The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Controversy Surrounds a Professor's Use of a Chinese Word | Peter Strzok & Samuel L. Jackson

Episode Date: September 11, 2020

Ronny Chieng reacts to a controversy involving a Chinese word, ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok discusses "Compromised," and Samuel L. Jackson talks about his docuseries "Enslaved." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at, that's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News, listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th,

wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's going on, everybody? Welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show. I'm Trevor Noah. Today is Thursday, the 10th of September. And here's your quarantine tip of the day. If Corona has shut down your college and you've had to move back home, not all is lost.

Just teach your parents the proper way to draw a dick on your face. That way when you wake up each morning, it'll still feel like you're at school. Anyway, on tonight's show, Trump World goes into damage control over the woodward tapes. Ronnie Chang explains why Chinese people keep saying the n-word and we talk to Samuel L. Jackson about projects he's working on and a bunch of other stuff. So let's do this people. Welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show. From Trevor's couch in New York City to your couch somewhere in the world. This is the Daily Social Dist social distancing show with Trevor Noah.

Ears Edition. Let's kick things off with Donald Trump, the first president who's a non-essential worker. Yesterday, a tape dropped of an interview he did with Bob Woodward back in February, where he admitted that he purposefully downplayed the risk of coronavirus. I mean, we all know why, it's because he didn't want to to to to sp to sp to sp to sp to sp to sp to sp to sp to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the 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 their their their their their their, their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the risk of coronavirus. And I mean, we all know why. It's because he didn't want to spook his precious stock markets. Whoa, whoa, easy girl, easy girl. It's okay, Nasjek. Everything's fine.

You just keep going up, girl. Now, when normal people get caught on tape admitting that they lied to an entire country, they usually apologize. But Donald Trump didn't become the the the the the the the the the the the the the the they lied to an entire country, they usually apologize. But Donald Trump didn't become president by being normal, so yesterday, he doubled down. Did you mislead the public by saying that you downplayed the coronavirus and that you repeatedly did that in order to reduce panic? Did you mislead the public? Well, I think if you said in order to reduce panic, perhaps that's so.

The fact is I'm a cheerleader for this country. I love our country. And I don't want people to be frightened. I don't want to create panic, as you say. And certainly I'm not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy. We want to show strength as a want to show strength, we want to show strength as a nation. You're a cheerleader?

No, ma'am's a chaer, you're not a cheerleader? You're the coach. When you see that your team is headed for a huge defeat, you come up with some plays, right? You don't just stand on the sidelines, waving pomps and saying everything's gonna be okay? Look, Trump, just because you've spent a ton of time in cheerleaders changing rooms, doesn't mean that you are one. Like, I'm just saying, I've watched that Netflix show, and Donald Trump would not make it on mat.

Cheerleaders are everything that the president is not. They work as a team, they're disciplined, and most importantly, they know how to spell words, the the their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi.... thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, their, 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. toe, toe, toe, toe. toe. toe. toe. toean. toei. toei. toei. toei. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. te. t t t relationship with Trump for the last four years is that by now, we've pretty much learned every pattern that every Trump scandal takes. Trump steps into shit, and then Trump World comes out and explains that he didn't actually step in shit, or it wasn't shit, or that if the coastal elites got out of their bubble that that realized that stepping in shit is the most American thing that you can do. And this this this this this this this this this this this this this this th th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, tip tip tip, tha thae, than, thae, tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. I's, tr. I's, tr. I's is tr. I's, tr. I's, tr. I is tr. I is tr. I is tr. I is tr. I is tr. I is tr. tr. shit is the most American thing that you can do. And this time is no difference. As Fox News, the only network whose subtitles are in all caps, quickly rallied to Trump's corner to explain why lying to America about a deadly pandemic

was the right move all along. The president was saying, don't fear. He was calm. He was confident because he didn't want to create a panic. I thought that was just fineeeeeeeeeee that that that that that that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that that was just that that that that that that that thiii. I was just thi. I was thi. I was thi. I was thi. I was thi. I was thi. I was thi. I was to to toe. I toe. I was toe. I toe. I toe. I toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. thi. thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thean. th. th. th. th. tean. toe. to. to. to. to. to. to. toe. toe. toe. to. to create a panic. I thought that was just fine and dandy. I mean, you wouldn't, you're trying to run the country. You're offering leadership. When a doctor sees a spot on your x-ray, he doesn't run in and say, my God, you have cancer, you're going to die. He says, hold on a second, this could be dense t had his fireside chats to calm America. You look at something that President Obama tweeted out on March 4th and he had the same message as President Trump about calm down. He said,

