OTHERS ON THE SHORT LIST BUT I
THINK TONIGHT HE’S SHOWING WHAT
HE BRINGS TO THE TABLE.
WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE TICKET.
>> TODAY MARKS KAMALA HARRIS’S
FIRST BIG DECISION WHICH SHE
WOULD CARRY FOUR YEARS INTO THE
PRESIDENCY.
AND IT WENT REALLY WELL.
THE DECISION LOOKS GOOD ON
SUBSTANCE, AND THE SPEECH WAS A
HOME RUN.
THERE ARE TIMES WHERE YOU JUST
NEED A WHISKEY.
WE’VE ALL HAD THOSE TIMES
COVERING THE NEWS CYCLES.
[ LAUGHTER ]
>> LONG PAUSE.
TAKING A DRINK.
BUT THERE ARE OTHER TIMES WHERE
THE BEST THING FOR YOU IS SOME
GATORADE AND A GOOD LONG RUN.
AND I THINK THE PARTY HAS HAD
THESE DEBATES AND THESE MOMENTS
AND THESE FREAKOUTS AND THEN IS
STABILIZING.
HARRIS IS LEADING TO NOW HANDING
OFF AS A RUNNING MATE WHO WE SAW
GIVE THAT SPEECH.
THIS IS AMERICA’S DAD, AMERICA’S
FOOTBALL COACH --
>> SHE CALLED HIM COACH WALZ.
>> AMERICA’S TEACHER.
AND A TEACHER THAT IS COOL
ENOUGH WITHOUT TRYING TO BE COOL
BUT THEN WHEN PEOPLE ARE, I WAS
READING ABOUT THIS TODAY AND IT
CAME UP ON THE STAGE.
WHEN PEOPLE ARE SINNING OUT
OTHER CLASSMATES BECAUSE OF
THEIR IDENTITY OF WHO THEY ARE,
THIS IS THE PERSON WHO COMES IN
AND LEADS.
THAT’S ACTUALLY REALLY COOL.
COOL IN A DEEPER WAY.
AND YOU GET THIS IMPRESSION.
THERE WILL BE TIME TO ASSESS ALL
THIS AND HAVE DEBATES.
AND HAVE THE INVESTIGATIVE
JOURNALISM.
THIS IS SOMEONE WHO ACCORDED
HIMSELF TREMENDOUSLY WELL.
AND WILL THAT GATORADE AND THAT
RUN AND THAT HEALTHY UPLIFTING
VIBE, BOY, DOES THE PARTY NEED
IT.
AS THEY MADE THE ARGUMENT, SO
DOES AMERICA NEED IT.
LIBERAL WITHOUT BEING STRIDENT.
STRONG WITHOUT BEING OVERLY
BOMBASTIC.
KIND IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE OF
THE WORD.
AND I DON’T REALLY DO DOG
WHISTLES AND I SWEAR THIS IS NOT
A DOG WHISTLE.
YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER WHY THIS IS
NOT JUST A PURELY COASTAL BLUE
STATE, RED STATE TICKET.
YES, HE’S FROM A BLUE STATE.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE DISTRICT
HE’S FROM.
IT HAD A HEARTLAND THING GOING
ON.
AND HEARTLAND ISN’T NECESSARILY
LEFT OR RIGHT.
SO KAMALA HARRIS’S FIRST BIGG
ADDITION, WHATEVER YOU HEARD
ABOUT ME, I DON’T KNOW HOW TO
GET THINGS DONE.
I KNOW HOW TO LEAD.
I’M BRINGING FROM ANOTHER PART
OF THE COUNTRY.
THAT DOESN’T MEAN COMPROMISING
ON YOUR CORE BELIEFS.
>> I THINK THAT YOU LEARN
POLITICS IN THE ROOMS YOU’RE IN.
COMEDIANS TALK ABOUT THE ROOM.
YOU’RE GIVEN JOKES AND THE
PEOPLE ARE IN THAT ROOM AND YOU
DO IT OVER AND OVER AND YOU FIND
OUT WHAT HITS AND WHAT DOESN’T.
WE’VE SEEN DONALD TRUMP DO THAT
WITH HIS CROWD.
THAT’S A COLLABORATION BETWEEN
DONALD TRUMP AND THE MAGA
FAITHFUL.
