#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 11.20.19 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: LIVE from the Democratic Debate at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta

Episode Date: November 24, 2019

11.20.19 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Democratic Debate analysis LIVE from the White House at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Hey folks, Roland Martin here. Of course, today is Wednesday, November 20th, 2019. We are broadcasting live from Tyler Perry Studios here in Atlanta. Of course, and the location, of course, is quite interesting because we are here in the East Room. This is literally the 80 percent mock of the White House. This is where Tyler Perry's show on BET. The Oval is shot. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta. She is holding a reception here. In addition, there's going to be a watch party here as well. People can be watching the debate here tonight. In addition to that, they're also going to be a post party.

And so we had an opportunity to broadcast live from here. I was invited by the mayor to attend this event. Then I said, well, hey, since we're going to be uh uh here could we broadcast they got permission from uh tala perry studios and we are here uh this is first of all an amazing facility more than 300 acre lot of this studio tala perry opened five years ago remember i was here for his grand opening uh and so uh it was uh amazing, amazing now. Tonight's debate, folks, is going to be taking place on Soundstage 1, the Oprah Winfrey Soundstage, the largest one on this lot. Many of those soundstages are named after prominent African-Americans like Harry Belafonte, Diane Carroll, Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, and others. And so as I say it, Anthony, do me a favor, zoom out here. And so where we are, and so if you've been to the actual White House, most of the major events, gospel concerts,

take place in the East Room. And so this is a mock, if you will, of the East Room. And so as you see, folks have been arriving for all this time uh and so so all the chairs are set up in here uh we earlier we took a tour of uh this whole uh this whole place white house offices of the oval office uh the residences as well as i said tyler perry's show the oval which airs on bet which is a white house drama is shot uh in this facility 35 35,000 square feet. And so, it's amazing to be here, to be in the White House, but in Atlanta on the Tyler Perry Studio lot.

And so, folks have been coming in. So, what's happening is over here. So, that's the foyer there. That's where the reception is taking place. We are here, of course, for the Democratic debate that's taking place tonight. A number of candidates are going to be here. This is going to be airing, of course, tonight on Democratic debate that's taking place tonight. A number of candidates are going to be here. This is going to be airing, of course, tonight on MSNBC.

It's co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post. And so it's going to be also a debate where four women are going to be serving as moderators. It is going to be an interesting one because we, of course, in the city, frankly, built by the likes of Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young. Of course, Maynard Jackson again, Bill Campbell, Shirley Franklin, Kasim Reed and now Keisha Lance Bottoms. And so it's going to be interesting to see what issues are raised tonight. I would certainly hope black economics comes up. That's sort of important. So that'd be great to actually see that now let me also explain to you normally when we do this show uh we have of course our show open our graphics but the problem is that uh a water line issue uh burst actually uh outside of

our building or inside of the building our building is completely shut down so my staff could not get into office today and so our traditional show where we have panelists and folks along those lines, it's not taking place. As you see, the mayor is right there. Go ahead, Anthony, you need to pan to her. She's there with her family. And so folks are taking tours. And so we took a tour a little bit earlier of this facility. And so hopefully in a second we'll be able to uh have a conversation with her

uh but again though so this is just an unbelievable place so like i say east room reception got blue room over there you've got the oval office they actually have it uh downstairs then they have the residence upstairs they've got a rose garden all this sort of stuff and so it's pretty cool as i said uh this is a much different debate we of, of course, were in Houston at Texas Southern University where the debate was held on the campus of that HBCU. This is totally different. I've been to many other debates. First of all, I don't recall a debate being held on a movie studio lot. But it is being held here.

And so massive security to even get on this lot. And that's what's going on so like i said well it's a little bit different here what's going on uh with our um with our folks in terms of how we do the show and so uh we're waiting on some of our normal panelists uh who are going to be coming through here uh misha cross uh she's going to be here monique presley they're going to be coming through Hopefully we'll be able to talk to you, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. And also Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster. He is here. I'm trying to grab him as well to get him to come through.

