ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from New York City,
the only city in America, it's The Daily Show.
Tonight-- Trump's big, beautiful wall is back,
house music history,
and Pete Buttigieg.
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah!
(applause and cheering)
What's going on, everybody?
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Thank you for coming out in person.
Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
Thank you, everybody. Take a seat.
We have got a great show for you tonight.
Joe Biden is building the wall,
we learn where Beyoncé got her groove,
and Donald Trump has found a spooky way
to avoid paying taxes.
Plus the secretary of transportation,
Pete Buttigieg himself is joining us on the show tonight,
which means I'm getting a bunch of my parking tickets canceled!
-(applause and cheering) -So let's do this, people.
Let's jump straight into today's headlines.
-♪ ♪ -(applause and cheering)
All right! Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's get into it.
Oh, before we get into the big stories,
let's catch up on a few other things that are going on.
First of all, congratulations to someone out there
-for winning $1.3 billion... -(gasping)
in the Mega Millions Lotto.
Did you "boo" or "ooh." I don't know what that sound was.
(laughter)
It's the biggest lottery payout ever to a single winner.
And it's wild to me that we just gave a billion dollars
to someone who has proven that they're bad with money.
-Why are you playing the lottery?! -(laughter, applause)
It's a terrible investment... unless you win.
(applause and cheering)
Now, because Illinois has a law
allowing lottery winners to remain anonymous,
we might never know who won this money.
But I will say this.
If your next-door neighbor comes to your cookout
in a private jet, it's probably them,
or Kylie Jenner. You never know.
Meanwhile, in some shocking entertainment news,
-Beyoncé isn't perfect. -(gasping)
Yeah. Ah, this is the part where the tomatoes hit me.
-I know. I know. -(laughter)
Well, because this morning, Queen B said
that she would remove the word "spaz" from one of her new songs
because she didn't realize that it was ableist.
And if you're having a bit of déjà vu,
it's because this comes just a few weeks later, right,
a few weeks after Lizzo had to come out
and say the same thing.
She had to cut the same word from a song.
Which, honestly, must be so exciting for Lizzo, right?
Yeah, she's probably like, "Oh, my God!
Beyoncé sampled my scandal!"
-(laughter, applause) -"This is so amazing.
"We should do a collab on, like, a Notes app apology.
We should do this."
Oh, and there's another pop star in trouble.
This is a crazy story.
Shakira could be facing eight years in prison for tax fraud.
Yeah. The Spanish government says
that she dodged $17 million in taxes
by pretending to live in the Bahamas
when her real residence was in Barcelona.
-Bahamas, Barcelona. -(laughter)
So, yeah, it turns out you cannot claim your residence
as "whenever, wherever." That doesn't work.
(laughter, applause and cheering)
It's a good lesson for everybody here.
And in labor news, in labor news--
this is one of the weirdest stories ever--
a Chick-fil-A in North Carolina got into trouble
for asking for volunteers
to work the drive-through window, right?
And the reason it was volunteers is because
instead of paying the workers, the restaurant said
that it would give them five free meals
for every one-hour shift
-that they worked. Yeah. -(laughter)
And I will say, it really does show you
how good Chick-fil-A is because all of you paused
for a second when I said this.
Before getting angry, you're like, "Wait. Would I...?
-No! No!" -(laughter)
"Does it include the Waffle Fries?
-No! Boo! Boo!" -(applause)
So that's what's going on-- bunch of random things.
But anyway, let's move on
to some of the bigger news stories of the day,
starting with an update on Joe Biden,
the president whose approval rating is going
through its own recession.
As you all know, the president had COVID,
and then recovered from it last week.
But then, after testing negative,
the White House doctor is reporting
that Biden is now testing positive again
with what they call "a rebound infection."
And it's definitely not the rebound Biden was hoping for.
You know? He's like, "Come on, Jack.
"I want a positive on the poll numbers.
-Rebound. You know what I mean." -(applause and cheering)
"It's not a joke, man. Come on."
So, anyway, the president is back in isolation again.
But the White House says, "Don't worry.
He's feeling fine, and he will be working the entire time."
Although, many of his supporters might not love his new project.
