The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Backlash to Postal Service Cutbacks | Jim Clyburn
Episode Date: August 18, 2020Trevor covers pushback against U.S. Postal Service cuts, and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn discusses Joe Biden's presidential run, Senator Kamala Harris's running mate role and more. Learn more abo...ut your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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You're listening to Comedy Central.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes.
It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at, that's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News,
listened to 60 Minutes, a second look
on Apple podcasts starting September 17th.
Hey, what's going on everybody?
Welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
I'm Trevor Noah.
It is Monday, August 17th, which means the Democratic National Convention kicked off today
in Milwaukee.
It also means there's still three days left for John Delaney to maybe win that nomination.
You got this, my man.
Now, before we get into the show, some of you may have noticed that my face is a little swollen,
and I know how the internet gets.
So I just wanted to address this before people start rumors. What happened was I was walking to Subway to get my usual 3 a.m. sandwich.
If you follow me in Instagram, you know how I roll.
And this guy in a mega hat jumped out of nowhere and said, hey, aren't you that super funny
comedian from the Daily Show?
And then he punched me in my face.
And then he ran away and hopped on a flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight flight to to to to to to tonight's episode, America fights back to save the post office,
and how Trump plans to win the popular boat.
So let's do this, people.
Welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
From Trevor's couch in New York City
to your couch somewhere in the world.
The Daily Social Distancing Show presents.
The Democratic National Convention, electing America's first
black president's friend. So tonight was the first night of the Democratic
national convention and I was actually gonna watch it but I was in a bus fight on
ghost of Tushima and by the time I beat it it was too late. So tomorrow I promise you we'll bring you the best highlights of tonight's speeches. But
even if you didn't get to watch what happened, one thing is for certain. This
year's conventions are anything but normal. This pandemic is certainly changing how
we nominate presidential candidates. The Democratic National Convention
will get underway to nigh to nominate Joe Biden, but hardly any speakers will be there in person.
It will be almost an entirely virtual event.
There will be no convention floor packed with delegates,
no cheering or applause, and no balloon drop.
If these conventions, don't expect anything quite like this.
When the dance they call me, I got it none.
They won't be fun. They were so much fun. And I don't mean just for me, I think the the the the the the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience the audience, I their their they their their they they, I I they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they, I, I they, I they they, I they, I they, I they they they they they they they they they they they their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I their. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I ti. I ti. I ti. too. ti. ti. too. ti. ti. I ti. I th. I th. I won't be fun.
They were so much fun.
And I don't mean just for me, I think the audience watched the craziness and the audience
enjoyed that.
That's right.
For the first time ever, the conventions are going virtual, which means no crowds, no
dancing, no balloon drops, and definitely no Bill Clinton kissing booth.
Now honestly, I'm kind of looking forward to watching speeches without the crowd cheering
every other sentence, because everything at these conventions gets a standing ovation.
Anything.
Uh, does anyone drive a 2015 Kia Sorrento? No, your lights are on.
What is over on? On the other hand, though, we all have to admit that a convention that takes place over
Zoom just doesn't have the same juice.
I mean, imagine if Obama had to do one of his famous speeches but on Zoom.
Yes, we can.
Sorry, Obama, I didn't get that. Could you say that again?
Yes, we can.
Oh, could you speak slower. I think the connection is bad. Yes. th, yes. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi thi tho, tho tho tho tho tho tho- tho- tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho, tho, tho, tho, th. th. tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi to thi to to to to to to to tooooooooooooooooooooooooooo thoo tho tho, could you speak slower? I think the connection is bad.
Yes. Uh, we can. Okay, we can what? I think you cut up at the end. We can what?
No, that's the whole thing. Yes, we can. Oh, okay. Now, you don't have to be a genius to see
what the underlying message of tonight's lineup was. From AOC and Bernie on the left to John Kaysk and a slew
of other Republicans on the right, tonight was meant to showcase the broad appeal of Joe
Biden across the political spectrum. Joe Biden is basically the Cheerios of presidential candidates.
