The Daily Show: Ears Edition - President Biden's State of the Union Address | Stacey Abrams

Episode Date: March 3, 2022

Belarus's president appears to reveal Russia's war plans, Trevor recaps President Biden's 2022 State of the Union address, and Stacey Abrams discusses voting rights and her book "Level Up." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When did movies become like a day-long event? Can anybody tell me this? Why are movies? Like the new Batman is three hours? Guys, three hours. Now it's like, I'm in book thearitry now. Do you know what I mean?

The whole reason I went to the movies is because I didn't have time for the book. Now I'm just like the for the book. Now I'm in the movie, now I'm just like, yeah, okay, I guess this is the book, but now I'm stuck at the pace that the movie goes. Why are we making movies this long? What is it for? You know what I mean? Now it's like a documentary series? Now I'm just gonna watch the parts of Times Square in New York City, the only city in America. It's the Daily Show, Ears Edition.

Tonight, the State of the Union, the State of Ukraine, and Stacey Abrams. This is the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah, and joining me for today's headlines is our very own, Ronnie Chang! What's going on, Ronnie Chang? I've missed you, man. Hey, Trevor, good to see you. I, too, have been dismayed by recent events, namely Russia invading Ukraine, and I've been doing my part on social media.

Now I'm not trying to say I'm hero, but I've been asking this stupid bot on my Instagram comments to fuck off. And I think I may have single-handedly turned the tie to this war. So look, we're all in it together, it's not about me, but if you see me comment on the Instagram post, please like my comment. to their tho' thin' comment. I'm glad that you didn't make it about you like most people would, but really powerful. Thank you. All right, let's jump into today's headlines. We kicked things off with the latest from Ukraine, where despite fierce resistance from the Ukrainian people, Russian troops are now moving into major cities and advancing on the capital of Kiev.

And folks, there is really no hiding from this war. Russians have reportedly attacked hospitals, schools, and yesterday, Russian, Russian,, and, th th 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 thi tho tho tho thoom thoom thoom thoes. I thoes. I tho tho thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi th. I th. I th. I th. I thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the the the thoooooooooooo' the toe thoan. I thooan. I'm theeeean. I'm thoooooooooooo. I'm is really no hiding from this war. Russians have reportedly attacked hospitals, schools, and yesterday, Russian bombs even hit a Holocaust memorial. Which, I'm sorry, that is the final show. That goes to show how evil Putin is. Like the guys bombing Holocaust memorials, I don't even feel comfortable using a bathroom at a Holocaust memorial. It's too disrespectful. I'm just like, yeah, I'll find a Starbucks, it's fine.

And the fallout from the rest of the world continued today, as the United Nations approved a resolution demanding that Russia stop this war. But I mean, if we're honest, UN resolutions don't really mean shit to Russia. You know, the United Nations may as well have come out and made one of those imagined videos where everyone sings. It still wouldn't have done anything, but at least we would have laughed. And so if you're looking for for more bad news, you're clearly a sick person, but here it is. There's now a hint that this invasion may only be the first in a series. As the world wonders what Vladimir Putin's next move might be, his ally, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko,

his ally, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, may have given away the game Tuesday when he was pictured in front of a battle map that may have indicated plans for Moldova, which lies to the west of Ukraine. Lukashenko stood in front of a Ukrainian map detailing Russia's battle plan, which suggests moving troops from Odessa into neighboring Moldova. Okay, this is just crazy, man. There's a chance that Russia is planning tha thiiiiii thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi their thi thi their thi thi their thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, this is just crazy, man. There's a chance that Russia is planning to invade Moldova after Ukraine.

And what's even crazier is that we know this because this guy, the leader of Belarus and clearly the stepdad in every 80s porno, filmed himself giving away the plan. This is the plan. This is the plan. This is the plan. This can't be real life. You know, because this is what happens in the movies. You know how there's always like a henchman who's like, this is the master plan. We're going to, oh no, Mr. Bonn took a picture with his camera penis. Get him! I also feel bad for the intern who had to get that map. Yeah, they probably killed everyone in that King Cows to go. Well, actually, Trevor, I mean, right now we live in the age of misinformation. So we don't know what that is. We don't know if that's real.

