Pod Save America - “Stephen Miller went to Duke.” (LIVE from Durham!)

Episode Date: June 25, 2018

The political fallout from Trump’s immigration policy intensifies, and the midterm campaign heats up. Governor Roy Cooper and Rev. Dr. William Barber II join Jon, Jon, Tommy, and Symone on stage in Durham, North Carolina. 

What's up, Durham? What's up, Durham? Calm down. Calm down. Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm Jon Favreau. I'm Jon Lovett. I'm Simone Sanders. I'm Tommy Lovett. I'm Simone Sanders. I'm Tommy Vitor.

On tonight's show, we'll be talking to the co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, Reverend Dr. William Barber. And we will be talking to the governor of the great state of North Carolina, Roy Cooper. We got a good crowd tonight. Yeah, we do. So, a lot of the news and commentary over the weekend has been about the political fallout from Trump's decision to take children away from their parents who are seeking asylum. We can hiss that. That works. So the New York Times reported that one person close to the president said that he told advisors

that separating families was the best deterrent to illegal immigration and that he said, quote, my people love it. Yes. So he continued his mission to appeal to his people on Sunday, tweeting that undocumented immigrants should be sent back immediately with, quote, no judges or court cases. So now he is into suspending due process. Now, the president is correct about his people loving it. A CBS Battleground poll out today shows that 72% of Americans are against separating families. That's good.

Not so bad. You should applaud that, but it's too low. Exactly. Well, 51% of Republicans and 66% of self-described Trump supporters are in favor of the policy. Simone, what do those numbers say to you? Those numbers say to me, I think we talked about it the other day, about Brian Kilmeade, I think it was, on Fox News, that basically said these aren't our kids. And I think those numbers say to me that at least 66% of folks that identify as Trump supporters think it's okay because they view these immigrant children as not being their kids. I bet my bottom dollar if they were snatching away little white babies

from white mothers being breastfed on the border, that number would be low. But it also says to me that the Trump supporters are sticking with Trump. The people that already don't like the president aren't going to like him anymore, any less. But trying to win Trump voters is not the way to win in the midterm elections. And so these numbers are going to keep coming out. And folks are, I think, waiting with bated breath that these Trump supporters are gonna somehow turn away from the president.

And every single thing that he does, they dig their heels in deeper, which lets me know that they're not leaving Donald Trump. So we should not be focusing on those voters. I think folks need to focus on the base. If we turn out the totality of the Democratic base in the midterms and post-midterms, we will be okay. But what happens is when we have this conversation about these imaginary

people that we think are going to somehow come back to the party that haven't been there in like 50 years, we're wasting our time. Yeah, if you're not leaving Trump over separating children from their parents and jailing toddlers, I don't know when you're leaving him. And I would say we don't try and find out.

Let's not find that line. But just back to the tweet for a second, because he tweets 50 angry things a day, and we're sort of used to it. I mean, he's talking about suspending due process. I'm not a lawyer, but I follow them on Twitter, which means I could be booked on cable as a lawyer. And I believe that's unconstitutional. It doesn't matter how you're here, you have certain rights. So it's scary. It's also, but like, it makes me think of what he might actually do in a time of an extreme crisis after 9-11. You know, every autocrat on the planet declares some national emergency and suspend certain rights when things get really bad in the name of law and order or what have you and so i do think you know we we deal with this

barrage of information and attacks from him all day long but sometimes you have to stop and think holy shit like that's a very frightening suggestion to just make on the way to the golf course yes it is you shouldn't be that pissed if you're going to golf. It's the biggest fucking story that happened today, that the president called for the suspension of due process. And even if you think, well, he's talking about suspending due process for undocumented immigrants. No, no, no. What that means is that ICE can basically stop anyone for any reason that they want to stop and say, okay, we're deporting you. Because who's going to stop them since there's no cases, there's no judges, and there's no due process?

It's not law and order. Judges are the law part. If you don't have judges, if you don't have judges overseeing the execution of the laws, it's lawless order. It's just the suspension of the law in the pursuit of order. And it's not a coincidence or a surprise that he is starting with vulnerable people that are seen as other, especially by his base. It is, you know, Donald Trump is testing things out. And if we're willing to suspend due process for undocumented people, then we have no idea who will be next. So to go back to Simone's point about, you know, who we should go after in the midterms, Jeremy Peters of the New York Times decided this weekend to dive into a new genre of political reporting and went out and interviewed a bunch of Trump voters. Because we still don't know what the fuck they think. No, it's...

We've had so... I am so over the New York Times, their opinion pages, their commentary interviewing the Trump voter. We clearly know what the Trump voter thinks. Can we interview some black women? Can we interview some young people? Can we find some actual independent voters? Like the links to which the New York Times is contorting itself to see like, oh, first the white supremacists.

We really need to know what the white supremacists think about what's going on. Now we really need to do another profile on the Trump voter because I'm really not sure, just do they really think it's so terrible that they're profile on the Trump voter because I'm really not sure. Do they really think it's so terrible that they're ripping away the kids? I don't really know. Like, I'm over the New York Times and their profile of the Trump voter.

Yes. I'm so fucking done. And it's the same voters. Yes, but also, they were not very clear, though. They were not necessarily being transparent with the people they interviewed because one of the women that was interviewed, that they talked about at the top of one of these articles, Gina Anders, I do believe. They said, you know, she made it seem like she was someone that could be persuaded if not. She's all conflicted, yeah.

Yeah, she's conflicted. She is like a party activist. That's like somebody interviewing me like, oh, well, maybe perhaps the president could win her over. Someone's coming around to Trump. She helped create a super PAC, a PAC. She was a big Ron Paul political activist, and she's a Confederate monument activist. She's not a conflicted Trump supporter.

Undecided voters do not start political action committees. That is on the list of, like, threshold activities. Voting. Donating. Knocking on doors. Three more steps. Starting a political action committee. Not a swing pack maker?

I'm on the fence, but I'm so on the fence, I care so much, I'm starting a political group about it. Well, so I bring this up because the theory of this particular Trump voter piece, of many, So I bring this up because the theory of this particular Trump voter piece, of many, is all these Trump supporters said, you know, the reaction from the left over family separation is overblown. And Jeremy's takeaway, which he spelled out in a tweet in response to our friend John Lovett, was that, quote, a lot of Republicans are galvanized by what they see as an angry radical left. So, Tommy, is that why 51% of Republicans support Trump's policy of taking children away from their parents to own the libs? Is that a...