He's not the most exciting option, but deep down, you know he's good for you. And as he
enters this convention week, Biden finds himself in a strong position against Trump. He's ahead by the the head the head the head the head the head the head the head th, by th, by th, th, thine thine thine thi thi- thi-he-he-he's a head thi-he's a head thi-up, thi-up, thi-up, thi-up, their thi, and thi, and thi, and th. th. th. th. th. Tonight th. Tonight, th. Tonight, th. Tonight, th. Tonight, th. Tonight, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. He, th. th. He, th. He, th. He's, th. He's thi-n, thi-n, thi-n, the. the. today, thean, today, today, today, today, today, today, today, today, today, today, thin. t convention week, Biden finds himself in a strong position against Trump.
He's ahead by an average of eight points nationally.
He's leading in five out of the six-swing states,
and his wife sometimes lets him hold her hand.
So that's something.
But some recent polls show that Trump is closing the gap.
And if there's one thing I've learned living in America,
it's that the poll numbers are like the scores in basketball. They don't mean shit until the last two minutes of the game.
And clearly Trump doesn't care about the polls anyway because he's measuring the race by a completely
different metric. Did you see down in Florida the boat parade yesterday? They broke
the Guinness Book of World Records and the boats, the boats, just thousands of boats. And th the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, the boats, their their their their their their their tho, tho, tho, tho, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, theea.ea. And, throoooooooooooooooo. And, the. throwne. the. th. th. And just thousands of boats, and that's all over the country. You know, it's everywhere you have a lake or a river or an ocean.
There's these massive numbers of boats and bikers for Trump.
I just look, there are thousands of boats in lakes, rivers and oceans.
Thousands and thousands of boats.
It's called boaters for Trump Pence.
There's signs all over.
Some of the boats have 10 flags on them.
They're incredible.
Yep, there's no denying that Trump is huge
with the boating community.
And I don't blame them.
I mean, his policies are ensuring that the ice caps
melt faster and make a lot more water for them.
Plus, Trump has a special place in this community, because he always stands like he's on a theaaaaaaaaa thiiiiiiiii. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. tm. tmah. tmahe. tmse. tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. tr. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. to t. t. t. truu. tru. tru. tru. t. tru. tru. t.. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if Trump tries to move all the polling locations from land
to the sea.
You know, a lot of people are saying that water elections are much safer.
In fact, there's never been a rigged election on water.
You can check it out.
So obviously Trump is very confident that the voter voters will put him over the top. But as a backup, as a as, as a the back up the back up the back up as a the back up as a the back up as a the the the the the the the the the to the to to to to tooe, tooe, tooe, tooom, tooom, tooom. too, too, too, too, too, too, to, to, to, to, to, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, too. th. th. thi. the, the, the.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.a. too. too. Wea. Wea. too. Wea, toe. Wea, toe. will put him over the top. But as a backup, he's also been moving ahead with Plan B,
destroying the US Post Office so that Democrats can't vote by mail.
But over the weekend, attacks on the Post Office
became so brazen that the people started fighting back.
The escalating showdown over the Post Office and mail in voting.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has cut short the August recess,
call the House back into emergency session
to confront the Postmaster General
over cutbacks in service,
which could disrupt the delivery of mail-in ballots
and effectively deny some people the right to vote.
This morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is taking the dramatic step
of calling every member of the house back to Washington
for a rare Saturday session this weekend
to address the crisis in the U.S. Postal Service and growing questions about the November election.
After report surfaced in recent weeks of postal workers removing those iconic blue mail
collection boxes from street corners in multiple states, the agency now says it
will halt further removals for 90 days, citing quote, recent customer concerns.
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's home was the targeted protesters over the weekend
who accuse him of undermining the service in order to suppress the votes.
Banging pots and pans before 9 o'clock Saturday protesters.
