NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?
>> GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
MY LAST MEMORY IS WE WERE SINGING DORKY HARMONIES TO
CHRISTMAS SONGS ON "GOOD MORNING AMERICA."
>> Stephen: ON G.M.A., YEAH.
IT'S A COOLER VENUE.
>> Stephen: IT'S CRISPER IN THIS ROOM.
( LAUGHTER ) YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE NEWS FOR SO
MANY YEARS.
GIVE ME PERSPECTIVE HERE.
I PRETENDED TO BE IN THE NEWS FOR YEARS.
BUT YOU'RE ACTUALLY THE REAL THING, A RESPECTED JOURNALIST.
NEWS NOW.
IS THERE NOR NEWS NOW OR DOES IT JUST FEEL LIKE THERE'S MORE NEWS
NOW, OR IS IT THE SAME AMOUNT ONLY THICKER AND HARDER TO CHEW?
>> POSITIVELY INDI INDEPENDEN IN THERE'S AN ALERT THREE SECONDS
BEFORE YOU KNEW THE ALERT IN THE ROOM.
HOW MUCH FASTER CAN WE GO?
>> Stephen: I HAVE IT RIGHT HERE.
THE OLD WATCH IS TELLING ME.
I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN ON THE STAGE AND MY WATCH HAS GONE OFF AND
I'M, LIKE, WHY DIDN'T I MAKE A JOKE ABOUT THAT?
>> I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT I VOW I'M NOT GOING TO LOOK, I'M
NOT GOING TO LOOK, AND THERE WE ARE.
WE CAN'T STOP.
>> Stephen: WE'RE LIKE HAMSTERS HITTING THE PEDAL TO
GET ANOTHER PELLET.
>> ARE WE SMARTER?
>> Stephen: NO, I'M DO YOU REMEMBER, FOR SURE.
( LAUGHTER ) LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW WE GOT
HERE.
IN 1999 WHEN DONALD TRUMP HAD HIS FIRST FLIRTATION FOR RUNNING
FOR PRESIDENT, DIDN'T ANNOUNCE AT THE TIME.
YOU INTERVIEWED HIM IN '99.
>> I DID.
>> Stephen: HAS HE CHANGED OR WE CHANGED?
>> GOOD QUESTION.
>> Stephen: THANK YOU.
( LAUGHTER ) >> YOU ARE SMARTER.
( LAUGHTER ) HE WAS AMAZINGLY CONSISTENT
ABOUT CHINA AND THE TRADE WAR.
>> Stephen: SO TARIFFS BACK THEN, TOO.
>> TARIFFS BACK THEN, TOO.
NORTH KOREA BACK THEN, TOO.
I SAID TO HIM AT ONE POINT, SOMETHING ABOUT STUNTS.
I'M NOT SURE IN MEMORY WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO, BUT THESE
STUNTS THAT YOU DO IN CAMPAIGNING, AND HE SAID, WE
CALL THEM STUNTS, BUT THEY ENERGIZE ME, AND PEOPLE WANT ME
ENERGIZED.
SO THAT'S WHY I DO THEM.
GOING TO KEEP ON DOING THEM.
SO HE TOLD US A LOT ABOUT WHO HE WAS AND HOW HE CAMPAIGNS.
>> Stephen: AND BACK THEN NO ONE TOOK HIM SERIOUSLY.
>> WELL, WE'VE CHANGED.
WE'VE CERTAINLY CHANGED.
WE'VE SEEN THE UNDERTOE TH UNDER PULLING US APART.
I'M FROM KENTUCKY AND MY FAMILY ALONE, THERE ARE SO MANY
OPINIONS ON EVERY SINGLE ISSUE.
WE FOUGHT OUR WAY THROUGH THE CUMBERLAND PASS, WE'RE TOUGH,
AND YET WE HAVE SUCH TROUBLE EVEN SOMETIMES JUST ADDRESSING
WHAT EACH OTHER IS FEELING.
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A DAVID BROOKS COLUMN, I DON'T KNOW IF
YOU SAW IT, IT INTERESTED ME, AND HE SAID, AFTER ALL THIS
TIME, IN THIS MOMENT, WE'VE GOT TO THINK OF SOMETHING DIFFERENT
BECAUSE IT'S NOT WORKING.