protect yourself in your community from coronavirus with common sense precautions, wash your hands, stay home when sick and listen to CDC the CDGov and local health authorities. Let's stay calm. Sound familiar. Listen to the experts and follow to CDC Gov and local health authorities. Let's stay calm. Sound familiar. Listen to the experts and follow the science. Okay, guys, that Obama tweet isn't proving what you actually think it's proving. It's actually an example of how a president can keep people calm whilst also being realistic about the dangers they face.

The problem with Trump's admission to Bob Woodward isn't the fact that he try to keep people calm, okay? It's the downplaying the virus part. As crazy as it may seem, lots of people in America actually believe the things that President Trump says. So when Trump comes out and declares that the Deep State made up Corona to ruin his birthday, they listened. And as for that doctor analogy, great gut felt th. the th. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. th. th. their the the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, theoome, the, the, the, thoomome, thoome, thoom. It is is is thoomomomomom. It is th. It is th. It is th. It is th. It is th. It is th. It is th. It is th. It is the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the. It's is the. It's thean. It's thean. It's trean. It's trean. It's try. It's trueean. It's thean. It's the doctor analogy, Greg Gutfeld is correct. When doctors see a spot on your x-ray, they don't panic. But they do get it checked out because it might be serious. They don't tell you that you've got a spot on your x-ray, but don't worry. One day it's going to disappear just like a miracle.

All right, you want to do co-pay or you just want to do quid pro quo. So by and large, Fox News took the position that these Woodward tapes are nothing to be concerned about. Now, who knows? Maybe they're just trying to not cause a panic. But at least one Fox host seemed to realize that Donald Trump's lie had done some real damage. And so he took the bold step of placing the blame squarely on someone else. Of course, Bob Woodward's book is exactly what you thought it would be. What's surprising is that Donald Trump participated in making the book. The president sat for repeated interviews with Bob Woodward.

Why in the world would he do that? Well tonight from a source who knows the answer to that mystery, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. It was Lindsay Graham who helped convince Donald Trump to talk to Bob Woodward. How that turn out. Now remember, Lindsay Graham is supposed to be a Republican, so why would he do something like that? You'd have to ask him. But keep in mind that Lindsay Graham has opposed, passionately opposed,

virtually every major policy initiative that Donald Trump articulated when he first ran. So maybe you already know the answer. This is insane. So Lindsay Graham has been pretending to be a Trump ally this whole time, golfing with him, confirming his judges, defending him during impeachment, also that four years later, he could trick Trump into doing a Bob Woodward interview. And by the way, nobody forced Trump to do this interview or say the things that he said. So this master plan only works if the guy you're plotting against is dumb as shit.

How are we going to assassinate Caesar? I have an idea. Let's leave a bunch of knives in front of him and maybe he'll stab himself. This is the problem with defending Trump at all costs. Eventually you're forced to invent the most ridiculous conspiracy theories. Lindsay Graham, Lindsay Graham is one of Trump's most loyal allies. But Tucker Carlson is out here making him sound like a resistor who's hiding Black Lives Matter signs in his office.

You know, eventually, you're going to run out of people to blame. Yeah, there'll be no one else to blame other than like Trump voters. I can't wait for the day when Tucker Carlson comes on the air like, Trump didn't elect himself. What kind of sick, twisted individual would put this poor man in a position of power? I think we all know the answer to an answer answer answer answer answer answer answer answer answer answer answer than an answer than an an answer than an answer than an an answer. the an the. the. the. the. the, the, the the, the the, the, the, the, the, tho. I the, the to the. I'm 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 to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the tho, tho, tho, the the, the, the, the, the, the, the the the the the thean, the thean, the the thean. the thean. the thean. thean, thean, thean, thean, thean, the answer to that. So look, I don't know if these recordings will hurt Trump in the presidential election. I mean, scandals slide off him faster than his bronza on a hot day. But if his new campaign ad is any sign, he's not taking any chances. There's a pandemic in America of secret recordings for two long ordinary Americans have a to'errific.

