Today 70 rules on time I do recall them telling me you just showed up 10 minutes before I came upstairs but all right all right we ready we good what up what up what up ladies and gentlemen boys and girls want to thank you for joining us for another
Edition of The Charles Coleman podcast super excited about today’s conversation this is going to be an amazing one I always say that I work with dope people and this is no exception to the rule but before I let you know and introduce someone who truly needs no introduction
I got to remind you make sure you are liked and subscribed to the Charles coma podcast across Spotify iHeart YouTube all of the things Amazon Google podcast we are all the way up in out of space so come get with us to Charles com podcast your home for black Brilliance and with
That we are going to have one of our black Brilliance conversations today with a mover a Shaker and someone who I work with and uh who I have known for a while and I’m super duper excited to have on the couch today the one the only doctor Simone Sanders Townson is with us
Today for the podcast good afternoon how are people don’t know but I do I do have an honorary doctor this is what I’m this is what I’m put some respect on your name this is what I’m saying a lot of people don’t know so where did you get
Your honorary doctor ref uh from uh American University I did one of their commencements oh that’s a real school like cuz you know people be people be paying for it and it don’t you know but that’s real yes I did a commencement my Penance my my payment was honor was the
Honor I’m not mad so was it like arts and letters like what’s the document I need to check the the thing actually I’m I’m quite unsure I don’t know you can’t use the doc it was the public service situation you can’t I need to you know
What I’m going to talk to my co-host at work and I’m GNA see if I can get the doctor added to all the promo materials that we’re doing on the Kyon but you got to know what you a doctor of well well we’re going to work on that yeah I’m
Going give I’m give I have I have a note I got notes from this interview we we we got a lot to talk about doctor um but before we do there’s something that we do on the Charles podcast it’s called ones gotta go so if you you know if
You’ve seen previous episodes we’ve had a lot of people on the couch yes Stephanie Ru was on the couch recently Stephanie ru’s been on the couch Joy Reed’s been on the couch uh my first guest a lot of people don’t may not remember this the first guest I’ve ever
Had on Charles colan podcast from any where was Michael steel Michael steel we love Michael steel he’s a he’s one of my new co-hosts of the weekend we are going to get right into the weekend in just a moment but one thing that we do is we play a game
Called one’s gotta go okay it’s like a Icebreaker all right and so the idea with ones got to go I’m gonna give you four things and one of those things has to go all of it all right so this because a lot of people don’t know this
You hear from the great state of Nebraska yes I do all right so this is the one’s got to go Nebraska Edition oh Lord I had I had a hard time coming up with this because ain’t a whole lot of stuff from Nebraska that’s gonna say it’s actually not true all right well
All right so so I’m gonna give you four things all Nebraska related okay and one’s got to go one’s got to go Omaha Stakes but you have to give me all four I’m going to give you all four steak Yeah I’m give you all four Omaha Stakes huskus football corn ice
Cream cuz that’s the thing apparently in Nebraska or Malcolm little corn ice cream corn ice cream have you ever had it uh no but I have seen it I’ve been to the fair and I have seen it I will never eat it what is it I just don’t I don’t want corn in
My ice cream what does it look like uh corn ice cream like the like corn and ice cream yeah and sometimes they can Blended up so it’s kind of like a custard type situation definitely not getting rid of Malcolm Little Malcolm X he’s from Omaha down the street and we’re not going to
Get rid of Corn Husker football go Big Red and uh you got Omaha Stakes we’re never getting rid of the Omaha Steak you give your Stakes yeah absolutely but the the ice cream gota go Gotta Go Now aside from your opinion I this is very fascinating to me like how popular is
That not wildly not where I’m from I’m from North Omaha oh you the north side North Omaha in the building y’all heard it get it right North Omaha out here that’s what we doing North Omaha North Omaha tell me about North Omaha North Omaha so look I’m from North Omaha my
Mother is originally from Nebraska my father was from M Bayou Mississippi but he was in the military and there’s a base right outside of Omaha in Belleview so that’s how he got to Nebraska uh North Omaha it’s like any other town or city I would argue across the town like
A Minneapolis okay if people have ever been to Minneapolis or um St Louis very similar well well well it sounds to me like you Haven to Omaha and so yeah I have it yes North Omaha there are many things to help from North Omaha Malcolm X um Kathy Hughes TV1 everyone knows
About Kathy Hughes we love her native North omahan Gabrielle Union she from yes gab is definitely from North omahan she reps all day her uncle still lives there and uh we yes they come and visit often yes so North omahas a great place all right we I’m going to let you slide
Them three names because I know if I asked before you be sh shot I’m G let you watch Warren Buffett he’s from Omaha all right so um let’s move on you have got a lot going on um congratulations on everything that you’ve been doing um you know obviously
People don’t know that we have known each other for some years yeah I’ve known Charles since he was a a political commentator at another Network I’ve known Simone since she was a press secretary for another campaign my first presidential campaign when I worked for Senator Sanders right
And now to go from there to all of the other political things to uh we are literally about to launch a new show is it’s just crazy it just all seems so insane but very exciting and the crazy presidential election cycle yeah we’re gonna get to that but
