The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Joe Biden's Inauguration | Stacey Abrams
Episode Date: January 21, 2021Joe Biden is officially sworn in as America's 46th president, Trevor dives into the history of Inauguration Day, and Stacey Abrams discusses her grassroots political efforts in Georgia.Please visit da...ilyshow.com/FirstRespondersFirst to help provide medical and psychological treatment for first responders on the front lines of fighting COVID Learn more about 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, listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th,
wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, what's going on everybody?
I'm Trevor Noah.
On today's episode of the show, we catch up on all things inauguration.
How Biden came in, how Trump went out and how Melania stopped pretending that's th.................. th. th. th. th. thiii. th. thi. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. It's all all all all all all all all all all all all thi. It's all all all all all all thi. thi. thi. It's all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all all. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th.s. th. th. th.s. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. How Biden came in, how Trump went out,
and how Melania stopped pretending that she's happy.
Plus, our guest tonight is the woman
many credit for DeKenbe Mutomboying Mitch McConnell,
Stacey Abrams.
She's going to be joining us on the show.
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.
This is the Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor No.
Ears Edition.
Today, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and McDonald's share price in Florida
just went way up, because America just got a brand new dad.
Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.
I Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. do solemnly swear.
I Joseph Robinet, the Biden, Jr. do solemnly swear.
That I will faithfully execute.
That I will faithfully execute.
The office of President of the United States.
Office of President of the United States.
And will, to the best of my ability.
Will to the best of my ability.
Preserve, protect, and defend?
Preserve, protect and defend.
The Constitution of the United States.
So help you God?
So help me God.
Congratulations, Mr. President.
Thank you.
I don't know about you, but this moment will stay in my memory forever.
Joe Biden's middle name is Robinette?
What?
But that's right.
As of noon, Eastern time today, America welcomed the fresh young face of Joseph
R. Biden as its 46th president.
And despite the pandemic, this inauguration had it all.
Former presidents, the youngest inaugural poet, an amazing singer wearing her own Etsy store,
an old man on his way to the post office, and even a lady whose outfit just called me a broke bitch.
Biden was so committed to unity that he even invited enemies of the state.
No, I'm joking, I'm joking, I'm joking.
Ted Cruz didn't try and overthrow the government.
He just supported the people who did.
Even Mike Pence attended the inauguration.
To honor the democratic transition of power.
Kudos to Mike Pence.
You can see him there with his mask featuring the vice presidential seal.
And as tradition the the the the the the the the tradition the tradition the tradition the tradition the tradition the tradition the tradition the tradition the tradition the the the the the the the the the the the vice presidential seal. And as tradition dictates, once Kamala was sworn in, he gave that very same mask for her
to put on.
But before the new president could walk in, the old one had to be kicked out.
There you see Marine One on the lawn of the White House.
President Trump is still there, but is expected to depart any minute for Andrews Air Force
Base and give a final speech before
heading tomorrow Lago.
And I can tell you that from the bottom of my heart.
This has been an incredible four years.
We rebuilt the United States military.
We created a new force called Space Force.
And now the stock market is actually substantially higher than it was at its higher
point prior to the pandemic.
So it's really, you could say we built it twice.
I hope they don't raise your taxes.
But if they do, I told you so.
So just a goodbye.
We love you.
We will be back in some form.
Have a good life.
We will see you soon.
Have a good life?
That's not what a departing president is supposed to say.
That's what you tell your best friend in high school when she starts dating your ex.
I hope you two are very happy together.
Have a good life if he dumps you for a problem.
I told you so. Although, I do like how he said he'll be back in some form.
Because my man knows you've got to leave on a cliffhanger.
I'll be back in some form.
Maybe I'll come back as a politician.
Maybe as a mutant fish monster.
Or maybe I'll come back as one of those old guys with a bonytail.
Stay tuned.
But Trump's last day in office wasn't all just whining and stealing silverware.
No, my friends.
He also made sure to hand out some very nice parting gifts to all his friends.
President Trump announces more than 140 pardons and commutations.