There's a pandemic in America of secret recordings for two long ordinary Americans have lived in fear of being taped by Bob Woodward, Michael Cohen, and even Billy Bush. Yes, the Donald is good! But Donald Trump will put a stop to it. In his second term, President Trump will outlaw all tapes, delete all voicemails, and destroy every microphone in the country. In fact, let's ban taking notes too. Whatever happened to just remembering things.

Re-elect Donald Trump. Because when that 3 a.m. phone call comes in, you want to make sure it's not being things. Re-elect Donald Trump. Because when that 3 a.m. phone call comes in, you want to make sure it's not being tapped. I'm Donald Trump and I approve this message. That's what I'll say to those idiots at the end of my ad. Hey, are you recording? All right, we have to take a quick break. But when we come back, I'll talk to Ronnie Chang about the controversy that's tearing black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black black. And asaa. And asa. the toa. toa. th. th. th. th. th. th. to. th. th. to to th. to to to to to to to to th. th. the to to to to th. th. th. th. th. the the the th. th. th. the th. to their. to, their. their. their. the their. to, the their. the the the. th. th. th. th. th. th. I. I. th. the. the. the. the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. to. to. the. to. thea. th. thea. th. th. th. th. to. to. the., I'll talk to Ronnie Chang about the controversy that's tearing black people and Asian people apart. And don't forget, Samuel L. Jackson still coming up on the show. We'll be right back. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.

This is 60 Minutes. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the daily social distancing show.

Let's talk about college. You know, the place where you choose which career you want to abandon in your 30s. It's also the place where people of diverse backgrounds come together to learn new things. And although the new school year is only just beginning, it might have already ended for one professor at USC. The University of Southern California placing a professor on leave after he used a Chinese word that sounds like a racial slur. Greg Patton was giving a virtual class on how different cultures use filler words to take pauses while talking. He then used a Chinese expression that sounds like a racial slur. Some students complain saying they were offended.

The university apologized. Patent insists there was, quote, no ill intent. If you have a lot of um or hers, and this is culturally specific. So based on your native language, like in China, the common word is that, that, that, that, that, that, that. So in China, it might be naked, nigga, nigga, niggin. So there's different words that you'll hear in different countries, but their vocalist's full in states that saying that, that, that, um, her, er, her.

Okay, no. Hell, no. Unless you are the lead in a Quentin Tarantino movie, you have no excuse to be saying that word many times. But yes, USC has removed this professor from his communications course for saying that word in Chinese. The question is, was that the right move? Well, here to help me answer it is our very own communications expert and actual Chinese person, Ronnie Chang. Ronnie, help me out here man. When you speak Chinese, does this word that sounds exactly like the end word ever pop up because I've never heard you use it?

Well, I don't know because I don't speak Chinese. Oh, well, I thought you did. Oh, yeah? Why would you think that? Why? Why would you think that? No, because I mean, because like... No, no, what, what about about me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, 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. th. th. that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, no, what? What about me makes you think I can speak Chinese? I didn't mean to offend you, Ronnie.

I'm just, I'm sorry. I'm just fucking with you. Yeah, yeah, of course I speak Chinese. Of course I speak Chinese. Oh, jeez. Oh, jeez. Anyway, Trevor, this whole thing has gone out a, okay? There's no reason to be offended. As someone who speaks Chinese, I can tell you, that word is a Chinese word.

Wait, hold up, the Chinese invented the n-word? No, you idiot. Racist invented the end word. The Chinese word, nigger, it's our word for that. But when we're using in a sentence, sometimes we use it when we're trying to think of what we're saying. So it's like a filler word, like um or uh, like I'm trying to remember, hey, what's the name of that restaurant of too many breadsticks?

In Chinese, I'd say, uh, hey, uh, that's more tanting, uh, trying to think of the breadsticks, but all I heard was you saying Nega, Nega in the middle of a sentence. And I'm a little worked up right now. But actually here's my question for you then, Ronnie. If Neger is like just a thinking word, then isn't that confusing for you when you listen to rap music? Yeah, to be honest, Trevor, to be honest, Trevor, sometimes most rappers just sound like they're really unsure of themselves. Like to me, Jay-Z and Kanye didn't know if they were in Paris. In Paris, we're going gorillas. Nothing makes sense.

