Press club. Our guest today Marianne Williamson is a candidate for the democratic president ial nomination. And politics is a departure who spent half a lifetime as an author, activist and non the nondenominational faith leader. For years shes been speaking, writing and working at the intersection of spirituality and politics. Shes the author of 14 books, for that have reached number one new yornewon the new york tim bestseller list including the most recent politics of love a handbook for the new american revolution. She sounded several nonprofit organizations including the Peace Alliance and project angel food a nonprofit that has delivered millions of meals to homebound americans since 1989. She joins us here to detail one of the signature policy proposals, the creation of a novel the United States department of peace. Please join me in welcoming to the National Press club this Marianne Williamson. [applause] thank you so much. Thank you, everyone. I appreciate your being here. This is quite a Historic Building thank you it is wonderful to have this opportunity to speak to you. As i was walking through the hallway there for all of these photographs and buttons from past president ial campaigns and one is from the campaign of a canadian named pat paulsen. I think it was back in the 70s and this is a fabulous line someone told me. She was famous for having during his campaign the American People want a president who is smart and strategic and on their side to which i say picky picky picky. I thought that was just great. The truth of the matter is as much as the political humor is a long part of the american historical landscape of way back to the beginning that same landscape has had very, very serious times and i would say that this is one of them. I want to begin by saying that barack obama is basically the last american president who had the luxury of seeing the world through the lens of 20th century mind state. The 20th century is a different world in a different mindset and the 20th century like in the same way was a very different mindset in the 19th. The American People are just fine. The American People are forward thinking. The American People are regenerative. This is part of our national character. So, the American People get that the world is different now in every single area in business, education, health and wellness and religion and spirituality. In psychotherapy, in every era area. If something isnt working we have to change it. The problem as i see it isnt with the American People. At the same time, when it comes to our political establishment, that is not regenerative, it isnt on the move, edison forward thinking and it has very little to do with a 21st century mindset. Rather, it is stuck into this corrupted quite frankly. It is under the sway of the 20th century mindset and that 20th century mindset at this moment, and this has been true for decades it was infiltrated by the undue influence of money specifically corporate money on our public policy. Now, closing that gap between the consciousness of the will of the American People and the way our government operates is the moral and Political Task of our time. That is what is supposed to happen in a representative democracy. The whole point is that the government is here to represent the will of the people, and it is certainly here in order to advocate for the health and wellbeing and safety of the American People. Nobody here is under the illusion that that is what is happening now. Grounded for the last 40 years we have been sliding away from that. Away from a genuine functioning vital democracy to what might be called a corporate aristocracy. We all know this. We all know that the shortterm profit maximization for helping Companies Pre pharmaceutical companies, Oil Companies, gun manufacturers, defense contractors etc. , that house more, they yield more power on the functioning of our government than does the concern for the American People. Im here to talk to you today specifically about one of the ways, and there are many ways in which the corporate dominance has created tremendous amounts of unnecessary human suffering. And human suffering is what the government should be concerned with. The suffering of the American People, the own suffering of us, beyond suffering of our children to the unnecessary suffering of other people in the world who are impacted by the American Foreign policy, and that which is ultimately the suffering of people that will occur if we continue to desecrate the planet itself in ways that we do. There is a famous a lot of times people talk about somebodys a famous last words and one of the most interesting to me were the last words of the famous french scientist his last words were this. I was wrong. Its not the german come it is the train. Now the 20th century being dominated by the mindset that is basically a product of physics, so all the world is a huge machine and if you want to change things all you do is tweak things on the outside and so 20th century, the 20th century mindset dominates our Politics Today and its why there is no real transformation that emerges in washington. All that emerges from washington as a treatment of the symptoms, that is what our policies are about and what the discussions seem to be about. Politicians talk about changing this polic policy were changingt policy but too often the change in policy is disconnected from a recognition of what caused the problem to begin with. The 21st century is far more integrated and far more holistic. In the 21st century, we recognize that its not just the germ, but the terrain. Its not just the violence in terms of peoples behavior, it is the thoughts and feelings within people that led to the dysfunctional or the now functional behavior. So, for instance you can talk about a domestic level, you can talk about the fact that 100 