NEWSWOMAN: President Biden says work can resume
on former President Trump's border wall.
The White House wants four gaps
in the fence to be filled in near Yuma, Arizona.
We're told it's one of the busiest crossings
for undocumented immigrants.
It's another reversal of policy for the president
who vowed not to add to his predecessor's efforts
in any way on that project.
There will not be another foot of wall
constructed in my administration.
That's right. There will be many feet of wall.
Ha, ha! Gotcha. 2024.
But, yes, it looks like Joe Biden
is completing Donald Trump's unfinished business.
So...
if I was Mike Pence right now,
I'd be nervous as hell.
I'd be watching out.
You know-you know what I also love, what I love
about this story is how Fox doesn't know
what to do with these kind of stories. Right?
Because they want the wall, but they also hate Joe Biden.
You know? They're like, "Did you see what Biden is doing?
"Uh, uh, he was-he was against the wall,
"but now he's building it. I guess we have to vote for him?
How does this work?"
But you do have to admit it is confusing. Right?
Because Biden, he spent what, four years
railing against the wall. He was like,
"This wall is fascist, it is racist and it's un-American,
"and now we're gonna have it patched up in no time, folks.
"We're gonna fix up this wall. We're gonna fix it all up.
Now, okay, the reason, the reason the Biden administration
gave for building Trump's wall in these sections of Arizona
is because they're saying it's dangerous
for migrants to cross the river there. Right?
And so they want to put up a wall
to stop the people from crossing.
Which you have admit is a little weird
because now they're saying
that walls do stop people from crossing.
Yeah. But they're only doing it here
because they want to make it safer, right,
because the river is super dangerous.
So they don't want people to try to cross here.
Other parts, I guess.
Although if you really wanted to make crossing a river safer,
then why wouldn't you just build a bridge
instead of adding a wall?
None of it makes sense. None of it makes sense.
You know why? You know why?
'Cause it's bullshit, that's why.
Yeah. This doesn't make sense.
And, look, I can't say it for certain, but it seems like
the only reason they're building a wall in these sections
is because these sections could affect Democratic senator
Mark Kelly, who's running for reelection in Arizona,
and he's been pushing for these sections to be filled.
Right? When you see it through that lens,
it makes a lot more sense. Migrants sneaking into Arizona?
Uh, that's whatever.
But Republicans sneaking into the Senate--
you got to shut that shit down.
And either way--
either way--
I hope this is one of those things
that can bring America together. You know?
This is one of those moments where people can unite,
because when you think about it, Trump and Biden
have more in common than we think.
They both want the wall filled in,
they both have shady sons,
and they both have close companions
who require annual rabies shots. It's a beautiful,
beautiful thing to see.
Biden and Trump.
Oh, speaking of Trump...
...the tangerine dream is back in the news
with yet another scandal, because--
this is one of the wildest things ever--
because remember how his wife, Ivana, passed away, right?
Really sad story, she passed away.
Well, it turns out the Donald
may have managed to turn even that into a scam.
NEWSWOMAN: Ivana Trump, the first wife of President Trump,
has been laid to rest in an unusual location:
near the first hole at President Trump's
golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The reason is unclear, but according to Insider,
operating a cemetery on the golf course
will allow President Trump to avoid paying taxes on the land.
Wow.
Wow, wow, wow...
wow.
A lot of people say
"I'll pay taxes over my dead body."
Trump means it. Just someone else's body.
And even for him, this feels like a step too far.
I don't care what anyone says.
Like, I-I wouldn't even laugh at that as a joke.
If someone said to me, "Donald Trump's ex-wife died.
"He's probably gonna bury her on his golf course
to save on taxes." I'd be like, "Yo, that's not cool, man.
That's not cool." But it turns out
Trump was like, "Wait, wait, say more, say more.
I'm gonna send this to my accountant. Keep going."
What this really shows you
is how strange the tax system can be.
Like, all this tax break does is incentivize you to be a weirdo.
Who came up with this?
It almost feels like the law was written by a serial killer.
Just like, "There should be a law that if you bury a body
in your yard you don't have to pay taxes anymore."
It's like, "Yeah, the senator whose interns keep disappearing
"makes a good point. The motion passes.
