FOR HILLARY CLINTON’S 2016
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.
FABULOUS TO SEE YOU BOTH.
JEN, TALK TO ME ABOUT HOW
IMPORTANT IT IS AND THE WAYS IN
WHICH YOU UNDERSTAND THE BIDEN
CAMPAIGN TRYING TO DRAW A
STRAIGHT LINE BETWEEN THE
MESSAGE THAT WORKED FOR HIM IN
THE 2016 CAMPAIGN -- IN THE 2020
CAMPAIGN AND WHAT HE’S GOING TO
SAY FROM THE DAIS ON WEDNESDAY,
LIKE, WHY IS THAT SO IMPORTANT
AND DO YOU THINK THAT IT WILL
WORK, IT WILL BE EFFECTIVE IN
THE FACE OF THIS GIANT DIVIDE
THAT WE SEE SO VISIBLE, TO
PAINFULLY VISIBLE IN THE PAST
COUPLE OF WEEKS.
>> SOMETIMES NEW PRESIDENTS
INHERENT NEW CRISES THAT THEY
DIDN’T ANTICIPATE.
BUT THIS IS WHY JOE BIDEN GOT
INTO THE RACE.
HE THOUGHT THAT WAS SOMEBODY
THAT COULD BETTER UNITE THE
COUNTRY.
IT’S WHAT HE’S BUILT FOR, IT’S
WHAT HE THINKS HIS WHOLE LEAF
HAS BEEN LEADING TO.
AND SO, IN THAT WAY, THEY ARE
ABLE TO TAKE THEIR CAMPAIGN
STRATEGY AND ADAPT IT TO THE
INAUGURAL PLATFORM AND ALSO TO
AN EXECUTIVE ACTION STRATEGY
BACKING UP WHAT THE
PRESIDENT-ELECT WILL SAY ON
WEDNESDAY BACK AT THE WHITE
HOUSE.
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD FOUR
YEARS AGO, YOU HAD A PRESIDENT
BE INAUGURATED THAT TALKED ABOUT
AMERICAN CARNAGE.
YOU HAD A PRESIDENT THAT RAN ON
DIVISION IN THE FORM OF TRUMP
AND CONTINUED TO USE POLITICAL
DIVIDES TO FURTHER HIS AGENDA.
WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A PRESIDENT
THAT TALKS ABOUT UNITY AND
BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER.
AND WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT HOW MUCH
THE PRESIDENT’S WORDS MATTER AND
IT’S A LONG ROAD FOR BIDEN, BUT
STARTING WITH THESE KINDS OF
UNIFYING WORDS ON WEDNESDAY TO
THE DEMOCRATS, THE INDEPENDENTS
AND THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR
TRUMP WHO ARE WILLING TO HEAR
THEM IS THE PLACE TO START.
>> ROBERT, IN ADDITION TO UNITY,
THERE’S ALSO THEMES OF
COMPETENCE AND THEMES OF
LEADERSHIP, LIKE SOMEONE’S IN
CHARGE, RIGHT?
SOMEONE’S ACTUALLY GOING TO BE
TRYING TO RUN THE COUNTRY IN A
WAY THAT TRIES TO HELP PEOPLE
WHEN A LOT OF HELP IS NECESSARY,
A KIND OF HELP IS ON THE WAY
THEME.
WE HAVE SOME NBC REPORTING FROM
KRISTEN WELKER AND MIKE MEMOLI.
THEY SAY PEOPLE ARE JUST
YEARNING FOR A LITTLE BIT OF NORMALCY AND SOMEONE WHO KNOWS
NORMALCY AND SOMEONE WHO KNOWS
WHAT THEY’RE DOING.
GOING TO BE JOE BIDEN BECAUSE
UNITY IS PART OF WHO JOE BIDEN
IS, THAT’S WHAT HE BELIEVES, THE
SOURCE TOLD KRISTEN AND MIKE.
IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT, I
THINK -- I THINK YOU’D AGREE,
BECAUSE YOU WORKED FOR BARACK
OBAMA FOR WHOM ONE OF THE KEY
ELEMENTS OF OBAMA’S SUCCESS WAS
THAT -- IT WAS THIS CONSISTENCY,
CONSISTENCY FROM THE CAMPAIGN
AND INTO THE ADMINISTRATION AND
CONSISTENCY OF WHAT -- OF WHO
BARACK OBAMA WAS IN PRIVATE,
WHAT HIS CHARACTER -- THE
CHARACTER OF THE MAN IN
CONNECTION TO HIS POLITICAL --
THE POLITICAL FACE THAT HE
SHOWED THE WORLD, HIS PUBLIC
FACE.
AND I JUST -- I WANT YOU TO TALK
ABOUT THAT.
WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A
MILLION TIMES BEFORE, HOW
IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR OBAMA AND
WHETHER YOU THINK IT IS,
ESPECIALLY IN THIS MOMENT, SO
KEY FOR JOE BIDEN.
>> YEAH, JOHN, ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK BACK TO THE FIRST VIDEO
THAT WE SAW ANNOUNCING THE BIDEN
CAMPAIGN, OH SO MANY MONTHS AGO,
AND IT WAS THIS IDEA OF THE
BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF THE
NATION AND THIS IDEA OF BRINGING
PEOPLE TOGETHER FOR SOMETHING,
PART OF A GREATER GOOD, AND
THAT’S THE THROUGH LINE THAT YOU
SEE FROM THAT ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO
TO WHAT YOU’LL SEE ON THE WEST
SIDE OF THE CAPITOL ON
INAUGURATION DAY.
AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU READ
THAT IS REPORTED BY NBC, THIS
IDEA OF COMPETENCE, THIS IDEA OF
A GOVERNMENT THAT CAN RUN WELL,
AGAIN, HAS A FOUNDATION IN WHAT
BIDEN HAS WORKED ON FOR MORE
THAN FOUR DECADES.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, I THINK WHAT
HE SEES THAT DESPERATELY THIS
COUNTRY NEEDS MORE THAN
ANYTHING.
AND THAT PARTICULARLY AS IT
RELATES TO THE COVID PANDEMIC
AND HOW WE GET THIS VACCINE
DISTRIBUTION TO BE MUCH MORE
RATIONAL, HOW WE GET THE WHOLE
RESPONSE TO BE MUCH MORE
COMPETENT, I THINK THAT WILL GO
A LONG WAY TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING
THE ABILITY THAT BIDEN HAS TO
MAKE AND BRING ABOUT REAL CHANGE