Its the different versions of the green new deal. Educationalnt policies. Its policies about gun violence. What people werent saying to the American People which to me is the overwhelming truth is have a broken government in washington, d. C. Until we take back that government, from the corporations who have bought it we are not going to get any of those policies. Step one has got to be to of, by andernment for the people because until we do that were not going to pass peoplethe things that are talking about, all of which are important to the American People. And secondly, i know after 10 years of working on it that climate crisis. So i appreciate the green new a broad reaction to an important problem, to a crisis, but we have to facing the fact that this is a timebound crisis. An emergency. People were talking about proposals and plans that might sometime in the years to come. No one was saying its priority on it on day one, ill make it happen and i felt like somebody has to start leveling with the American People. And i thought if no one else is going to do it then im going to race and tell the truth. Lets talk about both of these issues. First, government. On your comments that doesnment is broken, what President Donald Trump represent on that issue . Steve, because donald trump ran on the idea of the swamp. 80 of americans that means of overwhelming bulk republicans and democrats and independents understand that corporations have bought the government. The problem with mr. Trump is hesyou look and see what really done across the board, hes actually the biggest swamp is. There his tax plan was the biggest American History to corporations and the richest americans. His trade war, which was supposed to be protecting americans, is hurting american its hurting american businesses, and its killing american farmers. So actually he ran claiming he was going to do one thing and opposite. He exact but that doesnt mean that somehow, the government wasnt broken in the first place or anything good about it. In fact, it is broken, but its time for the American People to take back that power to themselves because thats got to happen before we get any of passed. Licies you have made a lot of money in the private sector when you friends, your peers, your colleagues, especially in the hedge fund do they tell you about this president and those tax cuts that youre critical of . This for the last seven years, steve, fulltime ive been traveling around the country as a grassroots activist and for 10 years ive been futh together a of ordinary american citizens to take on unchecked corporate power. You assume that actually that im hobnobbing with a bunch true. H people, it isnt it is true ill tell you this proposed a year ago i think i was the first person to propose an assetbased tax, i got some texts and emails from people i knew saying basically this is the ive ever heard, what are you thinking about . And i felt and those texts emails convinced me that i was on the right track because if that really upset people, was touchinghat i a nerve and, in fact, i was standing up for what was right. Lets talk about the tom steyer story, born in san correct . ; is that actually, born in new york city. And then how did you end up in San Francisco . So i went to school on the coast up until grad school and my brother had gone to california, and he basically said hes a year grew upan i am and we in a bunk bed together and he coming toe california, were not discussing it, i think youre going to love it. It, go home, ive dont care. Since he was my big brother, i to him and went to california. Your first job, morgan 1970s . In the late yes. What did you do and what did you learn during that experience . Analyst. A financial what it really meant was i was the Financial Statements of public corporations and examining them. Drivesearning what success in the private sector, trying to understand how corporations win, how industries win, and by extrapolation how win. Ries thats what i did for two years. It was actually a great way to get into the nittygritty of how a economy succeeds. The kind of question honestly steve that i think were going be faced with starting next year, but certainly in 2020, and beyond, we are watching a weakening economy that been damaging and the question is whos going to be able to think this through intelligently, competently in a way that america can be prosperous, but so that we can share the prosperity. Good financial risk, whats a bad one as you look at investments, as you look a companies, as you look at way to make money, what do you look for . For is growth. Believed thatays the way to think about making value, longterm prosperity, you want to be in a situation, which gets better year. Ive never been one of those people whos ever thought that to can shrink your way profitability. The way to do well is to take a sure you view and make have something thats really good and gets better every single year. Warrenthe reason that buffet has done so well. That is actually the way to prosperity american as a country. A series of shortterm quick fixes the way mr. Trump seems to think. You take a view of what creates value, what creates capability, what makes americans successful and prosperous . And you build it over time and compounds. Thats actually how you make a good investment, thats actually a good company and thats the way you create a economy, too, is you invest in the things for the longterm that create are fair. , and that are fair. Thats how you do investment. Thats how you run economies. Take this one step further based on your own expertise as you look at the brick before i can and Mortar Companies where malls are today and youre seeing what amazon has been able to do. Give