTRATION AND THEIR SUPPORTERS WOULD
00:01:26CONTEND BY A PARTICULAR HERITAGE, GEOGRAPHY AND WAY OF
00:01:31LIFE ROOTED IN CONSERVATIVE AND
00:01:34CHRISTIAN VALUES, OR ARE
00:01:36AMERICANS DEFINED AS BEN AND MANY OTHERS MAINTAINED BY A
00:01:40BELIEF IN A SET OF PRINCIPLES INHERITED FROM THE NATION'S FOUNDING?
00:01:45A CREED THAT VALUES EQUALITY,
00:01:47DIVERSITY, INCLUSIVE LIBERTY AND
00:01:51TOLERANCE AND TRACING. THE LONG TIME ARGUMENT OVER
00:01:56AMERICAN IDENTITY, BEN TELLS THE STORY OF 15 SPEECHES.
00:01:59SOME I CONIC, OTHERS NOT
00:02:03GENERALLY REMEMBERED. THE SPEECHES AREN'T INTENDED TO
00:02:07REPRESENT THE GREATEST IN OUR
00:02:09HISTORY, BUT EACH NONETHELESS IS
00:02:11A CONSEQUENTIAL.
00:02:14THEY RANGE FROM BEN FRANKLIN'S CLOSING ARGUMENT AT THE
00:02:18CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF
00:02:201787 IN FAVOR OF COMPROMISE THROUGH ALEXANDER STUART STEVENS
00:02:26CASE FOR WHITE SUPREMACY. AS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE
00:02:30CONFEDERACY. LINCOLN'S SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
00:02:33MARY LISA'S POPULIST BLAST
00:02:35AGAINST WALL STREET AND 1891 AND
00:02:39MARTIN LUTHER KING JR'S DREAM OF
00:02:41TRUE EQUALITY RIGHT UP TO DONALD TRUMP'S STRONGMAN.
00:02:45ASSUMPTION OF POWER AT HIS
00:02:49SECOND INAUGURATION, BEN LOOKS NOT ONLY AT THE WORDS THAT WERE
00:02:53SPOKEN, BUT ALSO AT THE PERSON
00:02:56BEHIND THEM AND THE MOVEMENT THAT GAVE RISE TO THEM.
00:02:59PLUS, WHAT THE SPEECHES CONVEYED
00:03:01ABOUT AMERICAN IDENTITY.
00:03:04BEN HIMSELF KNOWS A LOT ABOUT
00:03:07SPEECHWRITING. HE SERVED AS CHIEF SPEECHWRITER AND DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY
00:03:10ADVISOR IN THE WHITE HOUSE UNDER BARACK OBAMA.
00:03:13THESE DAYS, HE CO-HOSTS THE
00:03:15FOREIGN POLICY PODCAST POD POD
00:03:17SAVE THE WORLD OFFERS ANALYSIS
00:03:19ON MSNBC'S NOW AND CONTRIBUTES
00:03:22OPINION PIECES TO THE NEW YORK TIMES.
00:03:25HIS PREVIOUS BOOKS INCLUDE THE
00:03:27WORLD AS IT IS, WHICH WAS A
00:03:29MEMOIR OF HIS TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
00:03:32AND AFTER THE FALL, WHICH EXPLORED HOW THE WORLD HAS COME
00:03:34TO BE SUCH AN ILLIBERAL,
00:03:38AUTHORITARIAN MESS IN
00:03:41CONVERSATION WITH BEN WILL BE ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST PROMINENT POLITICAL REPORTERS.
00:03:45SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF OF USA TODAY.
00:03:48SHE'S ALSO A TALENTED
00:03:51BIOGRAPHER, HAVING PROFILED BARBARA BUSH AND THE MATRIARCH
00:03:55NANCY PELOSI. AND MADAM SPEAKER AND BARBARA
00:03:57WALTERS IN THE RULE BREAKER. HER MOST RECENT BOOK, PUBLISHED
00:04:01LAST MONTH, IS THE QUEEN AND HER PRESIDENTS ABOUT QUEEN
00:04:07ELIZABETH, THE SECOND IS RELATIONSHIPS WITH QUITE A FEW
00:04:09AMERICAN PRESIDENTS. SO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE
00:04:13JOIN ME IN WELCOMING BEN RHODES AND SUSAN PAGE.
00:04:29YOU GOT QUITE A CROWD.
00:04:32IT'S KIND OF A HOMETOWN THING, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE.
00:04:36YEAH, I KIND OF STACKED IT. IT LOOKS LIKE A BOOK BUYING CROWD TO ME. WELL, LET'S HOPE SO, GUYS.
00:04:40YEAH. YEAH. SO IT'S SUCH AN HONOR TO BE HERE
00:04:43TO TALK ABOUT YOUR WONDERFUL NEW
00:04:46BOOK ABOUT THE DEBATE OVER
00:04:49AMERICAN IDENTITY, ABOUT WHAT AMERICAN IDENTITY IS, WHO GETS
00:04:53TO BELONG AND WHO GETS TO DECIDE
00:04:55AS FRAMED BY THESE 15 NOTABLE
00:05:00SPEECHES. AND I WONDER WHY. WHY DID YOU DO DECIDE TO USE
00:05:04SPEECHES AS THE FRAME FOR THIS BOOK? SO FIRST OF ALL, IT'S GREAT TO
00:05:08BE AT THIS WONDERFUL BOOKSTORE, WHICH I WAS JUST SAYING I GHOST WROTE.
00:05:12MY FIRST BOOK DOWNSTAIRS IS IN THE COFFEE SHOP AND IT'S GREAT
00:05:16TO BE WITH SOMEONE WHO I'VE BEEN A SOURCE FOR. IT'S ALWAYS A KIND OF
00:05:19INTERESTING ROLE REVERSAL TO BE
00:05:22INTERVIEWED IN FRONT OF PEOPLE.
00:05:24SO THE GERM OF THIS WAS DURING MY LAST BOOK, WHICH IS VERY
00:05:27APTLY DESCRIBED WHEN I WAS WRITING ABOUT AUTHORITARIANS.
00:05:30ONE OF THE THINGS I NOTICED IS
00:05:32THAT PUTIN, TRUMP, XI JINPING,
00:05:35VIKTOR ORBAN, THE PEOPLE I WAS WRITING ABOUT, YES, THEY HAD AN
00:05:39AUTHORITARIAN PLAYBOOK THAT THEY DEPLOYED TO GET POWER, BUT THEY
00:05:42ALSO HAD A FIXATION ON HISTORY
00:05:45AND MAKING THE STORY OF THE COUNTRIES THAT THEY AIMED TO
00:05:49CONTROL, ESSENTIALLY A PREQUEL TO THEIR ASSUMPTION OF POWER.
00:05:52AND SO I GOT INTERESTED IN THIS IDEA OF GOING BACK THROUGH
00:05:56HISTORY TO UNDERSTAND THE MOMENT THAT WE'RE IN NOW.
00:05:59AND FRANKLY, I WANTED TO ESCAPE
00:06:02THE PRESENT BY GOING INTO THE
00:06:04PAST, WHICH IS ANOTHER REASON TO PICK UP THE BOOK.
00:06:08BUT I'M NOT AN HISTORIAN AND I'M SELF-AWARE ABOUT THAT.
00:06:11BUT AS A SPEECHWRITER AND I THINK THERESA PLOD IS HERE,
00:06:15WHO'S ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES, I USED TO BEFORE I WOULD WRITE A
00:06:20SPEECH, I WOULD TRY TO READ
00:06:22OTHER SPEECHES FROM HISTORY THAT
00:06:24COULD INFORM THAT SPEECH.
00:06:26SO IF WE WERE GOING TO GERMANY,
00:06:29I'D READ SPEECHES AT KENNEDY AND
00:06:31REAGAN GAVE IN BERLIN OR OBAMA WAS GOING TO ADDRESS CIVIL RIGHTS.
00:06:34I'D READ KING AND DOUGLASS AND I
00:06:37LEARNED IN THAT PROCESS HOW THE
00:06:40ISSUES THAT WE TALK ABOUT TODAY HAVE THESE DEEP ROOTS THAT HAVE
00:06:44BEEN DEBATED AND TALKED ABOUT
00:06:46AND DISCUSSED THROUGH AMERICANS WHO WERE TRYING TO PERSUADE OR
00:06:50MOBILIZE THROUGHOUT OUR HISTORY.
00:06:51IN ESSENCE, SPEECHES ARE THE
00:06:55QUINTESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE OF HISTORY IN THE PRESENT TENSE.
00:06:58WHEN YOU READ A SPEECH, YOU SEE
00:07:01HOW PEOPLE WERE CHANNELING MOVEMENTS INTO WORDS AT THE TIME, HOW PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO
00:07:05BUILD MOVEMENTS FOR CHANGE. AT THE TIME.
00:07:08AND SO I THOUGHT THAT THEY COULD PROVIDE A UNIQUE VANTAGE POINT
00:07:10TO UNDERSTAND THIS DEBATE THAT
00:07:13WE'VE BEEN HAVING ABOUT IDENTITY.
00:07:15WHO IS IN AMERICA AND WHO GETS
00:07:17TO DECIDE THAT QUESTION?
00:07:19FROM OUR FOUNDING TO TODAY.
00:07:21AND SO THE GOAL AND TOOK ME A
00:07:23YEAR OF READING HUNDREDS OF
00:07:26SPEECHES TO CURATE 15 THAT
00:07:28THROUGH WRITING ABOUT THE LIVES
00:07:30OF THE PEOPLE, THE MOVEMENTS THAT PRODUCED THEM, WHAT WAS
00:07:33GOING ON IN AMERICA AT THE TIME, THE SETTING FOR THE SPEECH AND WHAT KIND OF MOMENTUM CAME OUT
00:07:37OF THE SPEECH. I COULD TELL A SINGLE VOLUME
00:07:41STORY OF AMERICA AND THE DEBATE WE'VE BEEN HAVING OVER IDENTITY
00:07:43FROM THE BEGINNING. SO A DEBATE THAT LASTED 250
00:07:47YEARS AND NOT OVER YET.
00:07:51CLEARLY, AND JUST 15 SPEECHES AND AS BRAD SAID, SOME OF THEM
00:07:55ARE FAMOUS SPEECHES. I HAVE A DREAM FOR LINCOLN'S SECOND INAUGURAL.
00:08:00SOME OF THEM ARE SPEECHES BY PEOPLE I HAD NEVER HEARD OF.
00:08:03AND I WONDER HOW YOU WENT ABOUT
00:08:05LOCATING THESE SPEECHES,
00:08:07ESPECIALLY THE OBSCURE ONES AND WHETHER IT WAS HARD TO GET IT
00:08:12DOWN TO 15. IT WAS. AND I DIDN'T START WITH THAT NUMBER IN MIND.
00:08:15I DIDN'T KNOW HOW MANY WAS GOING TO BE. AND AND I KNEW I DIDN'T WANT A
00:08:19GREATEST HITS ALBUM. THIS IS NOT AN ANTHOLOGY.
00:08:23THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO TELL ONE NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY
00:08:26THROUGH THESE SPEECHES. AND I STRUGGLED. I HAD THIS BIG LIST AND THE
00:08:29THING THAT UNLOCKED IT FOR ME,
00:08:31SUSAN, IS I FOUND THIS SPEECH BY
00:08:34BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. THAT WAS THE CLOSING ARGUMENT AT
00:08:37THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. AND FRANKLIN, FIRST OF ALL, AS A
00:08:41WONDERFUL PERSON TO SPEND TIME WITH IN HIS LIFE, HE CHANGED HIS MIND.
00:08:45HE WAS A PRAGMATIST. HE WAS AGAINST INDEPENDENCE UNTIL HE WAS FOR IT.
00:08:49HE WAS FOR SLAVERY UNTIL HE WAS AGAINST IT.
00:08:53AND IN THAT SPEECH AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, IT'S
00:08:56LITERALLY THE LAST WORDS SPOKEN TO THE DELEGATES BEFORE THEY'RE
00:09:00ASKED FOR THEIR SIGNATURE. AND FRANKLIN HAD BEEN SCARRED
00:09:03BECAUSE IN 1764, HE HAD PROPOSED
00:09:05A UNION OF THE COLONIES BASED ON
00:09:08THE UNION OF THE IROQUOIS
00:09:10NATIONS THAT HAD NASU
00:09:14CONFEDERATION THAT WOULD BEEN REJECTED BY THE COLONIAL ASSEMBLY.
00:09:17SO HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT REJECTION OF RATIFICATION.
00:09:20AND SO HIS GOAL WAS UNANIMITY
00:09:24AND IN HIS SPEECH HE SAYS NOTHING ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THE CONSTITUTION.
00:09:27IT'S QUITE REMARKABLE. THE ENTIRE SPEECH IS ABOUT THE
00:09:30VIRTUE OF COMPROMISE ITSELF. AND HIS CORE ARGUMENT IS
00:09:34ESSENTIALLY WE REJECT THE IDEA THAT ANYBODY IS INFALLIBLE.
00:09:38THAT'S WHAT GOT US INTO TROUBLE IN EUROPE. WE HAD TO LEAVE EUROPE BECAUSE
00:09:40THERE WAS A KING OR A RELIGIOUS ORDER THAT SAID IT HAD ALL THE ANSWERS.
