Hey, what's going on everybody. I'm Trevor Noah.
On today's episode of the show,
we catch up on all things inauguration--
how Biden came in, how Trump went out,
and how Melania stopped pretending that she's happy.
Plus, our guest tonight is the woman many credit
for Dikembe Mutombo'ing Mitch McConnell--
Stacey Abrams. She's gonna be joining us on the show.
So let's do this, people. Welcome to
The Daily Social Distancing Show.
-? ? -ANNOUNCER: From Trevor's couch in New York City
to your couch somewhere in the world, this is
The Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor Noah.
Today the sun was shining, the birds were singing
and McDonald's' share price in Florida just went way up,
because America just got a brand new dad.
JOHN ROBERTS: Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.
I, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.,
do solemnly swear.
I, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., do solemnly swear.
That I will faithfully execute.
The office of president
of the United States.
Office of president of the United States.
And will, to the best of my ability.
Preserve, protect and defend.
The Constitution of the United States.
-So help you God. -So help me God.
-Congratulations, Mr. President. -(cheering)
(band playing "Hail to the Chief")
I don't know about you, but this moment
will stay in my memory forever.
Joe Biden's middle name is Robinette?
What?
But that's right-- as of noon Eastern time today,
America welcomed the fresh young face
of Joseph R. Biden as its 46th president.
And despite the pandemic, this inauguration had it all:
former presidents, the youngest inaugural poet,
an amazing singer wearing her own Etsy store,
an old man on his way to the post office,
and even a lady whose outfit
just called me a broke bitch.
Biden was so committed to unity
that he even invited enemies of the state.
No, I'm joking, I'm joking, guys, I'm joking.
Ted Cruz didn't try and overthrow the government,
he just supported the people who did.
Even Mike Pence attended the inauguration
to honor the democratic transition of power.
Kudos to Mike Pence. You can see him there,
with his mask featuring the vice presidential seal.
And as tradition dictates, once Kamala was sworn in,
he gave that very same mask for her to put on.
But before the new president could walk in,
the old one had to be kicked out.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: There you see Marine One on the lawn
of the White House. President Trump's still there
but is expected to depart any minute
for Andrews Air Force Base and give a final speech
before heading to Mar-a-Lago.
And I can tell you that from the bottom of my heart,
this has been an incredible four years.
-We rebuilt the United States military. -(sporadic cheers)
We created a new force
called Space Force.
And now the stock market
is actually substantially higher
than it was at its higher point
prior to the pandemic,
so it's, uh, really, you could say we built it twice.
I hope they don't raise your taxes.
But if they do, I told you so.
So just... a goodbye.
We love you.
We will be back in some form.
Have a good life.
We will see you soon.
Have a good life?
That's not what a departing president is supposed to say.
That is what you tell your best friend in high school
when she starts dating your ex.
I hope you two are very happy together.
Have a good life! If he dumps you before prom,
I told you so!
Although I do like how he said
he'll be "back in some form."
Because my man knows you got to leave on a cliffhanger.
I'll be back in some form.
Maybe I'll come back as a politician.
Maybe as a mutant fish monster.
Or maybe I'll come back as
one of those old guys with a ponytail.
Stay tuned.
But Trump's last day in office wasn't all just
whining and stealing silverware. No, my friends.
He also made sure to hand out some very nice parting gifts
to all his friends.
NEWSMAN: President Trump announces more than
140 pardons and commutations.
The list ranges from the president's political allies
to nonviolent drug offenders.
Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty to defrauding donors
in a fundraising campaign for President Trump's border wall,
but before the trial could even get underway,
the president gave him a preemtive pardon.
Three former Republican Congressman
and commuted the sentence of Detroit's
former Democratic mayor Kwame Kilpatrick,
who was serving time on corruption charges.
The president also pardoned
rappers Lil' Wayne and Kodak Black
on their separate federal weapons-related offenses.
That's right people, Donald Trump pardoned
a ton of shady people in the last hours of his presidency.
Which means those fraudsters can get back to defrauding
and Steve Bannon can get back to selling Mucinex.
The weird part, though, was how he kept trying
to give prison time to Eric.
I'm sorry, Eric, the rule in prison is one in, one out.
It's just like the nightclubs.
I'm gonna miss you, Eric jokes.
Have a good life.