And so we're waiting to talk to him as well. As I said, a huge night tonight because with the Democratic debate, the candidates are going to be on stage. You've seen changes in this race. Of course, Michael Bloomberg, a signal he is going to enter. Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts, he has already entered the race. They're not participating in tonight's debate. But what is happening, and those from the candidates like Julian Castro is not going

to be on the debate stage. He did not qualify for tonight's debate. But you will, of course, have Vice President Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Cory Booker. All of them will be Tom Steyer. All of them will be on the stage tonight. The stakes, folks, are a little bit different now. Of course, as we're moving closer to the first election, you're going to see things change. Last debate, lots of folks targeting Senator Elizabeth Warren.

She shot up the polls this time around. The latest poll is coming out of Iowa. Mayor Pete Buttigieg sitting at the top of the polls. Don't be surprised if he is the center of attention tonight. And so, Senator Kamala Harris, she, of course, is going to be wanting to make a move as well up the polls. She desperately needs to have a breakout performance tonight in order to stabilize her campaign. She was doing very well this summer, but she has been reeling for the past three to four months. And so we'll see what happens with her senator cory booker has not been able to gain any traction whatsoever throughout this campaign

and so we're going to be watching to see what happens with him as well but sort of what i'm looking at what are the issues that are going to be raised tonight are you going to see issues dealing with economics are you going to see a housing come up tonight will you have something come up dealing with the supreme court judicial picks uh today uh the senate approved the 48th uh circuit court nominee of donald trump obama only got 55 of those in eight years so what's going to happen there and so hopefully you're going to see the moderators ask those questions. We also, of course, saw what happened today on Capitol Hill. That is the impeachment hearings. Do not be surprised if that's also going to be a major

issue that comes up in tonight's debate. And so lots of things that we're going to be looking for. We're certainly going to be looking for your comment, looking for folks to speak about, you know, what's going on. But again, I am very hopeful that we're going to be looking for your comment, looking for folks to speak about what's going on. But again, I am very hopeful that we're going to see a connection between issues that are important to African-Americans and this debate. We, of course, are in Atlanta, a city that was changed by black politics. You heard me talk about this a lot. Maynard Jackson, when he became mayor of Atlanta, African Americans were receiving 0.0012% of all city contracts. That all changed when he took over. That is critically important. You've had Pete Buttigieg, who announced that he wants for 25% of all federal contracts to

go to African Americans. Part of his Marshall Plan, expect that also to be one of the issues that you see raised tonight. And so it's going to be very interesting to see what takes place, what is brought up by these candidates. We're going to be looking at all of this very closely because more and more voters are now paying attention. What is happening, of course, you have Iowa, the first caucus is there, then you have New Hampshire, Nevada, and of course, the critical state, South Carolina, where more than 40% of all

folks are going to be voting in that primary are African American. And so that's also what we're looking at there. And so several different things we're waiting. Again, security is so tight on this lot. Some of our guests have been detained and so we certainly are looking for them waiting for them uh to to come out here as well uh as i said uh some of the candidates did not make the stage but they've still been having events uh you had of course uh julian castro had an event last night at Pascal's with Angela Rye. He, of course, still in town. And everyone is taking advantage of being in the city. And so what is happening is you've got Senator Kamala Harris.

She's going to be having an event in the morning at 830. We're going to be broadcasting that right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. She's going to be having an event with Higher Heights, the black female group that actually endorsed Kamala Harris. That breakfast is going to be taking place. Congresswoman Marsha Fudge, they're going to be hosting that breakfast. We'll be broadcasting it at 10 a.m. Buddha Judge is going to be having a black

barbershop event not far from there. One of his folks was here, so she certainly invited me to come on out to that event. And then also he's having a private event with black women. And so she certainly invited me to come on out to that event. And then also he's having a private event with black women. And so Atlanta is a critical, critical market for all these Democratic candidates when it comes to fundraising, when it comes to all of that. And so that's what we are looking at. They're looking for all those endorsements.

They're looking for all those endorsements. They're looking for civil rights leaders. And so it's very interesting to see the role that this city is going to play. Also, Stacey Abrams. Everybody, of course, is trying to get her radar. She, of course, her role, they put it in play in terms of will Georgia be in play? Will Georgia be a purple state? Will they be able to fight back voter suppression from the governor, Brian Kemp? Will they be able to have an impact?