>> THAT’S HOW HE LEARNS WHAT HIS
POLICIES ARE.
>> AND THIS IS A GUY WHOSE ROOM
HAS BEEN, HE’S BEEN WORKING AS A
TEACHER IN A RURAL SCHOOL
DISTRICT AND THEN IN A
CONSERVATIVE RURAL CONGRESSIONAL
DISTRICT, AND THEN IN THE STATE
OF MINNESOTA, A STATEWIDE LEVEL.
AGAIN, A STATE THAT IS A BL
STATE BUT CAN BE A BATTLEGROUND
STATE.
DONALD TRUMP CAME VERY CLOSE TO
YANKING IT AWAY IN 2016.
AND I THINK JOSH SHAPIRO DOES AS
WELL, THE APPROACH OF BARACK
OBAMA’S 2004 CONVENTION SPEECH.
LIKE PATRIOTIC PLURALISM.
LIKE A VISION OF AN INCLUSIVE
SOCIETY, THE AMERICAN CIVIC
CREED, WHERE WE STAND UP TO
BULLIES AND WE MINE OUR OWN
BUSINESS AND THAT’S A WAY OF
TALKING ABOUT A CERTAIN SET OF
WHAT TO ME ARE GENUINE LIBERAL
AND PROGRESSIVE POLICIES IN AN
OPEN-HEARTED AND INVITING WAY
THAT IS NOT WRAPPED UP IN HARD
TO UNDERSTAND JARGON.
AND I THINK HE JUST DOES IT REAL
DAMN WELL.
>> NICOLE?
>> SO IN 2008, WORKING FOR THE
McCAIN CAMPAIGN.
LOOKING AT THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN,
THERE WAS SOMETHING CELLULAR
ABOUT WINNING THIS.
THEY HAVE THIS CELLULAR
WINNINGNESS GOING ON.
AND YOU BROUGHT UP THE WHISKEY
AND I THINK THAT WE WERE ALL
TOGETHER FIVE AND A HALF WEEKS
AGO COVERING THE DEBATE.
AND THERE WAS A MOMENT.
YOU WERE THE FIRST TO COME ON
THE AIR AND WHAT WE SAW AND YOU
WERE UNFLINCHING AND IT WAS
BRUTAL.
THIS IS THE VIBE OF WINNING.
IT IS MOMENTUM PURE AND SIMPLE.
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS
ISN’T FLAWLESS.
I DON’T THINK SHE WOULD SAY
SHE’S FLAWLESS.
SHE IS RUNNING A FLAWLESS
CAMPAIGN.
SHE HAS NOT MADE ONE SINGLE
MISTAKE.
DEMOCRATS LIKE TO SAY, BUT SHE
WILL.
SHE MATE NOT.
REPUBLICANS HAVE NOMINATED TRUMP
THREE TIMES.
I MEAN, SHE IS RUNNING A
FLAWLESS CAMPAIGN AND THIS
CHOICE EVEN EIGHT HOURS AGO
WASN’T AS OBVIOUS AS IT IS NOW.
HE MADE A COUCH JOKE FOR PETE’S
SAKE.
YES TO ALL THE UNIVERSITIAL OF
HIS APPEAL.
THEY ARE UNAPOLOGETIC IN THEIR
POLICIES AND MORALS AND THE
THINGS THAT THEY FIGHT MORE.
THEY’RE TOTALLY APPROACHABLE.
YOU GET THE FEELING THAT HE HAS
PLENTY NEIGHBORS WHO WEAR MAGA
HATS AND HE PICKS UP THEIR PAPER
AND BRINGS TO IT THEIR FRONT
DOOR AND THEY’RE FRIENDS.
THERE IS BEEN A THIRST AND A
HUNGER FOR THAT.
AND I THINK SHE HAD ANOTHER --
WINNING ALSO IS ABOUT STRINGING
TOGETHER ONE GOOD NEWS CYCLE
AFTER ONE GOOD NEWS CYCLE AFTER
ONE GOOD NEWS CYCLE.
SHE HAS DONE THAT EVERY SINGLE
DAY INCLUDING TODAY.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
THE LINE THAT I WROTE DOWN FROM
COACH WALZ, I GUESS WE’LL HAVE
TO CALL HIM.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING BACK THE
JOY.
