Barack Obama talks Trumpism, Advice for Democrats, Ukraine + Russia, and the Supreme Court

welcome to pod save America I'm John Favre I'm John Lovett I'm Tommy Vitor I'm Dan Pfeiffer and here's our interview with President Barack Obama well welcome back to pod save America thanks for doing this it is great to be with you guys good to see you all right we're going to start with the midterms because we're gonna of course we're getting serious here yes so these midterms are like 2010 are happening and we would say a sub-optimal economic environment but sort of unlike 2010 Democrats have a handful of pretty powerful arguments that seem to be moving voters about who Republicans are right on one hand you got a bunch of big lie believing insurrectionists you can so that's one argument another argument is about extremism on abortion gay marriage contraception Etc right and then also Republicans who want to get to back to Congress to cut taxes for the wealth they pay for by cutting Social Security Medicare you're about to get out on a campaign Trail yeah do you think there's a way to sort of weave those things into one narrative about the stakes in the selection well look I think the first and most important issue is are we going to preserve and hopefully strengthen our democracy and that that's sort of a Baseline uh question and I believe that given how at least Republican officials have behaved they increasingly um are willing to subvert basic Democratic procedures right like let's count votes uh let's make sure that people are allowed to vote let's make sure that uh whoever gets the most votes has the most seats and that if they get the most uh votes in Congress that you can pass laws right basic stuff like that they don't increasingly seem to believe in and and so that's the sense of urgency that I have now I think for the average voter out there we can talk about specific issues that are important to them and this has been a long-term battle that we've been having between Democrats and Republicans and that is do we create the kind of economy that gives everybody a fair shot and that uh grows the economy in a way that is good for not just a few but the many and the great thing that I think we have going for us is is that even with really Slim majorities what we've shown is is that uh we can deliver the Biden Administration has accomplished a lot yeah you've got historic infrastructure bill that's going to help rebuild America and create jobs all across the country you've got uh inflation Control Act that has lowered prescription drug prices has made sure that Health Care is even more affordable through the ACA that is looking at lowering energy costs you've got a gun bill that is the first major piece of gun safety legislation that we've seen in 30 years you know across the board what we've seen is that when Democrats have a working majority or even a really Slim majority in Congress um they can make people's lives better and and so I you know if you combine the the Deep concerns about our democracy with the concrete accomplishments that uh this administration had been able to deliver because we had a narrow majority in in both the house and the Senate uh that should be enough to inspire people to get out now there's one last piece of business that I think has been on a lot of people's minds and that's Dobbs right the overturning of role versus sway because what that also indicates is that a lot of rights that we've taken for granted one one through enormous struggle uh and uh mobilization over the last 40 50 years those aren't rights that we can take for granted you know if if Roe versus Wade can be overturned then it's it's likely that a significant part of this Supreme Court is less concerned about issues of privacy and and personal freedom generally which means that lgbtq rights can be at risk it means that uh you know basic uh precepts about you know the state's staying out of how we think about family and relationships that those are all called to question uh and yeah it's been interesting talking to I think a lot of young people who even though they thought were even though they were frustrated with the lack of progress in some areas they had never gone through the experience of seeing us go backwards on a big issue and it's a reminder that democracy is fragile that you have to tend to it you have to fight for it and this midterm election I think is going to be a moment in which um you know that battle has to be joined and that that means people have to turn on so Donald Trump has made himself a central character in these midterms he has he has um he's made it pretty clear he wants to run again even if he doesn't he's clearly remade the Republican Party In His Image um what if what lessons have you learned in the last couple of years about how we can defeat not only Trump but trumpism long term the thing that I think sometimes we seem to make mistake on is um his behavior can be so outrageous and now um folks who try to copy him uh and his outrageous behaviors get a lot of attention and so we joined that game and we spend enormous amounts of time and energy and resources pointing out the latest crazy thing he said or uh you know the how rude or mean you know some of these Republican candidates behaved that's probably not something that that um in the minds of most voters override their basic interests can I pay the rent what are gas prices how am I dealing with child