And can Democrats compete effectively in Georgia? So, so many things that we're looking at, we're paying attention to, we're trying to see. And so tonight is going to be huge. Tonight is going to be huge tonight's going to be huge uh again because the field is narrowing and as a result uh what is going on is you're going to see just i believe a different type of debate i just hope though the people who are asking the questions don't spend all damn night talking about foreign policy, talking about Ukraine, stuff along those lines. Are we going to hear the bread and butter issues that we care about?

Are we going to hear housing? Are we going to hear those type of issues? Are we actually going to hear economics? Are we going to hear about small businesses? Are we going to hear about HBCUs? Of course, here we are, of course, you've got three HBCUs here, actually four if you want to include Morris Brown, but you've got Clark Atlanta, you've got Spelman, you've got Morehouse, you've got Morris Brown as well, but also you've got Georgia State where a large number of African Americans go as well. Are we going to hear about student loans?

Are we going to hear about those things? That's what we want to know. That's what is a big issue. And then we're going to be watching out for it. I mentioned earlier how polling has changed. Again, in Iowa, Pete Buttigieg is now in first place in Iowa. Folks are looking at that. A new poll came out showing that.

You also, of course, have Joe Biden still a strong lead in South Carolina, largely because he is running away with the black vote there. But again, South Carolina is about 100 days away before they vote. A whole lot can change. Will Vice President Joe Biden be strong tonight? He's been iffy, if you will, several of these nights. What is actually going to happen there as well? And so, so many different storylines that we're paying attention to, looking out for. It takes place in a Democrat debate tonight. The next Democrat debate is going to be taking place uh in december uh december 19th i believe uh in los angeles we will not be there because i'll actually be uh in ghana uh for a 10-day trip uh but again

that's the last debate of 2019 and so it's going to be really important for the candidates to come out strong tonight on the issue that voters are talking about the bread and butter issues one of the things that i hope for that you're going to see a Democratic candidate talk about the welfare that Donald Trump is giving to farmers, more than $28 billion. He tweeted earlier this week he's going to be giving more money to these farmers. This is for a problem that he created with his tariffs. And so isn't it amazing how we say we can't fund HBCcus we can't fund uh other issues we can't fund food programs but donald trump republicans are able to find 28 billion dollars for farmers they call it subsidies

but with black folks they'll call it welfare or call it handouts they actually have nothing to say about that and so again so much so much is going to be happening. A festive occasion here we're looking forward to tonight. I am going to be in the debate hall watching it here, but I also might be here as well. And so that's where we are. Now, as we were coming in, there were a number of people who were outside, protesters outside. There was a whole contingent of folks there for Pete Buttigieg.

He had a number of African-Americans out there. But also on the school choice side, school choice, the charter schools, Save Our Charter Schools, Howard Fuller and others, I'm a part of that coalition. They also are making their presence known, being very critical of Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders for their comments critical of charter schools. We did not see other protesters out there. We did not get to see who they were. We're just waiting to see who else shows up.

And so that's what's going on here. And so, again, lots and lots of things going on. Don't be surprised, of course, what took place today, the impeachment hearing, is going to be also a huge deal ambassador sonlin talked today about the quid pro quo that absolutely it was approved by donald trump and how that was a huge huge issue uh that uh is coming up and so uh this is going to be i think an electric night uh but the question is will the black candidates, what will they do? How will they stand out? There's also some news I'm reading right now.

Michael Bloomberg is planning to roll out, spend an estimated $15 to $20 million on voter registration drives to weaken Donald Trump's reelection chance in five battleground states. That's according to a tweet here from Eugene Scott. And so we are watching that and paying attention to it and so that's what's going on here uh and so again they are going to be the folks uh who uh are going to um be a difference maker what role will they play are you actually going are you actually going to see again uh bloomberg or devol patrick play a role in this race uh i doubt it i don't necessarily think so uh i think this field is many ways is set people want to see the field shrink as opposed to uh increase and so we'll see but let me talk tonight

about again the black candidates they're here you know senator kamala harris and senator cory booker the person i believe has to have a breakout night is senator kamala harris she did not do it in houston did not take advantage of being on an hbcu campus the largest applause line that she got when she talked about the importance of black teachers when it comes to black children going to college that was a big point for her. Pretty much the rest of the night, nothing else. Senator Cory Booker, he is running in many ways as the hope candidate. He is someone who is talking about hope and change.