The list ranges from the president's political allies to nonviolent drug offenders. Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty to defraudinginginginginginginginginginginginginginginginginginginginginginginging to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. thi. thi. thioling thi. the. the. the. the. thi. Wea. Wea. Wea. Weauling thi. Wea, just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to thoing the. the. the. tho. tho. tho. thoing. thoing. their. th. thoing. the. the. their w. the.violent drug offenders. Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty to defrauding donors in a fundraising campaign for
President Trump's border wall.
But before the trial could even get underway, the president gave him a preemptive
pardon.
Three former Republican congressman and commuted the sentence of Detroit's former Democratic mayor
Kwame Kilpatrick, who was serving time
on corruption charges.
The president also pardoned rappers Little Wayne and Kodak Black on their separate federal
weapons-related offenses.
That's right, people.
Donald Trump pardoned a ton of shady people in the last hours of his presidency, which
means those fraudsters can get back to defrauding and Steve Vannon
can get back to selling mucinex.
The weird part, though, was how he kept trying to give prison time to Eric.
I'm sorry, Eric, the rule in prison is one in, one out.
It's just like the nightclubs.
I'm going to miss you Eric jokes.
Have a good life.
Now, what was really crazy is that Trump pardoned Kodak Black and Lil Wayne.
Which sounds like a good thing.
I mean, it's cool to pardon anyone, I guess, but it's a terrible thing to do to a rapper.
Because you're taking away their street cred.
Now what are they going to rap about?
Yeah, young whizzy, baby.
I can get an office job now. I can also get a mortgage at a good rate.
Legally buy a gun in all states.
Now you see me on the street.
On my way to jury duty, do they, do it, that is goody.
Honestly, if you ask me, I think it's incredible that Trump didn't pardon
himself.
Because it means that even President Trump looked at Donald Trump's record and decided, man, I can't let this guy off that easy.
Then again, some people actually speculating that Trump secretly wrote himself a pardon
that he can use later.
And honestly, I hope that he did.
Because he's Donald Trump, so you know he's just going to end up wasting that pardon
on some bullshit.
Mr. Trump, your car is illegally parked in a handicap spot, you're getting a ticket.
Well, now's the perfect time to use my one and only pardon.
I'll see you when I come back from my game of golf.
Now, Trump is not the first president to issue shady pardons on his way out the door.
I mean, Bill Clinton famously pardoned his brother, and a really dodgy businessman whose ex-wife donated
to Clinton's library.
And yes, don't get me wrong, Trump took it to a whole new level.
But he's not unique.
If anything, I think he should have gone further.
I'm not going to lie.
I'm really pissed off that of all the people Trump chose to pardon Joe Exotic, because I don't know about you, but I need a second season of that show, thiiiiii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, tri, tri, tru, to tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, to to to to to tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, Trump, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru, tru... tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru-i, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, true, tru-i, tru., I need a second season of that show. I need more Tiger King.
Now the only thing I can watch on Netflix is that Bridgeton show.
Every day, Bridgeton, Bridgeton.
Now I'm falling in love with that Duke.
Now I'm sitting there wondering what our babies would look like if we were a couple,
probably like us. And it wasn't just last minute pardons. night at literally one o'clock in the morning, Donald Trump also did this.
Breaking overnight President Donald Trump signing an executive order releasing
current and former members of his administration from the terms of their ethics pledge.
That pledge, one of Trump's first executive orders back in 2017 when he pledged to
drain the swamp.
It required Trump's political appointees to agree to the lobbying ban as well as pledge not to undertake work that would require them to register as a foreign agent after leaving government.
So after all that time, talking about how he's going to drain the swamp, the one rule he actually made to reduce corruption, he got rid of right before he left office.
But let's be real though, people, electing Trump to reduce corruption is like hiring Hilaria Baldwin to handle your PR crisis. The
results are going to be no bueno. But on the other hand, I do get why he's doing
this. Trump's staffers have to become lobbyists. I mean, where else are they
going to go with their resumes? So why do you think you'd be a good employee for Pets plus? Well, you guys th in cages, and we used to keep kids in cages.
