-Our first guest tonight is the Vice President of
the United States. Please welcome back to the show
Vice President Kamala Harris, everyone.
♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Welcome back. -It's good to be back.
It's good to be back. -It's very exciting to have you,
especially to have you here as the Vice President.
We've had you on the show before as a senator.
And I have noticed the security protocols
have changed a great deal. [ Laughter ]
I don't know if we're overprotecting
our vice presidents or under-protecting our senators.
[ Laughter ]
I can't imagine how much
that part of it has changed your life.
How have the security protocols
just infringed on being a normal human being?
-Well, okay, one example would be my husband, Doug and I,
the first Second Gentleman of the United States.
-Very exciting.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I do want to focus -- I feel like we're not focusing enough
on what white men have accomplished with your rise.
[ Laughter ] -I know.
It's exactly -- We have jokes about that too.
But, you know, we love to take walks,
and these days the walks are quite different.
So, I love "The Godfather."
So, okay, do you know that -- Do you know "The Godfather"?
-Yeah, this is not where I thought your nice walk --
[ Laughter ] -No, I'm gonna tell you.
So, you know that scene when Michael is in Italy,
he had to leave. -Yes.
-Okay, and then he's courting that woman.
And they decide to take a walk through the village.
And so the shot is just the two of them taking this lovely walk,
and then it pans out and the whole village is with them?
-Yes.
-That's what our walks are like.
[ Laughter ]
-A little bit -- a little bit less romantic.
-It's a little different. It's a little different. Yeah.
-So, we mentioned obviously already in the show, this sort
of historic act about marijuana,
and certainly at the federal level.
The question, I guess is, you know, it's actually not that
many people are affected by it, but it's such a big step in
the right direction. What happens next, other than
just pressuring governors to do the same on the state level?
Is there -- Do you see legislation in the future?
-Well, you know, we've tried over the years, but I -- let me
just start with saying this.
I strongly believe, and the majority of Americans agree,
nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed, right?
[ Cheers and applause ]
Right? And so we start with that, and then we are,
to your point, urging -- and the President has been very clear --
we're urging governors and states to take our lead
and to pardon people who have been criminalized
for possession of marijuana.
And ultimately, though, as with so many issues, if Congress
acts, then there is a uniform approach to this
and so many other issues, but Congress needs to act.
We're 29 days away from the midterms.
Ask who you're voting for where they stand on this,
and I encourage you to vote accordingly.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-As an administration, you have accomplished a great deal
despite only having a 50/50 Senate.
-Yeah.
-You know, you mentioned 29 days out from the midterms.
What is different if you win two more Senate seats?
What is the message as far as what will change for Americans'
lives if you have that sort of majority in the Senate
that isn't weighing on maybe two Democratic senators
who aren't always as in-line with the party?
-There's so much, Seth, that changes.
So, 29 days.
The Dobbs decision.
So, the United States Supreme Court, the highest court
in our land, just took a constitutional right that had
been recognized from the people of America,
from the women of America, right?
And the significance of that is profound in terms of what it
means for the rights of individuals and, in particular,
for the right of an individual to make decisions about
their own body and not have their government
tell them what to do.
But in addition, what it means for the next 29 days is,
if we keep our numbers in the Senate and elect two more
United States Senators, then the President can sign into law
the Women's Health Protection Act, which would put
into law the protections of Roe v. Wade.
So critically important.
29 days to go.
And the reality of it is that, on the one hand, 29 days.
Everyone has a lot going on, very busy, and it's gonna take
an effort to make sure that you vote.
On the other hand, these House seats, they're two-year terms.
These Senate seats, six-year terms.
So think about it.
Whether we let it go with status quo the way it is now
for the next two years or six years, or in the next 29 days.
Make a plan to vote and actually vote on this issue.
-I think that --
[ Cheers and applause ]
I think correctly, you know, a lot of people think about
abortion as an important issue, but you've also talked about
maternal health, which seems like that would be the one that
would seem like everyone could agree on because the health of
a mother, the health of a child, this -- based on what both sides
of the aisle say, this is deeply important to them.
And yet it seems as though
we can't even reach a consensus on that.
Can you just talk about the importance of maternal health
and steps that we can take to make life better
for certainly young mothers?
-Yeah, it's a critically important issue.
And I know you've spoken up on this over the years.
In our country today,
women are still dying in connection with childbirth.
And when you look at, then, the racial disparities, Black women
are three times more likely to die, Native American women twice
as likely to die, women in rural America
1.5 times more likely to die.
And a lot of it has to do with, again, the disparities
in the healthcare system, and that we are not putting enough
attention and resources and priority into women's needs,
especially as it relates to their reproductive health.
And I do want to say this also.
This is an issue that affects all genders.
If you have a partner, if you have a sister, if you have
an aunt, a mother, this affects you.
Not to mention on the Dobbs decision when
Justice Clarence Thomas said the quiet part out loud,
which is that when they took the constitutional right from women
on reproductive choice, that he said, that in-line,
in terms of what might come next,
is your right to contraception.
That will affect all genders.
Your right to marry the person you love, same point.
And so there is so much on the line with these issues
that affects everyone and the people you love.
And for that reason, let's take it seriously and let's,
you know, speak with our vote and undo what I think is a great
travesty of justice as it relates to that Dobbs decision.
-I have a lot more to ask you. -Okay.
-I do hope you'll stick around. We'll be right back with more
from the Vice President, everybody.