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>>> NOW, WHEN THE DNC KICKED OFF ON MONDAY, JAMIE HARRISON WAS FIRST AT THE PODIUM.
THE SOUTH CAROLINA NATIVE REFLECTED ON THE MOMENT WRITING ON TWITTER, ONLY IN AMERICA COULD A ROUND HEADED BOY RAISED BY A SINGLE MOTHER AND UP DABBLING IN A HISTORIC CONVENTION TO NOMINATE OUR FIRST BLACK WOMAN PRESIDENT.
HARRISON BURST ONTO THE NATIONAL SCENE IN 2020 WHEN HE LAUNCHED A SURPRISINGLY COMPETITIVE SUMMIT CAMPAIGN AGAINST LINDSEY GRAHAM.
WE SPOKE TO HARRISON ABOUT A WEEK AND WHAT CHALLENGES HIS PARTY FACES BETWEEN NOW AND NOVEMBER.>> THANK YOU, WELCOME TO THE SHOW.>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> CONGRATULATIONS, IT WAS A PRETTY CLEAR CONVENTION WITH A LOT OF THEMES AND LET ME GO THROUGH THEM, ONE OF THEM WAS FREEDOM.
HE USED A BEYONCE SONG, IT WAS A SHIFT FROM THE THEME OF DEMOCRACY THAT JOE BIDEN WAS USING AND IMPORTANT THEME BUT SORT OF A LESS PERSONAL ONE.
TELL ME ABOUT THE SHIFT IN THE THEME OF FREEDOM.
>> WELL, FREEDOM, THAT IS WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING FOR IN THIS COUNTRY.
AND WE HAVE SEEN A FULL ASSAULT ON THE FREEDOMS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
I MEAN, TAKE A LOOK AT WOMEN IN THIS COUNTRY, FROM THE FIRST TIME IN 50 YEARS, WOMEN DON'T HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CONTROL THEIR OWN BODIES ALL ACROSS THIS COUNTRY.
YOU KNOW, I'M 48 AND ALL OF MY LIFE, UP UNTIL JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, WE HAVE BEEN GAMING THE WORD FREEDOM IN THIS COUNTRY, GAINING THE RIGHT TO VOTE BECAUSE MY GRANDPARENTS DIDN'T ALWAYS HAVE THAT.
WE HAVE BEEN GAINING THE RIGHT TO CONTROL THEIR BODIES, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME BECAUSE OF DONALD TRUMP AND THE PEOPLE HE APPOINTED TO THE SUPREME COURT AND BECAUSE OF THIS SUPREME COURT, THOSE FREEDOMS HAVE BEEN RIPPED AWAY, ROE VERSUS WADE DESTROYED IT, THEN YOU HEAR IT IN SOME OF THESE OPINIONS FROM FOLKS LIKE CLARENCE THOMAS WHO SAID WE ARE NOT DONE IN TERMS OF GOING AFTER OUR FREEDOMS AND THAT IS WHY WE HAD TO MOVE FORWARD IN TERMS OF MARRIAGE EQUALITY, BECAUSE CLARENCE THOMAS WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR FREEDOM THAT HE HAS BEEN GAINING OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST FEW YEARS.
SO FREEDOM IS A REALLY IMPORTANT COMPONENT AND IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE DEMOCRAT, REPUBLICAN OR INDEPENDENT, AMERICA IS BUILT ON FREEDOM.
AND SOMEBODY HAS TO PROTECT IT.
WE DON'T SEE THE PROTECTION COMING FROM THE REPUBLICAN SIDE, DEMOCRATS ARE GOING TO BE THOSE HOPEFUL WARRIORS THAT WILL DO EVERYTHING WITHIN OUR POWER TO PROTECT AMERICA'S FREEDOM.
>> ONE OF THE THINGS I NOTICED LAST NIGHT, AS I'M SITTING IN THE HALL, I'M SEEING SOMEBODY UNUSUAL FROM MY DAYS OF COVERING DEMOCRATIC CONVENTIONS, EVERYBODY HAD AN AMERICAN FLAG, PEOPLE WERE CHANTING USA, THE FLAGS MARCHING DOWN, THE SPEAKERS TALKING ABOUT USA AND PATRIOTISM.
TELL ME ABOUT THE DECISIONS YOU MADE TO RECAPTURE THE NOTION OF THE FLAG, THE COUNTRY AND PATRIOTISM.
>> IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND, WHEN YOU SAY THAT YOU SUPPORT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THAT MEANS SUPPORTING WHAT OUR CONSTITUTION SAYS, SUPPORTING WHAT THE DECLARATION SAYS, WE HAVE HAD AND HEARD FROM DONALD TRUMP, HIS OWN WORDS, THAT HE WANTS TO BE A DICTATOR ON DAY ONE.
THAT HE'S OKAY WITH IGNORING AND SOMETIMES PUSHING OFF THE CONSTITUTION OF THESE UNITED STATES.