us a sense of where we are in our Committee Just how transformational is this period in right now based on your own expertise . Funny, steve. I have always felt as if every company and youre talking about the retail sector, the traditional big mallbased big box retailers like sears and online and then an retailer like amazon coming out justwhere originally selling books, but my thesis has always been that whatever is, the company thats going to succeed in the long run, the company that is over time going to gain market share and be more profitable is morene that has Information Technology, basically Information Technology corporate smarts so in fact, youre able to get information faster, react to it faster, and make better decisions. Mallbased look at a retailer competing with amazon, much bettero Information Technology. They could disrupt based on their ability to process and use information. And the funny thing is if you think were just talking about you think about walmart, walmart for decades had Information Technology than their competitors. They were getting realtime information about what was selling on their shelves so they could replace it realtime as much slower, much realtime than their competitors. Is there a way you can apply that to the government . Absolutely, steve. You think about how were dealing with problems, the id were not using Information Technology to its limit. Were the country that has pioneered on this. This is the country that invented the internet. This is the country that absolutely led on silicon chips forever. You look at the big global i. T. Companies, theyre overwhelmingly here so if you think about the United States government its way behind in i. T. Of i think we all know that and lets talk for a second about security. I mean, heres something realtime where we know our in 2016 was hacked. We have a president whos refusing to use the money thats allocated to protect our electoral system. Symbol of where we are as a country. We have to understand, in the sever, dominating in i. T. At every level is critical. You talked about 2016. What other mistakes from your standpoint did Hillary Clinton her campaign make and how would you apply that to your campaign or whoever is the in 2020 . C nominee well, steve, for the last 10 years, as i said ive been ofting together coalitions ordinary american citizens to take on unchecked corporate power. I also started one of the biggest grassroots organizations, next gen america in 2018 next gen america did largest youth Voter Mobilization in American History. So if you ask me how i think elections what i think works, of course, i believe what i just said to you about beingation technology unbelievably important, but the second thing weve gotten away from is grassroots. Im a believer in direct contact with voters. Fact that next gen is the largest youth voter in american outfit history means other people werent trying to do that. Huge, you know, hole in terms of american democracy, at lessople were voting than half the rate of other americans. In 2014. 1 in 5 voted and thats not a representative democracy. So to me when i look at the election in 2020, when i look at every single election the question to me is not how do you 2 whichswing one or votes to go democratic as opposed to going republican, the 50 ofn is how about the americans who dont vote, who believe the system is broken, was saying . I and tell them how we can take the democracy and what that will mean for their families and communities. Thats what i believe in. Turnout, i believe in reinvigorating democracy. I believe in putting the power back to the people of the United States. Thats what i think is going to win in 2020. But specifically how do you that . How do you get the 50 of the electorate that chooses not to polls . He what do you do to encourage them . Okay. Well, its a series of things. Ill tell youd this, next gen america has asked of thousands of young people why they dont vote. Say the sameys thing they say no one tells the truth. My issues. S with theres no difference between the parties. Participate in a failing system . And thats an opening for us to about howonversation their participation can change all that. So when you say how do you get vote . To part of it is by telling the truth, like you said, why am i running . Because i didnt think anyone was leveling with the American People about whats really going our country and so part of this is tell the truth. Look, i started the need to Impeach Movement two years ago because i felt there important truth that people werent willing to say that this is the most corrupt president in American History and everyone said youre going to invigorate Republican Voters and were going to lose and i said listen, how about telling the truth and the truth and see if it invigorates democratic voters, which is, in fact, what happened. The truth. You tell look weve started something. Next gen started something when seven National Labor unions, starting in 2015, in 2016 we 15 million votes to have a conversation with voters dont vote. A lot of this is about direct personal contact as much as possible, register, engage, participate. But its also trying to engage on social media, wherever they can be reached. Wherever you can have that contact. The question is how do you make sure theyre registered, engage issues that the they care about, and then try to make it easy for them to show up the poll . Thats grassroots organizing. Lets talk about the issue of because it now because it now appears as if the house is heading down that path. What do you think is going to if he is impeachedon to the and tried in the senate, i think republican senator is going to have to ask him or do myf the question, what