care Etc right and I think we saw in 2016 understandably because we hadn't seen some of that behavior before we thought well if we point that out if we point that out that's going to be enough yeah right and and I think that what we all should have learned over the last several years is that um it is an advantage for our candidates to be decent and uh thoughtful and well-informed and all those things and I think uh we've done a great job recruiting tremendous candidates for Senate Governors races uh on down the ballot so that helps right and and that should give us an advantage but we shouldn't assume that in any given election it's a character test alone we are going to have to engage in the issues and make very concrete arguments to people that look if you have a democratic majority then you're more likely to make sure that uh you know you're getting paid a living wage and that you have basic protections on the job and that uh if you're still going to school that is going to be affordable and you know if uh you get a job that doesn't give you Health Care on the job that you're going to be able to afford to get uh Health Care through the Affordable Care Act and the subsidies are going to be ones that you know uh allow you to keep some money in your pocket those are the kinds of arguments I think that ultimately we still have to make even when uh just by how we act and how we behave we're also modeling you know a better way of of doing politics so one challenge that the Democratic party has had since you left office is we keep doing worse with voters who don't have a college degree right and at first it was white voters right and the theory behind that was uh perhaps racial resentment was driving that right now we're seeing Latino voters without college degrees leaving the party or voting Republican and even some black voters as well right um New York Times just ran a story about the 250 page unpublished uh manuscript that you wrote in law school yes this was very random yeah it was amazing I didn't know that one thing you guys know about me I've been pretty consistent you know I uh that's what that's what I took away from reading it and reading the story about it is you basically argue that Democrats need to make appeals that are based more on class than race if you want to build a durable majority how do you think about that in light of the party's current predicament today I have watched with great pride this country become more aware of the force of racism and sexism and homophobia in everyday life and I think that movements like me too and black lives matter have changed the culture in all kinds of positive and Powerful ways you know speaking of somebody who's got uh to black daughters right I want them to feel as if as they move through the world that they're not having to put up with a bunch of nonsense that if I had a white son which biologically might be difficult um the uh you know that uh that they'd be treated fairly right um but I also think that when we're talking about putting together as you said durable majorities we have to be able to speak to everybody about their common interests and what works for I think everybody is the idea of a basic equal treatment and fairness that's an argument that's compatible with uh progress on social issues and is compatible with economic issues I think where we get into trouble sometimes is when we try to suggest that some groups are more because they historically have been victimized more um that somehow they have a status that's different than other people and that we're going around scolding folks if they don't use exactly the right phrase or you know that that identity politics becomes the principle uh lens through which we View you know our our various uh political uh challenges and to me I think that that for a lot of average folks ends up feeling as if you're not speaking to me and my concerns or for that matter my kids concerns and their future it feels as if I'm being excluded from that conversation rather than brought into the conversation uh and so that's something that that you know we all have to be uh mindful of and cautious about but um I I want to emphasize here you know throughout my presidency there was never a time in which we shied away from making strong arguments on behalf of groups that had been historically uh subjugated in this country and we didn't ignore history but we but there was always an invitation to people to say you know what I think all of us regardless of what your status is want fairness and want equality and want your sons or daughters to be treated fairly uh and and and and with respect and dignity and and and the more we're leaning into those arguments and the less we're leaning into an argument that says um were uh you know deserving of uh consideration and you guys are the problem whatever however you want to frame you guys yeah I think most people don't want to be lectured to in that way and I think that that that uh that can cause us some difficulties one thing that's also happened is we've seen Republicans try to take advantage of this kind of damage the Democratic brand in some way and in the last few elections we've seen that Democratic policies like Medicaid expansion raising the minimum wage those things have like a 15 Point advantage over Democratic politicians who would want to pass them right uh what do you see as the I mean you just talked a little bit about it but