Now, what was really crazy
is that Trump pardoned
Kodak Black and Lil' Wayne.
Which sounds like a good thing.
I mean, it's cool to pardon anyone, I guess,
but it's a terrible thing to do to a rapper.
'Cause you're taking away their street cred.
Now what are they gonna rap about?
? Yeah, young Weezy, baby ?
? I can I get an office job now ?
? I can also get a mortgage at a good rate ?
? Legally buy a gun in all states ?
? Now you see me on the street ?
? On my way to jury duty, where the booty that is goody... ?
(trails off)
Honestly, if you ask me, I think it's incredible
that Trump didn't pardon himself.
Because it means that even President Trump
looked at Donald Trump's record and decided,
man, I can't let this guy off that easy.
Then again, some people are actually speculating
that Trump secretly wrote himself a pardon
that he can use later.
And, honestly, I hope that he did.
Because he's Donald Trump, so you know he's just gonna
end up wasting that pardon on some bullshit.
Mr. Trump, your car is illegally parked in a handicap spot
and you're getting a ticket.
Well, now's the perfect time to use my one and only pardon.
I'll see you when I come back from my game of golf.
Now, Trump is not the first president
to issue shady pardons on his way out the door.
I mean, Bill Clinton famously pardoned his brother
and a really dodgy businessman whose ex-wife
donated to Clinton's library.
And, yes, don't get me wrong, Trump took it
to a whole new level, but he's not unique.
If anything, I think he should have gone further.
I'm not gonna lie-- I'm really pissed off
that of all the people Trump chose to pardon,
he didn't pardon Joe Exotic.
Because I don't know about you, but I want--
no, I need-- a second season of that show.
I need more Tiger King.
Now the only thing I can watch on Netflix
is that Bridgerton show.
Every day-- Bridgerton, Bridgerton--
and I'm falling in love with that duke.
And I'm sitting there wondering what our babies would look like
if we were a couple.
Probably like us.
And it wasn't just last-minute pardons.
Last night, at literally 1:00 in the morning,
Donald Trump also did this.
Breaking overnight: President Donald Trump signing
an executive order releasing current and former members
of his administration from the terms of their ethics pledge.
That pledge: one of Trump's first executive orders
back in 2017 when he pledged to drain the swamp.
It required Trump's political appointees to agree to
the lobbying ban as well as pledge not to undertake work
that would require them to register as a foreign agent
after leaving government.
So after all that time, talking about
how he's gonna drain the swamp,
the one rule he actually made to reduce corruption
he got rid of right before he left office.
But let's be real, though, people-- electing Trump
to reduce corruption is like hiring Hilaria Baldwin
to handle your PR crisis--
the results are gonna be no bueno.
But on the other hand, I do get why he's doing this.
Trump staffers have to become lobbyists.
I mean, where else are they gonna go with their résumés?
So why do you think you'd be a good employee for Pets Plus?
Well, you guys keep pets in cages
and, uh, we used to keep kids in cages.
Um, okay, we'll be in touch.
And so, with Trump finally gone,
it was time for President Biden
to get the key from under the mat
and settle into the house
that they'd spent all day getting ready for him.
NEWSMAN: Right now the White House residence staff
are going around the White House and boxing up anything
that the Trump family may have left behind.
Trump officials insist that the place is going to be sanitized
with particular care and COVID-19 in mind.
NEWWOMAN: Part of what is going to be moved in
and different in the White House residence
is that the Bidens will, I hear, share a bedroom.
The Trumps, of course, had separate bedrooms.
So this will be switched.
All the mattresses will be refreshed.
NEWSMAN 2: We're so used to seeing the new president
walk up the steps under the north portico
into the White House to be greeted
by the outgoing president of the United States.
And there you saw Joe Biden and the First Lady not greeted
by anybody outside the front door of the White House.
In fact, the previous president had skipped town
before the inauguration.
So Biden left there to sort of be a self-greeter in many ways,
and let himself into the White House, into the front door.
Yeah. Trump wasn't there to greet Biden at the White House,
which is a snub.
But on the other hand, I'm not sure that Trump needs
to be there now because how would that conversation even go?
You know, I actually used to work here
so you don't need to show me where the Situation Room is.
The Situ-what Room?