WE'RE NOT TALKING TO EACH OTHER IN A WAY THAT ACTUALLY IS MAKING
US LUMINATED ABOUT EACH OTHER AND -- ILLUMINATED ABOUT EACH
OTHER AND HOW WE GOT HERE.
>> Stephen: THIS ISN'T THE FIRST DIVISION IN MY LIFETIME.
>> NO.
>> Stephen: I REMEMBER THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION.
I REMEMBER WATERGATE.
WE HAVE A PRESIDENT NOW WHO IS UNDER INVESTIGATION.
SOME PEOPLE ARE CALLING FOR HIS IMPEACHMENT.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S THAT GREAT OF AN IDEA BECAUSE I THINK IF
DONALD TRUMP SHOULD LEAVE OFFICE, IT SHOULD BE THROUGH
POLITICAL MEANS, NOT NECESSARILY THROUGH JUDICIAL OR EXTREME
CONSTITUTIONAL REMEDIES.
BUT YOU WERE IN THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE BACK THEN.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW YOUR PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE WE HAVE A
SHOT OF YOU -- THIS IS YOU AND RICHARD NIXON IN 1972.
>> I THINK WE WERE IN CHINA, BY THE WAY.
IT WAS THE OPENING TO CHINA.
>> Stephen: YOU WENT ON THE TRIP TO CHINA?
>> I DID.
>> Stephen: WHAT WAS YOUR JOB IN THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION.
>> HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION?
YOU WERE NINE YEARS OLD.
>> Stephen: FONDLY AT THIS POINT.
>> YOU DON'T REMEMBER IT.
>> Stephen: I WAS A LITTLE OBSESSED EVEN AS A CHILD.
>> REALLY?
>> Stephen: I'M THE YOUNGEST OF 11 CHILDREN.
MY SISTER MARGO SAT ME DOWN, 12 YEARS MY SENIOR, SHE'S IN
COLLEGE, AND SHE SAID LET ME EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY THIS IS
IMPORTANT BECAUSE WHEN I CAME HOME FROM THE SCHOOL, I WOULDN'T
HAVE "BEVERLY HILLBILLIES" ON, IT WOULD BE SENATOR ERVIN WITH
HIS EYEBROWS GRILLING JOHN DEAN.
SO THAT'S WHY I WOULD BE BOARD.
SO AS A LITTLE KID, I WOULD WATCH THE HEARINGS.
SO WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE INSIDE A WHITE HOUSE UNDER SIEGE LIKE
THAT?
>> I WAS IN MY EARLY 20s, A LOT OF "OH, MY GOD," AS YOU
SAID.
INCONCEIVABLE THINGS.
A BREAK-IN IN THE WATERGATE HOTEL, PLUMBERS IN THE BASEMENT
OF THE WHITE HOUSE, AS THEY WERE CALLED.
THE TAPES.
IT WAS ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER.
I ALSO REMEMBER THE DAY I LEFT ON THE PLANE WITH HIM.
>> Stephen: OH, YOU DID.
I DID.
YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?
>> Stephen: WHY?
BECAUSE HE HAD ASKED AND SOME OF THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO WANTED
TO JUST GO OUT AND FIGURE OUT WHAT ON EARTH, WHAT STATE WE
WERE LEAVING THE COUNTRY IN ASKED IF I WOULD COME OUT.
SO I AGREED TO DO IT BECAUSE MY DAD HAD ALWAYS SAID THAT YOU
HAVE TO MEASURE YOURSELF BY WHETHER YOU'RE THERE IN THE
WORST OF TIMES FOR PEOPLE, TOO.
>> Stephen: AND NOW YOU'RE DOING A NEW SPECIAL CALLED MY
REALITY HIDDEN AMERICA.
TELL ME WHAT THAT'S ABOUT.
>> AFTER THE TECTONIC EVENT OF ALL THESE BRAVE WOMEN SPEAKING
OUT, ALL THE BOLD THINGS THEY SAID.
>> Stephen: AS PART OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT?
>> AS PART OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT, WE WERE STARTING TO
WONDER ABOUT ALL THE WOMEN IN THE COUNTRY FEELING ALONE WHO
ARE NOT IN THE SPOTLIGHT AND CAN WE DO SOMETHING THAT WILL MATTER
FOR THEM.