00:09:45IN THIS ROOM THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT, YES, HAVE DIFFERENT
00:09:48WISDOM, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE DIFFERENT PREJUDICES IN DIFFERENT INTERESTS. AND THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GOING TO
00:09:52HAVE A COUNTRY IS IF WE CAN GET BEHIND AN IMPERFECT DOCUMENT.
00:09:55THIS IS THIS MAN WAS NO ORIGINALIST. HE WAS SAYING THIS DOCUMENT IS
00:09:59IMPERFECT, BUT IT'S THE BEST WE CAN EXPECT.
00:10:03AND WHAT I REALIZE IS THAT THAT COMPROMISE MADE THE UNION POSSIBLE.
00:10:07BUT IT ALSO SET IN MOTION SENSE AND MOTION THE ENTIRE BATTLE FOR
00:10:11IDENTITY TO COME BECAUSE THEY COMPROMISED ABOUT REALLY BIG
00:10:14THINGS SLAVERY, THE NATURE OF
00:10:17CITIZENSHIP, WHO WOULD HAVE FULL ACCESS TO THE FRANCHISE?
00:10:22WHAT IS THE NATURE OF IMMIGRATION? DIFFERENT STATES HAD DIFFERENT IMMIGRATION POLICIES, AND THAT'S
00:10:25WHAT WE'VE BEEN FIGHTING ABOUT EVER SINCE.
00:10:27AND IF YOU JUST TAKE THE FIRST
00:10:29FIVE, I WANTED TO SHOW A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF
00:10:34DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON THAT DEBATE.
00:10:36SO THE SECOND SPEECH IS BY
00:10:38SENECA CHIEF RED JACKET REJECT DING, A WHITE MISSIONARY WHO HAS
00:10:43COME TO CONVERT THE SENECA BY MAKING ACTUALLY A CASE FOR
00:10:47PLURALISM. I THOUGHT YOU PEOPLE WERE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. WE WANT TO WORSHIP THE WAY WE
00:10:51WANT TO WORSHIP. THEN MARIA STUART, ANOTHER MORE
00:10:53OBSCURE PERSON WHO WAS THE FIRST
00:10:56BLACK WOMAN, FIRST WOMAN TO ADDRESS A MIXED RACE, MIXED
00:11:00GENDER AUDIENCE IN THIS COUNTRY IN 1830. BOSTON GIVING A SPEECH FOR
00:11:04ABOLITIONISM FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS
00:11:06AND FOR BLACK AND FEMALE EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION,
00:11:10LIGHTING THE SPARK. THIS IS BEFORE THE SENECA FALLS.
00:11:13THIS IS BEFORE FREDERICK DOUGLASS, YOU KNOW, PLANTING
00:11:17SEEDS, A SPEECH THAT KIND OF PLANT SEEDS THAT GROW IN OTHER PEOPLE'S VOICES.
00:11:21THEN I HAVE ALEXANDER STEPHENS,
00:11:23THE VICE PRESIDENT CONFEDERACY, LITERALLY SAYING THE QUIET PART
00:11:26OUT LOUD AND MAKING A CASE FOR WHITE SUPREMACY IS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE CONFEDERACY.
00:11:30AND THEN LINCOLN'S SECOND INAUGURAL SEEKING TO RESOLVE THE
00:11:33DEBATE AND SAYING THIS IS A WAR OF EMANCIPATION.
00:11:37FRANKLY, ALL THE SACRIFICES THAT
00:11:39WE'VE BEEN THROUGH, WE DESERVE FOR THE CRIME OF AMERICAN SLAVERY.
00:11:42BUT WE NOW HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD A JUST AND LASTING PEACE THROUGH A MULTIRACIAL
00:11:47DEMOCRACY. THE WHOLE ARGUMENT IS IN THOSE FIRST FIVE AND THE SPOILER ALERT
00:11:52IS THAT ARGUMENT KEEPS REPEATING
00:11:55THROUGH EACH OF THE NEXT TEN SPEECHES AS WELL. SO THE SPEECH YOU INCLUDE FROM
00:11:59FROM YOUR FORMER BOSS, FROM
00:12:01PRESIDENT OBAMA WAS NOT THE 24
00:12:03CONVENTION SPEECH WHICH BROUGHT US ALL TO OUR FEET.
00:12:06I REMEMBER BEING IN THE PRESS STAND FOR THAT SPEECH. DID NOT LISTENING THAT MUCH AT
00:12:10THE START, BUT LISTENING VERY CLOSELY. BY THE END, IT WAS SUCH A GREAT SPEECH.
00:12:14IT'S NOT ONE OF HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESSES. YOU CHOOSE WHAT WAS IMMEDIATELY
00:12:19DUBBED THE RACE SPEECH.
00:12:21WHY DID YOU INCLUDE THAT ONE?
00:12:25SO TO PULL BACK THE CURTAIN A LITTLE BIT, I ORIGINALLY DIDN'T
00:12:30ORIGINALLY BE. I PICKED BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE
00:12:32SPEECH, WHICH IS THE SPEECH HE
00:12:35GAVE IN 2015 AT SELMA ON THE
00:12:38ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY SUNDAY, WHICH IS A VERY TRIUMPHALIST SPEECH.
00:12:42I MEAN, ONE OF THE BASIC ARGUMENTS OF THE BOOK IS THAT
00:12:44ESSENTIALLY AMERICA CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS A DEBATE, A
00:12:48COMPETITION, EVEN A CONFLICT BETWEEN TWO STORIES, A STORY OF
00:12:52AN INHERITED EXCEPTIONALISM.
00:12:54AND I BEGIN THE PROLOG WITH J.D. VANCE ESSENTIALLY SAYING AMERICA
00:12:58IS NOT A CREED. IT'S NOT THE DECLARATION OF
00:13:02INDEPENDENCE. AMERICA IS A PARTICULAR PEOPLE
00:13:04FROM A PARTICULAR PLACE AT WITH A PARTICULAR WAY OF LIFE, WHICH
00:13:08TO ME IS GIVING VOICE TO THE
00:13:10IDEA THAT ESSENTIALLY IT IS A
00:13:14WESTERN, WHITE, CHRISTIAN NATION
00:13:17WHERE OTHER PEOPLE CAN COME AND
00:13:20BE FULLY A PART OF AMERICA, BUT THEY HAVE TO KIND OF BE
00:13:24SUBORDINATE TO AN ESTABLISHED
00:13:25AND INHERITED IDENTITY.
00:13:29THEN THE OTHER STORY IS ONE OF PROGRESSIVE EXCEPTIONALISM THAT
00:13:32AMERICA IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND THAT THE ENTIRE AMERICAN STORY IS ABOUT TRYING TO LIVE UP
00:13:36TO THE CREED OF EQUALITY THAT WE
00:13:38HAVE NEVER LIVED UP TO THE TITLE OF THE BOOK, ALL WE SAY REFERS
00:13:43TO MARTIN LUTHER KING'S SPEECH THE NIGHT BEFORE HE WAS KILLED,
00:13:45WHERE HE SAID, ALL WE SAY TO AMERICA IS BE TRUE TO WHAT YOU
00:13:49SAID ON PAPER, WHICH I THINK IS THE PERFECT SUMMATION OF THAT IDEA.
00:13:52THAT'S THE AMERICA OF BEN FRANKLIN IN ITS FIRST ACT AND
00:13:57LAST PUBLIC ACT AFTER THE CONSTITUTION PETITIONING
00:14:00CONGRESS TO ABOLISH SLAVERY. THAT'S FRANKLIN SAYING, WE DIDN'T FINISH THE JOB.
00:14:03THAT'S FREDERICK DOUGLASS. THAT'S THE SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT.
00:14:06THAT'S THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. THAT'S THE WORKERS RIGHTS MOVEMENT. THAT'S DOLORES HUERTA, WHO'S IN
00:14:10THE BOOK. AND BARACK OBAMA REPRESENTS THAT
00:14:15STORY. SELMA WAS A TRIUMPHALIST ORATION.
00:14:18THEN DONALD TRUMP WON THE JUNE
00:14:2124TH PRESIDENTIAL ACTION, AND MY EDITOR CALLED ME AND HE SAID,
00:14:24I'M NOT SURE IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO END THE BOOK ON SELMA.
00:14:28AND I HAD ACTUALLY ORIGINALLY HAD PAT BUCHANAN'S 1992 SPEECH,
00:14:31THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION, AND THEN OBAMA AT SELMA, ENDING THE BOOK.
00:14:35AND SO I WENT BACK AND I LOOKED AT THE RACE SPEECH, WHICH IF YOU
00:14:39READ IT NOW, IS ACTUALLY ALMOST
00:14:41MORE RELEVANT TODAY THAN IT WAS
00:14:43THEN, BECAUSE IT'S A DEFENSE OF
00:14:46MULTIRACIAL DEMOCRACY THAT IS
00:14:48SIMULTANEOUSLY VERY PERSONAL AND
00:14:50VERY UNIVERSAL.
00:14:52I REMEMBER WE HUSTLED TO PUT THAT SPEECH.
00:14:56JON FAVREAU WAS THE SPEECHWRITER, THE CHIEF SPEECHWRITER ON THE CAMPAIGN.
00:14:59HE WROTE A DRAFT SEND IT TO OBAMA, BECAUSE WE'RE IN THIS
00:15:03TERRIBLE CONTROVERSY OVER REVEREND WRIGHT'S SERMONS AND
00:15:09BARACK OBAMA TOOK THE DRAFT, DID
00:15:09AN ALL NIGHTER, SEND IT BACK?
00:15:13FAVREAU I REMEMBER CALLING ME OVER HIS LAPTOP AND SAYING,
00:15:15YOU'VE GOT TO LOOK AT THIS AND I
00:15:17SEE A PAGE OF BLACK AND THEN I
00:15:19SEE PAGE AFTER PAGE AFTER PAGE
00:15:22OF RED TRACK CHANGES. AND THEN I SEE A PAGE OF BLACK.
00:15:25AND OBAMA HAD WRITTEN THE WHOLE THING HIMSELF, WHICH HE'D NEVER DONE BEFORE.
00:15:29I DON'T KNOW WHETHER HE WAS SHOWING OFF WITH THE TRACK CHANGES OR IF HE'S JUST A MIDDLE
00:15:33AGED DAD WHO DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO ACCEPT THEM. BUT THE CORE OF THAT SPEECH IS
00:15:38HIM FIRST PERSONALLY SAYING, I CAN NO MORE DISOWN REVEREND
00:15:43WRIGHT THAN I CAN DISOWN MY WHITE GRANDMOTHER WHO I'VE HEARD
00:15:46SAY THINGS THAT MADE ME CRINGE. ESSENTIALLY, I'M NOT DOING
00:15:49JUSTICE TO THE RHETORIC, BUT WHAT HE'S SAYING IS.
00:15:53WHO AMONG US RIGHT, IS WITHOUT
00:15:55ANY PREJUDICE? REVEREND WRIGHT HAS DONE WONDERFUL THINGS.
00:15:59HE'S ALSO SAID THINGS THAT I PROFOUNDLY DISAGREE WITH.
00:16:03MY WHITE GRANDMOTHER HAS DONE WONDERFUL THINGS. SHE'S ALSO SAID THINGS LIKE,
00:16:06THAT'S AMERICA. THAT'S EVERYBODY'S FAMILY IN AMERICA.
00:16:10AND IF WE REJECT AND CANCEL AND
00:16:12I MEAN, IRONICALLY, HE'S GIVING A SPEECH AGAINST CANCEL CULTURE
00:16:16IN 2008.
00:16:18BUT THEN HE GOES INTO THE BLACK
00:16:20AND WHITE PERSPECTIVE OF RACE
00:16:23AND HE SAYS THE BLACK EXPERIENCE IN THIS COUNTRY EXPLAINS
00:16:27REVEREND WRIGHT'S RHETORIC. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT DIDN'T SOLVE INEQUALITY.
00:16:30HE TALKED ABOUT HOUSING. HE TALKED ABOUT THE EDUCATION GAP.
00:16:33HE TALKED ABOUT THE INCOME GAP.
00:16:35BUT IN STARK WAYS, IN WAYS THAT
00:16:39WOULD HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR TO KING OR JESSE JACKSON. BUT THEN HE TALKS ABOUT THE
00:16:42WHITE WORKING CLASS, AND THERE'S A LINE THAT JUMPED OUT TO ME.
00:16:46HE SAYS, THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO DON'T FEEL PARTICULARLY PRIVILEGED BY THEIR RACE.
00:16:52THEY'VE BEEN THE SUBJECT TO DEINDUSTRIALIZATION.
00:16:56THEY'RE THE ONES WHO WERE ASKED TO BUS THEIR KIDS ACROSS TOWN,
00:16:59EVEN IF I THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, THEY'RE THE ONES
00:17:03WHO FEEL LIKE IF THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT CRIME, THAT THEY'RE WORRIED THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE CALLED RACIST.