March to the front steps of what they say is Postmaster General Dejoys
D.C DC condo. Man, you gotta admit, there's few things that suck more than being neighbors with a Trump
appointee.
Because you know, at some point, people are gonna be protesting the shit out of your building.
Not to mention, Russian politicians always showing up at the wrong apartment.
I'm here for secret, but totally legal meeting.
Ah, you want apartment 7D, not 7G!
Oh, my bet, my bet.
But now that you have seen face,
I offer you drink that is not poison.
But for real, though, can anyone tell me why
they're removing mailboxes?
Like, if they don't actually need them,
then why don't they repurpose them, you know? Turn them into a trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash trash to a to a to a to a to a to a to a to a to a to a to a trashashashashashashashashashashash to a to a to a to a to a to a to a to a then why don't they repurpose them, you know? Turn them into a trash can or a flower pot or a new apartment for Oscar the Grouch.
I mean, maybe he'd be a little less grouchy if his house was filled with postcards instead
of bags of dog shit.
Now, Trump is claiming that the reason he's going off to mail in votes is that it has too much fraud.
But no one has ever been able to find evidence of their their their their their cl cl cl cla their their their their their their their their their the of their claim. So yesterday, Trump's chief of staff said this.
Do you realize how inaccurate the voter rules are with just people just moving around,
not let alone the people that die off, but sending ballots out just based on a voter
roll registration? Anytime you move, you'll change your driver's license.
But you don't call up and say, hey, by the way, I'm re-regnant. But there's no evidence of widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread widespread their fraud fraud fraud. There's their. There's their. There's their. There's their. There's their. There's their. There's their. There's their. their. their. their. their. their. Do. their. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do their. Do their. Do their. Do their. Do their. Do their. Do their. Do their. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. their. their. Do, their. Do, the their. the the the the the the the the the th. the th. th. the the the th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the of the way, I'm re-registrated. Fraud though.
But there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
There's no evidence that there's not either.
That's the definition of fraud, Jake.
Wow.
So there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud, but there's also no evidence that there isn't
a widespread voter fraud.
I mean once you go into that argument, there's nothing you can't claim anymore. I mean sure.
I haven't seen any evidence that aliens are cloning humans and making them
compete in talent competitions in space, but I also haven't seen any evidence
that aliens aren't cloning humans and making them compete in talent competitions in space.
So clone Trevor, if you're watching this, you give them hell in that dance off, buddy. And listen, people have all sorts of theories about why Trump is attacking the post office.
One of those is that he wants to slow mail down so that ballots don't arrive in time to be counted.
But another theory is that he just wants Democrats to think that the mail is going to slow down so that they don't trust the mail and the the mail..... all. Which is why over the weekend, the king of the Democrats Barack Obama came out with a
different message.
If you're in a state where you have the option to vote early, you need to do that now.
Because the more votes are in early, the less likely you're going to see a last-minute crunch,
both at polling places and in those states
where mail-in ballots are permitted.
As much as possible, we want to relieve that pressure.
America really is an upside-down place.
The black president is telling everyone to vote early,
and the white president is trying to make sure everyone's late.
And Obama's right, waiting until the last minute never works out. Like that one year I waited until to to to th th th th th th th th thi thi thi to make sure everyone's late. And Obama's right. Waiting until the last minute never works out.
Like that one year I waited until July
to get my beach body.
But then, all the beach bodies were sold out.
So in the face of all kinds of voting obstacles,
that is President Obama's advice,
which he reiterated on Twitter.
Vote early if you can, and then tell everyone you know to do the
same thing, which I guess I'm doing right now. I mean, you guys are basically everyone I know.
But just in case, I'm going to try to tell more people.
Hey everyone, don't forget to vote as soon as you can! How about you set the fuck up as soon as you can?
Okay, thank you, sir. It went well. All right. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tho. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th can. Okay, thank you, sir. It went well.
All right, it's time for a quick break.