Look, I think, frankly, this election cycle, voters don't want to hear another Obama. I'm just being straight up honest. I don't think they want to hear another obama they want to see a fighter somebody's going to fight and take on donald trump but here's what also i think that you're seeing in this race that people are learning that you can't just be black and run there's no indication where just because you're black you're going to get the black vote. That is simply not the case. You have to fight for it. You have to earn it.

And I think that's what we're also seeing. And so it is going to be very difficult, I believe, for Senator Harris and as well as Senator Cory Booker to vote up the chain. They can. It can actually happen. Harris, and as well as Senator Cory Booker to vault up the chain. They can. It can actually happen. But right now, they are polling horribly in Iowa, polling very low in New Hampshire. And again, they are not in the top four in South Carolina. That is going to be actually not in the top three.

Now let's do a Pete Buttigieg. He's got a black problem. He's polling at zero percent among African-Americans. There's a reason you are seeing a significant number of people, black folks with their Pete Buttigieg signs outside of the Tyler Perry studios as folks are coming. Because what they are trying to do is they want to be able to have those voices. They want to be able to show his support, but he has to be able to speak to African Americans. Watch for that to happen tonight. I know for a fact in talking to his camp, he has been primed. He is going to try to speak to the issues of African Americans and economics.

That's something to watch out for as well. He has no choice. He is not polling well among African Americans in economics. That's something to watch out for as well. He has no choice. He is not polling well among African Americans. Again, leading in Iowa. Those Midwestern voters, he's, of course, the mayor, South Bend, Indiana, neighboring state. His message is appealing to them, but it is not resonating among African Americans.

There's no way Pete Buttigieg can capture the nomination if he cannot draw black support. That's one of the things that we're also looking out for. And so watch for a lot of those things tonight. Watch for Elizabeth Warren, Serene Elizabeth Warren, to really focus on black women in what she is saying tonight. And so that's one of the things that we also are going to be looking out for tonight when she goes on stage. Then, of course, you have Senator Bernie Sanders.

Don't be surprised if he makes some killer mic references. One of the reasons I keep turning around again, because I'm looking at the people who are coming in here, because I'm going to be grabbing some folks to do a quick interview with them. And so that's why I'm sort of turning around. And so that's what I'm going to be grabbing some folks to do a quick interview with them. And so that's why I'm sort of turning around. And so that's what I'm doing. And so we're going to be trying to grab some folks. Again, I was just texting my man, Cornell Belcher. And so to come on down, so waiting to chat with him.

And so that's what we're doing. So, folks, it is, again, lots to watch out for tonight that I want to be paying attention to when you're watching the debates. And so look for those key things for African-Americans. I mentioned Senator Bernie Sanders. I watch Killer Mike get a shout out. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to reference Cardi B. This is going to be a largely black audience tonight. And so even though this is a debate, it's going to be a largely black audience tonight. And so even though this is a debate that's going to be shown across the country, African-Americans should be center stage. The question is, will Rachel Maddow, Christian Welker, will you have Andrea Mitchell? Will they be asking questions that black folks care about?

Now, Urban One is supposed to be a partner in tonight's debate in the initial press release that went out urban one was supposed to be showing this debate on their uh digital platforms and airing on radio one in the last few announcements i've seen nothing about urban one at all in fact i haven't even gotten uh any kind of post or anything from Urban One. So I wonder if Urban One, frankly, dropped out of the whole deal. Not quite sure. So we'll see. That's one of the things that we're looking at.