Good point, good point." That's ridiculous.
All right, that's it for the headlines,
but before we go to a break, it's time to check in
on the weather forecast with our very own Desi Lydic, everybody!
(cheering, applause)
Desi Lydic. Good to see you.
So... what's happening?
What's happening-- the weather has, uh, calmed down a bit.
What the-what's the weather looking like?
Oh, man, it is all blue skies and sunshine
for whoever won the $1.3 billion jackpot,
I'll tell you that.
God, I, uh...
I wonder who...
wonder who she is.
I mean, it could be any of us,
any of us in this room right now.
One might even wonder why she came to work today.
(chuckles)
Wait, are you-- are you saying you won the lottery?
(stammers) Look, I'm saying
the winner has chosen to be anonymous.
You know, i-in many ways, they're building a wall
between them and us knowing.
But, uh, whoever she is,
she probably has enough money to buy her boss a new car.
-Ha. -Wait, wait, what-what-what...
(cheering, laughter)
Wait, so you-- so you-you did win?
(cheering)
You won the lottery? Is that what you're saying?
I don't know. I don't know. Did I, Trevor?
Who knows? Anyway, by the way,
that Ivana story is so crazy.
-Right? -Being laid to rest on his golf course?
God, I feel for all of Trump's wives.
Even in the afterlife,
they still have to deal with his balls coming at them.
(laughter)
(cheering and applause)
(mutters)
Not cool.
For the love of God, let her rest.
Although, I will say, tax moves like this are very, very common
among the ultrawealthy,
something I've been reading up on recently,
for no particular reason.
I bought an island. So, anyway...
(chuckles)
So you're saying that you did win the lottery.
-What's going on here? Did you win or not? -What? No!
That's-- Trevor, that's ridiculous!
Although I will say I'm feeling very generous tonight,
which is why I have a special announcement for the audience.
Everyone in this audience,
I am sending all of your kids to college!
-(cheering and applause) -Yes.
All of them!
All of 'em. Even the underachievers.
All of 'em. I'm talking room, board, iPads,
the good drugs-- all of it.
-(cheering) -Because...
and maybe you saw this coming--
I'm just gonna go ahead and say it--
I have the winning ticket. Here it is right here.
Right here. Can we get a-- can we get a close-up?
-That is it! -N-No.
-Boom! -(protesting) -(cheering and applause)
-Bam! -No. No, don't...
don't cheer for that. Desi, that's...
that's not-- that's not a real ticket.
That is it. That is the real ticket, Trevor.
It is absolutely 100% real.
You can tell because it says, "Not fake."
It is definitely real,
and you're not gonna blow this for me, so back me up here.
-I'm not blowing anything. -It's a real ticket. I'm a winner.
The-the winner is in-- It's someone in Illinois.
-That's not... -Yeah. Look, no, someone has to come forward.
No one has come forward yet, so there's a window of opportunity.
Look, I can cut you in on this if you just act cool.
I'm not-- It's not about act-- I'm not in.
There's no acting cool. That thing--
-No one's gonna be fooled by that. -Oh, my God.
Come on. Really? You're gonna do this to me?
You're gonna do this to them?
Their children, Trevor?
-(gasping) -What?
O-Okay, fine. Guess what, audience,
none of your kids are going to college!
-(booing) -Yeah. None of 'em! -No! No!
Because of this man right here.
-No... -This man...
Don't be fooled by these dimples.
He does not believe in dreams.
He's a dream crusher.
That makes no sense. You're the one who promised the thing
-and... -Yeah. By the way, Trevor,
you are not invited to my island.
Desi, you didn't actually buy an island.
No, I actually did. It's amazing
what you can buy with a credit card.
Oh, my God, I'm so (bleep)ed.
So much debt.
(inhales deeply)
I'm gonna have to see if Chick-fil-a
is still hiring volunteers.
All right, Desi Lydic, everybody.
(cheering and applause)
I feel like... you put yourself in this mess.
Don't go away. Because after the break,
Roy Wood Jr. will tell us where Drake and Beyoncé
got all of their ideas.
We'll be right back.
(cheering and applause)
(cheering, applause)
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
You know, Black history doesn't just have to be for February.