like how do we close that Gap right how do we how do we get people to listen they seem to be more able to listen and get past polarization and misinformation when it's on the policies not the politician well I I think it is connected to what we just talked about and and listen I I think it's important for us to acknowledge that um what Republicans and conservative media have done very cleverly is to find whatever the most outrageous examples of overwrought cancel culture is and they'll flash it on the screen as if this is the Democratic party platform and um and because they understand this Dynamic that we just talked about right the message they sell day in day out is these feet Coastal Liberals are looking down on you and think you're stupid and and so as a consequence whatever they say they don't mean it because they all they care about is is keeping you down and lifting themselves up and so in light of the fact that that is constantly in the the air uh that Republicans breathe and voters oftentimes are exposed to um yeah we got to bend over backwards sometimes to to counteract that in order to get people to hear about policy I mean I think there's a there's a reason why um a guy like fetterman in in Pennsylvania has done well among voters that some other Democrats might not have done well with because he comes off as a regular guy right and every once in a while he says something that it's a little uh you know Off Script if if he was given a speech you know on a college campus people might be you know aghast and that's a good thing that's a healthy thing right and and you know I I'm not suggesting that um yeah every candidate has to be themselves and and you know nothing's worse as we've all seen in the past of you know fight folks trying to you know be down with the people and you know I think I love it when they cry it's a little awkward and stiff um but all of you guys were also you know with us when when we were on campaigns in and and you know I was in in places that a lot of folks thought I could not get votes because of my biography but I think what people sensed was oh this guy relates to us right he gets us and and and and and that uh quality is something that I think Democrats uh have to have to embrace and and claim uh and and and and I think we do get into trouble look I used to get into trouble whenever as as you know you guys know well whenever I got a little too professorial and you know started when I was behind a Podium as opposed to when I was in a crowd there were times where I'd get you know uh you know sound like I was given a bunch of policy gobbledygook and that's not how people think about these issues they think about them in terms of you know the life I'm leading day to day how how does politics even how is it even relevant to uh you know the things that I I care most deeply about my family my kids you know work that gives me satisfaction uh you know having fun you know you know not not being a buzz kill right yeah that's a lesson for the Democratic yeah and sometimes Democrats are right it's it's like you know sometimes people just want to not feel as if uh they are walking on eggshells uh and and and they want to acknowledgment that life is messy and that all of us at any given moment can you know uh say things the wrong way you know make mistakes uh Michelle talks about her mother-in-law her mother my mother-in-law who is a extraordinary one but as Michelle points out she's 86. you know and sometimes you know trying to get the right phraseology when we're talking about issues Michelle's like that's like her trying to learn Spanish it doesn't mean she shouldn't try to learn Spanish but it means that sometimes she's not going to get the words right and that's okay right and and that attitude I think of just being a little more real and a little more grounded is something that I think makes it goes a long way and in counteracting what is a systematic um the the systematic propaganda that I think is being pumped out by Fox News and all these other outlets all the time pod save America is brought to you by Magic spoon cereal that's good 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hold on for sponsoring this episode pod save America is brought to you by Lomi talk about how much garbage you take out in food waste a lot it's like mostly so much garbage there's all this food waste and then then I got loamy life change forever loamy allows me to turn my food scraps into dirt with the push of a button Lomi is a countertop electric composter that turns scraps to dirt in under four hours is it just like a little wood chipper John no I used to have lots of garbage now I have lots of dirt that's great lots of dirt what are you growing uh flowers plants there's no smell when it runs it's really quiet thanks to Lumia I have way less garbage each week you know who loves their loamy is Priyanka airbendi Raves about it really yeah has been growing stuff I should use it every day no I'm serious super into it what are you growing Priyanka what are you growing up she's got a green color if you want to start making a positive environmental impact or just make cleanup after dinner 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zippercruiter.com crooked feels like uh I feel like the Republican Party should have done a little zip recruitering for the Georgia Senate race it's just like it's funny if this really were like a job interview it's like all