people were killed by guns every single day. We can talk about the mass shootings, we can talk about all of these horrible statistics regarding gun violence in the United States, and we can talk about a change in our gun safety policy, which i certainly support. And its desire for defense contractors however those themselves are symptoms we must ask ourselves, why are we such a Violent Society quick thats why what United States department of peace. The United States department of peace also works with department of children and youth and reparations of slavery will answer that underlying turbulence that has the worst aspects of violent behavior in our Society Today including white extremism. When you look at what we know now looking at the brain of a child they did not even know 50 years ago and not even have a conversation of what is perpetrated by so much of public policy. The criminal Justice System in many ways as violent as the Violent Crimes it seeks to prosecute. Look at the contaminants in our water and how much they allow to be done the educational policies but if you are withholding a high Quality Public School education given the fact that when that is withheld it is due to the fact they were not lucky enough to live in a rich neighborhood to based primarily on property taxes and that matter poverty is violent hunger is violent so this idea we will deal with violence and fix it by having tougher gun safety laws ladies and gentlemen we have to look in the mirror as an American Society to realize we will not beat violence until we decide to be nonviolent. If we are willing to declare peace that they are 45 million impressions of children last year alone on the internet. If we are seriously interested in dealing with the terrain of societal dysfunction that 100,000 children are homeless and almost one third of the American People are in conditions that are near poverty that is violent. This is where the seeds are ladies and gentlemen and that they are a National Security risk with large groups of people dont go acting like you dont have no idea where that violence came from because of people experience violence in accumulated layers over and over and over again all they have to do is look in the profiles of most of the violent perpetrators and you will see the high number were victims of violent abuse when they were children thats why i want all of the issues to dismantle violence to be brought to the fore of domestic policy of conflict resolution Restorative Justice trauma informed Education CommunityWraparound Services and Mental Health services not only for children but families mindfulness in the school anti bullying and violence prevention washington does a look under the water line they talk about policy but not pay people a next time they take one of their jaunts to the middle east maybe also take a jaunt to the inner city of l. A. Or chicago 40 percent of all of the girls in the Public Schools of chicago are deemed to have ptsd that is no less severe of the returning veterans from afghanistan or iraq we have millions of American Children living in trauma devault of the factors that i mentioned here today we have millions of American Children who go to School Every Day we have millions of American Children in classrooms that dont have the ability to teach a child to read if they cannot read by eight the chances of High School Graduation are drastically decrease in incarceration increase. I will repeat that the chances of incarceration are drastically increased perhaps incarcerating that person for what they did but thats not the original question what we did cracks that is why America Needs to look in the mirror. The same is true internationally as it is domestically. We have become so corrupted by the obsession to advocate for profits that the unnecessary human suffering that results that economic anxiety this is the source of their function to get that malfunction on the part of society is neared in International Affairs the National Security agenda basically the constant perpetuation 760 billion on the budget the state department however that they get 40 billion so within a 40 billion there is 17 billion that usaid supports with longterm development in addition to that 17 billion there is less than 1 billion give it to the peace building agencies and with 38 million there are four factors that constitute what we call peace building and they dont know what peace building is but it exemplifies expertise just as sophisticated and important and in many ways the way they are assigned take just as much that when present statistically mean there is a greater incidence of peace and a lower incidence of conflict those do not surprise anyone expanded Economic Opportunities for women. Number two expanded Educational Opportunities for children. Number three. A reduction of violence against women and amelioration of unnecessary human suffering. That shell be common sense. It is a little much divergence there is between the common sense of anyone slightly connected to their head has expressed in the way our government operates. We should see large groups of people whether we talk about an American City or a faroff country in the world large groups of desperate people are National Security risk because desperate people do desperate things for go they are more vulnerable to etiological capture from psychotic forces whether gangs in america or terrorist organizations and thats why when im elected president United States i want a department of children and youth to do with the horrendous need of a massive realignment that the only way to have a peaceful future with United States department of peace in order to coordinate they are basically coordinates we already have the experts in peace building and social work and Early Childhood and International Affairs and the expansion of opportunities it is