00:17:07THAT'S BARACK OBAMA SAYING THIS,
00:17:08NOT DONALD TRUMP OR EVENTS HIS
00:17:12ABILITY TO INHABIT. BOTH EXPERIENCE IS, I THINK WAS
00:17:15WHAT MADE HIM A UNIQUE POLITICAL FIGURE AND KIND OF BRIDGED THE
00:17:18ACTIVIST TRADITION IN THIS COUNTRY WITH THE POLITICAL POWER
00:17:21IN THIS COUNTRY. AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT HE'S SAYING
00:17:24IS PEOPLE HAVE USED RACE TO
00:17:26DIVIDE US FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES.
00:17:29AND IF PEOPLE CAN PUT THAT ASIDE AND ACCEPT THAT WE HAVE MORE IN
00:17:33COMMON THAN WHAT DIVIDES US, WE CAN SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS THAT
00:17:36HAVE FESTERED FOR TOO LONG. AND IT WAS A VERY RESONANT
00:17:40MESSAGE IN THIS SECOND, TRUMP
00:17:42TERM BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF THE
00:17:44ANTITHESIS OF THE TRUMP MESSAGE,
00:17:46WHICH IS MY STORY IS ONE,
00:17:51THERE'S ONLY ONE STORY. AND IT'S KIND OF CONCLUDED IN MY
00:17:55ELECTION. WELL, THE THE THE RACE SPEECH,
00:17:59WHICH OBAMA DID NOT REALLY WANT TO GIVE. RIGHT. CAME AT A MOMENT OF REAL
00:18:03POLITICAL PERIL. YOU TALKED ABOUT THE POWER OF SPEECHES.
00:18:06DID THAT SPEECH SUCCEED IN THE MOMENT? YEAH.
00:18:10SO FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS FASCINATING TO GO BACK AND WATCH
00:18:13THE REVEREND WRIGHT CLIPS. I MEAN, MOST OF US HERE ARE OLD
00:18:17ENOUGH TO REMEMBER MAYBE SEEING THEM AT THE TIME. THEY WERE SHOCKING.
00:18:20YOU KNOW, NOW, YOU KNOW, HE
00:18:26BASICALLY SAYS THE CLIPS THAT GOT HIM IN TROUBLE WERE THIS
00:18:28NATION WAS FOUNDED ON RACISM.
00:18:30HE SAID THAT 911 WAS AMERICA'S
00:18:33CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST FOR ITS FOREIGN POLICY OF
00:18:35OPPRESSING PALESTINIANS AND
00:18:37SUPPORTING THE APARTHEID REGIME
00:18:39IN SOUTH AFRICA. I FOUND MYSELF HAVING A PRETTY
00:18:45INTERESTING EXPERIENCE WITH REVEREND WRIGHT, THINKING, YOU
00:18:47KNOW, MAYBE HE GOT A RAW DEAL.
00:18:51GET ME IN TROUBLE.
00:18:53THAT'S ALWAYS MY GOAL. YEAH. NOW WHAT?
00:18:57OBAMA DID SAY ABOUT THAT, I SHOULD SAY, IS THAT THE PROBLEM WITH REVEREND WRIGHT FROM HIS
00:19:00PERSPECTIVE WAS NOT WHAT HE SAID WAS THAT HE BELIEVED THAT AMERICA WAS STATIC AND INCAPABLE OF CHANGE.
00:19:05AND THAT ITS HISTORY SHOWED THAT IT WAS CAPABLE OF CHANGE. SO THAT'S MY CAVEAT. THERE.
00:19:09BUT YEAH, IN THE MOMENT, LOOK, WE WERE LOSING ALTITUDE.
00:19:13WE SEEMED ON OUR WAY TO THE NOMINATION. EVERYTHING WAS GOING GREAT.
00:19:16THESE TAPES, IT I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I WENT BACK AND RELIVED
00:19:20THE MOMENT PEOPLE WERE CALLING FOR HIM TO DROP OUT.
00:19:23HE WAS SINKING IN THE POLLS. HE ENDED UP LOSING PENNSYLVANIA BY A LOT.
00:19:27BUT THAT THAT SPEECH BOTH
00:19:30ARRESTED THAT DECLINE.
00:19:33AND IT ALSO, I THINK, CLEARED THE AIR AROUND RACE.
00:19:37THE REASON WAS CALLED THE RACE SPEECH.
00:19:39IS IT INSIDE THE CAMPAIGN? THERE WAS ALWAYS THIS QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT OBAMA HAD TO
00:19:43GIVE A RACE SPEECH AND THERE'D BE MEETINGS AND CONFERENCE CALLS
00:19:46ABOUT DO WE NEED TO DO THE RACE
00:19:48SPEECH AND IN THE END, OBAMA
00:19:51SAID, I'M NOT RUNNING TO BE A RACE, YOU KNOW, PRESIDENT.
00:19:54I'M RUNNING TO BE PRESIDENT OF EVERYBODY. BUT WHEN THIS CONTROVERSY
00:19:58HAPPENED, HE SAID, ALL RIGHT, I HAVE TO GIVE THE RACE. SO WE CALLED THAT THE RACE SPEECH, FRANKLY.
00:20:03AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING.
00:20:04AT THE TIME, IT WAS SUCH A
00:20:08POWERFUL ORATION FOR LACK OF A BETTER WAY OF PUTTING IT, THAT
00:20:12IT DID ARREST AGAIN, THAT THAT
00:20:16DECLINE. IT DID MOTIVATE HIS SUPPORTERS.
00:20:18AND IT ALSO KIND OF HE NAMED EVERYTHING HE PUT IT ALL OUT THERE.
00:20:22AND SO HE DIFFUSED THAT
00:20:26CONTROVERSY. NOW, AT THE SAME TIME, ON THE
00:20:29RIGHT, THE REACTION WAS MORE
00:20:33VIRULENT. YOU KNOW, HE THREW HIS WHITE GRANDMA UNDER THE BUS.
00:20:36YOU KNOW, HE YOU KNOW, HE'S A KIND OF RACIAL CHARACTER.
00:20:40YOU KNOW, THEY BASICALLY ACCUSED HIM OF WHAT HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT. YOU KNOW, HE'S JUST ALL ABOUT
00:20:44RACE DOCUMENTS TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AND IT WAS LIKE RUSH
00:20:46LIMBAUGH WAS KIND OF THE AVATAR
00:20:48OF THIS CERTAIN ID ON THE AMERICAN RIGHT AT THE TIME.
00:20:52AND THAT AT THE TIME FELT KIND
00:20:54OF FRINGY IN PART BECAUSE JOHN MCCAIN BECAME THE NOMINEE AND HE
00:20:58WASN'T OUT OF THAT TRADITION. BUT THEN SARAH PALIN GOT ON THE
00:21:01TICKET AND SUDDENLY THAT WAS ON THE TICKET AND SHE WAS GOING
00:21:05AROUND SAYING OBAMA PALS AROUND WITH TERRORISTS. AND HE'S NOT A REAL AMERICAN,
00:21:08WINK, WINK. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THOSE FIRES
00:21:12LED INTO THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT
00:21:15AND, YOU KNOW, HERE WE ARE.
00:21:17SO IT WAS INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL
00:21:20IN THE SHORT TERM.
00:21:22AND THAT'S IT WASN'T THE SPEECH. I THINK THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY
00:21:25ITSELF AND I WRITE ABOUT THIS, THE RADICALS IN THAT PRESIDENCY
00:21:29WASN'T THE POLICIES, THE
00:21:31RADICALISM THAT PRESIDENCY WAS THE FACT THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS
00:21:34BLACK. THE FACT THAT THE WHITE HOUSE WAS KIND OF POPULATED BY A
00:21:38DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE, THE PEOPLE THAT WERE HONORED, YOU
00:21:41KNOW, DOLORES HUERTA, WHO'S ALSO IN THIS BOOK, WAS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE KIND OF PERSON THAT
00:21:45GOT THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM, THE CULTURE KIND OF CHANGED ALONG WITH IT.
00:21:48YOU KNOW, THAT THIS IS THE ERA OF HAMILTON.
00:21:52AND AND SO I THINK THAT IF YOU
00:21:58LOOK AT AMERICAN HISTORY AS AND RELIVE IT AS I DID, YOU ALSO SEE
00:22:02THAT EVERY STEP FORWARD,
00:22:05PARTICULARLY ON RACE, IS USUALLY
00:22:07FOLLOWED BY A BACKLASH.
00:22:09YOU KNOW, EMANCIPATION AND
00:22:13RECONSTRUCT AND IS FOLLOWED BY
00:22:15SEX SEGREGATION AND INSTITUTE
00:22:18ANALYZED APARTHEID. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IS
00:22:22FOLLOWED BY NIXON INTO REAGAN.
00:22:26OBAMA IS FOLLOWED BY TRUMP.
00:22:28I MEAN, IT'S NOT AS UNIQUE A
00:22:34CIRCUMSTANCE, AND THAT'S ANOTHER REASON TO GO BACK INTO THE PAST, BECAUSE WE ALWAYS THINK THE
00:22:39PRESENT IS UNIQUELY EXCEPTIONAL
00:22:43WHEN IN FACT HISTORY REPEATS
00:22:45MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, YOU KNOW, I
00:22:49THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT
00:22:52THAT IT WAS UNIQUE AND SPECIAL, THAT WHEN BARACK OBAMA WAS
00:22:58ELECTED AND REELECTED PRESIDENT, THAT IT MEANT THAT THIS DEBATE
00:23:00OVER RACE AND WHO GETS TO REMEMBER THAT HAD BEEN SETTLED
00:23:04AND YET IT AS YOU SAY, IT WAS
00:23:08FOLLOWED BY THE TRUMP
00:23:11ADMINISTRATION WAS IT IS THIS I
00:23:13REALIZE YOU'RE SAYING IT THIS HAPPENS IN HISTORY.
00:23:16BUT HAS THIS BEEN A SURPRISE TO YOU, THE FACT THAT THESE ISSUES
00:23:20THAT I THINK A LOT OF AMERICANS
00:23:22THOUGHT WERE DONE SUDDENLY ARE AT THE FOREFRONT AGAIN?
00:23:27YES. I WENT TO ONE STORY FROM THE
00:23:30BOOK AND THEN GET TO HOW THE
00:23:34BOOK IN THE LAST TEN YEARS CHANGED ME A BIT.
00:23:38ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORY, ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES IN THE BOOK
00:23:40IS IN THE LINCOLN CHAPTER ON THE SECOND INAUGURAL. DOUGLASS.
00:23:44FREDERICK DOUGLASS IS IN THE AUDIENCE. THAT SPEECH AND I KIND OF TRACE
00:23:47IN THE CHAPTER LINCOLN'S INCREASING RADICALISM.
00:23:51THIS IS A MAN THAT WANTS DEFENDED SLAVERY, WHERE IT WAS
00:23:55WANTED TO RESTRICT IT, YOU KNOW, FROM EXPANDING, THEN WANTING TO
00:23:58SAVE THE UNION WITHOUT ABOLISHING SLAVERY, THEN KIND OF
00:24:01ABOLISHED SLAVERY AS A WARTIME NECESSITY.
00:24:04BUT AS THE WAR WENT ON, HE HE
00:24:06WAS SEEKING TO EXTRACT MEANING FROM THE WAR.
00:24:10AND HE REALIZED, IN PART BECAUSE OF HIS OWN FAITH, THAT THE
00:24:15MEANING, THE CAUSE WAS NOT THE UNION.
00:24:18IT WAS A WAR OF EMANCIPATION TO THE POINT THAT HE MET WITH
00:24:20DOUGLASS IN THE OVAL OFFICE IN
00:24:241864 BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO LOSE, AND ASKED DOUGLASS IF HE COULD HELP
00:24:28SUPPORT AN EFFORT TO GET AS MANY SLAVES OUT OF THE SOUTH INTO THE
00:24:32NORTH SO THAT IF HE LOST THE
00:24:36ELECTION, THOSE PEOPLE WOULD BE PROTECTED AND FREE.
00:24:39AND DOUGLASS WAS PROFOUNDLY IMPACTED BY THAT.
00:24:41HE'D BEEN A CRITIC OF LINCOLN, BUT HE SAID, NEVER HAVE I SEEN
00:24:43HIS COMMITMENT TO THE ABOLITION WAR.
00:24:47AND SO LINCOLN GIVES HIS
00:24:48EXTRAORDINARY SPEECH, AND AT THE
00:24:51THAT NIGHT HE HAS A RECEIVING LINE AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
00:24:55AND DOUGLASS TRIES TO GET IN LINE TO SHAKE HIS HAND. AND BLACK PEOPLE HAD NOT USUALLY
00:24:59DONE THAT. AND DOUGLASS SAID, YOU KNOW, I'VE A CUSTOM, WHICH IS TO TRY
00:25:02TO CHANGE CUSTOMS BY JUST SHOWING UP. AND THEY USHER DOUGLASS OUT.
00:25:06THEY SAY, YOU CAN'T BE HERE. AND LINCOLN HEARS THIS AND HE SAYS, NO, NO. DOUGLASS, LEADEN BACK IN LINE.
00:25:12DOUGLASS WAITS IN LINE. HE GETS TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE, AND THERE THEY ARE.
00:25:15WRIGHT ABRAHAM LINCOLN, FACE TO FACE WITH FREDERICK DOUGLASS IN
00:25:18THE WHITE HOUSE. AND LINCOLN SAYS, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF MY SPEECH?