It can be for normal-sized months, too.
So, let's go to Roy Wood Jr. for another episode of CP Time.
♪ ♪
(quietly): Oh. There's too much whiskey.
Ah. Well, hello.
Welcome to CP Time,
the only show that's for the culture.
Today, we'll be discussing house music.
When I say "house music," I'm not talking
about all those weird sounds that you hear in your home.
The floor creaking,
the radiator playing a beat at 3:00 in the morning,
or when your washing machine beeps like crazy
to let you know it's done with the load.
That's right, ladies.
Daddy's got clean boxers on deck.
I'm talking about the genre of fast-paced,
beat-heavy dance music that's kept the Molly industry alive
for 40 years.
Mm. That's the stuff.
The music's rolling 'cause you are, too.
House music is all the rage these days,
from Drake and Beyoncé, to Swedish House Mafia,
to Mickey Mouse's cokehead cousin
who lives in the bad part of EPCOT.
But would you believe that this genre has its origins
in the Black community?
Of course you should. It's CP Time.
You never heard me say, "Surprise! It's Caucasians."
So, yes, these modern artists stand on the shoulders
of house music's Black and gay founders.
So let's talk about some of them,
like Francis Nicholls, AKA Frankie Knuckles.
Frankie started as a deejay in New York
at a time of ferocious backlash against disco music.
It was so bad that in 1979, a crowd gathered at Chicago's
Comiskey Park to burn the records of artists
in what was known as "Disco Demolition Night."
Even watching the footage today, it's still a shocking sight--
a full baseball stadium.
By the way, here's a tip.
If you're ever at a mass burning,
you're probably on the wrong side.
No one has ever said, "Well, that mass burning was a success.
Now all the orphans are safe."
Anyway, disco was dead, but people still wanted
to get down in the club.
And so Frankie Knuckles started experimenting with
a new style of dance music at his home club in Chicago,
The Warehouse. That's where house music
gets its name. Not, as some people think,
from Dr. House.
Although Dr. House does love popping pills.
With his partner Larry Levan,
Frankie Knuckles helped launch the house music scene
and the careers of many superstar DJs,
like Ron Hardy, who created a technique
of extending songs indefinitely,
bringing the crowd to a fever pitch.
It was so entrancing that one night people continued
to dance at his club
even after a speaker caught on fire.
You know a song's good
when people keep dancing during a fire.
That does not happen with "Cotton-Eye Joe."
When I hear that song I try to start a fire,
just so I can get away.
Where did you come from, where did you go?
Out the-- out this burning house.
And finally,
one of the most iconic voices of house music,
the queen of clubland, Martha Wash.
Martha was half of the famous duo The Weather Girls,
who created some of the most iconic music of the '80s,
including "It's Raining Men."
Unfortunately, due to climate change,
it's raining men far harder and longer than ever before.
♪ Hallelujah. ♪
After The Weather Girls broke up,
Martha Wash ended up with C+C Music Factory.
Where she sang the unforgettable hook:
♪ Everybody dance now. ♪
Instantly recognizable.
But controversy arrived with the music video when the group
cast a French model
to lip sync Martha's lyrics.
She didn't find out until she saw the video.
Finding out bad news is even worse
when it happens on television.
You never want the worst moment of your life
followed by a Pine-Sol commercial.
Not only that, C+C Music Factory
didn't even credit her for the vocal.
Yet another employee
being mistreated by a factory.
But Martha Wash pushed back
and sued C+C Music Factory for proper credit.
She won the case, and that led to federal legislation
making vocal credits mandatory in music.
That's right.
Even her lawsuits were hits.
So whenever you see an album that says something like,
"Vocals by Lil Pop Vert #TheLeanGod,"
you can thank Martha Wash
for whatever the hell that meant.
That wraps up our time with house music,
if you like that sort of thing,
which, personally, I do not.
Maybe I'm old-school, but that type of music is undignified.
Shaking my hips like a heathen?
No, thank you.
There's no commandment about dropping it low.
That movie Dirty Dancing was about two people
rubbing crotches in public places.
-It was a terrible thing. -(lightning crashing)
What in the?
