Interviews with political figures. Man, on the first day of law school whose name was norman francis. Norman was better looking, faster, smarter than everybody else. I asked my father. Well he informed me. Taught what it was look to walk in somebody elses shoes. He said i Wasnt Just Fighting for norman. I was fighting for my right to be with my friend. And weep just kind of group in that ethos. I scant remember, i had written in the book. A number of examples throughout our life. White people have been very angry at us you experienced that as a kid. No, i did. When i was 13 years old. Back then it was white people in the council chamber, really, trying to get after the City Of New Orleans. The city was becoming majority. Africanamerican. Way on its way to it. And there were, rabid people. You know, in the streets. Yelling and screaming about integration. The story its that, that one afternoon. At 8th period. Father harry thompson. The same priest that helped start this facility with the community. Came to my classroom. The flag. I said, you know. Confepd rat flag. Confederate flag. Number one, time to take the monuments down. Secondly everybody is going to guilt. And everybody didnt get it. It was much too hard a fight. To have in the year that we had it. Than we should have. In fact your, you got elected with overwhelm sag part and reelected with overwhelming support of both white and black residents of the city. Your support among whites in new orleans, drops by half. The stimty was racially united when i came. When i got reelected it was for the most part. The same. When i took those monuments down though, it, it, it really really, really touched people in a much deeper way. I didnt lose all of my white support. I lost half of all it. In a way that, will never come back to me. And what was curious to me as a politician, i have been involved as you know for 30 years. A legislator for 16 years. When i met you we both had hair. Yes, that was a long time ago. And i have voted on some tough issues. And i have had people come up to me and say, you know i didnt like the way you voted on the Abortion Issue or on capital punishment, or whatever. But i generally like you. And think you are a good guy. I will vote for you again. On this thing, it was, it was, much deeper than any other action i have taken. Where people said to me, i am never, ever support you again. Which i thought was really curious. You actually wrote that todays Public Square is teaming with hate red we havent seen since the 1960s. Why do you think that is . I dont really know. Its too glib to say the is all because of donald trump . Yeah. He seized on something and exploited it. Listen, i am not a fan of the president s. But it is not his cause. He didnt cause it. He is a sim touchl it. Now, he is a perfect fit for exacerbating it. And he knows that, strategically division is working for him. Even though it is working against the country. But there is a much deeper thing going on. So the reason, i dont want to concentrate for the moment on this. Just on President Trump other than to acknowledge he has been complicit and heap has put the accelerator on it. Is because it is a bigger issue for all of us. It is not just him. But it is worth noting that the germ, the seed of all of this is, is racial hatred and sense of white supremacy. Which is why in the book i talk a lot about david duke. When david duke was in the legislature with me. White supremacist. Neonazi. He was a neonazi, leader of the ku klux klan, got elected in 1990. Subsequent ran for governor and ran for the United States senate. In one or both of the elections got two out of every three white votes. I have said in the book, that, we are not seeing anything now on the National Level that we
havent seen in louisiana. Relating to that racial issue. It is critically important, it is critical to talk about the cause of white supremacy. Because we have seen examples in in our history. That when one group of people think theyre superior to another, atrs tees occur. You can see examples where we as human beings have allowed ourselves. We didnt check our worst impulses to get to a place that created very dark moments in history. You actually setd the parallels between david duke and President Trump as demagogues are breathtaking. His make America Great again slogan is the dog whistle of all time. So, yeah, if you spend any time in the south, you speak to most people. Africanamericans you say i want to make America Great. They will go, me too. If you put the comma in again
next to it. That its a dog whistle of epic proportions. To people in the south who are saying, when, when were we great . Like exactly what years were we great . What were we doing . And by the way do you know what i might have been doing at the time . So, you know, taking people back to a time when they didnt have the right to vote. The idea of america, based on freedom. Not race, creed, color, sexual orientation, not nation of origin. Just the need to be free. To feel liberty to have justice. Thats what makes america the greatest country in the world. So, when, when people in the south hear that they go that is a dog whistle. And the reason why i compared him to david duke. Do you think he is a racist president . President is a racist . Let me answer that question this way. If i said yes, the headline would be, mayor calls president
something, rejects it. Never get to the issue. I would recommend that people judge other people based on their behavior. When you see an individual, speaking or creating a policy, based on race, creed, sexual orientation, check off the boxes thats by definition racist behavior. So ive dont think there is any question that the president , since the moment he began running for office when he said all mexicans are rapists, talking about muslims being evil and terrorists, or, the fact that, this False Equivalency in charlottesville between White Supremacists and the protesters. Any body who reads a book on racism would say that kind of looks pretty good. In the south, if if the walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, i mean it is usually a duck. Ill take that as a yes. You wound your way around it. I think i explained my self well. We ought to judge him. Not by calling names. Its about accurately and