constituents want from me on this critical issue . What weve seen when we show the evidence, our research over we shows is when americans the truth, about this corrupt president , they all say theyre trump supports or trump opposers, i didnt know liar and a cheat. If i did that, i would be in jail. And so my attitude on this steve is simple let the american evidence, let us judge for ourselves. Were the people who actually count in this, the American People. Thats why its the need to over 8 petition with million signatories and say look, let us see the truth, and i dare you to support a criminal when hes hurting the American People and going the constitution. I dare you. But when you hear his its senatorhether Lindsey Graham or the Senate LeaderMitch Mcconnell or sean program, when you hear them support and defend where this president is, your reaction is what . Televised hearings so the american could see. The americanw people to get the direct evidence and judge for ourselves . Im a grassroots person. I believe in the wisdom of the people combined. I believe in their courage and leavecompassion and i say it up to us. Let us see i dont care what say, iple on fox news dont care what Mitch Mcconnell says. The americans see for ourselves and let us make the decision and lets see if you decision. Up to that thats what im rooting for. You were not on the debate september. You will be on the stage in columbus, ohio, cosponsored by cnn and the New York Times so what can viewers expect from tom steyer on that stage . My goal in this is to present positive vision for the future for americans. I believe its been missing. Believe were still working off the failed reagan vision of states. Ed i believe we need a vision for i believe we are still working off the failed reagan vision of the United States. I believe we need a vision for the 21st century of what the rights are of american citizens. I believe they have been being trampled on. I believe its time for us to reexamine what it means to be an american, what american itself means. Thats what im interested in. I think thats what the American People are interested in. I should point out, ive qualified for the november debate. I get a chance in october in november to put forward the positive vision. Steve what was your first entry into politics . I read you were involved with the Walter Mondale campaign in 1984. Mr. Steyer i did work a summer for the mondale campaign. To me, i also tried to support john kerry in his attempt to get elected president in 2004. The first time as a principle that i was involved politically was in 2010 when i cochaired a proposition in california to beat to Oil Companies who were trying to roll back our Progressive Energy line. That was the first time i felt i was making a lead political stance in contrast to people, the unchecked power of been talking about. I got the chance because no one thought we could beat the Oil Companies. They were too rich, to wellconnected. Four years before, there had been another time when Oil Companies had taken on what they called environmentalists. They had won handsdown. In 2010, we won. We got 70 of the vote. The Oil Companies left. Steve i mentioned your past campaigns. You transformed from being behind the scenes, working for candidates, and now your name is on the ballot. What has it been like for you . Mr. Steyer the funny thing is, ive been doing this work fulltime for seven years. First of all, organizing it means i go to the campuses. I register kids. I talk to them. I go around on election day to make sure that they get to the polls. Ive been doing town halls and meetings with activists for seven years fulltime. We did over 50 town halls on the need to impeach campaign, all over the United States. What im doing now, running for president , is a more intense version of what ive been doing for the last seven years. The only differences, i have to talk about myself instead of talking about a specific policy or kids about whats on their mind. And asking them and getting back. My job is still at least 50 to listen. When im talking, im talking more about myself. That is the big change. Steve you are a father of four. Do your kids think about what you are doing right now . Mr. Steyer my kids all believe that what im doing is necessary. You know, i asked them i dont want to put you guys in a terrible spot. If i do this, is this going to hurt you . They said, you have to do this. My daughter called me. Ito you know, steve was about 17 days ago, she called and it was the day of the Global Climate strike. My daughter is 27 years old. She said, im worried this is an not going to work. I am worried we will lose and we will not be able to control this crisis. I said, we will win it. We will take these people down. We are out there to do it, dont you worry. That is my attitude and that is their attitude. Steve one of the criticisms of the election of donald trump was that we elected a president who had no military experience and no government experience. If you are elected in 2020, you would be in that same category, so why should voters consider you . What experience do you bring to the white house . Mr. Steyer ive been doing this fulltime for seven years. And i have been doing it putting together coalitions and beating corporations for 10 years. If you look over the last 10 years in american politics about who has been taking on the corporations and winning, take a look. Ive taken on the Oil Companies and beat them. Ive taken on the Tobacco Companies and beat them. Ive taken on the Drug Companies, the monopoly utilities. And i have put together one of the biggest grassroots organizations in the United States. It is not like i have been working in business and decided that if i get