The Daily Show: Ears Edition - America's Homegrown Opioid Crisis | Kamala Harris

Episode Date: February 21, 2019

President Trump is accused of meddling with the investigation of Michael Cohen, Trevor examines America's opioid crisis, and Sen. Kamala Harris discusses "The Truths We Hold." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. John Stewart here. unbeably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. February 20, 2019.

From Comedy Central's World News Headquarters in New York, this is the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for tuning in. I'm Trevor Noah. Our guest tonight, our guest tonight, take a seat. Take a seat, everybody. Our guest tonight, thank you everybody. Our guest tonight could not be more excited. Is a senator from California and Democratic

candidate for president of the United States. Kamila Harris is joining us, everybody. It's going to be a really great conversation. It's going to be really great conversation. Also on the show ohmahe, oh thank you so much. to you too. That's always like a weird, people shout, happy birthday, I mean then I'm like, happy birthday back, I don't know what to say. Also on the show tonight, the billionaires who started the opioid crisis,

why 69 might not be nice, and President Trump finds a new way to keep Mala employed. So let's catch up on today's headlines. We begin with a new report that President Trump may have committed obstruction of justice. And you're probably thinking, is this a rerun of the Daily Show? No, no. It's just that Trump keeps doing the same shit over and over again. It's like that Netflix show Russian doll, only with way more Russians. Anyway, here's what happened this time. President Trump is denying another explosive claim over his efforts to fight off a series of investigations.

The Times reports President Trump called his hand-picked acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to ask whether U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman could be put in charge of the widening investigation into his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen. Berman had already been recused from the case. Do you ask Acting Attorney Matthew Whitaker to change the leadership of the case. Did you ask Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to change the leadership of the investigation as your former personal attorney, Michael Cullen? No, not at all. I don't know who gave you that, just more fake news.

Okay, a little tip, Mr. President. If someone accuses you of something and you pause like that before you say no, uh, it seems like you're lying. Yeah. It's like if your mom was like, are you looking at porn? No. So the story is that President Trump asked Matt Whitaker to interfere in the Michael Cohen investigation, which is highly unethical. And he even rubbed Whitaker's head to see the future of the investigation, which is also highly unethical. Basically right now we're at the point where Trump may be obstructing justice into his obstruction of justice case. Which is like a pickpocket who just got caught and the cop goes, you're busted, put your hands behind your, wait a minute, where are my handcuffs? Oh, you scaly wag.

Moving on, Takashi 69. He's a popular rapper and a gang member who recently pled guilty to nine felonies and is facing 47 years in prison, which means he might not get out until he's Takashi 116. But now, it looks like he may not have the time after all. Raffer Takashi 69 struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors that will help him avoid a 47 year prison sentence.

Takashi 69 has admitted to joining a violent street gang and helping others kill a rival gang member. Because he cooperated with officials, he may need to be entered into a witness protection. That's right, people. Six-nine is snitching on his gang and he's going into witness protection. This guy. Witness protection. The guy who has his name tattooed on his face. How are they going to disguise him, huh? Just add another line to the tattoo, who me know? I'm Takashi 68.

Ma! Totally different. Like, seriously, where the hell is this guy going to blend in? Like, unless he's being relocated to Adam Levine's torso, this dude is screwed. He can't go anywhere else. Oh, and speaking of people disappearing, police across the country are sounding the alarm about a scary new YouTube challenge. Police are warning parents about a new online challenge that could put their kids in danger. What now? It's called the 48-hour challenge and encourages them them them them them them them them them them them them them them their their their their their to their to to to to the put their kids in danger. What now? It's called the 48-hour challenge and encourages them to fake their disappearance

without telling anyone. They get awarded points for every social media mention while they're missing, and then record their parents' reaction when they show up. Ah, what a fun prank to play on your parents if they're white. Because you try this in a black house? He he he is going to turn into the 48 second challenge where your mom gives you 48 second head start before she starts whipping your ass.

Now if you are a parent, please don't be stressed. Because this whole thing is actually just an urban legend that the police fell for, right? Kids are not actually faking their own disappearance. And not because they wouldn't do it, but because no teenager can stay off their phone for 48 hours. Let's be honest, four hours in, they'd be on Instagram like, what's up Insta? Nobody knows if I'm dead or alive. All right, let's move on, taught top story. Opioids. They're a national emergency.

