0:00

We the people In the audio town

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hall with Vice President Kamala Harris

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in conversation with Charlemagne the God,

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live from Detroit, Michigan and exclusively

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on iHeartRadio. We'll tackle

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the tough questions, the pressing issues,

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and the future of our nation. Now

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here's your house, Charlemagne the

0:19

God.

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Yes, peace of the planet. Charlamagne the God

0:22

here with Madame Vice President Kamala

0:25

Harris.

0:25

How are you very well, Charlemagne? How

0:27

are you doing?

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Listen? We got twenty days in sixty minutes, so we just need

0:30

to get to it.

0:30

I'm with you all. It was twenty one day.

0:32

How are you because you did just walk in.

0:34

You was kind of la well, I try to be

0:36

on time. Well apparently I'm forty

0:38

seconds late.

0:39

You're right, well, you are black. Now.

0:44

You know one thing they've been saying, a lot of your press hits

0:46

get criticized. You know, folks that you come off

0:48

as a very scripted. They say you like to

0:50

stick to your talking points, and some media says you

0:52

have.

0:52

That would be called disciplined.

0:54

Ooh, okay, okay.

0:57

Some people say you have an inability to

0:59

fearlessly say who you are and what you believe.

1:01

I know that's not true, But what do you say to that

1:03

criticism? And is it fair for s and now to make fun

1:05

of it?

1:06

Hasn't Maya Rudolph been wonderful? Yes,

1:09

I think I have nothing but admiration

1:12

for the comedy, and I think it's

1:14

important to be able to laugh at yourself and each other

1:17

in the spirit of obviously

1:19

comedy, and not belittling people

1:21

as my opponent would do.

1:23

But what do you say to people who say you stay

1:25

on the talking points?

1:27

I would say you're welcome. I

1:30

mean, listen, here's the thing. I

1:32

love having conversations, which is why I'm so happy

1:34

to be with you this afternoon. And

1:37

the reality is that there are certain

1:39

things that must be repeated to ensure

1:41

that I have everyone

1:44

know what I stand for and the issues

1:46

that I think are at stake in this election, and

1:48

so it requires repetition. You know, some people

1:50

say that until someone

1:53

has heard the same thing at least three times, it

1:55

just doesn't stay with you. So repetition

1:57

is important. And for that reason,

1:59

Yes, at my rallies, I

2:01

say the same thing when I go to Detroit, as

2:03

I do in Philly, as I do wherever I am. To

2:06

make sure that people here and receive

2:09

what I think are some of the most critical

2:11

issues that are at taking the selection.

2:13

There has to be a high level of anxiety

2:15

too when you have these conversations, though, because you are running

2:17

for president.

2:20

I mean, you know what, there is certainly a lot

2:22

of I feel the weight of

2:25

the moment and my role. I

2:28

feel an extraordinary weight

2:31

of responsibility right now to

2:34

do everything I can. I'm telling you, Charlemagne,

2:36

when I go to bed at night, I I almost

2:39

every night, in addition to

2:41

my prayers, will ask

2:43

have I done everything I could do?

2:45

Today?

2:47

This is a margin of era race.

2:50

It's tight. I'm going to win. I'm

2:53

going to win, but it's tight,

2:56

and you know, what is at stake

2:58

is truly profound

3:01

in historics, many would say, and

3:04

it's about you know, some people would say this lofty

3:06

notion of supporting and

3:09

preserving our democracy, but

3:11

it is about real issues

3:14

that affect people every day, like whether

3:16

we're going to maintain a thirty five dollars cap

3:18

on insulin for our seniors, whether we're

3:20

going to continue to allow Medicare to

3:22

negotiate drug prices to bring them down,

3:25

whether we are going to have as my opponent

3:27

would have a formalized stop

3:29

and frisk policy, for

3:32

which he has said if a police department does

3:34

not do it, they should be defunded or

3:37

not. There is so much

3:39

at stake, whether America is going to stand

3:41

on its principles around the importance of sovereignty

3:44

and territorial integrity and stand with our allies

3:46

around the world, or whether we're going to admire

3:48

dictators and send during the height of

3:50

COVID in the pandemic, COVID

3:53

tests that nobody could get to

3:56

the President of Russia for his personal

3:58

use, when black people were dying every day

4:01

by the hundreds during that time.

4:03

Yeah, I feel like that one has gone over

4:05

people's head, the fact that he was sending COVID test

4:07

to putin.

4:08

I mean, you know, I invite,

4:10

I don't your listeners, the people

4:12

we know the number of people who

4:15

lost their grandparents and

4:17

parents, remember what

4:19

that was like during the height of COVID and a lot

4:21

of it. People were scrambling for the resources

4:24

and needed tests. And Donald

4:26

Trump during that time secretly sent

4:29

COVID tests to the President of

4:32

Russia, who, by the way, do not forget

4:35

in the twenty sixteen election, because I was a member

4:37

of the Senate Intelligence Committee when

4:39

we investigated it targeted

4:41

black voters in twenty

4:43

sixteen with missing disinformation to

4:46

discourage black people from voting in

4:48

that election. And

4:52

this is just another of

4:54

the very many examples of who Donald

4:56

Trump really is and the

4:58

danger he presents. Yeah, real people.

5:01

Sending COVID test to Russia. That doesn't sound very

5:03

America first at all. But it's not

5:05

just you versus Trump, is U versus misinformation.

5:07

Yes, that's true, right, And one of the biggest pieces

5:11

of misinformation. One of the biggest allegations against

5:13

you is that you targeted and locked up thousands

5:15

of black men in San Francisco for

5:17

weed. Some say you did it to bus your careers, some say

5:19

you did it out of pure hate for black men. Please tell

5:22

us the facts. What's the facts of that situation.

5:23

It's just simply not true. And what public

5:26

defenders who are around those days

5:28

will tell you. I was the most progressive

5:31

prosecutor in California on

5:34

marijuana cases and would not

5:36

send people to jail for simple possession

5:38

of weed. And as Vice President,

5:41

have been a champion for bringing marijuana

5:44

down on the schedule so instead of it being ranked

5:46

up there with heroin. We bring it down,

5:48

and my pledge is, as president, I

5:50

will work on decriminalizing it because

5:52

I know exactly how

5:55

those laws have been used to disproportionately

5:57

impact certain populations

5:59

and specifically black men.

6:03

Before we get into the talk back feature

6:05

and take some questions from the audience, I do want

6:07

to talk to you about the legalization the weed, because you're saying

6:09

you want to legalize it. Now, what steps did the Biden

6:11

administration take to get closer to that reality?

6:14

So we had to work with the

6:17

DA and it's there's a

6:20

certain level of bureaucracy

6:22

that exists in the federal government that slows

6:24

things down. But essentially to

6:27

bring down how weed's

6:29

classified, how marijuana is classified,

6:32

to make it classified as a lesser

6:35

harm and so that took some

6:37

time. There's a whole process around that. But that's

6:39

the work that we have done, in addition to

6:42

work that we have done writ large on criminal

6:44

justice reform.

6:46

Okay, let's take some calls. Let's

6:48

take some when I call, let's go to the talkback feature.

6:50

My question for Kamala

6:53

is why are

6:55

we and I say we because my tax

6:57

dollars is sending the money. Why

7:00

are we sending money to other

7:02

countries when we desperately need in our

7:04

own country for homeless housing

7:08

resources for whatever.

7:10

That is my determining factor

7:13

if I vote were COMMA or not.