We don't know if that's photos edited. We don't even know if Belarus is a real country. I mean, all we do know is that, I mean, that guy could be pointing to anything. Maybe, that's his Plus to Ukraine, you know, and the arrows are like the marketing forces. And, or maybe, I don't know, maybe that's a map of Middle Earth and he's pointing, he's telling Frauder where the volcano is so he can end everything, you know? We don't know, maybe it's an NFT. I'm just saying, even if we, even if we think that that is a map of Ukraine and that is his the th., thrion, thrion, thrion, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin his battle plans. Maybe he's the greatest double agent ever.

Maybe this is his way of leaking intel to the West without anyone figuring it out. So before we call this guy a dumb boomer, let's just figure out the facts first. You might be the most optimistic person I've ever met, that's my middle name. Ronnie Chang, positive and optimistic. All right, let's move on.

Spring is on its way in America, and you know what that means. Sunny days, flowers blooming, eating your weight in Claritin. But there's one spring tradition that is unfortunately getting cancelled. For the first time in more than a quarter century, Major League Baseball is canceling games over a labor dispute. The calendar dictates that we're not going to be able to play. The first two series of the regular season, and those games are officially canceled. That's 91 games so far. Economics are at the heart of it.

Major League Baseball saw revenues go from around 8 billion to nearly 11 billion right before the pandemic. Yet player salaries went down slightly for four straight years. And of the four major American sports, baseball has the lowest minimum salary at around 570,000. No, no, don't cancel the baseball games. How else will I get to spend? $45 on a hot dog.that's a little too dry? Ah ha ha ha ha!

The MLB is cancelling games because the players and the league cannot agree on who gets to share the money. Yes. And I'll be honest with you, I was shocked that baseball players minimum pay is less than all the other leagues. Especially considering that this sport brings in $11 billion. And yes, I know $570,000 is a lot of money. It is a lot of money. But when you think about it from the players point of view, think about how long a baseball game is. What does that $500,000 a hour? And by the way, please remember this. I know a lot lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot th of th of th of a lot a lot th of a lot th of a lot th of a lot th of a lot th of a lot th of a lot tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho 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 th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi thi thi theeeaa. thea. thea thea. theaa. thea thea thea thea. their thiiia. thi th 500,000 break down to? It's like what, $4 an hour? And by the way, please remember this. I know a lot of people go like, I hate the sport, but don't remember that when this happens, a lockout doesn't just affect the players. It affects

everyone who works in and around the game, like the people who work at the stadium, the people people who work just outside the stadium, right. It affects, it affects, it affects, it affects, it affects, it affects, it affects, it affects, it affects, it affects, it affects, it, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, 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, thi, thi, thi, that, that, that, that, that, thatea. that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, selling beer, the security guard who tackles the naked guys who run out onto the field. Yeah, in fact just to pay the bills, Mr. Met has already had to start an only fan's account. It's sad. So sexy. Everyone's being very alarmist about this. All right? Dude, this is America. As though they're going to stop baseball. It's going to come back. Of course it'm gonna find an agreement. Oh, what's alternative? They're just gonna never play baseball again? Of course it's gonna happen. This is like a it's like an on-court of Billy Joel concert. You know he's gonna play piano man Just come the fuck down. Just wait. There's no patience here in America. We love baseball. We don't like patience which is ironic because it's's talk about the movies. The only way to legally stay at Chris Evans for two and a half hours.

During the COVID pandemic, millions of people decided that going to movie theatres wasn't worth the risk. I mean, going to the movies was already a risk before COVID. You know, best case scenario, that sticky patch you were sitting in was soda. So with movie the the theaters losing ticket the movie the movie the movie the movie the movie the movie the movie the movie the movie movies the movie movies the movie movie movie movie movie movie movie movie movie movie the movie the movie movie movie the movie the movie movie. the movie. the movies, was the movies, was the movies, was the movies, was the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, the movies, was the movies, was the movies, was the movies, was the movies, was the movies, was the movies, was movies, was... COVID. You know, best case scenario, that sticky patch you were sitting in was soda. So with movie theaters losing ticket revenues during the pandemic, one major chain has come up with a really slick idea. They're going to charge more for the movies that people actually want to see. You may soon have to pay a little bit more to go to the movies. AMC has started testing a new pricing model, starting with higher prices for tickets for tickets for tickets for tickets for tickets for tickets for tickets for tickets for tick tickets for tick tickets for to to to tick tickets. to to to thea. thea. thea. to the to to the to to to to to the the the the to to to to to to the to 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 their. their. their. their. their. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. tea. tea. tea. tea. te. te. thea. thea. thea. model, starting with higher prices for tickets to the Batman.