They like the idea that children are being separated because it will piss off liberals. Sure, there are all these cultural grievances that I think when they're played ad nauseum on Fox News or right-wing radio can exacerbate things and make people remind them that they feel aggrieved because they weren't told five minutes earlier on fox that they're aggrieved but i think that's going to happen no matter what i think what what jeremy in that article one anecdote uh he used

that i thought was telling was that a lot of these people he was talking to had not heard the audio the the excruciating audio of the little babies crying at the detention center. And that was on purpose because Fox didn't play for them that audio. And I think that anecdote doesn't show that they're dug in and that they're still for Trump. It shows that there's a state-run media that is playing for them the most sanded-down, varnished, positive version of the Trump world they can possibly show. And until we can break through that balkanization of the Trump world they can possibly show. And until we can break through that balkanization of media, we got some problems. So how much does it matter that

Trump has more Republican support right now than any president since George Bush after 9-11? How much does that matter electorally for Democrats? I don't know. I don't necessarily know if it matters much, because if you talk to people, I sit in a lot of folks groups and I go and I have the opportunity to travel and talk to a lot of people. If you talk to people, they'll say, actually, personally, they do like Donald Trump, which is crazy to me. But when you ask them, like, do they like their health care? Do they like the fact that, you know, gazillionaires and billionaires are getting better tax cuts than them? Do they like the state of their education?

And it can be all these things down the line. They have some conflicted feelings. And so I think that's why it's really important because the president is popular with his base. You cannot go and run solely against the president. You have to run on the issues. And that's what these numbers to me are a constant reminder of.

You're not going to get folks that already like President Trump not to like him. Yeah. Which is crazy to me, regardless of what he does. And so what you have to do is run on the issues and turn out the folks that are enraged by what's going on, that are upset about the lack of their health care. And you have to remind folks that the Republicans are literally in charge of everything. And the couple things that they got done undercut hardworking people across this country.

I also... And credit to Jeremy, he has this in the piece, but it's like way down at the bottom. It also says that recent polls show that the number of people who identify as Republicans has shrunk by about 2% since 2017. So it's like you are having, you have a party that's left over that is more supportive of Donald Trump than ever before, but you have fewer registered Republicans than you've probably had at any time in recent history right now.

So that's the good news. Yeah, I mean, it's a baby boomer supernova. That's what this is. I'm pretty angry about the conduct of paul ryan and sean spicer and sarah huckabee sanders just to be honest with you but but i can't think of a single position that i hold to show them right like i'm not from i wasn't like i'm not for medicare for all to make sarah huckabee sanders sad right like, I don't think any person in this room can think of a position they hold

because they want to show Ben Shapiro how to, who's boss, you know? It's nonsense. But what is true that I guarantee, you know, look, you had Trump, and we'll get to it, but you had Trump saying wacky Jackie and Pocahontas, and then you had Elizabeth Warren and Jackie Rosen

talking about healthcare care and taxes and also responding to Trump. I guarantee you that the portion where they attacked the Republicans on health care did not air on Fox News. It didn't. It didn't even get in the papers. So it's not a surprise that hardcore conservatives are telling people that these liberals have lost their mind because what do they see? They see, as Tommy said, a sanitized version of Trump. liberals have lost their mind because what do they see they see as tommy said a sanitized version of trump and then they also see the worst part of what it is to be a liberal right now which is the herculean task the unending task of responding to trump at the level that trump argues with us which we have to do every single day so yeah you know it's like somebody declared a culture war i

don't believe it was us and then they're very bothered when we decide not to go down without a fight. But to your. Yeah. To your original question, I think Trump was in Nevada yesterday. Right. Campaigning with Dean Heller. Dirty Dean Heller. Dirty Dean.

Dirty Senator in the Senate. Dean Heller, Dirty Dean Heller, the dirtiest senator in the Senate. And the reason that Dean Heller sucked it up and campaigned with him is because Trump is wildly popular among Republicans, and he knows that midterms are a base election, so they're kind of stuck with him. One question here is, are there swing voters? Do they still exist? Because I still think, yeah, like, I think,

what I'm looking for in one of these pieces one day is you can interview Trump voters. Interview the Obama Trump voters, the people who voted for Barack Obama in 2012. I'd love to talk to some of them because that's pretty fucking crazy. But I'd like to hear what they have to say. There's also people who voted for another very interesting group of people, those people who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and chose not to vote in 2016 or voted for third parties in 2016.

So there is this universe. Some of these people are in here, look, we need y'all to vote in 2016 or voted for third parties in 2016 so there is this universe like and i some of these people are in here look we need y'all to vote this fall i don't want i i don't want y'all clapping for y'all lack of a vote it's gonna be clear ain't no pats on the backs for your lack of a vote in 2016 so i will see you at the polls in 2018 okay just to be clear and i and i i don't know if the message that we need to excite our base to win over some of these Obama-Trump voters and to win over some of these Obama non-voters is all that different. It's not different. Because look at Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania. Conor Lamb won because people who voted for Donald Trump voted for Conor Lamb and a bunch of Democratic base voters got out and voted for Conor Lamb.

But swing voters do. So to your point, swing voters absolutely do exist. But there is not a specialized, tailored message that we have to pull out of the anals of the Democratic Party to talk to them with. We can talk to them about the economy just like we talk to Latinx voters, just like we talk to black voters, just like we talk to working people who are also women. Shocker. There are too many Democrats with their heads up the anals of these kinds of messages, you know? Absolutely. Like, there's this idea that we have to,

that there's this specialized message just for these Obama-Trump voters, these swing voters, that do exist in some places, but there's way more base people. This is a persuasion and turnout election all across the country, but not just persuading these small. To be clear, Obama Trump voters constitute 8% of the electorate in 2016, which doesn't sound like a lot, but 56 million people voted for Donald Trump.

So, you know, whatever. So we need to know what some of these people are talking about. But only 8%. So the 8% can get lumped in with the base of the Democratic Party, but we have to take the issues that people care about that they're talking about at their kitchen tables. And they're not talking about, you know, some people are talking about Russia, but at the end of the day, they want to be able to put more money in their pockets so they can put more food on the table to feed their families. They want to keep their healthcare.

They are tired that the Republicans keep attacking everybody with the preexisting condition, which is basically everyone in this room. Yeah. So, those are the things that folks should be talking about. And that is not like some, again, some crazy message from the corner. That's the main message. And I just wish people would get it through their brains. But the fact of the matter is, and we want to be frank, folks are just scared. Democrats across the country are scared. They are scared that if they talk about immigration, that if they talk about black people,

that if they talk about reproductive autonomy for women, that they're going to lose one of these swing voters that they really needed to push them over the line. And the fact of the matter is, if we learn anything from the Republican Party, the Republicans give zero Fs about anything. They will go out there, and so I just want some Democrats to give zero Fs and go out there for what we say we believe in. A Democrat? There's too many... There's...

There's too many Democrats who approach swing voters like Indiana Jones trying to figure out the right weight of sand to switch out the amulet, you know? And it's like, just grab it and run. The boulder is coming.

So it does seem like every time Trump says or does something extreme, cruel, racist, inhumane, whatever, conservatives and various pundits will make a big fucking deal out of some reaction from someone opposed to Trump. This time over the weekend, it was Sarah Huckabee Sanders being asked to leave the Red Hen restaurants. They love farm to fork. They love farm to table cuisine. In Lexington, Virginia.

