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> HELLO EVERYONE.
WELCOME TO AMANPOUR AND COMPANY.
HERE'S WHAT'S COMING UP.
> THEY DESTROYED US.
THEY WANT KILL US.
SURVIVORS OF BEIRUT PORT EXPLOSION CONDEMN AUTHORITIES AND LINE UP TO FEED A FAILING STATE.
I'LL SPEAK TO HEAD OF THE LEBANESE RED CROSS AND JOURNALIST ROBIN WRIGHT ABOUT IRAN'S INFLUENCE AND ITS NEW PRESIDENT MEANS FOR THE UNITED STATES.
THEN.
I DO BELIEVE THAT FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE IS AS AMERICAN AS APPLE PIE.
ACCESS TO THE BALLOT IS ONCE AGAIN UNDER THREAT IN AMERICA, ON THE 56th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
I BREAKDOWN THE DANGER TO DEMOCRACY WITH HISTORIAN DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN AND AUTHOR JULIA SPY.
PLUS HIS STATE HAS ONE OF THE LOWEST VACCINATION RATES IN THE COUNTRY.
NOW LOUISIANA GOVERNOR TELLS WALTER ISAACIN' ABOUT HIS PLAN TO GET THE COVID CRISIS UNDER CONTROL.
'AMANPOUR & COMPANY' IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III.
CANDACE KING WEIR.
THE CHERYL AND PHILIP MILSTEIN FAMILY.
THE ANDERSON FAMILY FUND.
THE STRAUS FAMILY FOUNDATION.
JIM ATWOOD AND LESLIE WILLIAMS.
BERNARD AND DENISE SCHWARTZ.
KU AND PATRICIA EWING, COMMITTED TO BRIDGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THESE FUNDERS AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
THANK YOU.
> WELCOME TO BE PROGRAM.
> ONE YEAR SINCE THE DEADLY PORT EXPLOSION.
IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST NON NUCLEAR BLASTS IN HISTORY, SPARKED BY DANGEROUS CHEMICALS SITTING NEGLECTED FOR YEARS.
MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE WERE KILLED, THOUSANDS WERE INJURED.
AND COUNTLESS MORE STILL BEAR THE INVISIBLE WOUNDS INFLAMED BY THE LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND UNANSWERED QUESTIONS.
TODAY FED UP RESIDENTS CLASHED WITH LEBANESE SECURITY FORCES.
AND PRESIDENT BIDEN ANNOUNCED 100 MILLION DOLLARS IN ADDITIONAL AID.
AND HE CALLED OUT LEBANESE AUTHORITIES.
NO AMOUNT OF OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE WILL EVER BE ENOUGH IF LEBANON'S OWN LEADERS DO NOT COMMIT TO DO THE HARD BUT NECESSARY WORK OF REFORMING THE ECONOMY AND COMBATTING CORRUPTION.
IT IS ESSENTIAL.
IT IS A VITAL PART OF THE WORLD, EVEN FOR THE UNITED STATES.
AND CORRESPONDENT BEN WEDEMAN BRINGS US A VERY HUMAN STORY OF THAT TERRIBLE DAY.
Reporter: NURSE PAMELA WAS ON THE PHONE WITH HER MOTHER.
AT 8 MINUTES PAST 6:00 IN THE EVENING, BEIRUT'S NIGHTMARE BEGAN.
PAMELA AND THE WARD FOR PREMATURE BABIES DIDN'T HESITATE.
I WAS VERY FOCUSSED TO SAVE THE BABIES.
WITH THREE BABIES IN HER ARMS SHE WALKED FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF TO FIND AN INCUBATOR.
WHILE PAMELA WAS WALKING THE INJURED BLOCKED TO HER SEVERELY DAMAGED HOSPITAL.
THE ST. GEORGE.
WHERE THE EXPLOSION HAD KILLED FOUR NURSES.
ON THAT AWFUL EVENING, MORE THAN 6,000 PEOPLE WOUNDED, MORE THAN 200 KILLED.
A CITY THAT OVER THE DECADES HAS BEEN THROUGH WARS, CAR BOMBS AND TERRORISM HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING ON THIS SCALE.
A YEAR LATER AND MOST OF THE RUBBLE HAS BEEN CLEARED, SOME OF THE DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPAIRED.
YET DEEP SCARS REMAIN.
I KNOW A LOT OF MY COLLEAGUE, THEY ARE STILL ON MEDICATIONS.
THEY ARE STILL HAVING VERY HARD TIME SLEEPING OR EATING.
AND STILL ARE REMEMBERING WHAT HAPPENED.
SO IT IS REALLY TOUGH.
PAUL AND TRACEY LOST THEIR THREE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER IN THE BLAST.
LIKE MANY HERE THEY BLAME THE DISASTER ON LEBANON'S POLITICAL ELITE.
LAST YEAR AFTER THE BLAST WE DECIDED TO LEAVE.
WHICH IS A DECISION.
THEY KILLED OUR DAUGHTER.
THEY ALMOST KILLED US.
THEY DESTROYED OUR HOUSE.
Reporter: THEY ARE STILL HERE CALL WAS RECENTLY ELECTED TO THE ORDER OF ENGINEERS AND HAS BECOME A VOCAL ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
ACCOUNTABILITY THAT UNTIL NOW REMAINS ELUSIVE.
HE LOST HIS 32 YEAR OLD SON JORNG WHO WAS IN THE PORT WHEN THE BLAST HAPPENED.
HE REGULARLY JOINS VIGILS WITH OTHER RELATIVES OF THE DEAD DEMANDING JUSTICE.
EVERY DAY HIS MOTHER CRIES AND CRIES HE TELLS ME.
SHE ASKS WHY DOESN'T GEORGE COME OVER FOR COFFEE?
WHY DOESN'T HE COME OVER FOR THE WEEKEND?
THE PORT BLAST IS JUST ONE CATASTROPHE VISITED UPON LEBANON WHICH IN THE LAST TWO YEARS SHE HAS SEEN UNREST, POLITICAL --. FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC COLLAPSE AND THE COVID PANDEMIC.
ALL OF THIS WHEN THE EXPLOSION HAPPENED WAS FOUL OF RUBBLE.
Reporter: THEY HAVE COME BACK TO THEIR OLD FLAT OVERLOOKING THE PORT.
MOST OF HIS INJURIES WERE ON HIS RIGHT SIDE.
AND HE CROUCHED HERE LIKE THIS.
SO THAT IS WHY YOU CAN STILL SEE ALL OF --
BOTH WERE WOUNDED BY FLYING GLASS.
SCARRED AND TRAUMATIZED, THEY ARE LEAVING LEBANON.
IF WE WOULD SEE AN IMMEDIATE FUTURE, THEN WE WOULDN'T LEAVE.
Reporter: LEBANON'S FUTURE IS DARK.
THE JARRING IMAGES OF A YEAR AGO SEARED INTO THE MEMORIES OF EVERYONE WHO LIVED THROUGH IT.
THE NIGHTMARE ISN'T OVER.
BEN WEDEMAN REPORTING THERE ON THE TRAGEDY A YEAR AGO.
AND THE BRAIN DRAIN NOW.
GEORGE CATNY HAS BEEN SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE LEBANESE RED CROSS EIGHT YEARS AND HE'S JOINING ME FROM BEIRUT.
GEORGE, WELCOME.
MUST BE AWFUL FOR YOU TO SEE EVEN TODAY ON THE ANNIVERSARY WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE STREETS TO HEAR ABOUT THE LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY, THE BRAIN DRAIN.
THE RED CROSS HAS BEEN ON THE FRONTLINE FOR DECADES AND YOU HAVE BEEN LEADER FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF DECADES.
HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY ABOUT WHAT IS -- WHAT SEEMS TO BE A FAILING STATE NOW?
AS LEBANESE RED CROSS AND ACCORDING TO THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF RED CROSS AT PRESENT WE ARE TRYING TO GIVE A HOPE.
WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE MOVEMENT OF RED CROSS AT PRESENT TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY.
AND THIS IS OUR CHALLENGE.
WHEN WE START RESPONDING ONE YEAR AGO AND IT WAS A TRAGEDY, A DISASTER DID NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT'S GOING ON, AND WE AT NIGHT ONLY, NOT TALKING SECOND DAY OR 2600 -- AND BETWEEN THEM SOME COVID CASES FROM ICU, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE HOSPITALS --. AND ALSO WE TRIED TO HELP THE COMMUNITY IN GIVING CASH FOR 11,000 FAMILIES.