AMC is trying out a variable pricing system, which means new movies will cost you more than older releases, playing at the very same location. Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. AMC is gonna make us pay more to see new movies? That's not fair. Oh, that's not fair, people. Because what are we going to do?

We're going to have to pay to see the Batman. Like, we can't not pay, otherwise, how are we ever going to know where he came from? Huh? There's no other way to know. Like, is one of his parents a bat and the other a man? This is the first opportunity we, to be honest, I don't know if this is the worst model, you know, I've always found it weird that you pay the same amount for old movies as you do for the latest releases, you know, so this is actually going to make sense. It's like it's like going back to the blockbuster rules. Yeah, and that business did

well, you know what I mean? But I will say, I'm worried that this is a slippery. Yeah, first they say they're just charging us extra for the new movies. Then they're going to say certain seats in the cinema are going to cost extra. Next thing you know, AMC won't let me bring in a big bowl of my favorite soup from home. What is happening to America, man? You're seeing this, Joe Byron? In fact, here's my counteroffer to AMC. If you want to charge us more for new movies, to to toers, we're going to start paying you in increments throughout the movie. Yeah, we can't just give you all the money up front.

We don't know if it's going to be shit. Every 15 minutes, we're just going to be like, all right, here's another five. I want to see what happens to that guy. Now after that'd be like, no, I'm thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thate. thate. thate. to to to to to to to just to just just just just thi. to just to just to just to just to just to just to just to just to just to just to just to just to just to just to just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just. to just. to to just. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. to thr. to to toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Yeah, you gotta entertain me the whole time. I'm sick of these movies that take 90 minutes to get going. And then they have like one scene that's dope. And yes, I'm talking to you, power of the dog. Wait, Trevor, you know how this dynamic pricing is gonna work. Like, they're gonna, for it. So easy solution, okay? Just keep the movies you want to watch, just keep talking about how much they suck. Then your phone will pick up on that. It'll get in the algorithm and then your movies will be cheaper like right now. Let's just start it right now.

Robert Patterson as Batman, that's gross. Bring back Ben Affleck. Also, everybody knows they don't get you on the ticket price, okay? The movie theaters get you on the snacks. They do. That's why I always keep some popcorn right in my taint, just in case I ever need to go watch a movie. They'll never get me on this. I even like to keep some snickers melted in there, just so it's sweet and salty. You know what I'm saying?

You want some? You know, that is one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen. You can't mix snickers with popcorn. You can't mix, it's like a different time. Don't knock it until you try it. What? I mean, it's like a little bit. There's more where that came from. Oh, that's tainty. That's nice. That's actually really good.

Oh man, I need to go to the movies with you more often. Any time, man. All right, we've got to take a quick break so me and Ronnie can eat some popcorn. When we come back, we'll recap Joe Biden's first ever State of the Union address. St Sta Sta St, the Stacey Abrams, is joining me right here on the show. You don't want to miss it. Don't eat it all by yourself, Ronnie, come on. No, I found some more. I found some more.

Yeah, don't eat it all by yourself. Come on. Welcome back to the daily show. to the the state's too. to to to to to the to the to the to to the the to the the the tooom. too. too. the too. the the the too. the the the the too. the too. the the the the too. to to the too. 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 th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th th the. the. th th th too. th too. too. too. too. too. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to p.m. It's also the one night a year where the president gives the country a status update about how things are going, which if we're honest, has always been a little bit weird to me, you know? It's like, why does it only happen once a year? You know, like you get more updates from your doggy daycare in one afternoon than you get from the president an entire year? That's a little weird. But whatever, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point is, the point, the point, the point, the point, the point is, the point, the the point is, the the the the the p. the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th, the th, th, th, th, th, th, 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,'s an important night, which is why everyone, everyone, from senators to Supreme Court justices, to military generals all show up.

Although this year was interesting because there were fewer people in attendance than normal, because some lawmakers didn't want to follow the COVID protocols. Yes, like Marco Rubio, who said, quote, he didn't have time to take a COVID test. And, and honestly, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, that, thi, that, that, that, that, that, 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, th, that's, th, that's, th, that's, th, th, that's, the that's, the the the the the the the the the the th, th, that's, th, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a threat, threat, the, that's a the the the the the't have time to take a COVID test. And honestly, I don't have time to take a COVID test is a brave stance for someone who's tweeed like 50 times in the last 24 hours.