First and foremost the weekend theek the weekend the week in the weekend msnbc’s new weekend Flagship show it’s an ensemble cast yes it’s you Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez yes getting up early getting up early what what what is 8:00 a.m. eastern to 10:00 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday every Saturday they
Got get early two hours two hours and look the weekend is the place where we want people to come and and they start their weekend literally we get up we want you to get up with us and again this is a consequential election season but there’s also so much happening and
So the weekend is the place where you’ll be able to come and get the news get perspective uh get some analysis we’ll have some newsmakers on for our launch show uh this weekend we’ve got can I say I’m looking over at uh Olivia I’m like
Can I say who we have I don’t think we told anybody uh Governor West Moore of Maryland is gonna come through uh secretary p budajudge is coming um Quinton folks from the Biden campaign because we got some questions about what is going on with the campaign definitely
Given this debate situation we just saw in the town hall with Donald Trump and um also we have oh my God we got you a got no legal news we do have some legal news we have some legal news we’re going to get into all of it I mean again the weekend is
The place where you come and you can get it all people want enough just to be conversational Charles you know want they want enough information to be conversational they want to be able to talk about the news of the day but also peel back some of the layers like what
Does it mean that Donald Trump is saying he’s immune uh from prosecution be because he was President I don’t understand is that normal it is not and this is not normal so uh I’m excited that we get to do it with three folks who are familiar with the MSNBC
Audience uh you said Michael steel was your first guest on the podcast I didn’t know that I I’m G I’m thoroughly enjoying being able to sit across the table for Michael still because he’s hilarious uh but he also brings all that knowledge and experience from being the
Chairman of the RNC and Alicia I’ve known her for I’ve known Lisa I think just as long as I’ve known you since when yes we met in New Hampshire and she interviewed me when she was at a different network when I worked for Senator Sanders and so now for us all to
Be sitting at the table together every morning we’re going to bring you the news we’re gonna have a little fun uh and we’re excited a lot of people don’t realize how funny Michael is uh if you are someone who listening to the podcast and you have not checked out the Michael
Steel interview it’s a very good one a lot of it is still very very relevant um but but one of the things I love about him is that he has that balance yes of being someone who is because let’s be let’s be honest there is and in some cases a tendency to sort
Of lick at Michael and there’s sort of generational bias in some places and then there’s also the bias of oh who’s this black Republican D until you actually talk to Michael so you actually get to know him or even you don’t have to get to know him listen to him you’re
Like okay this is something different and I had another opportunity to explore him explore that with him in a different conversation that I’m gonna be telling y’all about sooner than later um but it’s a very interesting mix so tell me about how did this mix of like the cast
Get put together like that’s very fascinating it is it is just it is the Beauty and the brainchild of rashita Jones our feish leader the president of the network shout out boss lady we love the boss lady we love the boss lady out boss lady MAA and I think it’s I mean
You talk about the the the different just diverse background of the three different hosts and I think that’s important you know this is um people when they turn on the television and regardless of whether we’re talking about Trump Biden the tornado that might have just come through a town or city
Whatever the news is everybody doesn’t have the same perspective and I think that people are looking for robust conversation so we are just advocates for the viewer here we want the viewers to make their own decision ision and because the the three of us have not this isn’t Crossfire we were doing
Interviews the other day and someone said is this going to be like a political knockdown I’m like not at 8 am on a Saturday but this is a conversation um and we are putting context around the conversation that people are definitely having maybe introducing conversations they didn’t think they needed to have um
New Perspectives and the different backgrounds of each of us I think will contribute heavily to that but we’re also going to pull from other MSNBC Talent like yourself the other legal analyst NBC has a large depth and breadth of reporters that are all over the country we’re going to pull from
Those folks and so when people tune in they G to see the newsmakers they G to see some other familiar faces and it’s just gonna be exciting no I’m I’m super excited to not only um watch you all but also to participate because I enjoy
Working with all three of you yes yes we did a post debate special just this week and you talking to you couple hours ago people came on the set at like 12: and 1:00 a.m. so that’s a little taste of what people can expect from the weekend
And it was it was just a really really good conversation I think that that’s what you guys are going to bring and I’m very very much looking forward to it so make sure everybody’s tuning into the weekend I think with your mix you have a very unique space that you occupy in terms
Of voicing see the perspective and concerns of Millennials and Millennial voters like I’m not going to put your age out there I’m 34 right a lot and and and I wasn’t going you know turned 34 in December congrat happy birthday um the reason why that’s so significant is like you wasn’t no intern
You were press secretary for a a campaign that a lot of people at the time felt like got railroaded out of the democratic nomination that’s a very big deal well that’s actually not what happened but yes I’m just I’m just telling you yeah that’s what yes I’m I