SO WE AT LEBANESE RED CROSS, WE TRIED TO HELP THE COMMUNITY SAVING LIVES AND PROTECTING THE DIGNITY OF THE COMMUNITY.
THIS IS WHAT WE ARE TRYING IN PRIMARY HEALTH AND BALANCE SERVICE, BLOOD FOR HOSPITALS ALSO FOR THESE PEOPLE.
AND OF COURSE IN RELIEF.
AND ESPECIALLY AND AS YOU MENTION IN YOUR PROGRAMS, MENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AND RESTORING FAMILY LINKS.
YOU KNOW, GEORGE, YOU ARE TRYING TO GIVE HELP.
OBVIOUSLY THAT'S WHAT THE RED CROSS DOES AROUND THE WORLD AND YOU ARE TRYING TO GIVE HOPE YOU.
SAW IN OUR REPORT FROM BEN WEDEMAN HOPE IS IN VERY SHORT SUPPLY.
I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE RED CROSS.
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE PROVIDED SOMETHING LIKE 80% OF THE AMBULANCE SERVICES.
IN A COUNTRY WHERE 80% OF THE HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL CENTERS ARE PRIVATE.
THIS IS STUFF THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE DOING.
NOT NECESSARILY THE RED CROSS.
EXPLAIN WHAT IT TAKES WHEN THE RED CROSS SUDDENLY BECOMES THE MAIN PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR.
THE RED CROSS ROLE WAS REPLACING THE GOVERNMENT, ESPECIALLY THE MUNICIPALS THROUGH AN AGREEMENT IN AMBULANCE SERVICE.
YOU CALL 140, LIKE 9-1-1, THE RED CROSS WILL RESPOND.
NEUTRAL, IMPARTIAL TO TRY TO BE RESPECTED AND TRUSTED BY THE COMMUNITY.
ALSO WE'RE LEADING IN THE BLOOD BANK WHERE WE HAVE 13 IN THE COUNTRY.
AND I MENTIONED PRIMARY SUPPORT AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND RELIEF AND OTHERS.
THE ROLE OF THE RED CROSS IN GENERAL AND THE ROLE OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE RED CROSS AND SUPPORTED BY THE FEDERATION, WE ARE TRYING ALWAYS AS I SAY TO COMPLEMENT O AND TO HELP THE COMMUNITY.
OUR ROLE IS TO GIVE, TO PROTECT THIS DIGNITY AND AS YOU MENTION, WHEN THE GOVERNMENT OR THE STATE WILL REDUCE THE MISSION, WE WILL INCREASE OUR RESPONSE.
AND WE TRY ALWAYS NOT TO INTERFERE IN POLITICS AND NOT TO INTERFERE WITH ANY PARTIES AND THIS IS WHY WE ARE ACCEPTED FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH WHERE WE HAVE SAFER ACCESS AND SUPPORTED BY OUR MOVEMENT.
WILL NOT FORGET THE LEBANESE, THE COMPANIES, THE DONORS HELPING US TO MAINTAIN SUPPORT.
ESPECIALLY NOW.
THERE IS A BIG PROBLEM REGARDING THE HEALTH SECTOR.
THE HEALTH SECTORS AND ECONOMIC SECTOR AND SOCIAL SECTOR WHERE THERE IS A BIG TRAGEDY AND BIG CHALLENGE AND LIKE MEDICINES AND PEOPLE WANT TO GO TO THE HOSPITALS THEY CANNOT SUPPORT AND THEY SEE AND IF YOU REALIZE INFLATION OF DOLLARS -- LEBANESE POUND HOW MUCH -- SO EXTENSIVE, HOW MUCH IT COST FOR THE COMMUNITY IS RED CROSS IS THERE TO TRY TO REDUCE AND MINIMIZE THESE PROBLEMS AND TO GIVE A SMALL HOPE AND TO TELL THEM WE ARE WITH YOU.
WE ARE NEUTRAL.
WE HAVE TO HELP YOU.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU.
FROM ANY COUNTRY.
NOT ONLY FOR THE BLAST, FROM THE NORTH THE SOUTH.
DO YOU HAVE HOPE?
AND HOW FRUSTRATED ARE YOU?
FRANKLY IT IS NOT EASY.
WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A HUMAN BEING AS A PERSON IN LEBANON I DON'T HAVE ELECTRICITY 24 HOURS.
I DON'T HAVE ACCESS LIKE BEFORE.
SCHOOL, EDUCATION.
UNIVERSITIES.
BUT WE HAVE TO GIVE HOPE TO THE COMMUNITY.
WE WANT THEM TO STAY AND TO SEE HOW WE COME TOGETHER RESPECT RULES AND REGULATION REGULATION TRYING TO SUPPORT ANYONE WHO NEED ANY SUPPORT.
WE CANNOT LEAVE THEM.
THEY WILL SEE US AS HOPE.
THEY WILL SEE AS THE BACKUP TO THEM AND THE SPIRIT OF THE RED CROSS T VOLUNTEERS OF THE RED CROSS, THEY REALIZE HOW MUCH THEY ARE PROTECTING AND HELPING THE COMMUNITY.
THIS IS THE CHALLENGE FOR US, HOW WE CAN MAINTAIN OUR CURRENT AND PROTECT COMMUNITY TO CONTINUE IN SUPPORTING THEM.
WE CANNOT DO EVERYTHING.
WE NEED TO BE -- TO SHARE THIS SUPPORT WITH OTHERS.
WE ARE NOT ALONE.
THERE IS A LOT OF OTHER NGOs, BUT LEBANESE RED CROSS SUPPORTED BY THE MOVEMENT AND WANT TO GIVE HOPE AND SUPPORTED BY THE STATE, BY THE GOVERNMENTS, BY THE COMMUNITY, BY THE LEBANESE ABROAD.
WE CAN GIVE THIS HOPE.
OKAY.
GEORGE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
HEAD OF THE LEBANESE RED CROSS.
WE APPRECIATE IT ON THIS DAY.
> THE BRAIN DRAIN THAT WE'VE BEEN MENTIONING IS NOT JUST A PROBLEM FOR LEBANON BUT ALSO FOR IRAN.
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC WIELDS ENORMOUS INFLUENCE THROUGH ITS PROXIES HEZBOLLAH.
AND NOW FINDS ITSELF AT ITS OWN CROSSROADS.
A NEW HARDLINE PRESIDENT TAKES OFFICE TOMORROW.
TALKS TO REVIVE THE NUCLEAR DEAL SEEM TO BE ON LIFE SUPPORT.
AND TODAY ISRAEL BLAMED AN IRANIAN COMMANDER FOR A DEADLY DRONE ATTACK ON AN OIL TANKER.
ESCALATING TENSIONS OF COURSE.
0SHE'S COVERED IRAN EXTENSIVELY AND THE REGION.
ROBIN, WELCOME BACK TO THE PROGRAM.
YOU HEARD GEORGE FROM HIS OWN PERSPECTIVE TALKING ABOUT BEING NEUTRAL AND BRINGING HOPE AND AND SUS NANCE -- SUSTENANCE THE ALL SIDES.
TELL US THOUGH HOW LEBANON HAS KIND OF MOVED AWAY FROM KIND OF CONSENSUS POLITICS WITH EACH IDENTITY AND RELIGION REPRESENTED TO NOW PRETTY MUCH HEZBOLLAH BEING IN CHARGE AND CALLING THE SHOTS?
WELL HEZBOLLAH IS OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTIES AND OF COURSE THE LARGEST MILITIA OUTSIDE OF THE LEBANESE ARMY.
AND IT IS IN IN MANY WAYS DEFINING NATIONAL SECURITY BECAUSE IT REPEATEDLY HAS TAKEN POT SHOTS AT ISRAEL AND ONE OF THE TENSE FRONT LINES IS BETWEEN LEBANON AND ISRAEL TODAY.
THE TRAGEDY OF LEBANON, AND I LIVED THERE FIVE YEARS DURING THE CIVIL WAR, IS THAT THE POLITICIANS WHO ARE ALSO THE OLD WAR LORDS ARE STILL FIGHTING EACH OTHER IN THE SAME THEY WAY DID IN THE 1970s AND 1980s.