So we're watching all of that, folks. And so, matter of fact, i'm trying to check right now uh no black media organization has been a um co-host of any of these debates so far which is a damn shame uh but when i look at uh yeah i i looked at uh i saw nothing from news1.com i got no emails or nothing along those lines and so i wonder if they dropped out of this uh which is a doggone shame. I'm looking at News1.com right now, and I don't see anything on their homepage indicating if they're going to be showing the debate on their platforms tonight. And so that makes no sense to me. And so I don't really I don't really understand what happened there. And so I'm going to send a couple of text messages to some folks with the Democrat National Committee to find out what happened to Urban One and their involvement in tonight's debate. And so hopefully I'm able to get the attention of the mayor. I had her this morning at the Tom Jonah Morning Show.

And so hopefully we can get her. I did interview her outside as she was coming in, but, again, of course, because we can't, our control room is down. We can't be able to send the video back, and so we're trying to get her. Also, we're going to pull Cornell Belcher down in a second as well to chat with him and chat with some other folks who are here. This reception started. This reception started around 6 o'clock as the people are coming in. We have a call. We have a call to go over to the other facility at 730.

And so that's what we're waiting on, to go to the soundstage. Even though the debate is starting at 9 o'clock, we've got to make our way over to the soundstage, go through security to be there. They want folks in their seats one hour before the debate actually takes place. So that's one of the things they're going to be doing as well. And so that's where we are, folks. So, again, we're here, Talent Pairing Studios, where Democratic debate is taking place tonight, airing on MSNBC, co-hosted by MSNBC and the Washington Post. And so it's going to be quite the night, I believe, as we see this Democrat debate takes place.

Some of the other people here who were invited I've run into. There are some state officials. There's some folks from South Carolina. There are folks from Georgia. Some different people who are here. And so the mayor has invited all kind of folks who are going to be watching the debate here as opposed to being in the room in there. So it's going to be jam-packed in there.

So we'll be certainly watching it in here, looking, of course, shooting reaction and getting reaction from folks in here as well. Now, some of you are asking questions, so go ahead. Let me do this here. Now, some of you are asking questions. So go ahead. Let me do this here. I see some of y'all on YouTube. You have some questions. Go ahead and ask those questions now.

And I can go ahead and try to answer some of those questions. But let me, you know what? Let me do this here. I'm going to go back to what is going on with black media. And let me go ahead and say this. I think it's a damn shame that black media, a traditional black media, is not involved in these debates. Let me say it again. It's a damn shame.

Here's what I don't understand. There are eight black networks that target African Americans. Okay? You heard me talk about this before. They do 1,344 combined hours of content a week, not one hour of news. All right? I don't understand why BET, BET Her, TV One, Clio TV, their sister network, Aspire, Revolt, Own and Bounce don't come together and say, hey, let's share the cost of doing a debate. The debate is probably five, six hundred thousand dollars.

OK, maybe seven hundred thousand bucks. The debate is probably $500,000, $600,000. Okay? Maybe $700,000. If each of the networks said we're going to chip in $50,000, what would it say if a Democratic presidential debate is broadcast on all eight networks that target African Americans? Think about that so you mean to tell me that a two-hour debate is somehow going to wreck the ratings of these networks for the entire year think think about how that even sounds so every four years there's a presidential campaign every four years, there's a presidential campaign. Every four years. And somehow, two hours is going to somehow just wreck your whole rating schedule.

That, to me, is utter nonsense. And so the reason we're here is because this is important. It's important for us to be here, to cover what is happening here so when the debate is over to be in the spin room where the candidates are going to be to be able uh to get those interviews all of that stuff is important but for some reason for some reason we are not seeing that and i think it's a shame i think it's an it's an abomination that we're not seeing uh any of that uh and so i think black folks are hurt because frankly i'm tired of us being fed entertainment it's about time that these that these uh black media outlets uh step up and do more here we are. Think about this here. Here we are on a studio African-American owned by Tala Perry. That's where we are. OK, the debate is taking place on a soundstage called the Oprah Winfrey soundstage and no black networks and no black networks.