Now, I know it's Inauguration Day,
and everyone wants to throw a party,
but remember, it's also Wednesday,
which means it's still a work day.
And so after he got back to the White House,
President Joseph Robinette Biden went straight to work.
And let's just say
the White House bathrooms aren't the only place
Biden is looking to wipe out any trace of Donald Trump.
NEWSMAN: Just hours after being sworn in,
President Joe Biden is already putting the pen
to a number of executive orders.
This is common practice as presidents enter office.
NEWSWOMAN: Biden expected to sign
roughly a dozen executive orders,
undoing some of Donald Trump's most controversial moves.
He will immediately rejoin the Paris Climate Accord,
reportedly cancel the Keystone Pipeline,
and will reverse the so-called "Muslim travel ban,"
and take the first step in his fight against COVID,
mandating masks on federal lands,
and extending the pause of student loan payments.
Wow. That is a huge reversal of Trump's legacy.
Rejoining the Paris Accords, canceling the Keystone Pipeline
and even repealing the infamous Muslim ban.
Although with America's COVID rates right now,
I don't actually think that last one
is gonna make much of a difference.
Come on over, Muslim countries. Come on to America.
Actually, we have Zoom now, so... (laughs)
you guys can keep your coughing.
Now, this is really good news, and I'm glad
that America is rejoining the Paris Accord.
But you got to admit, this back and forth--
this must be so weird for other countries.
Because under Obama, America celebrated the Paris Accords.
But then, under Trump, it was like,
"(bleep) the Paris Accords!
Let the planet burn!"
And then, now under Biden, it's like, "All right, guys, I'm...
"I'm back in the Paris Accords. Sorry.
"Yeah, and I'm also back on my meds. (laughs)
Sorry about that."
So my friends, Donald
Jesus-Christ-That-Was-Crazy Trump
has officially departed the White House for the last time.
And I know. I know that many people are angry right now
at the state that he left this country in.
But I implore you to try and look at the few silver linings.
One-- America survived Trump,
and in doing so, displayed its resilience.
And two-- Trump's term has truly exposed so many of the flaws
in America's system. And I know for some,
day one of Joe Biden's presidency may be too soon
to think about fixing America's problems,
but you need to start fixing them now.
Because before you know it, 2024 will be here,
and Donald Trump might be back
in some form.
All right, when we come back,
we'll see how today stacked up to other inaugurations.
Spoiler alert: it had a lot less dead birds.
And Stacey Abrams is still joining us on the show,
so stick around.
Welcome back to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
Joe Biden's inauguration did not look like a typical one.
Partly because of the pandemic,
partly because the National Guard was protecting him
from the previous president.
But what does a typical Inauguration Day look like?
Well, actually, there really isn't one.
To find out why, it's time for another episode of
"If You Don't Know, Now You Know."
? ?
The first thing to understand about Inauguration Day is
that there's no reason it has to be a full day.
There's only one thing that really has to happen,
and it takes about two minutes as long as nothing goes wrong.
NEWSWOMAN: There are speeches...
...what your country must do...
-NEWSOMAN: ...parades and balls. -? Yesterday's gone ?
? Yesterday's gone..."
But according to the U.S Constitution,
the only requirement is for the president to take the oath.
An entire government hands over baton to the next government.
It does not happen until the words of the oath are uttered.
And the words matter.
You have to say the words correctly.
NEWSWOMAN 2: Barack Obama had to take
the oath of office twice in 2009.
That's because Chief Justice John Roberts misspoke,
and one word was out of sequence.
That I will execute the office
of president to the United States faithfully.
That I will execute...
...the off... Faithfully, the pres...
the office of president of the United States.
...the office of president of United States faithfully.
NEWSMAN 2: Immediately, people called it a botched oath.
Some people even questioned,
is President Obama a real president?
Oh, man. Did you see Obama's face?
He was so pissed, and I would be, too.
Imagine spending two years campaigning
all over the country, and then,
the guy giving you the oath is like,
"Do you swear to uphold the dong-stitution?
"I mean the Constitution? Whoops.
"(laughing): Oh, man. Well, sorry.
Let's try it again in four years."
You can see Obama's eyes.
You can see in his eyes, he's thinking,
"Really, asshole, I didn't move
all the way from Kenya to have you screw this up now."
And honestly, I kind of agree.
I mean, damn, I know it's an oath,
but you're not allowed to say one word wrong?