7:16

That's one of the reasons the America for US

7:18

rhetoric resonates because nobody in America would

7:20

complain about where money was going if American citizens

7:22

every day needs were being met. So

7:24

what do you say to.

7:25

That we can do it all?

7:27

And we do so. First

7:29

of all, I maintained

7:32

very strongly America should never pull ourselves

7:34

away from our responsibility

7:36

as a world leader, and

7:40

that is in the best interest of our national

7:42

security in each one of us as Americans,

7:45

and our standing in the world. That

7:48

being said, we also have

7:50

an obligation to American

7:52

citizens obviously and people who are

7:54

here to meet their everyday needs and challenges,

7:57

which is why, for example, we have

7:59

done the work in the last four

8:01

years of bringing down the cost of prescription

8:04

medication, whether it be thirty five dollars a month

8:06

for seniors for insulin or

8:08

two thousand dollars a year cap on

8:10

prescription medication. What we have done

8:13

that has been about putting seventeen billion

8:15

dollars in our HBCUs. I am

8:17

proud to be the first HBCU Vice

8:19

President of the United States. I intend to be the first

8:21

HBCU President of the United

8:24

States. Those resources are about sending

8:26

them to centers of academic excellence that

8:28

I know them to be. The work that I continue

8:31

to do is about increasing access

8:33

to capital for our small businesses.

8:35

It is about increasing the opportunity

8:38

for home ownership. Knowing that Black people

8:40

are forty percent less likely to be homeowners

8:43

in America. We have a history of

8:46

legal and procedural

8:48

obstacles to that home ownership, starting

8:50

with the fact nobody got forty acres in a mule,

8:53

to redlining, to issues that this

8:56

Detroit area and people around the country know to

8:58

be real. So part of my plan

9:00

is that we're going to give people a twenty five thousand

9:03

dollars down payment assistance to get

9:05

their foot in the door to buy a home

9:07

for first time home buyers. The work

9:09

that I'm going to do to increase housing supply

9:11

in America, knowing that that's one of the reasons

9:13

that rents and housing prices are

9:15

jacked up, and to work with the private

9:17

sector, cut through the red tape and

9:19

work to build more housing three million before

9:22

the end of my first term. And I give

9:24

these examples, and there are many more which I will

9:26

offer. So, for example, the work

9:28

that I will do to extend the child tax

9:30

credit to six thousand dollars for

9:33

young families during the first year of their child's

9:35

life. Because, as you and I both know, our

9:38

families all have a natural desire to parent

9:40

their children well, but not always the

9:42

resources. So by expanding

9:44

the child tax credit to the first year of child's life

9:46

to six thousand dollars, that gives that young

9:49

family the ability to buy a car seat,

9:51

or a crib or clothes,

9:53

the things that are so important during that critical

9:56

phase of that child's development, so

9:58

that they can get on the road and add actually

10:00

have a chance at succeeding.

10:02

You know, you said we can do it all, but can

10:04

we because you know Tupac famously said, you know, we got

10:06

money for war, but can't feed the

10:08

poor, right, And I saw President Obama say

10:10

last week that you know, you really

10:13

shouldn't expect, you know, a

10:15

president to rid the

10:18

world of all of its problems. So is

10:20

it fair to tell people, hey, we can do it all, Because that's

10:22

when people get disappointed when things don't happen.

10:24

But I think President Obama is

10:27

absolutely correct. But it doesn't

10:29

mean we can't do anything that's right. So

10:31

when I talk about extending the child tax

10:33

credit, as when I was Vice president, I pushed

10:36

that we would do it during our first year, and

10:38

we reduced child black child poverty in

10:40

America by fifty percent. We

10:42

did that. We can do that. My

10:45

plan that is about building up home

10:47

ownership in the black community, we

10:49

can do that. My work

10:51

that has been about increasing access to

10:53

capital, bringing billions more dollars into

10:55

our community banks, which I've done as Vice president

10:58

through cooperation and partnership with some of the big

11:00

banks and tech companies to get more

11:02

access to capital for our entrepreneurs,

11:04

for our businesses. We've done that. So

11:07

we should never sit back and say, Okay,

11:10

I'm not going to vote

11:12

because everything hasn't been

11:15

solved. I share a desire that everything should

11:17

be solved by the way I think it is what

11:19

we should all want, but

11:21

that that shouldn't stand

11:23

in the way of us. Also known we can participate

11:26

in a process that's about improving things.

11:28

And by voting in this election, you

11:31

have two choices, or you don't vote,

11:34

but you have two choices if you do. And

11:37

it's two very different visions for

11:39

our nation. One mind that is about

11:41

taking us forward and progress and

11:43

investing the American people, investing

11:46

in their ambitions, dealing with their

11:48

challenges. And the other Donald Trump,

11:50

is about taking us backward.

11:52

The other is about fascism.

11:54

Why can't we just say it, yes,

11:56

we can't say that.

11:58

A Reverend Solomon can Locke Jr.

12:00

I want you to meet him. He is the senior pastor of

12:03

Triumph Church.

12:04

Luck.

12:05

Oh, he's here on tell secret service, move out the way.

12:07

It's okay, it's just the reverend. All right, what's

12:10

up? Reverend?

12:11

Madam Vice President Charlemagne, thank

12:13

y'all for being in Detroit tonight.

12:15

Thank you.

12:16

Recently, a Madam Vice President

12:19

by one of Trump's surrogates

12:21

from the black faith based community, you've

12:24

been criticized by him and others for

12:26

your lack of engagement to the

12:28

Black church. Knowing that

12:30

the black church is an

12:33

unrivaled place in the heart

12:35

of black people.

12:37

What could you speak to.

12:38

As it relates to a future

12:41

a Harris administration, how you would

12:43

partner with the Black church to address

12:45

some of the urgent needs

12:47

of the black community. Doctor King talked about

12:50

a fierce urgency of right now

12:52

and as a church, Triumph Church is in that place.

12:54

So first of all, that

12:57

allegation, of course, is coming from the Trump

13:00

team because they are full of missing disinformation,

13:03

because they are trying to disconnect me

13:05

from the people I have worked with and that

13:08

I am from, so

13:11

that they can try and have some advantage in this election,

13:13

because otherwise they have nothing to run on. I

13:15

grew up in the black church I grew

13:17

up. I grew up attending

13:20

twenty third Avenue Church of God in Oakland,

13:22

California. Yes church, Yes,

13:24

that is church. My

13:27

pastor is Amos C. Brown, a third

13:29

Baptist church in San Francisco, California.

13:31

Yes, I have throughout my

13:33

career and as vice president and

13:36

recently been actively

13:39

engaged in the church and church leaders,

13:42

not only so we can share in

13:44

fellowship, but so we

13:47

can share in what we can do together.

13:49

That is about supporting the community, the

13:51

strength of the community, the cohesion

13:53

of the community, and it is my long

13:55

standing work and therefore my pledge

13:58

going forward, I will always closely

14:00

with the church because I understand who our

14:02

church leaders are and who the congregation is

14:05

we are talking about people who are

14:07

driven by faith and

14:10

the ability to see what is possible

14:13

by faith. Where I was raised

14:15

and I know many of us were understanding

14:18

that our God is a loving God, that

14:21

our faith propels us to

14:23

act in a way that is about kindness

14:25

and justice and mercy, that

14:28

is about lifting one another up. And

14:30

let's talk about the contrast here. Donald

14:33

Trump and his followers spend

14:35

full time trying to suggest that the measure

14:37

of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat

14:40

down, which is absolutely

14:42

contrary to the church. I know.