OK, so here's the deal. Do me a favor anthony uh if you can zoom in on the mayor there while she's addressing the folks here first of all i just want to thank tyler perry and tyler perry studios for allowing us to be here for this debate can you all give them a round of applause. There are so many people, and Tony Conway and his entire team, but I hope that you all recognize, I'm sure just by being here, what this is. And as I was coming in and I was talking with Roland Martin, he said, I hate to say that I'm proud of an adult because it sounds like I'm speaking of one of my children, but it just makes us all so proud. we've intersected the culture and the politics and the future of our nation together. It speaks to all of who we are. And I'm searching for the words because I'm just so old standing here. It is just nothing short of amazing what he's done on this land that used to be a Confederate stronghold. And we are here.

We are here. And this moment is about so much. I mean, just a few feet away, there will stand, standing, will stand the President of the United States. In the name of Jesus, somebody on that stage. And you got to be specific in your prayer. November of 2020, the President of the United States is here. And so many of you were in, were with us two years ago, I mean, the President of the United States is here.

And so many of you were in, were with us two years ago, and almost two years ago to today, when we were fighting just to make it through. And here we are. And I'm just grateful. And I'm grateful that so many of you all are here from across the country that we could be in this space. And the extraordinary part is this is the first event that's ever been held in this space. And to go back to even how we got here, we pushed and prayed and blessed and screamed about getting the debate to Atlanta. And then the debate was going to Sandy Springs.

I'm like, I'm ready. I'm going to go to Augusta. And I just recommend you, like, you can't be that close and not be in Atlanta. Because those of you who love Atlanta know how important it is for us to be here. Tyler Perry moved something off of the soundstage so that the debate could be here. So literally, mountains were moved.

And there are so many people in this room, you all just don't know, it has taken a village for us to be here. Not just this, but for the debate i see farron back there and i know i'm gonna get in trouble when i start calling names but so many so much support has been given to make it possible for the nation to see that atlanta and georgia matter in this election so i know we have a lot of elected officials here. If I start to call names, I'll get in really big trouble

because I'll miss some folks. If you could just wave your hand, all of our elected official friends. We've got mayors here, we've got city council members, city representatives, senators. And I'm sure for the after party, we'll have some presidential hopefuls here too. I don't know if my candidate, Joe Biden, is going to be at the after party. But this is really about the celebration. So I just want to thank you all again.

Thank you to everybody who made it possible for us to be here and also Alana Carmen Joshua Ebony wherever you are Sarah was with us until 10 o'clock Friday night and so many I'm gonna get in trouble calling names but just thank you thank you thank you to all the staff and just enjoy make sure you go upstairs and check out the living quarters Make sure you go downstairs and check out the Oval Office Tours will end at 8 o'clock Thank you, and I think there are going to be behind me, right behind me are the tours to the Oval Office and the Press Room.

That will be downstairs. Those will go until 8 o'clock. The residences upstairs are open through the evening. You can see that. Those of you that have a debate, shhh, those of you that have a ticket to the actual debate, we have a shuttle that will leave here promptly at 7.30 right outside the doors, and there will not be a second shuttle. So 7.30, you have to be in your seat by 8 p.m.

So we're going to get you right over there, and then we'll start the viewing in the room behind me. And we have screens in here, so we'll view the debate from here where we've got alcohol and food while they're sitting over in that empty room over there. But have a great time. Yes, ma'am. And for those of you that are at the debate, just one more time. If you're at the debate and you're coming back here,

you'll take the same shuttle. It'll bring you back here. And then we'll have shuttles that will rotate through the evening back to Lakewood for your cars. All right? So have a great time. Joshua, someone will be right outside here checking your name to get on the show. Thank you, LaChan, someone. Alright, have a great time. EJ, if you'll start it up, thank you. All right folks, Roland Martin here, so I'm going to connect the microphone back up, so

we can reflect that. So that was Elena Mercutio laying at the bottom. Hi, Monique. So, of course, how you doing? Give me one second, folks. Let's go. Let's go. All right, folks, so we did not expect that to happen, so we're glad it did. So I know it might look a little funky, us having to move the camera the way we did, but that's what happens.