Said a lot of people felt that way right and then you were you know on another campaign that did get the nomination and then won and then you were the spokesperson for the first black Vice President of the United States of America and that was a while ago and you
34 now so when I say all of that I say like your resume is like that it’s Diesel and I give you all of the props for it um I feel like there’s this very interesting Cadence when you talk about Millennial voters in election Cycles where we know upfront yeah
They’re going to be important but they’re not spoken to they’re spoken about and around a little bit and then you know somewhere a little bit before the actual conventions for both parties come up they begin to get a little bit more attention you think people start to
Talk about the M you know they wait till what that’s like usually summer all the conventions after summer July August in August and then you know we get an October surprise and we don’t know we don’t necessarily hear about Millennial voters until after the election when people are
Analyzing the numbers and how effective they were I mean when you think about so this is going to be an election cycle and I think the craziest part is when people say Millennials I think they automatically go to college students and those are those are not Millennials okay
The college students are j z Millennials the oldest Millennials are 40 years old like they 4041 they have we talk a lot about Suburban moms in politics and I think people hear Suburban moms and they think that is code for Suburban white women but the the sub the suburbs are
Increasingly more diverse the Suburban moms are millennials and they are they’re going to be consequential to this election and have been key to the last two midterm elections and they were key to the last two presidential elections Millennials made a difference in 2020 for Joe Biden and they made a
Difference uh in 2016 for Hillary Clinton so right so and and I picked up what you was just putting down there but for our re viewers who might have missed that what she meant was in 2016 the Outreach to Millennials wasn’t there the way that it needed to be and that’s why
We had partially the the result that we did that that in Russia well yeah well well a lot and one could argue James come had a little something to do with you know the press conferences but see this is why I think uh these are this is
Why I think the kind of conversations that folks are having around our political discourse is is key and people who really understand and have had experience uh in the various fields and I mean frankly there’s the kind of conversations we’re going to have on the show like Millennials are going to be
Key to 2024 so let’s unpack how the campaigns are reaching out to them again we got Quinton we have Quinton folks on this weekend on the show and I’d like a word lots of yeah I know lots of people have questions Mr folks about uh black
Voters black men Latino men get in touch with me like word Millennial voters as well I mean I think about we are ceas fire okay go with me go with me you like where is she going with the I’m Wai there is a obviously there is a war
Currently being waged between Israel and Hamas and it is disproportionately affecting the Palestinian people innocent people that have nothing to do with Hamas um all across the country people have been protesting all across in America I mean heck I live in Washington DC they were protesting M Bowser at her uh relay her
5K relay on New Year’s Day looking for looking for they running with her looking for a ceas fire and Frid so President Biden was at mother Emanuel am Church recently literally couple days after January 6 and people started calling for a ceasefire in the or they
Did they did in in the church in mother Emanuel am now people like myself tweeted like oh my goodness I can’t believe this is happening mother Emanuel am and the face that you are making I need to stop you right there that’s what people said you really couldn’t believe
That that I could not mother Emanuel Amy is hollowed ground it is a in a church where um the pastor of that church and parishioners were gunned down in a Bible study sure now a couple like it is hollowed ground it is one of the oldest
Black churches in the country and if and if in that space I I you know I don’t want to get too too deep on this one but if in that space there cannot be an honest dialogue about the humanity of people in terms of their lives lives and what that means and the
Responsibility that America has as a global leader to engage in Earnest in that conversation where else can that conversation take good point about honest dialogue and you took me right to where I would like to go come on now um as we discussed I worked another presidential campaign back in the day
For Senator Bernie Sanders before I worked for Senator Sanders he was getting protested regularly um uh people would hop on the stages interrupt him take the mic it’s a thing hold on I got to tell the story so I remember a lot of y’all might have forgot this I remember
This story and I forgot about the story somebody how old were you I was 25 when I worked for Senator Sanders so somebody during one of Senator Sanders press conferences it was outside I’ll never forget this because I saw the video they got on they tried to
Get on the stage and you like either got in front of them or I do not I do not recall that no I can easily no I don’t recall that I recall Dairy protesters protesting then candidate Biden in 20120 and we didn’t know they were protesting
Dair they was just running on the stage and I may have had a hand and removed a protester y’all can Google it for Senator Sanders I never blocked anybody from the stage because what they were I mean I didn’t work there when people were protesting to be clear okay but my
First day on the job I was on a plane I get off the plane and I’ve see this video of these two black women who had interrupted Senator Sanders on the stage at a Medicare for all rally I was on a plane you see this misinformation I was on a plane this is
