December 21, 2021 • 21 mins
Charlamagne sits down one-on-one with the first female, Black and Indian-American vice president, Kamala Harris.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back to the God's Honest Truth. I'm very pleased
to have joining me for God's Honest Conversation the Vice
President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, be
with you. My first question is a question that after
the pandemic, when I ask, I expect the real answer, Okay,
you ready, how are you? Oh? Thank you for that,
(00:24):
and I know you're really being it. I am well,
I am well, I am blessed. You know, there is
um a lot of good that we can and have done,
and and I feel energized about continuing to get the
work done. So thank you and my family as well.
And that's all I could hope for. So thank you
for asking let's talk about some of that work, because
(00:44):
you know it's it's it's people like me that that
were motivated the vote for you, and we feel as
if you've disappeared, if not disappeared, been silenced. Is that
the case? Not at all? I mean, even this week,
there were two things that I'm actually more than app
that I'm extremely proud of that has been the product
of months and months of work. One something you and
(01:06):
I have discussed before, the issue of maternal health. So
I brought the issue of maternal health to the front
stage of the White House for the first time, talking
about what you and I have talked about that Black
women are three or four times more likely to die
in connection with childbirth, Native women twice as likely to die,
rural women more likely, And we talked about it in
(01:30):
terms of, look, this is an issue that needs to
be addressed, both in terms of the racial bias in
the medical health profession, but also we need to address
it in terms of the fact that after a woman
gives birth to another human being, it's it's not it's
not right to say she's only going to get sixty
days of coverage through Medicaid for what she might need
(01:50):
in terms of postpartum treatment, whether it be depression or
just exams. So we're saying, let's extend it for a year.
Um dealing with an issue that uniquely affects Black women, ybroids.
You know, we don't talk about this stuff publicly, but
black women know that it is a real issue in
terms of their health and their life. So we're bringing
that to the public stage. And this has been the
(02:11):
product of work I've been doing for many years, even
before I got to the White House, but bringing it
to the stage another issue. I just did an event
yesterday about lead pipes. We'll look at the issue of
lead pipes. What we know is that especially our children
who are in public housing, in public schools, are more
likely to be exposed to lead in painting and pipes.
(02:31):
And so we've put through our Infrastructureville a lot of
resources into saying, let's clean up those pipes, let's save
the health of our children. And why because I've met
mothers and fathers all over the country, from Michigan to Ohio,
all over the country who talked about the fact that
when they turn on that tap, they are afraid that
when they feel that glass of water, they may be
(02:54):
filling it with poison. And so we're dealing with that
because you know why, for our children, half of children
under the age of six Charlemagne in America are exposed
or are at threat of being exposed to let that
can stunt their growth. It could have permanent damage in
terms of their mental capacity to to to be educated
(03:16):
and literally create brain damage in some cases. What else
have we done well? I've been working for a long
time on saying black folks need access to capital. Everybody
needs access to capital. In particular, when we looked at
the pandemic, how many of our small businesses could not
survive the pandemic because they did not have the kind
of financial support they need. So I just announced what
(03:39):
we are doing. That is about the twelve billion I
got from the Senate and extending that money to invest
in minority owned businesses, knowing that we have great entrepreneurs
in our community who just need access to capital and
need to stop being told that they're unbankable when in
fact they are brilliant and are doing great things in
(03:59):
the community. So these are some of the things, like
I could go on. I mean, one of the other
issues that I care deeply about is what we have
got to do in terms of public transit. I've been
working on the infrastructure law that we now have. You know,
black folks as commuters, as workers are four times more
likely than other workers to go to work on the
(04:19):
bus or on the train on public transit, and we
need to improve that. Again, I've been talking with folks
around the country. I know personally from having you know,
been a bus rider, that what you see is that
in underserved communities, folks are more likely to have to
transfer to get to to work because there aren't adequate
(04:40):
bus lines coming into their community. I know that when
you are five minutes or even two minutes late to
catch the bus in certain communities, you might have to
wait a whole hour for the next one to come through,
which means you're an hour late for work and might
maybe looking at a pay dock or maybe even losing
your job up. So these are big issues. They take
(05:01):
a lot of time, and I'm about saying, let's take
on the tough issues, but let's do the hard work,
which is not just about giving a speech, but it's
about actually getting the job done. Absolutely. You know, you know,
you get a lot of criticism, you know, more criticism
than any VP I've seen in recent memory. But there's
nothing you've done on your worst day as VP that
compares the you know, Mike Pinch's worst days VP. But
(05:23):
you seem to get crucified for every little thing in
the media. Why why do you think that is Well,
I appreciate you asking the question, but let me just
tell you something. I my focus is on the work
that we just just discussed. My focus is on, frankly,
going to I can't tell you how many places from
(05:44):
Chicago to Charlotte to Detroit, where fathers and mothers bring
their little girls and little boys up to me and
and they say, I want to meet Kamala Harris. And
then the parents shows me on their phone a picture
of their child watching the TV when I was sworn in. Right,
(06:07):
that's what I focus on in terms of my motivation
and my inspiration and verification of the importance of being
here and getting this work done. And that's that's where
I focus. Do you do you think the criticism comes
from you being a black woman, a woman of color.