Monique Presley, lawyer who's often on our show, is here in Atlanta for a debate as well. What are you looking for tonight? Well, I'm looking to see which candidate is going to do the right thing. We heard so much in the past few days from the GOP about their president. We've heard so much about the illegal activity that has

been going on in the White House, and after today, when Sondland got on the stand and sang like a canary, I need for those Democratic debate candidates to not just come in and talk about their vision for the future, but what they're going to do to make sure that Trump gets out of this White House. That's what I want to hear. They have to deal with it directly.

And I know that MSNBC has been making some adjustments all day long so that they can pose those questions, too, because it's on the hearts and minds of everybody who's been watching. I do expect to talk about Songland, but I do hope they realize that we're in a black city and have a lot more issues come up dealing with housing, dealing with economics, the history of Maynard Jackson, Andrew Young, all these different black mayors, because that to me is also what's been missing,

bread and butter issues that resonate with black folks and everybody else and frankly moderators have not been going there no and it's just like marquisha just said they wanted to bring something supposedly to a black city and then it was going to end up being in sandy spring but for tyler perry studios so i'm thankful for all that we're in right now. But yes, to me, the first thing that has to happen is we have to have a president in the Oval Office who cares about black folks, not just by bringing them in for a song and a dance, but it's going to actually do something for them. And each one of those candidates has to say what that is. And I don't

just want some bullet points that they came up with last week, Roland, and you know, there's one candidate in particular I got some issues with about that, Mayor Buttigieg. But they can't just come up with talking points. It has to be that they have demonstrated doing work in our communities and have a plan to take us forward. Now, I think tonight, I said it in Houston, the TSU debate, September 15th. Huge, huge, huge for Senator Kamala Harris. I do not believe she took advantage of it. If she wants to be real in this race, she's got to kick some serious butt on this stage tonight.

Well, yes, and here's the thing. She kicks butt on every stage that she gets on. Sometimes she gets the credit for kicking butt. Sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes her campaign takes advantage of it. Sometimes they don't. But I'm here to tell you there are black women who are mobilizing as we speak. This is a big, huge weekend for black women.

There's the Black Women's Power Breakfast that's taking place tomorrow that's sponsored by Higher Heights PAC and sponsored by the Collective PAC. And then there's going to be events all in South Carolina to do the push that she needs. Because, listen, I'm not going to pretend that there isn't a major African-American female candidate, a black woman on stage who is a viable contender for president of the United States. And black folks need to get their act together and get behind that. She doesn't have to be your candidate for you to mind her being done dirty. And we see the way the mainstream media is treating not just her,

but Cory Booker as well. We looked at, for Mayor Pete, they've 659 times, I think it is, talked about the fact that he's a Rhodes Scholar. Cory Booker's a Rhodes Scholar. Cory Booker used to be a mayor before he became a United States senator. So why is it that our people are not being given what they should be? Yes, there are issues with campaigns, and campaigns have to take responsibility. But so do we, because they do what we require. And there ought to be an outcry, as far as I'm concerned, behind the way our candidates are being treated as people of color. But these are the big moments, and the reality is millions will be watching the last couple of debates. TSU, great, great response.

Talking about black teachers. But then sort of disappeared with the rest. Again, to me, this is where, and I keep saying this, and I hope our campaign listens. And I would say listen last time. You have to get the room on your side. To me, if I if I'm a can, I walk out there. I'm saying, first of all, giving props to Tyler Perry. But I'm saying I'm I am going to be cosigning Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young and Shirley Franklin, all those different mayors, because that when you get the room on your side,

it basically reverberates from the floor to the stage, from the stage to the audience. I agree. But what I'm wondering, and maybe you've got better numbers on this than I do, is who's really in that room? Because the reason it took me so long getting to this section is because I started off in the security checkout for all of the VIPs that were headed to the debate. And there really weren't a lot of people on our big, long security bus. You know, we got a police escort to get in here and it was a super long bus and it was a lot more people who were not black than were. Now, when you look at the lines of the people going in, it's a lot more people who were not black than were now when you look at the lines of the people going in it's a little bit even but part of the problem is that these debates