14:44

He sells bibles though, where our.

14:45

Church and my church is

14:48

about saying true leadership, the

14:50

measure of that is based on who you lift up

14:54

and right, and then he's selling sixty

14:56

dollars bibles

14:58

or tennis shoes as

15:01

and and trying to play people as

15:03

though that makes him more understanding

15:05

of the black community. Come on good

15:13

every day, all the time.

15:14

There you go to make sure you get that right. Now. Have

15:16

you seen the clip, Madam Vice President

15:19

from the Grill. It's it's a clip that's

15:21

kind of out of context and it says that

15:23

you won't do anything specifically for

15:25

black people. Have you seen that I've

15:27

not seen that. It's a clip that has you

15:30

saying that you're not going to do anything specifically

15:32

for black people.

15:33

Well, that's just not true. And

15:35

listen again, you said it at the beginning

15:38

of this visit Charlemagne.

15:40

One of the biggest challenges that I face

15:43

is missing disinformation, and

15:45

it's purposeful because

15:47

it is meant to

15:51

convince people that they

15:53

somehow should not believe

15:55

that the work that I have done has

15:58

has occurred and has meaning. My

16:00

work from the beginning

16:03

of my career through today has

16:05

been about, for example, we've talked about it,

16:07

whether it be on HBCUs, whether

16:09

it be on healthcare, black maternal mortality.

16:11

I am, singularly, many would say, one

16:14

of the highest level leaders in

16:16

our country to bring the issue black maternal

16:19

mortality to the stage of the White House

16:21

to address it. The work that I've done

16:23

that has been about focusing

16:26

on my knowledge

16:28

and my experience in my life, experience

16:30

of knowing the entrepreneurship

16:32

that we have in the community, the ambition, the

16:35

aspirations, the dreams, and then tapping

16:37

into that so that not only has my

16:39

work been about ensuring that

16:41

we have some of the lowest black unemployment

16:43

ever in our country. But

16:46

that also knowing that that should be

16:48

a baseline, that everybody has a job, and

16:51

what we should be invested in is also building

16:53

wealth in the community and intergenerational

16:55

wealth. And I have many, many examples

16:58

of that. But again, part

17:00

of the challenge that I face is

17:03

that they are trying

17:06

to scare people away

17:09

because they know they otherwise have nothing

17:11

to run on. Ask Donald Trump what his

17:13

plan is for Black America. Ask

17:15

him what you know. I'll

17:18

tell you what it is. Look at Project twenty twenty five.

17:20

Project twenty twenty five tells you The

17:23

plan includes making

17:26

police departments have stopping frisk policies.

17:28

The plan includes making

17:31

it more difficult for workers to receive

17:33

overtime pay. The plan includes

17:36

ending the ability of Medicare to negotiate

17:38

drug prices. You know what we have done, he

17:40

said he would. We did, which

17:42

means that that's how we brought down the cost

17:44

of prescription medication. His

17:47

plan includes making

17:50

it more difficult for working people to

17:52

get by and to destroy

17:55

our democracy. You know what he says he'll do, terminate

17:58

the Constitution in the United States. Let

18:00

me remind folks, you know what's

18:02

in the Constitution of United States, the Fourth Amendment,

18:05

which protects you against unreasonable searches

18:07

and seizures, the Fifth Amendment,

18:09

the Sixth Amendment, the fourteenth Amendment,

18:11

and he's going to terminate the Constitution of the United

18:13

States, which in most

18:16

of those amendments, one thing or another

18:18

was about a movement spurred by black

18:20

people to ensure that we would be equally protected

18:23

under the law.

18:24

Come on, let's take a question

18:26

from talking about HI.

18:27

My name is Joshua Fisher, aged thirty one years

18:30

old, African American male from Las Vegas,

18:32

Nevada. I'd like to ask Madam Vice

18:34

President what laws does she have planned to

18:36

make sure that there's a stop to police brutality

18:39

and murders that have been going on viciously.

18:43

So again, the work that I have done through

18:45

my career and the most recently, even when I

18:47

was in the United States Senate to help write

18:50

the George Floyd Justice and Policing

18:52

Act, Cory Booker

18:54

and I work very closely on that.

18:55

Could you tell people why that didn't pass? To get folks

18:57

a quick civic.

18:58

Plus, we couldn't get the votes in Congress.

19:02

There's a clip somewhere of me fighting

19:06

with a

19:08

Republican Center senator to

19:10

actually write to

19:13

actually get it passed. We couldn't

19:15

get it passed. But what we did

19:17

when we came in office and during

19:19

the time that I've been Vice president, is we passed

19:22

an executive order. So whereas

19:24

we were trying and I have been trying to make

19:26

these things national so that everyone would

19:29

have to do it, an executive order by

19:31

the President in our administration says that for

19:33

federal law enforcement, the following

19:35

things have to happen, which we for the first time put

19:37

in place no knock warrants,

19:40

barring chokeholds, a national

19:42

database. Now it's for federal law enforcement, but

19:45

a national database for

19:47

us to collect information and track

19:50

police officers who have broken the law.

19:52

And this is no small issue, this piece in addition

19:55

everything else, because as we know, we've seen

19:57

plenty of examples of a

20:00

police officer who committed misconduct and one

20:02

jurisdiction and then goes to another jurisdiction

20:04

and gets hired because there's

20:06

no place that's tracking their misconduct.

20:10

So these are the sum of the things that we've done. And then

20:12

listen, I'm still going to always work on getting

20:14

the Judge George Floyd Justice and Policing

20:16

Act.

20:16

PACK.

20:17

Part of the work that I'm doing as a candidate for

20:19

President of the United States includes lifting up

20:22

those candidates who are running either for reelection

20:24

or for the first time to Congress,

20:27

who are supportive of what we need

20:29

to do on all of the issues we've been discussing,

20:32

whether it be freedom to vote

20:35

in passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement

20:37

Act, whether it be freedom to

20:39

make decisions about your own body, whether

20:42

it be the freedom to just be and be free

20:44

from any brutality, including police

20:46

brutality when and where it occurs.

20:48

I think a lot of the frustration comes from people

20:51

who will say, sometimes politicians

20:53

volunteer lives because you know, yes, it's

20:56

great to try to pass the George Floyd Policing Act, but

20:58

you probably know you can't get the vote. So why

21:00

push that? Why push that on people?

21:03

I don't I don't subscribe to that approach,

21:05

And I'm going to tell you why. Look,

21:07

it took a long time for the Voting

21:10

Rights Act to get done. It

21:12

took you know, it took the brutality

21:15

of of of what happened when

21:17

when John Lewis and all those were trying

21:19

to cross the Edmund Pettis

21:21

Bridge. It took it

21:24

took a lot of work over our

21:26

history to do what we have accomplished

21:28

thus far, and we

21:31

have to remain committed.

21:32

How do you convince Republican centers, as you

21:34

just said, but.

21:37

But well, part of it is that their

21:39

constituents are part of this. I mean,

21:41

we have plenty of folks who want this, who live

21:43

in districts where they serve.

21:46

And this is the point. This gets back to the

21:48

earlier point about you can't let anybody

21:51

take you out of the game by not voting. You

21:54

got the solutions,

21:57

And maybe this is the point you're making about what President

21:59

Obama's The solutions are

22:01

not going to happen just overnight,

22:04

and the solutions that we all want

22:06

are not going to happen in totality because

22:09

of one election. But here's the

22:11

thing. The things that we want and

22:13

are prepared to fight for won't happen if

22:15

we're not active, and if we don't participate,

22:18

we cannot allow circumstances

22:21

to take us out the game. Because then basically

22:23

what we're saying is all those people who are obstructionists

22:26

who are standing in the way of change. They're winning

22:29

because they're convincing people

22:33

that it can't be done. So take yourself

22:35

out, don't participate. Look

22:37

at that circle, look at that

22:39

vicious circle then, so

22:42

let's not fall for it.