A genuine national emergency. And right now in America, more people are killed by opioids than cars. Yeah, except for that one serial killer car in the Pixar movie, Cars 3. That movie was really dark, man. But who is to blame for this crisis? Well, if you listen to the president, which by the way I don't recommend you do, but if you do, he'll point his tiny little blame finger where he normally does, south of the border. Whether it's the opioids, whether it's drugs, as you hear in the traditional

sense, much comes through the southern border. The opioid is a tremendous emergency and I tell you what we've we've made a big impact but still we need the wall. One of the reasons we want the strong borders a lot of this stuff comes in from different places but it comes in from Mexico it comes along the southern border. Man Trump blames Mexico for everything the opioid crisis factories closing crime in America I wouldn't be shocked if he's in bed with his wife and she's like, what's wrong, Donald, can't get it up? He's like, it's these goddamn immigrants, not you baby, the other ones, the other ones. But in reality,

in reality, the opioid crisis is as American as baseball or student loan debt, because it wasn't Mexican drug dealers that got people addicted. That was the work of homegrown American doctors like Barry Schultz. In July, Schultz was sentenced to 157 years for his role in fueling the most devastating public health crisis of the 21st century. In one 16-month period, DEA records show Barry Schultz dispensed 800,000 opioid pills from his office pharmacy. When you're giving somebody 60 oxycodone a day, how could they not abuse it?

60 a day is a large number, I admit. That's a very large number. But if it's taken properly. How can you take 60 oxycodone a day is a large number, I admit. That's a very large number. But if it's taken properly, how can you take 60 oxycodone a day properly? Some people need that dose. There is no scientific evidence to support that claim. God damn, 60 oxycodone a day. This guy deserves 150 years in prison. I bet when they announced it in court, he was like, But that's a life sentence, and the judge was like, th... th, th, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, thi, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, how, thi. How thi. How thi, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. I bet when they announced it in court, he was like,

but that's a life sentence and the judge was like, well, no, not if you space it out properly. It actually works out. Now the truth is, as bad as this guy is, doctors like this are basically low-level henchmen. If you want to find the source of the opioid problem, you have to go to the the the the the the the the to go to go the the to go to go the to go to go the to go the to go to go to go to go the to go to go to go to go to the top of the cartel. The farmer companies that make the drugs. Former executives and managers for INSYS therapeutics are on trial in Boston.

They're accused of bribing doctors to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray. Prosecutors say five Manhattan doctors were paid more than $800,000 combined from INCIS. They were also treated to lavish dinners and expensive strip club visits. One of the former executives, the former stripper-turned saleswoman, who prosecutors say bribe doctors and in some cases got personal with them, also they would prescribe the company's drug. That's right. This drug company didn't just bribe doctors to the doctors. They sent strippers to bribe the doctors.

And let me just say, when a stripper starts paying you, something fishy is going on, all right? That just doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. It's like a crackhead begging to give you $5. Hey, brother, you look like you could use some help. Come on, man, take it. Now, that's just one one one one one one one one example th is th is that that that that that that that that that that thii that thi that thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, thi, thriff is just just just just thriff is just thriffa thripe thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thripe. thri. to toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo drug companies are pushing doctors to over-prescribe opioids. And that drug company is small time compared to the Pablo Escobar of opioids, the Sackler

family. We're hearing from the Massachusetts Attorney General who blames the founding family of a pharmaceutical company for helping create the opioid drug crisis. In a lawsuit, the state targets Purdue Pharma and eight members of the Sackler family. It alleges they are personally responsible the the their their their their their their their their is their their their is their is personally their their their their their their is personally their their lawsuit, the state targets Purdue Pharma and eight members of the Sackler family. It alleges they are personally responsible for deceptively selling oxycontin. The company admitted in federal court in 2007 that it had misled doctors and consumers about just how addictive oxycontin can be. The lawsuit contends that from 2008 to 2016 alone members of the

Sackler family paid themselves more than four billion dollars in opioid profits. That's right, this one family made four billion dollars by allegedly lying about how addictive opioids are. That is straight up evil. If your product is addictive, you have to be up front about it. I mean, that's why we always start our show with the disclaimer. Do not consume more than three episodes of the Daily Show if you're addicted to Africans with dimples. All right? I have to warn people.

I could be a billionaire if I didn't show that warning. I have to do that. I don't want to do that. I that. I that. I that. I that. I to do that. I to do to do that. I to do to do to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it. I to do. I to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to do to do to do to do it. I don't to do it. I don't to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I to do it. I th. I to do it. I th. I to do it. I to do it. I to do. I th. thr. to thr. to to thr. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to, but I have to do it. Your grandmother would be selling her VCR to watch this show if I didn't give that warning. And it's bad enough that the Sacklers reportedly lied about how addictive their drugs were, but according to the court filing, they then turned around and blamed the victims for getting addicted in the first place. The newly unredacted complaint points to a strategy, allegedly employed by the company the company, the company, the company, the company, the company, to, to, the company, toe, the toe, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, and, and, and, and, toe, and, toe, toe, and toe, and toe, toe, toe, toe, the, the, the, the, the, the.a.a.a.a.a.e.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a. Ia.a. Ia. And, toe. And, toe. And, to a strategy allegedly employed by the company to blame the addict. In a confidential 2001 email, Richard Sackler, then Purdue Chairman and President, wrote, we have to hammer on the abusers in every way possible. They are the culprits and the problem.