But when we come back, we'll catch you up
on everything that's happening outside of the presidential race.
So, stick around.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968,
there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes.
It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given
access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS
News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Now, the big story this week is obviously the Democratic National Convention.
But, there's still a lot of other stuff going on out there.
So let's catch up on all of it in our brand new segment of stories that aren't about the convention. Wordplay.
Anyway, here's some big news.
Did you know that America is finally getting its first black president?
For the Washington football team, formerly known as the Washington Redskins, announcing
its new team president?
He will be the league's first black president. Jason Wright will lead the team's
business ventures and operations. And working with former Panthers, their tea on building on building their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. their their. their. their. t. t. t. te. th. te. te. te, here. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te.s.s.s. te.s.s.s. te.s. te.s.s. te. te. te. te. te. te. black president. Jason Wright will lead the team's business ventures and operations
and working with former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera
on building the team on the field.
Owner the team says Wright's experience as a former player
and his push for inclusion will set new standards for that organization.
That's right.
Washington has hired the first black president in NFL history,
which is fantastic. But if they follow the same the same the same the same the same the same the same the same the same the same the same the same the same the same the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thea theaqq NFL history, which is fantastic.
But if they follow the same pattern as America, the team's next president is going to kick
all the Mexicans off the team and inject all the players with hydroxochlor queen.
I will say though, it really sucks to be a black person in America right now.
Because even if you do get off at a job, the first thing you have to think is, man, how bad did these white people fuck up for them to need to hire me?
And best of luck to Jason Wright.
And I mean, best of luck.
Because football is the only sport right now
that's trying to play with fans in the stands
and with no bubble during COVID.
So if the league shuts down, you know people are going to try blame him. I'm just saying the league never shut down before when there was a white
team president. It can't be a coincidence. Moving on to some news about climate change.
It should be no surprise that 2020 is on course to be the hottest year on record. I mean basically
every year now is hotter than the year before it. You know, in the same way every Hemsworth brother is hotter than the one before it. Is that right? Was it the other way around? Over the weekend, the temperature
hit a different record. And this one is really going to make you sweat.
One part of the country is taking heat, and it could be a record. Death Valley National
Park, which is split between California and Nevada recorded a high temperature of 130 degrees yesterday. It needs to be verified, but if it is,
it will be the hottest temperature recorded on Earth since 1913.
The previous record was also recorded in Death Valley.
God damn, 130 degrees.
You see, this is when I like that Americans use Fahrenheit.
Because in the rest of the world, people use Celsius.
But a scorching 54 isn't the same.
Doesn't have the same ring to it.
130 degrees.
54.
And Death Valley is a great name for a place that's 130 degrees.
This is a terrible name in terms of real estate development.
Who would name that?
What they need to do is call it deval. You know, build a couple of condos and some coffee shops.
Boom!
White hipsters will be there by the end of the month.
This is just one more sign that we are all in a climate crisis people.
But while most of the world wants to slow climate change, the Trump administration
looks at record thearl.
the Arctic national wildlifeized plans to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, a move that will auction off oil and gas rights.
The move will allow leasing on the 1.6 million acre coastal plane.
It marks a major step towards reviving fossil fuel development in an area that has been untouched for three decades.
Untouched for three decades. Untouched for three decades.
For a second, I thought they were talking about Mike Pence.
Bim, bin.
But that's right.
With just a few months left in his term,
Trump is about to let oil and gas companies
go nuts in a pristine wildlife refuge.
It's almost like he knows he's not getting the security deposit back on the country, so he might as well just see how much of it he can wreck on the way out.
I mean, this might be the first time
Trump has destroyed the property value of a place
without putting his name on it first.
Also, Arctic wildlife is the best wildlife.
Why would you do this?
Penguins, polar bears, seals.
They're all amazing. They're magical. Why don't they have they have theythat has sucky wildlife, like a mosquito preserve?
And as bad as the climate crisis is, we still have a few years before many parts of the
planet become uninhabitable.
