BUT THERE’S SUSAN RICE.
WE HAVE THE ENTIRE OBAMA
NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM READY TO
GO.
LET’S START WITH SUSAN RICE.
AMBASSADOR RICE, FIRST OF ALL,
YOUR REFLECTIONS ON THIS
HISTORIC NEWS TODAY.
>> I’M JUST -- I’M FULL OF JOY.
I’M FULL OF PRIDE IN OUR
COUNTRY.
I’M JUST AWED BY OUR RESILIENCE
AND HOW WE HAVE COME TO A MOMENT
OF SAYING WE NEED TO TAKE A
DIFFERENT COURSE AND HAVE DONE
IT RATHER RESOUNDINGLY, BUT NOW
WE HAVE TO COME BACK TOGETHER
AND HEAL, AND THAT’S WHY JOE
BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS ARE SO
MUCH THE RIGHT LEADERS FOR THIS
MOMENT.
I HAVE IN MY OWN HOUSEHOLD
PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT POLITICAL
PERSUASIONS, PARTICULARLY MY
YOUNG SON WHO’S IN HIS EARLY
20s, BUT OTHER MEMBERS OF MY
FAMILY AS WELL, AND YOU KNOW,
WE, I THINK, REPRESENT IN A
MICROCOSM WHAT WE FACE AS A
NATION, WHICH IS TO RECOGNIZE
THAT WE HAVE THE LOVE AND THE
BONDS OF FAMILY AND OF COUNTRY
THAT HAVE TO BE STRONGER THAN
ANYTHING THAT DIVIDES US.
WE CAN’T SURVIVE OTHERWISE, AND
I’M JUST GRATEFUL TO MY CORE
THAT JOE BIDEN, WHO KNOWS IN HIS
SOUL HOW IMPORTANT UNITY IS, HOW
IMPORTANT OUR COLLECTIVE
STRENGTH IS, IS NOW THE MAN TO
LEAD US FORWARD AFTER A PERIOD
WHERE, YOU KNOW, OUR DIFFERENCES
HAVE BEEN SADLY EXACERBATED.
>> SUSAN RICE, IT’S RACHEL
MADDOW HERE JOINING YOU FROM MY
COVID QUARANTINE COVE.
I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY TECHNICAL
DIFFICULTIES.
IT’S A LITTLE WEIRD RIGHT NOW.
BUT I WANTED TO ASK YOU, I CAN
HEAR THAT YOU’RE MOVED BY THIS M
MOMENT IN YOUR VOICE, AND I KNOW
YOU ARE A TOUGH AND EVEN KEEL
PERSON, BUT LET ME ASK YOU ON
THE NATIONAL SECURITY SIDE IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE
YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE
WEIRDNESS, AND THE FACT THAT JOE
BIDEN IS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT,
AND ARE YOU CONCERNED IT COULD
BE A FRAGILE NATIONAL SECURITY
FOR US?
>> RACHEL, I AM NOT THAT
CONCERNED AT THIS POINT.
THAT COULD CHANGE, AND I
CERTAINLY HAVE HAD MY MOMENTS OF
CONCERN OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS.
HERE’S THE THING.
THE WORLD KNOWS JOE BIDEN WILL
BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES.
THERE’S NO AMBIGUITY TO THAT,
AND IT’S CLEAR TO ANY
ADVERSARIES THAT WOULD THINK OF
TESTING US, AND I WOULD BREAK
FAITH AND CONFIDENCE IN OUR LAW
ENFORCEMENT, OUR U.S. MILITARY
TO KEEP US SAFE IN THIS VERY
IMPORTANT MOMENT.
DONALD TRUMP, NO DOUBT, MAY
BEHAVE IN A FASHION THAT IS
CHAOTIC, THAT IS DISRUPTIVE AND
COUNTER PRODUCTIVE OVER THE NEXT
TWO MONTHS.
I HOPE THAT’S NOT THE CASE.
I HOPE WITH THE LIGHT OF DAY AND
THE OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT AND
THOSE AROUND HIM WITH CAUTION A
DIFFERENT PATH, AND IF HE DOES,
WE MAY HAVE A ROCKY COUPLE OF
MONTHS, BUT WE HAVE LIGHT AT THE
END OF THE TUNNEL, AND WE KNOW
WHERE WE WILL BE AND THAT’S IN
SAFE AND COMPETENT HANDS, AND
LEADERSHIP WITH INTEGRITY THAT
CARES DEEPLY ABOUT THIS COUNTRY.
WE WILL HAVE LEADERSHIP THAT
PUTS THE INTERESTS OF THE UNITED
STATES AND ITS PEOPLE FIRST, AND
THAT IS AN EXTRAORDINARY
BLESSING AND OUTCOME.
I THINK IT WILL HELP US STAY
STEADY AND STAY ON COURSE
THROUGH WHAT MAY BE A ROUGH
COUPLE OF MONTHS, BUT MAYBE NOT.