00:25:22AND DOUGLASS SAYS, I'LL WRITE YOU A LETTER. THERE'S ALL THESE PEOPLE HERE.
00:25:25AND LINCOLN SAYS, NO, NO, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT
00:25:29THIS SPEECH MORE THAN ANYBODY IN THIS COUNTRY. AND DOUGLASS JUST LOOKS AT HIM.
00:25:32HE SAYS, MR. PRESIDENT, THAT WAS A SACRED EFFORT.
00:25:36AND THE REASON I TELL THAT STORY AND ANSWER YOUR QUESTION,
00:25:39SUZANNE, IS I BET THOSE TWO MEN AT THAT MOMENT THOUGHT THAT THIS
00:25:43QUESTION WAS SETTLED, THE WAR
00:25:45WAS WON, THE SLAVES WERE FREE.
00:25:47LINCOLN HAD GIVEN THAT SPEECH
00:25:51RECONSTRUCTION WAS ON THE HORIZON. THE 14TH AND 15TH AMENDMENT WERE
00:25:54ON THE HORIZON. BUT THEN LOOK WHAT HAPPENED.
00:25:58LINCOLN'S KILLED. RECONSTRUCTION IS DERAILED.
00:26:02SO THE POINT IS, THERE.
00:26:05I'M NOT THE FIRST PERSON TO
00:26:07THINK THAT MAYBE WE'VE PUT THIS BEHIND US.
00:26:10I NEVER THOUGHT RACE WAS OVER.
00:26:14OBAMA CERTAINLY DIDN'T. HE WAS THE LAST PERSON WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT.
00:26:17AS HE USED TO SAY TO US, YOU KNOW, I KNOW RACE IS STILL A PROBLEM.
00:26:21EVERY TIME I USED TO TRY TO HAIL
00:26:22A CAB, BUT I DO ADMIT THAT AS A
00:26:29LIBERAL WHO CAME OF AGE, A WHITE
00:26:31LIBERAL WHO CAME OF AGE IN THE 90S WHEN EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE
00:26:35MOVING IN A CERTAIN DIRECTION, THAT I DID KIND OF HAVE AN
00:26:38INNATE SENSE OF THE INEVITABILITY OF PROGRESS. YOU KNOW, THE ARC OF THE MORAL
00:26:42UNIVERSE IS LONG, BUT IT BENDS
00:26:43TOWARD JUSTICE AND I WILL SAY
00:26:48THAT THE LAST TEN YEARS HAVE DISABUSED ME OF THE NOTION OF
00:26:50ANY INEVITABILITY TO THAT.
00:26:52BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU
00:26:55SUCCUMB TO CYNICISM, BECAUSE IN THE LONGER ARC OF THINGS, EACH
00:26:59TIME WE GO THROUGH THIS CYCLE,
00:27:01THE NATION BECOMES MORE LIKE THE
00:27:05ASPIRATION YOU KNOW, DOUGLASS GAVE A SPEECH THAT I HAVE IN
00:27:08THIS BOOK IN THE 1860S DEFEND
00:27:10ING CHINESE IMMIGRATION. IT'S A PRETTY REMARKABLE THING
00:27:13TO DO. I'M SURE THAT DIDN'T PULL WELL AT THE TIME, BUT HIS ARGUMENT
00:27:17WAS ESSENTIALLY HOW CAN I DEFEND MULTIRACIAL DEMOCRACY FOR BLACKS
00:27:20IF I DON'T DEFEND IT FOR THESE CHINESE WORKERS WHO ARE BEING
00:27:22MISTREATED NOW, THE CHINESE
00:27:24EXCLUSION ACT WAS PASSED SHORTLY
00:27:27AFTER THAT OR, YOU KNOW, SOME YEARS AFTER THAT.
00:27:29AND CHINESE PEOPLE CAN EMIGRATE TO THE UNITED STATES FOR DECADES.
00:27:33SO DOUGLASS LOST THE DEBATE RIGHT. WELL, LOOK AROUND AMERICA TODAY.
00:27:37HOW MANY CHINESE AMERICANS, HOW
00:27:39MANY ASIAN-AMERICANS DO YOU SEE? SO I THINK THAT THE ARC OF THE
00:27:43MORAL UNIVERSE DOES BEND TOWARDS JUSTICE. IT JUST TAKES A LITTLE LONGER
00:27:47THAN WE WOULD LIKE. THE THE TRUMP SPEECH THAT YOU
00:27:51INCLUDE IN YOUR BOOK IS HIS SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS FROM
00:27:55LAST YEAR. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT ONE?
00:28:00IT PAINED ME A LITTLE BIT TO.
00:28:04TO PUT TRUMP IN THIS CONTINUUM,
00:28:08BUT ACTUALLY, ONCE I MADE THE DECISION TO DO THAT, WHICH WAS
00:28:11KIND OF THE LAST DECISION I
00:28:15MADE, I REALIZED IMMEDIATELY IT WAS THE SAME CLICK THAT I HAD WITH FRANKLIN.
00:28:19LIKE ONE TRUMP IS AS MUCH A PART
00:28:22OF THIS STORY AS ANYBODY ELSE, AND TO SAY SOMETHING
00:28:27UNCOMFORTABLE MAY BE TO SOME PEOPLE, THERE IS NO OTHER
00:28:29COUNTRY ON EARTH WHERE DONALD TRUMP COULD BE PRESIDENT.
00:28:33HE'S AN AMERICAN FIGURE AND I.
00:28:37I FOUND THAT IN HISTORY THERE
00:28:41WERE A LOT OF CURRENTS FROM THE
00:28:45SPEECHES I CHOSE THAT RAN INTO TRUMP.
00:28:47THE POPULISM OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY. YES.
00:28:50WAS ABOUT LEFTIST ECONOMICS.
00:28:53IT WAS ALSO ABOUT THE REUNIFICATION OF THE WHITE
00:28:56WORKING CLASS OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH. IT WAS ANTI-IMMIGRANT, IT WAS
00:29:01XENOPHOBIC. IT SAID, WHY DID WE SPEND ALL THAT TIME IN RECONSTRUCTION FOCUSED ON BLACK POLITICAL
00:29:06RIGHTS, WHEN WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON THE ECONOMIC
00:29:08ANXIETIES OF WHITE WORKING CLASS PEOPLE IN PLACES LIKE KANSAS,
00:29:12WHERE MARY LEESE WAS FROM TO THE POINT THAT THE POPULIST PARTY
00:29:16TICKET IN 1896 WAS A UNION GENERAL AND A CONFEDERATE
00:29:20GENERAL WAS NOT A SUBTLE MESSAGE. RIGHT?
00:29:23THAT POPULISM HELPS EXPLAIN DONALD TRUMP.
00:29:27IN MY FDR CHAPTER, I WENT THROUGH THE AMERICA FIRST MOVEMENT, THE KIND OF PARANOID
00:29:33ISOLATION ISM OF THE 1930S. WELL, OBVIOUSLY, THAT LEADS INTO
00:29:35DONALD TRUMP.
00:29:37SO YOU KNOW, IMMIGRATION IS A MUCH BIGGER.
00:29:41IT WAS INTERESTING TO REALIZE
00:29:44HOW CONTESTED IMMIGRATION HAS BEEN THROUGH AMERICAN HISTORY
00:29:46AND ANTI-IMMIGRATION SENTIMENT IS NOT NEW IN THIS COUNTRY.
00:29:50IT HAS BEEN CONSTANT ABOUT CHINESE PEOPLE, ABOUT IRISH
00:29:54PEOPLE, ABOUT JEWISH PEOPLE, ANYBODY WHO COMES HERE AT FIRST
00:29:56IS REJECTED.
00:29:58AND SO A LOT OF THINGS THAT
00:30:00TRUMP SAID IN THAT SECOND
00:30:03INAUGURAL, I THOUGHT I COULD
00:30:05DRAW THE ORIGINS BACK INTO
00:30:09HISTORY. BUT THEN I ALSO WANTED TO IDENTIFY WHAT'S DIFFERENT
00:30:13BECAUSE TRUMP IS DIFFERENT.
00:30:15THERE'S A LINE IN THAT SPEECH
00:30:19WHERE HE SAYS, REFERRING TO THE
00:30:22BUTLER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, I
00:30:24WAS SAVED BY GOD TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
00:30:28THAT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU'LL FIND IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
00:30:32THE I EVEN ALEXANDER STEPHENS
00:30:36WAS TALKING ABOUT A COLLECTIVE. HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE SOUTH.
00:30:40HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE WHITE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH, THE WE READ
00:30:46THAT SECOND INAUGURAL AND SEE HOW MANY TIMES THE WORD I
00:30:49APPEARS MOST INAUGURATIONS CALL UPON PEOPLE TO DO THINGS.
00:30:52ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU.
00:30:56TRUMP IS ESSENTIALLY SAYS IN
00:30:58THAT SPEECH, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE DONE YOUR WORK.
00:31:02AMERICANS. YOU PUT ME BACK IN CHARGE AND NOW I'VE GOT THIS FROM HERE THAT
00:31:05THE QUOTE I PULL OUT AS THE
00:31:07TITLE OF CHAPTER IS I WILL WIN
00:31:11FOR YOU.
00:31:13AND IN THAT, EXPLAIN IS THE FACT
00:31:17THAT WHEN I LOOK AT TRUMP AS SOMEONE WHO, LIKE ANYBODY, DOES
00:31:20NOT HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS AND IS PROBABLY WRONG ABOUT PLENTY OF
00:31:22THINGS, I HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT. YOU KNOW, I MAY NOT AGREE WITH
00:31:26HIS IMMIGRATION POLICIES.
00:31:27I MAY NOT AGREE WITH HIS TAX
00:31:33POLICIES. ANY NUMBER OF HIS POLICIES WHERE
00:31:35HE'S DIFFERENT, THOUGH, IS WHEN
00:31:39HE INSIST UPON HIS RIGHT TO
00:31:43OPERATE OUTSIDE THE AGREED UPON COMPROMISE LIES THAT BENJAMIN
00:31:47FRANKLIN TALKED ABOUT 250 YEARS AGO. YOU KNOW, EVEN PEOPLE THAT I
00:31:52VERY OPENLY DISAGREE WITH THROUGHOUT HISTORY, EVEN
00:31:56SEGREGATIONISTS, TRIED TO MAKE THEIR CASES AND WITHIN SOME
00:32:00CONSTRUCT OF THE LAW, WITHIN SOME CONSTRUCT OF AGREED UPON
00:32:04POLITICS. AND IT'S WHEN TRUMP CHOOSES TO
00:32:07ALLOW HIMSELF TO IGNORE THE LAW
00:32:11TO IGNORE THE RESULTS OF AN
00:32:13ELECTION, TO LAUNCH WARS WITH NO
00:32:15REGARD FOR CONGRESS TO, YOU
00:32:17KNOW, TO ENRICH HIMSELF AND HIS
00:32:20FAMILY WITH NO REGARD TO ANY
00:32:24CONSTRAINT, LEGAL OR NORMATIVE.
00:32:26AND SO SO I WANTED TO USE THAT
00:32:29CHAPTER TO IDENTIFY BOTH WHAT WE
00:32:33CAN FIND IN TRUMP THAT HAS A HISTORICAL PRECEDENT AND WHAT WE
00:32:37CAN SEE IN TRUMP THAT ACTUALLY
00:32:39DEVIATES FROM THAT PRECEDENT IN
00:32:41WHICH IS AN INTERESTING EXERCISE
00:32:43IN THE IN THE DEBATE THAT TRUMP
00:32:45HAS LED ON QUESTIONS OF NATIONAL
00:32:49IDENTITY, ON IN REGARDING IMMIGRANTS OR PEOPLE OF COLOR OR
00:32:53TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS AND OTHERS.
00:32:55DID TRUMP REOPEN THESE DEBATES
00:32:59OR DID HE JUST RECOGNIZE THAT THESE DEBATES HAD BEEN REOPENED
00:33:02AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM.
00:33:08I THINK ONE WAY TO THINK ABOUT
00:33:11TRUMP IS LET'S START WITH FOX NEWS.
00:33:17SO FOX NEWS IS VERY GOOD.
00:33:19BELIEVE ME, I WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
00:33:22A DOG WHISTLES. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF OTHERS.
00:33:27YOU KNOW, THERE WAS THE BROWN PEOPLE CROSSING THE BORDER.
00:33:30THERE WAS THE BLACK PRESIDENT WHO WAS APPARENTLY SOCIALIST,
00:33:34EVEN THOUGH AS THE SOCIALIST, HOW MUCH THEY LIKED OBAMA.
00:33:37YOU KNOW, THE EBOLA WAS THIS SPARRING THING.
00:33:41I MEAN, THERE'S A FAMOUS AD OF THESE FAMOUS US IN THE WHITE
00:33:44HOUSE IN THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS
00:33:46IN 2014 THAT PACKAGED TOGETHER ALL THESE NARRATIVES THAT ARE
00:33:50EASIEST TERRORISTS. WE'RE GOING TO CROSS THE
00:33:53SOUTHERN BORDER CARRYING EBOLA.
00:33:55YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE NONWHITE OTHERS WERE COMING FOR YOU.
00:33:58YOU KNOW, THINK OF TRUMP AS A
00:34:01FOX NEWS VIEWER WHO JUST DECIDES
00:34:03TO START SAYING ALL THE STUFF OUT LOUD.
