TIME BEFORE THE DEBATE TO GET INTO THIS RACE.
>> ALL RIGHT, MIKE MEMOLI, ALI,
THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US.
WITH NEW POLLS SHOWING KAMALA
HARRIS SURGING, AND WITH THE
ONLINE BIRTHER-STYLE ATTACK, I
AM JOINED BY THE NATIONAL PRESS
SECRETARY FOR KAMALA HARRIS’
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, IAN,
THANK YOU FOR TAKING A FEW
MINUTES.
MINUTES. LET ME ASK YOU THIS.
JUST LOOKING AT THOSE
ELECTABILITY NUMBERS WE JUST PUT
UP THERE, THERE WAS ONE THEORY
OF KAMALA HARRIS IN THAT ATTACK
ON JOE BIDEN ON THE DEBATE STAGE
THE OTHER NIGHT THAT, IN PART,
SHE WAS TRYING TO SHOW
DEMOCRATIC VOTERS THAT SHE IS
CAPABLE OF LEADING AN ATTACK ON
DONALD TRUMP.
DONALD TRUMP. LET ME SHOW YOU HOW IT’S DONE
AGAINST JOE BIDEN.
THIS IS HOW IT WILL WORK AGAINST
DONALD TRUMP.
DONALD TRUMP. IS THAT PART OF THE THINKING
THERE?
THERE? >> I THINK WHAT SHE DID ON THAT
DEBATE STAGE SHOWED THAT SHE WAS
THE LEADER ON THE STAGE.
IT WASN’T JUST THE EXCHANGE WITH
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN.
SHE ROSE ABOVE THE FRAY AND
SAID, LOOK, FOLKS, OUR VOTERS
DON’T WANT A FOOD FIGHT, THEY
WANT US TO TALK ABOUT HOW TO PUT
FOOD ON THE TABLE.
SO WHAT SHE DID IN THAT -- ON
THAT STAGE WAS COMMAND AND TO
SHOW THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHAT’S
MOTIVATING HER, TELL HER
PERSONAL STORY, AND CONNECT HER
STORY AND THE STORIES OF VOTERS
WITH THE AGENDA THAT SHE’S GOING
TO PUSH.
TO PUSH. SO I THINK THAT THE POLL THAT
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT
TODAY THAT SHOWS THIS RISE IN
ELECTABILITY IS CUTTING AGAINST
THIS REALLY PERNICIOUS NARRATIVE
THAT LARGELY UNFORTUNATELY
AFFECTS WOMEN IN THIS RACE THAT
SOMEHOW YOU HAVE TO LOOK OR
SOUND A CERTAIN WAY OR BE AND
COMPETITIVE IN A CERTAIN PLACE
TO BE ELECTABILITY.
BUT WHAT THURSDAY NIGHT SHOWED
IS ANYBODY CAN BE ELECTABLE.
ALL YOU’VE GOT TO DO IS EARN IT.
>> THE POLL SHOWED HARRIS’
ELECTABILITY SCORE IS RISING,
BIDEN’S POTENTIALLY AS A
CONSEQUENCE OF THAT EXCHANGE HAS
DROPPED.
DROPPED. AND A NUMBER OF DEMOCRATS SAYING
HE IS CAPABLE OF BEATING DONALD
TRUMP.
TRUMP. DO YOU THINK JOE BIDEN’S CAPABLE
OF BEATING TRUMP?
>> WELL, LOOK.
I THINK THAT THE POLLING SO FAR
HAS SHOWN THAT DEMOCRATS ARE
WELL POSITIONED GOING INTO THIS
ELECTION.
ELECTION. I THINK WHAT PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND
I WHO FOLLOW THE INS AND OUTS OF
THIS EVERY DAY IS THERE WAS A
HELPFUL AP POLL THAT SHOWED LAST
WEEK THAT 22% OF PEOPLE KNOW A
LOT ABOUT THE CANDIDATES’
POSITIONS.
POSITIONS. TWO-THIRDS OF PEOPLE AREN’T
PAYING MUCH ATTENTION TO THIS
RACE AND I THINK THAT PLAYS BIG
INTO HOW THE NUMBERS ARE MOVING
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. THIS IS A DEBATE THAT 18 MILLION
PEOPLE TUNED IN TO WATCH.
ONLY 30 MILLION PEOPLE VOTED IN
THE ENTIRE 2016 DEMOCRATIC
PRIMARY.
PRIMARY. AND SO THIS IS A MOMENT WHERE
CANDIDATES ARE INTRODUCING
THEMSELVES.
THEMSELVES. OBVIOUSLY, PEOPLE LIKE VICE
PRESIDENT BIDEN AND SENATOR
SANDERS WHO’VE RUN FOR PRESIDENT
BEFORE AND HAVE HIGH NAME ID
ACROSS THE COUNTRY, FOLKS TEND
TO HAVE OPINION OF THEM.