But unfortunately, the more immediate threat is still coronavirus.
It's a worldwide epidemic and the reason your grocery store looks like a very casual, mortal
combat tournament.
But there is some good coronavirus news today. A medical breakthrough brought to you by the NBA. The FDA has approved an
emergency use authorization for a saliva-based COVID-19 test developed by
Yale University. The test known as saliva direct has been used on NBA players
and staff and according to Yale it's simpler, less expensive and less
invasive. The NBA and the Players Union came together to donate more than $500,000 to Yale for
the research that led to the test.
That's right.
The NBA has funded a Corona test where all you have to do is spit in a cup.
Although knowing the NBA, they probably have someone standing next to
the cup trying to block you.
But this is huge. The United States desperately needs more testing to get the pandemic under control.
And a simple test where you can just spit into a tube, that could change everything.
I mean it's much easier than that test where you have to tickle your doctor, you know?
Actually I'm starting to wonder, was that guy a real doctor?
It was weird that we met under a bridge.
But this is why I always say, people, it is so much better to get diseases later than
earlier.
You know I always say that.
I mean if you got COVID in January, you had to do the more painful test where they
put the thing up your nose.
But now all you have to do is spice.
tho' thii.
thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, you died. But if you get it today, all you get is an anti-vaxa asking you if you took your kale shots.
Speaking of testing, New Zealand was the first country to declare itself COVID-free.
But now, after three months of no corona, the land of Hobbits is back in emergency mode.
Overseas, the Prime Minister of New Zealand has delayed the national election for four weeks after about 50 people were infected in Auckland.
That's the country's biggest city.
Before the new outbreak, New Zealand had gone more than 100 days without any known community
spread.
Yes, New Zealand is now delaying its national election by four weeks because of an outbreak
of 50 people.
And I know 50 people doesn't sound like a lot.
That's like a third of their population. Yeah, they have have have have have have have have have have have a 150 150 50 50 50 their th. th. That's th. That's th. That's th. That's th. That's th. That's thi thi thi thi people thi. That's thi. That's their thi. That's their their thoen, their their their their their their their their their their that's their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. That's their their. That's their. That's their. I's th. I's th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th.oooo. th. th. their their their their their their that's like a third of their population.
Yeah, they have 150 people and 27 million sheep.
And you know, this is the one difference between America and other countries.
Like, other countries are loose with their election laws.
You know? They're like, yeah, let's do an election in a month.
weigh it, whatever.
But America doesn't play those names. America treats election laws like God told them directly to Thomas Jefferson.
Elections must be the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November.
Never in December.
Because that's my son's birthday.
Not January or February.
It's like really cold.
March is for basketball.
We all know that.
April is for fools.
Ha ha ha get it.
And then in May, that's that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, get it? And then in May, that's like summer
and we don't do shit in summer.
So yeah, I'm thinking November.
What do you think, Tommy?
Now, at the same time, I confront.
America's system rarely protects democracy.
Because if you have laws that are too loose, and then you get the wrong leader, like, say, a Donaldlump........ tro. tro, trtro, trtrtrtrtro, tro, tro, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, tht, ththa, to, to, to, to, to, to, th to, to, to, I'm to, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I.... to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to to th to to to th to to to th toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. to to to, I'm to, I'm would never happen, that can cause chaos. Because best believe, if Donald Trump could postpone the elections
because of coronavirus, he would be testing through the roof.
Hell, he'd probably pretend to get coronavirus every single month.
Guys, I'm afraid we're going to have to postpone the election for two more years.
Because like, you know that feeling when you're not sick,
but you're going to be sick sick thi sick thi sick thi sick thi sick, thi sick, thi sick, to to be sick, to to be sick, to to to to be to be sick, to be to be to be sick, to be sick, to be sick, to be sick, to be to be tho-a, tho, to be to be tho-a, that's that's that's that's to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to be to be to be to be to be to be to be thi, Because like, you know that feeling when you're not sick, but you're gonna be sick?