They are reckless criminals. This is pure evil. They got people hooked on their product and then try to demonize them for being hooked. This is like if a guy at Cine- their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their th. I th. I th. I thi. thi. thi. thi. I thin. thi. thi. thi. R. R. R. R. R. R. R. R, Richard, Richard, Richard, Richard, Richard, Richard, Richard, Richard, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. R, th. Rc, th. Rc, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin. I thin. I then try to demonize them for being hooked. This is like if a guy at Cinebonne was like, have you tried the Cinebonne breadsticks? Have you tried the, have you said the cinnamon sticks? Yeah. Oh, and have you had, uh, you disgust me. Wait, what? And according to allegations in the complaint,

blaming the addicts was just a small part of the Sackler's Diabotical Master Plan, right? Because once they got people addicted, they tried to make money treating the addiction that they caused. And believe that, th th, th, th, th, th, th, tho, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their............ their, their, their, their. their. their. their. their. their, their. their. their. their. their. their. thi. thi. thi. to. toe, toe, toe, toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. their most sinister idea. The maker of the highly addictive painkiller, OxyContin, is now trying to get FDA approval to label it as suitable for use by children as young as six years old. Wow. Wow. Yeah, what? That's right. Even after they knew full well how addictive their drug was, they still wanted to make a version for kids. Like nobody should ever want kids doped up on opioids, all right?

Like unless they're next to me on a plane and that little asshole is kicking my seat. Because like I'm trying to rest is what I'm saying. But other than that, no one should ever, should ever want to do, or actually, actually, also in restaurants. You know something in the running around, screaming and they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they th and th and th and th and th and th and th and th and thi thi thi thi throw throw throw throw throw throw throw throw thi, throw throw throw throw throw throw throw thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thin. thin. thin. thin. to to too. too to too too too too too too too too too tho too tho they're running around, screaming, and throw the food, those ones also. But other than that, a child is the most precious, y'all, Jesus, movies, as well. They never shut up. The kid will be talking like, mommy, did you see the, yeah, we all saw it.

We're watching to me, should never be hooked on opioids. So knowing all the shady shit that these people are accused of, like you would think the Sackler family would be shunned from society. But in fact, it's the exact opposites. The Sackler family is among the richest families in America. So wealthy, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim, and American Museum of Natural History, all have Sackler wings. The Sackler name is plastered on institutes or schools of medicine at Cornell, Columbia, Tufts, George Washington, McGill, and Tel Aviv universities.

Okay, that is boiling on another level. Because Pablo Escobar was like, I've got my own zoo with hippos. The Sackler's like, bitch, we got a dinosaur. We'll be right back. to the too. John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, the weekly show. We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread

ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is the junior senator from California and the 2020 presidential candidates who has a new memoir called The Truths We Hold. An American Journey, as well as a children's book, superheroes are everywhere. Please welcome Senator Kamala Harris. Welcome to the show. Thank you. Happy birthday. Thank you so much.

This really is a birthday for me because you have come out of the gate firing. In fact, Donald Trump apparently said you were the best opening so far. That's what he said. He was like, she was great, so great. Came on firing. He likes big crowds. He does. But I mean, said. He was like, she was great, so great, came out firing. He likes big crowds. He does, but I mean, if even he was impressed, what do you think you've done right to begin your journey as a presidential candidate for the Democrats? Well, I think that coming out the gate speaking truth, speaking truth and justice in this country which are right now under attack. Truth and justice are under attack. I think it's about also fighting for the opportunity in America that's lost for so many people. But

coming out of the gate in Oakland, California, the place of my birth and talking about the fact that we are better than this as a country and I think we all know that and we want folks who are going than this as a country. And I think we all know that, and we want folks who are gonna fight for the best of who we are. So it's been a good beginning, it's been a strong beginning, and I hope to continue on this path. That's exciting. It's an exciting joy.

It's an exciting beginning. Um, since thiss that people do want to know about you. I think the most important is, how do people pronounce your name? Because people argue about this all the time. Is it Harris or is it Harris? It's Harris. It's Harris. No, but seriously, everyone goes like, is it Kamala or is it Kamala? Oh, Kamala. Just think of a Kama and then Adala. There were, oh, Kama'a, I like that.