The owner said her employees were uncomfortable with Sanders dining there, and that, quote, this feels like a moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals. So Sanders then tweeted about the incident from her White House account saying that she always tries to treat people respectfully. Yes, we've noticed. That's what comes across. And then it says more about the owner of

the restaurant than about her it seems like there were two basic reactions to this very dumb story from the pundit class uh the first reaction was whatever happened to civility love it do you know whatever happened to civility uh yeah uh donald trump it in the back of the head with a two-by-four and then dragged it behind an olive garden and murdered it with a boot. Not the olive garden. Why you got to bring olive garden into this? They got good breakfast. Was that in Avengers Civility War?

That was a good movie. Civility.? That was a good movie. Civility. So important. Simone, why is there a tendency, why is there this tendency, do you think, to equate nastiness and name-calling, although there wasn't even nastiness in this situation. It seemed like she was very respectful.

She brought her outside, asked her, would you please mind leaving? She then paid for their cheese plate, which I thought was nice. But why is there a tendency to equate nastiness, name-calling, whatever, with policies that are racist, with authoritarianism? Why can't people in Washington get that these things aren't equivalent? As one of those pundits who was not on television this weekend,

so I wasn't part of this pundit class. Aren't you excited? Weren't you happy to be here with us? I was very much so happy to be here. I think the problem is that so many people are concerned with appearing that they're not for one side or the other, particularly the media, because they have been under attack by the president, because they are often, you know, many people, he's calling everybody fake news. Many of his allies are calling people fake news. And so there's this tendency from the media to make sure they're presenting all sides of the situation. But at some point, like the

Democrats, the media has to stop being scared. And they have to be willing to call it what it is without this attempt to both sides. There is no both sides to racism and white. There's not another side to racism, white supremacy, and me and me saying hey i would like you to leave my restaurant now to be clear i ain't trying to go to you know the shake shack when i get home tomorrow and you know the person at the thing tells me they want me to leave because they don't like the fact that i call donald trump white supremacist but you know the owners have so i'm not trying i'm not advocating that people are putting folks out of their restaurants or anywhere else i want to eat at the Shake Shack, to be clear. Factual, I want my double Shack burger, damn it.

But I do think that there is this tendency for folks to want to retain their access. The White House reporters, the congressional reporters that want to be able to continue to walk into the Republican leadership offices. And that's what this is really about. And so it takes people like us, folks like you all, everybody listening, that want to be able to continue to walk into the Republican leadership offices. And that's what this is really about. And so it takes people like us, folks like you all, everybody listening, to call it out when we see it and to not let the quote-unquote both-sides bullshit remain. Because there is no both sides to any of this. There really isn't. There's no arguing with the fact that what this White House and this administration is doing

has a very blatant racial line. These are not undertones. These are not dog whistles. These are freaking bullhorns. And at every single instance, people always say, why do you always want to make it about race? Because it is about race, damn it.

He ain't putting white people. He is not putting white people in detention centers. He's not calling Norway a shithole country. This is absolutely about race. white people in detention centers. He's not calling Norway a shithole country. You know, this is absolutely about race. And the moment that we are okay with saying that, understanding that we can talk about race and also still talk about the economy, which also has something to do with race. Hello. Okay. But the moment we understand that, we can have a fuller and more high-level conversation. But too many people in the media don't understand that. Like, they out here just talking about, like, I don't understand. I don't know. I want many people in the media don't understand that. They are just talking about,

I don't understand, I don't know. I want you to be black or Latino for a day. Yeah. Every once in a while, an incident like this happens. Robert De Niro says something in a speech. Sarah Huckabee Sanders doesn't get to eat at a restaurant she wants to go to.

And you know it's going to spawn a thousand takes. The first thing to know is the White House wants to talk about this. That's why she tweeted about it and kicked up the level of outrage. The press is more than happy to talk about it because it's a lot easier than talking about complicated policy things.

The White House knows that they have a horrible policy problem to tell. We're going to talk to him tonight, but you guys should YouTube a bunch of Reverend Barber's sermons and speeches where he talks about, yeah. He talks about kind of looking past the immorality of foul language or infidelity to the far greater immorality of the policy choices that are getting made and kicking down and beating down on people who are in the worst position. And so that's why I get so frustrated with these debates, because ultimately, who cares where she ate or didn't eat dinner? It's not a problem of civility. Like, Cardi Lewandowski's on TV mocking little children, and he's an awful person, but that is, you know, sort of born of a policy choice. Where someone eats dinner is not a problem that washington needs to solve this is this is this

is an issue about which stories we choose to blow up and which we don't we started this show by talking about the president united states threatening to suspend due process today he is the most powerful person in this country last night 99, 99.99999% of restaurants served Democrats and Republicans and Trump administration officials, and they all ate together peacefully, and it was fucking fine. One person didn't go to a restaurant last night. Sarah Huckabee Sinners. And that's what we're going to talk about today. That's what we're going to decry the end of civility. Like, come on. One thing that also happens when you have these civility conversations.

You realize just how little thought people talking about politics on television have thought about the relationship between politics and the actual physical world made of earth and, you know, water and bone. Like, civility isn't the opposite of cruelty. Some of the most heinous acts in history have been conducted by very civil bureaucracies uh and the opposite of manners isn't disrespect even on sarah huckabee's own term she is disrespectful in that briefing room every single day she does it with a smile on her face she does it with a please and a thank you but she disrespects that building she She disrespects the White House. She disrespects those reporters. And she disrespects all of us when she lies and dissembles.

And right to report it. Last week, I think she said to Jim Acosta, like, oh, I know you don't understand short sentences. Yeah, yes. I mean, so on her own standard, she fails. But it's not a surprise that this gets blown up in our politics because so much of our politics now is about symbolism. It's about how things look and how things sound. It is the politics of how things will be perceived rather than what actually happens. And that's a really – so it's no wonder that this gets blown up more than what Trump says about due process.

Because what Trump says about due process is ultimately only matters in how it manifests in the actual physical world. But a conversation about how people are talked about and how people are treated. Well, that's what we do every single day now. That's what we do on Twitter and Facebook. We just talk to and about each other. So a politics that's all about talking about and to each other is a politics where civility is elevated more than the actual manifestations of the policies that very civil people, polite people like Mike Pence and Sarah Huckabee Sanders and John Kelly execute every single day. But wait, to be clear, we only get to talk about civility

when one of our conservative friends or conservative frenemies feels wronged. We never talk about civility when it's the snowflakes, quote, unquote. We're only having a conversation. The conversation about civility only comes up when conservatives bring it up. And that goes back to how Democrats and people on the left always end up having a conversation within the context of what Republicans want us to talk about. They are, again, defining the conversation by baiting us and the media into talking about Sarah Huckabee Sanders being denied her cheese plate.

Mike Pence just had to go to Hamilton. He just had to go. Six months later. It's like, oh, my God, they booed him. So how do you go to a football game and be offended and walk out of it? Well, so they do this on purpose. And then that goes to the second reaction from a lot of pundits, which was

Democrats are never going to win if they keep kicking Republicans out of their restaurants. Oh, F them! They know nothing! I'm sorry. So should we not nominate the owner of Red Hen in 2020? Is that what we're doing? Was it a DNC memo?