I think that, you know, there is definitely a healthy
(06:28):
discussion that I will leave others to have about that.
But I'm going to be focused on the work and
I will not be distracted. It's okay to say, yes,
we see it. It's okay now. I know you wanted
to speak on the Build Back Better plan too, but
you know, it seems like once again sending the Joe
mentioned is stopping progress on that. Why well, look, build
(06:50):
back Better is something that the President and I care
deeply about. It was, you know, it was our original
idea um even when we were campaigning. It's about saying,
look if if, first of all, if the cost of
living is too expensive for too many people. It has
been this way even before the pandemic, and we need
(07:10):
to bring the cost of living down. So Build Back
Better is saying, let's bring the cost of child care
down that that working families, families shouldn't have to pay
one than seven percent of their income in in childcare.
We're saying prescription drugs are too expensive. We know you
and I know I have family members who have diabetes.
(07:31):
It's too expensive to pay for insulin, and insulin is
the only thing that can save a diabetics life, and
so we're saying, bring down the cost so that folks
wouldn't have to pay more than thirty five dollars a
month for their insulin. We're talking about elder care. So
many folks are raising their young children and taking care
of their parents, and it is impossible to take care
(07:54):
of their basic needs without having some assistance. And that
means bringing the cost down to people can afford to
live and and satisfy their basic needs and their responsibilities.
So we're gonna keep pushing, and we're in extensive talks
across the island with both folks in terms of Republicans
and Democrats. But we're not gonna give up on it
at all. But where is the pushback on Senator Joe Mansion.
(08:17):
Why is he allowed to constantly hold up president by
then agenda? I mean, look, here's the thing that you
that is an important fact which may sound technical, but
it really is an important fact we have. You know,
folks know we have the White House as Democrats, the
House and the Senate. In the House, we have as
(08:38):
Democrats a majority, I believe as of today it's by
three votes, um hundreds of people. In the Senate, where
there are a hundred senators, we are split fifty fifty
in terms of the Democrats are independents who caucus with
the Democrats and the Repulicans. And that makes me, as
the President of the Senate, the tie vote, every revote matters,
(09:01):
especially in the Senate, and we have to listen to
the voices who represent their districts, and so that's what
we do, and then we negotiate. Some people said we
would never get the infrastructure deal done, but we got
it done. Some people said we couldn't get the American
Rescue Plan done, which was checks for folks, where we
expanded the Child Tax Credit. A lot of the way
we did that was also informed by some previous work
(09:23):
I did to say, people have to pay parents have
to pay the bills every month, so let's get them
the child tax credit and payments every month so that
they can get through the month. We got that done.
Some people said it couldn't be done, but it takes negotiation,
and that's what we have to do. Sometimes it is frustrating.
Some people say, watching sausage getting made, you think that's difficult.
(09:43):
We'll watching a bill get made. It's frustrating, and sometimes
it's just not pretty. At what point do we, like,
you know, stop being politicians and just be real with
the American people, Madam wife President, because we know Joe
Manchin is ruining this country and stuff he's holding a
progress on are hurting people. They're hurting black people, in particular.