are for democratic donors that is the reality and what they should be they should really should be for the people in these cities unfortunately you didn't have a lot of people from the public who were at the debate in TSU and there were available seating. There should have been more people in that room. Right. Well, it's so I know there's no there's not like one seat left. They were people were trying to like sell a baby to get seats in there. There's no seats left. But I just wonder if the job was done, as you said, to make sure that it represents the local community as well as representing what is, you know, the big higher-ups of the Democratic Party. But either

way, you still have to take the room because if you take the room, then you get the energy that goes along with that. That's effective communication 101, that you've got to get your room and then you get the wider audience with it. And I think it's going to be a big night. I think it's going to be a big night for Harris. I'm looking for it to be just a steady, consistent night for Biden, the same way the rest of them have been. You know what, I don't know. He's going to have, I mean, he's been frankly a little unsteady.

I mean, he. I meant by steady. To me, his is like kind of on and off again. I mean, he's the candidate that everybody's kind of like, we know what we're getting, which means we don't know what we're getting, but it's not going to be that bad. But I would like to see a strong night from Booker. I would like for Gabbard to get finished off, frankly, because she has worked my reserve nerve. So if this is the last time that I have to, was I not supposed to say that? If this is the last time, I know I'm in the Democratic House, but I mean it.

No, she is a Republican that is wearing a Democratic button on her jacket that says, vote for me, I'm a Democrat. And that's not what this time is. This time is not for all of that. We have to have people who really believe in the core values of our party, the party platform, and want to do things for the people who get them voted. Who gets them voted, Roland? Black women over 45. I'm the block.

So I want to know what they're going to say to black women over 45 tonight. That's what I want to know. Last debate, Senator Warren was actually the one who they targeted. Medicare for all. Latest polls has Buttigieg in first place in Iowa. He's going to get the treatment tonight. Do you know how many people were in that poll? If you scan that room over there, that's the people who were in that poll.

I'm not going to let myself be impressed by that. And then media wants to call it a surge. Buttigieg surges. Buttigieg surges. And then they figure out how many black people want him. Zero. He's polling at zero percent for black voters there's no way he's getting elected with those kinds of numbers so i don't care where he surges he cannot get the job done do you know how black women over 45 feel about him unimpressed i'm right here i'm telling you that's where we are what about sanders

what does he must what must he do tonight? Why are you looking like that? Because you're trying to get in my issues. Let me make this plain. Whoever is the Democrat nominee is getting my vote and I'm going to put everything I have behind that nominee. Because if Trump is still president at the time that happens, then it's all hands on deck. But I haven't seen anything from Senator Sanders this time that I didn't see last time. And I don't care how many Bernie bros or anybody else want to come after me.

He didn't get the job done. So I'm looking for improvement. I'm looking for better answers. Every time he's asked a question, whether it's about reparations, whether it's about how he's going to pay for his policies, whether it's about what he's going to do for African Americans, he still seems part tone deaf and part absent action. And that's not going to get the job done. I don't care that he can give a whole lot of rah-rah. We need more than rah-rah. We need somebody who has a depth of understanding of the issues for black people, but for the country, country period and is going to

be able to fix them and that's just not i'm that's not where he is with me all right well look we got to head over in about 11 minutes uh to the to the debate site uh it shall be interesting 9 p.m eastern it airs on msnbc again hope for some damn black questions. Juices. All right, Monique, thanks a lot. All right, folks. Look, we're going to cut this short. Of course, again, the reason we started late, our control room in Washington, D.C., my staff could not even get into the building today because of a water main issue. And so that's what happened there.

And so, unfortunately, we couldn't do our normal show, but we made the best possibility here. We're going to be, of course, in the spin room. We're going to be doing some interviews there, talking to folks there. So we look forward to being there. We might even go live with you guys later. And so we'll see how that happens a little bit later. And so I see that Bill Campbell there. I think that's Bill, the former mayor of Atlanta. And so I'll see if I can try to grab him real quick. But, so, folks, that's where we are. Here at Tyler Perry Studios, here in the White House, on his lot. Looking forward to tonight's debate.

We'll see you guys afterwards. Either we'll go live or we'll simply shoot our interviews, and we'll have those for you tomorrow on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Okay? Y'all take care. Holla! Holla!