(crowd cheering) - So,
so what's fun sometimes is, um,
we're done taping now, so.
Um. (audience laughs)
Now we can say the real things.
- Now we can really talk.
- Now we can really get down. (Kamala laughs)
Now we can really get down.
I have one question, and then think of questions
that you have as well,
and then I'll come to you in the audience.
Please, like, this is someone who's running for president,
so don't be like, "What's your favorite color?"
Like, think of like, (audience laughs)
a real question, and then you'll get to ask it.
I have one question which is a silly one,
but it goes to what we spoke about earlier
in terms of like, what people consider a scandal
for everyone who's not Trump. - Yeah.
- You are on "The Breakfast Club",
and they ask you if you've ever smoked weed,
and you said, "Yes."
And then, someone said to you,
"Oh, what music were you listening to?"
Someone said, "What were you listening to
"when you were getting high?"
Everyone asks you like, four questions
at the same time. - Right, right.
- And they came out, and you said,
"I listen to Snoop, I listen to Cardi B, I listen to Tupac,"
and then like, Fox News and stuff came out
and they were like, "There was no Tupac
"when you were in college." - Yeah, right.
It was crazy.
It was literally, my communications team said to me,
"There's this thing that's going on out there
"that has happened."
And I thought they were joking.
I literally thought they were joking.
I don't, listen, I don't know, are people just bored?
Or do they not understand complex issues
and so they have to be distracted by those
that really have no difference in the lives of other people?
- I genuinely think it's that people have gotten used to it.
I think, unlike Trump, because "regular" politicians,
as in normal people, don't have the scandals that he does,
you don't have a porn star, so.
- Right. (audience laughs)
- We have to focus on Tupac. - Right.
- My part of that, the scandal for me was,
how were you listening to Tupac
and enjoying him as a prosecutor?
Because he said some things about prosecutors in his songs.
I was like, "Damn."
Were you never like, personally,
offended by any of that? - No, of course not.
- No? - Tupac, no!
I mean it, I mean,
Tupac also sang about the love of a mother.
Remember that? - That's true, that's true.
"Dear Mama". - I mean, "Dear Mama",
right? - Mm-hmm, that's true.
- I mean, she would be, you know,
she loved him. - Right.
- And so, that was the range of Tupac, and Tupac also had
his Bay Area connection. (audience cheers)
And so there was a pride that was associated with that,
but, Tupac was prolific, he really was.
And he died far too young.
I mean, you know, he, it would be interesting to see
where that whole genre went had he lived longer.
- Huh, that's interesting. - Because was so smart
in the way that he understood politics,
social justice issues, you know,
and if you know his background, I mean,
his family was active before. - Yes, yes.
- So, he actually was speaking to large numbers of people
with a historical context,
and some idea about where we should be, but also,
really, well-articulate about the social injustice
that was happening at that moment, which included
the war on drugs. - Right.
- Which included what was going on in terms of
massive incarceration of young black men in particular,
and he spoke to that. - He really did.
- And he was right.
- Now, I'm imaginging Tupac just like, around today as like,
a businessman. (laughs) (audience laughs)
- I mean, it'd be interesting,
right? - It'd be interesting.
No, 'cause a lot of them have been very like, you know,
I mean, you look at how rap has changed and evolved.
You know?
Just picture Tupac just like, in the boardroom.
Just being like. (audience laughs)
- Well, you know.
I mean, everybody. - And all my shareholders
and my plan is to pay you back.
(Kamala laughs)
You guys think about your questions?
What do we have? - "Dear Mama".
- You were jumping up there.
You were jumping up hard.
- Hi.
Right.
Yeah.
So, that's an interesting point.
Here's how I would, how I think about it.
First of all, especially to your point in this moment
where we have such powerful voices
that are trying to sow hate and division among us,
I think it's really important that we reject that.
And we reject it in a way that also speaks the truth,
which is that the vast majority of us
have so much more in common than what separates us.
And I know that to be true,
and the way that I think of it and I talk of it,
wherever I go, whatever the demographic
of the group I'm speaking with, is this.
I talk about it in the context of
the middle of the night thought.
Some people call it the three in the morning thought.
Other people call the witching hour, you know?
In the middle of the night, when you wake up,
with that thought that's been weighing on you,
sometimes you wake up in a cold sweat.
- That's when Trump tweets.
- Well. (audience laughs)
Right, and so, for that reason, some of us wake up just.
(Trevor laughs) Right, exactly.
Panicked.
But for the vast majority of us,
when we wake up in the middle of the night
with that thought,
one, it is never through the lens of the party
which we are registered to vote.
It is never through the lens of some demographic
a pollster put us in.
And for the vast majority of us,
when we wake up thinking that thought,
it has to do with one of just a very few things:
our personal health, the health of our children,
our parents.
Can I get a good job, keep a job,
pay the bills by the end of the month, retire with dignity?
