Welcome back to another amazing episode of the bakari sellers podcast. This is episode number 8 and today's episode is so very special. But before we get here, I want to thank all of you all for downloading all of you all for subscribing sharing with Friends.
Special thanks to all my guests from Deshaun Watson and Alan qivana Tiffany cross. I want to thank Vince and Antoine. I want to thank Jason Johnson Aaron Haynes from The Washington Post 19th. I want to thank everybody Sunny Hostin for being special guest on the bakari sellers podcast. And today like I said is a very special day at the ringer and Spotify because we have none other than they former.
First lady of the great state of Arkansas the former first lady of the United States of America former Secretary of State and the first woman to win the nomination of a major party for president of the United States 65 million votes three million more than Donald Trump. Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton who I think many of us all of us would say should be the president of the United States.
Before I get into this Hillary Clinton interview, I do want to give you all a sense of hope. This is probably the best political ad that I've seen and heard during this cycle. It's by my good friend Jamie Harrison who's running for United States Senate in the great state of South Carolina. He's running against Lindsey Graham, and this is from Lindsey Graham must go in, South Carolina.
I'mma tell my story of Hope
there was one night. I was in the United States Capitol was late was about midnight so late that the custodial staff is starting to come to clean up. So I'm sitting at my computer doing my work with Jim Clyburn and it was as middle-aged African-American woman and she came and she said, you know you from South Carolina and I said, yes ma'am. I am she said are you from Orangeburg? I said, yes, ma'am from Lawrenceburg. Then she goes over to my pictures on the wall. She says it's that your mother and I said, yes, ma'am.
Is your mother's name Patricia Harrison? Yes, ma'am. She started to shake and she put her hand up to her mouth and she said oh my God, I know your mother. I went to high school with your mother. I remember when your mom dropped out of school to have you and Tina start flowing from her face and tears before the mind and she hugged me. She said I would have never thought that Patricia Harris and Son would be right here.
You give me hope life is emblematic that the American Dream works see this ad is what Democrats have to do more of it's not about telling us who your opponent was but giving people a reason to come out and vote in on this election cycle during this period I think it's safe to say that when listening to that edge. You understand that the reason we must vote for Jamie Harris.
And is because Jamie Harrison is hope he's hope personified. So make sure you go and check those sites out. Check out Lindsey Graham has go check out Jamie Harrison site donate donate time donate treasure do whatever you can so we can get rid of Lindsey Graham in the in the words of how we do in South Carolina bless his heart that goes to you Lindsay and you know again welcome to another episode of this amazing podcast. I
Like I do most introductions want to start with the topic that's near and dear to my heart because I'm a parent with a teenage daughter and I'm just as concerned as many of you are about the fall and reopening schools her school just said that they were going to be reopening five days a week in case you missed it. The new fault line and Republican politics is forcing schools to open even as coronavirus cases Spike across the country, especially in States run by Southern Republican governors.
Missouri's governess Mike Parsons basically say fuck them kids. That's his new slogan my Governor Henry McMaster in South Carolina was a bit more reasonable than Governor Parsons, but instead of putting as many dollars as possible into safety precautions for our teachers and providing rural schools with the resources to support virtual education. Listen to what he did. He diverted 32 million dollars in federal funds for grants for private school tuition.
In Florida as we know Governor DeSantis is just horrible. He's forcing schools to open for five days a week for in-person instruction as teachers prepare their Wills around the country in places where they're being forced to choose between their health and the jobs. They love while still being woefully underpaid mayor's across the country who were trying to fight the good fight mayor's like my mayor Steve Benjamin mayor Keisha Lance bottoms and Atlanta are having to fight their own.
Nurse who won't even mandate wearing masks while forcing children to go to school right as coronavirus cases Spike. So what do we do? Well first Mike Parsons has a competitive race with Democratic candidate, Nicole Galloway. Anybody who says what he says about our children and our teachers deserves to lose.
So go to Nicole Galloway.com and donate now.
Henry won't be up again until 2022. But in the meantime, I encourage my listeners to support my friends at SC for Ed at SC for Ed dot org who will be on the front line supporting teachers that may be forced to work in the fall in South Carolina and in Florida. I'm sending Good Vibes to my friends at the Florida Education Association who is taking governor DeSantis to court.