without judgment describing behavior. You watched Whats Going On at the border. Do you, do you think thats part of the Dog Whistling . The answer to the question is yelgs. These are all different ways of exhibiting the same heart, or the same mind. Is that somehow these people are evil. Zero tolerance policy is, is is premised on, the simple notion that if you come into our country. Whether you are frying to flee persecution or not. By definition, remember they use the word criminal. It is a misdemeanor offense. That would be akin to calling your mother criminal for running a red light and getting pulled over. When you continue to judge people, based on those characteristics, it, it makes americans afraid of them. Because if you can make them afraid. Then you can, get rid of due process. Get rid of constitutional requirements. Get rid of all, and begin to
oppress. Not a good place to be as a country. You were elected lieutenantgovernor of this state. The state that gave donald trump a 20point victory. And where he still very popular. Hes done well here. You wouldnt call all the folks who voted for you and for him. Racists . No. No. Ive would not. What is it that is provoking support . An excellent question. Not every person that voted for donald trump is a racist. There are some people. Not everybody against taking the monuments down was a racist. They, in essence, are frustrated with the fact that washington is broken you. Know what, theyre right. Congress is incape bum of solving any problem. This last election, to me, its was was not really about donald trump. It really wasnt about hillary clinton. Though those were the two personages and whom people could vent their anger and frustration. But when you look at Operation Wall Street or the tea party, and, and that whole thing. It is fair to say that people in america are feeling alienated. Forgotten. Left out. And all of that frustration, found itself and manifested itself in the election of President Trump. Next on the axe files. Collusion in motion is what we witnessed this week. You cant have a coach plan for the playing for the other team. When i received the diagnoses, i knew at that exact moment. Im beating this. My main focus was to find a team of doctors. Its not just picking a surgeon, its picking the care team and feeling secure in where you are. Visit cancercenter. Com breast i work for a game who made a speech that catapulted him into the national conversation. There is not a liberal america, and a conservative america, there is the United States of america. You made a speech when you took the statues down that went viral. These monuments celebrate a fictional sanitized confederacy, ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement, ignoring the terror that they stood for. Why were people so hungry for the message of that speech . When i gave this speech, i, i gave this speech in new orleans to a local audience. I was delivering a speech to the people of new orleans but to White Working Class people as an invitation to see things in a
different way to. Explain the facts that had never been explained to them to. Talk about what the real story is and inviting them to, to, think about things differently. In an effort to reconcile. And i was, i was really shocked that, that anything that i said went viral. Because as you know, 30 years of Public Service you give a lot of speeches. Some of them you think are pretty good. Mitch, i want to ask you this. And i, i, dont want you to be, dont want you to go into politician evasive tactics here. People talk about you as a president ial candidate. Partly because of this message. And because there is this, this sense that we are deeply divided. And its not healthy for the country. How seriously are you thinking about it . Well, couple things. First of all, disingenuous of me to tell you i dont hear that. A lot of people call and ask and talk. But i have been doing this for 30 years now. So i listen to that with skeptical ears. I know first of all how hard it is to get elected. Second how hard the job is. And how many people there are out there that would look to do the same thing. So when you are thinking about Something Like that. You got to think hard. You got to be 100 in so. I hear that. Ive am thinking about it whechblt you say seriously. I am not doing what other people are doing which is to, say i am not running then preparing to or setting up. All of these apparatuses. There are a lot of good people that are thing about it. Most important thing, david. Not trying to, skirt the issue. Especially, given the way the president handled himself on the world stage. Humiliated the United States of america. And as i said before, took a knee. To putin. Collusion in motion. Is what we witnessed. That it is got to be clear, even to, to some, some president ial trumps most ardent supporters. Those who supported him because of trade or the economy. That was a bridge too far. That you cant have a Coach Playing for the other team we