You're becoming a president, not summoning a dragon.
I bet Trump didn't know about this one, because if he had,
he definitely would have gone to Biden's inauguration
just so he could mess things up.
"I, Joseph R. Biden..." "Fart."
"...do solemnly... swear to..." "Fart! Fart."
"Fart, Fart, Fart." "Come on, man."
Now because the oath is required,
it's the same for every president.
But the inaugural speech is where
each individual president gets to tell you who they are.
DAN RATHER: Presidents use their inaugural addresses
to try and set the tone
and lay out the themes for the next four years.
ALLAN LICHTMAN: It's a great opportunity
to make a great speech and encapsulate his vision
in a few telling lines.
The only thing we have to fear is... fear itself.
Ask not what your country can do for you.
Ask what you can do for your country.
NEWSMAN: The shortest inaugural speech, a mere 135 words,
was delivered by George Washington
at his second swearing in.
The longest, William Henry Harrison's,
which ran on for two hours on a cold March day.
NEWSMAN 2: Harrison died of pneumonia 31 days later.
Now Harrison didn't get pneumonia
because he gave a speech in the cold three weeks earlier,
but it was still a huge mistake
because he was only president for 31 days,
and he wasted the first two hours.
I mean, he could have been like, "No speech.
I got to enjoy this while it lasts,"
and then went and spent the whole day
just running around the White House in his underwear,
because with a two-hour speech, you know he had a ton of plans.
And then in year two, we're gonna fix the railways
and add some more states.
And then, year three. Oh, boy.
Year three is gonna be my favorite year yet!
But you know what surprises me is George Washington.
135 words is not the length of a presidential speech.
That's more like a college student that forgot
that he had an essay due that day.
On the other hand, 135 words is a lot
when you have wooden teeth.
Ladies and gentlemen, I shall-- aw, shit, a splinter.
All right, I'm out, I'm out, I'm out. Aw.
Now, once the speech is out of the way,
the fun parts of Inauguration Day begin.
The balls, the concerts, the parades.
It's basically My Super Sweet 16 for men in their 70s.
But like any big party, there's always the chance
that something will go horribly wrong.
NEWSWOMAN: Inaugurations follow a very prescribed order,
and while most inaugurations have been conducted
with decorum, some have had their mishaps.
Vice President Andrew Johnson had too much to drink
the night before Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration.
Johnson delivered a speech the next day,
still drunk, embarrassing the president.
An electrical short caused John F. Kennedy's podium
to catch fire, as Cardinal Richard Cushing
gave the invocation at his inauguration.
NEWSMAN: In 1873, Ulysses S. Grant
was being inaugurated, and it was very cold.
So, what happened is that the champagne turned into slushies,
and they had all these canaries brought in to sing
as background noise, and they all froze to death.
Andrew Jackson's 1829 bash was the rowdiest.
20,000 Jackson supporters stormed the White House,
pulling down the curtains, walking on the furniture,
causing massive damage.
The new president reportedly escaped the crush
through a window.
Goddamn! People think Trump caused chaos--
imagine if his presidency started with a riot.
But hey, man, say what you want about Andrew Jackson,
that dude could throw a party.
I mean, you know a party's hard-core
when the host is like, "If I don't get out of here,
I'm gonna die."
It's funny, because we think of all these historical figures
as being so proper and respectable,
but damn, those parties were baller.
I mean, I've been to some crazy parties,
but I've never been to a party that got "frozen canary" crazy.
Although, I think frozen canaries on the floor
can really kill the mood at any party.
Hey, what's up, girl?
I couldn't help but notice you standing here by yourself,
-(crunching) -and I just-- Oh, God.
Shit, I just stepped on... Oh, I stepped on...
(sobbing): Oh, man... oh, no...
I felt its bones!
(sobbing)
So, you got a man? Or what?
Now, a lot of the talk this year is about how President Trump
broke tradition by refusing to show up
for Joe Biden's big day.
Which clearly was a sign of respect.
I mean, if there's one thing Donald Trump
would never want to do, is draw attention to himself
at somebody else's party.
But the truth is that 2021 isn't the first Inauguration Day
to feature tension between the new president
and the outgoing one.
NEWSWOMAN: Since Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson
traveled by carriage in 1837,
it's become tradition for the president
to escort the president-elect from the White House
to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony.