Finally as we always do before we get into our guest. I want to add a special message from Tobias Harris, you know, nothing against the T-shirt.
You want to make sure that Daniel
Cameron will rest the cops and officers involved with Rihanna Taylor's death. And yeah, that's all I got to say. Thank her enough for game camera and step up and to do what's right, and that's the only message I got today. Appreciate everybody. Thanks.
Attorney general Cameron you have killers in your streets Jonathan Mattingly Brett hankinson and Miles Cosgrove arrest them and arrest them now now this get into another amazing interview with my good friend secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.
So you've been you started your new
podcast? Yes your honor it is the bakari sellers podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. We've we've had to Sean Watson the quarterback for the Houston Texans. We've talked NASCAR. We've had Vince card and Antoine Jameson. We've had Charlemagne our good friend Charlotte a great great Stephon Gilmore. And now we have you and so I thank you for coming out. How's your podcast going?
Well, you know mine won't start until September. So we did as you know, because you were one of my very first guest we
We've done a lot of interviews. We thought we were going to be able to start in May and then because of you know covid and everything. We're starting in September so I can't wait. I've had some really terrific conversations with people including you and hopefully we'll be able to you know be podcasting together.
How does it feel to be finally be asking the questions don't you like them being that it does it I
know to be on the other on the other side.
Side of the camera and the microphone but how's your book doing?
So thank you for that. Thank you for your help. We were on the New York Times bestsellers list for three weeks in a row. I thought we found out we have been they've produced over 50,000 copies will be in Spain and France and Germany and January and nobody knows this yet, but we're signing to more book deal. So we're breaking news out of a children's book coming out next summer and then my
To come out in 2022. So we're
inside so glad well. I you know, I meant it when I said I thought it was a terrific story and you told it well a lot of passion and emotion. It really was extremely well done. So it's great to hear that you're going to be doing something for kids plus another book on your own.
Well, listen, most people don't know the last person the last segment one of the last human beings. I've actually seen when traveling was Hillary Clinton in New York.
When we were taping your podcast and now the the coronavirus covid-19 is taking over our world. My first question to you is this obvious that this president has failed to anticipate and respond to covet that's clear. You wrote about it in your book. But what should we have done when we first learned about the coronavirus and late November early December
boy, but Paris. I wish we could turn the clock back because if we'd had a competent caring prepared White House, they wouldn't have gotten rid of
The special unit that the Obama Administration set up for the National Security Council to monitor the rise of disease everybody knew that it was a matter of time not if but when unfortunately this Administration cut the budget of the Centers for Disease Control cut out a lot of the funding that would have gone to pandemic preparation and response and you would have had a president who paid attention to his intelligence briefings.
Who took it seriously from the beginning? I remember when I was Secretary of State and we dealt with H1N1, you know, it was all hands on deck State Department was involved White House was involved. Everybody was trying to figure out how to make sure we dealt with it internationally and then tried to you know, obviously mitigate against it at home and you would have had a President Who understood what the national stockpile was immediately turned to using the defense production Act.
That we could manufacture the personal protective equipment the ventilators whatever anybody needed you would have had a president and a white house that actually worked closely with the state's not in an antagonistic manner the way they have done but what do you need? And how do we do it? You would have had a president that model good behavior including wearing a mask and recognizing that if we even today after all the mistakes and the
The indifference to the loss of life and the rate of infection even today if we took mask-wearing seriously social distancing. Seriously, we could get the virus under control in four to six weeks and that's not just me saying it that's people within the Trump Administration like his Surgeon General and the head of the CDC people that he put there unfortunately, you know, we had a president ill prepared to be president and Incredibly.
Inconsistent and indifferent to the suffering that this virus is caused not just health wise but economically
so how much has our response to covid further undermine our standing globally and throughout the world. I mean,
it's been devastating.
Yeah, I mean as a former Secretary of State, I mean, let's just let's just think about this. I am claiming Joe Biden's victory in November. I mean, we still got to work like hell to get there. I know that but what type of mess is the next secretary of state inheriting because of this pandemic
make that's been raging out of control with the I say that you know, you had a party of family values of Christian conservatives and whatever it may be whatever they Adorn themselves and now it's just a party of utter incompetence. And so what is the next secretary of state has to do to reclaim that Global standing?