Ah, okay, we'll be in touch.
And so, with Trump finally gone,
it was time for President Biden to get the key from under the mat
and settle into the house
that they'd spent all day getting ready for him.
Right now, the White House residence staff are going around the White House and boxing up
anything that the Trump family may have left behind.
Trump officials insist that the place is going to be sanitized
with particular care and COVID-19 in mind.
Part of what is going to be moved in
and different in the White House residence,
is that the Biden's will, I hear, share a bedroom. The Trumps, of course, at separate, at th at th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the thi thi thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, thi, the the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, thi, th, is th, thi, is the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th, the the thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thr. throoi. tr. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. thr. separate bedrooms. So this will be switched. All the mattresses will be refreshed.
We're so used to seeing the new president
walk up the steps under the North Portico
into the White House to be greeted
by the outgoing president of the United States.
And there you saw Joe Biden and the first lady,
not greeted by anybody outside the front door of the White House. In fact, the previous president had skipped town before the inauguration.
So Biden left there to sort of be a self-greater in many ways
and let himself into the White House, into the front door.
Yeah, Trump wasn't there to greet Biden at the White House,
which is a snub.
But on the other hand, I'm not sure that Trump needs to be there now because how would that conversation even go? You know what? I actually used to work here so you don't need to show me where the situation room is. The situation room? Now,
I know it's inauguration day and everyone wants to throw a party, but remember, it's also
Weddens day, which means it's still a work day. And so after he got back to the White House, Robin thrown, the White House bathrooms aren't the only place..... And.. And. And. And. And. And. And, toe. And, toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe, toe, to to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, the the the the the the the the the the the the the to be, the toe, toe, the toe, the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. the. the the the. the the. the the. the the the the the. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. the toe. toe. the toe. toe. to work. And let's just say, the White House bathrooms aren't the only place Biden is looking to
wipe out any trace of Donald Trump.
Just hours after being sworn in, President Joe Biden is already putting the pen to a number
of executive orders.
This is common practice as presidents enter office.
Biden expected to sign roughly a dozen executive orders, undoing some of Donald Trump's
most controversial move. He will immediately rejoin the Paris Climate Accord, reportedly cancel the Keystone pipeline,
and will reverse the so-called Muslim travel ban, and take the first step in his fight against
COVID, mandating masks on federal lands, and extending the pause of student loan payments.
Wow.
That is a huge reversal of Trump's legacy,
rejoining the Paris Accords,
canceling the Keystone pipeline, and even repealing the infamous Muslim ban.
Although with America's COVID rates right now, I don't actually think that last one is going to make much of a difference.
Come on over, Muslim countries, come on to America.
Actually, we have Zoom now now so you guys kind of keep
your coughing. Now this is really good news and I'm glad that America is
rejoining the Paris Accord but you got to admit this back and forth this must be
so weird for other countries because under Obama America celebrated the Paris
Accords but then under Trump it was like, fuck the Paris Accords let the
planet burn! And then now under Biden it it's like, all right, guys, I'm back in the Paris Accord.
Sorry, yeah, and I'm also back on my mad.
Sorry about that.
So my friends, Donald, Jesus Christ, that was crazy.
Trump has officially departed the White House for the last time.
And I know, I know that many people are angry right now at the state that he left this country in, but I implore you to try and look at the few silver linings.
One, America survived Trump, and in doing so, displayed its resilience.
And two, Trump's term has truly exposed so many of the flaws in America's system.
And I know for some, day one of Joe Biden's presidency may be too soon to think about fixing
America's problems, but you need to start fixing them now.
Because before you know it, 2024 will be here and Donald Trump might be back in some
form.
All right, when we come back, we'll see how today stacked up to other inaugurations.
Spoiler alerts, it had a lot less dead birds. And Stacey Abrams
is still joining us on the show. 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 17.
Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
Joe Biden's inauguration did not look like a typical one, partly because of the pandemic,
partly because the National Guard was protecting him from the previous president.
But what does a typical inauguration day look like?
Well, actually, there really isn't one.