JOE BIDEN SAID THIS ALSO CLEARLY, YOU CAN'T JUST LOVE THIS COUNTRY ONLY WHEN YOU WIN.
THIS IS ABOUT LOVING AMERICA ALL THE TIME.
AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY LOOKS LIKE AMERICA.
WE REPRESENT THE DIVERSITY AND THE STRENGTH AND THE VALUES OF THIS COUNTRY.
WE BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY, REGARDLESS OF YOUR RACE, WHO YOU LOVE, HOW YOU LOVE, HOW YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF, SHOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE THEIR AMERICAN DREAM.
I CAN'T SAY THAT FROM THE OTHER SIDE.
YOU LOOK AT DONALD TRUMP, LOOK AT THAT CONVENTION, WHERE YOU SAW SUCH HAPPINESS AND JOY, IT WAS LIKE A BIG FAMILY REUNION.
PEOPLE WERE DANCING.
THEY WERE CRYING, HUGGING.
YOU LOOK AT THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION, THESE PEOPLE HAD SIGNS ABOUT MASS DEPORTATION, THIS COUNTRY WAS BUILT BY IMMIGRANTS, THAT IS THE STARK CONTRAST BETWEEN THE PARTIES, THEY ARE DOOM AND GLOOM AND FEAR AND WE ARE HOPE AND JOY AND I THINK THAT BEATS DOOM AND FEAR EVERY TIME.
>> ANOTHER THING THAT STRUCK ME WHICH SEEMED DIFFERENT FROM PREVIOUS CONVENTIONS WAS THE EMPHASIS LAST NIGHT IN PARTICULAR ON NATIONAL SECURITY.
HAVING VETERANS FROM THE PARTY UP THERE, HAVING LEON PENETTA UP THERE AND THE VICE PRESIDENT SAID IT HERSELF AND HER ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, THINK ABOUT THE NEED TO PROTECT, THAT A WOMAN CAN BE A COMMANDER IN CHIEF STRONG ON NATIONAL DEFENSE IN THE MILITARY>> ONE OF THE THINGS WE WERE THINKING, LISTEN, WE KNEW HOW STRONG THE VP IS, AND A LOT OF WORLD LEADERS KNOW HOW STRONG THE VP IS AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DEMONSTRATE THAT.
THIS IS SOMEONE WHO IS RESPECTED ON THE WORLD STAGE.
YOU REMEMBER EARLY ON IN THIS ADMINISTRATION WHEN THERE WAS SOME FRICTION BECAUSE OF THE CONTRACT WITH AUSTRALIA AND FRANCE.
WELL, KAMALA HARRIS EARLY ON IN THIS ADMINISTRATION WOULD SOOTHE OVER THE FRUSTRATIONS IN FRANCE, SHE AND THE PRESIDENT OF FRANCE ARE NOW CLOSE, AND SHE ACTUALLY HELPED TO REBUILD AND STRENGTHEN THAT RELATIONSHIP, HE HAS BEEN AN ALLY FOR SUCH A LONG TIME.
SO, SHE IS MET WITH HUNDREDS OF WORLD LEADERS.
THIS PRESIDENT IS EXTREMELY STRONG.
BUT SHE'S ALSO VERY EMPATHETIC.
SHE UNDERSTANDS, SHE IS A PROGENY IN THIS, SHE UNDERSTANDS THE HARDSHIPS AND STRUGGLES THAT SOME FAITH IN MANY COUNTRIES.
HER VISIT TO AFRICA DIDN'T GET A LOT OF COVERAGE, BUT IT WAS SO AMAZING TO SEE AND TO WITNESS PARTICULARLY AS A BLACK MAN.
SO, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER ON THAT STAGE AS OUR COMMANDER IN CHIEF BECAUSE SHE'S GOING TO BE STRONG BUT SHE'S ALSO GOING TO HAVE A HEART AND UNDERSTAND THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS THAT SO MANY FACE.>> AS PARTY CHAIR, YOU HAD TO MAKE A PRETTY STRONG.
ABOUT 4 1/2 WEEKS AGO, SUDDENLY YOU ARE PLANNING FOR THIS CONVENTION OF RE-NOMINATING JOE BIDEN, AND BOOM, YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT.
TELL ME ABOUT THAT PITTED WHICH I WILL SCRAMBLE TO DO TO CHANGE THE CONVENTION.
>> WELL, SOME OF IT WASN'T REALLY A BIG PITTED TO BE QUITE HONEST, BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IN 2020, JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS REALLY DID NOT GET A TRADITIONAL CONVENTION.
WE WERE ONLINE WITH COVID, THEY DIDN'T GET THE TRADITIONAL INAUGURATION, THEY ACTUALLY DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE FOR THE INAUGURATION SO WE WENT INTO THIS CONVENTION LOOKING FOR A HOST CITY THAT CAN HELP TELL THEIR STORY AND THE STORY OF THIS ADMINISTRATION AND THE ACHIEVEMENTS.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THINK OF HOW WE TELL THE STORY OF JOE BIDEN OR KAMALA HARRIS.