Well, I mean, it's a huge undertaking. I think it can be done as long as we do retire him in November and get Joe Biden as our next president because
Vice President Biden has a long history of working internationally and the entire team has White House team has secretaries of state and defense and every other aspect of the government will obviously have to tend to all of the damage and problems that are left behind here at home. But it's imperative that we rebuild our standing and leadership in the world. Tell us why well, because if we Retreat we leave a vacuum and who fills that vacuum a very
Vladimir Putin who just yesterday we learned is having his intelligence professionals Target our vaccine researchers. I mean really who could make this up. I mean, I know how dangerous he is because of what he did to me, but everybody should recognize that Russia is our adversary
and then we've got China and we rise in let's let's let's just do the Russia for one moment, please because I I tell people if
Benghazi was actually a real conspiracy theory if it was actually something that was concrete you would have what we had just recently with we found out that the Russian government was paying Taliban agents to kill American soldiers. I mean when you look back at these things when you see the totality and the lack of leadership in the void other than the fact that you were right about almost everything. How does that make you feel? I mean as we go through this and we understand what the next secretary of state has. What's your response to that?
Well, it makes me feel you know, incredibly worried about where the United States stands in the world and how we are being taken advantage of to have bounties put on American soldiers to have the other misbehavior by Putin starting with our election going through trying to steal vaccine information. Totally left on remarked upon even by the president or anybody in his administration.
Let alone any action taken to have China, you know going into a deal with Iran for trade and Military cooperation. I could go down the list and then not only what our adversaries and competitors are doing because we have left the field but our friends and our allies who we should be working with on everything from getting a new vaccine to stopping the threats posed by Russia Iran, North Korea, China.
Our democracies so the work will be cut out and it reminds me a little bit. Although it wasn't as bad back. Then when President Obama asked me to be Secretary of State. He said look I'm facing a total financial disaster. Plus we have problems around the world. I can't do both at the same time. I'm going to do what I can to save the economy. You got to go out and figure out how to rebuild our relationships and so we can do it people even those who complain about the United States don't want us to retreat and certainly don't want
An inconsistent unreliable president who nobody can count on here at home or anywhere else in the world.
Look I just think and you don't have to come in but I think people to judge has an amazing potential Secretary of State but that's just my personal opinion. I know I know everybody's like a, you know Pete's 30-something but you know Millennials are changing the world. Let's switch gears real quick putting on your mom. Hat your grandma had and every other hat you've worn as the first lady of Arkansas, which you
The amazing work. How would we reopen school safely? That's the Hot Topic today. So yeah, I'm kind. I'm pretty sure you're not sending your grandkids to school in this madness. You wouldn't
know. I mean, none of us can be sure about what will happen. I've looked at what other countries have done some have been more successful than
others that would you just you literally just pick up what other countries have done during quarantine. That's what Hillary Clinton.
Yeah. I mean, I'm looking for information. I'm trying to let you know I have both a personal and a professional interest.
Did it, you know some countries have had the I think good planning to create the space that is needed to have the testing constantly the tracing of anybody with an infection. That is found. We don't do any of that. I mean, you know, how are we going to keep teachers and students safe when we won't even all wear masks. I
mean, how much has come at me? How much of this is incompetent versus just an outright disregard for our teachers and our
Noise, I mean, I think it's both I think it's both. I think it's you know, clearly. I don't trust Betsy DeVos, you know on anything and with her and Trump trying to push to get people to go back to schools when they haven't even set a good example about how we can try to flatten the curve and and try to end the incredible upsurge in infections in our country. I mean who's going to believe them nobody's going to believe them and so school districts and states are once again left.
To their own devices and they're all trying to figure it out. And I you know, I just think a lot of places are ill-equipped to be able to bring students and teachers back safely and it breaks my heart because you want kids to be in school and I want my name to be in school.