To find out why, it's time for another episode of, If you don't know, now you know. There's the first thing to understand about Inauguration Day
is that there's no reason it has to be a full day.
There's only one thing that really has to happen,
and it takes about two minutes as long as nothing goes wrong.
There are speeches,
parades, and ball.
But according to the U.S. Constitution, the only requirement is for the President to take
the oath.
An entire government hands over a baton to the next government.
It does not happen until the words of the oath are uttered.
And the words matter, you have to say the words correctly.
Barack Obama had to take the oath of office twice in 2009. That's because
Chief Justice John Roberts misspoke and one word was out of sequence.
That I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully.
And I will execute the... Faithfully the president of the office of president to the United States faithfully. Then I will execute the off faithfully the president, the office of president of the United
States faithfully.
Immediately people called it a botched oath.
Some people even questioned his president Obama real president.
Oh man, did you see Obama's face?
He was so pissed.
And I would be true.
Imagine spending two years campaigning all over the country. And then the guy giving you the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office of the president of the president of the president of the president of the president of the the president of the office of the president of the president of the president of the president of the office of the office of the office of the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office the office. the office. the office. the office. the office. the o. the o. the o. the o. the o. the o. the o. the o. the o. the o. the o. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. Imagine spending two years campaigning all over the country,
and then the guy giving you the oath is like,
Do you swear to uphold the Dungstitution?
I mean the Constitution?
Whoops.
Oh, man.
Well, sorry, let's try it again in four years.
You can see Obama's eyes.
You can see in his eyes. He's thinking, really, thi-I I's th's thi from Kenya to have you screw this up now. And honestly, I kind of agree.
I mean, damn, I know it's an oath, but you're not allowed to say one word wrong?
You're becoming a president.
Not summoning a dragon?
I bet Trump didn't know about this one, because if he had, he definitely would have gone
to Biden.
Just so he could mess thi. I'm Jose. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I th. th. I 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. 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. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. toea. toea. toea. toea. toea. toooooooooooooooooooe. the. tha. Do solemnly. Fart, fart, fart. Fart, fart.
Come on, man.
Now, because the oath is required,
it's the same for every president.
But the inaugural speech is where each individual president gets to tell you who they are.
Presidents use their inaugural addresses to try and set the tone and lay out the themes for the next four years. It's a great opportunity to make a great speech and encapsulate his vision in a few telling
lines.
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Ask not what your country can do for you.
Ask what you can do for your country.
The shortest inaugural speech, a mere 135 words, was delivered by George Washington at
his second swearing in.
The longest William Henry Harrison's, which ran on for two hours on a cold, March day.
Harrison died of pneumonia 31 days later.
Now Harrison didn't get pneumonia because he gave a speech in the cold three weeks
earlier, but it was still a huge mistake, because he gave a speech in the cold three weeks earlier,
but it was still a huge mistake because he was only president for 31 days and he wasted
the first two hours.
I mean, he could have been like, no speech, I've got to enjoy this while at last, and
then went and spent the whole day just running around the White House in his underwear.
Because with a two hour speech, you know he had a to. the th speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech speech he he he he he th, you th, you know, you th, you know, you th, you know, you th, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you th, th, th. th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. the the the th. the 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. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. ton of plans. And then in year two, we're gonna fix the railways and add some more states.
And then year three, oh boy, year three is gonna be my favorite year yet.
But you know what surprises me is George Washington.
135 words is not the length of a presidential speech.
That's more like a college student that forgot that he had an essay due that day. I mean, on the other hand, 135 words is a lot lot is a lot is a lot is a lot is a lot is a lot is a lot. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thirty, I is a lot, I is a lot, I is a lot, I is a lot, I is a lot, I is a lot, I was a thirty-a, I's thirty-a, I'm thirty-a, I'm thirty-a, I's th. th. th. th. the, th. the, 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. th. th. the, the. the. the. theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. the. the. the. the. I mean on the other hand, 135 words is a lot when you have wooden teeth. Ladies and gentlemen, I said, ah shit, a splinter, I'm out, I'm out, I'm out, I'm out.