right I'm down to my final two candidates a morally upstanding uh astronaut and a right wing not to use to email anti-democratic screeds to his food co-op it's so hard to pick it's gonna be close this one how does the recruiter make hiring faster and easier first when you post your job on ZipRecruiter it uses powerful technology to find and match the right candidates up with your job and then sends them to you uh then you can easily review these recommended candidates and invite your top choices to apply in fact 4 out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day so if you want a better way to find great people for your team try ZipRecruiter for free right now at the special URL ziprecruiter.com Cricket once again that ziprecruiter.com crooked then elect to take some time for you because you've got zip recruiter to help ZipRecruiter is the smartest way to hire I don't know that you know this but we used a joke that you would always insist on saying that the Recovery Act was divided into three parts and we used to we used to think oh no he's going down the recovery actors divided into three parts thing again it's I feel terrible about that now I'm sure that's why we got clobbered in 2010. I just want you guys to know that we talked about that in the last interview that we did at the White House oh man well it's been a long time clearly love it's been traumatized PTSD about it sometimes yeah you know it's funny you you brought up fetterman I mean fetterman saw something in your campaign in 2008 I think he was like the only elected official in Western PA that endorsed us that's exactly right and what like do you think he's doing what do you like about him is it the look or is it like words like authenticity get overused but um that the thing I love about fetterman and you see it in a lot of our other candidates is you feel as if when you're talking to them that you're having a normal conversation and they have some sense of how the rest of America lives yeah right grounded not a lot to ask it's it's it's pretty basic right you you feel as if if that guy walked into a diner sat down and you started you know uh just you know talking about whatever issues came to mind that you might not agree with everything he said but you'd feel as if he had a point of view that was informed by his real life experiences that he was honest about what he believed that he'd be open to potentially changing his mind of you know uh you you made a good argument um that there are certain values that he cares about uh and that he cares about people right uh and and now now why it is that um those qualities don't seem to always apply to um successful Republican candidates what's going on there I don't know exactly um but I I suspect and I've talked to you guys about this before again it's it's the degree to which uh conservative media uh just has a lock on how people are presented and and sort of the dominant narratives there are are so powerful that you know people will vote for DeSantis even if I'm not sure that they would really have a great time he doesn't he does not seem like a lot of fun hanging out with that guy I think it's gonna be a problem for him this would be a problem for him you know you're a robot you can't just sound like Trump doing Trump without the Charisma yeah a couple of them have tried that yeah yeah piece of work um you guys will forgive me I wanted just a little a couple International questions yeah man look look you know you you count too you matter thank you so much I appreciate that as seamless as the transition in the State of the Union as we are strong at home so are we strong in the world you got two lines every day you were fighting this battle thank God for Ben um I I saw that you Michelle put out a statement in support of the Iranian protesters uh earlier this week I was just wondering why you thought it was important to weigh in and if you think there's lessons we can learn from the green movement in 2009 or the Arab Spring about which of these Democratic movements succeed and fail and why I I think uh there's no way to predict how this plays out and I one thing we all learned through the Arab Spring uh the the green movement in Iran and a lot of other places is that uh you you can't underestimate the power of this sheer force and violence uh sadly uh and and the repressive mechanisms that a government like Iran has in place but there are a couple of conclusions we can draw from number one uh is that uh there is deep dissatisfaction with the Iranian regime number two that women in particular are chafing under a series of of not just systematic um discrimination against women and and and subjugation of women but um also an arbitrariness and and cruelty uh beneath uh that that's exercised by the State against women uh which has made them uh essentially say uh we're fed up we're tired of this and that's extraordinarily powerful um whether it ends up bringing about fundamental change in that regime I I think is is is hard to predict but I you know the the one thing that you know when I think back to 2009 2010 you you guys will recall there was a big debate inside the White House about whether I should publicly affirm uh what was going on with the green movement because a lot of the activists were being accused of being tools of the West and there was some thought that we were somehow going to be um uh undermining their street cred in Iran if I uh supported