#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Kirk Shot, Rep. Frost & Rep. Higgins Clash, Jeffries Rips Trump, Lisa Cook Ruling

Episode Date: September 11, 2025

9.10.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Kirk Shot, Rep. Frost & Rep. Higgins Clash, Jeffries Rips Trump, Lisa Cook RulingMAGA influencer Charlie Kirk is dead after getting shot in the neck while speaking at a Utah college event.  It got hot during today's congressional committee meeting over proposed bills to increase federal control of D.C.'s criminal justice system. Democrat Maxwell Frost calls Republican Clay Higgins a "lap dog," and we've got the footage.House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries accuses Trump and House Republicans of failing to lower costs for everyday Americans. We'll break it down.A judge says Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook can remain on the job, for now. A Texas pastor says white parents should warn their kids about Black people.#BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbaseThis Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.  This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing.Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV.The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Never leave a child in a car. A message from Nitsai and the Ad Council. Today's Wednesday, September 10, 2025, coming up on Roland, Martin Filtred streaming live on the Black Star Network MAGA influencer and host of, excuse me, founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, shot and killed while speaking at a university in Utah will have the latest details. Also, a shooting took place today in Denver at a Denver high school. We'll have those details as well. Folks, he got real hot on Capitol Hill during a congressional meeting over proposed bills to increase federal control of D.C.'s criminal justice system. Democrat Maxwell Frost of Florida called out Republican Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins calling him a lap dog for a Trump. Wait to we show you what took place. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries accuses Donald Trump and House Republicans of failing to lower costs for everyday Americans will show you what he had to say. Plus a judge says federal reserve board Governor Lisa

Cook can remain in her job for now. Plus a Texas pastor, a Texas right-wing Christian pastor, says white parents should give their kids the talk about violent black people. Yes, that happened. It's time to bring the funk on Roland-Martin-Filger. On the Blackside Network, let's go. He's got whatever the piss he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine.

And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling, best believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just four kicks He's rolling Yeah It's Uncle Ro Royal Yeah

It's rolling martin Yeah Rolling with rolling now He's funky's fresh He's real the best you know He's rolling martin now Republican world shocked with the events out of Utah where Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization charged with building up young people to support Donald

Trump, MAGA, and Republicans was speaking at a university where he was shot and killed. Shots rang out just as Kirk began speaking at Utah Valley State University. The Comptainter was hosting his well-known, proved-me-wrong table discussion at the time of the incident. The irony is in the situations that Kurt previously said that gun deaths are unfortunately worth it to keep the Second Amendment. A lot of people have been talking about that. There was video that was shown of police taking an individual down, but that has not been

confirmed if that was the person who indeed fired the shot or persons. As of now, no suspects are in. Custody. Again, as we said, Kirk was answering questions from the audience, and this is what took place moments before he was shot. Utah Valley State University. How many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? Too many. Okay. Now, five is a lot, right? I'm going to give you some credit.

Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America? over the last 10 years. Counting or not counting gang violence? Great. We chose not to show you what actually took place. You did hear the shot there. And it was moments later after when Utah officials said that Kirk had died as a result of that gunshot wound. Donald Trump and others from the right as well as folks on the left have decried the shooting.

Folks have talked about prayers for Kirk's wife and children and lots of getting, lots of folks have been commenting about what has been taking place. And as we said, as of right now, police have not said that anyone has been detained. We don't know the details. We don't know if this was one person, if this was multiple people. We don't know how far away the shooter was. We have none of those details. All we know is that Charlie Kirk, 31 years old, has been gunned down while speaking at a university

in Utah. As details become available, we will have those for you. We'll be right back. Roller mark unfiltered on the Blackstone Network. This week on the other side of change. D.C. has been ravaged and taken over by tanks, soldiers, police officers, over the last two weeks, and it's only starting there.

Trump has announced that he also has plans to bring this to Chicago, Baltimore, and New York City. So we're going to dig into it. This is on the other side of change, only on the Black Star Network. Black Star Network, what's happening? It's your man, Kim. And look, my new single, Rock with me, is on fire. We debuted as the number one most added and greatest gainer at R&B radio. So look, I want you to go check it out.

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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Folks, while we were in the commercial break there, FBI director Cash Patel posted this on Twitter. Go to my iPad, please. It says the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.

Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership. with FBI will provide updates when available. Someone earlier had been taken into custody, but that person was released, determined not to be the shooter. But again, moments ago, FBI director Cash Patel said a suspect has been taken into custody in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. And so once we get the details, we'll find out if the FBI will be holding a news conference while we are live and we'll let you know the details of that. Folks, today in Denver, A shooting took place at a high school in Denver. Three people are in critical condition, including the suspected shooter.

It took place at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County there. This is a story from the Denver Post. It says hundreds of law police and law enforcement officers respond to the school at 293000 Buffalo Park Road. After a 911 call reported an active shooting at 1224 p.m. local time, Jefferson County Sheriff Office spokesperson Jackie Kelly said at a briefing Wednesday afternoon. Not clear whether the suspected shooter was struck by police or shot on itself. The juvenile suspect was a student at the school, but no additional information about their identity was available. According to the police there, there's no ongoing threat to the community.

And so, again, that was a school shooting today at Denver where three people were shot as well as the suspected shooter. And again, they are in critical condition. And so we'll be awaiting details of their condition as well. So that is absolutely a tragic story there of that shooting that took place in Denver, in Colorado, but in an area around Denver. Lots of conversations been taking place in this country with regards to crime in America. That was a heated congressional hearing today in Washington, D.C. where members of Congress were debating this.

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When you're distracted, stressed, or not usually the one who drives them, the chances of forgetting them in the back seat are much higher. It can happen to anyone. Parked cars get hot fast and can be deadly. get in the habit of checking the back seat when you leave. A message from NHTSA and the Ad Council. A very issue. And so a major, major discussion, fireworks erupted literally between the congressman from Florida, Maxwell Frost, as well as New Mexico congresswoman, Melody Stansberry, and Louisiana

Congressman Clay Higgins. They went back and forth over the issue of extending the National Guard in the nation's capital, Donald Trump, of course, ordered that to take place for, as a state. he said to tamp down crime. Well, Ford questioned Higgins on why he was not calling for the National Guard troops in his home state of Louisiana as he was in the capital city, given their crime rates in Louisiana are a lot higher. Here is that contentious back and forth between these three.

Did the president ask you to do this? We're debating the bills as we speak. That's what a markup is. Mr. Comer, did the president ask you to hold? talk to the president. Was this markup called pursuant to the president's occupation of Washington, D.C.? We've had this markup on the books for a long time. And so there's, there was no coordination with the, you're participating in a markup.

There was no coordination with the White House on this markup. I haven't talked to the White House, but I mean, there's always coordination. We support the president's. You didn't consult with the White House on the development of a bill that would create the actual entity that he said he wanted? There was no coordination with the White House on this? We support what the president's done. We've sat back and watched and we've seen the crime rates go down significantly in Washington, D.C. And we want to make sure that crime stays down in Washington, D.C.

If you don't like the bill, you can vote against it. No, I'm asking you a question because we haven't heard this bill. Did this bill, was this bill drafted in coordination with the White House? I'm asking the question. It's not my bill. Okay. Does the sponsor want to answer that question? I would say that we support.

President Trump and bottom line. It's just a simple question. Did you coordinate with the White House and the development of this bill? Why can't you answer the question? Mr. Chairman, we need order. We need order, Mr. Chairman. It's just a question.

This isn't a debate with the- This actually is a debate. That is exactly what a markup is, my dear. This is a debate over the bill. This should be common sense. We're just trying to keep the American people safe. They're dying in D.C. I just asked you a simple question.

And the people of Washington, D.C. are here to hear from you. So we are going to codify what President Trump did to keep the American people safe. Okay. I don't care if you're a Democrat, Republican, or independent. We love you, but we've got to keep you safe. Okay, let me ask you another question. I'm going to ask the sponsor this question. Have you ever been inside of City Hall?

Yes or no? I have not. Have you ever attended a city council meeting here in Washington, D.C.? I have spoken with people all over D.C. Have you ever attended a city council meeting? council meeting here in Washington, D.C. And they thank us that they can walk down the street and walk their dog and ride on a subway without getting stabbed.

Did you consult with the mayor or the council or any members of law enforcement in the development of this bill? Because they know the laws are too lax here and it's not safe. I'm asking the sponsor of this bill. Did you consult with the mayor or the city council in the development of this bill? I consulted with the people of Washington, D.C. You did. Can you tell us some of who you consulted with? Can you tell us who you consulted with, sir?

Congress has jurisdiction over Washington, D.C., but I'm asking you a very simple question. Who did you consult with? Did you consult with the law enforcement of Washington, D.C.? I talked to police officers as well, yes. I'm asking the gentleman who's... I did. I spoke with law enforcement. I spoke with restaurant owners. I spoke with people walking their dogs all around D.C. Oh, you, you talked to people walking their dogs. Thank God, we can walk down the street without being stabbed or mug to be part of a drive-by.

I can't believe a Democrat, Republican-dependent, would not like this common-sense legislation that keeps people safe. Do you live in the Washington, D.C. area? We're all here. I'm asking you a question. Are you a resident of Washington, D.C.? Recognize her colleague from Louisiana? Sir, I'm still, I have my time here. I'm asking the sponsor of the bill.

You have debate time on your own. There's plenty of time to debate. Do you live here in the city of Washington, D.C.? We are all here in D.C. representing our districts across the country. Exactly, sir. And we have jurisdiction over Washington, C.

That is exactly my point. If you wanted to run for mayor of Washington, D.C., then you can move to Washington and run in a Democratic free and fair election and actually become a city of fishing. Any other member seat recognition? Mr. Chairman. Mr. Higgins.

I'd just like to say that I'm glad that the gentlelady just performed in the manner that she did. Because America is watching, and it exhibited, like, this display, your display, good lady. I'm quite sure you're a wonderful person. All right, folks, we're going to pause that video. We're going to come back to. let's go live to Utah. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah. Our nation is broken.