Now once the speech is out of the way, the fun parts of Inauguration Day begin. The balls,
the concerts, the parades. It's basically my super sweet 16 for men in their 70s. But like any big party, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, their their there's their their 70s. But like any big party, there's always the chance that something will go horribly wrong.
Inagurations follow a very prescribed order,
and while most inaugurations have been conducted with decorum,
some have had their mishaps.
Vice President Andrew Johnson had too much to drink the night before Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration,
Johnson delivered a speech the next day, still drunk, embarrassing
the president.
An electrical short caused John F. Kennedy's podium to catch fire, as Cardinal Richard Cushing
gave the invocation at his inauguration.
In 1873, Ulysses S. Grant was being inaugurated, and it was very cold.
So what happened is that the champagne turned into slushies, and they'd all these canaries brought in to sing as background noise, and they all froze to death.
Andrew Jackson's 1829 bash was the roudiest.
20,000 Jackson supporters stormed the White House, pulling down the curtains, walking on the
furniture, causing massive damage.
The new president reportedly escaped the crush through a window.
God damn!
People think Trump caused chaos.
Imagine if his presidency started with a riot.
But hey man, say what you want about Andrew Jackson.
That dude could throw a party.
I mean, you know a party is hardcore when the host is like, if I don't get out of
here, I'm going to die.
It's funny because we think of all these historical figures as being so proper and respectable, but damn those parties were baller.
I mean, I've been to some crazy parties, but I've never been to a party that got
frozen canary crazy.
Although I think frozen canaries on the floor can really kill the mood at any party.
Hey, what's up, girl? I couldn't help but notice you standing here by yourself,
and I just, oh God. Shit I stepped up. Oh, oh, oh, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, God, shit, I just stepped up. Oh, I stepped them, oh man, oh no, I felt its bones.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
So you got a man or what?
Now, a lot of the talk this year is about how President Trump broke tradition by refusing
to show up for Joe Biden's big day, which clearly was a sign of respect. I mean, if there's one thing Donald Trump would never want to do is draw attention to
himself at somebody else's party.
But the truth is that 2021 isn't the first inauguration day to feature tension between
the new president and the outgoing one.
Since Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson traveled by carriage in 1837, it's become tradition for the president-electe-in to to to to to toe-in, toe-in, toe-in, toe-in, toe-in, the president-in, the president-in, the president-in, the president-in, the president-in, the president-in, the president-in, the president-in, the the th. and th-in, and the-in, and the-in, and the-in, and the-in, the-in, the-in, th. and th, th, and th, and th-in, and th, and th, and the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi-in, and thi-in, and thi-in, and thi-in, the-a-s-s.e-s.e-s.e-s.e-s. the-si-si-si-s.ea-si-s.ea-s. trea-s. trea-s. trea-s. the. the for the president to escort the president-elect
from the White House to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony.
Historically, some transitions have been, well, ugly.
Ulysses S. Grant declined to give Andrew Johnson the ride to the Capitol, and so Johnson
declined to attend the inauguration.
In 1953, Dwight Eisenhower rolled up at the White House to pick up Harry Truman.
The Truman's were inside with coffee ready.
Someone came in and said to Truman, Eisenhower won't get out of his car, he won't come in and have coffee with you.
The 1933 inauguration of FDR, Hoover wouldn't look at or even speak to Roosevelt on the car ride over to the swearing-in.
Oh, that looked so awkward. or even speak to Roosevelt on the car ride over to the swearing-in. Ooh!
That looked so awkward.
Hoover was acting like he was in an Uber pool.
Look, man, I'm just trying to save three bucks.
I'm not here to make a friend.
And to be honest, I actually understand where they're coming from.
Because look, I get that it's important to concede when you lose.
But it does feel a little little thehelliiiiiiiiiiiiole important thiole important thiole thi thiole thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, like thi, like thi, like thi, like thi, like thi, like thi, like thi, like thi, like thi, like thi, like thi, like th, like th, like th, like th, like like th, like th, like th, like th, like th, like th, like th th th th like th like th like th like th like th you give the guy who beat you a ride to the inauguration.