I just think about the parents. I mean you have so many parents that have to work now, but now they're going to have to I mean and
you know where they going to manage I mean and it's really going to fall very heavily on women because you know, if somebody's got to stay home and take care of the kids and there's no
Care and there's no school then. How's that? How's the mom going to work plus, you know take care of her children. It's really going to be a terrible burden on millions of families.
Let me ask you a question about women and particularly the Democratic party, but do you think that Donald Trump and his impact on Republican politics will permanently shift because we've seen this but will permanently shift college educated white women to Democrats after he's gone or to somebody like Nikki Haley reverse that I mean, we saw that in your race people know the stats.
Of 53 percent of white women voting for Donald Trump and college-educated women falling down on your side. I mean, I think Nikki's Dynamic and whatever but but how much damage this Donald Trump do to that narrative?
Well, I think he's done incredible damage to the Republican party and I don't say that with any sense of Glee. I mean you've been in politics, it's good. If you can have
you know, not let me just add it apart. He's right. I was I was friends with Lindsey Graham. You know, it's a different. He's a different person now I is I was you know, I'm friends with Nikki Haley and Tim Scott, but it just seems as if this party even if Donald Trump is defeated, which I believe he will be on November 3rd.
Third Donald Trump's impact on a Republican party will last another decade plus.
Yeah. Well unless the Republican party when they finally see the last of Donald Trump quickly change to become a rational bowl fact-based no deliberative party again, you're asking I work with people with problems. What are unique
idea what means it but Mitch McConnell Merrick Garland. I mean, I'm a think about this think about the Judiciary for
Second write what they did to Merrick Garland We Know RBG now has cancer and you know, I
pray every night. I am praying. I'm praying bakari.
I pray every night that like we bubble wrap Stevie Wonder in RBG. Like I just nothing I don't want anything to happen to either one of those people right idea. Yeah just bubble wrap them. But but what happened, I mean what happens if RBG if she resigns or and then Clarence?
Thomas resigns between now and then the shape of the Judiciary. What does that look like? I mean Donald Trump's imprint on this country will last forever.
Well, I'm not going to go there because you know, I just am hoping and praying that you know Ruth Bader Ginsburg just hangs on and keeps doing the great work she's doing but look he's already influence the Judiciary I think more than 200 district and an appeals court your additions have been
Filled and you know what? That's that's something that people need to focus on when they vote for president because the Supreme Court is at stake, right? Why
don't why don't dimmick. Why don't we talk about these issues? I know Brian does I know bright. This is like Brian Fallon's going to going to listen to this. He's gonna call us. He's on called Nick, he's gonna call you. He's gonna be like, this is my baby. I dream about this I get that. But but why do Democrats not talk about this issue and making an effective political issue? I am praying and hoping
Hoping that Joe Biden releases a list of candidates that he would choose from Kent on G Brown Jackson the federal district court judge to Danielle. Holly Walker the dean of the law school and and at Howard or Stacey Abrams sister who's a federal court judge in Georgia. What can Democrats do to embrace this issue of the federal Judiciary because it's literally changing the landscape of our country and we're not
wearing you're doing a lot right now just by talking about it and trying to get your listeners to
Attention, you know, I talked about it in 2016. You could never break through their people had a lot of other things on their minds. They're worried about Healthcare and jobs climate change, whatever the issue might be but the Judiciary as we've seen with Trump can be manipulated. He has nominated and Mitch McConnell has gotten through the Senate people who are totally unqualified to be a federal judge. I mean forget their particular point of view, which
Which is equally troubling but they'd never had tried a case. They had never filed a motion. They had never been in a courtroom and they didn't even know basic things when they were questioned by the Judiciary Committee in the Senate. It didn't matter, you know, Trump sent them we're going to put them through and try to you know, really tilt the court so far right for the foreseeable future. So all we can do now is make sure that Vice President Biden when he becomes president.
Moves quickly to fill every single vacancy that is left and do everything we can to prevent Mitch McConnell from filling anymore.
I'm with you from your mouth to God's ears to the electorate to the electorate. I am somebody who's been. This is my issue African-American female mortality and judges are my two top priorities, you know, people take their issues to the Black Folk, as you know, we always we take our issues like everybody else to the voting booth. And those are my number one and two issues that I'm taking with me. Let me ask you another question just about something you talked about in the
I'm paying a lot and people just didn't give you credit for shied away from it or distorted it but you talked extensively about systemic racism in here campaign. The irony though is that it took time for a lot of our white Democrats to come around even to the things that you were saying about systemic racism. Are you surprised by how quickly the winds have shifted around issues like reparations and black lives matter?