There you are. Like long A. And what I didn't know from the book is that you grew up in a household where, for the most part of your life, you were raised by a single mother who is Indian, but she raised you in black America. You know, you went to civil rights speeches, you went to civil rights, to civil rights, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the tha, the the the the threatha, the the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, tha, the tha, the threatha, the the the threatha, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, the book, es with her. Has that shaped a lot of how you see the world growing up in a household where you were in a black community but at the same time had multiple cultural influences? Well, sure, I mean, you and I were both raised by very strong mothers. My mother was all of five feet tall, but after meeting her, you would have thought she was

seven feet tall. And my mother was one of the smartest, the toughest, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, tough, theuvst, thewi, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, to, to, too, too, th. And, too, to, thi, thi, they, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. And, thi, the same, the same, the same, the same, the, the, the, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the the the they. And, they. And, too. And, tooooooooooo. And, toe the the toe the they. And, the the the they. And, the same, the same, the same, the toughest, and the most loving people I've ever known. And she was a fighter. She was a breast cancer researcher. She had two goals in her life to raise her two daughters and end breast cancer. And she would take us to the lab with her on the weekends and after work and her whole vision of life, and I adopted that vision was of what can be unburdened by what has been, knowing what can be in a way that we improve human condition and seeing, even though we have not seen it

before seeing the potential in human beings and in our future. And that's how our mother raised us, and she was active in the civil rights movement, that's where my parents met. You know, we joked that we grew up surrounded by a bunch of adults.................... th.. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, the, the, the, the, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. the the th. th. th my parents met. You know, we joke that we grew up surrounded by a bunch of adults who spent full-time marching and shouting about this thing called justice. And my mother knew that she was raising her two daughters into a world that would present

obstacles and would not necessarily get us, but my mother raised us to understand and she would say, don't you let anyone tell you who you are, you tell them who you are. Wow. And... And... I always wondered. I always wondered. I mean, you know, I know that you know, I know that you know that there is oftentimes a call that people feel to, to, you know, ascribe to, to a larger goal. You know, I want to be president. the, I, I, I, I, I, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, to, the, to, to, the, to, th. to, to, th. th. th. the, the, thi, tell, tell, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. tell, tell, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, tell, tell, tell, tell, the. tell, the. tell, th. to, to, you know, ascribe to, to, to a larger goal, you know, I want to be president, I want to be that. But, but why did you want to get into this line of work? I mean, you know, to have a mom who's trying to cure breast cancer and you go, no, I want to go into a district attorney, I want to go into public office, why? an active environment. And the heroes in the civil rights movement, among many were the lawyers.

It was Thurgood Marshall and Charles Hamilton, Houston, and Constance Baker-Motley, and these individuals who understood the skill of the profession of law to translate the passion from the streets to the courtrooms of our country and do that work of reminding folks, and we know it must continually be done, reminding folks of the promise we articulated in 1776 that we are all and should be treated as equals. And so I decided that's the work I wanted to do, that that was noble, important work, and I went to law school. And then out of law school, I made the decision to become a prosecutor.

And I will tell you, you can probably imagine. My sister went on, for example, to head the ACLU, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and, and, and, and, and, and, tho, tho, tho, and, and, the tho, tho, the the the tho, tho, the, the, the, the, tho, the the, and, the, the, the, the, tho, and I was, and I was, and I was, and I was, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e. the the the th. th. th. example, to head the ACLU. When I made a decision to become a prosecutor, folks thought it was a curious decision. Yeah, I can imagine. With some of my family, I had to defend the decision like one would a thesis. But what I said, truly, but what I said is that when we want to reform systems, and I was born knowing the failures and the problems with the criminal justice system in America. But I also believed then as I do now that when we want to reform these

systems that need and must be reformed, that we have a role to play on the inside as well as on the outside. And so that's the decision I made and it was a decision to be able to then do things as I did when I was DA I was elected the first woman and the first woman of color to be district attorney of San Francisco and the first woman of color in the state of California. Right. When I was then later elected attorney general and the first the first person of color ever to be the Attorney General of the biggest state in the country. And in that position, having the power that comes with the position, I

was able to champion reform like had really not existed before. When I was district attorney Trevor of San Francisco, I started a reentry initiative focused on young men who had been arrested for drug sales, getting them jobs and counseling and then dismissing the charges against them. This was back in 2004 when I became DA. People would say to me, why are you letting people out when you should be locking people up?

People would say to me, I would talk to other DA's, this is a smart way to do business. We need to stop the revolving door. Let's incorporate and embrace that concept of redemption. Right? The idea people only make mistakes, they should be held accountable, but let's let them earn their way back, right? You know, this is what Mandela talked about so much. Right? And so I would start these programs. I'd tell theynigh. th. th. th. th. th. th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, their, th, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. th. tho, tho, together, tho, together, together, together, they. together, together, together, they. they. together, they. they. their, their, their, their, their, these programs, I'd talk with other DAs, hey, let's do reentry initiatives. They'd say, what is reentry? What does that mean?

That's not our job. Our job is not to get people's services. Why are you getting people jobs when they've committed crimes? And I'd say because it's a smart thing to do, plus the war on drugs was a complete failure, Let's talk a little bit about that different approach. The journey you've been on has been unique because you start as a prosecutor. You're in a position where you had to put people in prison, you had to enforce the law. But you've come under criticism recently where people say you had some programs that some feel targeted minorities or communities that didn't have the means.