Historically, some transitions have been, well, ugly.
NEWSMAN: Ulysses S. Grant declined
to give Andrew Johnson the ride to the Capitol,
and so Johnson declined to attend the inauguration.
1953, Dwight Eisenhower rolled up at the White House
to pick up Harry Truman.
The Trumans were inside with coffee ready.
Someone came in and said to Truman,
"Eisenhower won't get out of his car.
He won't come in and have coffee with you."
The 1933 inauguration of FDR,
Hoover wouldn't look at or even speak to Roosevelt
on the car ride over to the swearing-in.
Ooh...
That looked so awkward.
Hoover was acting like he was in an Uber pool.
Look, man, I'm just trying to save three bucks.
I'm not here to make a friend.
And to be honest,
I actually understand where they're coming from.
'Cause look, I get that it's important
to concede when you lose, but it does feel a little bit
like it's rubbing it in to make you give the guy who beat you
a ride to the inauguration.
That never happens in any other situation.
When you get divorced, you're not expected
to drive your ex to their next wedding.
So I can see why some presidents get a little petty.
And honestly, I think they could have done worse.
I mean, if Trump wanted to be really petty,
he wouldn't have skipped town,
he would have offered to drive Biden
and then show up on a motorcycle.
Sorry, Biden, you got to ride bitch...
bitch.
So, that's the big public event of Inauguration Day.
But there is one final tradition that takes place in private,
when the new president sits down in the Oval Office
for the first time and finds a special note on their desk.
NEWSWOMAN: There is a tradition where the president
leaves a letter for the incoming president,
and he leaves it in the desk,
and it is that private connection
between the two of them who are now both officially
in what is known as "The Presidents Club."
NEWSMAN: That's another very new tradition,
goes back to Ronald Reagan, who left a letter
for his vice president, George H.W. Bush,
that said at the top: "Don't let the turkeys get you down."
After George H.W. Bush lost his reelection fight
to Bill Clinton, the sitting president penned a letter
to his opponent saying, in part...
NEWSWOMAN: The letter former president, Obama,
left for President Trump-- in part, President Obama wrote...
(laughs)
Wow, guys. Trump really changed the game on everything.
Because before him, all the presidents would leave
little encouraging notes, you know? "You got this, champ."
"All of America's rooting for you."
But Obama's letter to Trump was trying to teach Trump
about America.
(like Obama): Okay, real quick.
There's a thing called democracy.
Uh, you've got the rule of law...
But this is actually one tradition that Donald Trump
did continue.
And, in fact, we actually got our hands
on Trump's actual outgoing letter to Joe Biden
from our White House insiders.
Oh, man, I'm gonna miss that guy.
So there you have it--
the American presidential inauguration.
Sometimes it's messy, sometimes it's awkward,
but even after a month like this one,
it always happens.
And if you don't know, now you know.
All right, when we come back, I'll be talking to the woman
who many credit with being the person
who helped turn Georgia blue.
That's right, Stacey Abrams is joining me on the show.
So don't go away.
Welcome back to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
Earlier today, I spoke with political leader and activist
Stacey Abrams.
She's the founder of Fair Fight, the voting rights organization
in Georgia that helped Joe Biden win Georgia
and Democrats gain control of the U.S. Senate.
We talked about that and so much more.
Stacey Abrams, welcome back
to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
(laughs) Thank you for having me again.
The last time you were on the show,
for many Americans it seemed like everything was lost.
We were at the height of the George Floyd protests,
Donald Trump was, I mean, just Donald Trump,
and coronavirus was going up
in a way that we couldn't have even imagined could get worse.
Speaking to you today,
Joe Biden is now officially in the White House,
Donald Trump is back playing golf,
where he was when he was president,
but not as president,
and coronavirus is still going up.
So it's, I guess, one out of three right now.
Are you happy with how things are going?
-How are you doing today? -I'm-I'm incredibly grateful
for where we are in two ways.
One, we now have a president who can actually address
the death toll that coronavirus is wreaking across the country,
can make certain that communities
that have been left out of...
just simply getting basics
will suddenly and, I think, for the first time,
have access to the support and resources they need.
I am deeply, deeply grateful
that Donald Trump is out of the White House.
I'm a little annoyed that he's just south of where I live.