22:45

Zeke. This is my man, is Zeke. He's the president

22:47

and CEO of New Era Detroit. He

22:49

wants to talk to you about your blackmail agenda

22:52

for the black community, just your agenda for the black community

22:54

period. Zeke, what's up? Brother? What

22:57

up?

22:57

Do?

22:57

What up do?

22:59

Madam Vice Prayerident Charlotte Magne the God what

23:02

up? Don't Welcome to Detroit. I

23:04

like to say the real Detroit because I'm up in here. My

23:09

name is Zeke Newer,

23:12

founder and CEO. I've

23:15

worked on the ground here in Detroit and

23:17

the black communities all across the country

23:19

for over the past ten years. Actually celebrating our

23:22

tenth year this past August.

23:25

In my ten years of organizing,

23:28

we played a major role in the resurgence

23:30

of pride and the change of mindset

23:33

in Detroit neighborhoods across the city. We

23:36

are not only known for the work that we do here in Detroit,

23:38

but across the country and black communities.

23:41

I'm having worked in over thirty five cities of

23:43

the blackest cities in America. I'm

23:46

saying all that to say I'm extremely

23:49

qualified to sit in front of

23:51

the current vice president and which can

23:53

be the next president of the United States of

23:55

America. As I opposed

23:57

my question to you, I would first like to make

24:00

it known that I don't have any emotional

24:02

connections to politicians. I believe

24:04

that this is one of our biggest flaws in

24:06

the current political process. I

24:09

view politics as a business,

24:11

and America is one of the biggest corporations

24:13

in the world. With that being said,

24:15

I'm here on behalf of the business

24:17

of the black community. With

24:20

all that Black Americans have been through and

24:22

contribute to the success of

24:24

America, I feel that there should be an

24:27

in depth investigation or evaluation

24:30

of the lack of resources and current living

24:32

conditions in black communities nationwide.

24:36

My caution to you is what's your

24:38

stance on reparations. We all

24:41

know that America became great,

24:44

you know, off the backs of free black labor.

24:48

How progressive are you on making

24:50

it a priority and right in America's

24:52

wrongs. It's

24:55

understood that you are running for president

24:57

for all people of America, asking

24:59

for specifics for black

25:01

communities, doesn't mean don't

25:04

do for others. But Black Americans

25:06

are heavily asked to vote Democrat in

25:08

every election for over half a century,

25:11

with very little in return. What are

25:13

your plans to address these

25:15

very important issues and change that narrative?

25:19

Make you, Zeke?

25:20

I appreciate that, thank you, and thank you for your

25:22

work. So to

25:24

your point, yes,

25:26

I am running to be a president for all Americans.

25:29

That being said, I do have

25:32

clear eyes about

25:34

the disparities that exist and

25:37

the context in which they exist, meaning

25:39

history. To your point, so

25:42

my agenda, well, first of all, on the

25:45

point of reparations, it has to be studied, There's

25:47

no question about that, and I've been very

25:49

clear about that position. In

25:51

terms of my immediate plan, I

25:53

will tell you a few of the following one

25:56

as it relates to the economy, which is a lot

25:58

of what you have addressed. Look,

26:01

I grew up in the middle class.

26:04

My mother, you know, worked hard, raised me and

26:06

my sister, and by the time

26:08

I was in high school, she was able to afford our

26:10

first home. I know what

26:12

it means for an individual and a family

26:15

to have home ownership. I also know in

26:17

the context of history. Nobody got forty

26:19

acres and a mule. We

26:21

have a history of a number of things,

26:24

including redlining. Detroit knows

26:26

it well, a history

26:28

of, for example, something that still exists that I've

26:30

worked on to address, which is racial bias

26:32

and home appraisals. And we

26:34

know home ownership is Black

26:37

families are forty percent less likely to

26:39

be homeowners than others, and

26:42

that home ownership is one of the surest

26:44

ways to build intergenerational wealth. Right

26:46

because when you own a home, that's when if your child

26:48

says, Daddy, I want to go to college,

26:51

you can say, sweetheart, don't have to take out a loan. I'll

26:53

take some equity out of the house. Or if your child says

26:55

I want to start a same a small business, same

26:57

point. Right. So my

27:00

includes making sure

27:02

that for first time home buyers they

27:04

have a twenty five thousand dollars down

27:06

payment assistance to just get

27:08

their foot in the door, because we know folks will

27:10

work hard, they'll save and pay that

27:13

monthly mortgage. Second point is

27:15

to bring down the cost

27:17

of housing generally, because one of the issues

27:19

is we have a housing supply shortage, and so that's

27:21

about working with the private section in

27:24

terms of our small

27:26

businesses, which are part of the backbone

27:28

of the economy of the Black community and part

27:30

of the backbone of America's economy. Writ large.

27:34

My second mother, woman who helped

27:36

raise us, was a small business owner. I know

27:38

who our small business owners are, and I have

27:40

convened black small business owners way

27:43

before I was running for president in

27:45

my official office at the White House, to

27:48

talk with young entrepreneurs, mostly young

27:50

about the work that they are doing that is

27:52

about clean energy, work,

27:55

technology, as well as the traditional

27:58

you know, whether it be a barbershop or arrest. One

28:01

of the big issues facing black entrepreneurs

28:03

and black small businesses is access to capital.

28:06

Because unlike my opponent who got handed

28:08

four hundred million dollars on a silver platter

28:10

and then file bankruptcy six times, don't forget

28:13

that calls himself a businessman, not

28:16

everybody has access to the

28:18

capital they But we know in

28:20

the community we do not lack for ambition,

28:23

aspirations, dreams, hard work,

28:25

ethic and so my work

28:28

has been as vice president to increase

28:31

billions of dollars into community banks,

28:33

and as vice president, part

28:36

of that work will also be to

28:38

change the tax deduction for startup

28:40

small businesses from five thousand dollars to fifty

28:42

thousand dollars because nobody

28:45

can start a small business on five thousand dollars,

28:47

and if you don't otherwise have intergenerational

28:49

wealth, how are you going to be able to do it? Second

28:52

point on small business is this I'm

28:54

going to do. Basically, it's a program

28:57

that is about a twenty thousand dollars

29:00

unrefundable loan to

29:03

a certain to basically businesses

29:06

that don't have access to wealth and don't have

29:08

those relationships, which is going

29:10

to directly impact a lot of small, black

29:13

owned small businesses. That twenty thousand

29:15

dollars non refundable loan is

29:18

what would help somebody if they need to

29:20

buy equipment, right if they need to buy

29:22

an extra chalk, depending on what that business

29:24

is, which we know that's a big part

29:26

of what holds back our small businesses, just

29:29

having enough capital to actually

29:31

pay for the things that allow you to then put

29:33

your hard work into play to actually

29:36

grow your business. The other piece,

29:38

and this is something that is critically important,

29:41

is to see black

29:44

folks and in particular black men, as a whole

29:46

human being and understand

29:49

that we are talking about sons. We are talking

29:51

about fathers, we are talking about grandsons, we're

29:53

talking about grandparents, we're talking about uncles.