Well, you know what, dude, I guess this is why people need to talk to each other, you know, because now we got to the bottom of it as human beings, and I mean, now is clear, you know, if if that word nega is is a word in Chinese, then Well, Chinese people just have to find another word. What? No, no. Fee that Trevor. We're not changing shit. Okay. We had that word for 5, thousand years before racist stole it. Races steal that shit from everybody. Like Hitler took the swastika took th. th. th. th. th. th. th. their th. th. their th. th. their th. th. their th. th. their th. their their their their their scusts. T. their si. their si. th. thi. their their their their their their their their. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It's. It. It. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's t. It's togn. It's toge. And. And. And. And. And, t. t. t. t. toge. t. t. t. t. t. toge. t. stole it. Racists steal their shit from everybody. Like Hitler took the swastika from Buddhism, the KKK stole hoods from Spanish Catholics, and skinheads stole that look from Bin Diesel. And now they're stealing Chinese words? How about racist change their word? Yeah, well you know what, Ronnie, I mean, it's not like racist have a suggestion box. the thanks to white, their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, their, their, tho, their, tho, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their k, their, their k, their k, their k, their k, their k, their hoods, their thoes. thoes. thoes. thoes. thoes. thoes. thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooqqqqqqqqqaa, ta, ta, ta, ta.kkkk, toda, today, today Ask them? Okay, okay, well then here's another idea, okay? If we want to tease languages and culture without anyone getting offended, okay?

Let's just have a class for white kids, a class for black kids and a class for Asian kids, okay? And other classes can be separate, but equal, obviously, and that way no one will get offended o'clock. Rony, I think you just invented segregation. Oh, shit, you're you you you you you you th th th. th. th. th. thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, what thi, what thin, what thin, what thi, what thi, what thi, what thi, what thi, what thi, what thi, what thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, what thi, what thi, what thi, what thi, what thi, what thi, what thi. thi. theeean, thean, thean, thean, thean, thean my bad. But look, okay, you know what? I'm just trying to solve problems here, okay? Because this thing is dividing the black and Asian communities and it shouldn't, because we should be working together, okay? Look at what black people and Asian people can do and we're united, right? Tiger Woods, Utenkang, Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, Rush Hour 2, Rush Hour 3, I think I'm making Rush Hour 4, and if you are please call me, I would love to be in it.

The point is black people and Asian people have more in common than we think. Yeah, you know what, Ronnie, I'm not going to lie. Before we spoke, I might have been a little touchy, but I think I hear what you're saying, man, is that like, as people, we've got to remember, there are so many things that are actually designed to offend us, they're intended to offend us, that we've got to's no limit to what can upset you. I mean, you'll be shocked to hear what your name actually means in Chinese, Trevor. Wait, what do you mean my name? What does my name mean in Chinese? Uh, yeah, I don't think we want to say that word publicly.

It's kind of, you know, let's just say I tell my mom I work at the Daily Show with Don Lemon, okay? It's just safer that way. Anyway, look, I gotta go, okay, so nice talking to you. Thanks a bunch. Wait, Ronnie, Ronnie, what does my name mean? Runny? What is Trivue? All right, look, we're going to take a quick break while I look my name up in Mandarin, but when when when when when when when when when when when when when when talking to Samuel L. Jackson. But first, we'll be talking to the FBI official

that Donald Trump can't stop fantasizing about. So stay tune. I need to Google this. What does Trevor mean? When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.

You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Earlier today I spoke with former FBI official Peter Strzok. We talked about his new book on Trump, Russia, and those infamous text messages that Trump says are from the deep state. Peter Struck, welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Thanks so much for having me. It's good to be here. So you've written a book that even today is being name-checked by the President of the

United States, Donald J. Trump. He's not your biggest fan and clearly by your book you are not a fan of his. In many ways for him you are the face of the deep state that he constantly talks about. Why did you write the book? the book? the book is th. th. th. th. to, th. to, th. to, th. to, th. th. th. to, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, tho, thi, thr-a, thr-a, thrown, the thr-s, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the the the the thi, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th, th, th, th, th, th, th. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, thr. thr. throoooooooooooooooooo. toda, today, today, today, today, today, today, today book and what do you hope the book is meant to achieve? So the reason I wrote the book was to talk about the counterintelligence threat that Donald Trump poses to this day. Why in the FBI in 2016 we were so very concerned about his relationship with the government of Russia, and not just his but all the people around him. And to point out to the reader that that threat, that problem didn't stop in 2016. Obviously, Director Mueller kept going, and the problem, in fact, stays till this day. And so I wanted to shine a lot on that.