ONLY THIS TIME THROUGH POLITICS.
AND THE COUNTRY IS DEAD LOCKED.
AND IT IS INDEED A FAILING STATE.
IT IS ONE OF THE GREAT TRAVESTIES.
BECAUSE THIS WAS THE FIRST NASCENT DEMOCRACY.
IT WAS THE ONE PLACE CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS LIVED SIDE BY SIDE, CELEBRATED THEIR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS TOGETHER AND TODAY IT IS A COUNTRY THAT IS ALMOST BEYOND SALVATION.
SO ROBIN, LET ME ASK YOU WHAT YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO LEBANON AND MAYBE TO IRAN.
BECAUSE THERE ARE REPORTS THAT AMID ESCALATING TENSIONS IN THE REGION, THERE'S BEEN HEAVY ARTILLERY FIRE FROM LEBANON INTO ISRAEL.
AND IT IS PRESUMABLY, ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW THAT ITS BEEN NAMED THAT YET, FROM THE SOUTH WHERE HEZBOLLAH HAD THEIR POSITIONS.
THAT ON TOP OF ISRAEL NAMING AND CALLING OUT THE IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD COMMANDER FOR UNMANDATE VEHICLES, FOR THAT ATTACK ON THE SHIP IN WHICH TWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED A FEW DAYS AGO.
HOW BADLY DO YOU THINK THAT -- WELL, HOW CLOSE DO YOU THINK WE ARE TO AN ESCALATION OF MAYBE EVEN MILITARY ACTION IN THAT, YOU KNOW, REGION THAT CAN ILL AFFORD IT?
I THINK WE ARE AT A CROSSROADS IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN PART BECAUSE OF IRAN'S TENSIONS WITH ISRAEL.
BOTH DIRECTLY AND THROUGH ITS ALLIES AND PROXIES LIKE HEZBOLLAH.
WE'RE REACHING A POINT THAT OVER THE PAST YEAR, WHETHER IT IS THE, KIND OF, MARITIME TENSIONS PLAYING OUT AMONG TANKERS, ATTACKS ON TANKERS, AND BY BOTH SIDES, IS REACHING, YOU KNOW, UNPRECEDENTED POINT.
WE'VE ALSO SEEN THE STRIKES ON EACH OTHERS DRONES.
THERE IS A SENSE THAT IRAN HAS BECOME THE HEGEMONY IN THE REGION BECAUSE IT IS -- BUT A MILITARY POWER NOT JUST IT IS CLOSE TO A NUCLEAR THRESHOLD -- BECAUSE IT HAS THE MOST ADVANCED AND LARGEST ARSENAL OF MISSILES IN THE REGION.
IT HAS USED ITS DRONES, ITS VERY SOPHISTICATED DRONES AGAINST, ALLEGEDLY AGAINST ISRAELI TANKER THAT WERE AT A POINT THAT WITHOUT A NUCLEAR DEAL, WITHOUT SOMETHING TO DEFZ TENSIONS AND INDICATE DIPLOMACY IS AN ALTERNATIVE, THAT THE DANGERS OF AN ESCALATION ACROSS THE REGION ARE VERY HIGH.
IT MAY BE POT SHOTS HERE AND THERE IT.
MAY NOT BE KIND OF OPEN CONFLICT WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST.
BUT THIS DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS DANGEROUS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
YOU HAVE COVERED IT AS MUCH AS ANYBODY OF THE CHANCE OF A NUCLEAR DEAL.
CLEARLY BOTH SIDES WANT IT.
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WANTED TO BACK INTO THE DEAL.
IRANIAN WANTED IT BECAUSE OF THE SANCTIONS ETC.
NOW IT IS HANGING OVER HEAD.
-- BY A THREAD.
RAISI IS SET TO BE SWORN IN TOMORROW.
AND TALKS ON THE NUCLEAR DEAL WITH IRAN CANNOT AND WILL NOT GO ON INDEFINITELY.
WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU HAVE ABOUT WHETHER THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN?
AND WHETHER RAISI WANTS IT TO HAPPEN?
I THINK THERE IS INCREASING PESSIMISM IN WASHINGTON.
THERE HAD BEEN HOPE THAT WHILE NEGOTIATIONS WOULD BE TOUGH THAT THE THEY COULD REACH A POINT THEY COULD COMPROMISE AND REVIVE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NUCLEAR DEALS IN MORE THAN A QUARTER CENTURY.
AND AFTER SIX SESSIONS, THE UNITED STATES PROPOSED IN JUNE A PACKAGE THAT THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT TOOK BACK TO TEHERAN.
AND THE HARD LINERS SENSING THEIR EMERGENCE OF CONTROL OF FOREIGN POLICY AS WELL AS DOMESTIC POLICY BASICALLY REJECTED.
AND SO THE UNITED STATES FRANKLY DOESN'T KNOW WHEN THE NEXT SESSION MIGHT BE OR IF THERE IS A NEXT SESSION.
AND THE DANGER IS, AS BLINKEN INDICATED, THAT THE TALKS, THIS KIND OF TWILIGHT ZONE OF DIPLOMACY CAN'T CONTINUE FOREVER.
BECAUSE WHILE THE END OF THE YEAR IRAN WILL HAVE CROSSED THE THRESHOLD OF HAVING ENOUGH ENRICHED REP TO FUEL A WEAPON.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT WILL HAVE A WEAPON BUT IT'S CROSSED THE PIVOTAL THRESHOLD THE UNITED STATES HAS SPENT YEARS TRYING TO PREVENT.
A NEW CROWD IN TEHERAN, AS HARD LINE, THE MOST ZEALOUS WING OF THE HARD LINE FACTION NOW IS CONTROL OVER MOST OF THE INSTRUMENTS OF POWER BE IT THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT.
THE INTELLIGENCE, THE MILITARY.
AND THE DANGER IS THAT THEY TAKE A MUCH HARDER POSITION THAT MAKES SOME KIND OF COMPROMISE EVER MORE DIFFICULT.
MAYBE EVEN IMPOSSIBLE AND THAT WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE ANYBODY?
AND IS THE ONLY WAY TO DIFFUSE THIS AND PREVENT IRAN FROM GETTING A POM SOME KIND OF KINETICS ACTION WHETHER IT IS BY ISRAEL OR THE UNITED STATES OR A COALITION AND THIS IS A VERY NASTY, NASTY ALTERNATIVE BECAUSE I THINK A WAR WITH IRAN OR EVEN SOME KIND OF CONFLICT COULD END UP BEING MESSIER THAN OUR ENGAGEMENTS IN EITHER AFGHANISTAN OR IRAQ.
YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST REMIND EVERYBODY THAT FOR A COUPLE YEARS, DURING THE LIFE OF THAT NUCLEAR AGREEMENT IT WAS WORKING.
CERTAINLY FOR BOTH SIDES.
THAT IRAN WAS KEEPING TO ITS DEAL.
AND THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION GAMBLED THAT THEY COULD CAUSE REGIME COLLAPSE OR WHATEVER BY PULLING OUT OF THE DEAL.
AND INSTEAD AS YOU SAY, IT HAS NOW AFTER 14 MONTHS AFTER TRUMP PULLED OUT TRYING TO SEE WHETHER IT COULD GET BACK INTO THE DEAL.
IRAN HAS UPPED ITS URANIUM ENRICHMENT.
AGAIN, THIS IS VERY BAD NEWS FOR THOSE WHO WANTED THAT ARMS CONTROL AGREEMENT.
DO YOU SEE RAISI -- USHERING AS A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATOR.
WHO HAS BEEN SANCTIONED PERSONALLY BY THE UNITED STATES -- USHERING A PRANCE THE RETURN OF THE WORSE DAYS.
CONSTANTLY ON THE AGGRESSIVE.
ON THE OFFENSIVE.
NO SENSE OF TRYING TO BE DIPLOMATIC OR ANY SENSE OF HAVING A NUCLEAR ARMS CONTROL DEAL.
POTENTIALLY WORSE.
THIS IS A MAN WITH POLITICAL EXPERIENCE, NO ECONOMIC OR FOREIGN POLICY EXPERIENCE.