WOMAN: Roy.
Is that you, God?
I knew you were a Black woman!
No. It's me, Martha Wash.
What's this I hear about you not liking dance music?
Martha, I cannot abide by dance music.
Not a single note.
I'm a man of culture.
I shimmy once a decade, and that's it.
Nonsense.
Everyone can dance.
Everyone must dance.
-Hit it, studio! -(lightning crashes)
-Hit what? You are God. -♪ It's raining men ♪
-♪ Hallelujah, it's raining men ♪ -Oh...
Come on, Roy.
-Oh. -♪ Amen ♪
-♪ I'm gonna go out ♪ -Wait, slow down a little bit.
You look like you're boxing a kangaroo.
-♪ Absolutely soaking wet ♪ -(squeals)
-I can't help it, Martha. -♪ It's raining men ♪
You put the devil in me and he's loving it!
These hips are Satan's kingdom now!
-♪ Every specimen ♪ -Oh!
That's all the time we have for CP Time.
I've been Roy Wood Jr. And, remember,
we're for the culture.
Oh, Lord, it's raining me. I need--
Oh, come on, Danny Glover.
♪ It's raining men ♪
-♪ Hallelujah. ♪ -(cheering and applause)
Thank you so much for that, Roy Wood Jr.
All right, stay tuned, because when we come back,
Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be joining me
right here on the show.
Don't go away.
(cheering and applause)
(applause and cheering)
welcome back to The Daily Show.
My guest tonight serves
as Transportation Secretary in the Biden administration.
He's here to talk about infrastructure and so much more.
Please welcome Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
-♪ ♪ -(applause and cheering)
Welcome back.
Look at that.
Secretary Pete Buttigieg, welcome back to The Daily Show.
-Thank you. -It's weird, though, 'cause I've known you
-for so long as "Mayor Pete." -Yeah.
Everyone knows you as "Mayor Pete," so...
I'll always answer to Major Pete. It's, uh...
-Oh, you will? -Yeah, sure.
So you won't get offended? You won't be like,
"No, it's Secretary Mayor Pete." No?
-That works, too. Yeah. -Okay, okay, well, congratulations
on the new job. We haven't seen you since you've gotten it.
-Yeah. -You know, it's been a lively period
for you to be in this position.
Let's start with the most important question maybe.
-Yeah. -There was a $1.2 trillion
-infrastructure bill that was passed, yes? -That's right.
-If my memory serves me correct? -Yeah.
So that's taxpayer money, and everyone paid for that
infrastructure. You're the person
who's doing a lot of the infrastructure.
-So, where's our money, Pete? What's happening? -(laughter)
-What are you doing with the money? -Well, it's going great.
Last week, we announced a use of part of the money
in order to make more transit stations accessible.
A couple of weeks before that, we put out the first wave
of airport terminal grants.
We're improving 84 airport terminals around the country.
This morning, I was in New Jersey.
There's a bridge there-- the Portal North Bridge, right?
-(person whoops) -A couple of folks here might recognize it.
-(applause and cheering) -But this bridge--
it's the finest construction engineering
from the Roosevelt administration.
-Uh-huh. -The Teddy Roosevelt administration.
-(laughter) -Wow. -It is 111 years old.
And when they swing it back into place,
sometimes it works so poorly
that workers have to take sledgehammers
in order to get the rails to align.
-Damn. -We're rebuilding the bridge completely.
We broke ground on it this morning with the governor.
And it's just one of a lot of more things we're doing
-uh, with this... -Sounds really exciting.
Yeah, we're... I mean, it's everything that we've wanted
-for a long time in American infrastructure.... -Mm-hmm.
...after years and years, years and years of talk.
The last president talked a good game about this.
Now we're actually getting it done.
-(applause and cheering) -Okay, so let's talk
about what you're getting done, how you're getting it done
and why.
It's interesting that you say that.
This is something I find particularly strange
in American politics.
-Everybody likes infrastructure. -Mm.
However, it seems like
people are more or less likely to like it
depending on who is building the infrastructure.
So, to your point, Trump said, from the beginning, he's like,
"I want to improve America's infrastructure."