EWE GOT VIDEOTAPES AND AUDIOTAPES.
YOU HAVE TO HEAR THESE STORIES IN DIFFERENT PARTS TO HAVE THE
COUNTRY.
PEOPLE IN RESTAURANTS.
ONE OF THE TWO OF US HAS WORKED IN A RESTAURANT -- DID YOU WORK
IN A RESTAURANT?
>> Stephen: I WAITED TABLES FIVE YEARS.
>> WERE YOU ACTOR WAITER OR WAITER-WAITER?
>> Stephen: I WAS AN ACTOR-WAITER BUT I WASN'T ACTING
LIKE A WAITER I WAS ACTUALLY A WAITER.
( LAUGHTER ) I LIKED WAITING TABLES.
DID YOU NOT WAIT TABLES?
>> I WAITED TABLES, IT WAS MY FIRST REAL JOB AND I WAS A
DISASTER WAIT SNORER.
>> Stephen: OKAY.
MOST FAMOUSLY DELIVERED THE DOUBLE DIP ICE CREAM AND BY THE
TIME I GOT IT DOWN THERE WAS ONLY ONE SCOOP.
MY INVESTIGATION SAID IT WAS GOING DOWN THE BACK OF THE
CUSTOMER.
>> Stephen: YOU'RE WHAT WE CALL A WEAK LINK.
>> I WAS.
THEY DIDN'T KEEP ME LONG FOR SOME REASON.
( LAUGHTER ) BUT IN THIS COUNTRY, WE KNOW
THERE ARE 6 MILLION PEOPLE WORKING IN RESTAURANTS, SO MANY
OF THEM, IT'S THEIR FIRST JOB, AND WE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WILL
HELP YOU TOMORROW, NOT WHEN THE CULTURE CHANGES, TOMORROW.
THEN WE WENT OUT TO THE HOTEL STAFF WHO HAVE TO OPEN THE DOORS
NOT KNOWING WHAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE, AND THERE ARE REAL THINGS
THAT CAN CHANGE THEIR LIVES TOMORROW, SO WE THOUGHT WHAT CAN
WE DO.
>> Stephen: WE HAVE A CLIP HERE.
>> OF THE TRUCKING.
>> Stephen: THIS IS THE TRUCKING?
>> 63,000 JOBS ARE AVAILABLE IN TRUCKING.
THEY'RE GOOD-PAYING JOBS.
CAN WE MAKE SURE THE WOMEN WHO WANT THEM CAN FEEL ABSOLUTELY
SAFE.
>> Stephen: WOMEN DRIVING BIG RIGS.
>> BIG RIGS.
>> Stephen: WE HAVE A CLIP OF DIANE TALKING TO A COUPLE OF
DRIVERS.
>> FOR MONTHS WE HAVE BEEN IN SEARCH FOR THE HIDDEN REALITY
FOR HOTEL WORKERS, RESTAURANT WORKERS, AT TRUCK STOPS AROUND
THE WORKERS.
ALONG THE WAY I MEET STEPHANIE WHO FEELS SAFE IN HER 17-TON
RIG.
BUT WE GOT WORD OF A YOUNG WOMAN WHO WANTS TO MEET IN SECRET.
SHE SAYS SHE WAS ATTACKED IN HER TRUCK AND ALWAYS CARRIES
WEAPONS.
>> HERE I KEEP THE MACE AND THE RAZOR.
>> DO YOU HAVE PROTECTION OUT HERE?
>> NO.
YOU'RE KIDDING ME.
>> FOR REAL?
CAN'T IMAGINE IT.
AT ALL.
ND WE GO IN SEARCH OF ALL THE OTHER STORIES, AND, AS I
SAY, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS THAT INCLUDE PEOPLE YOU WOULD NOT
EXPECT.
A LOFT MEN COMING FORWARD SAYING THIS IS OUR FIGHT, TOO, LET US
IN TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE YOU.
>> Stephen: THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, LOVELY TO SEE YOU
AGAIN.
>> SO NICE TO SEE YOU.
>> Stephen: DIANE.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) "MY REALITY: A HIDDEN AMERICA"
AIRS NEXT FRIDAY ON ABC.
DIANE SAWYER, EVERYBODY!
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH JOSHUA JACKSON.