not what we find how do you compare to the military but less than 1 billion given to peace building agencies . Is not have to bring in new people but coordinate among those that already exist the Us State Department the peace building agencies the usaid and then give equal rate for this week to military. And then with the secretary of defense. We need the equivalent of Global Society the health and wellness space to go past the idea you have to take care of your body or your diet or your illness and then when sickness arises. Then just go to a doctor hope that they would suppress or eradicate the symptoms. We dont look at the body that way anymore. Not just be prepared for war i see the us military like a surgeon but im not criticizing the military decisions they are political decisions. So what every american should be concerned about is the hundreds of millions of dollars only to do with shortterm of defense contractors. You just cant fight disease. Sicknesses the absence of hell if you want a Peaceful World you need to cultivate peace you cant just fight war you need to have the best surgeon on hand thats what the military should be that they try to avoid surgery. As a paradigm shift that we need. We need a shift in the American People. We need them to realize we have violence on those corporations that are concerned with their shortterm maximization and do not consider it their job to have to worry about the suffering that emerges . That is what leads to violence in the heart and that leads to violent behavior. The American People are not stupid it is time for the American Government to catch up. Thank you very much. [applause] you sell an awful lot of books but your candidacy has not taken off the same way. Where is that disconnect quick. I think itself it is an illusion. First of all if you see you havent broken through i did is called the second debate because of my popularity after that and because of the fact i was googled more than any other candidate that the book sales began and Everybody Knows what that is that is when the smear began dont act that she is anti medicine. Nine of that is true. But what you heard today are my ideas that are indeed disrupted with that perpetuation but in three days the smears began. And then to donate to my campaign. In the last election they were gob smacked by the success of Bernie Sanders and donald trump and that the Democratic Party would be happy to so many that have not been involved in politics before. Those who come to my lectures and Campaign Rallies are not necessarily those that voted in past democratic primaries and also there are millions of people voting in this next election that were not even born in the 20th century. It is an allusion and a mischaracterization of who i am and one thing that i sure as heck broken through it would not like it to be true than to pretend it isnt happening. Can you talk about your reception in iowa quick. It is fabulous. In the early primary state states, its a real honor to be in iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina and nevada. But we dont get the average california has the integration in their thinking the same way. Two different political universe one is the pundits and the polls and the dnc and all of that. But then there is another political universe because you travel to the states and thats whats going on the ground in New Hampshire and South Carolina and nevada. And they are it is so profound and i was specifically they have the power msnbc doesnt have the power. Dnc doesnt have the power except in so far they can manipulate the people in those states. They should facilitate and not dictate that process for xhosa when i am in iowa anybody can go to my website mariann 2020. Com my Instagram Page to see the mobile traveling through iowa people are very are smart and how much power they have in their issues and they are not concerned with all the hoopla. People are showing up and listening and are engaged as a keeper of conversation. About a world war ii Mass Mobilization to reverse Climate Change to a Green Economy with the department of peace changing from a war economy to a peace economy and they are interested. And i have been saying recently i learned from this experience and those that are even more wonderful than i know. You were not on the debate stage last time you are very critical of the dnc with their role in the election. Can you talk what is wrong with their method . I wasnt very critical. But critical definitely i would articulate that. It is the purpose that is to facilitate democracy not dictate. The constitution is that Political Parties in washington warned against them to the extent of which they are appropriate they should take a backseat and serve the political process. So these debates are like a reality tv show. So the dnc said there are so many people running so many candidates we have to narrow this down. First of all i dont agree with the premise. Actually thats healthy for the Democratic Party and for United States. Anybody have any good ideas . We need to take a new path forward. As a candidate anytime you have a good idea that ups the game. So this idea of limiting the number its like with children you just cannot give them too many choices. I looked at her and said the voters are not children. Thats the point and said to narrow the choices it is the primaries thats what it for. It should be up to the voters. They can walk and chew gum at the same time. I have been in iowa this is the most consequential election. The most consequential election in American History so give people time to think this through. And then to process this. Because it is saturated with toxicity. People in need this time including corporate media. And that opportunity of the voter to hear from buddy and see everybody. You have been stumping on the campaign trail is anybody reaching