People were like, "This is great." You know, and then,
when Biden said it, it feels like a lot
a lot of Republicans have said, "Oh, no, no, we don't like it.
"We don't like where you're spending the money,
how you're spending the money."
When you go to these actual communities--
'cause that's what infrastructure affects,
-the actual communities-- -Yeah.
do you find that it is still as partisan,
or when you get on the ground,
does it have more of, like, a... just an American feel to it?
No, in the communities, it's incredibly bipartisan.
I'm in red states, blue states, purple states.
People don't care about the party of the president.
-They want to get the job done. -Mm-hmm.
I mean, I was in one of the reddest parts
of Indiana, Southern Indiana, where we're upgrading a port
in a tiny community called "Tell City."
About 7,000 people in that whole community.
And the port is on the river.
It's actually just a crane on a barge, basically.
We're upgrading that. We went there to celebrate
what that's going to do to help them get pig iron
-that comes in on barges on the river. -I see.
And not a single person asked me
about Republican-Democrat stuff among the residents there.
They were just excited.
Now, there were a lot of people on Capitol Hill who voted "no."
Although I will say, quite a few Republicans came over
and voted with Democrats to get this done.
What I will also say is, a lot of the ones
who voted against it have not hesitated
to write us letters about how they'd now like that funding
-to go to their districts which I take to be... -(laughter)
And, you know, we're going to do this without regard to politics.
I just consider it, in policy world,
-I'd call it the sincerest form of flattery. -Oh.
-When they vote against your stuff... -Right, right, right.
...and then they ask you to send it to their district.
-And then still ask you for you to come and do the stuff -Yeah.
that they voted against.
It is an interesting position to be in,
because, you know, as a secretary, in many ways,
you have to remove the politics from your job.
-Yup. -Even though you are fulfilling the mandate
of a person who is inherently political.
You're going around the country, you're improving the roads,
you're trying to change how America operates.
One of the biggest things we've seen is recently is
Senator Joe Manchin jumping on board and saying,
"Okay, let's get some of this money going for..."
What is it now?
-The-the Inflation... -Inflation Reduction Act.
Inflation reduction Act. Great. Um,
and it seems like there's still a lot of tension
-around EVs, electric vehicles. -Yeah.
I've-I've seen some of your clips online. They get cut up.
People splice it, they make it seem like
you're saying what you're not saying.
Uh, I-I won't cut you off, so I--
but I would-would like to know,
why is the electric vehicle a better option for Americans
if-if there are people who are saying, "Well, this is our
"taxes. Why don't we just use the taxes for other purposes?
Why force that money to go into the world of electric cars?"
Right. So, first of all, it's, uh,
a very important part of how we fight climate change.
'Cause transportation is the biggest sector in our economy
that's emitting these greenhouse gasses.
But also, it's better for drivers.
You spend less money on gas. Even with normal gas prices, uh,
there would be a savings to having an electric vehicle.
Uh, and there's less maintenance.
So it's a win-win-win.
Plus, this is where the automotive industry
is going anyway, globally. So it's really important
to make sure that we're competing--
that-that our competitiveness is such that
this is a "made in America" electric vehicle revolution.
Now, it's more ideological than it should be on Capitol Hill.
Uh, but again, the-the same constituents
who, uh, who are watching this
back-and-forth on Capitol Hill--
they're also seeing the Super Bowl ads.
-They know what an EV actually costs. -Mm-hmm.
And hopefully they're seeing we're about to bring
that cost lower through the Inflation Reduction Act.
So, some of the same politicians who were
beating us up about EVs-- saying they're too expensive--
they have a chance coming up to vote to make them cheaper.
We'll see what they do.
When you look at the improvements
in American infrastructure, you look at the cars
and look at the trains--
I'm-I'm constantly amazed at how,
just in the American idea,
trains seem to be a completely alien concept, you know?
Whe-When you travel to Europe,
you see what they're doing with the trains.
I mean, Japan was one of the most amazing experiences
-I've ever had. You just get anywhere on a train
almost instantly. And in America, people almost,
you know, make it seem like it's un-American
to not drive a car and prefer a train.
I know when Obama came into power, he said
we should get high-speed rail going.
That was completely thrown out.