If Democrats allowed your mention to continue to do this,
(10:05):
how do you convince black people to come out and
continue to vote for y'all? He's holding up progress? We noticed, Hey, Charlemagne.
Here's the thing, though, I think it's a mistake to
try and and think about this only through the lens
of Democrats versus Democrats, when the fact is Republicans are
(10:26):
consistently and unanimously standing in the way of progress. It
is my recollection that not one voted for the American
Rescue Plan. It is it is my knowledge that we
couldn't get them to even agree, not one to debate
(10:47):
on what we were trying accept. Maybe Lisa Murkowski at
some different points to debate what we need to do
on voting couldn't get because of Republican opposition the George
Floyd Justice and Police Saying Act to get up for
a vote, something I helped write with Corey Booker. So
let's let's put the emphasis where it really needs to be,
(11:09):
which is, how is it that today, in this year
of our Lord in America, and on some basic issues
like upholding our democracy, we can't get bipartisan support and
therefore can't get it through. You go back to Reagan
and Bush. There were Republicans during those eras and even
before who voted to extend the Voting Rights Act, And
(11:32):
now we can't get anybody to stand up and say
this is about our democracy. Let me tell you something.
I start every single day reading the Presidential Daily Brief.
It's called the PDB. Often with the President in the
Oval office. What is in that is classified information about
threats to our national security and hotspots around the world.
(11:55):
I have had direct conversations with prime ministers and presidents
and a king, some of whom I have had over
to my home, and they are around the world saying,
what's going on with you in the United States, What's
going on with this voting situation? What's going on because
right now we are debating whether democracies actually can survive
(12:19):
or is autocracy better, which is basically one person or
one group telling everybody what they should do. This is
what's at stake right now for America. And you can
tell I'm a bit frustrated more than that actually that
people are making this into a partisan issue instead of
(12:39):
stepping up to say, save our democracy. And that means
stop messing with people's right to vote like they're doing
in Georgia and Texas and and this is so much
bigger and and and generational impacting. And people have got
to come together and they need to be held to account,
which is what you always do. We need to hold
(13:00):
people to account. And that was looking at the Republican Party.
I agree, I agree, Republicans of blocking progress. But when
I think about it, it's like we went out black people,
we voted, got Democrats in the White House, got Democrats
the Senate. But it seems like a Democrat Joe Mansion
is always blocking progress. Like if there's no hope in
making Joe change, like, why not say that so at
(13:21):
least we know who the problem is. Because I feel
like you get villainized the way I feel Senator Joe
Mansion ship me personally in the media. You get villainized
with silly things like earbuds when he's actually stopping progress.
Why not just to help people that we know who
the problem is. They're pointing the fingers that the wrong
people because because I'm telling you, I just I'm literally
(13:46):
the problem is we have right now in America a
party I'm not talking about all Republicans, but the Republican
Party that is drawing a line and and basically standing
in the way of what is in the best interest
of all the people. On the issue of voting, for example,
and I can't talk about this enough. On the issue
(14:07):
of voting, this is about everybody's right to vote. We're
not telling people who to vote for. And there's there's
there in places like Montana passing legislation to make it
difficult for students to vote, Native Americans to vote, Black
people to vote, Latinos to vote. It's happening all over,
and any American who takes the oath to uphold the
(14:30):
Constitution should agree. Run on your merits, don't try to
win because you you you manipulated the system to make
it difficult for certain people to vote. That's what's at
stake right now. And it's a mindset and it's a
it's a mindset um that that we really like if
(14:54):
we're gonna say what's to blame and then who is
doing that? I mean, let's not forget what happened on
January six. There was a mob that attempted a coup,
who that that that, with force and violence, took over
(15:14):
our nation's capital to prevent the declaration of an election
where the people have voted. These are the things that
are happening, and I just want to urge us to
really see where the attacks are coming and who is
who is doing the attacking so we can hold them
(15:35):
properly responsible what they're doing to harm all of us.