But, you know, we're America.
He gets to live where he wants.
Uh, but I think, more than anything,
we have an opportunity for hope
that we haven't had in a very long time,
and I'm just pleased that Georgia got to be
a part of making it so.
Many people have credited the work
that you've done in Georgia.
What I've appreciated though is how,
when Georgia flipped,
the first thing you did
was thank all the other people who made it possible.
Walk me through that. Is it-- is it very strange for you
to be almost like the "Iron Man" of this thing?
And then you-you have to keep telling people,
"Yes, but Spider-Man also helped
"and so did, uh, Black Panther
"and-and so did every single other person
in the Marvel universe."
I-I-- I-I'm grateful
for the-the support and the accolades.
And I understand just how relieved people feel.
And it's important often to identify a focal point.
I've been privileged to, you know,
be a part of building this apparatus over a decade.
I've been, you know, pretty good
at, you know, publicly begging for money for our state
and being the hype man for Georgia.
And so I appreciate the attention and the recognition.
But I do think it's always essential
that you recognize all of the component pieces.
Because, you know, grassroots organizing
and political organizing are two facets
of how you put together the Infinity Stone
that actually delivers us, you know,
from, you know, Thanos into justice.
So this-- I know-- And for all the Marvel,
you know, acolytes, I know I completely butchered that
a little bit, but you got what I meant.
(laughs): So, you know, I'm-I'm so pleased
to be a part of this pantheon that got good done.
And it is my responsibility to always lift up
those who have been doing this work.
Because the minute we start to believe our own hype,
we believe the accolades,
that they belong solely to us,
that's the beginning of someone like a Donald Trump,
that's the beginning of something like
the modern-day Republican Party,
where you lose the sense of who you are,
trying to be what people say they think you should be.
What do you think it is about Black women that, uh...
that people see as magic
but Black women see as almost a necessity?
Because, you know, I-I look at South Africa's history.
And, obviously, you had the likes of Nelson Mandela
that everybody knows about. But then you had all of the women,
you know, like Winnie Mandela, et cetera,
who fought for the struggle
and didn't get as many acc-accolades.
The same thing happened in America.
You look at the civil rights movement
and how many women have either been erased
or overlooked when talking about the story
of America achieving democracy.
When you look at the-the fight that is happening right now,
there's no denying that, everywhere around the country,
Black women are at the forefront of trying to get America
to be as progressive as possible.
What do you think that comes from?
That Black women tend to bear the brunt of every evil
and bear the responsibility for every failure.
And so our response, our only response
has to be that we're gonna push harder, fight longer,
and recognize that we will go unrecognized.
But, that said, I-I want to expand the conversation a bit,
because for communities--
Latino communities that are, you know,
languishing in spaces where they are not respected,
-I think it's something that women do. -Mm-hmm.
I think that we have communities, A-Asian American,
Pacific Islander communities, Native American communities,
where women are often the-the leaders,
the lost leaders. We are the ones who do the work.
We rarely get the credit,
but we understand the consequences.
And that's really what drives us.
And, certainly, Black women in this moment
deserve every accolade and every plaudit.
But I also want to make sure that we think
about all the other women of color
and white women who have entered the space where they are
from places of marginalization and disadvantage,
because men seem to be men no matter which race they're in.
(chuckles): And so women-- I think it's just critical for us
to-to not only lift up Black women,
to lift up women of color, to lift up women when we do right
but to recognize that we're also always in coalition
trying to get this done.
So then the big question is,
where does Stacey Abrams go from here?
What is the job? Everyone has a job for you.
I mean, some people want you to run for president.
Some people want you to, uh, take up the mantle in Georgia.
You know, some people say, "Stacey Abrams,
"you got to keep going for Georgia. Georgia is the future,
so you should be the governor."
I know that you've publicly said that you won't be running.
But my question to you is, why wouldn't you run
for governor of Georgia?
Well, so my first job's I need to get people
to buy my last book, Our Time Is Now,
that tells the story of how we build these things.
But my job is to f-- I am gonna continue to focus on Georgia.
Focus on redistricting,
Focus on the fact that already Brad Raffensperger is agitating
and advocating for rolling back voting rights.