what they were doing and in retrospect I think that was a mistake uh every time we see a flash a a glimmer of of Hope of people longing for freedom I think we have to pointed out we have to shine a spotlight on it we have to express some solidarity about it that doesn't mean by the way that the administration is uh that that a U.S Administration uh shouldn't be taking in a bunch of other equities into account they have to a president has to right so I continue to believe that the Iran nuclear deal was a really important thing for us to do to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon had we not had that in place I think Iran would have had a nuclear weapon by now well look how well it's gone since we pulled out exactly right so you still have to make decisions uh often very difficult about are there places where you do business with a government that is repressive uh and and that's the job of a president and uh an Administration uh you know facing a complicated World um but our moral response to uh the incredible courage that is taking place in Iran and and those women and girls who are on the streets knowing uh that they're putting themselves In Harm's Way uh to to speak truth to power uh you know we have to we have to affirm what they do and hope that uh it brings about more space for um the kind of Civic conversation that that uh over time can uh take that country down a better path uh speaking of brutal repressive governments I mean it's been eight months nine months since Putin launched this Invasion Ukraine I think everyone's been impressed with the way the ukrainians have fought how effectively they fought I've been impressed with how much Europe has actually stepped up and supported them the flip side of that success though is the fact that it appears that Russia is losing or at least losing ground Putin is getting pushed further into the corner so I'm just wondering if you have thoughts for people who are watching this they're inspired by the Ukrainian resistance they want them to defend their country successfully but they're also pretty nervous about continued escalation and this chatter about you know Russia using a nuclear weapon I think what the Ukrainian people have accomplished is extraordinary and it's a testimony to not just the the courage of a few soldiers but this is a entire nation mobilizing in the face of extraordinary ads um and and making tremendous sacrifices uh and and zelenski himself is has risen to to the moment in a way that you know his biography would not have necessarily anticipated right so so um at the end of the day it is not our job to tell the ukrainians when is it enough how far should they go what concessions should they make Etc um that's up to them as their allies it is important for us to support them financially militarily through our intelligence we do have how however to be clear and honest with them about what we can and cannot do and there are lines that we have to determine internally the U.S NATO uh and others um that take into account the risk of this tipping into a Russia U.S NATO conflict as opposed to a Russia Ukraine conflict I'm not privy to enough of the intelligence at this stage to and it's not my job as a private citizen to um weigh in on on where that line should be drawn but as we're thinking about for example what weapons we're sending in or how we're approaching our support for Ukraine uh I I think thinking about where defense stops and offense begins and how we manage that is something that we have to pay attention to and I do think you know probably the thing that I'm I'm most concerned about is that lines of communication between the White House and the Kremlin are probably as weak as they have been in a very long time even in the uh you know in in some of the lowest points of the Cold War there was still sense a sense of the ability to pick up a phone and and work through uh diplomatic channels to to send clear signals and a lot of that is broken down and I don't think it's the fault of our Administration I think that we're now dealing with a a type of Russian regime that is actually even more centralized even more isolated and closed off I think Putin has Consolidated decision making to a degree that we haven't seen uh even during the Soviet era and and I've that I think creates some dangers and US finding ways in which some of that communication can can uh be re-established I think would be important as we defend Democratic Values abroad we defend them here at home oh okay we're back I mean that I think was a little better yeah all right so uh one of the things you've said since leaving office is it's your job to kind of step back and allow a new generation of leaders to emerge did you intend on that to be the silent generation all right so you were just saving that joke yeah it's hyped up no the real the real the real the real the real question is you know when we talked a couple years ago you you pointed to uh young people that you were excited about are there are there are there young leaders that are inspiring to you exciting to you that you're seeing yeah look uh you know one of the things I want to emphasize in this midterm is the importance of looking not just at the top of the ballot but all the way down the bottom because uh there are Governors races Secretary of State's races uh State Legislative races that are going to really matter um you know when we talk about how are we