To be honest, it's actually kind of relatable. You know, this is like when I say, I don't have time to make dinner, because I'm watching Tick-Tock. You've seen those otters? Oh, they're so cute. They'll kill you, but they're cute. But once everyone who had 40 seconds to take the test was seated, it was time for Joe Biden himself to enter the chamber and greet his guests. And I'm proud, ladies and gentlemen, to say that we at the Daily Show have exclusive footage of what he said these people as he walked to the podium. Is it emo? Or is it a vibe shift? Oh shit, I'm ringing at a time. Ah, I'll just wing it! I know, rough start.

But Biden recovered, people. Oh, he recovered. You see, Joe Biden launched into this speech that touched on everything. Russia, COVID, inflation, and so much more. Entering a chamber filled with yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, President Biden forcefully condemning Vladimir Putin. He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over.

Instead, he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined. He met the Ukrainian people. Ukraine's ambassador to the US receiving a standing ovation and an embrace from First Lady Jill Biden. The president also suggesting America is finally emerging from the pandemic. Stop looking at COVID as a partisan dividing line.

See it for what it is, a god-off disease. And despite a fast-growing economy, President Biden acknowledging, too many people are still feeling the pain of rising prices. Inflation is robbing them of gains they thought otherwise they would be able to feel. I get it. In one surprising moment of unity, the president trying to move his party to the middle, with a message on crime that even got some Republicans on their feet. The answer is not to defund the police,

is to fund the police. Fund them. Fund them. Yeah, you heard that right. Joe Biden said, fund the police. But I thought that was a Republican thing. I thought Democrats wanted to bulldoze police stations and replace them with community poetry centers.

Yeah, maybe, but not Joe Biden. People forget, I don't know why people forget this. For years, Joe Biden has been saying that he wants to invest more resources and training into the police. For years he's been saying this. The reason you probably might have missed it is because of how he speaks. We've got to police the funding and fund the funders, you know? Come on Jack, he's a fine Negro. Putting multiple speeches in one. I see what he's doing, saving time. So look, this was not a surprise from Joe Biden. And honestly, I'm

just glad he didn't get too swept up in that applause and go even further. Fund the police. All lives matter. thahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah. th. th. th. th. th. th. The th. th. th. th. th. The th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. th. th. th. this this this this is this is this is this is this is this is this is this is th. this is this is th. this is this is this is this this this this this this this this this this th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. the thee. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. theean. the. the. the and go even further. Fund the police! All lives matter! Let's go, Brandon! Wait, that was about me! But it is kind of crazy that nothing has really changed when it comes to the police, right? Just think about it for a moment. Like whether you want to defund the police or, or like Biden, spend even more money on reforming them, you've got to admit that neither of those those things have actually happened happened happened tha tha tha that happened thated thated thated thated that. that that. that. that. that. And that. And up last year. Yeah. So really, when you think about it, after all the marches and the protests and the national conversation, all we rarely got was Nancy Pelosi's Kente clothing line. But aside from policing and COVID and Ukraine, Biden also brought up a lot of policies last night that he wanted Congress to pass this year,

like letting Medicare negotiate the price of drugs and doubling clean energy production and raising taxes on corporations and strengthening voting rights, which are all great ideas that I can't wait for him to bring up again at next year's state of the union, because I mean if we're honest, none of that shit's going to pass through this Congress. But Biden himself was doing his thing man. He was giving his speech. He was in his elements. And Biden, being Biden, they were a bunch of moments in the speech that were just a little bit weirder than they had to be, you know? Like when he said this. If you get COVID-19, the Pfizer pill reduces your chances of ending up in the hospital

by 90%. I've ordered more pills than anyone in the world has. Okay, okay. I guess the party's at Joe Biden's house tonight. It'll be funny if he meant that he ordered all of those pills, but just for himself. If I get Corona, I'm all set. Good luck to the rest of you bitches. Oh, and then there was also this moment where Joe Biden was praising the people of Ukraine? Putin may circle Kiev with tanks, but it'll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people.