That never happens in any other situation.
When you get divorced, you're not expected to drive your ex to their next wedding.
So I can see why some presidents get a little petty.
And honestly, I think they could have done worse.
I mean, if Trump wanted to be really petty, he wouldn't have skipped town. He would have offered to drive Biden and then show up on a motorcycle. Sorry, Biden.
You got a ride bitch.
Bitch.
So, that's the big public events of Inauguration Day.
But there is one final tradition that takes place in private, when the new president
sits down in the Oval Office for the first time and finds a special note on their desk.
There is a tradition tradition tradition tradition. There is a tradition where the president leaves a letter for the incoming president and
he leaves it in the desk and it is that private connection between the two of them
who are now both officially in what is known as the president's club.
That's another very new tradition goes back to Ronald Reagan who left a letter for his vice president,
George H.W Bush that said at the top, don't let's let the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. Bush, that said at the top, don't let the turkeys get you down.
After George H.W. Bush lost his re-election fight to Bill Clinton, the sitting president
penned a letter to his opponent, saying in part, your success now is our country's success.
I'm rooting hard for you. The letter former President Obama wrote for President Trump, in part, President Obama wrote,
we are just temporary occupants of this office.
That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions, like rule of law, separation
of powers, equal protection and civil liberties that our forebearers fought and bled for.
Wow guys, Trump really changed the game on everything. Because before him, all the
presidents would leave little encouraging notes, you know? You got this, champ, all of
America's rooting for you. But Obama's letter to Trump was trying to teach Trump about
America. Okay, real quick. There's a thing called democracy. You've got the rule of law.
But this is actually one tradition that Donald Trump did continue. And in fact, we actually got our hands on Trump's
actual outgoing letter to Joe Biden from our White House insiders. Oh man, I'm
going to miss that guy. So there you have it. The American presidential inauguration.
Sometimes it's messy, sometimes it's awkward. But even after a month like this one, it always happens.
And if you don't know, now you know.
All right, when we come back,
I'll be talking to the woman who many credit
with being the person who helped turn Georgia blue.
That's right, Stacey Abrams is joining me on the show.
So don't go away.
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.
You're rolling. 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., th. th. th. th. th. th. There. There. th. There. There. th. There. There. There. th. There. There. There. th. There. There. th. There. There. th. There. th. There. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. There th. There. th. th. There was th. There was th. There was th. There was th. There was the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. There. There. There. There. There. There. There. There. There. There. There. There. th. th. th. There. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. It th. It's th. It's th. It's th. It's the. It's the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th. th. 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. Earlier today, I spoke with political leader
and activist Stacey Abrams. She's the founder of Fairfights, the Voting Rights Organization in Georgia that
helped Joe Biden win Georgia and Democrats gain control of the U.S. Senate. We talked about
that and so much more. Stacey Abrams, welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Thank you
for having me again. The last time you were on the show, for many Americans, it seemed like everything was
lost.
We were at the heights of the George Floyd protests.
Donald Trump was, I mean, just Donald Trump, and coronavirus was going up in a way that we
couldn't have even imagined could get worse.
Speaking to you today, Joe Biden is now officially in the White House.
Donald Trump is back playing golf
where he was when he was president, but not as president, and coronavirus is still going up.
So it's, I guess, one, one, one, one, one, one, one, one out of three right now. Are you happy
with how things are going? How are you doing today? I'm incredibly grateful for where we are in two ways. One, we now have a president who can't th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thate. thate. thate. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. too. too. too. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. to to to to to to to to to to toe. toe. toe. toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, to. And, to. And, to. And, to. And, we now have a president who can actually address the death told that coronavirus
is wreaking across the country can make certain that communities that have been left out of
just simply getting basics will suddenly, and I think for the first time, have access to the
support and resources they need. I am deeply, deeply grateful that Donald Trump is out of the
White House. I'm a little annoyed that he's just south of where I live, but, you know, we're America.