out to you . Are the interested and have a called you up to say talk to me quick. Congress is not a monolith. Those ive met in government but nothing that im saying even with the other candidates im running with a lot of good people its a system that is corrupt. Sometimes its very wellintentioned people that are part of the system and then you get drawn and sucked into it. Some people have been kind i dont know what they say after they are kind to me this is far too important to filter through two months of how i feel about this for go that this is too serious on that level. Donald trump said he deserves a nobel peace prize. He has said that quick. What do you say quick. I dont think he can help himself. At the president did with iran is extremely dangerous and never should have taken us out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. For all that we know and iran seem to be complying for go one of the things i would do as president is go back to be part of the iran deal. That increased sanctions and i ran with these iranian people that they will make them turn against the government more thats where the sanctions come from. Is not only equally dangerous but more dangerous. He has caused tremendous suffering already. So why would any ally trust us these are people as we all know what has happened now will have consequences so those that have been let go or asis fighters this is trouble what he has done in syria. By the way if anybody thinks he is bringing them home theyre not coming home they were just sent to iraq. Be very clear. He does not deserve a peace prize. He deserves impeachment. Im from williamsburg environment. Talk about Climate Change. What would be the number one item you would take on quick. First the epa headed by a scientist. We need the x Chemical Companies and the ex lobbyist for the Oil Companies to be gone the epa needs to be a magnet for worldclass environmental science. We have a situation if we do not act quite radically within the next 12 years we could have a level of social collapse never seen in the modern era and on the way to a situation where whole swabs of countries or continents are uninhabitable because of the heat then food can be grown and economic collapse. Food shortages and be hundreds of millions of environmental refugees. Right now we have the Environmental Crisis with 63 Million People that have been displaced you think that is a refugee crisis now just wait to see what happens then. We need nothing short of a world war ii level Mass Mobilization to reader reduce Climate Change we need to reforest and develop new forms of energy. And animal factory farming. And then still have that same level of problem. So now its interesting because we talked about the Paris Climate Accord to say the president has to get back into it but today that is quaint that is only step one so now we go to that same transition to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord is the least what we need to do now the Green New Deal is not only the least but that will not go far enough we need the enrollment but there are two main issues first of all the people and institutions and the industries that have done industrial scale harm to the earth, we need those to help us through industrial scale small scale repair. There was a time with the use of fossil fuels it did not seem illegitimate we would not have fought world war ii without fossil fuels so its very important this is a Just Transition what i bring to the table is ability to navigate the system carefully. The question that lies before us or the challenge to move to a clean economy is we need change but we cannot have chaos we already see what a chaotic president does we need someone to navigate that change. One of the things this has to do with the genuine and tendered respect for the thousands and thousands of people who now make their living in fossil fuel related industry so they understand may have a president who has her back we need your manufacturing skills in research and development they need to be repurposed but we will do this carefully and take care of each and every one of you so not only serves the planet but it also serves you not only to be participating in what i said in this area for the United States to become a leader once again to do the right thing. You have been critical of us military intervention so what are the things that you approve of and what they use correctly. I only heard 50 percent of what you said quick. You are critical of intervention but when has it been appropriate quick. There are three things number one a direct threat to the homeland to the safety and security of an ally in the world order is being violated i certainly think the invasion of iraq was absolutely horrible transgression on every level and we should never forget the genesis of isis comes from that. But one that should have happened. Even after bill clinton left office. And that the use of the American Military to be that same core principle. But of domestic and international to help people thrive on the public late level for democracy and humanitarian values we are worried to emphasize Holding Drug Companies Accountable from these plans access to care i just want to know your detailed plan for access to care. Talking about the Opioid Crisis and to hold Drug Companies accountable from access to treatment and care from those are actually suffering. Lets be really clear the United States has to stop enabling and protecting big pharma. Predatory practices at what point will the stop we now have attorneys general throughout this country who are prosecuting executives who are known to practice predatory terms to over manufacture allowing for the over prescription of pain killers. They are prosecuted even now its fascinating to me watching the soundbites and how basically small these settlements are compared to