That's totally me right now.
Sickish, but not, but totally sometimes could be.
Okay, bye-bye.
When we come back, I'll be speaking to the man
who they call the Biden whisperer.
So stick around.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting
September 17th.
Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
So earlier today, I spoke with South Carolina Congressman and Democratic majority whip Jim
Clyburn. We talked about Kamala Harris being on the ticket and what's really going on
with the U.S. Postal Service.
Congressman Kleiburn, welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
Thank you very much for having it.
Thank you so much for taking the time at what is one of the busiest periods for top Democrats all around the country.
First things first, many people refer to you as the Biden whisperer. And you you are the person who was credited with turning his fortune around
in helping him secure South Carolina
and then moving him to victory onwards from there.
Did you whisper anything to him about choosing Kamila Harris?
Well, I whispered to him about what he should do in determining who his running mate to be.
I did answer whatever questions he
asked of me. I gave him positives and positives and minuses about maybe a
dozen people and she was one of them. I told him on one occasion my head says this and my heart says something else
but it's got to be your head and
your heart and you need to make that decision. So I never gave him one over
the other. Now that Kamala Harris is the pick what does your head and your heart say?
She is who I believe compliments him better than anybody else.
He is a very compassionate person,
and she is a very passionate person.
She has the kind of debating skills
that I think will be needed in this campaign.
A Biden knows policy, and he's good on policy.
But Biden is not the kind of debater that Kamala is.
And that is what you need in a VP candidate.
Someone's gonna go tow to toe, not just against the other VP,
but against the policies that are being dictated.
And so I think that she is out there on policy in a way
that's gonna drive Donald Trump nuts.
One thing that has to happen though,
in order for the Democrats to win this election
is people have to come out and vote.
One thing that's been really interesting is when people are polled,
you know, a lot of people have said that they're not excited for Joe Biden, but they definitely want to vote against Donald Trump.
You know, Joe Biden is seen as a pragmatic choice as opposed to a passionate choice.
Do you think Kamala Harris shifts that?
And I know you don't speak for all black people, but as somebody who has deep roots
within the black community, do you think that Camilla Harris now affects how black people will come out and vote for Biden in a way that maybe they didn't for Hillary. Well, I think that she does a real good job in moving the needle on that quite a bit.
Maybe not all the way where it needs to go. But I really believe that this campaign,
when these two conventions are over, we'll be over as a Thursday night, the Republicans will have
their time next week. By Labor Day, I think
you're going to see people moving to Joe Biden on policy rather than just to be against
Trump. Yes, Trump has given us all we need to vote against. I am working very closely
with my good friend, Cetric Richmond, who is co-chair the campaign and my progeny in the
Congress, and we're looking at how to make this campaign one about Biden. We want people to vote for
Biden, and we're going to give them the reasons they should vote for Biden.
They already have enough reasons to vote against Trump.
Let's talk a little bit about the voting. I know you've been passionate for most of your life
about voting rights. America's in a really scary place right now, Congressman, where the November
election is looming, coronavirus doesn't seem to be going anywhere, and the post office
seems to be in a place where it may not be able to fulfill the needs of mail-in voters across the country. Looking at the move that Jocinda Arden just
announced in New Zealand, do you see a future or do you see any possibility where
America says they're going to move the date of their election or do you
think that that's something that is fundamentally un-American? That is fundamentally un-American and it cannot be done. Congress
sets the time for elections to take place. Now that has been set for the
Tuesday after the first Monday in November and that's what it is and this
president can do nothing about that. He can declare some kind of an emergency
kick us to war or something. I hope he's got
enough sense not to do something like that. So I think the elections are going to be on November
the 3rd. But what I've been saying to my democratic friends, that we ought to declare, if not officially,
we ought to declare amongst ourselves election month. October ought to be election month.
And we ought to dedicate ourselves
to doing the things or the necessary
to get people to the polls.