HE'S SAID LITTLE THAT HE WANTS TO RETURN THE DEAL AND SANCTIONS LIFTED BUT THE QUESTION OF COURSE UNDER WHAT TERMS AND THE DANGER IS THAT HE'S INFLUENCED BY OTHERS WHO ARE -- WHO ARE IN THE MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY IN HIS OWN NEW FOREIGN POLICY TEAM WHO DO HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE AND WANT TO PRESENT TOUGHER DEMANDS ON THE UNITED STATES THAT ARE UNACCEPTABLE.
SO WASHINGTON.
AND POTENTIALLY EVEN THE OTHER PARTNERS IN THE NUCLEAR DEAL.
THE DANGERS ARE NOT JUST THAT IRAN GETS CLOSER TO A BOMB.
BUT THAT ONCE IF IRAN BEGINS TO CROSS THAT THRESHOLD THAT OTHER POWERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, SAUDI ARABIA AND BEYOND TRY IN TURN TO GET THEIR OWN WEAPONS, THAT WE WOULD ENTER AN ERA OF THE PROLIFERATION OF A NUCLEAR WEAPON, WHICH SO MANY PEOPLE SPENT THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY TRYING TO AVOID.
THE NUCLEAR DEAL WAS IMPORTANT, NOT JUST DIFFUSING TENSIONS BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND IRAN BUT IN STOPPING OR CONTAINING THE SPREAD OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN GENERAL.
INSIDE, AGAIN, YOU ARE A VERY KEEN OBSERVER.
YOU HAVE REPORTED A LOT ON THAT.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THE CURRENT PROTEST LONGSTANDING PROTESTS AGAINST THIS TERRIBLE DROUGHT, LACK OF WATER, ACTUALLY COMING OUT AND BLAMING SUPREME LEADER AND CALLING FOR WATER, BASICALLY.
THERE IS HUGE AMOUNT OF DISCONTENT ON THE STREETS.
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT WILL LEAD UNDER A NEW HARD LINE GOVERNMENT?
HARDER LINE GOVERNMENT?
WELL RAISI IS INAUGURATED THIS WEEK AMID ONE OF THE HOTTEST SUMMERS IN THE LAST HALF CENTURY.
MORE THAN 300 CITIES, ABOUT A QUARTER OF IRAN'S MUNICIPALITIES ARE FINDING WATER IS VERY SCARCE.
THE PROTESTS HAVE ERUPTED IN ONE OF THE OIL-RICH PROVINCES AND THEN SPREAD TO MORE THAN SIX PROVINCES.
THE GOVERNMENT IS CRACKED DOWN, ARRESTED PEOPLE.
NINE PEOPLE ARE AT LEAST DOCUMENTED TO HAVE DIED.
THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT IRAN CAN'T SOLVE IMMEDIATELY BETWEEN THE DROUGHT AND TERRIBLE MISMANAGEMENT OF WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES, THAT THIS WILL PLAY OUT FOR SOME TIME.
THE INTERNET HAS BEEN CUTOFF IN SOME AREAS AND IT IS VERY HARD TO TELL WHAT IS HAPPENING.
IT IS A HOT SUMMER AS YOU KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE.
TEMPERATURES RISE IN AUGUST AND IN A HOT SUMMER BOTH POLITICALLY AND PHYSICALLY FOR THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC.
ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT PARTS AND CHALLENGING PARTS OF THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
THANK YOU SO MUCH INDEED ROBIN WRIGHT.
> NOW THE UNITED STATES OF COURSE HAS WRONG CLASHED WITH IRAN OVER A NUMBER OF ISSUES INCLUDING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY OF COURSE AND THIS WEEKS MARKS THE 56th ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA'S VOTING RIGHTS ACT SIGNED BY PRESIDENT JOHNSON.
BUT THAT LANDMARK LEGISLATION IS NOW UNDER ASSAULT.
AT LEAST 18 STATES HAVE ENACTED LAWS RESTRICTING BALLOT ACCESS ACCORDING TO THE BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE LEAVING DEMOCRACY HANGING IN THE BALANCE.
HISTORIAN DORIS KERNS GOODMAN ONCE WORKED FOR LBJ IS AUTHOR OF 'NO ORDINARY TIME.'
JULIUS FIGHT HAD WRITTEN A BIOGRAPHY OF LBJ'S JET WEAPON, -- SECRET WEAPON.
HIS WIFE, CALLED 'LADY BIRD JOHNSON HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT' AND WE WELCOME BOTH TO THE PROGRAM.
DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN.
FRAME THE DISCUSSION IN THE FRAME WORK.
DEMOCRACY AND VOTING RIGHTS.
IN THE UNITED STATES FRIDAY IT WILL MARK 56 YEARS.
WILL MARK 56 YEARS SINCE JOHNSON USHERED IN THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
SOLID FOR THE FUTURE DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN OR HANGING BE
BY A TREAD.
NO QUESTION THAT WHAT LBJ SAID WHEN HE SIGNED THAT ACT.
WHEN THE ACT WAS SIGNED IT WAS SO EXCITING.
WE KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE FEDERAL AUTHORITY TO LOOK OVER THEM AND DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT SOMETHING WAS HAPPENING AND THERE WAS A SENSE THE MOST BASIC RIGHT OF ALL IS TO RIGHT TO VOTE WITHOUT WHICH ALL THE OTHER RIGHTS ARE MEANINGLESS.
THIS IS NOT A NEGRO NOT A WHITE, NOT A NORTHERN OR SOUTHERN RIGHT.
IT IS AN AMERICAN RIGHT.
IT IS NOT A MORAL ISSUE HE SAID.
IT IS SIMPLY WRONG TO DENY FELLOW AMERICANS THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND HOW HEARTBREAKING IT IS TO SEE THAT BETWEEN THE SUPREME COURT DECISION AND SHELBY THAT ALL THE STATES ARE NOW GOING BACK TO THESE VOTER SUPPRESSION LOWS.
-- LAWS.
IT IS THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL THING WE HAVE TO FIGHT ARE IF TODAY.
FOR EVERYONE IN COUNTRY.
DIMINISH THE RIGHT OF SOME, YOU DIMINISH THE RIGHT OF ALL.
I COULDN'T CARE MORE ABOUT ANY ISSUE THAN THIS.
AND WE WERE JUST WATCHING PICTURES OF YOU THAT DAY WITH LBJ.
YOU WERE SUCH A YOUNG WOMAN, 56 YEARS AGO.
MUCH YOUNGER OBVIOUSLY.
AND HE WAS PRACTICALLY BENT DOUBLE LISTENING TO YOU.
ALSO ONE OF THE RARE WOMEN IN YOUR FRAME THERE BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND LADY BIRD.
I WANT TO TURN TO JULIA SPIKE WHO'S JUST WRITTEN THAT AMAZING BIOGRAPHY OF LADY BIRD JOHNSON, RAISING THIS WOMAN WHO KNEW THAT SHE WAS CALLED CLAUDIA TAILOR JOHNSON.
HE WAS ALWAYS KNOWN AS LADY BIRD.
SOMEWHAT DIMINISHING, SOMEWHAT SORT OF DOLL LIKE MAYBE IN TERMS OF HISTORICAL RECORD BUT NOBODY KNEW WHAT A POLITICAL WEAPON SHE WAS FOR HER HUSBAND, THE PRESIDENT.
FILL US IN A LITTLE BIT ON THE SPINE OF YOUR STORY.
WELL, IT IS WONDERFUL TO BE HERE WITH DORIS AND WITH YOU, CHRISTIANE.
AND THE -- I THINK LYNDON JOHNSON KNEW FULL WELL WHAT A POTENT AND POWERFUL HUMAN BEING SHE WAS.
AND HE HAD A PENSION FOR SPOTTING BRILLIANT, LOW EGO PEOPLE.
SHE WAS ONE OF THEM.
AND BY THE TIME THEY GOT INTO THE WHITE HOUSE HAD BECOME AND CERTAINLY WITH THE TRANSITION AFTER THE JFK ASSASSINATION, HIS MOST IMPORTANT ADVISER IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
THE ARC OF THE STORY THAT I TELL IS DRAWN FROM LADY BIRD JOHNSON'S WHAT I CALL THE OTHER LBJ TAPES.
HER OWN AUDIO RECORD THAT SHE KEPT THE ENTIRE TIME SHE WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
GOES STRAIGHT THROUGH HER ROLE IN MAPPING OUT THE STRATEGY.