Some time ago well yes it was yes it was it 2015 I say say this to say that um obviously I’m you know we talk about him from Nebraska I’m sure people were like are there black people in Nebraska there are black people all over this country
And yes there are black people in Nebraska North Omaha especially I’m like I’m I I I was viscerally uncomfortable I would be very uncomfortable and and told them I was with the idea of like if y’all think somebody hopping on the stage well I’m standing there we I just
I don’t want the I don’t want the visual so it’s like what do we do and I had to have a conversation with my you know new campaign colleagues and the senator and I told them the reason people are protesting is because they you they do
Not think that you hear them and they don’t feel as though you are listening to them and they feel the way the only way to get your attention and for you to hear them is if they interrupt you at one of your events and they are looking
For your attention uh because they are trying to affect what you are doing perhaps we should offer some meetings and that’s what we started doing so every place that sers we travel across the country for like two or three month my first two or three months on the
Campaign there were many places where there were threats of a protest and what our campaign team would do is we would reach out to the activists on the ground the people that we you know thought would are the organizers and offer them a meeting with Senator Sanders but only
After the event was over and had them promised if they didn’t protest Not only would Senator Sanders come back there and spend substantial time hearing from you he not coming to talk at you he’s coming to hear from you and engage in a dialogue with you towards the end but he
Really wants to hear what you all have to say because that’s why you protested anyway but we’ll bring the policy staff as well because it’s not it’s one thing for the candidate to hear but the people who are advising the candidate in his ear or their ear they matter as well
Since I from the time I work for Senator Sanders I left there was not a protest because people are protes because they want to be heard and so yes to a dialogue about the plight of the Palestinian people absolutely but to be very clear clear uh again in this
Consequential election cycle what is happening in the Gaza Strip is absolutely going to affect how people feel and what they do when it comes to The Ballot Box it’s going to matter in Michigan for sure dear and Dearborn largest Arab American population in the country and you can’t win Michigan
Without Dearborn not if you’re a Democrat a Democrat has not won if you want to win Michigan you got to win the suburbs as a Democrat and Dearborn is in the suburbs right outside of Detroit so I say that to say that perhap apps what and and this is something I definitely
Think we’re going to get into with um Quinton folks what is the campaign strategy for hearing from people so the candidate themselves can hear because part of the issues that that I glean from the outside looking in that they’re having is people don’t feel like you
Hear them I used to work at the White House I remember during the student loan the the initial whole student loan um fight where are the payments going to resume are they not the payments were resuming and all of a sudden they didn’t resume anymore and we kicked the can
Down the road a little bit there were protesters outside the White House and we could hear them inside the White House if you were in The West Wing of the White House the people were that loud you in the middle of your meetings and then one o’clock in the afternoon
You can hear them the protesters have been outside for a while but I’mma just be very honest it was not until some of the people who were associated with those protesters got into the rooms with you know the principals and the SE the senior advis visor and the chief of
Staff at the time and whatnot that the policy changed happened but that’s I mean it’s outside inside strategy but you’re right a lot and a lot of people don’t really understand or appreciate that’s literally how protest is supposed to function it’s supposed to function as part of a larger strategy with movement
Protest I tell people this a lot is space making it is it is space making to create opportunities for conversations that otherwise would not be having uh being had on the inside to actually take place and so that’s appropriate I want to hear from you what are the give me your top three
Things that Millennial voters are likely to be concerned about I mean Millennial voters are concerned about the economy remember Millennial voters they span the gamut some Millennial the youngest Millennials could be 25 26 oldest Millennials 441 I mean they care about the economy I I also think they care
About um the just the long longevity this democracy argument that the the the Biden campaign is saying that they are going to make in 24 I I think that it has the potential to break through but what what is democracy are we talking about freedoms are we talking about
Voting rights are we talking about reproductive Health um but I I do think that there is something there about the longevity of just the quality of life for people in this country Millennials especially uh so I think those are I’m G give you my top two those are my two top
General things that I think they care about we might have to revisit revisit this at some point uh because I think that do you disagree no it’s not no I don’t I don’t you’re right I don’t it’s that’s okay it’s a conversation I don’t necessarily disagree I do think that
There’s going to be some Nuance that emerges from these conversations in terms of what that looks like and what that means and I mean to be very clear you talk about Millennials Millennials are the most are the most one of the most diverse right like groups of Voters
In this country and so what white Millennials white Millennial voters um what they are focused on it might differ just a little bit I think Millennials across the board everybody care about the economy I think everyone cares about the economy whether you black white Latino yes yes yes yes the economy is