Like, oh, we must reach out to the owner of Red Hen. Why wasn't the owner of Red Hen on the fucking conference call with the D-Trip to figure out strategy for serving appetizers? This is it now. We just, Democrats own everything everyone does around the country all the time. A person felt something in their hearts. How dare they? It may not help in the swing districts. I can't believe Tom Perez wrote that message memo about kicking people out of restaurants.

What was he thinking? Where are we on charcuterie at the DNC? The people on TV literally, I say this as a person on tap, sometimes they don't know anything because these are folks that are not involved in actual midterm elections. These are people that don't even know anybody that's on the ballot. They ain't never knocked the door. They worked like 20 years ago, and now they sit on TV pontificating about it, but haven't been out into a state.

They ain't been to Durham. Okay, so this is why people say those things. Like, I hated when people talked about De Niro, and they were like, this is just giving fire to the Trump people. And I was like, I don't give a damn what Robert De Niro says. He ain't in the inner workings of the party. He means nothing. It is June. If you

find a voter who's interviewed on Tuesday in 2018, and they walk out of that ballot box, whatever, and they walk out of that booth, and they're like, honestly, I'm for Medicare for all, but after that red hen woman, I voted Republican all the way down. Give me a fucking break.

They're gaslighting us. On one hand, he's jailing toddlers. On the other hand, that Democrat did not say anything about Samantha Bee. I remember a time when someone said please and thank you when getting the child back from the government. I mean, I do think there's... I mean, I do think there's... There is a question and a debate to be had around what is the best, most effective way to oppose Trump and his policies and his administration.

I think, look, when people are out there doing errands on the weekends, I think it's pretty simple. When they go to Lowe's, we go high. Or... Boo me! I welcome your hatred. He practiced that one. Yeah.

Went better backstage. Look, I think we need to continue to do what we are doing. The Republicans will have you think that we are losing all across the country. We have actually been winning since 2017. We've been winning. They've been losing. And so their strategy is literally to gaslight us into believing all this other BS

to think all these other things are happening. So we change our strategy. Our strategy is actually a pretty solid one that we could do better about talking about the issues. We could do a little bit better from a national level, elevating unlikely voices and women and people of color. But across the board in states and midterm elections, we're doing what we're supposed to do. What we shouldn't do is get caught up in the Trump trap.

And, you know, because he wants to call folks Pocahontas and Wacky Jackie. We're like, well, you're you know, you're the whatever, whatever, whatever. Like, we're not going to beat Trump at that game. Like, he's a very he's a very dirty. What was it during the campaign? Dirty Donald. Dirty Donald. Like none of that shit. He's a very dirty, nasty man. What was it during the campaign? Dirty Donald? Dirty Donald. Like, none of that shit is going to work. Dangerous Donald. The chaos candidate,

said President Jeb Bush. Like, none of that works. It doesn't stick. But what works is when we point out how nasty their policies are, we point out how Democrats are going to do better and different, when we point out how they're lying, that's the stuff that gets under Donald Trump's skin. And so, that's what we need to be focused on and then we need to call out the media

everyone should be calling out all the folks that only talked about um jackie rosen and senator warren in response to what donald trump said about them and not about the health care policy and the tax policy like that's the shit that's gonna get us fucked up in 2018 yeah and and if people want to go take action to get rid of trump and get rid of his administration best way to do it is knock on some doors make some phone calls register some people to vote like that's where to put your energy if you really and that's what most that's what most democrats most liberals and most activists around the country are actually doing yeah get off twitter though y'all just can't be out here with the twitter fingers and we say that to ourselves That's my advice to me that I

only sometimes follow. Alright, let's talk about the trip to Nevada. On Saturday we got a preview of the 2018 campaign. Maybe even 2020. Trump went to Nevada to stump for Dirty Dean Heller. Elizabeth Warren went to stump for his opponent, Democrat Jackie Rosen. As you guys mentioned,

Warren and Rosen talked about healthcare and tax cuts. And then Trump called Warren Pocahontas. He called Rosen wacky Jackie. And he talked about how Democrats want violent gangs to take over the country. Which is so unfair because there was a debate about it and we took it out of the platform in 2016.

You know? It was pretty contentious. But I feel like it was a good place for a man to go. Now it's in there right next to the red hen owner for president. Right, it's part of the better deal. My first question about this was, does Trump campaigning with Dean Heller help Dean Heller, or does it help Jackie Rosen? I think Trump, there's a tendency when a president is unpopular, whether it was Bill Clinton in 2000 or Barack Obama during some of the midterms, to say maybe the president should stay away from races.

I think that's an impossible strategy and probably a flawed one electorally because these are turnout-based elections. And Trump can go and get every one of the people who supports him to turn out. That's probably the best he can do. The election is about Trump, whether he goes to nevada or not right like i think for heller if they can make this a referendum into about trump or the tax vote for example that could hurt him but i think like he's going to be on on the campaign trail and that's probably the right choice yeah i will say of all the states that he can go to because he's going to go to some red states to campaign against red state democrats this is the one state with a senate race where hillary clinton won the state I will say of all the states that he can go to, because he's going to go to some red states to campaign against red state Democrats,

this is the one state with a Senate race where Hillary Clinton won the state by two points. 25% of the population is Latino. Of course, Dean Heller doesn't know what he wants. He wants to be a senator. After that, he's ambivalent. Well, it's so funny that he went there. In 2015, Heller gave donations he received from Trump away to charity after Trump launched his campaign by talking about Mexico sending rapists across the border. And then Heller refused to say if he would even vote for Trump. Now he's just showing up with it.

His evolution is amazing, right? Because he gives the donation back, then says he won't vote for him, then admits after Trump wins that actually he did vote for him. And now he's doing a fundraiser. So Dean Heller is for whatever Dean Heller thinks he has to be. I mean, Trump doesn't know where he is. He's like big crabs. Yeah. He does like big crabs, but he's also not on message.

Right? So he's not helping Dean Heller in a number of ways. But, I mean, there are lots of other Republicans on the ballot in Nevada in 2018 as well. Donald Trump was seen with the gubernatorial candidate, Adam Laxaw. So the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Adam Laxaw. So the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Adam Laxaw, which is also not a good look. So I just really think that folks in Nevada are, I think they're very clear on how they feel about Donald Trump. You know what I mean? Much like people across the country. And so again, Donald Trump going to

Nevada isn't going to make anybody feel any differently. If you hate him, you already hate him. If you love him, you already love him. And I actually don't think Dean Heller going to make anybody feel any differently. If you hate him, you already hate him. If you love him, you already love him. And I actually don't think Dean Heller is going to do too well. I think he might, he's going to lose his race. Jackie Rosen is going to be the senator. So one thing I wanted to ask about this appearance, because this is going to repeat itself everywhere in the country, here in North Carolina and every state.

You know, Jackie Rosen, Elizabeth Warren, they do exactly what we've been hoping the Democrats do and saying it, which is they talked about health care, they talked about tax cuts, they stuck to the issues nonstop. And Donald Trump did his thing where he just called them nicknames and all that stuff. Here's some of the headlines. New York Times.