going to preserve democracy particularly at a time when the current Supreme Court um to put it charitably does not seem as invested in uh in in overseeing and and and and um uh stopping Monkey Business at the local level it becomes that much more important for us to to make sure that we've got quality candidates and we're supporting them and we're turning out for them at every level because it may turn out that in a close presidential election at some point you know certification of an election in a key swing state may be at issue and and it's going to be really important that we have people there who who play it straight so um so I've I've seen a lot of talent but you know we there's a gap between the talent that's coming up a lot of them are 40 and under and then we have our our national leadership that over 40 is over 40. and and you know and and I think you know why that Gap exists yeah we can speculate but the good news is I think there are uh a lot of talented members of Congress uh young people and I don't want to the problem is if I start naming somebody yeah then you know wow you left me out yeah so so so I don't want to do that but but if you look at uh the talent that's in uh in Congress right now young Dynamic uh folks who are willing to shake things up uh it's really impressive and and you know it's gonna it's just going to be a matter of them continuing on the path they're on and then making that leap where they start getting national attention I think it's a little harder now to break out nationally than it was even when I was running right I mean I give one keynote address and suddenly I'm I I'm pretty well known nationally um I'm not sure and obviously the last one was during covid so it it it we may not have tested this proposition yet but whether with the splintering of the media that's still possible right and uh and so you know one of the things that I'm hoping to do over the next uh several years is in between elections maybe bring together some of this talent and see how I can lift them up and support them um uh and and you know because turns out I still have like a lot of Twitter followers and that's more than some people although I don't really talk about it why do you think Gen X didn't run do you think it was grunge what do you think happened they just they just sat the whole thing out it's weird it's a little weird that's a little weird there you go all right you done yeah yeah but I was supposed to keep it Loose parts of America is brought to you by zebiotics we all have busy lives these days and can't afford to waste a day stuck on the couch because of a few drinks the night before that's right zebiotics is the answer we've all been looking for zebiotics pre-alcohol probiotic is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic it was vented by a PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking some really those are uh some wild PhD scientists a lot of PhD signs waking up not knowing how they got home but knowing it's time for science here's how it works when you drink alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut it's this byproduct not dehydration that's to blame for your rough next day zebiotics produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down it's designed to work 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Ground Productions participant in Amir Quest love Thompson and Tariq Black Thought Trotter of 215 entertainment descendant only on Netflix October 21st you wanted the Supreme Court and in part for the very reasons you say the Supreme Court has now held at its lowest esteem in history polls show that there's tremendous distrust voters say it's rigged it's political it doesn't represent the majority are you open to some reforms to try to address that challenge there's nothing we can do about that because we're kind of stuck with this supreme court I I'm open to it um I think it has to be thought through one of the arguments we made at the time when McConnell decided that he had to invent a new principle that he then breached later about uh Merrick Garland and and why the guy wouldn't even get a hearing or a vote um is that if you start playing such explicit political games in the appointment process it's hard for people not to feel as if this is just an extension of day-to-day Congressional Politics as opposed to uh the Supreme Court stands above to some degree those politics and and I think winning back that trust is going to take some time and I and I'm not sure it's even going to be solved unless we solve some of the underlying polarization that um that we've been talking about uh earlier um I know I've been talking for a long time about the fever breaking in the Republican party it's on the bingo card it's long polarization that was good that was good and uh you know I I I'm under no illusions uh that uh some of those things are going to be fixed anytime soon but I do think that if we reform the Supreme Court uh simply by uh figuring out ways to get more Democrats on there and stack it up then it's not going to solve the legitimacy problem of the Supreme Court it's just that we'll win more cases for a while um which as a partisan as somebody who thinks there's a right way to think about uh women's reproductive Health that there's a better way to think about uh you know equality uh for for uh you know the lgbtq plus Community you know it would be I I would much prefer us winning five