00:34:06YOU KNOW. THE OTHER THING, THOUGH, THAT I
00:34:10DID IS IF YOU GO BACK, I SPENT A
00:34:13LOT OF TIME WITH PAT BUCHANAN IN.
00:34:17AND ACTUALLY, THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE I DID THE
00:34:19REAGAN SPEECH, THE EVIL EMPIRE SPEECH, WHICH IS GIVEN TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
00:34:23EVANGELICAL AIDS, WHICH WAS THE COALITION. YOU KNOW, IT WAS CHRISTIAN
00:34:26EVANGELICALS, NATIONAL SECURITY HAWKS AND SMALL GOVERNMENT CONSERVATIVES.
00:34:30THAT WAS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
00:34:33THAT REAGAN SPOKE INTO BEING AND CARRIED THROUGH THE COLD WAR AND
00:34:37THE BUSH PRESIDENCY. THEN PAT BUCHANAN COMES ALONG IN
00:34:401992 AND AND TRUMP PAID A LOT
00:34:43ATTENTION TO PAT BUCHANAN. I MEAN, TO THE EXTENT THAT THE FIRST TIME TRUMP SAW IT, THE
00:34:47PRESIDENCY WAS ON THE REFORM PARTY TICKET THAT PAT BUCHANAN
00:34:49HAD HAD SORT OF PAT BUCHANAN IN
00:34:531992 RAN ON BUILDING A WALL ON
00:34:55THE SOUTHERN BORDER ON TARIFFS
00:34:57IN CANCELING TRADE AGREEMENTS.
00:34:59HIS SLOGAN WAS AMERICA FIRST.
00:35:04SO THERE WERE THINGS THAT TRUMP
00:35:06PICKED UP ON THAT THAT WERE BUILDING INSIDE OF THE
00:35:10REPUBLICAN PARTY, A FRUSTRATION
00:35:13WITH REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT
00:35:15THAT WOULD SHOW UP AT ELECTIONS AND PROMISE THINGS TO WHITE
00:35:19WORKING CLASS PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY AND THEN GET INTO
00:35:23GOVERNMENT AND THEY WOULDN'T DO THOSE THINGS. AND SO I THINK TRUMP COMBINED
00:35:26THE KIND OF AID OF THE FOX NEWS
00:35:29VIEWER WITH THE GRIEVANCE OF PEOPLE WHO'D BEEN ASKED FOR
00:35:32THEIR VOTES BY REPUBLICANS FOR A LONG TIME, ONLY TO SEE THOSE
00:35:36PEOPLE NOT DO THOSE THINGS IN OFFICE, WHETHER IT WAS ON
00:35:40ABORTION OR WHETHER IT WAS ON TRADE OR WHETHER IT WAS ON, YOU
00:35:43KNOW, PUNISHING, YOU KNOW, OWNING THE LIBS OR WHATEVER IT IS.
00:35:47AND AND AND I THINK THAT WAS A
00:35:49POWERFUL COMBINATION.
00:35:51AND AND THE FACT THAT TRUMP WAS WILLING TO BREAK THE REPUBLICAN
00:35:55PARTY GAVE HIM A CERTAIN CREDIBILITY.
00:35:58YOU KNOW, WELL, IF THIS GUY IS WILLING TO SMASH THIS
00:36:02ESTABLISHMENT, MAYBE HE'LL BE WILLING TO SMASH ALL THE
00:36:04ESTABLISHMENT THAT I FEEL HAVE LET ME DOWN.
00:36:08LET'S POSIT THAT A DEMOCRAT AT
00:36:10SOME POINT WILL BE ELECTED PRESIDENT AGAIN.
00:36:14AND LET'S ASSUME THAT SHE WILL.
00:36:22THAT DISAGREE WITH THE WAY TRUMP IS ASKED.
00:36:24ANSWER THAT QUESTION OF WHO GETS TO BE AN AMERICAN AND WHO
00:36:28DECIDES? HOW DO YOU THINK THE NEXT
00:36:31DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT OUGHT TO PROCEED TO TRY TO REASSERT A
00:36:36DIFFERENT ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION? SO FIRST OF ALL, I ME SAY
00:36:40SOMETHING ABOUT SPEECHES BECAUSE
00:36:41I THINK THAT'S A PART OF IT.
00:36:44IT WAS INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, IN RELIVING THIS, I REALIZED HOW
00:36:47MUCH THE MEDIUM INTERACTS WITH THE MESSAGE, RIGHT?
00:36:50SO IN FRANKLIN'S DAY SPEECHES WERE DELIVERED TO THE PEOPLE IN
00:36:54THE ROOM, AND THEN THEY WERE REPRINTED IN NEWSPAPERS. SO THEY WERE KIND OF THESE CAREFULLY WORDED ARGUMENTS IN
00:36:59DOUGLASS'S DAY, THERE WAS A SPEAKER CIRCUIT. SO YOU LITERALLY TRAVEL AROUND
00:37:02THE COUNTRY AND GIVE THE SAME SPEECH HUNDREDS OF TIMES. AND SPEAKERS WERE KIND OF LIKE
00:37:06POP STARS. YOU KNOW, THAT'S PEOPLE COME OUT TO SEE THEM AND YOU COULD BUILD
00:37:09REFORM MOVEMENTS THAT WAY. THEN RADIO COMES ALONG AND FDR,
00:37:12THE PLAIN SPOKEN EXPLANATION OF
00:37:15AN FDR, IT CARRIES THE DAY.
00:37:17THEN UNDER TELEVISION, CHARISMA
00:37:19MATTERS BECAUSE TELEVISION PRIZES, CHARISMA AND SPECTACLE
00:37:23AND KING AND KENNEDY AND DOLORES HUERTA. PEOPLE LIKE THAT CAPTURE
00:37:27ATTENTION. WE LIVE IN A SOCIAL MEDIA AGE.
00:37:29AND SO WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU GUYS WATCHED AN ENTIRE SPEECH?
00:37:34RIGHT? SPEECHES ARE CUT INTO PIECES AND
00:37:38ALGORITHM WEEKLY DELIVERED TO YOU TO TRIGGER YOU, TO MAKE YOU
00:37:40FEAR, HATE THE OTHER SIDE, OR TO
00:37:43REINFORCE THE CORRECTNESS OF YOUR OWN BELIEFS, WHEN IN FACT,
00:37:46A SPEECH SHOULD BE ABOUT PERSUASION AND MAKING AN ENTIRE
00:37:49ARGUMENT AND LISTENING TO ENTIRE ARGUMENT. TRUMP HAS BEEN PERFECT FOR THIS
00:37:53TIME BECAUSE HE'LL GIVE A ONE HOUR RALLY SPEECH AND HE KNOWS
00:37:57THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO STICK AROUND FOR THE WHOLE SPEECH ON TV.
00:37:59BUT THAT THAT SPEECH IS GOING TO
00:38:01CREATE DOZENS OF VIRAL CLIPS THAT ARE GOING TO RICOCHET AROUND THE INTERNET AND DO THAT.
00:38:05AND DEMOCRATS, I FEEL LIKE, HAVE
00:38:09BEEN STRUGGLING TO COMMUNICATE FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS BECAUSE
00:38:13THEY'RE KIND OF EITHER TRYING TO REPLICATE WHAT TRUMP'S DOING. WE NEED TO MAKE GOOD SOCIAL
00:38:17MEDIA VIDEOS OR MAYBE WE SHOULD GO ON.
00:38:19JOE ROGAN OR, YOU KNOW, OR
00:38:22THEY'RE SO NERVOUS ABOUT LOSING
00:38:25AN ELECTION BECAUSE THE STAKES ARE SO HIGH THAT THEY FOCUS
00:38:28GROUP EVERYTHING TO DEATH. AND SO YOU GET THIS LANGUAGE
00:38:31LIKE WE NEED TO BUILD AN ECONOMY
00:38:33FROM THE BOTTOM UP TO THE MIDDLE OUT.
00:38:35LIKE WHAT ON EARTH DOES THAT MEAN? YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE
00:38:39IN THAT, YOU KNOW? AND I SEE THAT BECAUSE I WAS
00:38:44AWARE OF WRITING THIS TIME AT A MOMENT WHEN SPEECHES ARE NOT
00:38:47EXACTLY IN VOGUE, BUT I THINK
00:38:49THE NEXT DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT
00:38:51AND HOPEFULLY THE CANDIDATES IN
00:38:532028 SHOULD RECOGNIZE THAT WHAT
00:38:57PEOPLE ARE HUNGERING FOR RIGHT
00:38:59NOW IS A MORAL CASE ABOUT WHAT
00:39:03THIS COUNTRY IS AND CAN BE THAT
00:39:07IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO HAVE THE
00:39:09RIGHT POLICIES THAT AT A TIME
00:39:11WHEN THERE'S WAR AROUND THE WORLD, AT A TIME WHEN THE
00:39:15ECONOMY JUST DOES NOT WORK, CAPITALISM IS BROKEN, AND THE EXTENT OF INEQUALITY AND WEALTH
00:39:19THAT IS BEING GENERATED WHILE PEOPLE CAN AFFORD THINGS.
00:39:22AT A TIME WHEN AI IS COMING FOR
00:39:24YOUR JOBS AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT MY KIDS BEING FRIENDS WITH CHAT
00:39:28BOTS. THIS IS EXHAUSTING. AND SO I DON'T NECESSARILY WANT
00:39:31TO JUST HEAR ABOUT THE RESTORATION OF OBAMACARE
00:39:34SUBSIDIES OR EVEN, YOU KNOW, HOW
00:39:37AFFORDABLE HOUSING BEING BUILT. I WANT THOSE THINGS TO HAPPEN.
00:39:41BUT IN LOOKING AT THIS SPEECH,
00:39:44THIS BOOK, THE LEADERS WHO WERE
00:39:46ABLE TO PROVIDE THE VISION OF
00:39:52WHY WE NEED TO DO THINGS AND
00:39:52WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GO, FDR IN
00:39:57HIS SPEECH IN 1940, IN THE DARKEST HOUR OF WORLD WAR TWO,
00:40:01DIDN'T JUST MAKE A CASE AGAINST ISOLATIONISM, ENFORCE SUPPORT
00:40:04FOR DEMOCRATIC ALLIES. THAT'S WHEN HE INTRODUCED THE
00:40:07FOUR FREEDOMS THAT AMERICA STANDS FOR.
00:40:10WE STAND FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH. WE STAND FOR FREEDOM OF WORSHIP.
00:40:14WE STAND FOR FREEDOM FROM FEAR OF AGGRESSION. WE STAND FOR FREEDOM FROM WANT,
00:40:18WHICH IS A PRETTY RADICAL THING FOR A PRESIDENT TO SAY.
00:40:21KING WHEN YOU GOT TO THE END OF THE I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH, THE
00:40:24PREPARED TEXT, HE DIDN'T HAVE THE DREAM IN IT.
00:40:28AND HE'S STANDING THERE. AND I THINK BY READING A LOT OF
00:40:31ABOUT HIM THAT HE KNEW I NEED TO
00:40:34GIVE THESE PEOPLE SOMETHING MORE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE
00:40:38BIGGEST CROWD I'M EVER GOING TO SPEAK TO.
00:40:41THE THE MOST WHITE PEOPLE HAD
00:40:45NEVER SEEN A BLACK PERSON DELIVER A WHOLE SPEECH BEFORE.
00:40:47HE WAS GOING TO SEND THESE PEOPLE BACK TO THE SOUTH TO GET
00:40:51BEAT UP AND IMPRISONED AND SO
00:40:54THE DREAM CAME OUT OF HIM. THAT'S THE VISION.
00:40:57HE MADE PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THAT WAS POSSIBLE.
00:41:00AND THAT'S WHAT PROPELLED THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
00:41:04REAGAN, AS MUCH AS I DISAGREED WITH HIM, DID SOMETHING SIMILAR. OBAMA DID SOMETHING SIMILAR.
00:41:07AND SO I HOPE THAT THE NEXT DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL
00:41:11CANDIDATES AND PRESIDENT TELL A
00:41:14STORY ABOUT HOW WE GOT HERE AND
00:41:17ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING THAT HAS
00:41:19A MORAL SENSE TO IT RIGHT?
00:41:25HOW WE HAVE A STAKE IN EACH OTHER.
00:41:28LIKE WHY THIS IS WORTH IT AS A
00:41:30AS A COUNTRY.
00:41:34NOW WE GET INTO POLICY.
00:41:36I THINK THAT I DO THINK THAT
00:41:40THERE'S AN NECESS THE WHO'S DOING THIS WELL MAYBE SUGGESTS THE POLICY IF YOU LOOK AT IT JON
00:41:44OSSOFF WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT CORRUPTION, HE CONNECTS THE DOTS
00:41:47IN A STORY. THE REASON SO DEMOCRATS HAVE HAD
00:41:50THIS PROBLEM THROUGHOUT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
00:41:54WE TALK ABOUT DEMOCRACY AND CORRUPTION AND WE TALK ABOUT HEALTH CARE.