Doing quite well record un low unemployment but people are still feeling the squeeze um Goldman Sachs did this survey recently and about black women and the economy and 71% of black women in this survey said that they felt like they live paycheck to paycheck that’s a concerning number if the
Economy is a key thing that lots of people care about and I’m talking about diverse set of Millennials and black women are a part of that uh at 71% feeling like they live paycheck to paycheck that to me doesn’t say uh they are coming out at 95% like they did in
2020 to vote Jo bid and that brings me to my next question I you know you brought up the notion of democracy and this conversation has been had at nauseum and I’m not saying that it shouldn’t be I understand why and I understand it’s a very you like the
Democracy master gu I don’t well that was really my question I am not sold that democracy is an issue that is going to win an election I I I you know I think that why not because I don’t because and to be clear Democrats Republicans and independents are all
Talking about democracy there but they have very different mess they very different messages around it I mean I think that like unfortunately we are in a space I I worry that we’re in a space politically where we are the boy who cried wolf because we have for a number of different
Elections going back to bush bush Gore uh been saying how you know this is the most important election of our lifetime and democracy is is threatened and Carl Rove at that time was going to destroy Dem American democracy and now most of the people who were saying that then
Would love to have that as the problem Carl Ro and George W bush as the problem to contend with on an electoral stage so I think there’s only been so many times that you can ring that alarm before people are like well how is this different than the last time so I do
Want I understand how no but I think that that is an important point and I think that’s why providing context around this conversation is key because yes this is something everybody says every election going back to Bush bore it’s most consequential election of our lifetime you know and it’s what they
Tell young people and it’s like young people have to it’s most consequential people F and die for your right to vote right right and yes and to be clear those young people have been voting and since that time they’ve seen especially IAL they’ve seen Trayvon Martin Michael Brown they somebody p
L right like so like again that M he was just you know doing the work of the administration and I’m not I’m not mad at that but what I’m saying is that that messaging doesn’t always align in a way that makes people feel like I think the stakes are just so much
Higher in this election we are not um you know as we’ve been we’ve been doing a lot of I mean obviously lead up to the Iowa caucuses really the kickoff of the 2024 camp Pain season so we’ve been doing a lot of conversation around the debates in the town halls and we’ll have
More um we’ll be doing another post- debate special after the CNN I is also hosting a debate in New Hampshire on the 18th so we’ll have a post debate special after that we’ll unpack that New Hampshire debate and I just think it is really important for people to
Understand like this is not and then and as we’re talking about it some folks are like oh but some people are going to vote on the economy oh yes as I just discussed it’s 71 the 71% that go woman sax survey but what what what is you
Know wages being up in an economy where the president is a dictator you know like what is what is you know waight you know uh unemployment being under 4% when you know women are being jailed uh for taking the healthare that they needed that Healthcare is an abortion so
This is just a little different yeah I mean I I don’t disagree with you I again I think that the space that we find ourselves in in terms of people’s approach is more a function of perhaps mismanaging messaging in the past W in a way that has prevented us from having
Cogent messages in the present that resonate with the elector I would agree with that on some I mean one could argue in 20 I mean I advise the Biden campaign in 2020 and in retrospect I think one of the things that uh we did we if we could
Go back I might say something different is in fact that coming into the administration I think a lot of people had a lot of very high expectations of what the president was going to be able to do and this Administration has been quite successful but there are some
Things that have not gotten done because we do not live in a country where the president is a king or a dictator there’s a congress there is a supre there is a there are three legislative bran there are three branches I was really going to go here I’m just say
There are multiple government and people people were like we if you look at if you look at focus groups I I like focus groups and um and I think polls are good but you got to look at I think state-based polls close to where voting
Is about to happen so uh NBC News has been doing a lot of polling in Iowa specifically and I think when the Iowa poll comes out that’s going to be a good barometer where the Iowa voters are I think when you look at Battleground State polls like months out from
Election I don’t I don’t really know how that adds up people might change their mind askma again in August but if you do look at some of the polling and the focus groups people are like oh Joe Biden didn’t get uh the student loans and it’s just like well well I think
Well the Supreme Court did did did block what he was doing he tried I hear you but but people but you got to you got to message that and I think that’s campaign that’s where I’m going that’s really where I’m going where I’m going with this is everything that you’re saying
Not notwithstanding and I don’t disagree with you it’s true yeah it’s it’s it see I’m let there’s a lot of flexing going on and I’ll let it happen because I know who I’m on the couch with but you know look this is what it is um one of the things that I say