Elizabeth Warren condemned Trump in Reno. He answered in Las Vegas with a slur. Politico. In Nevada, Trump goes after wacky Jackie. I'm over this. Even though they stuck to the issues, it was really hard to break through media coverage. And I wonder if in 2018 and then again in 2020, if Trump is still going to have this ability to just take the media spotlight away from Democrats, even if Democrats are just really on message. Absolutely. But that means Democrats have to get creative. And so if Donald Trump steals the message and the New York Times and Washington Post and Politico

all talk about the slur and none of the policy, and then on television the clips that they play are just the slur and none of the policy, then it's the job, in my opinion, of Democrats and liberals to get out there on their social media, but for also the candidates to get on TV and counter that message. So many Democrats will tell me that they don't want to get on TV because they don't want to talk about Russia. They don't just want to talk about Donald Trump. And I'm like, you can't be afraid. You need to address it and pivot to the issues that people care about.

And that's what we did not, frankly, do well in 2016. We let Donald Trump just run and dominate the coverage, and then folks got on television and just responded to what he said. And so that's all anything was that was out there. And so clearly we need to be on the doors and everything else. But there's a whole media strategy. Like, I don't know if Senator Warren's people called up the New York Times, Politico, and all the cable networks and ripped them a new asshole, but they should have. Because if I was the press secretary, I would have been like, oh, so y'all want to talk

about another policy? Y'all can't give me a hit on health care? Like, that's what you have to do. You need to be in their tails. Because if you're not if they don't receive any pressure they're going to continue to do what they've always done yeah yeah i mean that's right also message discipline is sticking to a message when it doesn't get covered if it it wouldn't be message discipline if it always worked you know it's something better or work does really well he's out there talking about the issues every single day it's not always getting covered but he's something Beto O'Rourke does really well. He's out there talking about the issues every single day. It's not always getting covered,

but he's out there doing it. You know, campaigns are won in a variety of different ways, and one of them are just won by just saying the things on the ground to the people in your state, all over that state. I don't know how we combat, other than tearing, I'm all for the tearing them of new assholes. You know, really

getting into the annals of their coverage. Annals of the coverage. All up in the crevice. Get in there. We're about to talk to a reverend. We talked about this many times, but the beginning of your sentence can be about Russia, your beginning of the sentence can be about cheese plates and wacky Jackie,

but the second half of your sentence needs to be, they want to talk about cheese plates because they don't want to talk about taking away your health care. I'm less worried about the cheese Sarah Huckabee Sanders gets served than the health care they're trying to take away from your family. There's a lot of ways you can be in the mix of this dumb fucking political conversation

while still getting some policy out there, and that's something that Hillary Clinton failed to do because we were all dealing with a crisis. Don't blame her personally much. But it's something, but we can't forget the simple rules of being disciplined. I also think, and Pfeiffer always says this,

but we have to recognize in 2018 that the media is a tool to get our message out, but it is not the tool. Absolutely. And we need to, that's digital organizing, tool. Absolutely. And that's digital organizing, that's grassroots organizing, that's using Facebook, social media, having your own communications operation

that gets the message out directly around the media at times. Okay, when we come back, we will be talking to Reverend Dr. William Barber. Thank you. he's the president and senior lecturer at repairs of the breach and the co-chair of the poor people's campaign a national call for moral revival reverend dr william barber reverend thank you for joining us. Thank you. These are my people. They are your people. So this year marks the 50th anniversary of the original Poor People's Campaign,

started by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Yesterday, you marked the occasion by leading a march in D.C. that was 10,000 people strong. In what ways is this new movement similar, and in what ways is it different than the original Poor People's Campaign? Let me say a couple of things. It was Dr. King. It was Rabbi Heschel. It was National Women's Rights. It was 25 organizations.

It was black and white and brown. It was Cesar Chavez. He was taking on militarism and poverty and was taking on racism as interlocking injustices. It wasn't 10,000. It was tens of thousands yesterday. It was nearly 50,000 people, actually. We've been organizing for two years from the bottom up because helicopter leadership doesn't help us. We used a lot of the Moral Monday movement. We have now coordinating committees in 39 states and the District of Columbia. More than 3,000 people did civil disobedience over four weeks. And yesterday what we had was not a march and a rally.

weeks. And yesterday what we had was not a march and a rally. It was a launching of a multi-year campaign where the people who are impacted by systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy, and the false narrative of Christian nationalism spoke themselves. This was different. It wasn't people speaking for people. It was people speaking for themselves and saying that if America is going to be, one thing we're going to have to get progressive Democrats or whoever to stop doing is just talking about middle class and military. There are 140 million poor and low income people in this country. Over a quarter million die every year from poverty and low wealth. 37 million people without health care. Until we can say the word poor and have policies that impact

the poor, positive. We're not going to change this electorate, but the poor and the rejected can lead a revival in America if we dare to reach out to them and believe that policy. Reverend, we were talking about this a bit earlier. There's been a lot of op-eds being penned in pearl-clutching debate in Washington right now about people going to restaurants and whether or not they could dine there. Congresswoman Maxine Waters called on supporters

to protest Trump officials wherever they see them. What do you think is the appropriate and most impactful role of protest and civil disobedience at a time of crisis like this politically? Well, let me just ask folk if they want to know more to text ACTION to 909, you don't have to do this, 90975, the Poor People's Campaign, a national call for a moral right. We believe three things have to happen. Number one, we have to organize moral leaders, things have to happen. Number one, we have to organize moral leaders, impacted people,

and advocates for impacted people. Number two, we have to change the political narrative. Too often our narrative is too puny and too weak to stimulate power and pushback. Left versus right, liberal versus conservative is too weak. If you still take somebody's health care, that's not left versus right, that's about right versus wrong. It's a moral issue. And then number two, I believe we have to have nonviolent moral fusion civil disobedience, where we take these interlocking injustices and never separate them. If you want to deal with poverty, you've got to deal with racism. If you want to deal with racism, you've got to deal with ecological devastation and militarism. And then third, we must build out a massive motor mobilization of registering people, particularly in impacted communities, poor communities, where other folk go and we often don't go, like Harlan County, like western North Carolina, like eastern North Carolina.

And then we have to build power from the bottom up. But what we can't get into, what concerns me, is even with Trump, we can't give him too much power. You know, he's not God. He's not the worst thing that's ever happened to America. He's not the first time a president didn't win an election by a popular vote but got put in by the Electoral College. That actually happened in 1877 with Ruthie B. Hayes. He's not the first time a racist was in the White House. That was Woodrow Wilson. He was also one in 1914. What we need to do is record how did he get here. Trump is the symptom of a greater moral malady. He is the result of

the southern strategy. This that began in 1968 when the poor people's campaign was assassinated. He is the result of people still being able to use fear and pit white poor people and black poor people against one another who ought to be allies. And that's always been a deliberate. But we've got to speak to that. And if we're going to have civil disobedience, let it be around not just individuals. You know, for instance, if we're going to talk civil disobedience, let it be around not just individuals. You know, for instance, if we're going to talk about race, I'm so tired of when people say, we're talking about race. Let's talk about Roseanne Barr's word. Forget Roseanne Barr's word. Racism is when you deny voting rights and won't restore the Voting Rights Act. That's racism. You know, race, you know, racism is racism is when you try to put racist judge on the federal bench like they're trying to put Tom Farr.