00:41:57YOU KNOW WHAT OSSOFF IS DOING IS HE'S TELLING A STORY ABOUT, HEY, THE REASON YOU CAN'T AFFORD
00:42:01ANYTHING IS BECAUSE THESE CORRUPT PEOPLE ARE ENRICHING
00:42:03THEIR FRIENDS AT YOUR EXPENSE.
00:42:07AND I'M SHORT HANDING IT, BUT IT'S A COHERENT STORY. JAMES TALLARICO WHEN HE TALKS
00:42:10ABOUT WHY HE'S IN POLITICS, HE TALKS ABOUT HIS FAITH WHICH COMPELS HIM TO CARE ABOUT HIS
00:42:14NEIGHBOR. YOU KNOW, ALEXANDRIA
00:42:18OCASIO-CORTEZ IS HAS A KIND OF JOYFUL FEARLESSNESS THAT I SAW
00:42:21IN A LOT OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS BOOK WHO ARE ACTIVISTS AND PROGRESSIVES.
00:42:25THAT MAKES PEOPLE FEEL LIKE CHANGE IS POSSIBLE.
00:42:29AND SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT MAKE PEOPLE THINK, YEAH, YOU
00:42:32KNOW, WE CAN HAVE LOWER PRICES. YOU KNOW, I MEAN, MAMDANI DID
00:42:35THIS IN NEW YORK LIKE WE WAIT A SECOND, WE CAN DO THIS.
00:42:39WE'RE IN CHARGE OF THIS COUNTRY. YOU KNOW, IF WE BUILD A BIG ENOUGH MOVEMENT, WE CAN BREAK
00:42:42THE CORRUPTION, WE CAN GET THE MONEY OUT OF POLITICS, WE CAN.
00:42:45AND THAT WILL ALLOW US TO MAKE THE REFORMS THAT WILL LOWER
00:42:47PRICES AND THAT WILL MAKE YOU BELIEVE THAT THE FUTURE CAN BE BETTER THAN THE PRESENT.
00:42:51SO WE HAVE ABOUT 15 MINUTES LEFT.
00:42:55I KNOW THIS IS A REALLY SMART AUDIENCE.
00:42:57I WOULD LIKE TO GET QUESTIONS FROM YOU ALL.
00:43:00IF YOU JUST LINE UP AT THE AT THE MICROPHONE AND I BELIEVE YOU
00:43:04ARE READY. YES, GO AHEAD. YES.
00:43:06SO FIRST, OBAMA WAS A TERRIFIC
00:43:09SPEAKER AND THAT'S HOW HE BEAT HILLARY.
00:43:12I WAS THERE A QUESTION?
00:43:17MY ANSWER DOESN'T GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE 18TH CENTURY, BUT
00:43:20IT'S MUCH LONGER THAN YOURS.
00:43:24I WAS BORN IN THE 40S IN WHAT WAS CALLED THE NEW DEAL.
00:43:27VERY IMPORTANT.
00:43:30THIS WAS NOT THE COUNTRY WE HAVE NOW.
00:43:33AND WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND, I UNDERSTAND HOW TRUMP WORKS AND
00:43:36HOW HE THINKS. BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE VOTE FOR HIM.
00:43:40THE PEOPLE I GREW UP WITH,
00:43:44THEY'RE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE RUNNING THE COUNTRY. I'M THE SAME AGE AS HILLARY
00:43:47CLINTON AND. AND CLINTON AND TRUMP.
00:43:50AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENED.
00:43:54YOU'RE NOT ALONE.
00:43:58WHILE I DON'T CLAIM TO HAVE ALL
00:44:00THE ANSWERS TO THAT QUESTION.
00:44:07I FIRST OF ALL, I DO THINK THAT
00:44:12IF IF YOU LOOK AT THE ARC OF
00:44:14AMERICAN HISTORY.
00:44:18IT IS OFTEN THE CASE THAT WHEN
00:44:22THERE ARE PERIODS OF DISRUPTION,
00:44:27WHEN THERE PERIODS OF TIME IN WHICH PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THE WAY
00:44:30THAT THEY'RE ACCUSTOMED TO
00:44:33LIVING IS CHANGING BEYOND THEIR
00:44:36CONTROL, THEY OFTEN TURN TO A
00:44:41MORE TRIBAL POLITICS.
00:44:41SO WHEN WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN SO
00:44:45I WAS GOING TO GET TO THAT.
00:44:47I THE PERIOD OF GLOBALIZATION
00:44:51AFTER THE REAGAN PRESIDENCY
00:44:53WHERE YOU HAVE AND CLINTON,
00:44:55FRANKLY, WHERE YOU HAVE, YOU
00:44:59KNOW, THE COMBINATION OF THE
00:45:03COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION, WHICH OPENED AND THE OPENING OF
00:45:06CHINA, WHICH OPENED UP HALF THE
00:45:08WORLD TO THE FREE TRADE
00:45:11AGREEMENTS AND THE FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLES.
00:45:14AND THIS WAS GOING TO USHER IN THIS POST HISTORICAL ERA.
00:45:18WELL, IT ALSO, YOU KNOW, LED TO
00:45:22MASSIVE DEINDUSTRIALIZATION AND IT LED TO KIND OF THE
00:45:26LIVELIHOODS OF, YOU KNOW, I THINK ABOUT MY FAMILY. PART OF MY FAMILY'S FROM SMALL
00:45:30TOWN TEXAS, LIKE THE JOBS ALL LEFT.
00:45:32AND NOT ONLY DID YOU KNOW, MY GRANDFATHER WORKED ONE JOB HIS
00:45:36WHOLE LIFE, RIGHT. AND HAD A PENSION AND AND ALL OF
00:45:40A SUDDEN THAT'S GONE.
00:45:42AND MEANWHILE, THE CULTURE IS BEING HOMOGENIZED AND AND THE
00:45:46DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE COUNTRY ARE CHANGING.
00:45:49AND AND IT'S IT'S DISORIENTING TO PEOPLE.
00:45:52AND AND YET A LOT OF OUR
00:45:54POLITICS WAS DESIGNED, I THINK,
00:45:56BECAUSE OF THE ROLE OF MONEY IN
00:45:58POLITICS TO PREVENT POLITICIANS FROM BEING ABLE TO SOLVE THOSE
00:46:02PROBLEMS. EXACTLY. YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE TIMES WHEN PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT
00:46:06OBAMA, I AGREE WITH WHAT THEY WISH HE WOULD HAVE DONE, BUT HE
00:46:08WANTED TO DO THOSE THINGS AND COULDN'T GET THOSE THINGS
00:46:11THROUGH CONGRESS. YOU KNOW, IT WAS DEMOCRATS THAT
00:46:15KILLED THE PUBLIC OPTION IN
00:46:17OBAMACARE HAPPENED TO COME FROM STATES THAT HAD SIGNIFICANT
00:46:21INSURANCE INTERESTS. RIGHT. JUST TAKE ONE EXAMPLE. AND SO I THINK THERE WAS A
00:46:25MOUNTING FRUSTRATION WITH BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES THAT, HEY, WHY
00:46:28AREN'T YOU SOLVING THESE PROBLEMS? AND I DON'T LIKE ALL THIS
00:46:32CHANGE. AND IN THIS STORY YOU'VE BEEN TELLING ME ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE
00:46:36GOING TO GET BETTER IS NOT WHAT I'M FEELING IN MY LIFE. I DON'T THINK IN ANY WAY, SHAPE
00:46:39OR FORM THAT JUSTIFIES VOTING FOR SOMEBODY THAT IS PUTTING
00:46:43IMMIGRANTS IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS AND LAUNCHING ILLEGAL
00:46:47WARS. IT DOESN'T. I'M NOT HERE TO EXCUSE THOSE
00:46:50CHOICES, BUT I DO THINK WHAT WE
00:46:54HAVE TO RECKON WITH, THOUGH, IS THAT THE NEXT DEMOCRATIC
00:46:58PRESIDENT SHOULD NOT BE ADVOCATING FOR SOME RETURN TO
00:47:00SOME PAST SHOULD NOT BE SEEN AS A DEFENDER.
00:47:04I MEAN, WE'VE HAD THREE SUCCESSIVE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES, ALL OF WHOM I FIND
00:47:07THINGS TO ADMIRE AND WHO SOMEHOW BECAME THE DEFENDERS OF OF AN
00:47:13ESTABLISHMENT THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T LIKE, EVEN THOUGH THE DEMOCRATS AREN'T THE ONES THAT BUILT THAT ESTABLISHMENT.
00:47:17YOU KNOW, SOMEHOW WE ARE
00:47:20DEFENDING, YOU KNOW, TRADE
00:47:22AGREEMENTS OR THE NATIONAL SECURITY ESTABLISHMENT THAT I
00:47:26USED TO BE PART OF THAT PEOPLE FEEL HAS FAILED THEM.
00:47:28WE HAVE TO LET THAT GO INSTEAD
00:47:32OF DEFENDING WHAT HAD BEEN BUILT
00:47:35AND IS NOW BEEN TORN DOWN. WE NEED TO BE TALKING ABOUT WHAT
00:47:39WE'RE GOING TO BUILD ON THE OTHER SIDE. ALL RIGHT.
00:47:41THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR QUESTION. YES, SIR.
00:47:45YOUR NEXT SO I WAS GOING TO SAY
00:47:48SO BASICALLY, IF BLACK AND WHITE
00:47:52AMERICANS POLITICALLY CANNOT
00:47:54HAVE A COMMON EYE ON THINGS LIKE
00:47:57COME TO SOME KIND OF AGREED, SOME KIND OF AGREEMENT, THEN
00:48:00PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, AS
00:48:04THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. ALL RIGHT.
00:48:07I LOVE THIS POINT.
00:48:08I FEEL THIS ENTIRELY BECAUSE AS
00:48:13SOMEONE WHO WORKS A LOT ON GLOBAL ISSUES AND HAS A LOT OF
00:48:17FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING FRIENDS WHO'VE COMPLETELY GIVEN UP ON AMERICA,
00:48:22YOU KNOW WHAT I SAY TO THEM IS THE REASON YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT
00:48:25WHETHER WE CAN GET IT RIGHT IS BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S HERE.
00:48:28I MEAN, WE ARE THE WORLD IN MINIATURE.
00:48:31AND IF WE CAN WORK IT OUT, THE
00:48:34WORLD ISN'T GOING TO WORK IT OUT. AND ACTUALLY, I THINK THERE'S A CORRELATION BETWEEN THE
00:48:40DYSFUNCTION AND DIVISION AND POLARIZATION IN OUR COUNTRY AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD
00:48:44LIKE THERE'S A KIND OF INTANGIBLE CONNECTION BETWEEN THOSE THINGS AND AGAIN, IF YOU
00:48:48LOOK AT, THOUGH, OUR HISTORY, I
00:48:51WAS STRUCK BACK, YOU KNOW, AFTER
00:48:562020, AFTER THE BACKLASH TO
00:49:022020, I, I WENT BACK THROUGH
00:49:05HISTORY AND GUESS WHAT THE DOMINANT ISSUE IS IN AMERICAN HISTORY?
00:49:09IT'S BLACK WHITE RELATION REALLY
00:49:13IS.
00:49:13AND AND AND FRANKLY, WHEN WE ARE
00:49:17ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE OUR CAPAC
00:49:20CITY TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES
00:49:22CONSTRUCTIVELY, IT IS ACTUALLY
00:49:24CONSISTENTLY HAD A POSITIVE
00:49:27IMPACT NOT JUST ON THIS COUNTRY BUT ON THE WORLD.
00:49:31THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS SYNERGISTIC WITH THE LIBERATION
00:49:36MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE COLONIAL WORLD IN THE 1950S AND 60S.
00:49:39FOR INSTANCE, IT'S ARE YOU IN MY LAST THING?
00:49:41IS THAT ALSO NOT MY BEST NIGERIAN?
00:49:45MY WIFE IS AMERICAN, SO I'M LIVING MY AFRICAN AMERICAN. YEAH.
00:49:47BUT WHEN PEOPLE COME HERE, I
00:49:51THINK A LOT OF INTERNATIONALS NEED TO LEARN HOW TO BE MORE HUMBLE WHEN THEY DEAL WITH
00:49:55AMERICANS. I'M AN AMERICAN. I CONSIDER MYSELF AMERICAN.
00:49:57A LOT OF INTERNATIONALS NEED TO LEARN HOW TO BE HUMBLE. THAT'S ALL I THINK.
00:50:01WELL, YEAH. AND TO THINK VERY PRIDEFUL. YEAH.
00:50:05MIGHT BE SCARED AWAY, YOUR FLAG AND ALL THAT, BUT BE MORE HUMBLE
00:50:08BECAUSE YOU KNOW. YEAH. RESPECT WHERE YOU ARE. YEAH.
00:50:11BUT I AND I THINK THAT AND LOOK, A LOT OF THE SPEECHES I DEALT
00:50:14WITH THIS YOU KNOW LOUIS BRANDEIS GAVE A SPEECH THAT WAS
00:50:18INTERESTING. IT WAS A COMBINATION OF
00:50:22ASSIMILATION IN SOME RESPECTS,
00:50:25BUT VALUING THE DISTINCT NESS OF
00:50:28CULTURES BEING PRESENT HERE.
00:50:30LIKE IT'S THAT BALANCE BETWEEN WE ACTUALLY ARE, IT'S BETTER.