I agree you talked about a lot of the things
that you know, y'all done with the administration, but you
know it's a few things still left on the table. Okay,
what happened to that student loan money? What happened to
the ten dollars promised to the to the students with
(15:56):
student loan that? Why did they reneg on that? So
I know you had Secretary Cardona on recently and and
I'll tell you he is working to increase relief for
students and not. You know, look, I get it. I
get the issue that you're talking about. I I had,
I had student loans. I mean, look, it's right now.
We have so many people, tens of millions of people
(16:17):
in the United States who are dealing with student loan
debt and responsibilities, and it's standing in the way of
them being able to start a family or buy a home.
And it's real and we need to deal with it. Um.
You know, I remember I'm gonna date myself. But you
know I had that little coupon where I'd have to
pull out the coupon and and put in the number
(16:38):
and send a check with it every month, and and
that's real, that is real. You know, we need you
to be the superhero that saves democracy, Madam Vice President,
Like someone has to push back on the Republicans. Somebody
has to push back on Joe Manchin. That guy is
stopping progress. He's ruined the democracy. Are you willing to
be that superhero? Because what scares me is if vote
(17:00):
rights don't pass, or to build back better plan doesn't pass,
or police reform doesn't pass, I doubt you're going to
get black people to go out there and vote in
and you know Trump will be president again. What's the
plan for all of that? Well, I couldn't agree with
you more on the seriousness of these issues and and
(17:20):
and how people take these issues seriously. And so we're
gonna have to keep fighting on voting rights. We need
to pass the John Lois Voting Rights Advancement Act, we
need to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, and be
relentless about pushing for that, which is what we have
been doing and what I certainly am going to keep doing.
We need to keep pushing for what we got to
(17:41):
do to to to really reform the system that we
know needs to be reformed with the George Floyd Justice
and Policing Act. But you know, again, Republicans stood in
the way to get that done. So what did we
do well? Through the Department of Justice, we banned choke
holes and coated holes. We said that at law enforcement
at the federal level, where we have the power to
(18:03):
do it without Congress, that they have to wear body
cameras when they're serving warrants. We put in place investigations
of police departments that are active investigations right now. We
are supporting consent decrees. So we are doing those things
in the face of Republican opposition. But we cannot give up.
None of us can. And and and the reality is
(18:25):
because the issues are too seriously impact everybody every day.
And I agree with you, they're very serious. Who's the
superhero that's gonna speak against Joe Mansion? I want to
know who the real president of this country is? It?
Is it Joe Biden and Joe Mansion? It's far she
(18:47):
can hear me? Can They're acting like they can't hear me.
I can hear you. So who's the real So who's
the real president of this country? Is that Joe mentioned
that Joe Biden commercial. It's Joe No, no, no, no,
(19:08):
it's Joe Biden. It's Joe Biden. And don't start talking
like a Republican about asking whether or not he's president.
It's Joe Biden, do joba, and it's Joba, and it's
Joe Biden, and I'm Vice president. My name is Kamala Harris.
And the reality is, because we are in office, we
(19:31):
do the things like the Child Tax Credit, which is
going to reduce black child poverty by fifty percent on
track to do that. We do things that are about
saying that our Department of Justice is going to do
these investigations and require that we end choke holes and
have body cameras. It is the work of saying we're
(19:54):
gonna get let out of pipes and paint because our
babies are suffering because of that. It is the work
of saying, people who ride public transit deserve the same
kind of dignity that anybody else does, so let's improve
that system. It is the work of saying that we
have got to bring down prescription drug costs because folks
(20:16):
who have diabetes should not be dying because they don't
have enough money in their pocket. It's about saying Black
maternal mortality is a real issue that must be treated
by everybody, including the White House, as a serious issue. Okay,
so let's I I hear the frustration, but let's not
(20:36):
deny the impact that we've had and agree also that
there is a whole lot more work to be done,
and it is not easy to do, but we will
not give up, and I will not give up. I
just want you to know that that that Madam Vice President,
that d Kamala has, that's the one I like. That's
the one that was putting the pressure on people and
Senate hearings. That's the one I'd like to see more
(20:58):
often out here in these streets. Thank you for joining us,
Madam Vice President. I'm glad to be with you. I'm
glad you appreciate you. Give Maya my love to in
dog alright, you take care, give your family my love.