Thematically is that there is on the left a message problem and a messenger problem and whatever it is that you’re talking about in terms of the Contours around how the current Administration has overperformed performed well performed highly somewhere that’s being lost and it’s being lost because voter confidence uh in terms of democratic
Voters in terms of black Democratic voters with Biden he is he is looking at right now uh a level of voter participation from Black America that he cannot win with oh to be very clear and you know i’ i’ I’ve said this to you know my former colleagues I’ve said it on
Television Joe Biden is no Barack Obama so you can’t do worse than Barack Obama did with black voters in 2012 and your reelection here in 2024 and when you have to get you have to you you cannot do worse than Barack Obama I gotta ask you were you were you responsible for
The um if you don’t vote for me then you ain’t black oh my God the world I can’t remember I can’t remember first of all no one is responsible for that I don’t I don’t I don’t I don’t I don’t I don’t even know what don’t you do messaging I
I used to now I’m just an advocate for the viewer you did messaging right I an advocate for the viewer were you responsible for that I wasn’t I no one was responsible for that message I believe that was a tongue and cheek moment that you were referring to where
Then candidate Biden was in an interview see this the sh tongue and cheek moment this [ __ ] I got do come across well I do believe Joe Biden uh apologize because now now now it’s coming back to me this is the [ __ ] I got to do now she gonna make me be a former
Prosecutor I used to work for a former prosecutor as well I’m I’m I’m familiar with being on the witness stand isn’t it true that you were on the campaign during that time yes and I was on that came I remember this now you came to his defense behind that didn’t you that’s
What I used to do I used to be a spokesperson I I’d like to argue I was a very effective one for the vice president States of America candidate Biden and Bernie Sanders how dides that happen oh no no no you know what you know what no no no all jokes aside I
Really take me through take me through that day I like I really all jokes aside I am not g to take you through the day but I will say this because the fact that you bring it up that is that is something that as you know I’ve had the
Opportunity to travel the country and as I’m talking to you know and I think the concern around voters of color black voters specifically for the Democratic party apparatus is a real one in 2024 I think that they should frankly de the campaign should be treating black and brown voters as persuadable voters just
Like they treat independent voters um but I I don’t I don’t know if they’re there yet but I plan to ask Quinton folks about all of it when we see him Hey listen Quin get in touch with us I got questions my dude Queen get in touch
With us we got questions but what you bring up is a lingering thing like you’re not the first person uh as of late to raise that and those kind of um snaap lead those those kind of events that happen on the C Trail they will have lingine effect I think back about
Um like the super Predators from of course and the like they play that that the Trump campaign 2016 played secretary Clinton with I think back about the deplorables comment that was made uh you can even go back to Mitt Romney and his uh binders full of women or you could go
Back if you really wanted to do it you could go back to he’s he’s articulate he’s clean oh yeah all the way back to about who said that talking about President Obama it was then it was another candidate in that race in 2008 another candidate who was there well I’m G let
Y’all Google that I’m G let y’all we GNA let you know political Pop Quiz um but you see this is why it is I just I think it is really important to get the people in the room who are able to make the decisions and ask them the questions
I I want to address something with you or or get you to address something that happens a lot in terms of conversations with black America a lot of times we look at the notion of get out the vote and um voter drives and participation from the perspective we have in
Community and what does that mean what what does that look like it looks like Jay-Z coming out and Puff Daddy and beyon I think at this point nobody’s well I’m not touching that but like you know it looks like a bunch of hip-hop celebrities coming out I don’t think
That’s true I’m telling you what happens but that’s the only I’m telling you what the people feel like the people feel like in our community we are the ones who get a bunch of entertainers coming to sell us the Democratic people need to pay attention so I don’t look I I think
That there’s two things it’s what C candidates and campaigns do and then it’s what the the nonpartisan entities if you will that do just want to jump start the machine of black voter participation which that those are very important um I think to the efforts of uh candidates and campaigns regardless
If they’re Democrat Republicans or Independents but I will say like in 2022 for example the midterm elections the the divine n was very intentional in places all across the country I before I hosted the weekend I hosted my own show Simone on the Miss NBC and I had every
President of the divine nine on you did I prep Ricky for that for that yeah and he was good your Bachelor he was very good and very specific because I wanted to know cuz not that I thought people were only bringing celebrities in but it’s like okay people uh the all of
These organizations whether it’s fraternities or sororities or the links or um urbanly or NAACP they all talk about the need to get out the vote but how specifically are you doing that and talking to people in communities across the country but do other but do candidates engage other communities in
The same way like are they looking to get the the the the most popular Asian K-Pop group or actors and go talk to their Community or yeah sometimes yes in um Georgia is a good example in Georgia yeah Georgia a substantial uh Asian American Pacific Islander uh population they made a real