And then let's talk about this, that every state that has passed racist voter suppression law since 2010, before Trump was thought about, 23 states have done that. Every state that has passed voter suppression law targeting black and people have, once people got elected using racist voter suppression, once white extremists who call themselves Republicans got elected using racism, racialized voter suppression, once they got in office, they passed laws that hurt most of the white people. Huh. So that's a common, every state that suppressed the vote denied Medicaid expansion. The majority of the people that benefit from Medicaid expansion are white. Every state that suppressed the vote passes policies that hurt the poor. There are 140 million poor and low-wealth people in this country.

Seventy-three percent of them are women and children. The majority of them are white. That's 43.5% of our country is poor and low wealth. Every state that passed voter suppression laws also denied living wages. The majority of the people working below living wages are white. The majority as a matter of their race, a black percentage of their race, but in raw numbers, right, in raw numbers. So there's a direct line from racism to economic injustice. And I ask people, how could you trust Trump, who is a racist and think he was going to do right by workers? If you scratch a liar, you find the thief. If you scratch a racist,

you find somebody that's against working people, that's against economic progress, that is against America. And so we've got to find a way to bring black poor people and white poor people and brown poor people and red poor people and yellow poor people and low-income people together because guess what? If you don't make a living wage, if the, we have 400 families in this country that make an average of $97,000 an hour, and $97,000 an hour, 400, while we lock people up for more than 15 in the union, but the bottom line is if you make less than a living wage, and if somebody who's a politician that got elected through voter suppression blocks raising a living wage, and you can't pay your light bill, we all black in the dark. So we better learn how to come together.

You see what I'm saying? So to that point, you said something that I loved, which was we need to take the risk of believing that people have not lost their humanity, that a lot of people have been bamboozled into thinking that we're all on different teams. What does taking that risk look like, and how do you get people of different races and political beliefs to recognize our common humanity and common struggle? That's what we're doing in the Poor People's Campaign. We're saying there are these interlocking injustices that you can't separate,

and we can't always have movements that's just about a reaction or a silo, right? So these five interlocking issues, systemic racism, but specifically about policy, not about words and personal attack. Systemic poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy, and the false moral narrative of so-called Christian nationalism that says God's position, moral position is hate gay people, hate abortion, be for prayer in the school, be for gun rights, be for tax cuts, and be for states rights. That's not God's position. That's a crazy position. It ain't got nothing to do with God. So, because the God is the God of love. But those are five interlocking injustices.

Then what you have to do is risk going around. We've been traveling, going doing training and having mass meetings. So you go to Harlan County. You don't run away from Harlan County where the Hatfields and the McCoys are and the coal miners. You go there and you help people in Harlan County understand how they're connected to Callie Greer in Alabama, whose daughter died because Alabama refused to expand Medicaid. But the majority of the people in Alabama that are being hurt by the denial of Medicaid are white. All right, right. But you begin to teach people how they connect. You go to Grays Harbor, Washington, or Aberdeen, where I just came from, where you have more white

millennials living homeless than any other zip code in the country. But you then connect the folk in Grays Harbor with the people in Flint, Michigan, and the people in Charlotte, North Carolina, where we have great high levels of poverty, even in the banking. And what you begin, banking capital, so what you begin to do is show people their common humanity. At our rally, our launch yesterday, people put faces on the facts. Sometimes progressives are great at the facts, but we're not good at the faces. So we had black and white and brown and red and yellow and gay and straight and young and old and Christian and Muslim and Jews and even agnostics. But they were linked together by this common moral theme. And that is everybody has a right to live. That is somebody is hurting our brothers and our sisters

and it's gone on far too long. One other way you do it is you don't get caught up, lastly, in just the issue of the moment. Let me expand up just real quick. Right now we're talking about snatching children, right, and separating children. And we ought to be. It's ugly, it's vile, it's against what the scriptures say, like in Isaiah 10, where it says, woe unto those who legislate evil and rob the poor of their rights and make women and children their prey, P-R-E-Y. But, but we got to, first of all, this is the snatching of brown children. It is connected to white nationalism and white nationalism doesn't even like white people because white nationalism is against democracy. Richard Spencer said the fight to halt immigration was the proxy war and he's a white national and that he wanted to be with Trump

because Trump gave the signal that he would be against immigration. But if we can expand this, it's not just about what's happening on the border. America first literally means be first in statching health care from families and children. Be first in statching living wages from women and children. In fact, America first means be first in undoing the 14th Amendment, which is in the middle of the amendments of the Constitution. And if you undo the 14th Amendment, which is in the middle of the amendments of the Constitution. And if you undo the 14th Amendment, equal protection under the law for every person, that hurts all people, regardless of color. So when we can expand these issues, then we can find our commonality and we can find our humanity. And we can say that we are refusing to allow not just the destruction of the Republican Party or the destruction of the Democratic Party, but the destruction of the soul and the heart of America itself.

And we're not going to give up on America. We're not going to give up on America. Reverend Barber, thank you so much for joining us. You are an inspiration to everyone. Tell everyone again how they can join the Poor People's Campaign. Well, you can join it by texting ACTION to 90975. Yesterday was the launch. We're going into a multi-year.

Our first move now is going to be massive voter mobilization in places where they don't think we can go, from Alabama to Alaska, from California to the Carolinas. And what we're going to do is go forward together. Not one step back. Thank you, Reverend. Thank you. And we're back. He was the Attorney General of North Carolina, a member of both the State Senate and the State House, and he is the current governor of the great state of North Carolina.

Please welcome Governor Roy Cooper. Governor, you have some fans in the house. You're like a whole rock star. All right! I hadn't made it until now. Until now, Pod Save America, now I've made it. This is it. So I think one of the reasons people are so behind you here is because they know what you've been up against

since you took office. So some researchers wrote something pretty extraordinary about what's been happening in North Carolina. They said, North Carolina's overall electoral integrity places this state alongside authoritarian states like pseudo-democracies Cuba, Indonesia, and Sierra Leone, a deeply flawed, partly free democracy that is only slightly ahead of much of the developing world. Voter registration, you rank alongside Iran and Venezuela. North Carolina is not only the worst state in the USA for unfair districting,

but the worst entity in the world ever analyzed by the Electoral Integrity Project. That is what you have been facing. What is the status right now of this? Sorry, guys. What is the status right now of this sort of ongoing attack on the democratic institutions of this state? And what are you doing sort of to fight back against it? Well, first, it begins with technologically diabolical redistricting, the gerrymandering that has gone on here. You know, guys, we're a purple state. We are.