We've had political assassinations recently in Minnesota. we had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania and we had an attempted assassination on a presidential candidate and former president of the United States and now current president of the United States. Nothing I say can unite us as a country.

Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken. Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are broken. We mourn with his wife, his children, his family, his friends. We mourn as a nation. If anyone in the sound of my voice celebrated even a little bit at the news of this shooting, I would beg you to look in the mirror. and to see if you can find a better angel in there somewhere.

I don't care what his politics are. I care that he was an American. We desperately need our country. We desperately need leaders in our country. But more than the leaders, we just need every single person in this country to think about where we are and where we want to be. To ask ourselves, is this it? Is this what 250 years has wrought on us?

I pray that that's not the case. I pray that those who hated what Charlie Cook stood for will put down their social media and their pens and pray for his family and that all of us all of us will try to find a way to stop hating our fellow Americans

with that we're happy to take a few questions the FBI director is posting that a suspect is in custody I would just like clarification do you or do you not have a suspected shooter in We have a person of interest in custody that is being interviewed right now. We do... That is not George Zinn. That is correct. Are you still searching for another shooter or anybody else related to this?

Yes, we are actively looking for anyone and everyone who has any, any possible information relating to the shooting. Can you tell us details about the suspect being taken into custody where, you know, how long ago, long ago. We cannot at this point, but we will get you that information when we can't. Is there believed to be a second individual involved in the shooting? At this point there is no information that would lead us to believe that there is a second person involved. Can you guys talk to the possible shooting?

We, do you want to talk about what we know there? The only information we have on the suspect, the possible shooter, is taken from closed circuit TV here on campus. We do have that and we're analyzing it, but it is security camera footage so you can kind of guess what the quality of that is. We do know dressed in all dark clothing, but we don't have much better description other than that. The shot came from here on campus from a location.

potentially from a roof, yes, a longer distance shot from a roof. So to clarify, with the security camera footage you have and the person of interest that's in custody, do those, does that match up? That's what we're trying to decipher right now. Did FPI or DHS have anything on the threat board this point? I can't speak to that. I'll just say that the investigation is ongoing, and as soon as we have further information, we will be sure to release it.

intelligence involvement. As now I can't comment on any of that. Thank you. Can you talk a little about the security of the event itself, but who is there security-wise and what happens on these kind of events? So my name is Jeff Long. I'm the police chief here at UVU, and I'll tell you right now, we're devastated. We're a small police department. We have a very large campus. We have over 40,000 students, and we love our students. We love our visitors, and we're devastated by what happened today. This is the police chief's nightmare. I'm very saddened for the Kirk family. I know his wife and parents found out about this. Obviously he's away from home. He's here in Utah. They find out by police officer that visits their home. That's tragic.

Nobody wants that. But I can tell you about our venue today. This was an open venue. This is outside. We did have six officers work in that event. We had probably over 3,000 people that were in attendance. It sat down in kind of a bowl area here on the central campus. We have a waterfall area, and so he was kind of in a lower area, surrounded by buildings.

You know, we had some plain-closed police officers that were in the crowd as well. You know, we train for these things, and you think you have things covered, and, you know, these things, you know, unfortunately, they happen. You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately today, didn't and because of that we had this tragic incident so we did have officers there we had Charlie Kirk's team he has a security team that travels with him and they were here with him when when he was shot I'm sorry see at this point I can't disclose that

there was a question being asked about mass shooting was that person apprehended and do you know who asked that question say the question again I I don't know if I understand what you're saying. When Charlie Kirk was shot, he was answering a question about mass shooting specifically. Was that person apprehended? And do you know who asked that question? I do not. We do not have that at this moment.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have time for just one more question. So thank you. Yeah. I have a question for the chief as well. Was it your team or Kirk's team or a combination of both that kind of set the security code call for the event? So we work together. He has his team and they do this all over the country. We all know that.

This is not uncommon for them. They're very comfortable on campuses. And I was coordinating with his lead security guy. And so, yeah, we were working together. Was this a shot shooter type shot? Ladies and gentlemen, those are all the questions that will be answered today. Again, thank you for covering this. We will be updating you as soon as we have additional information through normal channels.

working with law enforcement. Again, our deepest condolences to the Kirk family and to the students who were there today. And I would just ask everyone everywhere to please pray for their family and pray for our country. We need it now more than ever. Thank you. Folks, that was Utah Governor Spencer Cox holding his news conference. That was not the FBI news conference he was there of course with the campus police at that university and so we still are waiting to hear from the FBI in terms of their news conference about what took place today in Utah we're gonna go to a break we come back we're gonna go back to that congressional hearing and then

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you want to turn that shit off we're doing the interview motherfucker folks as we were talking about that was a discussion on Capitol Hill today between Republicans and Democrats as related to a bill to extend National Guard in Washington D.C. It was a a back and forth between Congresswoman Melissa Stansberry, Congressman Maxwell Frost, and Congressman Clay Higgins. Let's pick up on that conversation. We broke it off while we went to the live news conference in Utah. Let's pick it up here.

Your family loves you. You and I don't really know each other. So I don't mean this in a personal way. I'm just observing that your display. Thank you for enhancing the point I'm about to make. Your display demonstrates exactly the sort of elitist arrogant tone that Americans across the country are going to recognize as the hallmark of your party. So we sit back and I would give you, yield my entire time.

to carry on like that like to demonstrate to the American people this is what the Democratic Party represents I'm happy to take more time and as you stated to me good lady you can have your own debate time mr. chairman I yield would you yield a minute to me I have a question the I have a question that the mr. Higgins yields back and I just want to make sure everyone knows mr. Higgins been his career in law enforcement, Mr. McGuire was a Navy SEAL, and I think they're sincere in their efforts and what we've seen over the last three weeks in the massive reduction in crime in Washington, D.C., and I appreciate their opinion and words of advice, and

I just wanted to make sure everyone knew what we were dealing with here. Now, does any other membership recognition? Mr. Frost? No, I just have a question for my colleague from the state of Louisiana. because I'm curious as to where your bill is. Louisiana is the state with the second highest rate of deaths in this nation. You are more likely to be shot standing on a random street in your state than you are in Washington, D.C. So my question is, where's your bill for the occupation of the state of Louisiana to keep your people safe if you're at all since here in this?

The gentleman yield for an answer? I yield for an answer. I support state rights. I'm a constitutionalist. But not D.C.? Stand by. As a constitutionalist, I support my state, my sovereign state's legislature, which is doing everything it can to push back upon the crime rate of the Democrat-controlled cities. Okay, so I'll take my time back. If you remove the crime staffs of the world.

That's the rules. I'll take my time back. I'll take my time back. So you only invoke the rules when other people are speaking, not when you're speaking. Okay. agree with you. Look, I'm for state sovereignty. So what do you think about California? Well, California is not where I live. You're asking about my state. See, you only care and I'll reclaim my time. I'll reclaim my time. I'll reclaim my time. I'll reclaim my time.

I will reclaim my time. The gentleman will stop speaking. I will reclaim my time. You're more likely to be shot standing in a random street in your state. and anywhere in Washington, D.C., and you're here because you're lapdogs to the President of the United States, who, during the election last year, we said time and time again, I reclaim my time. Mr. Chairman. All right, hold on. My colleague just called me a lap dog for the President of the United States. I move for his words to be taken down.

A second. We'll stand in, uh, uh, recess for a second. here. We will suspend to see about taking the words down. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my remark. Gentleman, I ask you to have consent to withdraw his remarks without objection so ordered. We will proceed with the debate. The words were taken down. And I will continue with the reminder. On a point of order, Mr.

Frost has three minutes. Okay, point of order. My point was that Mr. Frost has a right to his time. Yeah. Unobstructed time, an opportunity to speak. And I think if we afforded him that right under the rules, then we wouldn't have this back and forth. That's fine.

He started by asking if people would yield a question. I think that's how it all started. He reclaimed his time, at least a half a dozen time. Well, I'm giving him three minutes. Even though I don't have to because of the Bulls, I'm giving him three minutes. You're running this hearing, sir. Okay, I'm giving it. Not a spectator.

Okay, you've got three minutes, Mr. Frost, go ahead. This body is full of lap dogs, doing exactly what the president wants, when he wants it, not pushing back. And what we just heard, this exchange with me and my colleague is indicative of the problem here. you don't none of you know anything about washington dc you're talking about a so-called you know walking down the street and talking with people on the on the uh that are walking their dogs people in the restaurants you go to uh which might not be full of people from dc anyway and it's just sad it is sad we need dc statehood there are people yes we need dc statehood We need to put this behind us.

We need to stop. It's wild to me that we're here debating with people from the Republican Party, a party that's supposed to be about states' rights and local rule and people, the consent of the governed, which is fundamental to our Constitution and this country. But before you, we have activists, organizers. People are here to say that they want a voice. They want to be represented by the government. government that they pay taxes to. Free D.C. Free D.C.

And it's just grand to sit here with other members who have higher murder rates than Washington, D.C., but not invite the president to occupy their own state with the military. So I think it's important that we're here today to have this debate, because this is a debate. about what's going on in Washington, D.C., and why every American should be concerned. And why, of course, every American should be concerned about what the president's doing, but in many cases, even more concerned

about the fact that Congress and that Republicans in Congress want to do nothing about it, and in fact, they want to enable it and do anything the president says. The gentleman couldn't even answer the question about if the bill was drafted with the White House. We know it was drafted with the White House.

And so we say free D.C., and we'll continue to fight for the people of Washington, D.C., who deserve for their home to be a state, who deserve for their local officials that they voted for, their city council, their members to make decisions about how to make sure that this is a safer place. And I've got to say when we talk about crime, when we talk about violence, gun violence has been going down in this country the last three years. We still have a lot of work to do, but you guys talk about it, and nothing happens. We put forth solutions and pass bills like the Safer Communities Act, and violence goes down in this country. That's the difference between us. I yield back. Folks, my panel, Dr. Zachary Kirk, educator and content creator out of Atlanta, Rebecca Carruthers.