>> THAT WAS HIS OPENING LINE.
AND I THINK THAT’S PART OF WHAT
IT IS.
I’VE GOTTEN SO MANY TEXT
MESSAGES FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE
BEEN LOCKED IN THIS CYCLE OF
TERROR AND FEAR ABOUT WHAT IS TO
COME, RIGHT?
THIS FEAR OF FASCISM THAT IS
LEGITIMATE.
DONALD TRUMP REALLY DOES WANT TO
BRING BACK FASCISM. >> YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T TALK
ABOUT OUR PRIVATE DISCUSSIONS.
I’M SORRY.
>> I CAN’T!
THE REALITY IS I THINK A LOT OF
PEOPLE HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW FUN
CAMPAIGNS CAN BE.
I’VE ENJOYED WORKING ON
CAMPAIGNS BACK IN THE DAY.
THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT IT
THAT WAS SORT OF THE
CIVIC-MINDEDNESS OF IT.
THE CAMARADERIE OF IT.
AND THERE IS A CERTAIN ASPECT
THAT’S FUN EVEN THOUGH THE
STAKES ARE BIG.
AND I THINK WITH DONALD TRUMP,
HE HAS THIS KIND OF STALE ACT
THAT ISN’T NEW. IT ISN’T FRESH.
’S DOING THE SAME-STICK THAT HE
DID.
IT’S WRAPPED UP IN THE THINGS HE
WANTS TO DO TO US.
THEY WANT TO DRAG US BACK TO THE
1950s.
THEY WANT WOMEN TO ALL GET
MARRIED AND HAVE BABIES AND THEY
WANT 10-YEAR-OLDS TO HAVE KIDS.
HE WANTS 10-YEAR-OLDS TO HAVE
LUNCH.
IT IS THE SIMPLE MIDWESTERN
VALUES THING THAT BARACK OBAMA
DID IN HIS CAMPAIGN.
YOU CAN SAY HE’S THIS EXOTIC
FIGURE, TRUMP IS USEING HIS WHOL
MIDDLE NAME.
HE’S A GUY WOULD YOU PLAY
BASKETBALL WITH AND SO IS THIS
GUY.
IT WORKED.
AND IT WORKED FOR JOE BIDEN.
IT IS ONE OF THE WAYS BIDEN
DEFEATED TRUMP.
I’M JUST GOING TO BRING BACK NORMAL.
I’M NOT GOING TO POO IN A GOLD
TOILET.
J.D. VANCE IS EVEN WEIRDER AND
THIS IS COMFORTABLE.
>> IF YOU LOOK FOR AMERICANS
DISCOVERING THAT THERE’S A
PERSON NAMED TIM WALZ TODAY,
WHICH IS A HUGE PERCENTAGE.
>> JUST TO BE CLEAR --
>> EVEN OF DEMOCRATS, RIGHT?
BUT THEY’RE LEARNING THIS IS A
GUY WHO IS A STRAIGHT WHITE GUY
FROM THE MIDWEST WHO TALKS LIKE
HE’S FROM MINNESOTA BECAUSE HE’S
FROM MINNESOTA.
HE GREW UP ON A FARM.
HIS DAD WAS IN THE ARMY.
HE DID 24 YEARS IN THE ARMY
NATIONAL GUARD.
HE WAS A COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR
WHICH IS A BIG DEAL.
HE WAS A HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL
STUDIES TEACHER.
HIS WIFE WAS THE ENGLISH
TEACHER.
HE WAS THE FOOTBALL COACH.
HE RAN IN A CONSERVATIVE
DISTRICT, WAS SEEN AS A CENTRIST
CENTRIST, WAS THE CONGRESSIONAL
SHARPSHOOTER, AND WHEN PARKLAND
HAPPENED, WHEN THE PARKLAND
SHOOTING HAPPENED AND HIS
DAUGHTER WAS 17 YEARS OLD.
HE’S A LIFE-LONG HUNTER AND
RATED FROM THE NRA.
HE DECIDES HE NEEDS TO EVOLVE ON
THAT ISSUE.
AS MOST GUN OWNERS DO, DECIDES
HE’S GOING TO SUPPORT BACKGROUND
CHECKS, RED FLAG LAWS AND OTHER
COMMON SENSE GUN SAFETY LAWS.