00:50:34IMAGINE HOW BORING THIS COUNTRY WAS IF WE DIDN'T. WE DIDN'T HAVE ALL THESE PEOPLE
00:50:37WHO COME HERE AND ENRICHED IT WITH THEIR FOOD AND THEIR MUSIC AND THEIR TRADITIONS.
00:50:42RIGHT. AT THE SAME TIME. THERE NEEDS TO BE A COMMON NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THIS
00:50:45COUNTRY THAT EVERYBODY FEELS THAT THEY SHARE IN SOME WAY.
00:50:48THAT'S HARDER TODAY BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A MONOCULTURE ANYMORE. YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT ALL WATCHING
00:50:52THE SAME TV AND GOING TO THE SAME MOVIES. YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF SPORTS
00:50:56AND TAILOR STUDIED. MAYBE THEY'RE NOT, YOU KNOW. YEAH. AND MY NEXT YEAH BUT BUT THE BUT
00:50:59BUT AGAIN WE CAN DO THIS LIKE
00:51:02WE'VE DONE IT BEFORE I IT'D BE
00:51:07CRAZY TO GIVE UP ON IT. YOU KNOW WHAT WHAT WHAT THE TRUMPS OF THE WORLD WHEN YOU
00:51:11THINK IS THEY WANT YOU TO BE CYNICAL OR AN APATHETIC CYNICAL
00:51:15NOTHING REALLY MATTERS OR APATHETIC. NOTHING CAN CHANGE. AND YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THIS.
00:51:18I MEAN, AGAIN, LOOK AT THE BOOK. LOOK AT HISTORY. LIKE THAT'S NOT TRUE.
00:51:22LIKE THINGS HAVE CHANGED AND THEY CAN CHANGE AGAIN. ALL RIGHT.
00:51:26SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR QUESTION. THANK YOU.
00:51:28THEY HAVE ALL OH, YEAH. YOU.
00:51:32HELLO. FIRST, I WANT TO SAY CONGRATULATE WINS FOR THE KNICKS
00:51:35RIGHT NOW. THAT'S VERY EXCITING FOR YOU. YOU ALSO HAVE TO FORGIVE ME.
00:51:38I'M I'M A RED SOX FAN, BUT I HOPE YOU'LL BEAR WITH ME.
00:51:42SO THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPARISONS TO BE MADE TO THE
00:51:45QUESTION I'M ABOUT TO ASK. HISTORY PARALLELS, COMPARISONS,
00:51:49SIMILARITIES, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. BUT YOU WRITE A BOOK ABOUT
00:51:52AMERICAN IDENTITY, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE EXACT NUMBER IS,
00:51:56WHETHER IT'S 20% OR 30%, BUT
00:51:57THERE IS A IN A COUNTRY OF 327 MILLION AMERICAN BOYS, THERE'S A
00:52:03SIZABLE PORTION OF AMERICANS WHO
00:52:05ARE PART OF DONALD TRUMP'S BASE.
00:52:07AND MY QUESTION IS, HOW DO WE AS
00:52:09A SOCIETY RECKON WITH SUCH A LARGE PORTION OF PEOPLE
00:52:14FUNDAMENTALLY NOT BELIEVING IN THE TRUTH? YEAH, I THINK THIS IS THE MOST
00:52:18DIFFICULT THING THAT THE ABSENCE OF TRUTH.
00:52:21I DO WANT TO SAY, YOU KNOW,
00:52:24OBAMA USED TO REMIND US, YOU KNOW, 30% OF THIS COUNTRY WOULD
00:52:28HAVE VOTED FOR GEORGE WALLACE. YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A
00:52:32CONFEDERACY IN THIS COUNTRY LIKE. SO THE IDEA THAT THERE'S EVER
00:52:34GOING TO BE 100% BUY IN TO WHAT
00:52:36I WOULD THINK TO BE A SET OF
00:52:38VALUES, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THOSE
00:52:41PEOPLE THINK I'M CRAZY, TOO. I'M SURE THOSE PEOPLE ARE LIKE, I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO SHARE
00:52:45A COUNTRY WITH BEN RHODES. YOU KNOW? BUT BUT I ACTUALLY DO THINK IT'S
00:52:49AN IMPORTANT POINT.
00:52:51IT'S IT'S ONE THING TO HAVE
00:52:53DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT POLICY AND
00:52:56DIRECTION AND EVEN IDENTITY.
00:52:59BUT WHEN THERE'S DISAGREEMENT
00:53:02ABOUT REALITY, THAT'S WHEN THINGS GET REALLY DANGEROUS AND
00:53:06WEIRD. AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE
00:53:08RIGHT NOW TO BE.
00:53:12AND ACTUALLY, I LIKE I'LL MAKE TWO POINTS ABOUT THAT.
00:53:16THINGS TO DO ABOUT THAT. AND THERE'S MANY MORE THAN TWO THINGS. ONE IS I AGAIN, I DO THINK THAT
00:53:21HAVING, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP
00:53:26THAT NARRATES TRUTHFULLY WHAT IS
00:53:30HAPPENING, I MEAN, I OBAMA'S
00:53:34JOB. YES, YOU DO POLICY. HE WAS KIND OF THE NATIONAL NARRATOR.
00:53:38YOU KNOW, THERE'S A TRAGEDY. I'M GOING TO GO PUT THAT INTO WORDS.
00:53:41THERE'S AN ACHIEVEMENT. I'M GOING TO PUT THAT IN TWO WORDS.
00:53:43REAGAN DID THIS VERY WELL, EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T AGREE WITH REAGAN.
00:53:47I MEAN, HE KIND OF NARRATES EVENTS, RIGHT?
00:53:49WE NOW HAVE A NARRATOR WHO LIES
00:53:53HABITUALLY, AND THERE'S AN
00:53:55OSMOSIS TO OUR KIDS, YOU KNOW, I
00:54:00WONDER WHAT THE IMPACT IS OF
00:54:02SEEING THE MOST POWERFUL ADULTS BE REWARDED FOR LYING.
00:54:06AS A PARENT, THAT CONCERNS ME.
00:54:08SO, NUMBER ONE, TO BE GREAT, TO HAVE DIFFERENT KIND OF LEADERSHIP.
00:54:11BUT SECOND IS TECHNOLOGY, BECAUSE PART OF THE REASON WHY
00:54:14IT'S EASIER TO LIVE IN TRUTH IS
00:54:16YOU CAN BE FED INFORMATION THAT
00:54:18IS MADE TO BE A MADE TO APPEAR
00:54:22TO BE CREDIBLE, WHETHER IT'S
00:54:26BECAUSE OF THE ALGORITHM OR BECAUSE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, WHICH LITERALLY
00:54:29CAN MAKE SOMEONE LOOK LIKE THEY'RE SAYING SOMETHING THEY DIDN'T.
00:54:33AND WE HAVE TO GET OUR ARMS AROUND THAT FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE.
00:54:37THERE NEEDS TO BE A REGULATORY APPROACH TO SOCIAL MEDIA AND
00:54:39ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT IS WAY OVERDUE, THAT HAS, AGAIN,
00:54:45NOT LIKE, YOU KNOW, A WOKE
00:54:47AGENDA, BUT LIKE A TRUTH AGENDA. ALL RIGHT.
00:54:50THANK YOU, SIR, VERY MUCH. YES, MA'AM. HI.
00:54:53OKAY. SO FIRST, I GREW UP ON THE RIGHT
00:54:57AND MY MOM IS A MEGA MOM AND SO
00:54:59THE LEVEL OF DISSENT FROM ASIA AND LIKE PROPAGANDA ZATION THAT
00:55:04COMES FROM FOX NEWS LIKE I CAN'T COMBAT IT. SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING FOR
00:55:07PEOPLE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND.
00:55:09BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT WAS GOING BACK TO
00:55:14YOUR, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT DEMOCRAT NEEDS TO BE LIKE, GIVE GOOD SPEECHES, RIGHT?
00:55:18AND I THINK THERE'S A PIECE TO THAT WHERE IN ORDER TO GIVE A
00:55:21GOOD SPEECH WHERE PEOPLE FEEL IT IS, YOU HAVE TO FEEL IT.
00:55:24AND SO LOOKING AT THE DEMOCRAT PARTY LIKE YOU HAVE A LOT OF
00:55:28WHAT I SEE HOLLOWNESS LIKE I
00:55:30WORK IN CONGRESS LIKE I'M A FAKE LOBBYIST BECAUSE I LOBBY FOR
00:55:33HUMAN RIGHTS AND I DO IT FOR FREE.
00:55:38AND AND SO LAST YEAR, LOBBYISTS
00:55:40LAST YEAR I WAS WORKING ON A
00:55:43LETTER FOR AN AMERICAN CHILD WHO WAS BEING HELD IN MILITARY DETENTION.
00:55:47AND I ONLY GOT 27, 14 SENATORS AND 13 IN THE HOUSE TO SIGN IT.
00:55:52AND WHICH YOU WISH YOU WOULD SAY AYE.
00:55:54AMERICAN CHILD HELD IN A FOREIGN
00:55:56GULAG LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHY IS
00:55:59THAT NOT 535 SIGNATURES? AND IT'S BECAUSE THE CHILD WAS
00:56:03ABDUCTED IN THE WEST BANK AND HE WAS BEING HELD IN ISRAEL.
00:56:05AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE SPECIAL INTERESTS INVOLVED.
00:56:09AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT A CORY BOOKER, HE MAYBE CAN GIVE A
00:56:12GOOD SPEECH IN THE MINDS OF SOME PEOPLE, BUT IT'S HOLLOW AND IT'S
00:56:16EMPTY. AND THERE ARE ONLY A FEW DEMOCRATS THAT ARE WALKING THE WALK.
00:56:19THERE ARE NO REPUBLICANS ANYMORE WALKING THE WALK. AND SO I FEEL LIKE THAT IS A
00:56:23CRUCIAL PIECE THAT NEEDS TO BE A PART OF THIS. SO I TOTALLY AGREE.
00:56:26AND LET ME BE CLEAR ABOUT ONE
00:56:28THING, WHICH IS IT'S NOT SO MUCH
00:56:32JUST GIVING A GOOD SPEECH.
00:56:36IT'S BECAUSE I THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT WHAT IS A GOOD SPEECH, RIGHT.
00:56:39TO ME, I SPENT IN EACH CHAPTER.
00:56:41WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH THE LIFE OF THE PERSON AND THE
00:56:45MOVEMENTS THAT ATTRACTED THE PERSON.
00:56:47AND THE REASON WHY IS I BELIEVE THE BEST SPEECHES.
00:56:51THEY MAY ACTUALLY NOT HAVE THE
00:56:54POWER AND DELIVERY OF THE I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH.
00:56:57THE PERSON DELIVERING THE SPEECH HAS TO BE THE ONLY PERSON ALIVE
00:57:00WHO COULD SAY THOSE WORDS. IT HAS TO KIND OF IT NEATLY COME
00:57:03OUT OF NOT JUST WHAT THEY WANT
00:57:05TO DO, BUT WHY DO THEY WANT TO DO THAT?
00:57:08OBAMA USED TO ALSO TELL US SOMETIMES THAT IN ORDER TO WIN
00:57:12AN ELECTION, YOU NEED TO CONVEY
00:57:14TO PEOPLE WHAT YOU'RE WILLING TO LOSE. AN ELECTION OVER.
00:57:18THERE'S SOMETHING YOU'RE WILLING TO LOSE FOR TO TO TO TO WADE
00:57:22INTO THE MINEFIELD HERE AND GET
00:57:24SPECIFIC TO YOUR QUESTION.
00:57:27ONE THING THAT ZORAN MAMDANI HAD
00:57:29IN HIS CAMPAIGN AND HE WAS AT 1%
00:57:33AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS ACTUALLY
00:57:35ISRAEL THAT STARTED TO BUILD HIS
00:57:37SUPPORT AND THEN HE STARTED
00:57:39GETTING ATTACKED BY CUOMO AND ALL OF THESE POWERFUL INTERESTS
00:57:43SAYING, OH, THIS GUY IS RADICAL AND OH, MY GOD, YOU'LL NEVER BE
00:57:47LED NEAR POWER. THE FACT THAT HE WOULD NOT
00:57:51CHANGE HIS POSITIONS ON ISRAEL
00:57:55MADE HIS AFFORDABILITY AGENDA
00:57:57CREDIBLE BECAUSE THEY'RE LIKE THIS GUY.
00:58:01WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH HIM OR NOT.
00:58:03IRONICALLY, THIS GUY IS NOT
00:58:07AFRAID OF GETTING CRITICIZED. HE'S NOT AFRAID OF POWERFUL
00:58:10INTERESTS COMING AFTER HIM. SO WHEN HE TELLS ME HE'S GOING
00:58:14TO LOWER MY PRICES, I'M MORE WILLING TO BELIEVE THAT THAT GUY
00:58:17IS GOING TO FIGHT TO DO THAT. THEN MAYBE WHEN CORY BOOKER
00:58:20TELLS ME, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK
00:58:24HE'S OWNED THAT'S A STRONG WORD.
00:58:26BUT LIKE LIKE YOU SEE WHAT I'M GETTING AT?
00:58:30LIKE, I AGREE WITH IT.