Focus on the work we have to still do
to make certain that COVID recovery actually recognizes
the disproportionate effect that COVID has had
on a state like Georgia, where you have
such high populations of communities of color
and no public health infrastructure to speak of.
I may run for office again.
I haven't decided what I'm going to do politically.
But I know that my work is here, my focus is now,
and my mission is to help lift the South,
starting here in Georgia.
Donald Trump was a common cause
that people were fighting against.
Joe Biden is now going to be the president
who has to answer and address many of the issues
that many Americans are facing.
You don't agree with everything that Joe Biden says or does.
And, I mean, that's-that's part of politics.
What are some of the issues that you want to see him addressing?
What are some of the things that you feel
Joe Biden and his administration need to push for immediately?
I think he's made the right first steps
by focusing on COVID and COVID relief.
We have to recognize
that the disproportionate infection rate,
the disproportionate death rate,
the disproportionate loss of income
has affected communities of color and women
in ways that will continue to reverberate through our economy.
They are starting early on that issue,
and I think that's the right start.
Number two, we've got to restore our democracy.
Defeating Donald Trump
was simply attacking one of the symptoms.
We've got to fix the disease,
which is this Republican insistence
that the way to win elections is to keep citizens from voting.
And that's a solvable problem.
And they know-- We have the bills ready to go.
And then, number three, climate action.
The fact that he has tapped John Kerry
to be an emissary on this issue,
the fact that he has really populated his cabinet
with people like Jennifer Granholm,
who understand how we can take climate action
and turn it into job creation,
turn it into community opportunity,
turn it into environmental justice,
those are the first three things that we focus on.
And I think overarching all of that
is making certain that we embed racial justice
in every one of these conversations,
because racial justice cuts across
every one of these issues.
And if we do it right, we can start to finally reckon
with who we are and what we can become.
After every victory, there's a moment of celebration.
Uh, after hard work,
there's a moment where you reap your rewards.
Is Stacey Abrams going on a-- on a vacation?
I know it's hard in a pandemic.
There's not many places you can go.
But Georgia has, like, beautiful lakes
and you've got beautiful, like, areas you can--
Are you gonna take some time off
-or are you just nonstop? -I am. I am so excited.
My younger sister Leslie likes to...
bo-bother the dickens out of me
-because I don't vacation effectively. -(laughs)
Um, but I am going on vacation, and I am so excited.
And I need the rest.
-I-I've got a stack of books. -What do you do--
what do you do on vacation?
What does Stacey Abrams do on vacation?
Are you one of the-- Are you the, like, "sit down,
read a book, do nothing" type, like on a beach type thing?
Or are you the, like, "kayak on, like, a--
on, like, a river" type person? Who are you?
I-I-- Kayaking on a river is what you do
when you're on an active vacation
with people who know how to do the balance.
But I'm going on vacation by myself,
and I will be reading.
I will occasionally roll over and maybe watch something on TV
and then roll back over and start the next book.
And I'm going to take really, really long naps.
I'm so excited about sleeping.
Well, enjoy the naps, uh, enjoy the reading,
and, um, I'm excited to see what the...
what the future of Stacey Abrams holds.
Thank you so much for joining us again on the show.
Trevor, thank you for having me again.
You're fantastic.
Don't forget, Stacey Abrams' latest book,
Our Time Is Now is currently available.
So if you want to change your world, go out and get it.
All right, we're gonna take a quick break.
But we'll be right back after this.
Well, that's our show for tonight, but before we go,
the coronavirus pandemic is as bad as it has ever been.
But luckily our first responders are still out there
on the frontlines saving lives.
And if you want to help them out, then please consider
a donation to First Responders First,
which offers first class medical and psychological treatment
for first responders.
You can find out more at the link below.
Until tomorrow though, stay safe out there,
wear a mask and remember,
from now on, no malarkey.
Now here it is, Your Moment of Zen.
? ?
(fireworks whistling and popping)
I will tell you that the future of this country
has never been better.
I wish the new administration great luck and great success.
I think they'll have great success.
(all cheering, clamoring)
-That's what I'm talking about. -Get out of here.
-It's over. -See you, loser.
TRUMP: Again we put it in a position...
Well, what the (bleep) do we do now?
Our work here is done.
We can go back to heaven.
Except for you, Roosevelt.
Have a good life, we will see you soon.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what does he mean "see you soon"?
Oh, (bleep).