I want to see those babies absolutely. Thank you. All Right, Okay,
we've got more to God's on his truth in just
a minute.
Welcome back to the God's Honest Truth. I'm very pleased
to have joining me for God's Honest Conversation the Vice
President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, be
with you. My first question is a question that after
the pandemic, when I ask, I expect the real answer, Okay,
you ready, how are you? Oh? Thank you for that,
(00:24):
and I know you're really being it. I am well,
I am well, I am blessed. You know, there is
um a lot of good that we can and have done,
and and I feel energized about continuing to get the
work done. So thank you and my family as well.
And that's all I could hope for. So thank you
for asking let's talk about some of that work, because
(00:44):
you know it's it's it's people like me that that
were motivated the vote for you, and we feel as
if you've disappeared, if not disappeared, been silenced. Is that
the case? Not at all? I mean, even this week,
there were two things that I'm actually more than app
that I'm extremely proud of that has been the product
of months and months of work. One something you and
(01:06):
I have discussed before, the issue of maternal health. So
I brought the issue of maternal health to the front
stage of the White House for the first time, talking
about what you and I have talked about that Black
women are three or four times more likely to die
in connection with childbirth, Native women twice as likely to die,
rural women more likely, And we talked about it in
(01:30):
terms of, look, this is an issue that needs to
be addressed, both in terms of the racial bias in
the medical health profession, but also we need to address
it in terms of the fact that after a woman
gives birth to another human being, it's it's not it's
not right to say she's only going to get sixty
days of coverage through Medicaid for what she might need
(01:50):
in terms of postpartum treatment, whether it be depression or
just exams. So we're saying, let's extend it for a year.
Um dealing with an issue that uniquely affects Black women, ybroids.
You know, we don't talk about this stuff publicly, but
black women know that it is a real issue in
terms of their health and their life. So we're bringing
that to the public stage. And this has been the
(02:11):
product of work I've been doing for many years, even
before I got to the White House, but bringing it
to the stage another issue. I just did an event
yesterday about lead pipes. We'll look at the issue of
lead pipes. What we know is that especially our children
who are in public housing, in public schools, are more
likely to be exposed to lead in painting and pipes.
(02:31):
And so we've put through our Infrastructureville a lot of
resources into saying, let's clean up those pipes, let's save
the health of our children. And why because I've met
mothers and fathers all over the country, from Michigan to Ohio,
all over the country who talked about the fact that
when they turn on that tap, they are afraid that
when they feel that glass of water, they may be
(02:54):
filling it with poison. And so we're dealing with that
because you know why, for our children, half of children
under the age of six Charlemagne in America are exposed
or are at threat of being exposed to let that
can stunt their growth. It could have permanent damage in
terms of their mental capacity to to to be educated
(03:16):
and literally create brain damage in some cases. What else
have we done well? I've been working for a long
time on saying black folks need access to capital. Everybody
needs access to capital. In particular, when we looked at
the pandemic, how many of our small businesses could not
survive the pandemic because they did not have the kind
of financial support they need. So I just announced what
(03:39):
we are doing. That is about the twelve billion I
got from the Senate and extending that money to invest
in minority owned businesses, knowing that we have great entrepreneurs
in our community who just need access to capital and
need to stop being told that they're unbankable when in
fact they are brilliant and are doing great things in
(03:59):
the community. So these are some of the things, like
I could go on. I mean, one of the other
issues that I care deeply about is what we have
got to do in terms of public transit. I've been
working on the infrastructure law that we now have. You know,
black folks as commuters, as workers are four times more
likely than other workers to go to work on the
(04:19):
bus or on the train on public transit, and we
need to improve that. Again, I've been talking with folks
around the country. I know personally from having you know,
been a bus rider, that what you see is that
in underserved communities, folks are more likely to have to
transfer to get to to work because there aren't adequate
(04:40):
bus lines coming into their community. I know that when
you are five minutes or even two minutes late to
catch the bus in certain communities, you might have to
wait a whole hour for the next one to come through,
which means you're an hour late for work and might
maybe looking at a pay dock or maybe even losing
your job up. So these are big issues. They take
(05:01):
a lot of time, and I'm about saying, let's take
on the tough issues, but let's do the hard work,
which is not just about giving a speech, but it's
about actually getting the job done. Absolutely. You know, you know,
you get a lot of criticism, you know, more criticism
than any VP I've seen in recent memory. But there's
nothing you've done on your worst day as VP that
compares the you know, Mike Pinch's worst days VP. But
(05:23):
you seem to get crucified for every little thing in
the media. Why why do you think that is Well,
I appreciate you asking the question, but let me just
tell you something. I my focus is on the work
that we just just discussed. My focus is on, frankly,
going to I can't tell you how many places from
(05:44):
Chicago to Charlotte to Detroit, where fathers and mothers bring
their little girls and little boys up to me and
and they say, I want to meet Kamala Harris. And
then the parents shows me on their phone a picture
of their child watching the TV when I was sworn in. Right,
(06:07):
that's what I focus on in terms of my motivation
and my inspiration and verification of the importance of being
here and getting this work done. And that's that's where
I focus. Do you do you think the criticism comes
from you being a black woman, a woman of color.