I-- Uh, you are the transportation secretary.
Is-- Are you focusing on that? Is there a world
where we'll get, like, super fast trains
that take people across the country, to rural parts
of the country, the, like, will it revitalize the country?
Yeah, and we're taking the first steps
in that direction right now. Look, I-I thought I was
the biggest train person I know, but in this administration,
I'm always gonna be second place after the president
-when comes to enthusiasm for passenger rail. -Of course, yes.
Uh, look, frankly, the first order of business
is to take care of what we've got.
We've got a huge backlog because, uh,
there's-there's been a lot of resistance to investing
in our rail networks, but
-we also have another-- -Where is the resistance coming from?
You know, some of it's ideological, some of it's
cultural, but the-the way I see it is
why shouldn't Americans have the best rail in the world
if we're a competitive country and-and we believe
that we ought to be the best in everything?
You know, you mentioned the-the standard that the Japanese--
I mean, never mind just the Japanese standard, uh,
i-if you're in Italy or Morocco or Turkey,
you can routinely expect faster rail service
than in the U.S. We can and must change that,
-Right. -and it begins with what we're doing with this bill.
Because sometimes I'll be driving, let's say
I'll be driving from, like, the airport--
and we're gonna talk about airports as well--
driving from the airport coming into New York City,
and then I'll be driving past people in a train,
and I see them looking at the cars going,
"But we're in a train."
And I'm in the traffic like, "You guys are in a train."
They should be going faster than me, right?
The-the logic-- -That is how that generally should work.
-They should be going faster. -It should work that way.
Why isn't it going that way? What's going wrong?
Because you get what you pay for.
And this country, for basically as long as you and I
-have been alive, has been underinvesting in rail. -I see.
And when you do that, there is a real cost to that.
And-and by the way, it's a win-win when you do it,
'cause if you do have great rail,
that's even good for the people who are in the cars,
-Yes. Exactly. -'cause there's less congestion on the road.
Same reason we're investing in transit right now.
It makes all the sense in the world-- it always did-- but
that much more now that we're facing this climate challenge.
You're not just investing in transit, though,
you're investing in the roads themselves.
I know you made headlines when--
and correct me if I paraphrase you incorrectly--
but, I mean, you-you basically said that
America's roads are racist. Right?
-Not exactly what I said. -Okay, not exactly what--
-Yeah. -No, no, no, no. So, so, no.
-But the-- -'Cause I understood what you were saying, but--
-Say it, say it. -Yeah, but the point is, look, there are
many places in the U.S. where
-a road or a railroad was used -Yes.
to divide or segregate
or even remove a neighborhood.
-Typically a Black neighborhood, right? -I completely--
-I completely understand. -Think about it-- I mean,
the very fact that we have the phrase
-"wrong side of the tracks" -Yes.
in American English language
tells you something about how infrastructure--
which is supposed to connect-- can also be used
to divide, often on racial lines,
and we've got to face that,
and we can do something about that.
What can you do about that?
Are you going to...
Are you gonna rip up the roads? This is what people say.
They say, "Pete-Pete Buttigieg is coming.
"He's gonna rip up the highways.
"W-We-- There's gonna be no more highways anymore.
-Everyone's just gonna be on the backroads." -No more highways.
No more highways. What are you actually planning to do
to try and right many of those wrongs?
So what we're doing is now that we're making
the biggest investment in highways and roads
since the Eisenhower administration,
we're gonna get it right.
And that includes recognizing that infrastructure
is supposed to connect, not divide.
Some places, that might mean that, uh, you've got a-a road
that's-that's cutting up a neighborhood.
It needs to go underground and then you can put a cap over it
and then you can put a park in that cap
and create value in the whole neighborhood.
Sometimes it doesn't have to be as elaborate
and expensive as that.
Maybe it's creating a transit link or a pedestrian bridge.
It's gonna look different in every community.
-Mm-hmm. -But the point is, every community is coming to us
with ideas about how to do this.
And-and the thing is, everybody wins when we do this.
Nobody's worse off when we reconnect areas
that have been separated or segregated.
And I don't know why anybody would be against us doing that
when the whole point of transportation is to connect,
not to divide.