There's no denying that your role in this investigation and your role in the Donald Trump truraga has definitely been marred by, you know, text messages that the public has seen of yours, your opinions on Hillary Clinton, and your opinions on Donald Trump. Do you think that you're the right person to say to the public, here I am shining a light when Donald Trump will use you as the example of the deep states? Yeah, I sure do. And here's why. In the first place, every FBI agent,

most every government employee has opinions. I have them them them them them them them them them them them then, them them thamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamam. tha. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. tooomomomomom. tooom. tooomomom. tooomom. tooom. tooom. tooom. thii. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. too. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toea. toea. toea. toea. toea. toea. toea. toea. toea. toea. toe I have them, everybody I've worked with did. And we talk about those in private, but the point is that every single day, all of us set that aside when we go to work. And part of what has been so corrosive about all this whole idea of having a deep state is, in my experience, that's absolutely false. And then the second thing I'd point to, because I understand people might have have people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people people. might have concerns is this has been looked at up and down and left and right. There have been two inspector general investigations, there have been multiple U.S. attorneys, all kinds of congressional committees looking at it, and all of them, all of them have found

at the end of the day that me and everybody else that our actions were free of political bias or any sort of improper consideration and that we were doing the right thing for the right reasons. I don't believe in a the,'m not a big conspiracy theory person in any way, shape, or form, but I do understand how it may look to somebody, especially a Trump voter, when Peter Strzok has email saying we're going to, we need to stop this person. And then more importantly recently, an FBI lawyer was found to be doctoring documents. Once somebody is forging a document to, you know, to go with their bias, I mean, that shows you that people don't just leave their opinions at the door, doesn't it? Right, but when you look at what happened to him, I mean, he's paying a severe, severe

price for his penalty. There is no room in the FBI ever for any falsehood, for any doctoring evidence. And when you do that, you're going to be held to be held held held held held held held held held held held held held held held held held held held held accountable accountable accountable accountable accountable accountable accountable, he he he he he he he he he he to be held, to be held, to be held, to be held, to be held, to be held, to be held, to be held, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, to be held, to be held, to be to be to be to, to be, tooan, tooan, tooing, tooing, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their. their, their. their. their. their, their, to, their. to, their. the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, to, their, toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. to, to, th. to, the, the, th. to be held accountable. And that's exactly what you saw. To the broader point of, I understand how people might look at this and say, well, he had pretty strong opinions. But then let's go back to 2016. There were things that I knew and others knew, and still knew to this day, that if we had let it out, it would have really, really damaged Trump's happened. Let's also look at what happened with all the speech that Director Komi gave about Secretary Clinton about all the things for you. Wait, wait, if I may interrupt you there, let's take a step back. You see, so I feel like that statement you've just made presents the veneer of impartiality because if you

have something that you can't release on Donald Trump that the public, if they knew about the people to vote for him, but the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th... th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thr-n't, thr-I's, thr-n. thi, thr-upe, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, th. th. But, th. But, thi. But, thi-s. But, thi-I. thi-I's, thi-I's, thi-I's, thi-I's-I's-I's-I's-I's-a-I's-a-I'm, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait for him, but you can't use that, then why even tell the people about that? Well because there's a lie being made. There's a false accusation that Pete struck is biased. And so if I'm going to defend against that, I need to be able to say, hey, that's not true. And you say, wellthey help Donald Trump. Now, there's been all kinds of things that have been declassified by this administration. Unsurprisingly, a lot of those have been very, very favorable to President Trump. I can't decide, and it wouldn't be appropriate to.

But if I'm challenged to prove my impartiality, the way I have to do that is to present the evidence of what exists. And some of that is known now, right? We know what Director Mueller found. We know all these people that be prosecuted. That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. We knew that in the fall. Everybody knows it now. But if we were to talk about all those cases, and everybody can see the truth of what we knew at the time. I've always been fascinated by how in American history,

you always read these stories of how the FBI was surveilling or even interfering in the acts, the, you know, the actions of protesters. I mean, everybody from Jane Fonda to Martin Luther King, Jr. When you look at the protests that are happening today, would you say that protesters need to be wary of the FBI looking into or interfering in their lives? Or is that something that changed over time? Or does it just depend on who is running the FBI? I think it's always something to be aware of.