what they should be. So i am not sitting here playing a violin big pharma has an important function in this country we need painkillers but that doesnt mean they can do whatever they want they can fly but we dont allow going to do whatever they want there is a lot of areas not just the fda or the cdc epa and faa. They were established to advocate for and protect the American People against overreach by corporate entities that went unfettered to only have their own shortterm bottom line that can help people so no i am not concerned for the larger issue to make sure that pharmaceutical companies are serving the American People before they serve their own bottom line where the focus is Holding Drug Companies Accountable does that take away from those who are suffering from addiction quick. No. You never have to worry doing the wrong thing you have integrity legitimate regulation will hurt people its the lack of integrity and lack of life serving regulations. Hello miss williamson do you have any dollar amounts for the department of peace. First we need to look at these pieces because it is coordinating bringing in new things and coordinating what is already there. Im not sure it cost much of anything for what we could go to to say we would have the space but i dont think anything like that is necessary because you talk about changing power positions where the money is spent more than how much is spent. But i think he will be better off spending money excuse me you will spend more money cultivating health a lot less on doctors later if we cultivate peace we have to spend a lot less later on military and misadventures. The American People to wake up and smell the coffee and stop pretending like we are children with corporate profits for huge multi defense contractors. How Many Americans know that the us air force has ordered 100 b 21 raiders. Thats an airplane that is a bomber that each one costs 560 million. With an interesting and unique characteristic that they dropped not only conventional bombs but also Nuclear Bombs. So now let me ask you, maybe im just dumb and dont understand. Why do we need 100 airplanes that drop Nuclear Bombs . If you drop five of those it is over for human civilization as we know it if you drop ten of those. Remember every nuke that exists on the planet today makes hiroshima and nagasaki look like a pinprick. If you drop ten it is over for our species on this planet. Does anybody think that 100 airplanes at 560 million each that drop Nuclear Bombs are only an expenditure it is there to keep us safe . Are we that foolish . It is that many of the Nuclear Industry and its time for the American People to wake up and i find it stunning only two people in this race are even talking about these things. Im with breitbart. To follow up on the opioid question it seems like doctors are left out of the equation and big pharma is blamed. The same is true with the trade agreements all those people that are left out they are backroom deals the people that are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars by corporate donations and then they come up with policy. I want to ask about democrats since the election of President Trump had no government experience when he came into office how do you respond to the democratic voters to make the same case about your candidacy quick. His problem is the lack of ethics if he wanted to bring in those experts he could have and he didnt so lets remember experience politicians took us into iraq and they agreed with the decision politicians took us into vietnam we are naive to believe all these problems were created by donald trump rather they created donald trump we need to do more we have to get out of the vicinity and so that experience that is represented by political expertise and to certainly see the need for it there is another kind of qualification that i believe is lacking Franklin Roosevelt this is a president who brought us the new deal hardly someone who didnt understand policies. He said the most Important Role of the presidency is moral leadership. Do we need political experts . Of course we need them there. We need more than a great car mechanic but we need to decide what road we should be on and thats what i bring to the tabl table. I want to go back to the iran subject clear lead the iranian attacks for saudi arabia that president obama that what any president could do that one. 8 billion to the iranians so we just want to hear from you on that. But how i would do this because of the Television Cameras normally walk up to the person that i could hear you. Im sorry. He says that you want to sit down with tehran and cannot get into the Iran Nuclear Deal but that president obama was very easy to bomb saudi arabia and the takers of i would you want to go back quick. First of all those bombings came after we exited the deal so there is no direct connection to being in the deal and the bombings. President obama and secretary of state john kerry would admit it was not as far as they would like to have gone. Talking about diplomacy with other countries you dont necessarily get everything you want to get the deep one the best deal possible. So those that are a part of that deal in the best deal possible but they only comply with part of it but what the president has done by leaving this is what destabilized the region that was after he left the deal. Im from one American News going back to what you said about moving away from fossil fuels and there are turn on alternatives for these people that are reliant on the industry. You said their creativity and value could be used away to find work for them. They felt like the Obama Administration was hard on them and that opportunity was presented when they went against fossil fuels Hillary Clinton did not help herself with her comments. They felt that we will find other economic alternatives. How