Difference in 2020 in Joe Biden winning that state Georgia was very close and I I think I should also note that 2020 was close 2024 is going to be a close race it’s why people need to be just very Vigilant about misinformation and disinformation because it’s going to be
A close race but yes in Georgia for example they one of the organizing tactics that was used was to bring in celebrities that were familiar with various communities and so it’s not just for and I mean it’s not just that they do it for black people that’s what
You’re saying well yeah that’s I was I was asking because I don’t I don’t necessarily see those efforts in the same way because they’re not communities I’m a part of because and or like the the efforts to engage Women Voters right and so if you I mean I mean at this
Point one would argue at at any point in 2008 and also in 2020 but 2008 Oprah was like a go-to surrogate why because women loved Oprah you a black woman a white woman a Latino woman API women just love Oprah so I still think I still think that there’s a
I I mean I think that there that’s true but I also think that there’s a level of sort of seriousness and balance that Oprah has in terms of her cache and her celebrity that some of the people who are put in front of us like you know
That we’ve seen over the over the past couple election Cycles don’t necessarily have they don’t NE have that yes but you know why people you know why candidates in campaigns reach out to celebrity I don’t know anybody just reached out to dip set but um Jeezy or
The RAP Community if you will is a good example uh the hip-hop Community why do candidates in campaigns reach out to folks like that who maybe they don’t do politics you know they don’t really talk about politics all the time but they believe that they’d be engaging because
People there are some people that might not show up to to see you know uh candidate Joe Smith right but they will show up to see um TI or jezy and so I’m you’re bringing people into a room that otherwise would never come to that room to get a message that they otherwise
Would not have heard and as we discuss it all always goes back to messaging and part of the barrier I think for the or the challenge frankly for the American people right now and I and I would also argue us as a media apparatus is how do you clearly and effectively communicate
What is happening to people so that they get the information so they can make the decisions that they want to make you no and and that is I think campaigns have that challenge as well that is the challenge right like the challenge is being able to meet people where they are
Yes and I used to say the beauty shops the barber shops and the Bible studies and I get it I I I get it but I I just have heard from a number of people who feel like there’s a disproportionate leaning so they don’t want the wers well
I think they want the rappers and they want the thinkers right like so like I think if the if they were the thinkers and the people who were really really in the space and weighing in on the policy in a way that was informed for people
Like you and me and and our circle of folks I think people wouldn’t mind the rappers I think when when the rappers are the ones who are profile and that’s like it seems like that’s all it is then it’s like well that’s you expect and and
And I love some of these rappers don’t me I’m very yo I have another great conversation coming up with easy that I can’t wait to tell y’all about um but I think the the perception can be that it that it is just one-sided we you know we’ve had an amazing conversation and uh
Super duper appreciative of all of this but I cannot let you go you have had you’ve been in too many different rooms you’ve done too many different things I cannot let you go without getting a really really good story from you oh my goodness all the good stories I can’t
Tell them and I got a request I got a I’m going to put you on the spot oh there’s a request okay I’m going put you on the spot you have an opportunity right now your former boss for first one right first black vice president yes first
Fale first female Vice President of the United States of America your for of Voss she has in many respects um in our community her authenticity in terms of being a black woman is often times bought into question that’s so whether it’s fair let’s be very clear because
You know we got to pay bills and I would defend any any any I would defend any black woman in America that that was said about it wasn’t as you should I I I I don’t I’m not here commenting on whether it’s fair okay I’m just saying
That it’s it’s a thing I don’t think it would it does any anyone Justice to deny that it is a thing but why is it a thing do you think oh my gosh dude how much time I just I don’t have I don’t have much but I just would like to know why
Do you give okay so I’ll give you a couple cuz that’s key to how the story you tell not the story I tell I need you to tell a story I think it’s key to how people what people end up doing 2024 I need you to tell a
Story she’s ticket too I’m gonna answer your a question I need you to tell a story that’s going to counter that narrative if possible if possible right um so if you want to you want me say vice president United States of America basically has a dashiki Sone into the
Inside of her jacket is that what you like does she I I I I don’t a proverbial dashiki I would say no that’s notal I mean who has actual Niki swn into the jacket T might have oh Lord but no I mean give me a good a good story about
The I just I any story I would you know any story I would tell I would I would not tell a story about any like just like I wouldn’t give the intimate details of like a conversation I’ve had with Senator Sanders or something that I have uh spoken to the president about
Before I’m not going to give but I will say this about the vice president I think that there there is an idea that um she uh went to Howard and discovered black people and I I say that because that is something that I have heard