THAT HE FOLLOWED FOR THE DECISION MADE AND ANNOUNCED IN MARCH OF 1968 THAT HE WOULDN'T RUN A SECOND TIME.
CIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIETY, VIETNAM.
ENVIRONMENTALISM IMPORTANTLY WHICH LIKE HER NAME LADY BIRD WAS CONCEALING OF FAR MORE SUBSTATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL VISION THAT SHE ATTEMPTED TO ENACT OVER THE COURSE OF HER TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
IT IS A PARTNERSHIP AT THE CENTER.
YEAH, AND IT WAS A POLITICAL PARTNERSHIP.
WE'LL GET TO A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THAT.
I WANT TO PLAY BECAUSE YOU REFER TO THESE TAPES WHO REALLY NOBODY KNEW ABOUT UNTIL YOU HAVE BROUGHT THEM OUT.
THERE WERE THERE BUT THEY WEREN'T SOUGHT OUT.
IN '64 JUST AHEAD OF THE SIGNING OF VOTER RIGHTS ACT, SHE WENT ON A TRAIN TRIP TO CERTAIN SOUTHERN STATES.
AND I THINK IT WAS CALLED, I WANT TO JUST SAY THAT IT WAS CALLED THE LADY BIRD SPECIAL.
AND THIS IS, UMM, A SOUND BITE THAT IS ABOUT THAT.
AND I JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT IN A SECOND.
> WHAT DO I THINK I AND MY LITTLE CLICK IN THE SOUTH CAN DO ABOUT IT?
NOTHING MUCH.
JUST SAY WHATEVER YOUR FEELINGS NOW AND FOR THE YEARS TO COME THE SOUTH FOR THIS DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT AND TO HIS WIFE IS A RESPECTED AND VALUED AND BELOVED PART OF THE COUNTRY.
DORIS, THAT IS AN AMAZING REVEAL.
IT IS AN AMAZING DISCOVERY.
IT IS AN AMAZING PIECE OF HISTORICAL ARCHIVE THAT'S COME OUT NOW.
YOU WERE THERE.
WE SHOWED PICTURES OF YOU OBVIOUSLY AND THE PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY.
TELL US FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE WHETHER IT WAS KNOWN THEN HOW POLITICALLY SIGNIFICANT SHE WAS AND SHE WASN'T JUST ONLY ABOUT BEAUTIFICATION AND WILD FLOWERS.
IT IS WONDERFUL LOOKING BACK AT HISTORY THROUGH THE NEW TAPES AND JULIA'S BOOK.
CLEARLY WHAT WAS KNOWN WHEN HE MADE THE WHISTLE STOP TOUR THROUGH THE SOUTH SHE WAS TALKING A A NEW SOUTH.
IT WASN'T JUST A SOUTH SHE WAS PROUD OF BUT A NEW SOUTH THAT AFTER THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT WAS PASSED WOULD BE COME PART OF THE NATION.
SHE GOT AFT BLOWBACK FROM THAT.
THING SAYING GO HOME.
DEATH THREATS AND BOMB THREATS AND SHE KEPT GOING AND WON THREE -- I DON'T KNOW SHE DID BUT LBJ WON THREE OUT OF EIGHT STATES THAT SHE TRAVELED TO.
I SAW HER, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE PRESIDENCY WAS OVER WHEN I ACTUALLY LIVED AT THE RANCH, SO I WAS IN THAT HOUSE WITH HER DAY AFTER DAY, I SAW THE ANCHOR THAT SHE WAS TO HER HUSBAND.
THERE WAS NO QUESTION.
WITHOUT HER HIS LIFE I THINK WOULD HAVE BEEN INCONCEIVABLE AS A POLITICAL FIGURE.
BUT WHAT'S SO EXCITING ABOUT THE NEW HISTORY THAT'S OPENING UP NOT ONLY FROM JULIA BUT I THINK FROM WOMEN, FIRST LADIES USED TO BE MENTIONED IN THE 19th CENTURY JUST AT MRS. HARRISSON OR MRS.
PIERCE, THEY WEREN'T EVEN MENTIONED BY THEIR FULL NAME AND NOW WITH ALL WOMEN WRITING ABOUT FIRST LADIES, WRITING ABOUT WOMEN'S HISTORY.
WE'RE GETTING -- I'M AN OLD PERSON RIGHT NOW AND I'M THRILLED AT THE IDEA THIS NEW KIND OF LITERATURE IS COMING OUT.
IT NEEDS DOCUMENTS THOUGH AND I THINK THAT IS WHY THE FINDING OF THE SECRET TAPES LOW ALLOWS HER VOICE TO BE EXHIBITED.
I HEARD THATS VOICE.
I KNEW THE VOICE.
I DID NOT KNOW THE EXTENT TO WHICH SHE WAS INVOLVED IN ALL THESE DECISIONS THAT I KNOW NOW.
I'M THRILLED ABOUT IT.
HISTORY COMES FROM THE GROUND UP.
IT IS NOT JUST FIRST LADIES.
I THINK WOMEN'S INVOLVEMENT IN HISTORY IS A CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT AS WELL.
IT IS EXCITING TO BE AN HISTORIAN AND WATCHING ALL THIS STUFF GOING ON.
I COMMEND JULIA.
THERE AS NEW BOOK ON NANCY REAGAN THE SAME THING.
SHE'S COME OUT AS A FIGURE HER OWN RIGHT BECAUSE OF THE DOCUMENTS THERE.
SO IT IS GREAT.
I'M GOING TO DELVE A LITTLE MORE INTO WHO ACTUALLY RECORDS HISTORY WITH YOU DORIS.
BUT I WANT TO TURN QUICKLY OBVIOUSLY ABOUT LBJ AND LADY BIRD TO JULIA.
SO WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABBOT HER CIVIL RIGHTS TRAIN AND WHAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND OBVIOUSLY BELIEVE SO MUCH IN.
REMIND US THOUGH, SHE WROTE A NINE PAGE MEMO THAT YOU TOUCHED ON DESCRIBING WHY HE SHOULD RUN IN I THINK IT WAS '64 AND WHY HE WOULD NOT RUN AGAIN, YOU KNOW, FOUR YEARS LATER.
AND IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY PRESCIENT MEMO AS A SENIOR ADVISOR.
IN FACT SOME OF THE PRESS USED TO CALL HER MADAM VICE PRESIDENT.
WHEN THERE WAS WASN'T A VICE PRESIDENT SLOT FILLED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE JOHNSON PRESIDENCY.
1964 IS A CRITICAL YEAR.
THERE WAS NO VICE PRESIDENT UNTIL OF COURSE THE INAUGURATION IN JANUARY OF 1965 WHEN HUMPHREY WAS ON THE TICKET.
IN EARLY 1964, JUST MONTHS INTO THEIR TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE, LYNDON JOHNSON IS LOOKING AROUND AND HE'S GOT CIVIL RIGHTS STUCK IN THE SENATE.
HE'S GOT ESCALATION IN VIETNAM AND THE PRESSURE FROM KENNEDY'S WAR COUNCIL WHOM HE KEPT ON BOARD TO ESCALATE.
ROBERT MCNAMARA, THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAS GONE TO VIETNAM FIVE TIMES SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND HE'S COMING BACK TO WASHINGTON.
AND LBJ KNOWS, AND LADY BIRD UNDERSTANDS TOO, THAT VIETNAM MIGHT WELL DERAIL THEIR VERY AMBITIOUS DOMESTIC AGENDA.
YOU MENTION FIRST LADY.
I'M INTERESTED IN YOUR VIEW WHO IS TELLING HISTORY.
ABOUT FIRST LADYING OR ANYBODY.
MOST OF HISTORY THAT I HAVE READ IN THE PAST.
IS TOLD BY MEN.
YOU ARE ONE OF THE RARE MAJOR PROMINENT AWARD-WINNING PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIANS.
BUT HISTORIANS, POINT BLANK, AS A WOMAN.
TELL ME ABOUT HOW IT WOULD CHANGE IF THERE WERE MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR, YOU KNOW, WRITING THE HISTORY OF WHAT HAPPENED IN AMERICA, NOT JUST SLAVERY AND CIVIL RIGHTS BUT IN GENERAL WRITING HISTORY.
WHAT IF THERE WERE MORE WOMEN, HALF THE POPULATION WRITING HISTORY.
DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT THAT AND HOW THE NARRATIVE AND STORY OF YOUR COUNTRY MIGHT BE DIFFERENT?
I DO THINK ABOUT THAT.
I MEAN, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S HAPPEN RIGHT NOW, NOT ONLY WITH THE WRITING OF HISTORY BUT WITH THE TEACHING OF HISTORY IS THAT THE UNDERSTANDING IS THE COUNTRY AS A WHOLE, AS I SAY CHANGES OFTEN COME FROM THE GROUND UP.
WHEN I LOOK AT MY GUY THEUS WROTE ABOUT WHO ARE MOSTLY THE PRESIDENTS, RIGHT, IT IS A TOP DOWN HISTORY WE USED TO HAVE WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL.
EVEN WHEN I WAS WRITING, EXCEPT FOR LUCKILY FRANKLIN AND ELEANOR.
I WAS ABLE TO HAVE ELEANOR EQUAL PARTNER BECAUSE THERE WERE DOCUMENTS THAT DOCUMENTED HER ROLE.
FIRST FIRST LADY TO HAVE A PRESS CONFERENCE.
FIRST TO DO DAILY COLUMNS.
EXTRAORDINARY CHARACTER.
BUT I THINK THE MORE WOMEN THAT GET INVOLVED IN WRITING THE MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR THAT GET INVOLVED IN WRITING, WE NEED TO HAVE A HISTORY THAT IS ALL OF OUR COUNTRY, THAT TELLS THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING UP, THAT SEES THE TROUBLING PARTS, THAT DEALS WITH THE ISSUES OF RACE, THAT DEALS WITH THE ISSUES OF DISCRIMINATION AND THAT ALSO DEALS WITH THE PROGRESS THAT'S BEEN MADE.
AND I THINK IT IS A HEALTHY THING THAT WE'RE HAVING THIS DEBATE RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT MORE PEOPLE WILL BE WRITING HISTORY WHO ARE WOMEN, WHO ARE WOMEN WHO ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR, WHO ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AND THEY CAN TELL THEIR STORY AND THEIR STORY IS PART OF OUR STORY.
SO YOUR GUYS ARE LINCOLN, FDR, LBJ AND.
TEDDY ROOSEVELT.
TEDDY ROOSEVELT.
EXACTLY.
OKAY.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT FDR DID THAT YOU WRITE AND YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT NOW THAT BIDEN IS TAKING ON AND THAT IS THE IDEA OF MASSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE.
TELL ME THE HISTORICAL REASON FOR THAT BEING SO IMPORTANT AND HOW YOU THINK THE BIDEN ATTEMPT TO PASS A BIG INFRASTRUCTURE BILL WILL TURN OUT, AND WHAT IT WILL MEAN FOR THE AMERICAN, YOU KNOW, FOR THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY AND THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY.
I MEAN, WHAT FDR UNDERSTOOD WHEN HE FIRST CAME INTO THE PRESIDENCY WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS FIRST THE BANKING CRISIS, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT OF GETTING THE VACCINE TO THE PEOPLE FOR BIDEN.
BUT THE NEXT THING WAS NOT ONLY JOBS, NOT ONLY TEMPORARY BUT PERMANENT JOBS AND MEANT REBUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE COUNTRY.
LaGUARDIA AIRPORT.
THE LINCOLN TUNNEL.
BONNEVILLE DAM.
TVA ADMINISTRATION.
RURAL ELECT FICTION.
IN A CERTAIN SENSE NOW WHEN BIDEN IS TALK ABOUT BROADBAND TO RURAL AREAS, THAT IS WHAT FDR WAS DOING BRINGING ELECTRICITY TO RURAL AREAS THAT DIDN'T HAVE IT.
4 KNITTING THE COUNTRY BY HAVING BRIDGES AND ROADS -- YOU KNOW, EVEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN WHEN HE WAS FIRST TIME HE RAN FOR OFFICE IT WAS AN INFRASTRUCTURE SO POOR PEOPLE COULD GET THEIR GOODS TO MARKET BY ROADS AND BRIDGES.
SO I THINK THE INFRASTRUCTURE THING IS EXTRAORDINARY FOR THE COUNTRY AS A WHOLE.
AND THEN I THINK AFTER THAT'S DONE IF THAT'S DONE THEN THE VOTING RIGHTS THING IS STILL ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL.
IF HE CAN GET ALL THOSE THINGS DONE BETWEEN THE COVID-19, INFRASTRUCTURE AND VOTING RIGHTS, IT WILL BE AN HISTORIC PRESIDENCY.
MIGHT TURN THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN GOVERNMENT ANYMORE BACK TO BELIEVING IN GOVERNMENT.
HOW DO YOU THINK AND HOW HAS THAT BEEN ERODED SINCE REAGAN.
WHEN HE SAID THAT WAS THE WORST THINGS YOU CAN IMAGINE.
HAVING FAITH IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT BETWEEN THE NEW DEAL AND WORLD WAR II.
AND REALLY UP UNTIL THE LATE 60s, SOMETHING LIKE 80% OF THE PEOPLE BELIEVE GOVERNMENT WOULD DO THE RIGHT THING.
MOST OF THE TIME.
THAT BEGAN TO ERODE.
WITH THE CREDITABILITY GAP WITH V VIETNAM AND WATER GATE.
AND NOW THE QUESTION IF INFRASTRUCTURE WERE DONE CORRECTLY.
IF PEOPLE BEGAN TO FEEL THE DAILY LIVES WERE MADE BETTER BECAUSE GOVERNMENT DID SOMETHING IMPORTANT FOR THEM, WOULD THE TRUST IN GOVERNMENT BEGIN TO GROW.
COMMUNITY LIVES ARE BETTER.
CITY LIVES ARE BETTER AND GET VOTING RIGHTS.
MAYBE THAT WILL MEAN A TRUST IN GOVERNMENT INCREASED.
INDEED.
WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT WITH THE NEXT GUEST.
OBVIOUSLY IT'S SUCH A PROBLEM DURING COVID.
MISTRUST OF GOVERNMENT AND HOW TO LOOK AFTER THE WHOLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US.
WE TURN TO LOUISIANA.
WHICH IS EXPERIENCING THE WORST COVID SURGE YET WITH AN ALL TIME HIGH IN HOSPITALIZATION.
WHILE THE VACCINATION RATE IN LOUISIANA IS AMONG THE LOWEST IN THE COUNTRY IT IS NOW RISING.
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR HAS R REINSTATED A MASK MANDATE.
TALKING TO US ABOUT WRESTLING WITH THE COVID CRISIS AND WHAT GOOD GOVERNMENT CAN DO.
THANK YOU.
GOVERNOR, WELCOME TO THE SHOW.
THANK YOU.
L.A. IS ONE OF THE WORST HOT SPOTS.
2,000 PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL.
WHAT IS THE LATEST?
FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE NOT ONE OF THE HOTTEST SPOTS WE ARE THE HOTTEST SPOT.
MEASURED BY THE 7 DAY CASE RATE.
IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE.
JUST THE RATE OF GROWTH IN CASES.
WHICH IS FUELLING THE HOSPITALIZATION.
THAT 2,100 THAT WE HAVE ADMITTED IN PATIENTS ACROSS THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
THAT'S THE HIGHEST THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC.
WHAT'S REALLY MOST CONCERNING RIGHT NOW IS THAT THE POSITIVITY OF THE TESTS CONTINUES TO INCREASE.
TODAY WE'LL ANNOUNCE POSITIVITY IS 15%. LAST WEEK IT WAS 13%. IT HASN'T BEEN THAT HIGH IN OVER A YEAR.
WHEN IT WAS HIGHER, IT WAS 20% AS MANY TESTS BEING CONDUCTED.
ALL OF WHICH BEING DONE IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS IN THE PANDEMIC LAST YEAR.
WE'RE NOW TESTING HALF A MILLION PEOPLE A MONTH.
WE HAVE THAT POSITIVITY.
WHAT WE KNOW TS FIRST INDICATOR YOU ARE REACHING THE CREST OF THE SURGE.
OF COURSE WE NEED IT TO GO DOWN.
WE HAVE THE WORST NUMBERS IN THE COUNTRY.
IN THE PANDEMIC.
THERE'S NOTHING ON THE HORIZON TO INDICATE THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER.
WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE REINSTATED THE MASK MANDATE.