Well, I think the horrific video of George Floyd being murdered.
And what was your reaction when you saw
that it, you know, it literally made me sick. It made me angry and sick and outraged and I think for people who had never paid attention to these issues or somehow thought that they weren't, you know their issues or there wasn't really much that could be done about it that broke through in an
Will this Railway and that's what was needed, you know, all of the I mean all the people that I lifted up the mothers of the movement and others, you know, it didn't have the impact of those eight minutes and 46 seconds of watching that police officer intentionally kill a fellow human being so I'm hoping that that moment of moral Reckoning that nobody could turn away from Will.
Finally lead to the changes that many of us believe are necessary. I'm encouraged by the house bill that was passed the George Floyd Justice and policing act. It has a lot of great reforms and not only did every Democrat every Democrat vote for it. But three Republicans did to you know, sadly it goes to the Senate where Mitch McConnell could care less and will you know, keep it off the agenda and that's why it'll have to be brought up again.
in when we win the Senate and we increase our numbers in the house and we have a Democratic president and a lot of state legislators including you know, and my state of New York have taken action that has just been compelled by what people could not turn away from
back in 2015 and you met with some black lives matter activists. I remember this and you made this quote that stuck with me. Kai is going to play the quote when the show airs, but you said I don't believe you change Hearts. I believe you change laws you change allocation of resources you change the way systems operate you're not going to change every heart you're not but at the end of the day we could do a whole lot to change some hearts and change some systems and create more opportunities for people who
Of to have them to live up to their own god-given potential. Do you believe that what we're seeing across the country right now is a change of heart or at least public opinion around black lives matter and the irony is that you're starting to finally see five years later after you stated that in 2015 what you said come to fruition that people are organizing that we're legislating that we're trying to change
policy. Well, I think it illustrates what I said what I meant.
In that conversation, I am gratified that some people's hearts are being changed. But I am really encouraged that some laws and regulations and systems are being
changed our time ago this week and for me personally, I want to stop making the makers of yellow paint Rich. That's fine painting black lives matter on streets is dope I get it but let's change some systems and let's change some
legislation. Amen. And you know, I think this
The moment but that's why I've been telling a lot of young people with whom I spoke in virtually in the last week's that I'm all for peaceful protest and I think the protest has been powerful. It has been compelling. It has put pressure on, you know, elected officials from Washington to the local level. I'm all for it, but it has to be protests and vote, you know protest alone can raise the issue.
Can illustrate it can make it a stark choice, but if we don't have leaders who are going to listen and respond and do the hard work of changing those systems. We're going to be back here in two years three years five years. However many years from now and I did I do not want that to be the case. I want us to force those changes and you know, I think a lot of the work that went into the justice and policing act that the house passed is
Smart work and it's the kind of work that can only come because you know people got together Karen Bass the head of the Congressional Black Caucus led the effort to pass the George Floyd Justice and policing act and she is a master legislator. She was the speaker of the California House this this woman knows how to get legislation done. So when the time came she was ready and she was able to push it through
And as I said it got three Republican votes, I mean you you gotta Justice in policing Bill through the house. That was bipartisan. That would have never happened before George Floyd.
So I expect you're going to be in Kentucky a lot virtually at least over the next actually virtually for the next side next few months to get some things done. Let's hope you mean before we get the Joe Biden. I do have to ask just one question about as someone who's been and still is the target of white ring right wing media.
Mirrors for decades since you were first lady in Arkansas, what's your advice for the next generation of women like a OC or Ayana Presley who seemed to be the focus of those smears today? What would you tell those ladies?
Well, look, I think they're doing fine. I mean they are out there. They're advocating their positions whether you agree with them or not. They are certainly not cowed or intimidated by the opposition from the Republicans or the far, right?