We have voted for Democrats, and traditionally, North Carolina has been a beacon in the South, but to draw districts where the politicians choose their voters instead of the voters choosing the politicians, then that's just wrong. And what you have in a purple state is you have ten Republican members of Congress and three Democrats. You have about a third of the state legislature who are Democratic versus the rest being Republican, and that is wrong, and that is why you get the attacks on public education. That's why 20,000 teachers can march on Raleigh. Teachers, by the way, teachers, by the way, who are more interested in outcomes than they are incomes. They care about their kids.

But this legislature continues to give money to private school vouchers that are unaccountable. They continue to make sure that we're ranked 37th in the country in teacher pay and 39th in per pupil expenditure and that is unacceptable. They've refused to close the insurance gap, could expand Medicaid and insure 650,000 North Carolinians. They could create 40,000 good-paying jobs. They can help control health care costs for small businesses. They're hurting women's health and reproductive health. They are making cuts that hurt our efforts for clean water and clean air. making cuts that hurt our efforts for clean water and clean air.

And time and again, they take steps to move North Carolina backward. Guys, we've got to change this thing this November. This November, we can change it. Absolutely. So, Governor Cooper, I think you came into office with an idea that things were going to go one way. And then so many things have happened in the state legislature where Republican members of the legislature have tried to literally snatch powers away from you. Your ability to appoint judges, just on down the line. So my question to you is, what have you learned? How have you had to get creative in terms of governing and being an executive in this state? Well, first I told them, you're going to see me in court. Come on.

They've had more than a dozen of their laws overturned. And is it because the dozen of the laws have been overturned, is it because you all have directly challenged them in the court? We've challenged them. Everyday citizens have challenged them. Groups across the state and across the country have challenged them. Challenging the constitutionality

of what they've done. But I've also been able to use North Carolina's executive branch to number one, appoint by far the most diverse and most talented cabinet in North Carolina history. I've joined the Climate Alliance saying this legislature may want to go backward,

but North Carolina doesn't. saying this legislature may want to go backward, but North Carolina doesn't. And when you see children being ripped from their parents' arms, I can tell our National Guard troops, you come home. But maybe the most important thing we're doing, Simone, is we've started an organization called Break the Majority. In North Carolina, every House seat and every Senate seat are two-year terms. That means everybody is up for election this November. And I need your help out there,

and I need people's help all across North Carolina. We, for the first time in history, we have recruited a Democratic candidate for every single seat in the legislature. Thank you. seat in the legislature. Seventy-seven. Seventy-seven of them are strong women.

And they're leaders in their community, and they're great candidates. And let me tell you about calling them late at night, asking them, please run for the state legislature. They say, isn't this a job that pays about $13,000 a year? And I say, yes. Because state legislators want a coin too, Governor. I know, I know, I know. But you've got to go with your heart here. They say, and plus I've got to raise about a half a million dollars or more.

And I'll say, yes. And they'll say, and plus everything about my life is going to be researched. And I'll probably see the worst things I've ever done on a TV ad. And I said, yes. It's a good case so far. Very convincing. it's a good case so far very convincing but then I say but you have a chance

to change history with me in North Carolina and so many of them said where do we sign up so governor to that end shout out to the 77 women on the ballot okay

pretty fantastic it's amazing Shout out to the 77 women on the ballot, okay? Pretty fantastic. It's amazing. Pretty fantastic. You might need to do a briefing to support some people at the national level. We'll have a separate conversation about that. You've got to go get them, Simone. You've got to convince them to run and show them that you're going to support them. And as governor, I've raised about $5 million for Break the Majority.

We did this under the umbrella of the North Carolina Democratic Party. We didn't form a separate committee. And what we've done is we've told these candidates, we're going to provide for you the structural support. We're going to provide for you the message. For example, education, what they've done to education. Guess what? They keep cutting the taxes for the corporations and the wealthy people,

and they even have more tax cuts, even after this federal gift that the wealthy people got and after this legislature time and time again has cut their taxes. Next year, they have another corporate tax cut scheduled and tax cuts in income. Here's what I said, and this is what I've told the legislators that they ought to tell the people. I said, how about let's don't do that corporate tax cut next year, and how about let's don't do a tax cut for people making over $200,000 a year, and let's take that money and put it into teacher pay. Put it into teacher pay. So to that end, to that end then, you all are doing some very amazing things here on the ground. You're recruiting.

You're raising money. You've got folks on the doors. But there are real barriers when it comes to access to the ballot box for folks, not just across the country, but especially right here in North Carolina. You know, in 2017, more than 40 states have, since 2017, more than 40 states have introduced well over 100 and like 20 bills at this point to curb the right to vote at the ballot box in some way, shape, or form, whether it's voter ID, whether it's closing down

DMV locations, everything. So how is that fight for voting rights, how is that fight to expand access to the ballot box affecting basically trying to turn out folks in the midterms and making sure the right to vote is protected? Well like John was reading before, their voter restrictions were so bad that most of them got thrown out in court. So what we have now is an opportunity this November to put a legislature in place that's going to work with me. We ought to be making it easier for people to vote rather than harder for people to vote. But they're still messing with it. They're going to put a constitutional

amendment on the ballot for voter ID. They cut early voting. They're continuing to do those things to make it harder for people to vote, and we know who they're going after. Who are they going after? Tell us. Well, the court told us they were going after African Americans with surgical precision. This is how pointed they were in what they were doing. So it's pretty clear what was happening, and they're continuing to try to do it again. This is why we have to break the majority in November. And even with these bad gerrymandered districts, it looks good out there right now. We can't rely on this blue wave that I believe is coming. We do not know

how big it will be. Our job is to maximize whatever wave there is, that we make sure that every single district is challenged, and that we can get as many seats as we possibly can to make North Carolina the state that we know it is, because it is not the state that the legislature says it is. One final question on that score and the governor's agreed to play a game with us but before we get to that so I think there are these sort of two stories and one is incredibly frightening as a harbinger of the kind of anti-democratic policies we're seeing across the country, the attacks on institutions, the kind of partisan desire to control power. But the other is hopeful. We see the activism of Reverend Barber. We see the fact that you won in 2016 a statewide race in a year in which Democrats had a terrible, terrible

night, as we remember. What is the lesson for Democrats across the country who look at North Carolina and say that fight's coming for us or that fight is here? Well, first, we have to pay attention to state races. Republicans have done it for decades. This is why in 2010, when they won and they got control of redistricting, they were able to redraw congressional maps so that that's why we have the kind of Congress that we have in place now. And we have to have a positive message. You know, my CEO mission statement for North Carolina is simply this. I want a North Carolina where people are better educated, where they're healthier, where they have more money in their pockets, and they have the opportunities to live a more abundant and purposeful life.

That is my CEO mission statement. We have to be consistent. One of the things I did when I ran for governor, I had the same message everywhere I went with every group I spoke to, and what we have to do is make sure that Democrats across North Carolina are giving that message now. Thank you, Governor Cooper. Before we let you go, give it up for your governor.

Before we let you go, John and Tommy are going to come back out. We're going to play a game. Yes, sir. We're here in Durham, the Paris of North Carolina. Why do I do this? North Carolina is known for its barbecue, the down-to-earth kind-hearted people who go to Duke University. Whoa! John! Kind-hearted people who go to Duke University. Whoa.