You know, for instance, truancy programs where mothers were threatened with prison because their children weren't going to school or weren't where they were supposed to be. When you look at your past, I know what you're proposing now, but what do you think was the biggest thing that changed? the way you saw criminal justice reform? Do you think it's just the time thing, or do your views continue to evolve as you learn? Well, okay, first let me say this. I will never regret having prosecuted people who molested children, people who raped women, people who murdered other individuals. Those are serious crimes, for which I believe there should be serious punishment.

And I'm never going to apologize for that. And I think most people would agree that when one human being harms another human being, especially those who are weak and vulnerable, that there should be serious and severe consequence and accountability. We also know, and I was born knowing, that this system of criminal justice in this country needs reform, it has been biased. There is systemic racism. We have had a policy in place in this country that has led to mass incarceration where we have incarcerated more people per capita

than any other civilized or advanced, so-called advanced country. And it needs to be reformed. I will say to you that over the years, one of the benefits that I believe the system received and that helped me do the work that that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that that I that I that I that I that I tho tho tho tho the years, one of the benefits that I believe the system received and that helped me do the work that I was able to accomplish was because of the incredible activism and smart activism of folks like the folks who are Black Lives Matters, the folks who were involved on the outside saying and demanding that the system would change, demanding and marching and advocating because that activism allowed me to to then be able to to be to the to to do to do to do to to to to to to to to the the the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work to the work to to to to to the work to to to to to to tho to do tho to do the work the work to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do that that that that that that to do that to do to do to do to do the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the work the system would change, demanding and marching and advocating, because that activism allowed me

to then be able to do some of the work that I accomplished. I could not have done anything that I did without that level of organized smart activism on the outside. And we have thankfully evolved, but there's a lot more to do. There's a lot more to do. I believe, first of all, that we have got to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to continue to do. There's a lot more to do. I believe, first of all, that we have got to continue on sentencing reform. We have a Department of Justice led by this administration that has shut down consent decrees, where there should be supervision of police departments that have proven to be engaged in racist or in systematic kind of targeting of people of color.

Right. This administration has shut down the pattern and practice investigations of police departments around the country that are engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination. We've got to change what we're doing right now. Let me ask you this. How do you change that as a commander-in-chief and leader of the country while still making police and people who love the police feel like you are a

candidate who believes in law and order. Because that's one piece of framing that President Trump has done exceptionally well is he's gone and said the Democrats love crime, the Democrats hate police. So how do you say to the police, hey we're going to come after you essentially for the things that the same time, but at the same time, we still respect the police force. How do you balance that? Well, in my mind, it's simple, but I agree. He has created this false choice and this paradigm

that suggests that he really doesn't understand who communities are. When your grandmother's house gets burglarized, when you have a family member who has been victimized, you want to know that you can be able to pick up the phone and call police and they're going to be there. And so it is a mistake and a myth to suggest that certain communities don't want police. They do. What they don't want, and what no community should want,

is excessive force, racial profiling, and an unequal the law. Right. But we have to really, we have to reconcile these points. And in fact, that's why when I was Attorney General, one of the issues that I worked on and we created the first of its kind in the nation, training for police officers on implicit bias and procedural justice. And brought together leaders in law enforcement, as well as leaders in the civil rights community, to say, look, we have got to deal with the fact that when you carry a gun, when you have the ability to enforce the law, which means to pull somebody over, to stop them, to arrest

them, you've got to check where the bias is kicking in, and you've got to recognize that it's there and that if we're not going to deal with it there's going to be uneven application of the law and injustice results as a because of that. And so there is work to be done but we have to have an understanding also that this president has suggested that so many issues are issues about national security and thimeanity project called the wall and his suggestion that there arement of his imagination and including the vanity project called the wall and his suggestion that there are terrorists who are invading the country and for that reason suggesting that we should have a concrete wall from C to C. We're going to get into that. That's something we're definitely got to get

into. That's going to be more than we can handle right now. When we come back, we'll be talking to Senator Harris about criminal justice reform and we're going to be talking about Trump's Vanity Border War. We'll be right back. Thank you. John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient-to-bread ratio, on sandwiches. Listen to the Weekly Show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the day show.