29:56

And so I say that

29:58

as a preface to say to other things, and then I'll

30:01

keep going one

30:03

to deal with. I mean you

30:06

like that, you got that. To

30:10

deal with health care

30:12

for black people and black men in particular, we

30:15

know that we still have a lot of work to do to

30:17

increase, for example, the high risks

30:19

that we have for calling

30:22

cancer for prostate cancer right,

30:25

and to increase screenings and to make

30:27

sure that people are actually going to get the screenings,

30:30

not to mention the higher risk

30:32

for sickle cell. So part of

30:34

my agenda is about what we will do

30:36

to deal with and highlight

30:39

what we've got to do to focus on black men's

30:41

health. And then a

30:44

similar point is this of

30:47

caregivers are men, and

30:50

we know culturally we take care

30:53

of our elders, and we have

30:55

a lot of men in the community who are in the Sandwich

30:57

generation who are trying to take care of their

30:59

young kink kids and take care of an elder parent

31:02

or relative. And it's

31:05

overwhelming for people to be able to do both,

31:07

and a lot of people have to end up thinking about leaving their

31:09

job to just do it. So my plan

31:11

is this one. In order for

31:13

people to then afford assistance for

31:16

hiring health care home health care, they

31:19

basically have to go broke to

31:22

be eligible for Medicaid. My

31:25

plan is this, let's have Medicare,

31:28

and this is I've mapped it out and we

31:30

can make it work. Medicare cover

31:32

the cost of home health

31:35

care for seniors, which

31:37

means that you are looking at individuals

31:39

in the context of their whole family. Because

31:41

what we know is again understanding

31:44

culture, understanding the reality lots

31:46

of people are having to leave work in order

31:48

to do that. So these are some examples

31:51

of my agenda, and overall,

31:54

it is an agenda that understands, by the way,

31:56

because we've talked already a lot about criminal

31:58

justice, that the needs of

32:00

the black community are not just about criminal

32:03

justice.

32:03

We need that money.

32:04

It's about yeah, because here's the thing.

32:06

We have brought down black

32:09

unemployment. I said this earlier to the one of the

32:11

lowest levels in history. But I'm

32:13

very clear the community is

32:15

not going to stand up in applaud just because everybody

32:18

has a job. That should be a baseline.

32:21

My agenda is about tapping into the ambitions

32:24

and the aspirations, knowing that

32:26

folks want to have an opportunity.

32:29

If they want, they should have a meaningful

32:31

opportunity to build wealth, including

32:34

intergenerational wealth, and

32:36

that's my agenda.

32:37

You know a couple of things that you said, appreciate

32:40

you, thank you, thank you. Think there were a couple of things that you said

32:42

that people would say, we're talking points, but

32:44

it's really just your story, even though they are becoming

32:46

your greatest hits when you talk about the middle

32:48

class and your godmother being

32:50

a small business owner. But that's just your

32:53

story.

32:53

It's my story. Look, I've been

32:55

in this race seventy days. Some people are just getting

32:58

to know me. Other people have known me, and

33:00

I owe it. Listen. I feel very strongly

33:03

I need to earn every vote, which is why

33:05

I'm here having this candid conversation with you and your

33:07

listeners. I

33:09

have to earn people's support

33:12

and I am working to do that.

33:14

Before we go to another talk back call, I want to say they

33:17

were the time I had a politician tell me once that if

33:19

you're running for a national election, it's

33:21

bad electoral strategy to say you are

33:23

going to do things specifically for black

33:25

people, which is why a lot of politicians don't

33:28

speak directly to their plans for black people.

33:30

Is that a thing?

33:33

I don't know that that's true. I think that what

33:36

is true is that I am running

33:39

to be a president for everybody. But

33:41

I am clear eight about the history

33:44

and the disparities that exist for specific

33:46

communities, and I'm not going to shy away from

33:48

that. It doesn't mean that my policies aren't

33:50

going to benefit everybody, because they are. Everything I just

33:52

talked about will benefit everybody. Small

33:55

business owners, whatever their race,

33:57

their age, their gender, their

33:59

geographic location, are going to benefit from

34:01

the fact that I'm going to extend tax deductions

34:03

to fifty thousand dollars. Every first

34:05

time homeowner, wherever they are, whatever

34:08

their race, will benefit. If they are a first time

34:10

home buyer with a twenty five thousand dollars

34:12

down payment of sixes. Everyone is going

34:14

to benefit from my plan to extend

34:17

the child tax credit to six thousand dollars

34:19

for the first year of their child's life. That's going to benefit

34:21

everybody. But I do realize again

34:24

that on the issue of home ownership, for example, black

34:26

people are forty percent less likely to own a home.

34:29

So do you you know, do

34:32

you feel like President Obama stepped on your roll out because

34:34

I know you've been working on this blackmail agenda for

34:37

a long time and you've been doing the outreach,

34:39

you know, which was the Opportunity Economy

34:41

tour and things like that. But then he made the statements

34:43

that he made last week. So everybody thinks this is a reaction

34:46

to that.

34:47

Oh no, no, no, no, I mean you just have

34:49

to no, obviously not. I've been doing this

34:52

for quite some time, including before I was running

34:54

for president.

34:55

Let's go to talk about Geddy.

34:56

Hi.

34:57

I'm Bobby from Georgia and I have a question

34:59

for Kabl Harris. Could you please

35:01

respond to Trump's claim that he's going

35:03

to use the Alien Enemies

35:06

Act of seventeen ninety eight to

35:08

round up immigrants if he

35:10

wins the election. This law

35:12

was last used to put Asian Americans

35:15

in internment camps during World War Two, and

35:17

I have a sneaking suspicion that if Trump

35:19

wins, He's going to use this law to put anyone

35:23

that doesn't look white in

35:25

camps.

35:25

And I'm scared.

35:29

Yeah, So you've hit

35:31

on a really important

35:33

point and expressed it, I think so well,

35:36

which is he is achieving

35:38

his intended effect to make you scared.

35:42

He is running full time on a campaign

35:44

that is about instilling fear, not

35:47

about hope, not about optimism,

35:51

not about the future, but about

35:53

fear. And so this is yet another

35:56

example. Look what he did and saying

35:58

that those legal imgrants in

36:01

Springfield, Ohio were

36:04

eating their pets. He

36:08

and by the way, the hypocrisy of it abounds

36:10

because on the issue of immigration, let's

36:13

be clear, some

36:16

of the most conservative members of

36:18

the United States Congress, working with others,

36:21

came up with a border security bill which was

36:23

the strongest toughest border security bill

36:25

in a long long time. It

36:27

would have put fifteen hundred more border agents

36:29

at the border. It would have reduced

36:32

the flow of fentanyl into our country, which is

36:34

killing people all over our country

36:36

of every race and background. It

36:38

would have allowed us to do more work on prosecuting

36:40

transnational criminal organizations, which I have done

36:42

in my career. Trump got

36:45

word that that bill was afoot,

36:47

knew it would fix a problem, and told

36:49

his buddies in Congress to kill the

36:51

bill. And you know why, because he would prefer to run on

36:53

a problem instead of fixing a problem, and he's

36:56

running his campaign in a way that he does these

36:58

rallies where people by the way, and

37:01

does these rallies to

37:03

try and and still fear around

37:06

an issue where he actually

37:09

could be part of a solution, but he chose

37:11

not to because he prefers to run on a problem

37:14

instead of fix a problem. And we've got to call

37:16

it out and see it for what it is.