Look, I think the FBI is bound by regulation and a tradition of respecting civil liberties. But that came at a heavy thaaaauiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. their tha. tha. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the, the, the, the, the, thoes the, the, the, the, thoes that that 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 that that that that that that that that that th. the. thi. thi. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. theananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananne. that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's respecting civil liberties. But that came at a heavy price. As you pointed out, there were extraordinary abuses throughout the 70s, which culminated in the church and Pike committees, things like oversight reform that really codified ways that would prevent the FBI from behaving that way. And that began and became absorbed in the FBI's culture, which exists today. So I'm not worried about the FBI overstepping. What I do worry about is when you see some of these other actors, various entities within the Department of Homeland Security and other elements who don't have a traditional sort

of domestic, you know, investigative role, who are being thrust into situations where they don't have a background, a traditional mission, or rules and regulations to monitor and constrain that activity, everybody may be trying to do the right thing, but if you don't have that sort of regulation, the same sort of oversight, there's a lot of risk there. And so, I'm also concerned that Congress has an oversight role, but there's been a tremendous amount of tension right now between the executive branch and Congress and to, and to.. and to.... And, to. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thin, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, they, they, they's, they's, thi. thi, they's, they's they, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, they. thi. thi. they. thi. thi. they. they's thi. they's they's they's they's they's they's they's they's they. they. thi executive branch and Congress and that oversight. So I think that's a valid concern. I think that's something everybody should be looking at and making sure that we are behaving, I say we, that the government is behaving in a way that the American people expect based on our past dialogue. You have now had quite the journey, you know, in and out

of law enforcement. What would you change if you could go back? What are the things that you look back at as an agent and say, man, that's where I didn't do the right thing or I didn't do it in the right way and I should have done that differently? Obviously, first and foremost, I wish I never would have sent the damn text that I did. I mean, that we would have had a better idea of what was going on with social media and the vulnerabilities that presented before we did.

We saw on the terrorism side that people like Anwar Al-A-Lal-A-Laki were using YouTube to really good effect in reaching into the homeland and radicalizing people without any sort of formal meetings. And while we appreciated that was a tough terrorism problem, none of us, not me, not anybody else said, wow, what if the Russians started using YouTube, Twitter, Facebook to start doing the same thing but instead of trying to recruit somebody to a terrorist organization? What if they were trying to use it to persuade people or plant disinformation? And of course thatthat's exactly what they did. So I wish we would have seen that sooner. I think we're getting up to speed now, but you know, that's the biggest thing that I'd point to.

Your book is really interesting. Your journey is one of the craziest in American history, and because there's still investigations and Donald Trump show. Trevor, great to be here. Thank you. When we come back, I'll be talking to the man, the myth, the legend, Samuel Al Jackson. Don't go away. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17. Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show. So earlier today, I spoke with legendary actor Samuel L. Jackson, who is producing an incredible new docure series on epics called Enslaved.

We talked about that and more. As I live in green. I actually cleaned up. Wow. I actually cleaned up. I looked like I was in hateful eight like About an hour ago You cleaned up for this interview? Of course Why would you do but it's corona time? I mean this is the one time where we don't care we just go like you know And but you know I the when I saw you at the Academy Awards and I was like why am I never on your show and you like oh, well, all right now? Now, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, 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, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I. the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th th th th th th th th th th th thee. th. th. th. th. th. have to look presentable. What? No, no, no, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait. Samuel L. Jackson, let's have this conversation again. The question you said was, when am I gonna be on your show?

I said, why have you never been on? You're now gonna make the public feel like I didn't have Samuel Jackson on my show, that is not how it happened. Samuel Jackson can't to invite me at least once a year so I could come in this day. I can't invite you when it's your home. You can come here anytime. Oh really? You could come in and just like say what you feel about the news that day in one sentence and leave.

I can't invite you to the show? Really? I could do that? Wait until I get back to New York. Oh man, welcome, welcome. I'm glad we're finally making it happen. I know we'll make it, we'll make it happen some more. Welcome to the show. Thanks so much. Yeah. Um, you are a bona fide legend, sir.