to four than losing six to three um but what I'd I'd like even more is for us to find ways in which we can get to a point where um that that where justices bring their own perspective to Bear but are willing to actually look at precedent and look at how Society is moving and are making judgments not based on uh a bunch of uh rigid ideological criteria right um the last point I'd make on this and and this was actually weirdly in my you know Law School uh paper that that recently got uh you had to published that thing no I will not do that money in the bank but um I do think that it's important for progressives not to count too much on the courts one of the problems with row was that it did make I think a lot of Voters complacent figuring yeah do I really have to trudge over and vote in some obscure midterm election because I know that the Supreme Court is protecting me uh when it comes to my right to choose right and and I think that we we have to be mindful that even if we have a independent thoughtful Supreme Court that's not entirely ideologically driven it's still part of our democracy it's still reflective of our politics you know um you you have to still do the work on the ground of changing people's hearts and minds and attitudes about issues because the court generally follows societal Trends more than it leads it's very rare where the court gets ahead of society in a significant way it typically reacts in response and more often when it's gotten ahead by the way it's done bad things rather than good things Brown versus Board education Roe versus Wade may be two exceptions um but even after those decisions right it's not as if the issue was settled and politics went away as we've just learned right so there's no shortcuts here we have to work we have to get out we have to vote we have to be engaged in conversations we have to reach into places uh where the majority of people don't agree with us on these issues and we have to make a case um you know that that work never stops and and um you know the thing I worry most about during these midterms and this happened throughout my presidency and pretty much every Democratic presidency is that we our Democratic voters get real hyped up around presidential races and we lose interest a lot of times during midterms and men were puzzled as to well why isn't more stuff happening you know and then we use the fact that more stuff isn't happening as an excuse to not vote again in the midterms and and and look I anybody who's listening to your podcast I'm preaching to the choir I assuming but uh for for those of you who are listening and have friends whose attitude is you know I'm so Progressive that I don't bother voting because you know uh it's all just a neoliberal you know plot um keep in mind that let's say the climate provisions in you know the big Biden Administration bill um they're not going to solve climate uh problems that temperatures are still going up the planet's still warming but you know it makes a big difference whether the planet goes up two percent or three percent or four percent that might be billions of people who are displaced or not displaced that that might mean entire cities that are flooded or not and and you know may make a huge difference in terms of um you know our our capacity to manage these changes that are taking place so if you vote and we've made it more likely that temperatures rise 2.2 percent rather than three percent that's got to be worth 15 minutes of your time right it has to be you know the the same is true when it comes to issues like racial Justice is your vote going to eliminate racism or problems between police and communities of color across the country probably not but you know what it could mean a different D.A someplace it could mean the difference in terms of making an investment in diversion programs that that give kids a chance and and don't simply lock them up for 20 years and that that's got to be worth 15 minutes of your time and and then you can continue to work uh for a bro you know the broader Vision that that uh that you're looking for um but but I you know I do get frustrated with um an attitude that I'm too cool to vote that you that you see floating around um the internet a lot uh among folks who purport to be Progressive and and um I can't wrap my head around that argument because it's not as if these folks who are you know um on social media making this argument or out leading the revolution right they're not they're on social media they're not knocking on doors they're not knocking on doors well but you know they are not uh offering a plausible alternative course of action that this is the game we have this is the power we have and it turns out that that power is pretty significant will it get us all the way to the promised land no but that's you know how things get better and you know not to not to repeat myself but better is good has the current political crisis that we're in changed the way you are thinking about your post-presidential role in public life it certainly changed the first four years right where I was probably more active politically than I would have anticipated uh you know I mean there there's there's a little bit of I admire the you know Cincinnatus you know George Washington going off you know I'm a private citizen now kind of vibe I always use the Cincinnatus reference as well um but I thought that that the stakes were high enough uh during