LET’S HOPE FOR THE BEST.
>> AMBASSADOR RICE, TAKE US
INSIDE ONE OF THE TRANSITION
TRADITIONS THAT IS NOT JUST A
TRADITION BUT IS VERY IMPORTANT,
AND THAT’S FOREIGN LEADERS WITH THE CONTACT PRESIDENT-ELECT,
THE CONTACT PRESIDENT-ELECT,
NORMALLY COMING IN THE FORM OF
CONTKPWRAPBLG
CONGRESS
PHONE CALLS, AND WHO IS MANAGING
WHAT IN THE WAY THOSE CALLS COME
IN TO JOE BIDEN, AND WITH
VLADIMIR PUTIN BE CALLING JOE
BIDEN WITH A CONGRATULATIONS
CALL?
>> I AM NOT HERE TO SPEAK FOR
VLADIMIR PUTIN, SO I CAN’T GIVE
YOU AN ANSWER TO THAT ONE.
BUT THE NORMAL IS THAT A
PRESIDENT-ELECT HAS A SMART AND
COMPETENT TEAM AROUND HIM OR HER
ONE DAY, AND THEY FIELD THE
REQUESTS THAT WILL COME -- I AM
SURE ARE ALREADY COMING FROM
LEADERS AROUND THE WORLD TO
CONGRATULATE THE
PRESIDENT-ELECT.
IN A NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCE, THOSE
CALLS WOULD BE LOGGED AND THERE
WOULD BE AN ORDER DEVISED AS TO
HOW THE PRESIDENT-ELECT RETURNS
THOSE CALLS AND THERE SHOULD BE
NOTES TAKEN IN AN IDEAL WORLD IF
THERE’S COOPERATION WITH THE
OUTGOING ADMINISTRATION, THOSE
CALLS MIGHT BE FIELDED THROUGH
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OPERATION SYSTEM, WHICH WOULD BE IDEAL, SO
SYSTEM, WHICH WOULD BE IDEAL, SO
I KNOW THE TEAM BIDEN-HARRIS IS
PREPARED
PREPARED FOR THIS, AND THEY WILL
HANDLE IT WITH THE
PROFESSIONALISM AND CONFIDENCE
AND TRANSPARENCY THAT WILL BE
THE MODEL FOR THE BIDEN/HARRIS
ADMINISTRATION.
>>> ONE THING THAT RACHEL AND I
HAVE BEEN WONDERING ABOUT IS THE
POSSIBLE TURBULENCE OF THE
TRANSITION, MOSTLY BY PEOPLE WHO
ARE IN THESE POSITIONS IN THE
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NOT BEING
COOPERATIVE OR BEING
ANTI-COOPERATIVE, WHATEVER LEVEL
THAT TENSION MIGHT REACH.
WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE IN THAT?
IF THINGS HAVE TO BE OVERCOME,
HOW WOULD YOU EXPECT THAT WOULD
BE DEALT WITH IF THERE WERE
CHALLENGES LIKE THAT IN THIS
TRANSITION?
>> LAWRENCE, LOOK, IT’S TOO SOON
TO KNOWLEDGE IF THIS WILL BE
SOMETHING THAT APPROACHES A
NORMAL TRANSITION OR SOMETHING
THAT WILL BE A COMPLEX AND
COMPLICATED TRANSITION.
I KNOW THE BIDEN TEAM IS READY
FOR EITHER ONE.
WHILE IT IS SO MUCH BETTER FOR
OUR COUNTRY FOR THERE TO BE A
RESPONSIBLE TRANSFER OF POWER AS
WE HAVE HAD AND CERTAINLY TRIED
TO HAVE IN EVERY PREVIOUS
TRANSITION IN MODERN MEMORY, IF
THAT IS NOT THE CASE, WE WILL BE
FINE AND THE COUNTRY WILL BE
FINE.
JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS HAVE
AROUND THEM EXTREMELY
EXPERIENCED COMPETENT PLAYERS ON
THEIR TEAM, AND THEY THEMSELVES
REPRESENT THAT CONFIDENCE AND
INTEGRITY.
WE WILL GET TO JANUARY 20th.
WE WILL BE PREPARED TO HIT THE
GROUND RUNNING AND THE COUNTRY
WILL BE IN A BETTER POSITION TO
CONFRONT THE CORONAVIRUS, THE
ECONOMIC DEVASTATION THAT IT HAS
CAUSED, OUR KIDS, MANY OF THEM
STILL NOT IN SCHOOL, AND THE
RACIAL JUSTICE CHALLENGES WE
FACE AND CLIMATE CHANGE.
ALL OF THESE ISSUES ARE FRONT
AND CENTER ON THEIR PLATES.
THEY WILL BE READY.
I KNOW THAT THEY WILL BE READY
TO HANDLE THEM.
>> AMBASSADOR SUSAN RICE, THANK