OF COURSE WE’LL UPDATE YOU AS WE KNOW MORE.
KNOW MORE. >>> THE FIRESTORM OF PRESIDENT
TRUMP’S RACIAL RHETORIC RAGES
ON.
ON. DURING THE DEBATE, MARION
WILLIAMSON AND SENATOR ELIZABETH
WARREN’S COMMENTS ON RACISM IN
AMERICA WAS THE THIRD MOST
TWEETED MOMENT.
TWEETED MOMENT. HERE IS SOME OF THE DEBATE
HIGHLIGHTS.
HIGHLIGHTS. >> WE NEED TO CALL OUT WHITE
SUPREMACY FOR WHAT IT IS,
DOMESTIC TERRORISM.
DOMESTIC TERRORISM. AND IT POSES A THREAT TO THE
UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES. >> I LIVED IN GROSS POINT.
THIS IS PART OF THE DARK
UNDERBELLY OF AMERICAN SOCIETY.
THE RACISM, THE BIGOTRY, AND THE
ENTIRE CONVERSATION WE’ HAVING
HERE TONIGHT IS IF YOU THINK
THIS WAUNGINESSIS GOING TO DEAL
DARK PSYCHIC FORCE THIS
PRESIDENT IS BRNGINGINGING UP IN
COUNTRY, THE DEMOCRATS ARE GOING
TO SEE SOME VERY DARK DAYS.
>> THANKS SO MUCH FOR HANGING
WITH US.
WITH US. WE’VE GOT TO ASK --
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> THANK YOU.
WE’VE GOT TO ASK THE MOST
OBVIOUS THING.
OBVIOUS THING. LAST NIGHT WAS AN ALL WHITE
DEBATE STAGE.
DEBATE STAGE. I MEAN, HOW DO YOU EVEN BEGIN TO
ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF RACE WHEN
IT’S A STAGE FULL OF ONLY WHITE
PEOPLE?
PEOPLE? >> WELL, YOU KNOW, IN FAIRNESS
TO CNN, THEY DID PROVE AND THEY
SHOW
SHOW SHOWED IT WAS RANDOM.
IT WAS UNFORTUNATE IT ENDED UP
BEING AN ALL WHITE DEBATE.
I THINK THAT’S A GOOD THING
BECAUSE WHITE PEOPLE WHO ARE
RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT NEED TO BE
ABLE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE ISSUE OF
RACE AT THE SAME LEVEL AS PEOPLE
OF COLOR.
OF COLOR. JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T
EXPERIENCE RACISM IN YOUR DAILY
LIFE DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD
NOT BE ABLE TO BE A LEADER ON
THOSE ISSUES.
THOSE ISSUES. I THINK WHAT YOU SAW FROM
ELIZABETH WARREN, MORE SO THAN
MARION WILLIAMS.
MARION WILLIAMS. PEOPLE ARE PRAISING HER FOR THAT
ANSWER AND ALSO HER ANSWER ABOUT
REPARATIONS WHICH WAS ALSO
REALLY SOLID.
REALLY SOLID. MOST OF HER OTHER POSITIONS ARE
NOT DEMOCRATIC POSITIONS.
ELIZABETH WARREN SPEAKS ABOUT
RACISM IN A WAY THAT’S REALLY
INTERSECTIONAL.
INTERSECTIONAL. SHE DOESN’T JUST TALK ABOUT
WHITE SUPREMACY.
WHITE SUPREMACY. SHE DOESN’T JUST TALK ABOUT
RACISM.
RACISM. SHE TIES IT INTO THE POLICIES
THAT SHE’S PROPOSING.
THAT’S THAT CRITICAL PIECE THAT
REALLY CAN GAIN SUPPORT AMONG
VOTERS OF COLOR.
SO I THINK IT WAS WEIRD TO SEE A
STAGE FULL OF WHITE CANDIDATES
ON A NIGHT WHEN DONALD TRUMPERPR
HAS BEEN ATTACKING PEOPLE OF
COLOR.
COLOR. >> OVERALL HOW WOULD YOU SAY
THEY DID ON THE ISSUE OF RACE?
>> YOU KNOW, THERE’S A LOT TO BE
GAINED IN REALLY HIRING A
DIVERSE SET OF PEOPLE WHO ARE
INFORMING YOUR MESSAGING AND
YOUR POLICIES.