We are here with presidential hostess Senator Kamala Harris. Let me ask you this as someone who's running to be president. One thing I've always enjoyed about watching you is, you know, like in hearings, you're focused, you know what you want to talk about, you know what the issues are, but at the same time, you know, you have a light side to you as well. Are you ready for how frivolous some of the campaign trail is going to be? I mean, you've seen now people now tho tho tho th. People th. People th. People th. People th. People th. People th. People th. People, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to, to, to, to, th. to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you. You. You. You. You. You, to, you, to, to, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, they. they. they. they. the the the the the the the the th too. the to, to, the to, they. to, to, to, they. to, to, you've seen now people are asking if people know how to eat fried chicken properly and do people know how to eat corn and, like, are you ready for that part? Do you think people still like that? It's already happened, Treff? It already happened. So, I was in South Carolina recently. And I'm going to tell you, you know, one of the things I will say this, that I love about campaigning. You meet the angels the angels the angels the angels, you the angels, you the angels, you the angels, you th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi, to to to to to to to to to to to to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be thi, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. the. the. toe. the. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. to the. to th angels walking among us. You meet people you otherwise may never meet,

who are doing incredible work in their communities, love their communities, or leaders in their communities, without any requirement that people applaud them or pay attention to them. They're just doing great work. And I love that about campaigning. On the other side of it.

So I'm in South Carolina. So first of all let me say, I've say I've to say I've to say I've to say I've the th of it. So I'm in South Carolina. Okay, so first of all, let me just say, I've never run for President of the United States before. So it's a new experience. And part of the new experience is all these people will follow when you go somewhere just to eat. And like, when I go somewhere to eat, it's because I'm hungry. And I really want to be able to eat. And you know, when you have been working for a long period of time and you're really hungry, you can get kind of primal.

Like, everybody back that you know what off. I'm hungry. And so I go into this place, and it's, Rodney Scott is his name, and he's got, in South Carolina, so South Carolina's got different, and based on the region, the barbecue sauce is different. Oh, okay, I don't know that. Oh, vinegar-based versus like tomato-based versus mustard-based. Okay, so his is vinegar-based and his restaurant is just, the food is amazing.

So I'm standing in line and there's like all this press over there. And I can hear this whispering by some of the press. What's she gonna order? What's she gonna order? Did she order meat or did she just order like a salad? Right? And I'm like, are you kidding me? First of all, why would that be a debatable or even a subject of discussion? Right, right. When we are dealing with mass issues in our country. We're dealing with issues of massive inequality.

We are dealing with the concern that we've got a president embarrassing us in Munich. We've got so many things to talk about. Yes, but yes, they are talking about. Did you order the- Did you order the- Did you order the fork man? I had cold pork? I had cold.

I'm saying that the best you're is what's going to be tough for you and every other Democratic candidate is that you do realize that you are going to be held to different standards than Donald Trump. Because what people consider a scandal for him has now, it has to be the utmost degree. I mean, he can basically threaten someone on Twitter and people are like, that's the president being the president. But if you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you th you th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin th. th. th. th. th. th. thi that's thi the the the the that that that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. thr-. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. People are coming for you. This is my point. So then, OK, it goes on. So in the same trip, then so I care a lot about small businesses. And in fact, that's part of my agenda about what we should do to actually give more federal incentives for small businesses, for

investment and growth. So, OK. For so many reasons, including that when you look at a path towards financial health and success, when you look at how small businesses run themselves in a way that it's not just about running the business, but being a member of the community, small business leaders are also civic leaders, their community leaders.

Okay, on and on. So I'm visiting small businesses. On a street, three, thia, thia, thiiiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, thoomb, thi, thoomoomoomoomo, tho, tho, to thoomo, too, too, too, tooom. tooom. th, th, th, th, th, thoom. thoom. thoomom. th, tooomom. tooom. too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, the, tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo by the way, on Lady Street, all but one of the business owners is a woman. Wow. Yeah, it's really fantastic. So I'm visiting this one where the woman who runs the salon, Neda, styled by Neda. She was formerly in foster care, she was homeless, she put herself through school. She had never worn any clothes for almost her entire life that was first-hand, all second-hand. So she decided to start this vintage store where the proceeds of her sales go to helping women who don't have clothes. So for example, for the local college,

she gives clothes to women who are going for interviews and job interviews and going, just incredible work. So I'm in the store and I'm hearing her story and then you know I want to buy something. And so then I look at this multi-colored sequence jacket. And I'm thinking this would be really great for pride parade, right? And I try it on, and then that's it, and I leave, and I was in South Carolina. Then I fly back and I get home and my husband's like, do you know, because he wasn't with me, he's like, so there's this jacket that apparently you tried on. It's now got its own life.

And like apparently it became the subject of all this controversy by journalists around, should she be doing something like shopping if she's wanting for president. And then all this others, and just ridiculous. Right. It's ridiculous. It really is an interesting journey to be on when you have policy ideas and people are looking into the small, like the frivolous, as you say, I mean, you're visiting a business owner and people go like, should you be shopping or not. And the story should be about the need for small businesses in America to receive the support that they deserve. Understanding that that is a path to economic growth and opportunity for so many. But the story was about the jackets. I bought it also.