the four years that that uh my successor was in office that um that I I was more vocal and still tried to pick and choose my spots but was more engaged and involved obviously with Joe Biden in the white house now um I've been trying to uh refocus my attention on this uh what had always been my original intention which is to focus on developing the Next Generation leaders through the work we're doing at the foundation um the one thing that uh probably I'm more attuned to now is um trying to make sure that as we're working with young leaders through the foundation that were maybe a little more explicit about the Democratic Values that are at stake and I'm becoming more interested in working with folks partnering with organizations that are experimenting with ways in which we can strengthen uh our Democratic muscles right so issues like misinformation and and how do we create a a social media environment that in which facts and reason and logic uh at least uh have a shot um and and and and and and and go beyond sort of um the the the sixty percent of the country that already occupies that space and and is able to reach the 40 who consume most of their news uh uh through fox or or you know whatever the latest uh you know radio host is or podcasters um on the right because I know those folks I you know you look at a place like Iowa right and and what's changed there it's the same people right it's it's not fundamentally different they're just getting a bunch of different information and so the filter is so thick that if I were to go back into the exact same communities it'd be a lot harder to to get a hearing right and so so how media works uh I'm I'm spending a lot of time thinking about uh what are the tools we can we can develop to to crack that code um I I think part of what we talked about earlier you know how do we think about pluralism and um culture in a smarter way so that we preserve the gains and continue Advance uh the the law that we continue to who is whose phone is that um okay I'll Betis love it um it's fine it's fine the uh but uh you know you know how how can we train folks young leaders to to be able to to Champion uh the rights of of you know racial minorities and and people of different sexual orientations and and women uh but but have a language that is inclusive and and makes people feel as if um uh that that we're assuming the best in them and not the worst right that becomes interesting to me um so so I think I'm spending more time thinking about the building blocks of democracy and where we we've seen it break down you know where have been the the the the the the cracks in the foundation that that need to be shored up uh and are there are there ways in which I can be helpful in ensuring those up and and that's just to bring poor Tommy back into the conversation uh there is you know that that that's where I do think um there there is a through line between what's happening here in the United States and and uh countries around the world I mean you you look at what's happening in Europe you look at the Italian election you look at the recent French election you look at you know these far-right parties that are popping up in Scandinavia it's right Victor yeah right and and and and obviously hungary's uh you know we've seen over the last several years um in all these places right what what you're seeing is that um if you define democracy just as elections that's not enough that that there's that's there's an infrastructure that has to be built uh and a set of values that have to be transmitted and that how we thought about globalization and and trade and immigration and all that stuff that how not in some cases the actual policies but certainly how we communicated that to um uh voters throughout some of the wealthiest countries in the world um didn't work didn't connect right and you see this rise of strong men politics that is dangerous um and it's it's it's not very different than what we've seen happening here through the Republican party so so I you know rather than just what elections can do and the reason again that I'm on with you you Jim Oaks is you got an election coming up and you got to vote and and so that's the immediate short-term response to these threats is you have to you know get people in there who believe in the basic precepts of democracy and care about uh working people but over the long term there are some of these structural issues that um we we have not addressed and there's still a problem and and uh so you know to the extent that uh then I can be useful on that front that's what I care about I think you could be useful on that maybe uh President Obama thank you so much for uh sitting down with us this was good fun guys this is great you know I appreciate it and uh you know you should might be on more often please uh open invitation you want to brainstorm this Media stuff we could get a zoom going to chat no I'm not gonna do that all right guys it was great to see you good to see you

Channel: Pod Save America

Views: 920,726

Keywords: Jon Favreau, John Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Tommy Vitor, Tommy Veetor, Jon Lovett, John Lovette, Jon Lovitz, Dan Pheiffer, Dan Phieffer, Dan Fipher, Pod Save America, Crooked Media, MSNBC, CNN, Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Barack Obama, Obama

Id: m_IOpjrd760

Length: 65min 15sec (3915 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 15 2022