The vast majority, or students,
can I pay those student loans?
So many families in America, can I help my relative
get off of the opioids that have addicted them?
The vast majority of us have so much more in common
than what separates us,
and so part of how we get to that place
is we start with that as our premise, and really know it
in our heart, in our mind, in our soul,
and then go from there.
And it's gonna be about unifying the country
around the commonalities that we have.
There are certain people who will never,
that be able to take with on any extreme spectrum, right?
But, I'll tell you, as another kind of story
about the campaign trail.
Yesterday, I was in New Hampshire.
And when I was there, the reporters,
the first line of questioning I got was,
"You're in New Hampshire.
"We heard you're not gonna come to New Hampshire.
"We thought you weren't gonna try and compete
"in New Hampshire."
And what no one said, but the inference was,
well, the demographic of New Hampshire
is not who you are in terms of your race
and who you are in terms.
And I was like, "No, I am competing in New Hampshire.
"I'm gonna be here."
And I'm gonna tell you something
to the point of the universality
and the commonality of the message.
I got to New Hampshire, Trevor,
there was a line around the block.
There were 1500 people who showed up for our event.
- You had an overflow, we saw that, yeah.
- But, but,
and what that tells me, it reinforces for me,
the commonality.
That the demographics don't matter.
When it comes down to it, it is going to be about that,
when we're waking up in the middle of the night,
or at that kitchen table, you know, after dinner,
trying to pay the bills and get through the week,
the biggest issues that concern us are the same issues.
And that is not to say that we also should not talk about
and don't need to deal with the issue of race in America,
the issue of sexism, homophobia, transphobia,
anti-Semitism, because those all are real too.
And if nobody was clear about that,
then Charlottesville and the Tree of Life Synagogue
and Mother Emmanuel Church should make it clear to everybody
that we still have a lot of work to do
on those issues as well.
But I find that most people,
regardless of their demographic,
want to have that conversation and are willing to have
that conversation in our country right now.
(audience applauds) - Let me, um,
let's take one from this side.
(audience applauds)
Yes, sir?
- Yup.
Path, and a path.
(audience applauds) - Oh, geez.
That's a great question
- Right. (audience applauds)
Right.
(audience applauds)
So, first of all, Jesus, thank you for your courage
to speak up and speak out
at this moment at to do what you're doing.
(audience applauds)
'Cause that's really important.
(audience applauds)
And I think part of how we will get to the place
that we need to be, but also the place we're going to get,
history is gonna show that
there are a bunch of people right now
who are on the wrong side of history
on this issue of immigration.
The reality is that we are a nation of immigrants.
It has been a source of our strength,
and part of the way that we do it,
is that we have a plan, and we stick to the plan.
But we, congress has not passed a bill
around comprehensive immigration reform,
and by every indication, this president won't sign it.
The way we get there is we have to pass
comprehensive immigration reform.
We have to put in place the rules that are consistent
and equally applied to everyone,
around how people get on the path towards citizenship.
How people apply, what are the qualifications?
As you know, this is also not,
the immigrant population coming to the United States
is not a monolith.
There are people who come with H1-B visas.
There are people who are DACA like yourself,
young people who, you still have to qualify for DACA.
You went through a process, and you passed that process.
That's why you got the DACA coverage.
And we have to keep our promises.
Part of the failure of our system right now
is that this administration is not keeping America's promise
to you as a DACA student or a DACA young person,
and we're not keeping our promise to who we are as a nation
by having a meaningful path for citizenship
or on comprehensive immigration reform.
But, we have to do is congress has to act
and the president has to sign the bill.
- I'll ask you one question to that before you leave.
There was a time when the negotiation landed in and around
the wall in exchange for DACA.
And it was, give us this one time payment,
and we will give you DACA in exchange.
You were one of the three senators, I think,
who voted against that. - Yes.
- Some would say, Senator Harris,
why wouldn't you give Trump his wall
in exchange for all of these people to receive the DACA
and to stay in the United States?
- Because I did not agree with holding these kids ransom.
- There you go! (audience applauds and cheers)
- And that's what that was.
That's what that was.
(audience applauds)
Period.
We made a promise to these kids.
He can tell you in a longer conversation
how he went through a process of answering
a multitude of questions
about the circumstances of his arrival,
about what kind of life he is living right now.
Is he living a productive life?
Has he ever committed a crime?
They went through a whole series,
and when they vetted and passed,
we told them that they would receive protection,
and one of the most important aspects of what we told them,
is we told them if you answer these questions to qualify,
we will not share that information with ICE.
We will not deport you.
That's what we told these young people.
And now, this administration
is prepared to break that promise
and share that information with ICE.
That is wrong, and I'm not gonna support that.
I'm not gonna support that,
and that's why I voted against it.
(audience applauds)
(upbeat music)