She is president and CEO, fair election center out of Washington, D.C., Tyler McMillan's social justice leader and movement strategies out of D.C. as well. I want to start with you. That debate that you saw right there to me really speaks to a very basic fundamental issue. I love how Congresswoman Stansbury just walked through by saying to Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana, have you ever been to a D.C. Council meeting? Have you ever actually talked to the phone?

No, he said, I heard from people in D.C. restaurants. So here's a member of Congress from Louisiana, who literally knows nothing about Washington, D.C., who operates in this sort of safe zone of areas around the capital or whatever, and he's opining about the nation's capital. He cannot point to you on a map the high crime areas in Washington, D.C.

And then when challenged about the very high crime rates in his own state, Then he wants to get upset. The congressman from Louisiana said that he also listened to people out walking their dogs. And what I have to say that that is, I guess lap dogs do technically get walked too. He could even answer the basic question of whether or not there was coordination with the White House. We absolutely know that any White House with this majority, with this party in the majority in Congress, coordinates on domestic policy.

That is indeed fact. That's something that happens in D.C. regardless of the political party. So it was really interesting watching them, watching the Republican lawmakers in that hearing, trying to run away from the fact that this has Trump's fingerprints all over it. And in fact, the legislation, the particular bill, could have been drafted by the Trump White House.

Like, to say that, that it is what it is. But the bottom line is D.C. has fought for statehood for decades. And, you know, criticism that I launched, I think last month on your show rolling, is that there have been times when the Democratic Party has had a trifecta. They've held the White House, held the Senate, and held the House. So at some point, this should be a nonpartisan issue, but I would also expect the Democratic Party to want to support D.C. statehood. So D.C. is not stuck in the position in which it is now,

whereas fighting this MAGA-led Congress on whether or not home rule will continue. See, the thing for me here, as I listen to all of this stuff back and forth, and what makes those sense to me, Zachary, is, okay, if you want to actually have a real grown-up, thorough discussion about, how do you reduce crime, then you have to have a real, grown-up, thorough, sobering question about the things that contribute to crime. I have literally had conversations. I remember I was in Wichita, Kansas, giving a speech.

It was an MOK program, MOK Day program, and I was sitting with the police chief. He was at our table, and he had worked in Philadelphia, and I turned to him, and I said, to him, I said, Chief, tell me if I'm wrong or not, that you have lower crime in areas in Wichita or anywhere in the country, where the credit score, John Hope Bryant talks about this all the time, but the credit score 700 or higher. He said, it's a fact. There's lower crime in more economically prosperous areas. That tells you right there.

If you want to confront crime, you have to deal with the conditions of crime. This is why this whole discussion is stupid and idiotic because it has nothing to do with reducing crime. It has to do with a show of force. It has to do with trying to create a television show. It has to do with I get to use the military any way I decide. And it has to do with I get to distract the American people and the media that is beholden to me from the fact that the Epstein Files has not been or has.

have not been released. Now, that's a big piece of it, too. Roland, lab dogs don't have real conversations with their masters. Now, the masters may sit here and pretend like the lap dogs are having conversations with them. They may put words in their mouths and have fictitious, imaginary scenarios, but real conversations aren't happening. When this man was called a lap dog, I immediately thought of a blue-tick cone hound, which is a dog. found in the representative's home state of Louisiana, except in this case, this blue-tick coon hound is not going to be hunting for coons, well, maybe, to collect them for enjoyment and

pleasure and keeping them entertained. All of that to say, Roland, you're absolutely right. They're not wanting to fix their problem with crime. They're not wanting to address their problems of crime. They're only wanting to distract and to cause chaos among the American people so they can increase their authoritarian power and he'll bring about the downfall of democracy. Louisiana is a state that has two cities, not just one, because some of you may be thinking of New Orleans as having a higher crime rate than D.C. or Los Angeles, but it also has Alexandria. Two cities in one state, this man states that has higher crime rates than both D.C. per capita as well as Los Angeles. This man needs to sit down, get back in the lap.

And Thailand, I mean, this is, it's, that's political theater, having the guard go to these cities, political theater, it's literally not about how do we address the issue. Yes, there are short-term things that can be done in terms of dealing with, look, when I was in Fort Worth, they had with these surges in terms of when they had spikes in crime, how they would then come on with a surge. But the police chief there, when I was there, would say, this is not sustainable. You still have. to confront the underlying condition. And here you have Republicans sitting there who control the budget of D.C. The same people who pulled a billion out of the budget. So you can't complain about a condition or you can't complain about something when you were contributing to the problem. Yeah, absolutely. And I will continue to echo the words that is ironic, how troubling it is that

that members of Congress are so focused on policing people of BC and stripping them of their autonomy while their districts are in chaos. And instead of addressing the poverty, violence, and economic disinvestment, our I-Heart Radio Music Festival, presented by Capital One, is coming back to Las Vegas. September 19th and 20th. On your feet. Streaming live only on Hulu.

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In their communities, they are actually elected to represent their so busy focus on the people of D.C. And I would, you know, shout out, kudos to Representative Frost because I think, you know, his leadership shows a generational shift than what we need. And this, because this crime bill, it just mirrors the decades of failed tough on crime that we have seen on black communities

and the underfunding of communities. And as you said, instead of doubling down on this system of mass incarceration that's continued to put black bodies in this system, we should be focused on passing the Breed Act that invests in community safety through health care and education at restorative justice,

because I encourage them to find that better angel inside of them and vote on that budget where it really matters to protect people. Yeah, and so, again, when you look at that back and forth and when you see the response and you see how they just going back and forth, and I can imagine children sitting there going, really? This is how grown people act, huh? So, look, we're going to continue to see this stuff go over and over again, and it's not going to stop. And it's just, again, it's what is political theater.

And that, to me, is what is most shameful of all of this. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. We'll hear from House Democrat and Leader Hock and Jeffries talking about if we want to address the issues in the country. How about we deal with lowering costs, food, drugs, gas, things along those lines. You're watching Rollerbock Unfiltered right here in the Black Star Network. Black Star Network, what's happening? It's your man, Kim.

And look, my new single, Rock with me is on fire. We debuted as the number one most added and greatest gainer at R&B Radio. So look, I want you to go check it out. At musicbykem.com. Listen to it, download it, tell me what you think about it. Also, make sure you sign up to be a part of my community so we can stay connected. music by Kim on all social media platforms. Thank you for rocking with me.

And keep love on the one. Because I want you to rock with me. We live in a strange world till darkness falls forever. Maybe let's be the door when it feels like it's taken. This week over, you're making me stronger, my sweet love. This week on a balanced life with Dr. Jackie, we're talking all things entrepreneurship.

Whether you want to jump right in, take a leap of fate, or you've just been thinking about it for a while. We're having a one-on-one candid conversation with Dr. Dernie, our level-up coach and YouTuber of the amazing, hey, sugar. So let's talk about entrepreneurship. Before you jump out here, know that it is some work that goes into it. And not necessarily the work in the business itself, but some inner work. That's this week on A Balance Life with Dr. Jackie on Black Star Network. What's up, y'all. This is Wendellon, aka Win Hogan at the original Chiefs Golf Classic.

And you know I watch Roland Martin Unfiltered. Folks, welcome back to Rolla Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. House Democrat leader Hawking Jeffrey says if Congress wants to do his job, if Donald Trump wants to do his job to really help the Americans, how about you put in the work to lower prices? Democrats have made clear to the American people over the last several weeks that this country is far too expensive.

The cost of living is way too high and Donald Trump as well as House Republicans have failed to do anything about it. Donald Trump and House Republicans promised to lower the high cost of living on day one. Costs having gone

down in the United States of America it's gone up. America is too expensive. Inflation is on the rise and Donald Trump and Republicans have failed to keep their core promise to make life more affordable. Housing costs are too high, health care costs are too high, childcare costs are too high utility costs are too high electricity bills are skyrocketing as we speak because of the failed policies of Donald Trump and the one big ugly bill.

And the American people are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck, can't thrive, and in so many instances can barely survive. America is too expensive. Republicans have broken our health care system and unleashed the unfortunate and painful reality that millions of Americans are about to experience dramatic increase. in their health care premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. Millions of families will incur thousands of dollars in additional health care costs a year when they are barely making it right now. Democrats are prepared to support a bipartisan spending. bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, public safety, and economic well-being. But we will not support a partisan Republican spending bill

that continues to rip away health care from the American people. Questions? In March, House Democrats strongly opposed the partisan Republican spending bill that hurt everyday Americans in a variety of ways, including making their health care more expensive. A continuing resolution that continues the failed policies of the Republican Party that we voted against is, not the type of policy that actually meets the needs of the American people. Democrats broadly agree on two things. One, Republicans have launched an extraordinary and unprecedented attack on the health care of the American people. Extraordinary and unprecedented attack.

Ending Medicaid, as we know it. setting in motion the closure of hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based clinics all across the country, including disproportionately in rural America. More than 20 million Americans are likely to confront skyrocketing health care premiums, co-pays, and deductibles because of the Republican refusal to extend the tax subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. As a result of the Republican one big, ugly bill, Medicare is facing a $536 billion cut at the end of this year. And on top of all of that, Republicans are now trying to jam down the throats of the American people in appropriations bill that was just voted out of,

of the Labor H subcommittee and then the Appropriations Committee that represents an all-out attack on public health, on medical research, on vaccines, and on the Centers for Disease Control, an all-out attack on health care is what we are in the midst of right now. every single Democrat stands against that and believes it is important at this moment because of the extraordinary attack on health care and the fact that it is a cost of living issue, housing and health care being the two most expensive parts of day-to-day life for everyday Americans, that we cannot, under any circumstances, support a partisan Republican bill that continues to rip health care away from the American people. I believe that's a consensus position that brings together progressives, new dams, blue dogs, battleground, members, and all points in between.