You are truly just the epitome of not just hard work, but I'm, but like, talent, paying off, inspiring people in every way, shape, or form................... th. to, to, to, to, th. to, to, to, th. the, to, th. to, th. th. th. to, th. th. th. to, th. Thank, to, to, th. Thanks, to, th. Thank, to, to, to, to, th. Thanks, th. Thanks, th. Thanks, to, th. Thanks, th. Thanks, th. Thanks, th. Thanks, th. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. th. th.. to, to, to, to, th.... to, to, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the the the the th. th. th. to, th. to, to, to, to, thr. to, to, to, to, to, to, the. the. thanks. Thank, thanks. Thanks. Thank, the. Thanks movies of all time. And I was shocked to find, I was shocked to find out, that you had never produced anything with your production company with your wife. And I was like, I couldn't believe that this docu series that we're talking about today was the first thing that you're producing. And I was like, man, it's a personal series. Tell me a little bit about it. When they came to me with the idea, it was about, you know, finding these ships

that had gone down, captured Africans on them that didn't make it. And you know, in my mind, I was like, okay, this is gonna be dope. You know, we get some divers, and maybe I can die with them, you know, and go down and we'll find skeletons with shackle still arm and stuff like that. And then combined with finding my ancestry and going into ancestry.com and finding out that I was tribally connected to the Binga tribe in Gabon. And there was a lot of the traffic that came through there uh... and what happened it was a way for me to reconnect with my identity in that particular way and to tell a story that we never talk about the people that didn't make it

and what happened and how those how those people still profited from those people that did not make it right they didn't make it to wherever they were going here, Brazil, or the West Indies to work, but they still get money from these people's bodies being stolen from this particular place. Right. And it was a chance for me to do something, which is so crazy in my mind when I think about it. When people would ask me had I been to Africa and I'd say, well, yeah, and they said, well, well, what, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, they, they were, they were, they were, they were, they were, they were, or, or, or, or, or, or, or, or, or, or, they they they were, they were, they were, they were, they were, they they were, they were, they they they were, they were, they were, they were, they were, they were, they were, they were, they were, they were, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, w, wa, they, they, they, they, they, they, they. they. they. they. they. they. they were they, they were they were mind when I think about it, when people would ask me had I been to Africa and I'd say, well yeah, and they said, well, what you been? I said, well, I've been in Cape Town, I've been in Johannesburg,

and I've been to Morocco, and Egypt, and they, oh, you haven't been to Africa. What's what you're talking about? You haven't been the rural Africa. So I'm, I I I I I I I, th you, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, what you're, what you're, what, what, what you're thin, that, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I's, I's, I'm, th. And, th. And, th. And, thi, I'm thi, thi, thi, thi, tha, tha, yeah, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, So I got to go to Gabon and hang out there. One thing I've never taken for granted when I talk to some of my friends, African Americans who say, man, Trevor, being stolen from your cultural identity is such a, you know, there's a piece that you don't even realize is missing in just the story that you tell yourself about yourself. I wonder what that was like for you going back to a place where you didn't only go, I'm from here, like my lineage is from here, but they said, no, you are a lost son of this tribe. What did that feel like for you? Wow. It was spiritually uplifting to connect with the tribe and to look down and see my relatives in a real sense of faces that I knew or, you know, and understand and to be welcomed by some people that looked at me in a different kind of way, like come home.

And I'm there with these people and I'm looking at them and they're so open, they're so welcome and the ceremony itself to participate in that and to look in these people's eyes and see that you know they really are, they're as proud of me leaving or what happened when I left as I am of being there with them and saying I've had to be back here and be fulfilled by what this actually means to connect with something that gives me a tangible connection to the continent. Occasionally a lot of times when we were shooting this thing, when people start asking you how you feel. Will you feel this way or do you feel that way? And it's like, I don't want you defining what I feel because sometimes it's survivors'

remorse. You know, that had that not happened, I wouldn't have reached this place that I reached here that allowed me to come back and tell this story. You know, what would have happened had I never, you know, had my ancestors never been taken from that place and I was brought here. So you feel a different kind of responsibility because you did achieve what you achieve despite what this country is. And you are able to come back and hopefully encourage or tell a story that makes somebody want to go and see it for themselves.