I think that, you know, there is definitely a healthy
(06:28):
discussion that I will leave others to have about that.
But I'm going to be focused on the work and
I will not be distracted. It's okay to say, yes,
we see it. It's okay now. I know you wanted
to speak on the Build Back Better plan too, but
you know, it seems like once again sending the Joe
mentioned is stopping progress on that. Why well, look, build
(06:50):
back Better is something that the President and I care
deeply about. It was, you know, it was our original
idea um even when we were campaigning. It's about saying,
look if if, first of all, if the cost of
living is too expensive for too many people. It has
been this way even before the pandemic, and we need
(07:10):
to bring the cost of living down. So Build Back
Better is saying, let's bring the cost of child care
down that that working families, families shouldn't have to pay
one than seven percent of their income in in childcare.
We're saying prescription drugs are too expensive. We know you
and I know I have family members who have diabetes.
(07:31):
It's too expensive to pay for insulin, and insulin is
the only thing that can save a diabetics life, and
so we're saying, bring down the cost so that folks
wouldn't have to pay more than thirty five dollars a
month for their insulin. We're talking about elder care. So
many folks are raising their young children and taking care
of their parents, and it is impossible to take care
(07:54):
of their basic needs without having some assistance. And that
means bringing the cost down to people can afford to
live and and satisfy their basic needs and their responsibilities.
So we're gonna keep pushing, and we're in extensive talks
across the island with both folks in terms of Republicans
and Democrats. But we're not gonna give up on it
at all. But where is the pushback on Senator Joe Mansion.
(08:17):
Why is he allowed to constantly hold up president by
then agenda? I mean, look, here's the thing that you
that is an important fact which may sound technical, but
it really is an important fact we have. You know,
folks know we have the White House as Democrats, the
House and the Senate. In the House, we have as
(08:38):
Democrats a majority, I believe as of today it's by
three votes, um hundreds of people. In the Senate, where
there are a hundred senators, we are split fifty fifty
in terms of the Democrats are independents who caucus with
the Democrats and the Repulicans. And that makes me, as
the President of the Senate, the tie vote, every revote matters,
(09:01):
especially in the Senate, and we have to listen to
the voices who represent their districts, and so that's what
we do, and then we negotiate. Some people said we
would never get the infrastructure deal done, but we got
it done. Some people said we couldn't get the American
Rescue Plan done, which was checks for folks, where we
expanded the Child Tax Credit. A lot of the way
we did that was also informed by some previous work
(09:23):
I did to say, people have to pay parents have
to pay the bills every month, so let's get them
the child tax credit and payments every month so that
they can get through the month. We got that done.
Some people said it couldn't be done, but it takes negotiation,
and that's what we have to do. Sometimes it is frustrating.
Some people say, watching sausage getting made, you think that's difficult.
(09:43):
We'll watching a bill get made. It's frustrating, and sometimes
it's just not pretty. At what point do we, like,
you know, stop being politicians and just be real with
the American people, Madam wife President, because we know Joe
Manchin is ruining this country and stuff he's holding a
progress on are hurting people. They're hurting black people, in particular.