John. John, can I show you something? Can I show you one thing? Tar. Tar. That's. Elijah was chanting that too back there. Well, look.

At least we can all agree that you were first in flight. Stephen Miller went to Duke! What? Did you hear that? What do you know? Stephen Miller went to Duke. Well done. Well done. Well done.

I think he's just trolling everybody right now, sir. All right. All right. Calm down. You did say North Carolina was first in flight, did you? I know, but it was a typo because this is from when we were in Ohio. I welcome it. Move me.

Get it out. John, it was a bicycle shop in Ohio. The plane flew in North Carolina. We are first in flight. I love how the governor isn't taking any of your stuff tonight. Okay? Look. I'm with you, Governor Cooper. We're going to of your stuff tonight. Okay? Look. I'm with you, Governor Cooper.

We're going to pound it right here. Just pound it. The point is, obviously North Carolina has also been associated with some pretty extreme legislation out of the legislature. with some pretty extreme legislation out of the legislature. Not only a bathroom bill that cost the state almost $4 billion, but also a bunch of other extreme policies that we've been discussing with the governor. So we thought we'd highlight some of the B-sides of bullshit in a game we're calling First in Flight, Last in Legislating.

Would someone out there like to play the game? I think Travis is out there. Or there. Oh, Travis is over here. Guys, give it up for Travis. He came to Nashville, a hipster from Echo Park. He left with that hat. Hi, what's your name?

Mary. Mary. And are you from North Carolina? Not originally. Well, actually, I was born here. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You guys turn into Trump voters whenever this happens. Where are you from?

I was born in Fayetteville, but then I moved around a lot. All right. Let's kick it off. Earlier this month, Governor Cooper vetoed the state budget, but his veto was overridden by the Republican state legislature. What was in the budget the Republicans wanted to pass so badly? Was it A? Funding to purchase $10,000 worth of Dennis Rodman's cryptocurrency, Potcoin.

Was it B? Funding for a new memorial to honor all the Confederate memorials that were removed. Was it C? Tax breaks for corporations and rich people to honor all the Confederate memorials that were removed. Was it C? Tax breaks for corporations and rich people while not giving remotely enough to public education funding despite the demands of 20,000 public school teachers who rallied in Raleigh to demand more resources and rightly pointed out that North Carolina currently ranks

37th in teacher pay and 39th in per-pupil expending, thanks to the Republican legislature. Or was it D? Lots of pork. Not as in spending to benefit interest groups, but literal pork slow barbecue to perfection. Slathered in North Carolina's signature vinegar-based sauce. The only barbecue sauce that people in North Carolina like. Everyone here agrees that vinegar-based is the best.

No debate about it. This was written with a sarcastic tone by a guy named Travis who bought a hat yesterday in Nashville who prefers Brooklyn pork, but I believe the words as written. who prefers Brooklyn pork, but I believe the words as written. While I'd like to say pork, I think I have to go with C. You got it. Question number two. In 2011, the Republican legislature passed a voter law with the express purpose of suppressing Democratic votes.

When it was struck down in the courts, what did the judges say about it? Is it A? It is the most restrictive voting law North Carolina has seen since the era of Jim Crow and the law targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision. Or is it B? This law would have probably worked

if it didn't write in parentheses, quote unquote, let's plot to exclude black people from being able to vote, end quote. Also, you wrote it on the back of a Confederate flag, which was a big red flag. I guess it was a red and blue flag, but you get what I'm trying to say. Or was it C?

Being a judge is weird. What's the deal with the black robe? Why can't it be Duke blue? Or Carolina blue? Or North Carolina Central maroon? Anyway, this law's disgusting. Or is it D?

Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. I eat liars for breakfast. I'm Judge Jean Perrault. I have to go with A. It is A, obviously. So clearly A. Just last week the Republican legislature passed another discriminatory voter ID law, right? That's just tweaking the margins of their last attempt at this.

So that sucks. You've got to shut that shit down too. Keep your heads on a swivel. Question three. What other folks' sayings you got there? I've been in the South for a week. I'm wearing Travis's hat on the inside. Question three. Over the last decade, law after law passed by the Republican legislature

has been struck down in the court, including gerrymandered policies. How have the Republicans in power responded? Is it A? After a period of soul-searching and a few surprisingly productive group therapy sessions, the Republicans in Raleigh realized that they'd allow power to consume their judgment and vowed to be a different, better party, registering voters every Saturday. Or is it B? Sharing a meme on Facebook with the text, Triggered yet?

Next to a photo of Calvin peeing on a judge's gavel. And also, there's a minion in a snorkel for some reason. Or is it C? Gave up trying to subvert the Constitution and threw themselves fully into a new passion, learning to play Kenny G's greatest hits on the tenor sax. Or is it T? They tried to remake the state courts

so they would be more conservative, putting forward a proposal to gerrymander judicial maps and force incumbent liberal judges to run against each other, which would likely result in a 70% Republican majority on the bench. On top of that, they proposed a limiting judicial elections altogether and requiring all judges to be nominated by the Republican legislature

who just happen to be the same people proposing this change. I'm triggered every day by this. I say it's D. You got it. Bonus question. True or false? Representative David Lewis, one of the architects of the gerrymandered maps, admitted

the following when he said, quote, we draw the maps to give a partisan advantage to ten Republicans and three Democrats because I do not believe it's possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and 2 Democrats. True. Yes, that's true. And you are definitely not supposed to say that part. Question four.

After Roy Cooper won a hard-fought battle for governor, the Republican-controlled state legislator was terrified of a Democrat in power. What did they do in response? Is it A? Tweeted out a crazy diss track where they claimed Roy Cooper was hiding a son named Adonis. Was it B? Before he could be sworn in, held a surprise and secret session where they voted to steal a bunch of power away from the governor.

They removed his control over the state election board, cut the number of employees working for the governor from 1,500 to 300, and even forced all of his opponents to be approved by the Senate, something they never wanted under a Republican governor. Or is it C, left Jim Halpert-style pranks around the Capitol? They bubble-wrapped the floor, put the stapler in the jello,

and quickly took away as many rights from minorities and LGBTQ people as possible? Or is it D? Started a group text without Roy Cooper called, Welcome to the Elephant Den, no Dems allowed, and have been non-stop roasting him behind his back and using

the frog emoji so much, it's kind of worrisome. I wish it were bubble wraps, but I'm afraid it's B. It is. You got it. You've won the game and the parachute gift card. That is first in flight, last in legislating. Give it up for your governor, Roy Cooper. Give it up for your governor, Roy Cooper. Thank you, Governor.

Great. Thank you, Governor. Thank you so much for being here. That was so great. Guys, we've been on tour since October. This is our last show until the fall. Thank you guys for coming out. I want to thank everyone who's come out I want to thank all of our Crooked contributors

who've joined us on stage like Simone Sanders I want to thank our Crooked Media staff who've made these shows possible led by our tour manager Chris Costello who's back there somewhere been with us on every tour and thank you guys, thank you so much for coming out. We love you, North Carolina. We'll see right back. I'm out.