People say and it is that’s why when you when you when you started this part of your question I was like that is absolutely terrible because it it could be the furthest thing from the truth but I think this goes back to what I said about misinformation and disinformation
Is a very powerful thing and I I believe that when you go all the way back to and take you back to 20 what was it 2019 when all these candidates were announcing that they were running for president and if you go back to then uh candidate Harris then Senator Harris SP
Spin this I’m not a spin this is just the truth she had a huge huge huge huge huge rally had this big rally um all these folks and if you look at how she was introduced to the breath of the American people in that campaign again
If you didn’t know if you if you probably had only heard of her before from the clips from these um Supreme Court Justice hearings and in the clips it’s like you on the you it’s the prosecution as as a prosecutor as a foreign prosecutor you know what that
Look like um you there was no bio really introduced in in into when she came onto the national stage to run for president and um I think when you do not you canot you have to be very intentional about telling people exactly who you are and never seed the space in especially in
The media apparatus to allow the do not see do not allow a void to be there because people will fill in the gaps for themselves and what the what voters have done as it relates to the vice president is they filled in the gaps for themselves very early on when they saw
Her on the the big the big stage and so in those months after you heard oh she put a lot of black men in jail she did this she did that and some of it was well I uh how many black men did you put in jail when you were a prosecutor
What’s what’s the I asking how many black men did you put in jail when you a prosecut you probably don’t know the numbers but I’m sure you put some black men in jail criminal because if you committed a crime I’m just saying all I’m saying see SP this what’s the vice
President’s favorite in so I say I say all that to say um and to be clear she worked on uh child trafficking and sex trafficking when she was a when she does she have a favorite rapper we need to know this yes yes she does to short two
Short is her favorite rapper oh my God yes T short is her favorite rapper T short has been to the White House a number of times I’m just wondering how y’all think T short got to the White House it was the vice president but she did a A hip-hop party for hip-hop 50
This year uh I was definitely on the lawn listening to um uh Lil Wayne Lil Wayne had a whole concert and that’s TR boy yeah it oh well that’s unfortunate but I’m a Lil Wayne fan and I will just take it a personal aside to note I
Definitely had a show that day and people were like are you working I said yes I am but it’s I don’t got to be there for another hour I made it Olivia I made it don’t worry too short was at the was was at the hip-hop rally thing
He performed and there is there was a viral video from that of like the vice president dancing to vibrant thing and I think people were like some of people was like okay Auntie and some other people were like this is performative performative and manufactured two short
The girl from Oakland the woman is from Oakland so I just say that to say that it is when you are a a a a woman especially but a but a woman of color a black woman particularly you cannot Siege your narrative to anyone else it
You just because of all of the things that are in the makeup of America you know a little racism little sexism little CL all the things you have to be very and you want to be a candidate especially if it’s a candidate for one of the highest officers in the land you
Have to be very specific about telling people who you are and know the definition and don’t change it and I think one of the reasons in which people have these warped ideas of the vice president is that initial campaign that she ran but I will tell you my
Experience um with her is that you know she Auntie just like every other auntie I know uh there the campaign though is going to have to connect the dots it is ah Georgia if you remember Georgia the runoff election between waro and Hershel Walker where has Hershel Walker
Been since then I do not know he was a republican candidate for Senate in Georgia and the night that waro won the runoff uh I was on MSNBC sitting with uh I believe Joy Reed and a number of other folks Michael steel was there my bestie
And I made the point that people that representation matters as and and for black people and black voters representation matters but substantive representation matters and if black voters do not feel as though the representation that they that that they are being presented with is substantive representation they are not going to
Move and so the issue I think that the campaign has in 2024 is in general there are large swats of the democratic party electorate the base voters now that’s not all the B Coalition has some other pieces Independence moderate Republicans that are definitely key to his re-election win but he can’t get those
Folks and not get base voters that include young Millennial voters younger voters and black voters especially and V other voters of color if they do not feel like they have subst representation a Joe Biden and the KLA Harris then it is not going to move those various
Voters to go to the polls so much that we could talk about but we will not because we out of time we uh and you was running the clock I know it is it’s it’s all right but listen um this has been an amazing conversation with Dr Simone D
Sanders towns in you can get more of her every weekend Saturday and Sunday on MSNBC from 8 to 10: along with Michael Steele and my colleague Alisa Menendez on the weekend which is the new anchor show for the weekend on MSNBC make sure you check her out thank
You Char been an amazing conversation on the couch at the Charles Coleman podcast make sure you are tuned in liked and subscribed and until next week we’ll see you soon that’s Simone Sanders I’m Charles Coleman peace
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