Technically true? It is technically true. Putin can do whatever he wants in Ukraine. Nothing will make the Iranians back down. You know, at times this speech was like a birthday card from a four-year-old. A lot of the words didn't make sense, but you got th....... But, th, but you th, you th, you th, you th, you th, you th, th, but you th, th, thi, thi, but you thi- thi- thi- thi-butt, but you thi-butt, but thi-butt, but thi-butt, but thi-butt, but thi-but, but thi-but, but thi-butt, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but thi, but th, but th, but th, but th, but th, but th, but th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi. thi. thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. thi. thi. thi. thi You know, at times, this speech was like a birthday card from a four-year-old. A lot of the words didn't make sense, but you got what it was trying to say. And a pound of Ukrainian people, proud, proud, proud, proud, pound, the pound for pound, ready to fight with every inch of earnage they have.

Proud, pound, pound. Wasn't a bad save, you have to admit. Wasn't the worst save in the world. Here's a question I have. Honest question, America. How come no politician in this country can ever just go, excuse me, and then correct themselves? Like, why do they just carry on as if it wasn't them? Trump did this all the time, too. They didn't mess up. This country was built on fandom. Freedom! A fandom, an idea of freedom.

And who's not a fan of freedom? Anyway, this country was built on freedom by a guy named fandom. I love fandom. And then, of course, there was the thing that Biden said right at the end of his speech, which wasn't a mistake, but left everybody confused. God protect our troops. Thank you. Go get him.

I'm sorry, God protect our troops, go get him, get who? Go get God? Go get God? Or the troops should get Putin? Go get him, who? What is that? What does Biden just randomly shout? Go get him sometimes.

I mean, it would explain why his dog kept attacking people. But honestly, the weirdest moments would like Biden just like doing these things. He's like, go get him. Go get him, go get him. Was it one singular? I don't know. I actually, I stand correct. Those weren't weren't weren't weren't weren't w weren't the we weren't the we weren't the weirdest w weren't the weirdest moments the weirdest moments weren't the weirdest moments the weirdest moments the weirdest moments the weirdest moments moments the weirdest moments moments moments. The weirdest moments didn't come from Biden. No, they came from the people who couldn't figure out

when to clap for Biden. Like this moment from Chuck Schumer. The American Rescue Plan helped working people and left no one behind. The American Rescue Plan helped working people and left no one behind. What hilarious, you see that? It's like he was like it was trying to rehearse his standing ovation, okay. and left no one behind. What's hilarious? You see that? It's like he was trying to rehearse his standing ovation, okay?

First the legs and then you put the hands. Okay, I think I got it, guys. I'm ready. Look, man, there's a simple rule in life. If you stand up in a speech at the time, you've just got then you walk out that building and straight into the ocean. You die like a man.

And if you thought that was really bad, then please tell me what the hell Nancy Pelosi was doing here. And our troops in Iraq have faced many dangers. One being stationed in baes breathing in toxic smoke from burn pits. Many of you have been there. I've been out of Iraq and Afghanistan over 40 times. What is that? What is that?

Looks like someone found all those pills Joe Biden ordered. Oh shit. Like her face, her hands, her body, it's such a weird like giddiness. You know what it looks like? It almost makes her look like a cartoon character that's floating towards an apple pie. Ooh, tasty. And I can't get over the hands. Like just let it go. It looks like she was playing like rock paper scissors with herself and then somehow just ended in a make-out sysh. Oh yeah you like that rocks don't the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that that that that that that that that that that that that that was that that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that that that that that that that that was that was that's that's that's that's that's that's that's 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 that that that that that that that th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. that's that's that's make-out session. Oh yeah, you like that, Rox, don't you? So that was basically the state of the union.

That was it in a nutshell, to be honest. I mean, according to Joe Biden, inflation is bad, but he will try to make it better. Drug prices are bad, but he will try to make it better. And I don't know who him is, but someone's someone's that's that's And you know what? That makes me... Just me? Okay. All right, when we come back, Stacey Abrams

will be joining me right here on the show, so don't go away. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is Voting Rights Activist and Entrepreneur Stacey Abrams. She's here to talk about her latest book and about running again for Governor of Georgia. Stacey Abrams, welcome back to the show.