-(applause) -I think the reason a lot of people would be
against it is almost self-explanatory, you know?
People want to be here, and they want other people to be there.
Airports are something I-I definitely want
-to talk to you about. This-this is a weird situation. -Yeah.
-I know you tweeted about it. -Mm.
And I know, um, Senator Elizabeth Warren
came out saying, like, "This is-- this is what we should do.
We should fine the airlines." (stammers)
-Anyone who's flown knows how difficult it can be. -Yeah.
The airline can almost do anything to you with impunity.
They can cancel your flight.
They can delay your flight ten times and then cancel it.
Then they'll tell you, "We won't give you the money.
We'll give you a credit." And then your credit may be used,
-may be not be used. -Yeah.
So, this is important-- a little bit of news you can use.
-Okay. -If they cancel your flight,
you are entitled to a cash refund,
and we enforce that rule.
Uh, a lot of people don't know that.
-So, you get canceled. You call the airline. -Yes.
They're like, "Well, we'll-we'll give you 2,000 miles.
-How's that sound?" And that might sound good. -Uh-huh.
That's worth, uh, about 20 bucks.
And you are entitled
to potentially hundreds of dollars in refunds.
But I'm-I'm entitled, but how do I actually get that?
Like, do I send you? Do you, like, do something?
-How do we make this happen? -(chuckles) Call me up.
-No. -No, 'cause people are getting their flights canceled
and they don't-- Really. They don't know how do...
-No, no. This is the... -How do we use the enforcement?
Yeah. So, uh, first of all, when you ask them
to give you a refund, they have to do it.
But if they don't, come to us.
We have an entire office of Aviation Consumer Protection.
-Ah. Okay. -We enforce this. Matter of fact--
And we were doing it-- It wasn't just a "this summer" thing.
Last year, we actually issued the biggest fine
in the history of the program because an airline
was failing to promptly refund people.
We got a website. You can go to the DOT website
and look up more about your rights as an air consumer.
-Okay. -But know your rights, because we have your back.
-I like that. Okay, send Pete. -(cheering and applause)
That's what the people should say. Send Pete.
Um, last but not least, last but not least...
you know, midterms are coming up.
People are, uh...
It's America. People are looking at 2024 already.
It's interesting because a new New Hampshire poll
came out recently, which, uh,
had you slightly edging President Biden
in the race for 2024.
Now, I-I know you are secretary,
so you can't say anything about that and it's political
and you're not-- Obviously, he's your boss.
You're not gonna say anything bad and you won't.
But-but-- And-and if I say to you, "Are you gonna run?"
No, and if I say, "Are you gonna run?" you wouldn't say
you're gonna run or what-- But I just want to know,
when you see a poll like that, does it give you
a little more swag in meetings with the president?
Does it give you, like, a little...
Like, if he says something to him, are you--
-are you ever like, "Yo, Joe"? -(cheering)
-Like, is there ever, like, a... -Look...
If I want to look good in front of my boss,
the best thing I can do is have just broken ground
on a major project like we did today in New Jersey.
That's gonna be my focus, 'cause that's my job.
-So slick! -(cheering and applause)
So good at what you do!
-Thank you so much for joining me on the show. -Thank you.
Keep building roads.
Faster trains.
Pete Buttigieg, everybody. We're gonna take a quick break,
but we'll be right back after this.
Thank you very much.
Great having you back again.
(cheering and applause)
Well, that's our show for tonight.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
But before we go, before we go,
I just wanted to let you know
that recovery efforts are underway
after record-breaking floodwaters
have hit Eastern Kentucky.
The Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky
are doing all they can to help those efforts.
So, if you can, please, consider supporting them
and the important work that they do at the link below.
Until next time, stay safe out there.
And remember-- you haven't lost a loved one.
You've gained a tax break.
-(gasping, laughter) -Now here it is, Your Moment of Zen.
♪ ♪
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Don't get too close to the sea lions.
Imagine heading outside to start your day
and getting a face full of spiderweb.
Whales are living their best lives.
A bison is a wild animal that will charge after you.
This fish is on drugs.
Lots of drugs.
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We all love our pets.
But do you love yours enough to clone them?
You can.