That particular point there, Zachary, I want to start with you. The data is abundantly clear what we are seeing. We are seeing a significant weakening of the job market because of what Doge did earlier this year, the massive layoffs that are taking place. When people get laid off, they're not buying food. They're not, it's housing. Now you're seeing homes on the market. We're seeing farmers, people who voted for Donald Trump in red states talking about we need a bailout. So this thing is butasticizing.

And what's crazy is that. Republicans are going along with it. And it was also interesting to me. When you look at all of this economic data, I remember, my God, for four years, it was recession. Recession is coming, it's coming, it's coming. And it never actually came. And we are facing a more perilous economy today

than we did at any time than four years of Biden, Harris. It didn't come because of the four years of Biden Harris. Because of the strategic leadership of the Biden-Harris administration, the fact that President Biden surrounded himself with the best economic minds that this country has to offer, this nation was able to pull itself out of the COVID pit that Donald Trump threw us in and began an economic recovery that resulted in the largest bipartisan legislation ever that created jobs and that is still creating jobs right. right now in 2025, that is actually bolstering parts of Donald Trump's economy, no matter

how determined he and his administration may be to tank us and take us to the brink of economic and financial ruin. We're not just talking about either role. When you look at what this administration has done to our economy and what this administration is doing to the American people, the 300,000 black women who have lost their jobs, the 300,000 black families that are being impacted by the loss of the law. and these people, these women, these leaders, and their employment. We are also looking, as you just said, to the Arkansas farmers who are begging for welfare and bailouts.

The Arkansas farmers who are all over the internet begging to be released from the consequences of their actions because they voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump and they voted overwhelmingly for what we are currently seeing in this economy. They did this to themselves and now they are begging for welfare and help. and what is wild to me is I have not seen their champion I have not seen their man come out Donald J. Trump and in any way talk about the fact that he is going to do anything

to help them. And when you listen to the leader Jeffries and you listen to how he is framing the message, I think it's 100% spot on. There are people out there who are criticizing this man who are criticizing the number one highest ranking elected black man in this country, Democrat in this country, for not doing enough and for not fighting back hard enough.

He is staying on messages, and he's ensuring that every single Democrat in the United States of House of Representatives are also staying on message and emboldening people like what we saw in the previous clip, Maxwell Frost, to do the work of speaking out and using their platforms to bring awareness of these issues. Kudos to Luther Jeffries in that clip. You know, what does you, Roland, for sharing it? You know, Ty, like, um, There is fear. I don't think people, people really get it. And this is the problem that I have when people play politics. There is real economic fear.

We're talking about folks because of tariffs who are talking about losing their dream business, going up in the planes. They invested all of their money into the business, and now they're like, what am I supposed to? do now. So when people play political games, they don't understand they are literally playing with the livelihoods of people. They're playing with the livelihood. People are not able to now send their kids to college. Now that's impacting them. And so that's why when you are a political person, whether you are in the Oval Office, you're in the House, the Senate, whether you are a governor, state rep, state senator, mayor, city council, school district, a county commissioner, you take into account the carnage that you are going to leave in your wake when you make

decisions. So therefore, you don't make hasty decisions. You don't make decisions just on a whim. And unfortunately, that's what we've seen for the past eight months. Yeah, absolutely. Economic fears are real, like rising costs and stagnant wages, and these safety net programs, it creates anxieties for families. And these anxieties then impact every decision that a family makes, as you pointed out. And I think, you know, Leader Jeffreys calling out these high stakes is important because when shutdowns happen, black workers are the hardest hit. And I would even just say him being a voice. a strong voice for working families also pairs like the defense with the clear, with the clear commitments that if these things happen, we are putting families up against the wall. And also even highlighting the systemic inequalities in wages and health care and housing

and education and how this impacts, you know, black and working class families. And so I think that's very important because when folks are, have that anxiety, they definitely have their backs against the wall to make really tough decisions. And tough decisions about food on the table, about prescription drugs that you see here up on the wall, you know, lowering prescription drugs. All these different, these high-staked decisions are being put on the table. Rebecca. Rebecca?

Yeah, absolutely. So not only is it important with what speaker, not speaker yet, with what Hakeem Jeffries was talking about, especially as we understand that there are going to be a pending government shutdown that's on this way. And the impact with that with not having an actual budget to continue to fund even what has been gutted from this administration of what social services and whatever other safety nets. are still available. And like the other panelists talked about, you know, it's not just the farmers in Arkansas, but even in my home state of Nebraska.

There's a lot of farmers out there who are hurt. They're asking for additional support. But at the same time, this administration told us last year that these are the things that they were going to do. And it almost appears that they are held in and driving our economy into a recession. But we're almost like a train

without breaks and then there's no safety net at the other end and so it looks like ultimately there will be a fiery crash when it comes to the economy i.e. a recession or even worse and it's very unfortunate because these things could have been prevented but one thing I will say about this our iHeart radio music festival presented by capital one is coming back to Las Vegas September 19th and 20th on your feet streaming live only on Hulu ladies and gentlemen Brian Adams Ed Sheareran, Fade, Chlorilla, Jelly Roll, John Fogarty, Lil Wayne, L.L. Cool J, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Sammy Hagar, Tate McCray, The Offspring, Tim McGraw.

Tickets are on sale now at AXS.com. Get your tickets today. AXS.com. How serious is youth vaping? Irreversible lung damage serious. One in ten kids vape serious, which warrants a serious conversation from a serious parental figure. Like yourself, not the seriously know-it-all sports dad or the seriously smart podcaster.

It requires a serious conversation that is best had by you. No, seriously. The best person to talk to your child about vaping is you. To start the conversation, visit talk about vaping.org. Brought to you by the American Lung Association and the Ad Council. The administration and even this Congress to an extent is that they forecast it that this is what they want to do. They want to tie all of us into their MAGA death. And again, the people who are being hurt, a lot of them voted for Donald Trump, they wear their MAGA hats.

And they now are seeing the repercussions of what happens when you have economic upheaval in this country. That to me is what is so difficult to look at. And again, so many people are being impacted. Folks, let's talk about Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook. She can keep her job for the moment. A federal judge has ruled that Cook may remain in her position while her lawsuit challenging Donald Trump's attempt to fire her is resolved. U.S. District Judge Gia Kukov, appointed by former President Joe Biden, stated in her ruling that Trump's stated cause refers only to allegations regarding Cook's conduct before she began serving on the Federal Reserve Board. Such allegations are not a legally permissible cause, unquote.

Trump claimed he fired Cook due to allegations that she had made false representations on mortgage agreement several years ago that resulted in more favorable loan terms. Judge Cobb also determined that Cook's right to due process had been violated and that she would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction were not granted. Now, this is, of course, a constant attack. Donald Trump has been going after a number of appointees. violating, frankly, customs, but also the law. This right here is really idiotic because that's all this is, Rebecca, is an allegation. It hasn't been proven. And so this idea that, as it just said, you're going to bounce someone from the Federal Reserve

for failing to do their job when nothing's been proven. That's crazy. It absolutely is crazy. But this also goes back to removing. all of the fail safes and the breaks from making sure that our economy, our dollar, what our interest rates look like, it all plays together. What's really disturbing is, as we're seeing all these massinations, we know that the current chairman of the Fed is unlikely to be reappointed next year when his term is up.

But at the same time, we're seeing the Trump family raise billions of dollars, add billions of dollars to their wealth through crypto in other forms. So it goes back into what we were talking about earlier is that we're seeing that the American economy is taint, but we're also seeing that there are certain people who are benefiting. And the number one folks who are benefiting right now is Trump and his particular cronies. Tyler.

Yeah, I'll also say she even brings a lens of economic policy. that I think the system needs because it often ignores the economic impact against black workers and black families. And I think blocking her firing is a victory for, you know, the fight for economic freedom.

But I'll also say like the fight continues and we must continue to fight for folks like like, you know, Governor Cook and all the black women in power who often go erase or try to get erased And I think, as I said, it's a win for us, but it's not the, we'll have to continue to fight for it. Zachary. It's a win for us, and it's a win for the American economy.

Previous question talked about how the Biden-Harris administration was able to bring this country back from the brink of an economic disaster that Donald Trump helped plunge us into during his 2016 to 2020 administration. It's people like Lisa Cook and the Fed Board who were able to keep this country on track and continuously grow jobs month after month, after month, creating an unprecedented streak under Biden's leadership. They help make that happen. They are the only thing that is keeping us steady and keeping us from a current economic recession slash falling into a depression. It's good that Lisa Cook is going to be able to maintain her position for the moment, but I think it's really important

and we say that this is for the moment. Our Supreme Court cannot be counted on to uphold the rule of law or follow the Constitution, which they are morally and ethically and assigned to do. And I'm worried about it and I'm concerned. But I do, and I'm thankful for the wins

that we have in the moment because they make a big difference, but we need the American people out there to understand how this works and to be prepared to fight and resist in any available. The time comes as we approach those 20, 20,

midterms because elections have consequences and we're living with those consequences every single day. This woman was removed by Donald Trump supposedly because of some mortgage issue, but this man turned right around and he appointed or he recommended this man, Stephen Mirren, for the job who has the exact, who doesn't have the same allegations, but actually has been found guilty of wrongdoing with those allegations. That's the level of fraud and corruption that we, the American people, voted for and those are the consequences that we, the American people are having to suffer through as we approach 2026. People

don't forget. Elections have consequences. Indeed, indeed. All right, folks, going to a break. We come back. Vice President and Kamala Harris has a new book out called 107 days. Excerp has been dropped and already it has got people talking. We'll talk to her former communications

lead, Ashley, at the end, about this. And trust me, y'all, I've got a couple of things to say about this as well. That's next, Roland Martin unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Don't forget support the work that we do. Join our Brena Funk fan club. Your dollars make it possible for us to cover the news that matters to our people.