FOR PEOPLE FIVE KP OVER.
THAT INCLUDES K THROUGH 12 SCHOOLS AND HIGHER EDUCATION AND THIS IS IT FOR INDOOR PUBLIC SETTINGS.
WE HAVE TO CURB TRANSMISSION.
THIS DELTA VARIANT IS A REAL GAME CHANGER.
AND WE DIDN'T DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB OF GETTING PEOPLE VACCINATED IN THE TIME THAT WE HAD BEFORE THIS SURGE GOT STARTED AND WE ARE PAYING THE PRICE.
WITH PLAYING CATCH UP.
THE ONLY GOOD NEWS I CAN REPORT IS THAT OVER THE LAST THREE WEEKS VACCINATIONS HAVE INCREASED BY 300%. I BELIEVE THAT IN TERMS OF WEEK OVER WEEK INCREASE WE ARE LEADING THE COUNTRY IN THAT REGARD.
WITH RESPECT TO NEW VACCINATION.
THAT IS WELCOME.
WE HAVE A VERY LONG WAY TO GO.
THE NEWS OF THE SURGE HAS CAUSED PEOPLE WHO WERE HESITANT ANT VACCINES TO CHANGE THEIR MIND AND SAY I WANT A VACCINE?
YES.
THE NEWS OF THE SURGE -- THEY ACTUALLY THE DISEASE BURDEN IN EVERY COMMUNITY ACROSS THE STATE IS O SO PRONOUNCED.
EVERYBODY KNOWS SOMEONE STRUGGLING WITH COVID.
EITHER HOME SICK DURING THE HOSPITAL SICK.
SOMEONE WHO RECENTLY DIED.
I BELIEVE THAT'S GETTING TRACTION AND ATTENTION.
AND PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN HESITANT MEANING THEY WERE WAITING.
THEY DECIDED NOT TO WAIT ANY LONGER.
SOME PEOPLE WHO I THINK CAN NEVER GOING TO GET THE VACCINE CHANGED THEIR MIND.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING.
WE NEED TO KEEP IT GOING.
ACROSS LOUISIANA FOR QUITE A WHILE.
ONLY 37% OF OUR STATE IS FULLY VACCINATED.
ABOUT 43% HAVE RECEIVED ONE SHOT.
IF THERE'S OTHER GOOD NEWS IT'S THIS, AT LEAST AS OF RIGHT NOW, THE VACCINATION RATES IN THE NURSING HOMES IS GOOD.
WE DON'T HAVE NURSING HOME PATIENTS COMPETING FOR BED SPACE IN THE HOSPITAL.
UNLIKE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
AND IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THOSE VACCINATIONS IN PLACE, WE KNOW THAT WE WOULD HAVE JUST ABOUT AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK TODAY.
TO TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL.
WHO NEED HELP.
THIS IS A POINT THAT IS LOST ON PEOPLE.
IT ISN'T JUST THE COVID PATIENTS WHO NEED SPACE IN THE HOSPITAL.
IT'S STROKE VICTIMS.
HEART ATTACKS.
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS AND SO FORTH.
WHEN THE HOSPITALS ARE FULL AND WE MIGHT HAVE 50 BEDS.
WE WON'T HAVE THE DOCTORS AND NURSES AND RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS TO STAFF THE BEDS.
THAT IS AN INCREASING CHALLENGE WE ARE TRYING TO HELP OUR HOSPITALS WITH.
EVERY SINGLE DAY.
YESTERDAY A MEDICAL DIRECTOR EVERY TIER 1 HOSPITAL IN THE STATE.
THEY ARE ALL HAVING THE SAME ISSUES.
46 HOSPITALS IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA ASKED ME TO FIND HELP FROM THEM.
WITH RESPECT TO STAFFING.
THAT'S HOW THINGS ARE IN LOUISIANA TODAY.
YOU COME FROM LOUISIANA.
YOUR MOTHER WAS A HOSPITAL NURSE.
WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM PEOPLE ABOUT WHY THEY ARE HESITANT TO GET THE VACCINATION AND WHAT ARGUMENTING ARE WORKING?
FIRST OF ALL THE REASONS RUN THE WHOLE GAM ET.
THE SOURCE OF MISINFORMATION OUT THERE IS JUST SO PLENTIFUL.
IT'S HARD TO STAY ON TOP OF IT.
MANY TIMES IT'S PEOPLE WORRIED ABOUT FERTILITY.
OR DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN THE VACCINE.
OR IT'S EXPERIMENTAL.
AND SO FORTH.
OR THEY TRUST THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE HAVE HAD A HEALTH EMERGENCY SINCE MARCH 2020.
WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE COVID ISN'T REAL.
WAIT A SECOND -- THEY BELIEVE THAT NOW?
THEY KNOW SOMEBODY WHO HAS HAD COVID IN LOUISIANA.
THE ONES WHO GET IT SOMETIMES WHEN THEY ARE IN THE HOSPITAL, THESE RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS YOU HAVE OTHER THINGS BECAUSE YOU ARE COVID POSITIVE.
ON OCCASION THE PATIENTS GET ANGRY THEY SAY NO I CAN'T BE.
COVID ISN'T REAL.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THAT MISINFORMATION?
IT'S DIFFICULT.
WE JUST CONTINUOUSLY TRY TO PUT OUT GOOD INFORMATION TO THE PEOPLE.
PEOPLE GO TO THE HOSPITAL AND ONCE THEY REALIZE THEY ARE IN BAD SHAPE, THEY WILL ASK, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND GIVE ME THE VACCINE.
AND AT THAT POINT.
IT WOULD BE TOO LATE TO DO THEM ANY GOOD.
SO JUST WORKING WITH PEOPLE.
WE HAD A VERY POWERFUL PRESS CONFERENCE THIS PAST MONDAY.
AND IT WAS THE MOST POWERFUL THAT I HAVE SEEN.
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS I ACCEPT THIS, FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO REMAIN HESITANT TO GET THE VACCINE, MY VOICE IS MAKING NO DIFFERENCE.
I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE NEED TO BE VACCINATED FOR A LONG TIME.
HAVING HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS WHO ARE IN THE TRENCHES WHO CAN RELATE PERSONAL STORIES AND PERSONAL OBSERVATION ABOUT JUST HOW BAD THIS DISEASE IS AND WHAT THE BURDEN LOOKED LIKE IN THE STATE AND CAUSING PEOPLE TO DIE.
A SMALL RURAL HOSPITAL.
WHO CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED TO A LARGE HOSPITAL.
WHERE THEY CAN RECEIVE THE HIGHER STANDARD OF CARE.
THAT OUT COME IS LIKELY TO INCLUDE DEATH.
HAVING THOSE PEOPLE TELL THESE STORIES AND INCLUDING HOW MANY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BEING ADVERSELY AFFECTED.
THAT'S A DIFFERENCE WITH THE DELTA.
PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND.
ABOUT 20% OF THE CASES WE ARE ANNOUNCING ARE PEOPLE UNDER 18.
MANY YOUNG PEOPLE EVEN THOUGH THE EXISTING CONDITIONS ARE HAVING THE CLASSIC CASES OF COVID.
INVOLVING RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS AND NOT JUST THE MULTI-SYSTEM INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME IN CHILDREN.
WHICH IS WHAT WE SAW PREVIOUSLY.
THIS IS A VERY DIRE SITUATION.
WE'RE TRYING TO RELATE IT TO PEOPLE AS BEST WE CAN.
UNVARNISHED.
USING PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL TO DO THAT.
IT SEEMS TO BE HAVING SOME EFFECT.
BUT I'M DISMAYED BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO REMAIN OPPOSED TO VACCINE.
AND HOW MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO BE PURPOSELY AVOIDING CONFIDENCE IN VACCINATION.
IN THINGS LIKE MITIGATION MEASURES.
SUCH AS MASKING.
GIVE ME EXAMPLES OF THAT.
WHO IS PUBLICLY TRYING TO UNDER MINE YOU ON VACCINATION?
WELL, UNFORTUNATELY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL HERE.
IN LOUISIANA.
AS IF WE DON'T HAVE OTHER REASONS TO OPT UT OF THE VACCINES.
ALL OF THE REASONS YOU CAN OPT OUT IF YOU WANT.
AS IF WE'RE MANDATING IT.
WHICH WE'RE NOT.
AS A STATE.
YOU'RE A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR.
