-It does seem as though one of the things
when you talk about how the rich are being taken care of,
money is obviously playing a huge role in politics,
and I feel as though the Democratic Party
also has to answer for the large amounts of corporate money
they've taken over the years.
You don't take corporate PAC money.
-No. -But do you think that
the Democratic Party has to take a stronger stand
against taking corporate money,
or is that just the price of doing business?
-So, look, I have been worried for a very long time
about the impact of money in Washington.
You know, money just doesn't talk in Washington.
It shouts. It screams. It commands.
But let's never lose sight of the fact
that the Trump administration
is the most corrupt administration in our lifetime.
[ Cheers and applause ] We can't forget it.
And...
And think about example after example --
that, right now, the Saudis can funnel money directly --
indirectly into Trump's pockets through the Trump Hotel...
that the head of the Environmental Protection Agency
is a coal lobbyist.
And can I tell you about Gary Cohn?
-Sure. Go for it. -Yeah. So, here's the deal.
So, Trump is setting up --
Trump is setting up his administration.
This is a year and a half ago. He's setting up his administration.
He brings in all these Goldman Sachs guys.
I swear to you, they could have opened a branch office
of Goldman Sachs right there in the White House.
-And it should be noted, this is the same Goldman Sachs
that Donald Trump railed against Hillary Clinton
for giving paid speeches to.
-Exactly that one.
Okay, so, he brings in these Goldman Sachs people,
but one of them was very special.
Gary Cohn was a major executive at Goldman Sachs,
and he is going to be
the special advisor to the President, economic advisor,
to help get the tax laws changed.
So Goldman Sachs gives Gary Cohn a little gift on the way out --
$750 million.
I think of it as a sort of pre-bribe.
And then Gary Cohn goes off and writes the tax laws,
helps ram them through Congress,
and Goldman Sachs makes billions of dollars
off the change in the tax laws.
Let's call this out for what it is.
Corruption. Pure and simple.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-You mentioned -- You mentioned the Saudis.
I also want to ask about this, because I feel like we are so --
We tend to get so focused on what's happening in D.C.
and what's specifically happening with this presidency.
You wrote a letter today, I believe,
to the commander of Central Command
about this horrific bombing in Yemen,
a bombing that killed civilians, killed children.
This is Saudis. This is the UAE.
But it is U.S.-backed,
in that munitions, in that refueling and intelligence.
Can you explain a little about
what you asked for in that letter?
-Sure.
So, this is an unfolding humanitarian crisis,
and the United States is not dropping bombs,
but it is helping the Saudis with arms.
It's helping the Saudis with refueling.
And it now appears it's helping the Saudis target and pinpoint.
I think that if the United States is going to be
that directly involved in a humanitarian crisis,
then the American people have a right to know
exactly what's going on. -I agree with you,
and I'm very glad that you asked that question.
Hopefully we get answers. My last question.
Obviously, we have Justice Kavanaugh --
might-be Justice Kavanaugh.
He is Trump's pick for the Supreme Court.
-I hope not. Mm-hmm.
-It strikes me that maybe progressives
are not making the same push to stop this
that they had made to, say,
stop the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Do you think this is something
that enough effort's being put behind,
or do you think it's basically a done deal
and he's going to be our next justice?
-So, you know, look, it is not a done deal.
Donald Trump has made his nomination,
and he picks somebody off a list that has been prescreened,
prescreened by not one but two right-wing extremist groups.
-I will say it's just refreshing
that anyone screens someone that Donald Trump picked.
Usually he just opens the door and, like, lets in 15 people.
-But not this time. -Okay. Gotcha.
-Not this time, because one of the groups,
the founder of the group's number-one goal
is to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
So think about what that screen is,
that he made it onto this list.
The other group, very hostile
to government protecting healthcare for all Americans.
So, just last night, I was in Boston,
and I got to say we were doing a Rise Up for Roe,
you know, out there in the fight.
Because here's the deal about this.
I remember the night that Donald Trump was sworn in,
and I remember thinking they --
"Healthcare could disappear
for tens of millions of Americans by next week
because they now have the House, they have the Senate,
they have the White House, they have the votes."
And, I thought, "What have we got left to fight with?"
And the answer is all we got left is each other.
We've got the ability to come together to raise our voices,
to be strong, to fight back,
to make sure that this Washington hears us.
And over healthcare, I'm thinking,
"Where do we get this army?"
And the next morning after the inauguration,
anyone remember the women?
The largest protest rally in the history of the world.
[ Cheers and applause ]
So...I get it.
[ Cheers and applause ]
You bet.
Here's what I see happening.
Yeah, Donald Trump is on the attack,
and he's trying to roll back
protection for women, Roe vs. Wade,
probably roll back a lot of other protections
with Judge Kavanaugh's nomination.
He would be the deciding vote on all of these critical issues.
But at the very same moment
that Donald Trump is trying to do this,
democracy itself is changing.
It changed with the Women's March.
It changed when people went to the airports
after Trump tried to put a Muslim ban in place.
It changed when people went down to Washington --
the mamas of babies with complex medical needs,
people who use wheelchairs,
who got right up in the face of the Republican senators.
It keeps changing as more people come off the sidelines.
15-year-olds and 16-year-olds after the shooting in Florida
said, "I'm in this fight.
I'm going to make sure my government hears from me."
So that's what it takes. And I believe we can do this.
-All right. Well, have fun at work tomorrow.
-I will. -I hope you enjoy your return.
Thank you so much for being back here.
-You bet. -It's always a pleasure.