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Checks and money orders. Make it payable to Roland Martin Unfiltered. P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 2.003-7-0196. We'll be right back. This week on the other side of change. D.C. has been ravaged and taken over by tanks, soldiers, police officers over the last two weeks, and it's only starting there. Trump has announced that he all.

also has plans to bring this to Chicago, Baltimore, and New York City. So we're going to dig into it. This is on the other side of change, only on the Black Star Network. Black Star Network, what's happening? It's your man, Kim. And look, my new single, Rock with me is on fire. We debuted as the number one most added and greatest gainer at R&B Radio. So look, I want you to go check it out.

at musicbykem.com, listen to it, download it, tell me what you think about it. Also, make sure you sign up to be a part of my community so we can stay connected. At Music by Kim on all social media platforms, thank you for rocking with me. And keep love on the one. Because I want you to rock with me. We live in a strange world Baby, let's be the darker. When it feels like it's taking me over, you're making me stronger, my sweet love. Next, on the black table with me, Greg Carr.

Immigrants lured off Texas streets and shipped to places like Martha's Vineyard and Washington, D.C. Believe it or not, we've seen it all before. You people in the north, you're so sympathetic to black people. You take them. 60 years ago, they called it the reverse freedom riots.

Back then, southern governors shipped black people north with the false promise of jobs and a better life. It's part of a well-known playbook being brought back to life. So what's next? That's next on the black table, a conversation with Dr. Gerald Horn about this issue of the reverse freedom rights right here on the Black Star Network. Hello, I'm Isaac Hayes III, founder and CEO Fanbase, and I'm here with a very important message. We are at a turning point in the black community where we must have equity in the apps we use that scale to billions of dollars.

But this time, we own the infrastructure, we own the culture, and we shape the future. And Fanbase is the future. Fanbase combines the free functionality of Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. YouTube into an all-in-one platform built for the evolution of social media and monetization. With over 1.4 million users, that's real proof that we are shifting the conversation of tech ownership and equity for creators. So right now, I want you to go to startengin.com slash fan base and invest today. The minimum to invest is $399. That gets you 60 shares of stock at Fanbase at 665 a share. This marks a turning point in black ownership of social media.

If we don't take this opportunity to own social media right now, we will always be customers to our own creations. And that can't go on. So once again, go to startengin.com slash fanbase and invest today. We must own the platforms where our voices live, our stories matter, and where our culture drives the world. Thank you. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene.

A white nationalist rallying. that descended into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not. White people are losing their their minds. There's an angry pro-Trump, storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance.

We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the proud boys and the boogaloo boys, America, there's going to be more of this. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people.

The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking out women. This is Whitefield. Hey, yo, what's up? This is Mr. Dauvin right here. What's up? This is K-C. He's in here representative, J-O-D-E-C-I, that's J-D-E-C-I, that's J-D-C, J-A, that's J-D-C. Right here on Roland, Unfiltered.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Marta.

We're going to be able to be. Thank you. Vice President Kamala Harris is soon to release her new book, 107 days. It details, it details, of course, the process after Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. Our I Heart Radio Music Festival, presented by Capital One, is coming back to Las Vegas.

Vegas. September 19th and 20th. On your feet. Streaming live only on Hulu. Ladies and gentlemen. Brian Adams. Ed Sheeran. Fade. Glorilla.

Jelly Roll. John Fogarty. Lil Wayne. L.L. Cool J. Mariah Carey. Maroon 5. Sammy Hagar. Tate McCray.

The offspring. Tim McRaw. Tickets are on sale now at AXS.com. Get your tickets to. J-A-X-S dot com When your car is making a strange noise No matter what it is You can't just pretend it's not happening

That's an interesting sound It's like your mental health If you're struggling and feeling overwhelmed It's important to do something about it It can be as simple as talking to someone Or just taking a deep calming breath To ground yourself Because once you start to address the problem

You can go so much further The Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the ad council have resources available for you at loveyourmindtay.org And she actually took over as the nominee. And the first excerpt from the book, the first excerpt of the book

was dropped in the Atlantic and it already has folks talking in this excerpt. She talks about, she labels recklessness in terms of Democrats and not, of course, pressing by,

harder to not run. She also name checks Biden and his wife, Jill. She talks about how the White House did not protect her, how they allowed attacks to take place. And she literally, you know, says that basically the Biden White House threw her under the bus numerous times. Even, and then she talked about a situation with an event where I covered when she gave a speech in Selma

and she talked about what was happening in Israel and Gaza and it was received very well, and the White House hated that. And I remember that because we covered it then. So it's so much in her first excerpt that we talked about on this show, so this is confirmation. As we say, hashtag, we tried to tell you.

Ashley Etienne was the communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris, and she joins us right now. Ashley, glad to have you here. So first of all, this excerpt, I mean, coming out the box. Like, you're coming out hot. I don't want to go through it.

Okay. We're having some tech issues, so I can't actually show it. The Atlantic has the whole deal. But one of the things is she opens up talking about Divine Nine speaking to them, the kind of groups that she was trying to bring in, the role that she played, being an African-American woman, all those sort of different things. The energy that she brought to the table. But she then gets into this whole back and forth and how she was new.

staff was new, all these different things, and how she was being constantly attacked and the White House was not protecting her. And the reality is, and I remember in real time, and I was one of the, you were there, and I was one of the folks who was saying externally, the attacks on her were coming from inside the White House. Oh, you said that.

Oh, hell yeah, I said it. It was quite obvious, it was very obvious. Okay. And here is her saying that's exactly what was going on. Sure. No, I was there, and that is actually what was happening. I mean, it was an incredibly challenging time because we were in the middle of COVID. Fox News, as she says in the excerpt, came out of the gate, you know, trying to undermine her lower confidence in her attack her on everything from her laugh to her portfolio, I should say. And she also says in this excerpt in the book that, listen, she had a pool coverage.

She did. BP's never had that. They just sort of had like some light stuff because of who she was and how people were. She had media covering her all the time. So every comment, everything, they were able to run with it. Unlike when Pence, hell, we never knew what hell he was talking about. Yeah, no, I agree. But I think the opportunity was there for her to tell her own.

story in an unprecedented way. No other vice president had ever had. So Joe Biden actually deserves credit for building a press pool for her. I think that press pool was as many as a dozen reporters. And that did create an opportunity for us to really start to tell her

story. But that was just an incredibly challenging time. We were in the middle of COVID. There wasn't much happening. It was COVID, but also it was 50-50. She couldn't leave D.C. a lot. No. So even when So that's when the narrative started to bake.

Where is Kamala Harris? Right. It was kind of like, y'all, there were so many times. She broke the record of the most ties in history because she had to stay in D.C. a lot. And you're right. For all of 2021, for a lot of 2022, both she and Biden were grounded. Yeah.

Can I just say this, though, to your point about the attacks coming from within? That's absolutely true. There's a lot of truth to both sides, that there were attacks from coming, that were coming from within. But here's the thing I would like to just sort of level set is that, you know, the job of the West Wing is to promote the President. Yes.

The job is not to promote the Vice President. There were times in which we asked for their help. There were times in which they gave it. There were times in which they did not. We got to a sort of, when we hit a fever pitch, we're incredibly frustrated with the West Wing because we felt like they could have done more to inoculate her from criticism.

But I will say the one thing that people hardly ever talk about, and I hope she gets into this in her book, is that really fortified her in a lot of ways. It really positioned us to identify what her long-term needs were to build that outside infrastructure, because you couldn't depend on it from within the West Wing or from within the White House, which became helpful to her as she started to move down the process. And when she launched her own campaign, that infrastructure was there. That's why I was able to kick in that quickly. You remember when there were questions about whether or not she should be next,

You had the CBC coming, a whole lot of outside advocates, organizations. We started to build that foundation for her because we realized we were going it alone. But here's, so, and again, this is just the first excerpt. But if we actually, if we just take this thing back, the reason her being vice president was so completely different and also the reason why you had so much press attention on her was because he was old. And so one of the, right. And so it was from day one, it was a lot of one term,

she's gonna run, all of that. And that created some tension. First of all, that created some tension. I'm gonna say, Roland's gonna say, no, that created a lot of tension. Okay. And let me also be clear, a lot of that tension, it was West Wing, but a lot was East Wing.

And there's some stuff that I know, but hopefully it's in the book. So here's so, so all of a sudden, Here you have this young, vibrant, African-American woman, juxtapose Joe Biden, old white guy, in terms of movement. To your point, Biden did things with her that Obama never did with him. Oh, absolutely. There were so many times when she spoke before him. Absolutely.

As opposed to just staying there and be quiet. We used to laugh the Biden people out of the room. We used to laugh them out of the room when they wanted to do things. I mean, you know, the job is not for us to make room for you. What Biden did effectively well is he made room for himself. You remember when he got ahead of the president on gay marriage, for example? Yes. He made his own space for himself.

Oh, no, I remember. I remember. And I also remember during that time when he was trying to give up, he was giving Obama advice when it came to the Ford of Care Act and the nuns and Catholics, they weren't listening. And Biden was like, well, that was a private conversation he had with some Sunday morning show host he talked about. He was like, they wouldn't pay attention. I tried to tell him. But in this case, so he was providing that.

But the issue here, and I think people need to understand, there's a difference between what Biden wanted to happen and what the people around Biden wanted to happen. And what she touches on in here, because when she talks about the attacks, she says when Fox News attacked me on everything from my lab to my tone of voice, to who I dated in my 20s, a claim I was a DEI hired,

the White House rarely pushed back with my actual resume, two-term elected DEA, top cop in the second largest Department of Justice in the United States, Senator representing one and eight Americans. Lorraine Bowles, my chief of staff, constantly had to advocate for my role at events. Quote, she's not going to stand there like a pot of plant. Give her two minutes of remarks, have her introduce the president.

They had a huge comms team. They had Corrine Jean-Pierre briefing in the press room every day, but getting anything positive said about my work or any defense against untrue attacks was almost impossible. And the thing that she talks about when she went to France with McCrone, and how all these different happens. But this is one of the things that she references that this is where it came back to Biden.

Okay. So because they were allowing certain things to happen, and we know a lot of the, I remember the stories. She addresses losing staff and she's hard to work with. All of that plays a role in her poll numbers coming down. The problem is, never thought they were going to need her in 24.