You are somebody who has not just created history but you've lived through history and and I really like that you say telling those stories, you know, reading through your story. I was amazed at how much you've lived through. Everyone focuses on your movies, but I look at the world that you've lived in. It's been like a movie. For instance, I didn't know that Samuel L. Jackson grew up with a stutter, you know? I didn't know that I didn't know that I didn't know that. I didn't know that I didn't know, and you correct me this wrong, I didn't know that sometimes you would use the word mother-fix to just like get your mouth moving.

Yeah, to just center myself and stop. You see, like, there's so many things about you that I didn't know. I didn't know, for instance, that you went to MLK's funeral after he was assassinated. And I didn't know that you were part of thrown, thiiii. part of those protests and a lot of who you are has been shaped by that time. When you look at those protests back then and you look at the protests that are happening now, and you look at the journey that black Americans and black America has been on for such a long time with its government, I wonder if you, if you've seen something that gives you a glimpse of hope. Well, there's an evolution of, you know, protests when you look at it. When I was a kid, I grew up in basically American apartheid.

I was in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and there were places I couldn't go. All my schoolmates were black. I didn't interact with white people unless I went downtown. And when the civil rights movement began or the sit-in started, my parents and grandparents were like terrified that I was going to go down there and get killed. I was too young to go anyway. But the time I got to college at Morehouse College in Atlanta, I started to meet and see and talk to people from SNC, from SCLC, and I can make a differentiation about which idea I like.

And all of a sudden I had an ideology and the war started so that was the anti-war protest. Right, right. But I didn't know anything about the war and the first Vietnam veterans I met were students. They had more how guys who had been in the war and they came back and they had hair like yours and we were like, I had these black fists that they had made out of the cords and they started talking about the war and what was happening. I had a cousin who was the same age as I was who went to the army and got killed. And all of a sudden the war was very real for me. So I was in the streets for that, the anti-war protest. And the things that

were going on, we understood them and we could watch the old protests when they stick dogs on people and hitting them with firehoses and all this stuff, people were going, wow, this is America and we were like, yeah, this is America. It's like us watching the apartheid, you know, protests. Right, right. And I met guys from South Africa came to Morehouse and they were at, they were my classmates. So we learned more about apartheid because we had a personal connection to talk to people about it. So we understood that, oh, it ain't just happening in us.

It's some worldwide shit happening here. I'm sorry. So all of a sudden it's like, okay, so we're brothers in arms and everybody trying to, you know, get free from these shackles that everybody's got on us that try to keep us down because they wanted, they want to keep the things. We started to understand that, you know, change, change doesn't happen without, you know, pain. And when I look at these kids today, I am so proud of them, number one. But what we need to understand and press on them is they're using your militancy to say to make the dominant culture afraid of you.

You are part of the dominant culture. So you need to go home and tell your parents, you know that you're not dangerous. So you have to convince your parents to go out and tell these other parents that no, they're not dangerous. They're just trying to assert themselves and make the world a better place for them because they're going to inherit it. And this is what they need, and this is what we need to do to support them. So they need to like, you know, I'm not saying pull it back. All I'm saying is get those other people to prop you up in another way. to. to. to to to to to to to th and to to th and to prop you up in another way. And don't forget to go vote. You gotta understand how a revolutionary and act voting is.

You can't just let their go, all that, I don't mean nothing. So we can go out here and do this. No, man, go vote. You know, you gotta get ready to do before you can change the place. Samuel Jackson, I appreciate you for taking the time to be on my show. Thank you so much, my friend. Look off to yourself. You know, I'm running, but you messed up when you said I can come over to any time and just say once. Any time. Taking you up on that.

You know, fish y'all, hey, please, go, go f-, but before we go, I wanted to remind you that there's less than two months until the elections and America is facing a nationwide poll worker shortage. Now, because most poll workers are over 60 and coronavirus is still in the air, they are understandably not showing up. But remember, fewer poll workers means fewer polling stations are open. It also means there's going to be longer lines that not everybody can afford to afford to afford to afford to afford to afford to to to to to to to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a the to be a to be a to be a the to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be, the the tooeck. tooeck. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, 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. I. I. I. theck. theck. theck. thean. thean. th. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. toe. th. thean. th. thean. to your polling stations are open. It also means there's going to be longer lines that not everybody can afford to stay and wait in. The good news is, though, most poll working is paid, and in some states you can be as young as 16 to do it.

So if you're interested and you have the time, this is your chance to save your granny, protect democracy and get paid Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show. thoo. to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change.

Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes a Second Look on Apple podcasts starting September 17.