He gets to live where he wants. But I think more than anything, we have an opportunity for
hope that we haven't had in a very long time, and I'm just pleased that Georgia got
to be a part of making it so. Many people have credited the work thr. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thoe, thoe. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th. We, th. We, th. We, th. We, th. We, th. We, th. We, th. We, the, the. We the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. We're the. We're the've done in Georgia. What I've appreciated though is how when Georgia flipped, the first thing you did was
thank all the other people who made it possible. Walk me through that. Is it
very strange for you to be almost like the Iron Man of this thing and
then you have to keep telling people yes but Spider-Man also
and so did Black Panther and so did every single other person in the Marvel universe.
I'm grateful for the support and the accolades.
And I understand just how relieved people feel.
And it's important often to identify a focal point.
I've been privileged to be a part of building this apparatus over a decade.
I've been pretty good at publicly begging for money for our state and being the hype man
for Georgia.
And so I appreciate the attention and the recognition, but I do think it's always essential
that you recognize all of the component pieces because grassroots organizing and
political organizing are two facets of how you put
together the infinity stone that actually delivers us, you know, from, you know, thanos into
justice.
So this is, I know, and for all the Marvel, you know, athletes, I know I completely butchered
that a little bit, but you got what I meant.
So, you know, I'm so pleased to be a part of this pantheon that got good done, and it is my responsibility
to always lift up those who have been doing this work.
Because the minute we start to believe our own hype, we believe the accolades that they
belong solely to us, that's the beginning of someone like a Donald Trump, that's the
beginning of something like the modern-day Republican Republican Party where you lose the sense of who you are trying to be what people say they think you
should be.
What do you think it is about black women that are, that people see as magic, but black
women see as almost a necessity. Because, you know, I look at South Africa's history. And obviously you had the likes of Nelson Mandela, but then you had all of the women, the women, the women, the women, the women, the women, the women, the women, the women, the women, the women, the women, th. th. to, to, th. thin, thin, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, toe, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, 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, th. the, thin, the, their, the, the. the. the. the. thr-a. toe. toe. toe. toe. to, to, to, to, that everybody knows about, but then you had all of the women, you know, like Winnie Mandela, etc., who fought for the struggle and didn't get as many
accolades. The same thing happened in America. You look at the civil rights movement and how many
women have either been erased or overlooked when talking about the story of America achieving,
the story of America achieving democracy. There's no denying that everywhere around the country black women are at the forefront of trying to get America to be as progressive as possible.
What do you think that comes from?
That black women tend to bear the brunt of every evil
and bear the responsibility for every failure.
And so our response, our only response has to be
that we're gonna push harder, fight longer, and recognize that we will
go unrecognized.
But that said, I want to expand the conversation a bit because for communities, Latino communities
that are languishing in spaces where they are not respected, I think it's something that women
do. I think that we have communities, Asian American, Pacific Islander communities, Native
American communities, where women are often the leaders, the loss leaders. We are the ones who do the work. We rarely get the
credit, but we understand the consequences. And that's really what drives us, and certainly
black women in this moment deserve every accolade and every plowed it. But I also want to make sure
that we think about all the other women of color and white
women who have entered the space where they are from places of marginalization and disadvantage
because men seem to be men no matter which race they're in.
And so women, I think it's just critical for us to not only lift up women of color,
to lift up women when we do right, but to recognize that we're also always in coalition
trying to get this done.
So then the big question is,
where does Stacey Abrams go from here?
What is the job?
Everyone has a job for you.
I mean, some people want you to run for president.
Some people want you to to take up the mantle.
You know to to to to to to keep going for Georgia. Georgia is the future, so you should be the governor. I know that you've publicly said
that you won't be running, but my question to you is, why wouldn't you run for governor of Georgia?