This president says he's all for absentee voting.
He's just against mail-in voting.
Well, absentee voting starts in most states, 30 days out.
In South Carolina, on October 5th, people will start voting absentee voting starts in most states 30 days out. In South Carolina, on October the 5th,
people will start voting absentee.
Now, we've been leaving it up to people to do it on their own.
This time, we ought to create the mechanism
during the month of October to get people voted absentee.
So I've been asking my friends and my party to dedicate this election year to John R. Lewis
and demonstrate election activities throughout the month of October.
So let me propose a horrible scenario that America has to consider.
What if people do vote early? What if those votes get collected by the post office,
but then they're not delivered in time to the places they need to be delivered to?
And what if those votes are now not counted by the places that are
that have announced, they're not going to count them if they don't come in by election day?
You could have hundreds of th election. Do you think that that's worth not moving an election for or do you have a plan in place
for what happens if the post office doesn't follow through on what people hope it will achieve?
I do have a plan in place.
And it's copy from Colorado.
The state of Colorado, I think it's got the best plan going.
And it's not relying on the post office.
People who want to use the post the post the post post post post post post the post post the post the post the post the post the post the post to use the post to use to use to use the post to the post to the post. to to to the post on the post office. People who want to use the post office, fine, you can.
But it's putting ballot boxes around town in various places
and it's getting people to vote in person,
absentee but in person.
So yes, we can get around that.
Sure, we need to keep the post office going.
Because I think this thing with the post office is about more than just voting.
I think that this president is camouflaging this activity.
Remember, the post office being with us before we ever had a constitution.
That's how it got wrapped into the constitution.
And the post office, I always say, is the thread, the main thread that keeps the fabric of this country together.
And if we pull that thread out of the fabric, it comes apart. We have as our motto in this country,
E. Puribus Unum, out of many, one. That's what it's all about. The post office has been the main thread
to make this country a country of one.
That is why we need to make sure we do not allow the postal service, and I emphasize service,
to go or ride. This is not about making a profit. That's why the post office is a service and not a business.
Businesses exist to make a profit.
Government should not exist to make a profit,
but to give service.
Profit, yes for business.
But for government, give service.
You are one of the speakers who's going to be speaking on the first night of the DNC,
which is going to be a very different Democratic National Convention than the ones we're
used to.
What are you hoping people will take away from your speech tonight?
Well, the first of my speech is all about unity.
Why we have to maintain unity in this country.
We are in pursuit of building a more perfect union.
Not a perfect union, but a more perfect union.
I often talk about the Alexis Stokvill in his description of this country.
He says, America is not great because it's more enlightened than any other nation,
but rather because it has always been able to repair
its faults. And so what I want to say to America tonight, we have opened up some fault lines in this
country, you know what they are. We need to do better about health care for our citizens,
about education for our children. We know what those fault lines are. Let's go about the business of repairing those faults. That's what I'm going to be talking about tonight. And to to to to to to to to to to th, and to be doing th. And to be doing the the to be doing the to be doing it, and the to be doing it, and I, to be doing to be doing to be doing to be doing to be doing to be doing to be doing to be doing their their to be doing to be doing to be doing to be to be to be to be to be to their to their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their tooea. tooea. toooooea. today. today. tooea. too. tooe. toe. Let's go about the business of repairing those faults.
That's what I'm going to be talking about tonight, and I'm going to be doing it from my congressional
district and from Charleston, South Carolina.
Well, Congressman Klaven, I know you have a very busy schedule, so I appreciate you taking
the time. Thank you so much for joining us on the show.
Well that's our show for tonight, but before we go, there are a lot of groups out there right now who are working hard
to protect and advance voting rights for the elections in November. Now one of them is
the Alliance for Youth Organizing, which is a national network of local youth-led
organizations mobilizing people to vote. Until tomorrow though, stay safe out there, wash your hands, and if you're a mailbox, watch
out, they're coming for you.
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