YOU HAVE A VERY CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL.
WHO IS TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE HOW TO OPT OUT OF VACCINES?
HOW TO OPT OUT AND MASKING.
HAVE YOU TALKED TO HIM?
IS THERE A WAY TO RECONCILE THIS?
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT.
QUITE FRANKLY I DON'T BELIEVE HE'S CONSULTING WITH PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS.
AND WHAT HE'S DOING HAS NO BASIS IN THE LAW.
IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH HIM AND THERE ARE CERTAIN PEOPLE GOING TO LISTEN TO THAT.
WE HAVE TO DO IS MINIMIZE THE NUMBER.
IN PERSON EDUCATION FOR EXAMPLE IN OUR SCHOOL IS SO IMPORTANT.
LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF COVID AND SO MANY PEOPLE WHO CHILDREN NOT IN THE CLASSROOM, THE TEST RESULTS CAME BACK THIS WEEK.
THEY WERE ANNOUNCED.
THE KIDS WHO SPENT THE MOST TIME IN THE CLASSROOM HAVE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF LEARNING LOSS AND DID MUCH BETTER.
WE WANT ALL KIDS IN PERSON IN EDUCATION.
IT HAS TO BE A SAFL ENVIRONMENT.
SAFE ENVIRONMENT.
WE KNOW YOU CAN'T RUN A SCHOOL IF YOU ARE HAVING OUT BREAKS.
WE HAVE SEEN THAT IN THE SUMMER.
WITH RESPECT TO CAMPS AND OTHER THINGS WHERE THE KIDS WERE SPREADING COVID.
THE STAFF GETTING IT AND SO FORTH.
AND THEY WANT TO MASK.
WE PUT THE MASK MANDATE FOR SCHOOL AND BE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT.
WHERE THE KIDS CAN LEARN.
AND SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS.
IN THE CLASSROOM.
NUTRITION NEEDS ARE SATISFIED AT SCHOOL.
AND FOR OTHER REASONS AS WELL.
KIDS UNDER 12 DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE VACCINE.
THE VACCINATION RATE 12 TO 18 IS ONLY 15%. WE HAVE TO DO BETTER.
IT'S A CDC RECOMMENDATION.
YOU SAID THAT PATIENTS ARE HAVING NON-COVID ISSUES ARE HAVING TROUBLE GETTING TREATMENT.
TELL ME WHAT THAT HAS DONE?
WELL, WHAT IT'S DONE IS CAUSED PEOPLE TO NOT BE ABLE TO GET A BED IN A HOSPITAL WHERE THEY NEED TO BE.
IN ORDER TO HAVE A SURGICAL PROCEDURE.
WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE STAFFING AVAILABLE, THEY ARE HAVING TO POSTPONE ANYTHING THAT ISN'T AN EMERGENCY PROCEDURE.
WHETHER IT'S SURGERY OR MEDICAL.
WHAT'S NOT AN EMERGENCY TODAY CAN BE AN EMERGENCY NEXT WEEK.
IF IT'S BEEN DELAYED.
AND SO FORTH.
THIS IS REALLY HAVING AN IMPACT AKRSZ THE STATE.
I KNOW FOR EXAMPLE YOU TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER BEING A NURSE.
MY SISTER IS A NURSE.
SHE WORKED IN THE BIGGEST HOSPITAL THERE.
SHE'S IN HER EARLY 60s SHE SURVIVED BREAST CANCER.
SHE'S IMMUNE COMPROMISED AS A RESULT.
SHE GOES TO WORK AND HAVING TO DO EXTRA SHIFTS.
BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S REQUIRED OF NURSES.
I HAVE A NIECE WHO WENT TO WORK ON SUNDAY.
AND A SMALL RURAL HOSPITAL.
SHE PERSONALLY CALLED 38 HOSPITALS IN THE STATE AND OUT OF STATE.
COULDN'T LOCATE AN ICU FOR THAT PATIENT.
WE CANNOT PRETEND THAT'S NOT EFFECTING ADVERSELY THE OUT COME OF THE PATIENT.
THAT'S HOW ACUTE THE SITUATION IS.
WE NEED EVERYBODY ON BOARD.
TODAY LOWER TRANSMISSION AND TURN THIS AROUND.
I BELIEVE WE'LL GET THERE.
I'M AN OPTIMIST.
I'M PRAYING HARD AND WORKING HARD.
WE NEED PEOPLE TO GET ON BOARD AND I APPRECIATE WHAT THE PRESIDENT STARTED SAYING YESTERDAY.
IF YOU'RE NOT LEADING IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION, GET OUT OF THE WAY.
WE NEED PEOPLE IN LOUISIANA TO GET OUT OF THE WAY.
YOU'RE A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR IN A CONSERVATIVE STATE.
YOU ARE VERY PRO-LIFE.
HOW YOU MAKE THE PRO-LIFE ARGUMENT TO THE OTHERS IN LOUISIANA?
THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS I HAVE ALWAYS SAID.
PRO-LIFE TO ME AT LEAST HAS TO BE MORE THAN JUST SIMPLY ANTIABORTION.
IT HAS TO BE PRO-LIFE.
WE HAVE HAD OVER 11,000 PEOPLE DIE.
YESTERDAY ALONE.
WE LOST 59 DEATHS IN LOUISIANA.
FOUR WEEKS AGO WE ANNOUNCED TWO.
IN ONE DAY.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT AND KNOW THAT 90% OF THE PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL ARE UNVACCINATED AND IF YOU VACCINATE YOURSELF.
YOU ARE 29 TIMES LESS LIKELY TO DIE FROM COVI.
THIS HAS A PRO-LIFE ELEMENT.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THAT CONNECTION ISN'T BEING MADE.
THERE ISN'T MORE OF AN EFFORT OF ACROSS THE SPECTRUM.
ESPECIALLY AMONG THE MORE CONSERVATIVE FOLKS IN LOUISIANA.
WITH RESPECT TO THE PANDEMIC.
THIS IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR LIFE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
AND MANIFESTING ITSELF IN LOUISIANA.
IN WAY THAT WE HAVEN'T SEEN UP TO NOW.
I AM MAKING A APPEAL TO PEOPLE.
I MENTIONED THIS MONDAY.
TO TRY TO GET PEOPLE TO TO DO IT IN IN THIS LIGHT.
I WILL BE HAVING A CALL WITH PASTORS TOMORROW.
FROM AROUND THE STATE.
GOVERNOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
GOOD LUCK WITH THE FIGHT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
WE ACCEPT HELP.
WE ACCEPT PRAYER.
WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS.
LOUISIANA PEOPLE ARE GOOD, RESILIENT PEOPLE.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO CRESTING AND COMING DOWN ON THIS SURGE.
WE ARE LITERALLY OVERWHELMED.
GOOD LUCK.
THANK YOU.
> FINALLY DESPITE THE COVID SPIKE IN JAPAN.
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY G WIZ MOMENTS THIS TOKYO OLYMPICS.
TALK ABOUT DOING A FRONT SIDE 180.
JUST LOOK AT BRITISH SKATE BORDER SKY BROWN.
FROM LEARNING TRICKS ON YOU TUBE.
TO WINNING AN OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDAL TODAY AND SHE'S ONLY 13.
BRITAIN YOUNGEST EVER OLYMPIAN WHO GREW UP IN CALIFORNIA SAID IT WAS A SUPER-SICK FINAL.
WITH THE COMPETITORS CHEERING EACH OTHER ON IT WAS A FINE SHOW OF SPORT MAN SHIP.
AFTER A SERIOUS LIFE THREATENING ACCIDENT LAST YEAR.
AND WE MIGHT SEE THIS PRODIGY MAKING MORE WAVES ON BOTH THE SKATE BOARDING AND SURFING PODIUM IN 2024.
THE GIRLS ARE RIPPING IT.
BY THE WAY, HER 9 YEAR-OLD BROTHER IS OCEAN.
ALSO A SURFER AND SKATE BORDER AND THEIR YOU TUBE CHANNEL RACKED UP 54 MILLION VIEWS SO FAR.
INSPIRING.
THAT'S IT FOR OUR PROGRAM.
REMEMBER YOU CAN FOLLOW ME.
AND THE SHOW ON TWITTER.
THANK YOU FOR WATCHING AMANPOUR AND COMPANY.
JOIN US AGAIN TOMORROW.