just witnessed something no president in history. Im not interested in figuring it out anymore. President from has us spinning in circles trying to figure why he does. What we need to focus. His decisions. Does it make america stronger or weaker . He weakened us in a way we have never been weakened. Should be ashamed of hifl sell for the way he handled it. We need to figure how to work around him as a country. How to contain him. Hard to work around the president. Its not impossible. It is possible for the speaker of the house to, to grow some courage. And to start checking the president s power. And there are lots of ways we can do that. Some republicans are going to have to hold their noses and vote for democrats in the congressional race. Congress if it will not do its job, it has the not done its job, are going to have to, going to have to change them you. Know what if those folks dont do their job. They will change them as well. This Isnt About Party any more. This is about country. The Republican Party has always prided itself on being the party of faith, family, country. Though i think the Democratic Party is as well. But how do you, how do you really kind of maintain, that sense of im a true patriot when you are allowing your leader to actually, you know, give to russia whatever it is they think they need. Ronald reagan is turning over in his grave. I can assure you of that. So you think this was a watershed moment . I have no idea. How many watershed moments can you have before people i have off to tell you. This one feels different. A lot of them have felt different to me. Everything we thought we knew about politics has not come to be. There is a silver lining, the country is tougher and more resilient than we thought it is. The American People are more circumspect. At some point in time though it becomes clear and obvious, whether the president is working on behalf of the American People or against them. Whether he is making a stronger or weaker. Whether or not we are heading in the right or wrong direction. The more important question
is, why his base will stay with him no matter what. And you know what . Even if they will, it is incumbent upon the people not in his base, but like him, for certain things to finally say, listen. This doesnt work anymore. Doesnt matter how high the stock market is or what the return to the shareholders is or what the Unemployment Rate is, you can not basically undermine the essence of what the United States of america is. I cant last for a long time. Leave yourself out of it for now. What kind of candidate do you think needs to run in 2020 to be an effective counterpoint to trump . An excellent question. Because the Democratic Party can always be counted on to shoot itself in the foot. If it was a constructive primary. Then as you know, the Democratic Party much like the Republican Party, family food fight. Will have a number of different iteration. You have, the progressive wing of the party. Really tilting, tilting to the left. Then you have basically, the moderates. Then you have people that are kind of falling in both of the categories. Inside. Jouf outside players. For me, the, this notion of having a new, young, macron come along. That may happen. Im, more of a traditionalist. You know i would like somebody with great experience. I would like somebody that can restore americas stature in the world day one. I would look somebody that knows what theyre doing. Because the they have done that before. That can stabilize and just rebalance the country for four years. Sound like, kind of describing, joe biden. Off awe i think i am, honestly. Ive had to pick today. He could take over tomorrow. And life would be better. For everybody. Plus he understands, Working Class folks. And, in a way, that, that most people dont. But, for my liking. I think stability. I think certainty. I think a good world view. I think experience. All the stuff should matter more
to the world, at the moment. Than, anything else. You know, a number of mayors are, considering good ones. What you are describing doesnt seem to speak to the mayors . No one has been elected president. As the a mayor. True. Do you think mayors have the experience necessary to run the country . Yeah, yes, actually. But i want to stay clearly, about this. If we were in a there mall time, and we are not in a normal time. We are in an abnormal time. My view might be different about who should ascend to, to the nomination of the Democratic Party. As it relates to mayors though. Ive dont, think there is another job, in america, that actually prepares you to be president. Belter than being a mayor of a major, american city. Because why is that . Mayors are executing every day. In fact theyre ceos. You are also more exposed. Well. Get immediate feedback from your constituents. Let me tell you how it works. I have gotten laced more times
than i would like to. In the morning if my wife says, we dont have any break, can you run to the store, grab some milk. By the time i go out of my car get that milk and get back to my car the i have been spoken to in way that would make you blush. If the day before, you did something that the people didnt like. When i go off to the cleaners, at the market, at ape restaurant. What happened to Sarah Huckabee sanders. What did you think about it . I didnt like that. Made me uncomfortable. Obviously dont agree with Sarah Huckabee sanders on, but she is doing a job. There has to be private space for individuals working on behalf of the public to live. I fully believe people ought to have a right to protest in reasonable time, place, manner. You can be vociferous as you want, as passionate as you want. But at some point, there has to be a line. Because then it is impossible to work i the thought it was plain
rude. We are not going to beat them by being like them. What is your reaction to the Movement Among some democrats, to abolish ice . That is a bad idea. I had as you know, mayor, a Consent Decree on our police department. We had to completely reform the way the police interacted so that they became part of the Community Engage in community policing. Never said we are going to get rid of the police department. We said we are going to fix it. The border agents, all of them, are operating at the direction of the president of the United States<