Thanks for having me again. I don't even know where to start because every time I see you, I feel like you are doing more and more things. So let's start with the book, OK. Leaned. Very few people can say that they have run for governor and also is it a three times New York Times bestseller or four? Well forgive I mean it's counting four times four times

New York Times best I have an advocate. Am I am I living her? I love that. I love that. Like here's my first question maybe is that as like you do so well writing why why stress yourself with politics? I love writing but I also love people and people do better when they thi, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive thi, forgive thi, forgive thi, forgive thi, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive, thi, forgive, forgive, thi, forgive, thi, thi, I thi, I thi? I love writing, but I also love people. And people do better when they have good leadership. People do really well when they have leaders that like them. And so I want to be one of those people who actually likes people and wants to help them from the office of governor. Oh, okay. People feel that. Level up a book about essentially small businesses and how to grow them and the challenges that you face. You share you share. You share. You share. You share. You share. You share. You share. You share. You share. You share. People the the fact. People the fact. People the fact. People the fact. People the fact. People the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their that you face, you share the fact that you had businesses that failed. Most politicians will always just be like, no, that didn't fail, I pivoted.

It's the pivot. People love the pivot. One of the big things you learn about when reading the book is just how many small businesses fail. Now, I don't know if I'm in too much of an obsession with starting your own business in America. Like it feels like there's this thing, I don't know if it's attached to the American Dream, but it feels like everyone is told you have to start your own business. Is there a reason you chose to start your own business and not to just work in a field that was already, you know, a business that already exists. Oh, I like paychecks. I was a tax attorney and that was a nice paycheck and then I began what my mother has called my trajectory of downward economic mobility when I left there and became deputy city attorney for Atlanta. When I decided to run for office though, I couldn't, I didn't feel right staying in my job as a lawyer for the city when I was running for political office and so I left. And I became what I call a reluctant entrepreneur. I had to find a way to pay for my mortgage since I was going to leave my job.

And that's when I started my business. And for a lot of people, starting a small business isn't this Horatio Alger's story. It's not because they all want to be many moguls. It's often circumstance, a mom who needs to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to be to be to be to be to be to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a toaugh. toaq-aq-aq-s. toaq-s. toaq-s. toaicic, toaic, to make a living. And so she starts a business in her front, in her kitchen. Right, yeah. It's people who need opportunities. And so my mission is to say, regardless of why you start your small business,

here's what you need to know about it, because these are the things no one's gonna tell you. Shark Tank is not going to happen for most of us. So here's what we need to do. And that it it tho tho tho tho tho tho 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 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 the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. too. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. too. tooo. too. too. too. too. too. to do, and that it's going to be difficult. In Georgia right now, 99% of the businesses in Georgia are small businesses. Wow. 49% of the employees are employed by small businesses. And so if we don't understand small businesses, we're in a lot of trouble. And if we don't do our work to prop them up and to help them as they grow, and

more importantly, the very people we say we want to help in our economy. If you were to become the governor of Georgia, people are screaming as I say that and cheering right now. Well, thank you. If you were to become the governor of Georgia, what are some of the first steps you think you would take to help small businesses? If you're saying 99% of that marriage end between the

government helping a small business whilst also making a business a business? First thing we need to do is to expand Medicaid in Georgia, which sounds like a completely counterintuitive answer to the question you ask. It does. But Georgia spends billions of dollars in what's called uncompensated care. We pay for people who can't afford to to to to to to 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, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tombs, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, to, toguu. tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomthat is the fact that we have failed to take money that belongs to Georgians and reinvested in health care. But Medicaid expansion in Georgia will create 66 or 60,000 new jobs. When you expand Medicaid, you create small businesses. And it's an infusion of capital that comes from commerce, not from loans. Number two, we should teach young people how to start businesses. Even if they don't ever want to start one of their own

they should know what it looks like. And it should it makes them better employees. If you understand how business works then you understand why your boss who has two employees cannot pay you what your friend at Coca-Cola makes. And so it's creating that lexicon and that understanding. And the third is encouraging financial systems to actually loan money when you have to do that in communities that don't have it. After the Great Recession, black communities in particular lost banks and they never came back.

And so when the PPP loans came out, a good intention of government, the money went to places that we're not willing to lend to the very communities that need it. And as governor, I would pay attention to that. I would say, we need to use these black-owned banks or these Latino-owned banks, these community banks. We need to use those as depositories. So when money comes the next time, there's someone in the community who's ready to loan it.