BUT WHAT WE’RE SEEING NOW IS
PEOPLE LIKE KAMALA HARRIS
INTRODUCING HERSELF TO VOTERS
FOR THE FIRST TIME.
AND ON THAT STAGE THAT’S EXACTLY
WHAT SHE DID.
>> THE ISSUE BEHIND THAT
EXCHANGE SHE HAD WITH THE FORMER
VICE PRESIDENT ON STAGE, IT WAS
BUSING, AND IT BROUGHT BACK THE
POLITICS OF THE 1970s, THE 1980s
IN A LOT OF WAYS.
AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT
EMERGED FROM THAT IS, IS KAMALA
HARRIS CALLING FOR A RETURN TO
THE BUSING THAT WE SAW IN THE
’70s AND ’80s.
AS SHE TOLD MY COLLEAGUE VAUGHN
HILLYARD YESTERDAY, SHE DOES
SUPPORT BUSING.
SUPPORT BUSING. IT SEEMED UNCLEAR.
WHAT IS THE PLAN?
WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS KAMALA
HARRIS CALLING FOR NOW?
>> SURE.
>> SURE. >> WHEN IT COMES TO BUSING?
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. SHE SUPPORTS BUSING.
AND, YOU KNOW, SHE WOULDN’T HAVE
BEEN IN THE SENATE IN THE 1970s,
I DON’T THINK.
BUT SHE WOULD HAVE SUPPORTED IT
THEN.
THEN. AND I THINK THAT WHAT WE’RE
TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW IS THE
FACT THAT SCHOOL DISTRICTS
ACROSS THIS COUNTRY REMAIN VERY
SEGREGATED.
SEGREGATED. WE NEED TO DO MORE TO STOP THAT
AND TO INTEGRATE OUR SCHOOLS.
IF COMMUNITIES USE BUSING AS A
TACTIC TO DO THAT, THAT’S GREAT.
THERE’S GREAT LEGISLATION RIGHT
NOW IN CONGRESS FROM MARCIA
FUDGE IN THE HOUSE AND SENATOR
CHRIS MURPHY IN THE SENATE THAT
WOULD ALLOW FEDERAL INVESTMENT
AND GRANT MONEY TO GO TOWARDS
SCHOOL DIVERSIFICATION EFFORTS.
SO WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT, YOU
KNOW, SOME SORT OF BROAD THING
THAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT, WHAT
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT IS MAKING
SURE THAT RIGHT NOW IN THIS
ENVIRONMENT OF THE MODERN ERA
THAT SCHOOLS HAVE THE RESOURCES
THEY NEED TO DIVERSIFY AND
ENSURE THAT KIDS HAVE THE BEST
OPPORTUNITY TO GET A GOOD
EDUCATION.
EDUCATION. >> SO TO BE CLEAR, THEN, ARE YOU
DRAWING A DISTINCTION BETWEEN
DISTRICTS THAT VOLUNTARILY SAY
THEY WANT TO MAKE BUSING PART OF
THEIR APPROACH AND SUPPORTING
THAT WITH FEDERAL MONEY, OR ARE
YOU TALKING ABOUT USING THE
POWER OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
TO TRY TO COMPEL DISTRICTS THAT
OTHERWISE DON’T WANT TO, TO DO
BUSING?
BUSING? >> WELL, LOOK, THE IDEA ON THE
TABLE RIGHT NOW IS WHAT’S IN
MARCIA FUDGE AND CHRIS MURPHY’S
BILL WHICH TALKS ABOUT FEDERAL
INVESTMENT FOR LOCALITIES TO
DIVERSIFY THEIR SCHOOLS.
I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO
REMEMBER WHAT JESSE JACKSON SAID
IS THERE WAS NO SUCH THING IN
THE 1960s REALLY OF VOLUNTARY
BUSING.
BUSING. WHAT WE WERE DEALING WITH AT THE
TIME IN THE ’60s AND ’70s WAS
LOCALITIES WERE ROELTING AGAINST
IT.
IT. >> BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, WAS I
THINK THE FIRST CITY --
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> BUT THE STORY SHE TOLD -- I
GUESS I’M ASKING WAS THAT THE
MODEL SHE HAS IN MIND FOR THE
COUNTRY?
COUNTRY? >> YOU CAN’T TAKE A SNAPSHOT IN
TIME AND APPLY IT TO THE MODERN
ERA.
ERA. EVERYTHING CHANGES OVER THE
COURSE OF TIME.
AND RIGHT NOW THERE ARE NEW
APPROACHES WE HAVE TO TAKE.
BUSING CAN BE A PART OF THAT
SOLUTION.