Right wing that is always trying to set anybody who is outspoken particularly. If you're a woman on the Progressive side of the legislative agenda back. So I think they're doing fine. I think it does wear on you. I mean the level of vitriol that has been Unleashed on line is, you know painful for for many people and you have to grow a thick skin. If you're going to be in the public Arena man or woman, but particularly for women you just
Have to be prepared to fight for what you believe in and you know, look if people are still electing you the people who know you best and and care about what you stand for. You know, it's going to be okay don't give in and don't give up and don't be knocked down by that kind of, you know, really unfair and mean-spirited attacks.
So my final questions for you today are the poles look good. I don't mean to invoke any pain.
Or me let alone let alone you but the pose look good for Joe Biden today better than I mean, he's polling better than any candidate this far out from November when you see the polling, how do you process it? And how would you suggest to people listening? Not necessarily Joe Biden, but people listening how do they interpret polls this far
out?
Look if the election were held next Tuesday, which I wish it would be Joe would win and I'd be a lot more relieved than I am waiting until November. But here's what the Republicans are going to try to do and voters need to be really aware of this number one. They're going to try to suppress the vote. They're going to try to make it hard for you to vote. They're going to try to you know, make those lines stretch for hours. They're going to try to make vote-by-mail difficult.
Thing they can do to try to undermine the fairness of the election is absolutely their agenda. It's what Stacey Abrams contended with and what she's fighting against with her fair fight. It's what I'm you know doing with my onward together group working with democracy docket to bring lawsuits to force states to run Fair elections. So you got to expect the Republicans do that. Another thing they're going to do is they're going to flood polling places with quote Pol Pot.
Ders. Yeah, who are you know going to be very intimidating to voters who show up and we're going to have to stand up to that and the other thing we need and I hope a lot of your listeners will consider. This is we need poll Watchers ourselves both running the elections and helping to you know, to fend off the intimidation that's going to come from the other side. We're also going to see as we already are seeing a flood of misinformation and disinformation.
You send your
online about Joe about
other Democrat. Wish I wish mark would get it under control. But Facebook has been the epicenter of this type of I mean, we just gotta we have to be responsible with our platforms. What's your advice to Joe Biden about picking a VP? I did. You don't know this. You don't know this but Tom Perez and I spoke often before he went to your house for his interview. I was somebody that I said that he spoke with and I believe the final three were vilsack.
Perez and Kane am I if I'm not mistaken and you chose a awesome individual wish I mean how it's a personal process
it it's so personal bukhari and what I tell anybody who asks is number one can this person be president? And you know, that's a big question and you've got to answer it resoundingly. Yes, that person can be president number two. Do I want to work with this person? Others.
Do you like them? Do you like them?
Day with them because there are some people who could be good presidents, but you know, maybe not so compatible and Gotta Be You Gotta feel that this person would be a good partner and then thirdly can this person helped you win or at least Do no harm done. Don't you think this put that away electoral
college is Vice President doesn't this vice president who he chooses have more effect than any vice president in recent history.
I think it could and here's what I fear and and the person who Joe pics has
As to be really ready, you know Trump is tried every attack on Biden and so far they're not sticking because you know, there's no there there and people learn their lesson in 2016 and the Press learned their lesson, right? Yes. So whoever the vice president pick is that person is going to be the target of the most unfair venal attacks from the Republicans and their allies and so we got to be ready to Rally round. Whoever they you know, whoever Joe Peck. I am so bored.
I am prepared to Rally around Kamala Harris whenever he announces her that I don't know. I am shouting at to the rafters. I want I want my daughter to be able to and I know that you and Kamala our friends, but we are and as you are with Karen bass and Marcia fudge and and Tammy Duckworth excetera, but I don't know I just I just feel that she would be a special VP. I feel more special about the fact that I can call Hillary Clinton a friend. And so thank you so much for coming on and hang.
Going out with me for a little
while. Thank you, my friend and you guys stay safe and healthy and just enjoy those kids. Okay,
and please felt tell 42 I said hello as well. We do. We love him and I speak to Frank Scott about the politics of Little Rock often and he's always like man. I'm just trying to make Bill and Hillary proud. So
he's great. I love frank. He's doing a terrific job under really
difficult under really difficult circumstances. But thank you and have fun and kiss those
grandbabies. I'll do it. You take care of the car.
That's love.