YOUR POLICIES. SO I WOULD GIVE ELIZABETH WARREN
AN A ON RACE, BECAUSE, AGAIN,
SHE TIED IT TO HER POLICIES.
OVERALL, I WOULD SAY -- I WOULD
GIVE THE STAGE A C THOUGH.
I DON’T THINK AN ANSWER LIKE,
FOR EXAMPLE, FROM AMY KLOBUCHAR
ABOUT HOW NOT EVERY PERSON WHO
VOTED FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS A
RACIST AND THEY WERE CONCERNED
ABOUT FINANCIAL ANXIETY.
THAT’S THE WRONG ANSWER.
I’M HOPEFUL THE CANDIDATES WILL
LISTEN TO STAFF MEMBERS WHO COME
FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS SO THEY
CAN BE MORE INFORMED ON THAT
QUESTION GOING FORWARD.
>> TONIGHT IS GOING TO BE A
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY, ALL
THE CANDIDATES OF COLOR WILL BE
ON THE STAGE TONIGHT.
THERE ARE FIVE OF THEM.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE
IMPORTANCE OF, YOU KNOW,
REPRESENTATION AND DIVERSITY
TONIGHT?
TONIGHT? JUST MAYBE HOW YOU THINK IT
MIGHT PLAY OUT A LITTLE
DIFFERENTLY GIVEN, YOU KNOW, THE
DIFFERENT STAGE WE’RE GOING TO
SEE?
SEE? >> I THINK THAT THERE’S THIS
MISPERCEPTION THAT PEOPLE ARE
SUPPORTING WOMEN OR SUPPORTING
PEOPLE OF COLOR JUST BECAUSE
THEY’RE PEOPLE OF COLOR OR
BECAUSE THEY’RE WOMEN.
THAT’S NOT CORRECT.
WHAT IS HELPFUL IN TERMS OF THE
INCLUSIVENESS AND REPRESENTATION
SHOWN ON THE STAGE AND HAVING
WOMEN AND HAVING CANDIDATES OF
COLOR IS THAT THEY HAVE
DIFFERENT LIVED EXPERIENCES THAT
THEN CAN INFORM EITHER THEIR
LEVEL OF EMPATHY OR
UNDERSTANDING AROUND CERTAIN
POLICY ISSUES.
POLICY ISSUES. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU’RE TALKING
ABOUT RACISM AS AN INTELLECTUAL
EXERCISE, AND YOU’RE SAYING, I
WONDER IF DONALD TRUMP’S RACISM
IS A POLITICAL STRATEGY AND
LET’S TALK ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT
IT’S WORKING.
IT’S WORKING. AS A BLACK PERSON, THAT SOUNDS
CRAZY.
CRAZY. YOU’RE ACTUALLY THE TARGET OF
DONALD TRUMP’S RACISM.
AND SO WHEN YOU’RE THE TARGET OF
DONALD TRUMP’S RACISM, IT’S NOT
A STRATEGY, IT’S A THREAT.
SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE
HAVE TO HAVE A MORE
REPRESENTATIVE SLATE OF
CANDIDATES.
CANDIDATES. TONIGHT IS GOING TO DEMONSTRATE
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS THE
PARTY, IS THE BIG TENT PARTY
THAT HAS CANDIDATES OF ALL
DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS THAT CAN,
YOU KNOW, USE THEIR DIVERSE
LIVED EXPERIENCES TO INFORM HOW
THEY THINK ABOUT THESE ISSUES.
THERE’S NOT JUST ONE IDENTITY.
THE DEFAULT IDENTITY IS NOT
WHITE.
WHITE. I THINK FOR TOO LONG IN POLITICS
THAT’S THE FRAME WE’VE BEEN
WORKING UNDER.
WORKING UNDER. I THINK THAT’S CHANGING NOW AND
I THINK IT’S A GOOD THING.
>> ANYONE YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A
BIG PERFORMANCE FROM TONIGHT?
PARTICULARLY WHETHER IT’S ON
ISSUES OF RACISM OR DIVERSITY?
>> I’M ACTUALLY LOOKING TO SEE
WHAT CORY BOOKER DOES ON STAGE.