So the problem is you created, you created this thing of, suppressing her then when 24 rolls around you needed her so the work that you so my point is the things that

hurt her 21 22 23 because what I also know because I was told this from multiple sources multiple people went to Joe Biden and says take her off the ticket and Biden told them hell no one person who said I was in the room

when the conversation was had And so there were people who were saying, take off, take off, take her, she's going to replace. The team around him. Team around him, outside people as well, Democratic donors, folks on Capitol Hill. So the problem is you allowed a tax on the VP from inside and out,

and the problem is that contributed to those poll numbers being so low, and then Michelle all of a sudden has to run, that now is a hindrance, so you played a role in that stuff actually happening. Well, I don't disagree with that, that but I think the most important point is they had conflicting interest. It's not Joe Biden thought he was going to run for a second time. So his interest was not to figure out how to promote

her. And when you're in the middle of a global pandemic, the interest is to solve what's in front of me, right? He had his own set of challenges. So I think that's what this mostly boils down to is this conflicting interest between the two camps. But I mean, I want to challenge you on a couple things. I mean, just to be fair to Joe Biden, and I appreciate that you're being fair to him, his interest was to be helpful to her. In every, I never heard a no. And as I told you, I've worked in the Obama White House, and we told Joe Biden no all the time. In fact, we kind of ignored them. It's like they didn't even exist, right? It was a team of one. It was Barack Obama. But I never heard Biden's, Biden himself or Biden's close people ever tell her, no, you couldn't do,

no, you can't do that, no, you can't do that. I never heard that. Now, that could have happened after I left. Right. So she writes this here. Worse, I often learned that the president's staff was adding fuel to negative narratives that sprang up around me. One narrative. And by the way, I said that to them. To the team, my team. I mean, when I was on the VP's team, I said this is coming from internally. She writes, one narrative that took a

stubborn hold was that I had a chaotic office in unusually high staff turnover during my first year. She said, the plain fact is many people who come to work with the new administration, the White House, haven't done it before. It's a job unlike any other, and not every person. no matter how talented in their former position can step up into such a high stress round-the-clock role. Others finally just don't want a job

that doesn't pay particularly well, take a massive toll on family, and rules out anything resembling a normal life. I'm not gonna keep people on who can't thrive in their jobs. It's not fair to them, it's not good for the country. Now, the whole point I'm bringing up is that thing was constant. It was constant.

Oh, that you couldn't keep staff? Well, not just keep staff, but it was like, it was political, it was Axios and the New York Times. It was so, and you were sitting here going, Damn, how many times this story going to get written as opposed to what actually is happening? Yeah.

Well, I mean, you know, I'm not going to refute what the vice president said, you know. But I will say this, you know, for what it's worth. I think the vice president is the blueprint. I think she's an exceptional leader that has, like a lot of women leaders, that doesn't get her full credit, and especially black women leaders, doesn't get her full credit. When you think about what she was able to achieve, not just breaking the glass ceiling,

but her efforts to repair our relationships all over the world. The fact that she secured $5 billion for the border or to death the root causes of migration. I would say the third is her work on maternal health, leading the fight on reproductive rights, all of that stuff. So my advice as a strategist would have been to write a different book, honestly. And the reason why I say this is because Kamala Harris is... Well, first of all, this is just one excerpt from the book.

So we don't know the full breadth of what's in the book. Absolutely. But the book is focused on the 107 days. That's how it's framed up. So my point would have been to... Focus on four years in that 107 days. Absolutely. And the reason why I say that, can I, if you don't mind?

The reason why I say that, because I think that's the book that my daughter and her generation need to hear. They need to hear how she broke a glass ceiling, and they need to hear what she was able to achieve. The second point I would add is because her Achilles heel, has always been that people don't know her, don't know what she stands for, and doesn't know what she's done. So my point would have been, my advice would have been to lead with that.

Now, all of this stuff, you can talk about your challenges as a black woman and as the first. Could be a two-book deal, we don't know. It could be, it could be. But I'm just saying out the gate because the concern is that this opens up a wound, you know, within the party,

and it serves as a major distraction. In addition, serves as a fodder for Trump and the GOP. So I remember this vividly. She writes in Selma, Alabama at the commemoration of Bloody Sunday when civil rights marches were attacked and beaten once they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I gave a strong speech on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. And at this point, you had already left.

Yes. Desperate people had been shot when they swarmed a food truck, and I spoke of families reduced to eating leaves or animal feed, women prematurely giving birth but little or no medical care and children dying for malnutrition and dehydration. I reiterated my strong support for Israel's security and called on Hamas to release. the hostages and accept the ceasefire agreement then on the table.

I also called on Israel for greater access to aid. It was a speech that had been vetted and approved by the White House and the National Security Council. It went viral and the West Wing was displeased. I was castigated for apparently delivering it too well. Their thinking was zero sun. If she's shining, he's dimmed. None of them grasped that if I did well, he did well.

given the concern about his age, my visible success as his vice president was vital. Yes. It was served as a testament to his judgment in choosing me and a reassurance that if something happened, the country was in good hands. My success was important for him, his team didn't get it. That's how the excerpt ends. Now the reason I remember that, because I flew in Air Force 2 with her to Selma. And I remember the speech and many people, and I remember the reaction, the people who were

there, then the reaction external. And then I remember the next seven days, and the White House was pissed. And we were like, how? Why would they? Like, it was like, what are you doing? How are you mad that that was received well when that's why you sent her out to say it? It was the most unbelievable. And it's vetted by them.

Right. It was like, and in fact, the speech had been changed, and they literally had approved every word in it. So I remember covering that in real time. and what she's saying report in hearing that and it was like how are you mad and that was I was talking to what I was told was she literally was like

hey there was something else going on hey I can't wait into that right now because I got my ass kicked on the Selma speech it was the dumbest thing in the world I was just sitting there going that's why you have a vice president Yeah, I mean, there were many days, many nights where I went over to the West Wing and argued that it was in his interest to help elevate her, that it was in his interest to protect her and inoculate her, that it was in the party and the nation's interest to position this woman, an, you know, historic figure to position this woman successfully for what... Our IHeart Radio Music Festival, presented by Capital One, is coming back to Las Vegas.

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Ever was to come. because the reality is when we started in the White House the first year we walked in and the understanding between her and the staff is that you could be the president at any moment. Literally. You have to be prepared

to be every vice president but definitely her because of his age. So you're absolutely right and she's absolutely right we were insanely perplexed by the fact that they didn't seem to absorb that concept and the only thing I can

attributed to is that they had these conflicting interests, that why would I need to promote you if I'm going to be next in line, if I'm going to run for two terms? But can I just say this? I mean, I love Joe Biden, but if I want to extend this argument, I would extend it all the way through the election. I remember at certain points in the election, I'm like, where is Joe Biden? Why isn't he in North Carolina with a mop? They had just had a storm, a horrible storm, mopping up streets. Like, why isn't he doing more to turn out the Biden voter, because there is a specific Biden voter. And there were points at which days and weeks he was not even on the campaign trip. I think. So it raises all these questions to her point. 24 for me was just, that whole thing,

that whole pier was just so insane. And remember, we had not seen an incumbent president step aside since LBJ 1968. And his numbers were so low. people were still pissed off it was so like do we send them out do we not send them out what do we do

and then again of course her campaign manager was his campaign manager well it was also in the West Wing General Mallee Dillet was also in the West Wing was also in the West Wing and I got no problem saying it

so if we're saying the West Wing is in supporting here I have no problem saying it and I put it out here oh I got no problem saying I said it before General Mellie Dillet and Anita Dunn were part of the problem in hurting Vice President Kamala Harris. But why keep them on then?

Huh? Why are they? Well, again, because again, this is where the, when you talk about just how, the craziness of it, there's a difference, and you know this working inside of politics, whether it's for the vice president, speaking Nancy Pelosi. There's a difference between the chief and their relationships with, let's say, a VP or another senator,

or another member. But it's different when staff has their own agendas. And there are different people on staff who operates differently. You make- And their grudges, not just agendas. Right, because she brings it up. She wrote about, of course, when she criticized,

when she criticized President Biden during, Vice President Biden during the campaign when it came to busing. And I know from on reporting, there were people on Jill Biden's staff who never got over it. Absolutely. Never got over. Absolutely. And again, I still go back to, you know, all that BS going on because nobody thought they were going to need her in 24.

But my point is you didn't have to wait to 24. You needed her every day. No, no, no. To her point, you know what I mean? And I think that's the thing they didn't accept, which was doubly insulting for me. It wasn't just that you weren't positioning her for a presidential one. My point is you're not even leveraging her today to your advantage, efficiently, effectively, and maximizing her presence.

To her point, what we tried to build the vice president up was to drive this point that she actually is the coalition builder. She can build that coalition and cultivate and foster that coalition he was going to need or she was going to need to win long term. I mean, Politico wrote about it, how she brought in all of these groups and was meeting with them in her ceremonial office. Because he wasn't doing a lot of meetings. We designed all of that intentionally to not only build her infrastructure

and develop her relationship with all these groups or strengthen her relationship with all these groups, but really to position him or her to win come for 2024. So that was my real thing. It's like, wait, we're doing good things right now that could benefit you and that you need to be elevating, but there was a reluctancy and a hesitancy. I think it's because of the grudges, the relationship dynamics, and the conflicting interest. And the point I'm making in panel,

I'm getting ready, I'm about to come to y'all, and the thing that just, again, it jumps out at me. So because they were thinking, oh, he's running again, he's running again. So you essentially, you shit it on your VP, thinking, yeah, we ain't gonna need her. You had people. No, no, no, no, I know from my report.