do you do that . There is a lot of flowery language. But take the coal region so what it is your idea for alternatives quick. First of all your point is well taken but to deconstruct with Hillary Clinton that line was taken out of context if you listen to the whole thing she said she was talking about that about what we needed to do. With president obama and not just him but in general not just regarding that subject but a lot of things for go theres been a cost too many people in what appears to be a lack of concern for the Collateral Damage that might be experienced by thousands of people to put food on the table i think they have come up with perfunctory language i even said one of the persons one of the reasons i dont have this combat is attitude so much as a cooperative attitude towards if it had done industrial scale harm that we need to do industrial scale repair. Mlk said you have morally persuasive power with people who can feel your underlying contempt. I had with that need. I lead with the need the American Worker and every situation whether trade or anything else, deserves to feel the American People have their back. First of all if you ask me what industry, there is so much money to be made whether solar or wind or reforestation or agriculture or planning for floods or wetlands or management there are plenty of jobs the issue is not plenty of jobs but what you just said a very sensitive to the issue and that is the conversation the part of the american president its about change but not chaos and tender respect. I feel that and i believe people here you that you speak for. Its good to see you. Would Hillary Clinton be part of your department of peace why or why not . I dont agree with Hillary Clinton about everything but i dont want to be drawn into the pile on Hillary Clinton to offend every american. Following up on an earlier question. Dont kid ourselves. She is the person who said womens rights are human rights for go she went to china now made that legendary speech. She has spent a lifetime working with issues around girls and issues of women around the world if anything the mistake she made of the president ial campaign she didnt talk more about that. Even though i do not agree about everything once the primaries were over i supported Hillary Clinton perk i was one of the first to tweet in support of toll c gabbard the other day and all of us have that soft Power Development and we can talk about other issues militarily in terms of her ten year of secretary of state and i do not agree with her but we all need to be very nuanced and we need to keep our conversation on the left and on the right and do Everything Possible to return to honorable debate when it comes to Hillary Clinton where we agree or where we dont that not piling on. That hurts every woman as a target. If im elected president of the United States i will think long and hard about everything including personnel. Going back to the question of jobs earlier this week andrew yang was here and talked about Artificial Intelligence and automation proposed universal basic income which he describes as a way to give people the freedom and the cushion if they are not fully employed they can find a way to move on so what do you think about that proposal quick. I read his book and he convinced me but then i did some more research. There are nine states that trekking is the primary industry. So then what happens . What is the trucker supposed to do . This is industry after industry after industry once you read up to save my job cannot be replaced by automation. Dont kid yourself. No generation should only leave for itself we have shortterm thinking we need to think about whats coming down in 12 years thats why i agree with him. Also universal basic income Milton Friedman for go the main articulator of trickledown economics said you have to have universal basic income that is not something new and i agree. Plus all for domestic and Foreign Policy should be built around the Core Principles to help people thrive. Tense, anxious and stressed people are not at their best. Didnt have time and energy and bandwidth to be there for the partners and children who want them to read a bedtime story before they go to sleep that night there have the bandwidth or the energy to be there for their children to participate in family dynamics. They dont have the happiness or the stress free ability to be good employers and employees. This is the genesis of societal dysfunction and malfunction thats what happens when dysfunction is so bad you talk about selfdestruction. Anything that helps people thrive and allows greater access to their own creativity and productivity, thats where money comes from. We need to throw away bad economic ideas that are a holdover from the 20th century it is not produced by those who drop crumbs in the form of job creation it is by people spreading their wing wings, manifesting godgiven potential with their creative and productive best. This is why we should have free tuition at state colleges and universities and Cancel College loans. One. 5trilliondollar college loan debt. How many hundreds of thousands would love nothing more to have access to 25 hundreds to start their website and get going . They want to be part of the game and we are leaving them out. Anything that helps people thrive and create prosperity. We are now out of time. That before you go we would like to present to you with the National Press club coffee mug. Thank you so much. [applause] [inaudible conversations] i am announcing today im withdrawing from the president ial campaign. I will be returning home to my family and friends in my community and ohio to run from a congressional seat. I got into this race in april to give voice to the forgotten people of our country, the workers left behind and businesses left behind in people that need healthcare