SOLUTION. BUT I THINK WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO
REMEMBER HERE, AND I THINK I SAW
A STATISTIC AS THIS DEBATE RAGED
ON THAT ONLY 2% OF SCHOOLS AT
THE TIME WERE VOLUNTARILY BUSED.
I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO
REMEMBER THAT, YOU KNOW, VICE
PRESIDENT BIDEN, THEN SENATOR
BIDEN, TOOK A BROAD BRUSH AT
THIS AND SAID THAT BUSING WAS AN
ASININE CONCEPT.
ASININE CONCEPT. SO IT WASN’T THE NUANCE OF
VOLUNTARY VERSUS FORCED.
IT’S NOT ABOUT HER.
SHE WAS SPEAKING FOR THOUSANDS
IF NOT MILLIONS OF STUDENTS,
BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS, ACROSS
THIS COUNTRY WHO WERE BEING
BUSED TO INTEGRATE PUBLIC
SCHOOLS AT A TIME OF GREAT
UPHEAVAL AND AT A TIME OF TRYING
TO END THIS SCHOOL SEGREGATION
CRISIS.
CRISIS. I THINK THAT IN THE DAYS SHE GOT
TEXTS FROM PEOPLE AFTER WHO SAID
I WAS BUSED TO SCHOOL AND THAT
MEANT SO MUCH FOR YOU TO TELL
THAT STORY.
THAT STORY. THIS CAN’T JUST BE BOILED DOWN
TO ONE PERSON AND ONE SCHOOL BUS
BECAUSE IT APPLIED TO SO MANY
PEOPLE ACROSS THIS COUNTRY.
>> I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THIS
AS WELL AGAIN IN THE WAKE OF
THAT DEBATE THERE WAS SOME
ATTENTION TO SOME ONLINE
COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE.
WE CAN PUT THIS ONE UP HERE.
THIS WAS KATRINA PEARSON ON
KAMALA HARRIS TRUMP CAMPAIGN
ADVISER SAYING KAMALA HARRIS IS
GOING TO GET A STERN TALKING TO
AFTER THE DEBATE.
CAN’T PLAY THE RACE CARD WITHOUT
GOING ALL THE WAY.
OBAMA DID CHOOSE BIDEN AND NO
ONE YELLED FOUL.
OBAMA IS ACTUALLY
AFRICAN-AMERICAN, KAMALA HARRIS
IS NOT.
IS NOT. WHO IS BEST TO SPEAK FOR THE
AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY?
AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY? YOU ALSO HAD DONALD TRUMP JR.
TWEETING SOMETHING.
TWEETING SOMETHING. BUT THAT IS THE PRESIDENT’S SON
AT LEAST INITIALLY PUTTING THAT
OUT THERE.
OUT THERE. IS THIS WHAT YOU’RE SEEING
ONLINE RIGHT NOW?
ARE YOU SEEING ANY EFFECT ON
YOUR CAMPAIGN RIGHT NOW FROM
THIS?
THIS? >> FRANKLY, I THINK THAT YOU’RE
SEEING ALL THE DEMOCRATIC
CANDIDATES.
CANDIDATES. YOU ARE SEEING REPUBLICANS EVEN,
FORMER RNC STRATEGIST ERIC
ERICKSON ALSO JOINING IN SAYING
THIS IS VILE AND DISGUSTING.
THIS IS THE SAME KIND OF RACIST
CRAP THAT DON JR.’S DAD TRIED TO
USE ON BARACK OBAMA AND IT
DIDN’T WORK THEN AND IT’S NOT
GOING TO WORK NOW.
SO I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT THAT
IN THIS MOMENT EVERYONE OF GOOD
CONSCIENCE AND GOOD WILL HAS TO
SAY THIS NEEDS TO STOP.
AND THE SPREAD OF INFORMATION
HAS NOT BEEN SLOWED SINCE 2016.
PART OF THIS IS THE PROBLEM OF
FAILURE OF ACTION ON BEHALF OF
THE LEADERS IN THE SENATE LIKE
MITCH McCONNELL WHO ARE
PREVENTING EFFORTS TO SHORE UP
ELECTION SECURITY.
ELECTION SECURITY. SO I THINK WITH THIS ISSUE OF
PLAYING THESE RACIST ATTACKS,
YOU KNOW, THE RIGHT WING IS
GOING TO THROW THAT STUFF AT
KAMALA BECAUSE FRANKLY THEY
DON’T GOT MUCH ELSE.
AND I THINK THAT IT’S JUST GOING
TO TAKE EVERYBODY STANDING UP
AND SAYING THIS IS WRONG,
QUESTIONING PEOPLE’S IDENTITIES,
ANOTHER TALKING ABOUT THE