37:17

But doesn't the Biden administration have to take some blame

37:20

for the border though a lot of the blame, because I

37:22

mean, the first three years, y'all did get a lot of things wrong

37:24

with the border.

37:25

Charlemagne, within hours

37:28

of being inaugurated, the first

37:30

bill we passed, before we did the Inflation Reduction

37:32

Act, before we did the bipart is An

37:34

Infrastructure Act, before we did the Safer

37:37

Communities Act to deal with gun violence, first

37:40

thing we dropped was a bill

37:42

to fix the broken immigration

37:45

system, which by the way, Trump

37:47

did not fix when he was president, and

37:50

you can look at every step along the

37:52

way. We then tightened up the asylum

37:55

application process. We then

37:57

worked with what we needed to do to secure

38:00

ports of entry. We did a number of things,

38:02

including what we did to

38:05

try and get that border security bill

38:07

passed, and then also

38:09

an executive order that has actually

38:11

reduced significantly the number of illegal

38:15

crossings and tightened up what

38:17

needs to happen in between ports of entry. But

38:20

no, we've been working on it ever since. But

38:23

but here's here's here's what

38:25

what has to happen. Congress

38:28

has to act to fix the immigration system,

38:30

and it has been broken for a long time.

38:33

Congress has to act. But it does not

38:35

help. When finally a bipartisan

38:37

group got together to fix it and

38:40

Donald Trump told them, hold on, don't

38:43

do that because it won't It won't

38:45

help me politically.

38:48

Why do you allow him to call you the borders are when that's

38:51

not even your.

38:52

I'm not giving him permission for that, But.

38:56

I mean, you don't push back on it because that wasn't you. That's

38:58

not that wasn't your role.

38:59

With fact checkers have made

39:01

that clear. Look, if I responded to every name

39:03

he called me, I wouldn't be

39:05

focused on the things that actually helped the American people.

39:07

And that's my focus.

39:08

That is true. Before we go to talk about

39:11

I want to say something else. I don't feel like the Biden administration

39:13

has treated Trump like a real threat

39:15

to democracy. And that's why America doesn't realize

39:17

how much of a threat he is. It's one thing to say it,

39:19

but you have to act on it. Don't you believe Merrick Garland

39:22

should have moved faster to put Donald Trump

39:24

in prison for leading an attempt to cool his country.

39:27

The Department Justice, it

39:29

has independence in terms of how they make those decisions,

39:33

as they should. And let's

39:35

also be very clear, don no,

39:38

well, no, Donald Trump has been very

39:40

clear that he would weaponize the Department

39:42

of Justice against his political lanemies. He has

39:44

been very clear that he would take out the

39:47

independent folks who are in there and put in there

39:49

instead his loyalists. So

39:52

I understand again you talk about because this brings

39:54

it back to exactly your point about threats to our

39:57

democracy. Donald Donald

39:59

Trump would go into

40:02

the Department of Justice and manipulate

40:04

it in such a way that it

40:06

would be used as a weapon against his

40:08

political enemies.

40:10

Yeah, he's gonna lock y'all up if he gets back and over.

40:12

Well, by the way he's gonna you should

40:14

look at his words. I don't think that you, as a

40:16

journalist should feel so

40:19

so about

40:21

the journalists judges others,

40:24

And you know who does that. Dictators

40:26

do that, Other countries

40:28

do that, Which is say that

40:30

you're gonna send as he has the military

40:34

to go and and suppress peaceful

40:36

protesters. That happens

40:38

in other countries. That's not supposed

40:40

to happen in America. So do

40:43

understand when this man says what he says,

40:45

how that would play out in real time?

40:49

So why is it okay for him to say he'll

40:51

lock up his political opponents,

40:54

but it's not okay for y'all to say

40:56

he should be in prison when he's actually committed crimes.

40:59

Oh, I have been very clear. I think that

41:01

the court should handle

41:04

that, and I'm gonna handle

41:06

November.

41:08

The court should handle that. Okay, let's go to talkback,

41:10

Eddie. What'll we got.

41:12

Our men and women in the military are sent

41:14

to foreign countries to fight for their

41:16

freedom, win or lose. Donald

41:19

Trump has promised to

41:21

seek revenge. My question

41:24

is will our military be there

41:26

to fight for our freedom after

41:28

the election? Should Trump start

41:31

another insurrection?

41:35

Well, you raise a profound point that is

41:38

very much a part

41:40

of this election cycle in terms of what the American

41:43

people have a choice right now. So

41:46

January sixth, Donald

41:49

Trump incited a violent mob

41:53

to try and undo the

41:56

will of the people and undo the

41:58

results of a free and fair election. That

42:00

violent mom attacked the United States

42:02

Capital. Over one hundred and forty law enforcement

42:05

officers were injured, some of them were

42:07

killed, and

42:09

he has said since then that there

42:11

will be a bloodbath after this election. He

42:15

has, on your point about the military,

42:18

referred to members of our military as

42:20

suckers and losers, which

42:23

is why, by the way, do see

42:26

the number of military leaders

42:28

who worked under his administration who are supporting

42:31

me. And I will point

42:33

out what everyone knows, which is

42:35

that the people who worked the

42:37

closest with Donald Trump when he was president, worked

42:39

with him in the oval office, saw him at play

42:42

in the situation room. His chief

42:44

of staff, two secretaries of Defense,

42:46

is national security advisor, and his former

42:49

vice president have all said he

42:51

is dangerous and unfit to

42:53

serve. Mark Milly, the

42:55

former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

42:58

most recently articulated

43:00

exactly that point. And

43:03

again, you know, here's Charlemagne.

43:05

One of the things that I think is really ironic,

43:08

but at play Donald

43:10

Trump, through his

43:13

his his way

43:15

of trying to name call and

43:17

demean and divide,

43:20

tries to project as though those

43:23

things are a sign of strength, when

43:25

in fact the man is really quite weak. He's

43:28

weak. It's a sign

43:30

of weakness that you want to please

43:32

dictators and seek their

43:35

flattery and favor. It's a

43:37

sign of weakness that you

43:39

would demean America's military and

43:42

America's service members. It's

43:44

a sign of weakness that

43:46

you don't have the courage to

43:49

stand up for the Constitution of the United States

43:51

and the principles upon which it stands.

43:54

This man is weak and he is unfit.

43:57

So why is everybody sitting around acting like Donald Trump

43:59

isn't going to a plan to steal this election if

44:01

you lose, like, you know, Republican officials won't

44:03

certify the results of the election. We know is Donald

44:06

Trump Supreme Court? Why are people acting like this

44:08

is going to be a free in fair election and

44:10

he won't try to steal it.

44:12

Well, but those are two different points, Okay, So

44:14

it will be a free and fair election if

44:16

we the American people stand up for that. You

44:20

know, I see it as this. I think that their

44:23

democracy has its like two

44:25

points of nature. One, there's

44:29

a fact about a democracy that when

44:31

it is intact, the strength

44:34

that it possesses in terms of the protection

44:36

of people's individual rights and liberties. When

44:39

a democracy is intact, we

44:41

protect your rights and your liberties. Strength

44:45

democracy is also very fragile. It

44:49

will only be as strong as our willingness

44:51

we the people to fight for it,

44:54

and not as much as anything is what's that plan in this election?

44:58

Fight for our democracy? Flawed

45:01

though it is imperfect, though it may

45:03

be because

45:05

there are very two real paths right now.

45:08

The man has told you he has to terminate the Constitution.