I mean, I, yeah, I don't disagree, I think there's true to it all. Well, when I say shit it on, what I mean is, because you did not think, you did not think you really needed her. You let certain things happen. Those things that happened caused

her popularity and I'm not removing her responsibility from any of these. No, no, because everybody has the role. And has agency. And you had 12 reporters with you. But what I'm saying is those things also play the part in if you were here, going down here. Totally. And then the problem

is when you needed her, when you You never thought you needed her. When you needed her, she was starting here, and now the role that you played in her being here, and now she has to now fight to come up. And so that to me, so the lesson, the lesson for leaders, not just political leaders,

the lesson for leaders is none of us know what tomorrow, the next hour, the next minute holds. And so while you may think you are, Number one, and you got this, you also have to recognize that you do have to position your, for the continuity of leadership, and decisions that you make today could have negative consequences tomorrow. And we saw the consequence of her losing and what we're in now. And I just think, I hope people learn from that, that in politics, don't always just take

out the folk who on your side, work with the people. people on your side because you might really, really need them a little bit later. Go ahead. Yeah, I mean, I think I definitely agree with you. I mean, I was in the building and I would say that there were efforts made to support the team and to support what the team wanted to do and to support the vice president. So I think there's truth in all of this. I think she's right about 99.9% of what she's actually saying, but there were some opportunities. that were created that I think she took advantage of and she knocked it out at the park.

But I think the interesting thing, I want to go back to challenge you on one thing. I met with the vice president's team maybe two years after I left and I brought in CBS poll and we were meeting to talk about what her accomplishments were and why they weren't sticking, right?

Because we knew her, all this stuff, they weren't sticking. I pulled out this poll and I said, look at this poll right here. Okay. Now, she's outperforming Joe Biden among his own coalition. So at one point, she was outperforming in terms of the polls. Right. All those are base voters, everybody you need to run.

So my point to the team was over index on targeting these constituencies right now. Okay. In your own interests, over index. So, yeah, I mean, at one point, the numbers did go down. But then she kicked into high gear. Well, especially, and what really flipped at was she writes about the Dobbs decision where she... And this was before Dobbs. She really... Yes, and this was actually before Dobbs, where she...

Okay, the first year was tough. Because Biden couldn't really do... He didn't really do a lot. No, it was, the first year was tough. Second year, she starts to get her footing. By the third year, she's smoking. And so my point is you're already beaten Joe Biden among his own coalition. Now, I don't know if they saw the same poll.

I did. I'm sure they did. That may have caused some more friction. But even by that third year, there were still people who were going to Joe Biden and say, drop her. Oh, no doubt. It was insane.

No doubt. I think people weren't looking at the numbers and they're not political like me to understand what that actually meant. And my point to them was, you've got something you can cook with. Do you know what I mean? To quote down to result,

add a little grease to it. And this is going to hit, and this is going to hit. And that's when she started doing the college tours. Then Dobbs happened. She started traveling the country when she's going down to LA, I mean to Atlanta,

meeting with rappers and other folks that were key in those constituencies. Even when you got the 24, the economic tour, because even then, Biden still was not out there a lot. So once, I want somebody got past COVID, but she was. So there's a lot of, there was a lot of opportunity created there. You had your own pool. Joe Biden was down, right? But I can tell you this here. I can definitely tell you from January to June.

The absolute struggle was with that campaign because that was also The absolute struggles with it. In terms of her visibility, it was the conversations that I was having with people and the battle that was happening internally in terms of trying to do exactly what you're talking about, there were people of forces who did not want her doing those things.

There were others who would say, what are you talking about? He's not moving to these, like, use her, more, have her out there talking to meet her. So when she did the economic tour, that was like an 80-city thing was kind of there, but there were others who were really advocating for to go even harder

and it was this tension in the campaign. So you had a campaign tension then you still had a West Wing BP tension that made no sense to me because I'm like you. Yo, you need to win. Yeah, but it all goes back down to the same

small set of people, both the West swing in the campaign you are and there was an extreme you already named them i mean that and unlike unlike most this was a he had loyalist and there was an extremely small cabala folks who were driving no i'm i mean no i'm laughing because i've been in this business 25 years and it's been the same small cabal of folks for 25 years i'm saying here it's been the same small making all the decisions and all the money we're extremely small and we're controlling everything and we've seen all this of the stuff come out. Let me go to my panel, Rebecca. You first. Thank you so much for being on the show

tonight. So, two-part question. Will Harris run again? And if so, how would she need to position herself to be successful through a very fraught and raucous Democratic Party primary? Yeah, I mean, I don't know the answer to that. I don't think anyone knows it. Oops, excuse me, I'm sorry. I thought it was here. Forgive me. I don't know. All right, we got you. Okay, we got you. Okay, sorry. Forgive me, forgive me.

That used to be the old camera. Go right here. I don't think anyone knows the answer if she's going to run again. I think it gets back to what Roland said, whether or not it's a two-part, two-part book deal. I think if you ask me, based on this particular book, does this suggest she's going to run again? My answer would be no.

I don't, there's nothing. But also, I don't know what I don't know about what's in the book. What I'm hearing from her team is that she's going to get into, a lot of the details of the actual campaign, but really close out with the way forward. And so that's what I'm most curious about, is how she sort of characterizes and describe how do we move forward as a party, as a people, and as a nation.

And then to me, that'll be some indication whether or not she's actually going to run. Oh, and then in terms of... Sorry, you're two parts. Yeah, then in terms of positioning herself, I mean, I think the most important points, the most important, what matters most, with her has always been the same,

which is having validators out there talking about what she actually has done. And I would love to see her she does but own it even more. Like, lean into what made her an exceptional leader in this particular book.

Right. You're the second part. Is that what, did you get... Yeah, no, I think I addressed it. You got both Rebecca? Yep, she did. Yeah, I think... Tiley, go right ahead. Yeah, I think... Thank you for joining. I had the honor of being a youth director at the DNC during the campaign and got a chance to travel the country with the vice president. And I first hand saw the

incredible energy that young people had who wanted to volunteer and get involved, but many didn't know as we as we are hearing the behind-the-scenes dynamics that shaped the decision-making and the strategy. What do you wish the public could better like understand these internal dynamics that I think, you know, influence the outcome. And also, do you think this sets a blueprint for future vice presidents that may transition, you know, midway through during campaigns? Yeah, I mean, I think that one of the biggest takeaways for me is this issue, this word that I mentioned earlier, which is agency, that, you know, I think Shirley Chisholm

said it best, you've got to bring your own folding chair to the table. You know, any particular leader, but especially black leaders and especially black women, can't afford to be subjected to or maybe a better way of characterizing it as being beholden to someone else's vision for themselves. You know, there was a lot and a lot of opportunity that was created for the vice president. And I think, you know, I would have, my advice to any leader going forward is when the door is cracked, you kick it all the way open. That you don't wait for someone to give you permission, to allow you to give you an assignment, to advocate for you. As much as you can, you've got to do it yourself. And I think that's my top takeaway for future leaders. What was the second part of your question?

I'm sorry. Yeah, my second part would be, you know, the future vice president that made experience the same thing. Yeah, I mean, I, I mean, honestly, I think she established an incredible blueprint, you know, I think it started slow because we were in the middle of COVID, but once she got her sea legs, you know, we were sort of out of spring training. She was out of spring training, and then she hit the, hit the ground running fast and hard. But I will say, I just don't think there's a blueprint. No, can I just say there, there is one? Well, I'm saying a blueprint is also based upon the president and what that person also allows for you to do.

So my argument, I'm glad you said that, my argument was always internally to the VP's team. He's not going to tell you no. Why would he ever tell the first woman and the first black person in that position no to anything you wanted? Hold on, wait. You push hard enough.

If he says no, but you ask for so, you've gone so hard. Don't look, damn, I don't let you do this, this, this, know of that. Okay. So the challenge for the leader is to know, if we're talking about blueprints, know what you want. So you can go and advocate for it. If you don't get what you want, which this wouldn't have happened in this particular situation, you've got an outside infrastructure that can push the White House to get you what you want. Can I just say one other thing? Because there is some other thing about a blueprint.

What I saw Joe Biden do, and I just talked about this early, and maybe it's, you know, sort of the white man in him and that privilege that comes along with that. But there were several times where he got ahead of the president. There were several times when he went to the president and said, this is what I want to do. I mean, before he, I don't know that

the story is even told, but before he was before the inauguration in 09, he went to the president and said, I want the Recovery Act. Now, let me tell you how genius that was. You know what that means? I'm only going to get, likely, you're only going to get one bill passed, likely. You know, worst case scenario. That was going to be the first.

one. Why would he choose that one? Because that would enable him to go all around the country, write checks, purple states, blue states, districts, establish his own infrastructure. Right. So he was thinking long term about his own future. Now we also know that he asked for a lot, Obama, let him do some stuff. And then Harry Reid was like, man, get his ass out of here. He missed my negotiations. Absolutely. Yeah. And he was, and he became marginalized. But he never stop knocking on the door. But here's the thing that I also... And he needed the vice president. But here's the other thing that I think, and again, this is why I

disagree with this notion of a blueprint. The difference with Biden. First you're talking about a person who was a creature of the United States Senate who had extensive Capitol Hill relations, who had extensive foreign relations

serving as a chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. One of the reasons he was picked, served on the committee with Obama. And so he brought frankly hept to to the position. She comes as vice president gets elected 16.

So basically you're in the Senate three years. Before that, Attorney General. Yeah. Our IHeart Radio Music Festival, presented by Capital One, is coming back to Las Vegas. Vegas. September 19th and 20th.

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Okay. But there is a difference between being a DA, in AG in California and being a three-year United States Senator and serving as vice president compared, let me just walk through. I'm going to finish, yeah, yeah. Compared to what he brought to the table.

Sure. And I think when she talks about staff, not working at that level, it also applies to her. Because that also was a whole different animal than she ever experienced. Oh, yeah. And I only know this just from,

personal conversations, she had to get her footing. And it was like, and one of the criticisms of the vice president, and if I said across from her at dinner, well actually I did say it, is that she often was so, so careful, so meticulous, that it contributed to problems. Her best two speeches as vice president were actually at two funerals.

First was in Buffalo. Second was Tyree Nichols. Even though Nichols was scripted, the Buffalo one wasn't, because there was no script, there was no speech, there was nothing. Sharpton called her up to make some comments. And I saw her, no notes, no nothing.