If Democrats allowed your mention to continue to do this,
(10:05):
how do you convince black people to come out and
continue to vote for y'all? He's holding up progress? We noticed, Hey, Charlemagne.
Here's the thing, though, I think it's a mistake to
try and and think about this only through the lens
of Democrats versus Democrats, when the fact is Republicans are
(10:26):
consistently and unanimously standing in the way of progress. It
is my recollection that not one voted for the American
Rescue Plan. It is it is my knowledge that we
couldn't get them to even agree, not one to debate
(10:47):
on what we were trying accept. Maybe Lisa Murkowski at
some different points to debate what we need to do
on voting couldn't get because of Republican opposition the George
Floyd Justice and Police Saying Act to get up for
a vote, something I helped write with Corey Booker. So
let's let's put the emphasis where it really needs to be,
(11:09):
which is, how is it that today, in this year
of our Lord in America, and on some basic issues
like upholding our democracy, we can't get bipartisan support and
therefore can't get it through. You go back to Reagan
and Bush. There were Republicans during those eras and even
before who voted to extend the Voting Rights Act, And
(11:32):
now we can't get anybody to stand up and say
this is about our democracy. Let me tell you something.
I start every single day reading the Presidential Daily Brief.
It's called the PDB. Often with the President in the
Oval office. What is in that is classified information about
threats to our national security and hotspots around the world.
(11:55):
I have had direct conversations with prime ministers and presidents
and a king, some of whom I have had over
to my home, and they are around the world saying,
what's going on with you in the United States, What's
going on with this voting situation? What's going on because
right now we are debating whether democracies actually can survive
(12:19):
or is autocracy better, which is basically one person or
one group telling everybody what they should do. This is
what's at stake right now for America. And you can
tell I'm a bit frustrated more than that actually that
people are making this into a partisan issue instead of
(12:39):
stepping up to say, save our democracy. And that means
stop messing with people's right to vote like they're doing
in Georgia and Texas and and this is so much
bigger and and and generational impacting. And people have got
to come together and they need to be held to account,
which is what you always do. We need to hold
(13:00):
people to account. And that was looking at the Republican Party.
I agree, I agree, Republicans of blocking progress. But when
I think about it, it's like we went out black people,
we voted, got Democrats in the White House, got Democrats
the Senate. But it seems like a Democrat Joe Mansion
is always blocking progress. Like if there's no hope in
making Joe change, like, why not say that so at
(13:21):
least we know who the problem is. Because I feel
like you get villainized the way I feel Senator Joe
Mansion ship me personally in the media. You get villainized
with silly things like earbuds when he's actually stopping progress.
Why not just to help people that we know who
the problem is. They're pointing the fingers that the wrong
people because because I'm telling you, I just I'm literally
(13:46):
the problem is we have right now in America a
party I'm not talking about all Republicans, but the Republican
Party that is drawing a line and and basically standing
in the way of what is in the best interest
of all the people. On the issue of voting, for example,
and I can't talk about this enough. On the issue
(14:07):
of voting, this is about everybody's right to vote. We're
not telling people who to vote for. And there's there's
there in places like Montana passing legislation to make it
difficult for students to vote, Native Americans to vote, Black
people to vote, Latinos to vote. It's happening all over,
and any American who takes the oath to uphold the
(14:30):
Constitution should agree. Run on your merits, don't try to
win because you you you manipulated the system to make
it difficult for certain people to vote. That's what's at
stake right now. And it's a mindset and it's a
it's a mindset um that that we really like if
(14:54):
we're gonna say what's to blame and then who is
doing that? I mean, let's not forget what happened on
January six. There was a mob that attempted a coup,
who that that that, with force and violence, took over
(15:14):
our nation's capital to prevent the declaration of an election
where the people have voted. These are the things that
are happening, and I just want to urge us to
really see where the attacks are coming and who is
who is doing the attacking so we can hold them
(15:35):
properly responsible what they're doing to harm all of us.
I agree you talked about a lot of the things
that you know, y'all done with the administration, but you
know it's a few things still left on the table. Okay,
what happened to that student loan money? What happened to
the ten dollars promised to the to the students with
(15:56):
student loan that? Why did they reneg on that? So
I know you had Secretary Cardona on recently and and
I'll tell you he is working to increase relief for
students and not. You know, look, I get it. I
get the issue that you're talking about. I I had,
I had student loans. I mean, look, it's right now.