I like that you finish up the stories. That's good. That is good. Let me ask you this. Let me ask you a few things. Because honestly, I could chat to you forever. I mean, what I'd like to know is you have this vision for America. You are saying to Americans, I want you to elect me as president of the United States. You have had some strong words to say

about the current president's border wall specifically. Now, he's pitched this as one of the things that is going to prevent drugs from coming into the country, and this is going to keep American safe. You have said, no, this is a vanity project. Why do you say that and why do you think it will not help? Okay, so as we have discussed, I had a career as a prosecutor. That included prosecuting transnational criminal organizations. I have gone to the border. I have personally seen the tunnels.

I have seen photographs of tunnels between Mexico and the United States that were literally as smooth as the walls in this studio. Right. We've got some walls. Lined with air conditioning and lighting. Right. And the point being that these were built because people are making a whole lot of money in the trafficking of guns, drugs, and human beings. That wall ain't gonna stop them. This is about tunnels. It's about ports of entry. He has created a fiction.

And you watch the State of the Union. Because the narrative, right, the yarn that he is pulling, suggests that there is some link between transnational criminal activity and these children crossing the border with their parents, fleeing murder capitals of the world, seeking asylum in the country that has always proudly held itself out to be. Right. A place that will be a refuge for people fleeing harm.

So that's understandable. Now what we're starting to see is different Democratic candidates and hopefuls coming out and saying what their opinion or the idea of a border enforcement would be. Beroa has to formally entered the race has come out and said he would remove the existing wall. I think there's about 700 miles of border wall. And he said, oh, I think all walls are bad, and I think all existing barriers would be removed. Would you remove the walls if you became president, the wars that exists now?

No, I believe that we need border security. But we need smart border security. We need to, we can't have open borders. We need to have border security. All nations do. All nations define their borders. But we should not have a policy and a perspective that is grounded in keeping people out for the sake of this nationalistic kind of thing that this president is trying to push. We should have borders that also

allow people to come in. That is part of the strength of our nation. We are a nation that was founded and has grown because we have always welcomed immigrants. We are a nation of immigrants. Look, if you are not Native American, your people are immigrants. Right, no, that's true, but Trump is saying. Except for those, except for those, except for those who are kidnapped and brought over on a slave ship.

Right, right. But Trump is arguing. He's saying, as he always says, I love immigrants if they come in legally folks. I just want them to come in through the front door. That's what he says. So he's saying I don't mind I he's like I'm with you Kamala I've married an immigrant but I want I want an immigrant to come in through the front door. That's that's what his argument is. But the argument does not hold water trip because he has also not put in place or even advocated for comprehensive immigration reform. He has not advocated for, he has shut down the DACA system. I mean, listen, this is deferred action for childhood arrivals. There was a policy in place that said,

for those children who were brought to the United States, some before they could walk or talk, they vetted a system where they had to clear a vet. Had they committed a crime, no. Were they in college, were they being productive, yes. If all of those criteria were meant, they received protection, which he ended. And it's only because of the courts that those kids are not now being deported. So he cannot stand on principle or American values, or their principle, or American values, their position he has taken because it is immoral and it is against American values these positions he has taken on immigration.

Yes, we need border security. We also need comprehensive immigration reform. We also need to protect those who are fleeing violence and harm by giving them an opportunity to be heard around asylum. He's shutting that down. He's not even letting these people walk in to have their hearing to we can determine the legitimacy of the harm that they are fleeing. When you look at the future of America then, as a presidential hopeful, you see yourself

sitting in that oval office, what would you like the new message of America to be if there were a post-Trump presidency? At which they will be. Well, if we survive, I'm not. Stop the apocalypse. Yet. The message has to be that we are a nation that values truth and justice. The message has to be that we will continue to be what by nature we have always been

which is a source of our strength, which is an aspirational nation. We were founded on noble ideals. The ideals that were present when we wrote the Constitution of the United States and all of its amendments and the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence and said we are all equal and should be treated that way back in 1776.. th th that th th that th th that th th th th th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi thi the the th. th. th th th. th. th. th. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. to to to to theeeea. to tea. tea. thea. thi. thea. thi. thi. thi. th the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence and said we are all equal and should be treated that way back in 1776. We are an aspirational nation. We have always fought to reach those ideals. Now let's be clear-eyed.

We've never quite reached those ideals. But part of our strength is we fight to reach those ideals. And as President of the United States, I would hold true to keep fighting, understanding who we can be unburdened who we have been. But we have to have leadership in this country that values the integrity of public service and the value of leadership, understanding that it is not about self-service. It should be about service of others. It's about integrity and it's about the public trust. We don't have that right now. Just talk about your plans.