Fire. Just speak all the top. and the passion, the energy, the compassion, all of that with it. I think one of her weaknesses is being so that what it does is... Risk averse to say that it constricts you from being you. Okay.

If I go to the campaign, forget all the rallies. It was when she went, when she had the rally, there was a rally at the hangar in the Detroit airport, but it was the speech she gave at the Union Hall. and I kept saying y'all need to unleash that Harris and so I think for her

just like anybody else that first couple of years she had to gain footing with what that was unlike a Biden who because he had operated in that power circle for so long hell he just to your point he just rolls in and say hey

so let me this is what I want to do let me interrupt you before I forget my point but I think as we talk about blueprints one thing that you have to understand going into that building not just the vice president or the president even me as a staffer you have to understand your own power

so Joe Biden's power is I know my way around the Senate I know policy I know foreign I got relationships etc her powers you had 94% of black women behind you you had you know that whole coalition that we cultivated for her

that was behind her So I think when you come into the room, and you have to understand your history maker. I dare somebody, you know, I don't know if I can curse, but I wish a motherfucker would kind of an attitude. Exactly. So my point is that the key is you have to always understand what am I working with.

Why am I in this particular room? And so if you can understand that, then that informs your entire strategy. Rebecca, do you have a question before you go? Okay, Rebecca's gone. Zach, we had to leave earlier as well. Last point here. I really hope, I really hope,

first of all, as Tyler asked earlier, yeah, we don't know what she's going to do. She's already made the decision she wasn't going to run for Governor of California. I never believed that she was going to run for Governor of California. When people were asking me, I was like, gosh, y'all don't understand. You don't understand the personal toll of losing.

A personal toll of even being in office. Right, no, no, what I mean. That's exhausting. She's been doing it since she was 30. What I mean is, but being, I get all of that, but I'm talking about literally being on the cusp. Yeah. Of being president of the United States, first woman president of the United States.

but also losing to someone who's evil. And so I remember having conversations with people close to her and others, I was like, guys, I don't think for a second, I said because you literally have to process, it's grief. People, I saw the stories of how she was in tears that night. I'm like, y'all understand. Losing is not simple. Being on the cusp is not simple.

you have to take some time. I never, I just felt that trying to step into a governor's race was way too soon. That's just a losing job, too. So, not, I mean, you can't really win as a governor. To position yourself to be president. Well, no, I mean, that's a challenging thing to, in California.

I'm not, in other states, in California, we're talking about California. But the other piece is that if your intention was not to, if your attention was not to run for president one day, also making history as the first black female governor is also historic, but also California is the fourth-order's economy and there's a perch by which you can still be part of the national conversation. But the point I'm making here is, I still believe there is a tremendous role that she can play.

Absolutely. I believe that there's a wide open space. I look at what's happening right now. I'm not sure Obama created this gerrymandering, redistricting thing with Eric Holder afterwards, but I still think that what is missing right now is someone of a national stature who can speak to those coalitions. I look at Texas, what have we said about our native Texas?

The reality is, it's not, it's ruby red, it's simply an unorganized and disorganized. You know, you got 81 Democratic, county parties with 254 counties. But also too, the party just goes in and rapes them of all their money and doesn't reinvest it in the state. That's what I was just about to make. What I was about to make there is it would be helpful

to have someone of that statute who say, no, we're gonna go in and we're gonna raise 8, 10, 12, 15 million and with a number and let's target 8, 10 house seats to break their super majority. Let's really try to have a competitive United States Senate race. It's still there. So the role is still there for her to play. She said on Stephen Colbert in terms of the role

that she wants to play. So I do look forward to during this book tour and after this book tour, knowing what that is, even if it's not running for president in 2028. Because I still believe it is going to be exponentially harder for her more than anybody else because she's going to have to address every single day how to raise $1.5 billion and lose.

and then the people who are still pissed off, and all the other questions that come with that. And the other thing is this here. We know how politics is worse. People are going to be looking for a fresh voice, fresh face. Then the question is they're like, we're trying to go back. So I can't wait to her people hit me the other day. They said, hey, we want to see you in the book before it drops.

And so I can't wait to read it. Can't wait for your interview too. Huh? I can't wait for your interview with her too. Yes. I've already had that conversation. And I know you have. With some folks as well.

Of course. Like, um, going to be sitting out with Roland. Of course. So we'll see how that happens. But I really do want people to read this expert, excerpt, to read the book, to really understand that they may love the West Wing, they may love scandal, they mean love any of those political shows I watch, but ain't nothing like the real thing. Yeah.

I mean, and I hope that, and I'm hearing from our team that she will, that it gets into some really constructive, productive points. because she was in a unique position as the first woman and the first black woman, and as a woman, a black woman that's trying to navigate the world and dealing with a lot of challenges that she's dealing with, I think she has an incredible opportunity to really get into some of those conversations

that we've never elevated nationally. What does it mean to be the first in that particular role with that much power, that much pressure, and that much sort of adversity? How did you overcome that? And that's what I would love to see her talk about, on the tour because that's something that we can all take away, not just me but my daughter and the next generation,

how we can all show up bigger, better, and more effectively in our roles and in the world. Last point I'll make here for the people who are watching and listening, why they need to understand also why black on media matters. It used to really piss me off to listen to people, bitch and moan, radio show host, podcasters, writers, commentators, but how she wasn't interfacing with black leadership.

And he used to piss me off because I said, y'all don't know how to check a Twitter feed. The reality is, and I ain't got no, she had way more meetings and discussions with black leadership. And when I say black leadership, she expanded the access of black leadership even more than Obama did.

I think our first meeting was a black with a black chamber of commerce. Right, but what I'm talking about, I'm talking, what I'm talking. So it was broadening out with that leadership. We're not talking just civil rights leaders. Sure, that's what I'm talking about. Absolutely.

I need people to understand it was, yes, chambers of commerce. Yes, it was D-9. Yes, it was so bad. the problem was, and the point I'm getting to that, people understand, the reason black on media is so important is because so much of that stuff, no one knew. Because black on media is not in a position to be able to pay multiple White House correspondents

or congressional correspondents. Or to get it on Air Force 2, right? Or to actually be on Air Force 2 and be a part of the pool. And so there was, because even when she traveled, there were people she would meet with. I remember when she went to Detroit. They asked me to go be a part of the pool, and I hate being a part of the pool.

I just despise being a part of the pool. I just hate it because of the constriction. And I remember when she finished speaking, they rushed us out, and we're in the van, and then she's meeting with a group of African Americans in there. And I'm telling her staff, why the fuck are we sitting out here in the van? I'm like, don't you know there's the campaign going?

campaign going, you want folks to know that is happening. And so it was, okay, damn, you're right, you're right, you're right, okay, you're right. And that was a thing that I kept trying to get them to understand what you have to show, what you have to say. But I need our people to understand there are so many things that we don't know what's happening because white media ain't telling us. They ain't covering it. And that's, and so why we need people to support black on media is because by having

our folks in those places, we can tell those stories in real time and not when a book comes out three, four, five years later. And so, and then, if more of us were aware of those conversations, I think we wouldn't have had a lot of the BS that was

being thrown out there, what she wasn't doing, we don't see her, and all sort of stuff along those lines. Can I just, can I close on one, no, two? I don't, I think black own media is critically important, not just for a black member for all members, for our community

to have access to all of these people and what they're doing. But can I also add that black staff with authority is insanely essential in these places. And so we as a black collective should be advocating for asking questions about who the hell looks like me

that's at the table, that has budget authority, that can go in and tell the president's team stand down, we're not doing that, that can tell the vice president or any of these elected officials, what's happening behind their back, protect their own interests. So that is critically important.

And it's not just at the White House. It's at the Capitol as well. That's very important. And many of these, many members that look like us don't have those folks around them. More importantly, they're not also at the table advocating for going in, let's just pick it. Because there are some black folks who they do hire

who do not advocate for us. No. I mean, it's intentional to some degree. It's insanely intentional. But the point two is, even if you're at the table, I need to know that you've got budget authority. Y'all people are hilarious. What about?

We need to see her shoes. I need to stop. I don't know what the hell is people to be talking about. Do you know how many times I get that? First of all, they don't understand. I see everything. Okay. And tell them what they look like.

I actually see the shit. Y'all, they black. Calm down. See, they don't realize I'll monitor the chat while things happening. So the book is 107 days. Y'all, Vice President Kamala Harris, can't wait to a drop again. They're going to be sending me a copy.

Yes, I will read it, because there's some other political books. I got them on the shelf. I ain't read them because I didn't give a damn. Ashley, Etienne, we appreciate it. Thanks a bunch before having you're back. And what little high school you went to in Houston? Clear Lake High School, what you mean? Is there any other, is there any other Jack Yates?

Is there any other Jack Yates? Is there any other Jack Yates? No, y'all, y'all, y'all co-op. at us because we got NASA. Y'all would let us not be in Houston. And the show, y'all broke. So y'all need that tax base. But yes, yours truly went to

the Jack Gates High School. Everybody know that. Good to see your fellow Houston. Everybody know that. Y'all, that's it for us. I appreciate it. Hey, tomorrow I'll be live from Dallas. Look forward to a bit broadcasting from there.

But do me a favor. Support the work that we do. join our Brea Funk fan club. I keep telling y'all, and I'm telling you, y'all have no idea in the moment that we're in why black on media is so critically important. Your support absolutely matters. You want to give you a cash app with the Stripe Cure a coat.

You sit right here on the screen. The goal is to get raised a million bucks between now December 31st. The 20,000 of our fans contribute on average 50 bucks each. We'll get there. We've already gotten, we've already gotten folks,

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and of course support the app fan base by download on the app and then of course if you want to invest in the series they raise go to start engine.com for slash fanbase and I could not allow the day to go by was one year ago today we lost the great frankie beverly and so wanted to acknowledge that frankie was a dear friend was amazing brother his the music of frankie barely amazed absolutely iconic And so we just wanted to let folks know about, again, that we really love and dearly miss Frankie Bailey. Folks, that's it. Yeah, you're about to walk in front of the camera. Yeah, you're about in front.

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