BECAUSE HE’S BEEN DIRECTLY
CHALLENGING JOE BIDEN ON HIS
CRIMINAL JUSTICE RECORD, ON THE
FACT HE WAS THE ARCHITECT IN HIS
WORDS, OF MASS INCARCERATION
BECAUSE HE AUTHORED THAT 1994
CRIME BILL WHICH HAS SO MANY
UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES.
UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES. IT IMPACTED COMMUNITIES OF COLOR
IN A NEGATIVE WAY.
I THINK THAT’S IMPORTANT.
SO WHILE MOST PEOPLE WILL BE
LOOKING AT KAMALA HARRIS TO SEE
WHAT SHE’S GOING TO DO BECAUSE
SHE WAS SO SUCCESSFUL IN THE
FIRST SLATE OF DEBATES, I THINK
THERE IS AN OPENING FOR CORY
BOOKER TO SHINE BECAUSE, NUMBER
ONE, HE WAS AN AUTHOR AND A
SPONSOR OF THAT BIPARTISAN FIRST
STEP ACT.
STEP ACT. THAT CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
PACKAGE THAT JUST PASSED THROUGH
AND WAS SIGNED BY PRESIDENT
TRUMP.
TRUMP. HE WAS ALSO THE MAYOR OF NORTH
NEW JERSEY.
NEW JERSEY. I’M FROM NEW JERSEY AND WENT TO
LAW SCHOOL IN NEWARK.
HE CAN SPEAK FROM FIRST-HAND
EXPERIENCE.
EXPERIENCE. SO I THINK THAT HE CAN SPEAK
FROM THAT EXPERIENCE IN AN
AUTHENTIC WAY.
AUTHENTIC WAY. I’M LOOKING FOR HIM TO CHALLENGE
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN MORE SO
THAN KAMALA HARRIS.
I DON’T THINK THAT KAMALA HARRIS
NEEDS NECESSARILY ANOTHER HUGE
MOMENT.
MOMENT. SHE JUST NEEDS TO SHOW UP, BE
TOUGH LIKE SHE ALWAYS IS AND BE
CONSISTENT.
CONSISTENT. IT’S REALLY JOE BIDEN THAT HAD A
LOT OF PEOPLE A LITTLE NERVOUS
AFTER THAT FIRST DEBATE.
HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO
RESPOND TO ANY OF THESE ATTACKS
THAT MAY COME.
>> IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU
THINK JOE BIDEN CAN DO TO SORT
OF EITHER END THIS QUESTION
ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER HE’S
RACIST OR NOT OR EFFECTIVELY
RESPOND?
RESPOND? YOU MENTIONED PEOPLE WERE
DISAPPOINTED WITH HIS
PERFORMANCE THE FIRST TIME
AROUND.
AROUND. IS THERE A SMARTER STRATEGY, A
WAY HE CAN BETTER APPROACH IT
TONIGHT?
TONIGHT? >> WELL, I DON’T THINK THAT
ANYBODY HAS EVER ARGUED JOE
BIDEN IS RACIST, PER SE, RIGHT?
I THINK KAMALA WAS CLEAR IN
SAYING I’M NOT CALLING YOU A
RACIST.
RACIST. SOME OF THE THINGS HE SAID IN
THE PAST, BEING TONE DEAF.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY
EXPERIENCE LIVING THROUGH THE
CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR POLICY.
I THINK THAT’S AN IMPORTANT
CONVERSATION.
CONVERSATION. I DON’T THINK THAT JOE BIDEN IS
A RACIST BUT HE NEEDS TO STEP
BACK, RESIST THE IMPULSE TO BE
DEFENSIVE.
DEFENSIVE. BECAUSE AS A FORMER HILLARY
STAFFER I CAN TELL YOU THAT
DEFENSIVENESS ON THE ISSUE OF
CRIMINAL JUSTICE, IT DOESN’T FLY
WITH MILLENIALS OF COLOR AND WE
NEED MILLENIALS OF COLOR TO BE
ENGAGED AND TURN OUT.
JOE BIDEN SHOULD NOT BE
DEFENSIVE.
DEFENSIVE. YOU KNOW, OWN UP TO THE MISTAKES
IN YOUR RECORD.
YOU HAVE A RECORD.
IT’S LONG RUN.
YOU EEDVOLVED AND GROWN.
I HOPE HE HAS A RESPONSE FROM
THE ANITA HILL SITUATION.
I DON’T THINK HE’S APOLOGIZED
ENOUGH FOR ANITA HILL’S