45:11

The man has told you all these things about

45:15

his disregard and disrespect for your freedoms

45:17

and liberty, including the right of a woman to make decisions

45:19

about her own body. And

45:22

he hand selected three members of the United States Supreme

45:24

Court with the intention they would do exactly what

45:26

they did. One

45:28

out of three women in America lives in a

45:30

state with the Trump abortion band. You know, every

45:33

state except Virginia in the South has

45:35

an abortion band. You know where the majority of black women

45:37

live in the South, in

45:40

those same states that have some of the highest

45:42

rates of black maternal mortality. And

45:45

they want to strut around talking about this

45:48

is in the interest of women and children, and they've

45:50

been silent on an issue like black maternal

45:52

mortality. But I

45:54

know that people are aware

45:58

and clear eyed, and I do

46:00

believe that on election day and early

46:02

voting in Michigan starts in four days,

46:06

people are going to go to the poems

46:10

and they're going to vote to

46:12

stand up for these principles

46:14

and to stand up for their rights

46:17

to freedom and liberty and

46:20

to live and just be free

46:22

to be.

46:23

I believe that I want to bring in my

46:25

guy Ice weear vessel. He's very politically

46:27

engaged. I want to ask you a question why he's coming in this

46:30

quick question. There's a room in that Janet Jackson is mad

46:32

at you because you prosecuted her brother, the

46:34

late Great Michael Jackson. That's that's on the internet.

46:36

Cleared that up for people.

46:37

That's just not true on either

46:39

account. She's

46:42

I mean, I don't know, I don't know. I have not talked to her,

46:45

but it's certainly it's not true about her brother, that's

46:48

all.

46:48

Charlotte Manne, what's up, madam Vice President?

46:50

How are you doing today? As with Sandy Troit?

46:53

What up?

46:53

Though?

46:54

So yesterday I read that there's a new opportunity

46:57

agenda a plan for Black men,

47:00

which includes a proposal of forgivable

47:02

loans up to twenty thousand dollars for

47:04

one million black entrepreneurs. What

47:07

would you say to the people that will consider

47:09

the timing of this proposal

47:12

as political timing, And how would

47:14

you speak to the sentiment that support

47:16

for black men is only sought out during

47:18

election cycles and feels that

47:21

building trust requires consistent

47:23

engagement and genuine investment

47:25

into the community outside of election periods

47:28

and political benefits

47:30

for politicians, and may view

47:33

that some people in the Democrat Party

47:35

use Black Americans to play identity

47:37

politics.

47:40

So, first of all, thank you for your question for being

47:42

here. I've

47:44

been in this race about seventy days. You

47:47

can look at all my work before those seventy

47:49

days to know this. What I'm talking about right

47:51

now is not new and is not for

47:53

the sake of winning this election. This is about

47:56

a long standing commitment, including the

47:58

work that I've done as Vice president and when

48:00

I was Senator and before that. In

48:03

fact, a lot of what I'm doing that is about

48:05

my economic agenda and

48:07

opportunity economy was born

48:09

out of the work I did as Vice

48:12

president before that as Senator. More most

48:14

recently, to get access to capital

48:17

for our entrepreneurs. The work

48:19

that I did in the Senate was about getting a couple

48:21

billion more dollars into our community

48:23

banks, and then building on that. When I became Vice

48:25

President, I created it.

48:27

It's called the Economic Opportunity Council,

48:29

bringing in some of the biggest banks and technology

48:32

companies to put more into

48:35

the community banks. And I'm going to tell you one of the reasons why,

48:37

because I have been aware for years black

48:40

entrepreneurs only get one percent

48:42

of venture capital funding. Of

48:45

all the venture capital funding, only one percent goes

48:47

to black entrepreneurs. We don't

48:50

have the same rates of access

48:54

to capital, be it through family

48:56

or through connections. Which

48:58

is why I've done the work of put billions

49:00

more dollars and working to put billions more dollars

49:03

into community banks, which go right directly

49:05

to the community. My work around the

49:07

twenty thousand dollars is building

49:09

on that and understanding

49:11

that you know, I convened, for example, I said

49:14

this earlier a group of black

49:16

entrepreneurs, way

49:18

before I was running for president, in my

49:20

official office at the White House, to

49:23

hear some of the obstacles that they

49:25

were facing. And one of them was

49:27

what we need to do around getting

49:30

folks the help to just be

49:32

able to buy the equipment they need

49:34

to run their business. And oftentime,

49:38

we find that when black entrepreneurs

49:40

and black people apply for credit,

49:43

they're denied at a higher rate than others. We

49:46

have also seen and the data proves

49:48

this that all of those the

49:51

realities also tend to dissuade

49:56

black folks and black entrepreneurs in particularly from

49:58

even applying for credit. So

50:03

my point is to work on every

50:05

way that we can approach the issue

50:08

to encourage people and

50:11

to invest in their ambition,

50:14

because I know the ambition is there, I

50:16

know the talent is there, I know the innovation

50:18

is there, and certainly the hard work

50:21

ethic. So this

50:23

is not new work for me.

50:25

And just speak to the American Rescue Plan

50:27

too, because I mean tens of millions of dollars. I

50:29

know small businesses in North Carolina, that small

50:32

black businesses that got tens of million dollars because

50:34

of that. You speak to that, that's.

50:35

Right, and that was from the first time, from when we first

50:37

came in the American Rescue Plan, the work

50:39

that we have done, that the Infrastructure

50:42

Bill, I mean part of that is,

50:44

we made a decision that

50:47

we were going to increase the number

50:49

of federal contracts that go

50:51

to historically underrepresented

50:53

businesses. This was way before I was

50:56

running with this years ago, so this

50:58

is not new work.

50:59

Let's go to feature.

51:01

On several occasions recently, John

51:03

Lemon has stated that there's

51:05

a large group of black men who believed Donald

51:08

Trump sent them a personal

51:10

check during COVID because his name

51:12

was on it versus it coming

51:14

from the government as a stimulus check. Can

51:17

you provide some clarification on this.

51:20

I'm so glad you raised that. So

51:26

so here's what happened. A

51:29

majority Democratic Congress

51:32

fought to get those stimulus checks out,

51:34

fought against resistance by the

51:36

Trump administration, and

51:39

one because we had a majority of Democrats

51:41

in Congress, and that's why those

51:43

checks went out. As we all know and grew up learning,

51:45

Congress holds the purse strings. It

51:47

was Congress that made that decision, and then Donald

51:50

Trump, never being one to pass

51:52

up an opportunity to give himself credit when no

51:54

credit is due, put his name

51:57

on those checks, and sadly, it

51:59

resulted in people thinking Donald Trump was

52:01

responsible for and directly

52:04

responsible for putting money in their pocket,

52:06

when in fact it was

52:08

a Democratic majority Congress that was

52:10

responsible for those checks going out.

52:13

Why is it hard for Democrats to message their

52:15

wins on the economy? Like since World War Two, the

52:17

economy has done better under a Democrat

52:19

president. This is just a historical fact. But for some

52:21

reason, the narrative is that the economy does better

52:24

under Republicans. Why do people believe that and why

52:26

don't Democrats push back on that narrative

52:28

more?