We have so many people, tens of millions of people
(16:17):
in the United States who are dealing with student loan
debt and responsibilities, and it's standing in the way of
them being able to start a family or buy a home.
And it's real and we need to deal with it. Um.
You know, I remember I'm gonna date myself. But you
know I had that little coupon where I'd have to
pull out the coupon and and put in the number
(16:38):
and send a check with it every month, and and
that's real, that is real. You know, we need you
to be the superhero that saves democracy, Madam Vice President,
Like someone has to push back on the Republicans. Somebody
has to push back on Joe Manchin. That guy is
stopping progress. He's ruined the democracy. Are you willing to
be that superhero? Because what scares me is if vote
(17:00):
rights don't pass, or to build back better plan doesn't pass,
or police reform doesn't pass, I doubt you're going to
get black people to go out there and vote in
and you know Trump will be president again. What's the
plan for all of that? Well, I couldn't agree with
you more on the seriousness of these issues and and
(17:20):
and how people take these issues seriously. And so we're
gonna have to keep fighting on voting rights. We need
to pass the John Lois Voting Rights Advancement Act, we
need to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, and be
relentless about pushing for that, which is what we have
been doing and what I certainly am going to keep doing.
We need to keep pushing for what we got to
(17:41):
do to to to really reform the system that we
know needs to be reformed with the George Floyd Justice
and Policing Act. But you know, again, Republicans stood in
the way to get that done. So what did we
do well? Through the Department of Justice, we banned choke
holes and coated holes. We said that at law enforcement
at the federal level, where we have the power to
(18:03):
do it without Congress, that they have to wear body
cameras when they're serving warrants. We put in place investigations
of police departments that are active investigations right now. We
are supporting consent decrees. So we are doing those things
in the face of Republican opposition. But we cannot give up.
None of us can. And and and the reality is
(18:25):
because the issues are too seriously impact everybody every day.
And I agree with you, they're very serious. Who's the
superhero that's gonna speak against Joe Mansion? I want to
know who the real president of this country is? It?
Is it Joe Biden and Joe Mansion? It's far she
(18:47):
can hear me? Can They're acting like they can't hear me.
I can hear you. So who's the real So who's
the real president of this country? Is that Joe mentioned
that Joe Biden commercial. It's Joe No, no, no, no,
(19:08):
it's Joe Biden. It's Joe Biden. And don't start talking
like a Republican about asking whether or not he's president.
It's Joe Biden, do joba, and it's Joba, and it's
Joe Biden, and I'm Vice president. My name is Kamala Harris.
And the reality is, because we are in office, we
(19:31):
do the things like the Child Tax Credit, which is
going to reduce black child poverty by fifty percent on
track to do that. We do things that are about
saying that our Department of Justice is going to do
these investigations and require that we end choke holes and
have body cameras. It is the work of saying we're
(19:54):
gonna get let out of pipes and paint because our
babies are suffering because of that. It is the work
of saying, people who ride public transit deserve the same
kind of dignity that anybody else does, so let's improve
that system. It is the work of saying that we
have got to bring down prescription drug costs because folks
(20:16):
who have diabetes should not be dying because they don't
have enough money in their pocket. It's about saying Black
maternal mortality is a real issue that must be treated
by everybody, including the White House, as a serious issue. Okay,
so let's I I hear the frustration, but let's not
(20:36):
deny the impact that we've had and agree also that
there is a whole lot more work to be done,
and it is not easy to do, but we will
not give up, and I will not give up. I
just want you to know that that that Madam Vice President,
that d Kamala has, that's the one I like. That's
the one that was putting the pressure on people and
Senate hearings. That's the one I'd like to see more
(20:58):
often out here in these streets. Thank you for joining us,
Madam Vice President. I'm glad to be with you. I'm
glad you appreciate you. Give Maya my love to in
dog alright, you take care, give your family my love.
I want to see those babies absolutely. Thank you. All Right, Okay,
we've got more to God's on his truth in just
a minute.
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