00:58:31YOU KNOW, HE HE HE AND AND
00:58:35AGAIN, I AND BY THE WAY, IT DOESN'T MEAN EVERYBODY HAS TO
00:58:38HAVE MY VIEW ON ISRAEL OR THE POINT IS THAT ON ISSUE AFTER
00:58:43ISSUE, I THINK PEOPLE SOMETIMES LOOK AT DEMOCRATS AND THEY FEEL A CAUTION.
00:58:46THEY FEEL A WARINESS OF UPSETTING.
00:58:50MAYBE IT'S A SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP, BUT MAYBE ITS
00:58:54CONSTITUENTS, A GROUP, TOO. I MEAN, MAYBE IT'S IT'S YOU KNOW, TO TAKE A DIFFERENT
00:58:58PERSPECTIVE, MAYBE YOU'RE AFRAID OF OF OFFENDING A CONSTITUENCY
00:59:01GROUP THAT IS TO YOUR LEFT AS WELL. RIGHT. SO BUT ACTUALLY, ULTIMATELY, I
00:59:05THINK EVERYBODY WILL HAVE MORE
00:59:07RESPECT FOR YOU IF YOU AND
00:59:11FRANKLY, IT'S SOMETHING THAT TRUMP, YOU KNOW, HIS WILLINGNESS
00:59:13TO -- POWERFUL PEOPLE GAVE HIM A
00:59:16CERTAIN CREDIBILITY WITH PEOPLE
00:59:18WHO DIDN'T HAVE POWER BECAUSE THEY'RE LIKE, WELL, WELL, THIS
00:59:21GUY'S WILLING, YOU KNOW, THE
00:59:24MOMENT IN THE DEBATE, I REMEMBER 2016 WHERE HE'S LIKE, YOU KNOW,
00:59:27EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE STAGE IS OWNED BY SOMEBODY. YOU KNOW.
00:59:31NOW IT TURNS OUT TRUMP IS, YOU
00:59:33KNOW, LIKE, LET'S COUNT THE
00:59:35NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE MAKING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
00:59:38WELL, YOU KNOW, HE'S LIFTING RESTRICTIONS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND WHAT HAVE YOU.
00:59:42YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
00:59:44AND SO THE POINT OF IT'S THE CAPACITY TO TELL AN AUTHENTIC
00:59:48STORY THAT PEOPLE BELIEVE.
00:59:50YOU KNOW, IT HELPS IF IT'S A
00:59:52GREAT SPEECH, BUT IT AT COURT
00:59:55HAS TO HAVE THAT AUTHENTICITY. ALL RIGHT. THANKS. THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION.
00:59:58I'M GOING TO APOLOGIZE TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WAITING BECAUSE WE'RE AFTER 8:00.
01:00:02AND I KNOW YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE WONDERFUL QUESTIONS, BUT I'M GOING TO ASK THE LAST
01:00:06QUESTION BECAUSE I'VE GOT THE MICROPHONE.
01:00:08SO OF OF ALL THESE SPEECHES THAT
01:00:11YOU'VE SEEN AND READ IN YOUR
01:00:13BOOK AND ELSEWHERE, WHICH SPEECH
01:00:15THAT YOU DID NOT WRITE, DO YOU
01:00:18THINK IS YOUR FAVORITE SPEECH IS
01:00:20THE ONE YOU JUST THINK IS SO GREAT?
01:00:22WHAT SPEECH WOULD THAT BE.
01:00:29WELL, HONESTLY, LIKE, MY
01:00:31FAVORITE IS LINCOLN'S SECOND
01:00:34INAUGURAL, BUT I'LL GIVE A DIFFERENT ANSWER TO BE SOMETHING
01:00:37MORE INTERESTING.
01:00:40I, I THINK PEOPLE SHOULD READ
01:00:42THE SPEECH BY RED JACKET.
01:00:45JUST ACTUALLY BY THE BOOK AND READ IT.
01:00:48I WAS ABOUT TO SAY GOOGLE IT,
01:00:50YOU KNOW, BUT BUT IT'S SHORT.
01:00:55THIS SPEECH SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS GIVEN YESTERDAY. IT'S THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY
01:00:59THING THE SENECA HAVE LOST JUST
01:01:02ABOUT EVERYTHING.
01:01:04THEY'VE LOST MOST OF THEIR LAND,
01:01:08YOU KNOW, THEIR COMMUNITY HAS
01:01:10BEEN RIVEN BY ALCOHOL BRIBES,
01:01:13EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, THE WHITE PEOPLE ARE COMING BACK FROM WAR
01:01:16AND COMING BACK FROM WAR AND COMING BACK FROM WAR.
01:01:19AND AND THERE'S THIS MISSIONARY WHO'S THERE WITH A REPRESENTATIVE.
01:01:23THE US GOVERNMENT KIND OF LOOKING OVER HER SHOULDER SAYING, YOU KNOW, HEY, LET HIM IN.
01:01:26HE WANTS TO CONVERT YOU TO THIS NEWS. AND THE GUY, THE MISSIONARY
01:01:30SAYS, WE'RE JUST HERE TO TELL YOU HOW TO WORSHIP THE GREAT SPIRIT IN A DIFFERENT WAY,
01:01:34BECAUSE THE GREAT SPIRIT'S SON IS JESUS. YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF CYNICAL.
01:01:38AND WHAT THIS GUY DOES IS HE IN
01:01:40VERY ECONOMICAL, SIMPLE LANGUAGE.
01:01:43HE'S LIKE, LET ME TELL YOU THE STORY OF MY PEOPLE.
01:01:47WE WERE HERE AND IT WAS GREAT. WE HAD ALL THIS LAND AND WE WERE HAPPY.
01:01:51WE HAD NO PRIVATE PROPERTY BECAUSE WE SHARED EVERYTHING.
01:01:54AND THEN YOU ALL ARRIVED.
01:01:57WE WERE VERY NICE TO YOU.
01:01:59WE GAVE YOU MEAT, WE GAVE YOU
01:02:02SHELTER, AND YOU GAVE US POISON.
01:02:07AND. AND THEN HE TALKS ABOUT HOW
01:02:11THERE IS JUST MORE AND MORE TAKING AND YOU KEPT COMING BACK
01:02:13FOR MORE AND.
01:02:17AND THEN HE SAYS SOMETHING FASCINATING.
01:02:19HE SAYS, IF AND HE SAID, NOW YOU'RE COMING FOR OUR RELIGION.
01:02:24AND HE SAID, IF THE GREAT SPIRIT
01:02:26INTENDED FOR EVERYBODY TO
01:02:28WORSHIP THE SAME WAY, WHY DON'T
01:02:32YOU ALL EVEN AGREE ABOUT WHICH BOOK TO USE?
01:02:36WHY HAVE YOU ALL FOUGHT WARS
01:02:38WITH EACH OTHER, ABOUT WHICH PART OF YOUR RELIGION IS RIGHT?
01:02:42MAYBE THE GREAT SPIRIT INTENDED FOR EVERYBODY TO WORSHIP HIM IN
01:02:45DIFFERENT WAYS. AND WHAT STILL REMARKABLE ABOUT
01:02:50IT IS IT'S A CASE NOT JUST FOR
01:02:54THE MAINTENANCE AND SUSTAINMENT OF SENECA TRADITIONS.
01:02:57IT'S A CASE FOR PLURALISM. HE'S SAYING, I GOT NO PROBLEM
01:03:01WITH YOUR RELIGION. WHY DON'T YOU LET ME HAVE MINE?
01:03:05AND THE REASON BEYOND IT JUST BEING A BRILLIANT SPEECH, IT'S
01:03:09SO POWERFUL TO ME IS BECAUSE THAT'S A PART OF AMERICAN
01:03:13IDENTITY TOO, THAT INDIGENOUS
01:03:16IDEA OF PLURALISM OF OF
01:03:21TRADITION, OF LINEAGE, THAT'S AS
01:03:24MUCH AMERICAN AS A WHITE
01:03:29CHRISTIAN FOUNDING FATHER, YOU
01:03:29KNOW, WHO MIGHT BE REVERED MUCH
01:03:35MORE THAN RED JACKET. AND THAT I TAKE THAT FROM THE
01:03:38BOOK THAT WE ARE THE SUM TOTAL
01:03:41OF ALL OF THESE PEOPLE AND ALL
01:03:43THE WORDS THAT THEY'VE SPOKEN,
01:03:46THE WORDS ENTER OUR NATIONAL
01:03:49SUBCONSCIOUS, WHICH IS WHY
01:03:51PEOPLE NEED TO CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THAT WORDS MATTER.
01:03:55BUT BEN RHODES, CONGRATULATIONS
01:03:56ON YOUR NEW BOOK.
01:04:04HERE'S A PORTION OF A RECENT PROGRAM ON BOOK TV.
01:04:08SO IN AMERICAN GRAMMAR, I ARGUE
01:04:10THAT US EDUCATION HAS BEEN A KEY
01:04:12SITE FOR THE RELATIONAL FORMATION OF RACE.
01:04:17THAT THROUGH THE 19TH ENTRY PROTOCOL, ALL OF US EDUCATION
01:04:21HAD DIFFERING EFFECTS ON THREE DIFFERENT RACIALIZED GROUPS
01:04:25BLACK NATIVE AND WHITE.
01:04:28THREE DISTINCT RACIALIZED EXPERIENCES AS BUT ALL
01:04:31INTIMATELY INTERTWINED AND THE
01:04:33POLITICAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATION.
01:04:37THE CRIMINALIZING OF BLACK EDUCATION IN THE EARLY REPUBLIC
01:04:41REINFORCED THE EXTRACTION OF LABOR AND VALUE FROM CAPTIVE
01:04:44AFRICAN BODIES. THE VIOLENT IMPOSITION OF US
01:04:48SPONSORED NATIVE EDUCATION WAS AN EXTENSION OF THE AMERICAN
01:04:52INDIAN WARS AND ULTIMATELY A MEANS FOR DISRUPTING TRIBAL
01:04:55CLAIMS TO LAND IN ORDER TO CLEAR
01:04:58A PATH FOR CONTINUAL NATIONAL EXPANSION.
01:05:00THE DEVELOPMENT OF WHITE COMMON SCHOOLING SOUGHT TO RECONCILE
01:05:06COMPETING INTERESTS AMONG DIVERSE EUROPEAN ETHNIC GROUPS,
01:05:09ALL TOWARDS SECURING THE FUTURE OF THE NEW REPUBLIC.
01:05:12THIS WAS DONE BY CRAFTING A
01:05:15SINGULAR NATIONAL IDENTITY, ONE THAT WAS ENGLISH SPEAKING WHITE
01:05:19AND PROTESTANT. SO AGAIN, AMERICAN GRAMMAR
01:05:24PRESENTS AN INTERPRETATION OF THESE SEEMINGLY PARALLEL RACIAL
01:05:28PROJECTS AS RELATIONAL AS HAVING INFORMED ONE ANOTHER.
01:05:32AND IN DOING SO, IT REVEALS HOW EVEN WHEN BLACK AND NATIVE
01:05:36PEOPLE WERE NOT PHYSICALLY IN THE COMMON SCHOOL CLASSROOM FOR
01:05:39WHITE STUDENTS, THEY WERE INTEGRAL TO ITS DEVELOPMENT.
01:05:43BECAUSE THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SUCH
01:05:45SCHOOLS EXTENDED DIRECTLY FROM
01:05:48THE SUBJUGATION OF BLACK AND
01:05:50NATIVE PEOPLE JUST AS RACIAL
01:05:54SLAVERY INFORMED MECHANISMS OF LAW AND POLICY PERTAINING TO
01:05:57BLACK EDUCATION.
01:05:59AND JUST AS SETTLER DESIRES FOR
01:06:01INDIGENOUS LANDS MOTIVATED THE
01:06:03DISTINCT EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES IMPOSED ON NATIVE
01:06:07COMMUNITIES. THESE STRUCTURAL MANIFESTATIONS OF BLACK AND NATIVE
01:06:12DISPOSSESSION ALSO SHAPED THE FORM AND FUNCTION OF WHITE
01:06:17EDUCATION. IN, FOR INSTANCE, AMERICAN
01:06:20GRAMMAR REVEALS HOW POLITICAL
01:06:22LEADERS SOLD UNCEDED NATIVE LAND
01:06:25TO GENERATE REVENUE TO ESTABLISH
01:06:27EARLY SCHOOL FUNDS ACROSS STATES IN THE NORTHEAST AND EVEN ACROSS
01:06:30THE SOUTH. AND IT TRACES HOW SUCH PRACTICE
01:06:34IS EMERGED AS THE PRIMARY METHOD FOR EXPANDED PUBLIC EDUCATION
01:06:38NATIONALLY. AFTER WHAT'S KNOWN AS THE LAND
01:06:42ORDINANCE OF 1785. THE BOOK ALSO CHARTS HOW THESE
01:06:45EARLY STATES LITERARY AND
01:06:48EDUCATIONAL FUNDS WERE THEN INVESTED IN BANKS WITH DIRECT
01:06:51LINKS TO THE SLAVE TRADE IN ORDER TO EXPAND RESOURCES FOR
01:06:55WHITE SCHOOLING AND IN OTHER INSTANCE, INSTANCES. THE BOOK SHAPES,