52:29

Well, you know, we I

52:31

think that part of the issue is

52:33

that Democrats probably

52:36

talk about it more in terms

52:38

of what we are doing for people

52:41

rather than the economy,

52:43

when in fact, when you do for people, the economy

52:46

grows. And

52:49

you are absolutely right, Charlemagne, you will

52:51

look at the growth of the

52:53

economy under in compare democratic

52:55

and Republican administrations, Democrats

52:58

have been accelerated

53:01

economic growth my plan,

53:03

for example. Okay, so some

53:05

of the smartest economists in the country

53:08

have reviewed and compared my plan to

53:10

Donald Trump's plans for the economy, from

53:13

Goldman Sachs to Moody's

53:15

to sixteen Nobel Laureates and even most

53:17

recently the Wall Street Journal, and

53:20

in comparing our two plans. The

53:23

net result is my plans will strengthen

53:25

the economy. His plans will weaken the economy.

53:28

Their reports come back and include the fact that Donald

53:30

Trump's plans for the economy would

53:32

accelerate inflation and invite a recession

53:35

by the middle of next year. My plans

53:37

would strengthen the economy as a whole.

53:40

You look at under what we've been

53:42

doing. You look at the stock market is one

53:45

of the strongest it's ever been, Wages

53:47

of outpaced inflation. Inflation is going down

53:49

to I think it's now the most recent numbers

53:51

two point four percent. So but

53:53

those you know, nobody wants to hear an econ one

53:56

on one lecture, right, But the reality

53:58

of it, to your point is that under

54:01

democratic rule, the

54:04

economy gets strengthened. And certainly

54:06

when you look at my plan for

54:09

my presidency, it will strengthen

54:11

the economy and it will help people. And

54:15

as per the conversation we've been having today,

54:17

perhaps the issue

54:19

is that I'm gonna always think about it

54:22

in the context of how am I helping working people?

54:24

How am I helping families? How am I

54:26

helping people in the middle class, How

54:28

am I helping people who have been without

54:30

access having access. That's how I talk

54:32

about it. But my plan

54:35

is about strengthening the economy. And I know

54:38

when you strengthen the economy, that's how you do it.

54:40

You do it by investing in the middle class. Let me tell

54:42

you the contrast. Donald Trump thinks

54:44

about the economy based

54:47

on what he has done and will do. Cutting taxes

54:49

for billionaires in the biggest corporations. That's

54:51

how he thinks about the economy. He thinks about

54:54

the economy, not about middle class

54:56

people trying to not just get by but

54:58

get ahead. No, he wants to

55:00

to stop Medicare from being able to negotiate

55:02

drug prices down from the big pharmaceutical

55:04

companies.

55:06

We got a couple more questions. I want to get more, man Eric Thompson

55:08

here, because we only got like a few more minutes. But I do want to

55:11

say President Obama was out there last

55:13

week waving his finger at black

55:15

men. When are Liz Cheney and Hillary Clinton

55:17

going waveday finger at white women? Went up, Bill

55:20

Clinton and Joe Biden going wave their finger at

55:22

white men. Because fifty two percent of white women voted

55:24

for Trump in twenty sixteen, fifty

55:26

five percent voted for Trump in twenty twenty. They

55:28

all voted against their own interests when their finger waving

55:31

gonna start at them.

55:34

Well, thank you for highlighting that I do

55:36

have the support of over two hundred

55:38

Republicans who worked

55:41

for various administrations, including

55:44

everyone going back to Ronald Reagan to the

55:46

Bushes, to John McCain and Mitt

55:48

Romney, and including Liz Channing. I'm

55:50

very proud to have her support. And

55:53

I believe that they who many

55:55

of them who may have voted for

55:57

Trump before, are supporting me because,

56:00

as they know, the stakes are so high in

56:02

terms of our very democracy and

56:05

rule of law, and.

56:07

So the finger wagon should start today a

56:09

tomorrow.

56:10

Well, I think what is happening

56:13

is that we are all

56:16

working on reminding people of what is at

56:18

stake, and that is very important.

56:20

Eric, real quick. We only got a few

56:22

minutes, only.

56:23

Got a few minutes. Thank you, Madame Vice President for

56:25

having me. Thank you, Charlotte and the god h So.

56:28

As an employee of a mission driven

56:30

nonprofit bank, I appreciate the efforts in that

56:32

bank I work with investor Trade, but as chief

56:35

storyteller to City Detroit, I spent a lot of time dispelling

56:37

information about the city of Detroit.

56:40

And so I'm sure for those of us who are like

56:42

me, if Donald Trump doesn't like the trade so much,

56:44

he's not welcome back now.

56:47

But okay, I don't want to interrupt.

56:50

I don't know what you're talking about.

56:52

Okay, go on, but you.

56:53

Can get into it.

56:54

I just wanted to say that we know that there's

56:56

been a lot of conversation about growing the middle class,

56:58

but black men have been taking out of workforce for a

57:00

myriad of systemic reasons, from mass in corporation

57:02

to racial bias, fear mongering. We

57:05

know that black men are not criminals, they are criminalized,

57:07

and that has taken black men out of the home,

57:10

has taken wealth out of the home. And so because

57:12

especially in the city with such high poverty, I've

57:14

heard a lot about middle class, but I would

57:16

love to hear more about stare stepping

57:19

from poverty into middle class

57:21

so they can take advantage of the opportunities and the

57:23

policies you're talking about.

57:24

That's right, and that's real. So,

57:26

for example, the child tax credit,

57:30

when we did it when I first became

57:33

Vice president, we cut black child

57:35

poverty by half. And

57:37

you know, when you deal with

57:40

poverty for a child. That's about

57:42

the whole family. Right. When

57:45

you look at the work that we have done that has

57:47

been about dealing with prescription medication

57:50

for our seniors, Black people are sixty

57:52

percent more likely to get diagnosed with diabetes

57:56

and have And when you look at

57:58

what people are in terms of on the or to

58:00

bankruptcy because of

58:02

medical bills and medical debt, that's very

58:04

real. So us capping the cost

58:06

of something like insulin and prescription medication,

58:09

not to mention the work that I've been doing to

58:11

ensure that medical debt does not get included

58:13

on your credit score. Because

58:16

medical debt comes about because of a medical

58:18

emergency, nobody invites it upon themselves.

58:20

And back to the point about history and the reality

58:23

of life. We also know the real disparities

58:25

around access to meaningful health

58:27

care, which are more likely

58:29

to result in people facing chronic

58:32

illness and in medical emergency. So

58:35

my work has been and included working

58:38

to get medical debt not beyond

58:40

your credit score so that that thing

58:42

you did not invite upon yourself would

58:45

not be the reason that you can't get a lease

58:47

on an apartment or anything else. We

58:49

have to deal with child poverty. We have to deal

58:52

with poverty, period, and there are many

58:54

specific ways to do it, including dealing

58:57

with getting resources into

58:59

the community that alleviate the

59:01

burdens that hold people down. But

59:06

back to Detroit, can so can you

59:08

imagine you go to a

59:10

city and you say you want the votes

59:12

of those people, and then you disparage the city.

59:15

And that's what he did in Detroit. And he has

59:17

a tendency to mention cities

59:20

that either have a historically black

59:22

majority population or a black mayor.

59:24

That's right, and that's what he did. He only did that

59:26

to Detroit because Detroit is seventy eight percent black

59:28

and he doesn't want America to look like that. Madam

59:31

Vice President. Thank you. We gotta do

59:33

this again.

59:33

We're done.

59:34

We only according to iHeart. I just

59:36

want to keep going. I got more questions for you, but

59:40

thank you.

59:40

I appreciate you man, Thank you.

59:44

This has been Iheartradios. We the

59:46

people in audio town hall

59:48

with Vice President Kamala Harris.

59:50

Remember your voice matters,

59:53

stay informed, stay engaged,

59:55

and most importantly, make sure

59:57

to vote. Thank you for joining us

1:00:00

and