I mean, one thing I hope doesn't happen on the campaign trail is that the democratic race becomes only about trump. I mean, that was something that was frustrating in the previous race. And one thing I think a lot of people are excited to hear about is your plans. One of the things you talk about in the book and you have laid out is a giant boost for middle-class families in America, giving them tax cuts and getting them to where they need to be. You've also talked about doing it in a very specific way where people would be able to get that money in smaller increments as opposed to getting one lump sum at the end of the year which more families may appreciate. What is that about and how did you come to that? I'm very excited about it and if elected, when elected, it would

be one of my first orders of business and this is, what I'm proposing is that we change the tax code in a way that benefits and lifts up working families and middle class families. So here is the fact. Almost half of American families are a $400 unexpected emergency away from really being toppled in terms of their financial well-being. The reality in America today is that 99% of the counties in the United States, in 99% of those counties, if you're a minimum wage worker working full-time, you cannot afford market rate on a one-bedroom apartment.

These are the realities in America today. The reality in America today is that we are not starting out on an even playing field. Not everyone has equal access to a path to success. And so we have to correct correct correct the the the the to correct to correct to correct their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the the the the the the the the the the the the thoomk, thoome, thoananananan, to, too, to, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, to, to, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, the the their, is, their, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, their, is, is, their, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, the a path to success. And so we have to correct course. I propose we lift up those middle class working families. So my specific proposal is that for families that are making less than $100,000 a year, they receive a tax credit that they can collect at $500 a month. Understanding that is the difference between being able to make it or literally facing disruption and real upheaval. Because we're talking about the unexpected expense around getting the car repaired. We're looking at the fact that one in four people in America who have diabetes cannot

afford their insulin. And so it's the difference between being able to pay for your medication or not and don't get me started on the pharmaceutical companies. We will assume. Yeah. Right. And it is about also understanding that we have to lift up the middle and working class of this country and understand that the rules have been written in a way that have excluded them. He just passed a tax bill that benefit the top 1% and big corporations.

They don't need that money. And we have got to correct the course in a way that understands that working families are the heart and soul and the strength of our nation. And we've got to lift them up, and we've got to support them. And my proposal is actually, by economist, has been described as what would be the most significant tax benefit for middle class families and generations. It really has been lauded by many. Let's talk not about the pharmaceutical companies per se,

but about your plans for Americans in a few areas. You've come out and you've said, unlike Bernie Sanders and Ocazio Cortez, you said, yes, I'm a Democrat, but I'm not a Democratic socialist. But you have come out and said that you propose Medicare for all. Yes. You've said that you believe that there should be debt-free student loans.

You know, people should be able to study without being in debt. I do. You've come out with many proposals that are similar to what somebody like Bernie Sanders would say, and then obviously many of your own. What do you think separates you from them then? Well, I will say what I feel very strong. I feel very strongly that we need to have a system in this place where everybody has equal access to success. And we can do that in a way that is about lifting people up. We can do it in a way that is about recognizing that all people also want a system where there's gonna be a fair market

and there is gonna be competition, but let's not be lulled into believing right now that everyone has equal access to, that we start on the same base because we don't. And so that's gotta be corrected, and it can be corrected, but it's gonna have to be about a number a about a about a about a about a about a about a about a about a about a number a number a number about a number a number a number about a number about a number a number about a number a number a number. the way that we tax people and the way that we are distributing benefits. Let's look at it from another example, which is the public education system of our country. Everybody's not starting out on the same base, in the same place.

And we are a society, and this is where we have to speak truths also, Trevor. We are a society that pretends to care about education. Well guess what? Not so much the education of other people's children. Let's be honest about that, because if we did care about that, we would not have allowed the public education system in America to deteriorate in the way it has because we are not paying teachers their value. We are not putting resources into our schools. I have met more teachers than I care to tell you who are working two jobs, sometimes three to put food on the ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta to be. to be. to be. to be. to be. to be. the the the the to be. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to bea. to bea. to bea. to bea. to be. to be. to be. to be. to be. to be. to be. to be. I is is. I is. I is. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I is. I is. I is. I is. I is. I is. I is. I is. I is. I is. I is. I'm is. I'm toe. I'm not toe. I'm not toe. I'm toe. I'm toe. I'm toe. toe. I'm toe. toe. toe. toe. I'm toe. I'm toe. I'm toachers than I care to tell you who are working two jobs, sometimes three, to put food on the table and because also they're coming out of their own pocket to buy school supplies for their students.

We are a society that is not paying people the value of their labor and of their work. And these are the things that have to be adjusted. You don't have opportunities on a path to success. Wow. It's going to be a crazy journey for you. It's going to be exciting. The book I really recommend to anyone who wants to get to know the person behind the name. And you also have a children's book, which is called Superheroes are everywhere. It's really fun illustrations and it's inspirational stories for kids out there. The truths we hold and superheroes are available everywhere now.

Senator Kamala Harris, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 1110 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID. Thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully

obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you Comedy Central podcast. John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show.

We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart. Wherever you get your podcast.