AND WHEN HE WAS RUNNING FOR
GOVERNOR THAT YEAR WHEN ALL OF
THAT WAS HAPPENING, HE MAKES
THAT CHANGE AND THEN HE TURNS
AROUND AND HE DONATES TO CHARITY
EVERY DOLLAR THE NRA EVER
DONATED TO HIM OVER THE COURSE
OF HIS CAREER WHEN HE WAS AN
A-RATED NRA FROM A RURAL
RED-LEANING DISTRICT.
>>> NOW HE HAS AN F.
>> WHAT THE HARRIS CAMPAIGN IS
SAYING WITH THIS IS, THIS IS
AMERICA AND IT’S INVITING.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE ZOOM CALL
WHICH CAN BE DIFFERENT
CONSTITUENCY GROUPS.
THE WHITE-GUY ZOOM CALL.
IT’S A JOKE.
>> LIKE THE DUDE.
>> IT’S HALF A JOKE BUT VERY
REAL IN THAT YOU’RE BRINGING
PEOPLE TOGETHER.
DEMOCRATS SPENT MANY YEARS ON
DEFENSE, ON SO-CALLED
CONSERVATIVE ISSUES INCLUDING
NATIONAL SECURITY, OR SAFE.
YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT WHAT DOES
SAFETY LOOK LAKE AND WEARING A
DOG PIN.
I’M ALL FOR AMERICA ANY WAY YOU
CHOOSE.
ALL THE RIGHT WING FLAG PIN
THEATER IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM
WHAT HARRIS IS SAYING TODAY
WHICH IS, THIS IS ALSO AMERICA.
IT HAS CERTAIN VALUES.
AND HE SAID YOU CAN HAVE
COMPROMISE ORIENTATION WITHOUT
COMPROMISING YOUR VALUES.
THAT’S A DIFFERENT SORT OF
INVITATION.
AND IT’S DIFFERENT THAN BEING
RIGHT WING PERFORMATIVE.
NOW YOU HAVE THE SO-CALLED MAGA
FOLKS ON DEFENSE.
WHAT’S THE REAL AMERICA?
>> THEY’RE DEBATING WHO IS
WEIRDER.
IF YOU’RE DEBATING WHETHER
YOU’RE WEIRDER OR THEY’RE
WEIRDER, YOU’RE ALREADY LOSING.
WLAES
HE’S WHAT J.D. VANCE PRETENDS TO
BE.
>> 76% OF AMERICANS, NOT DIVIDED
ON GUN SAFETY.
ALL THE REPUBLICANS HAVE HAD FOR
THE LAST TEN YEARS IS CULTURAL
DIVISION.
HE ERASES IT ALL IN A 40-MINUTE
SPEECH.
GONE.
>> I THINK WATCHING THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY WORK THROUGH
ITSELF IN THE LAST THREE WEEKS
OR SO, AND IT JUST, I KEEP
COMING BACK TO THIS NOTION OF
PLURALISM.
IT’S A WATER-DATED WORD.
I THINK IT IS REALLY BEAUTIFUL
AND THE CENTRAL CORE OF THIS.
DEMOCRACY IS ABOUT ATTACHING
ACROSS ALL THE DIFFERENCES.
WE ONLY WANT A BIG ONE SINCE THE
VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
IT IS REALLY HARD TAD.
THEY FALL APART LEFT AND RIGHT.
SHE HAS THESE PARENTS FROM
DIFFERENT TRADITIONS.
SHE GROWS UP IN OAKLAND.
HE’S FROM THIS TOTALLY DIFFERENT
PART OF MANAGER, DIFFERENT
UPBRINGING.
AND THEY’RE ON STAGE STITCHING
TOGETHER THIS COALITION THAT IS
THE PRO DEMOCRACY COALITION.
IT HAS TO OLD TOGETHER WITH
PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE AND COMING
FROM DIFFERENT PLACES.
IT FELT LIKE THAT WAS IT TODAY.
YOU SEE IT.
>> THE WORD FOR THAT IS
DIVERSITY.
>> EXACTLY.
>> OTHERS ARE RUNNING FROM IT
BUT THAT’S WHAT IT IS.
IT MEANS EVERYONE IS AT THE
TABLE.