Let's the time. You are running for a seat that in a state that has become, I mean, one of the lightning rods of American politics, Georgia. What's interesting about this race is the fact that Governor Kemp has put into place multiple restrictions on how people can vote, when people can vote. He's reduced the availability of voting for people. Republicans will argue the same thing. They will say, no, all we're trying to do is sure up, to do, the to do, the the, to do, the, to do, the, to do, the, to do, the, to do, the, to do, to do, the, the, to do, the, the, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, the, and, is, and, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, and, 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.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.s.a. to, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, toe.a.a.a. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. the toe. to. thing. They will say no, all we're trying to do is show up the vote, even though we agree there has been no widespread voter fraud. How do you begin tackling an issue like this where a, you are running, so you want to make it better for yourself slash fair for everybody, but how do you, how do you, how do you

find that balance of saying to people, listen, I'm trying to do this for everybody, and I know that I hope I will benefit, but you get what I'm saying, there's that paradox of the messaging that you're trying to get out? I reject the paradox. Voting, the process of voting is nonpartisan. Everyone should have access to the ability to vote. It should be accessible. There should be a freedom to vote. Any impediment to that is wrong. That's full stop. I don't care who you vote for. When I'm focusing on the voting

system, my focus should never be on who you cast your ballot for. Voting itself, the process is nonpartisan. Now when you get in there, I'm going to do everything in my power to convince you I'm the person to pick. But the fight for the right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right, the right, the right, the right, the right, the right, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, I, I'm, to, to, to, I, to to, I'm, to, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, and, I'm, and, and, I. to, I. to, I. to, I. to, and, I. to, and, and, I. to, and, I. to, and, and, and, and, and, I. to, and, and, I. to, and, and, and, and, I'm, and, and, and, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, fight for the right to vote is something that should cut across every demographic, every ideology, every community. We are a stronger nation when we allow people to participate. And if we ever doubted that, the war that Putin is waging against Ukraine, President Zelensky said, I'm going to paraphrase him and probably poorly, he said, this isn't a war on on democracy in Ukraine. When we allow democracy to be overtaken by those who want to choose who can be heard, and those choices are not based on anything other than animus or inconvenience, then that is wrong.

My mission is to make certain that everyone can cast like me show up, but that's campaigning, that's not voting rights. Yeah, before I let you go, I have to talk to you about the mask. Yes. Because I mean, I was on social media and then I see the picture with the mask, then the picture gets deleted. This is what I found interesting and maybe, you'll, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi, th. th. thi, th. th. that, that, that, th. That's not, th. That's not, th. That's not, th. th. That's, th. That's, th. That's, th. That's, th. That's, th. That's, th. That's, th. That's not, th. That's not, th. That's not, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I, th. I, th. I's not, th. I's not, th. I's not, th. that. that. th. that. th. th. that. thate. th. th. I's, th. It's like, it feels like with politicians, you have a team around you. Everyone's trying to figure out how to solve a crisis or fix a problem. People say ridiculous things, like God say, I was like, I hold my breath when I take the picture. I, and it creates this weird,

it creates a situation where people feel like leaders aren't following the rules, or people, you know, are punished differently from leaders, etc., etc. Why did you say, yeah, I messed up and that's that? And going forward, do you think you'd be able to maintain that without at the same time letting your enemies use that as your, you know, like, don't vote for Stacey Abrams, she messes up? My responsibility, in that instance, if I created any appearance that I did not take children's lives seriously, that's a mistake. But your job fundamentally is to acknowledge when you make a mistake and try to make it right. We have this narrative that we have invincible leaders. That's just not true. What we have are humans who want to do a job, and we have to hold them accountable for the job they do,

but we have to have grace when they make mistakes and trust that their intentions were right. But you can't trust someone's intentions if they never tell you what they were. Saying I'm sorry, saying I made a mistake is about being honest about your intention. I intended to do something, I did not quite do it. So let me tell you about the gap and let me tell you how I'm going to make me to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make to make the to make the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their I'm going the the the the the the the the their I'm going their I'm just I'm just gonna pivot. That's what I'm gonna do. All I think of when I read that says level up. It's the first like book I can dance to when I just read the title, level up, level up, level up, level up. Stacey Abrams, thank you for taking the time. Thank break, but we'll be right back after this. Well that's our show for tonight, but before we go, families in Ukraine are fleeing violence

and urgently need emergency aid. CARES immediate crisis response aims to reach 4 million people, prioritizing women and girls, families and the elderly. So if you can, please donate at the link below to rush urgently needed water, food, hygiene kits and ongoing support in Ukraine. Until tomorrow, stay safe out there, get your vaccine, and remember, if you miss baseball, don't forget all the little league games in your community that you can go to and get drunk there. Watch the Daily Show, week nights at 11 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus.

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