Well, so my first jobs, I need to get people to buy my last book, Our Time is now that tells the story of how we build these things. But my th. But, but my the the story, but my the story, but the story, th. But, the story, the story, th. thii. the story, thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, the story, thi, thi, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story is the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, the story, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. to to to to to thea. to to to to to thea. to to to theaugh, they. to the to theate. to the story, to continue to focus on Georgia, focus on redistricting,
focus on the fact that already Brad Raffsenberger is agitating and advocating for rolling
back voting rights, focus on the work we have to still do to make certain that COVID recovery
actually recognizes the disproportionate effect that COVID has had on a state like Georgia
where you have such high populations of communities of color and no public health infrastructure to speak of.
I may run for office again, I haven't decided what I'm going to do politically,
but I know that my work is here, my focus is now, and my mission is to help lift the South,
starting here in Georgia.
Donald Trump was a common cause that people were fighting against.
Joe Biden is now going to be the president who has to answer and address many of the issues that many
Americans are facing. You don't agree with everything that Joe Biden says or
does and I mean that's that's part of politics. What are some of the issues
that you want to see him addressing? What are some of the things that you
feel Joe Biden and his administration need to push for immediately? I think he's
Joe Biden and his administration need to push for immediately. I think he's made the right first steps by focusing on COVID and COVID relief.
We have to recognize that the disproportionate infection rate, the disproportionate death rate,
the disproportionate loss of income has affected communities of color and women in ways that
will continue to reverberate through our economy, they are starting early on that issue, and I think that's the right start. Number two, we've we've to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the to the the to the the th co the th co tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho the co the tho tho th th th th th th th th o' co the tho the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the co the tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho to to to to to to to to to. to to. to. to. to. to. to. to to. to to to to to reverberate through our economy, they are starting early on that issue,
and I think that's the right start.
Number two, we've got to restore our democracy.
Defeating Donald Trump was simply attacking one of the symptoms.
We've got to fix the disease,
which is this Republican insistence
that the way to win elections
is to keep. And then number three, climate action. The fact that he has tapped John Kerry to be an emissary on this issue,
the fact that he has really populated his cabinet with people like Jennifer Granholm
who understand how we can take climate action and turn it into job creation, turn it
into community opportunity, turn it into environmental justice.
Those are the first three things that we focus on.
And I think overarching all of that is making certain
that we embed racial justice in every one of these conversations
because racial justice cuts across every one of these issues.
And if we do it right, we can start to finally reckon with who we are
and what we can become.
After every victory, there's a moment of celebration. after hard work, there's a moment where you reap your awards.
Is Stacey Abrams going on a vacation?
I know it's hard in a pandemic.
There's not many places you can go, but Georgia has like beautiful lakes
and you've got beautiful areas you can.
Are you going to take some time off or do you just want to start?
I am so excited.
I am so excited. Leslie likes to bother the Dickens out of me because I don't vacation effectively.
But I am going on vacation and I am so excited
and I need the rest.
I want to do, what do you do on vacation?
What does Stacey Abrams do on vacation?
Are you the like sit down, read a book, do nothing type thing?
Or are you the kayak on like a river type person?
Who are you?
Kayaking on a river is what you do when you're on an active vacation with people who know
how to do the balance, but I'm going on vacation by myself and I will be reading.
I will occasionally roll over and maybe watch something on TV and then roll back over and
start the next book. And I'm going to take really, really long naps. I'm so excited about sleeping.
Well, enjoy the naps, enjoy the reading,
and I'm excited to see what the future of Stacey Abrams holds.
Thank you so much for joining us again on the show.
Trevor, thank you for having me again.
You're fantastic.
Don't forget, Stacey Abrams' latest book,
our time is now, is currently available. So if you youto change your world, go out and get it.
All right, we're going to take a quick break,
but we'll be right back after this.
Well, that's our show for tonight.
But before we go, the coronavirus pandemic is as bad as it has ever been.
But luckily, our first responders are still out there on the front lines,
saving lives. And if you want to help them out, then please consider a donation
to First Responders First, which offers first-class medical and psychological treatment for
first responders. You can find out more at the link below. Until tomorrow, though, stay safe
out there, wear a mask, and remember, from now on, no malarkey. No Malachi. The Daily Show with Cover Noa, Ears Edition.
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Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and move. 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.
This has been a Comedy Central podcast.