SO, WHEN THE SWITCH HAPPENED, WE KNEW WE WERE ALREADY PREPARED TO TELL THE STORY OF KAMALA HARRIS BUT NOW WE ALSO NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO TELL THE STORY OF TIM WALZ.
AND THEN SHIFT HOW WE TOLD JOE BIDEN STORY NOT AS THE NOMINEE BUT AS THE TRANSFORMATIONAL PRESIDENT THAT HE HAS BEEN.
I WILL GO DOWN SAYING THAT JOE BIDEN IS THE MOST TRANSFORMATIONAL PRESIDENT OF MY LIFETIME.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT HIS LEGISLATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS, IT IS HARD TO FIND ANY COMPARISON OUTSIDE COME IN TERMS OF THE SHEER NUMBER AND VOLUME, AND IMPACT OF THOSE LEGISLATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS AND TO GIVE IT ANOTHER NOTCH, HE DID IT WITH A 50-50 SENATE AND LESS THAN FIVE SEAT MAJORITY, THE SAME MAJORITY THAT REPUBLICANS HAVE, SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COULD DO THAT, WE GIVE THE PERSON HIS CHANCE, BUT TELL THE STORY OF KAMALA HARRIS.
>> I WAS WALKING DOWN THE HALL TO THE PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS HAD TO NAVIGATE.
AND I WANT TO READ YOU FROM HER SPEECH BECAUSE SHE DID A VERY CAREFUL NAVIGATION OF IT, SHE SAID I WILL ALWAYS STAND UP FOR ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF, THEN SHE SAID, BUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN GAZA IS DEVASTATING.
DESPERATE, HUNGRY PEOPLE FLEEING FOR SAFETY OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THE SCALE OF SUFFERING IS HEARTBREAKING.
TO ME, THAT WAS A SHIFT OF TONE, A NOTICEABLE SHIFT OF TONE FROM PRESIDENT BIDEN TO JUST REALLY EMPATHIZE WITH THE HEARTBREAKING PLIGHT OF MANY PALESTINIAN CIVILIANS.
HOW IS SHE GOING TO TRY TO KEEP THE PARTY TOGETHER ON THOSE ISSUES, ESPECIALLY WHEN SO MANY PALESTINIANS FEEL DISENFRANCHISED NOW?>> WELL, THAT IS WHAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, ABOUT STRENGTH AND EMPATHY.
AND THOSE TWO THINGS CAN COEXIST AT THE SAME TIME, THEY CAN BE IN THE SAME PERSON.
AND I THINK THAT IS WHAT I THOUGHT THAT SECTION OF THE VICE PRESIDENTS SPEECH WAS JUST ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON REALLY.
IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
IN MANY WAYS.
BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE WE HAVE TO BE, WE CAN STAND WITH OUR ALLIES AND AT THE SAME TIME WE CAN ALSO SEE THE HURT AND THE PAIN AND TO ACTIVELY LEAN INTO IT, DO THINGS TO ADDRESS THAT AS WELL.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BLACK AND WHITE.
THERE IS ROOM IN THE MIDDLE IN ORDER TO PAVE THAT PATH AND I THINK THIS IS A PERSON WHO CAN DO IT.
AND I HOPE WE GET IT DONE BEFORE SHE BECOMES PRESIDENT.
BECAUSE THE NEED RIGHT NOW IS TREMENDOUS AND IT IS GREAT.
I KNOW THAT SHE IS FEVERISHLY WORKING WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM DAY IN AND DAY OUT TO TRY TO MAKE PROGRESS HERE AND TO GO AND SECURE US.
>> YOU HAD TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO HAVE A SPEAKER FROM THE UNCOMMITTED DELEGATES WHO WERE REPRESENTING THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE, TO WHAT EXTENT DID YOU HAVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HAVING A PALESTINIAN SPEAKER AND WHY IN THE END DID YOU NOT HAVE A PRO- PALESTINIAN SPEAKER DURING THE CONVENTION?>> WELL, THAT SECTION OF OUR PROGRAM I WASN'T ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH.
BUT, WHAT WE TRIED TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE WE BROUGHT FOLKS ON THE STAGE THAT WERE RESPECTED AND HAD INFLUENCE ON ALL PERSPECTIVES AND THERE WERE FOLKS ON THAT STAGE THAT HAD THOSE REFLECTIONS.
THERE WERE REQUESTS FROM VARIOUS POCKETS.
IT IS A STRENGTH BUT IT CAN ALSO AT TIMES CREATE DIFFICULTIES BECAUSE THE SHEER VOLUME OF GROUPS, IN SOME FASHION, IT'S LIKE A COALITION WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU FIND IN EUROPE, ALL OF THESE SEGMENTS AND GROUPS.
>> BUT, TRYING TO GET BACK TO THAT ISSUE OF WHETHER OR NOT TO HAVE THAT SPEAKER BECAUSE IT WAS A TWO OR THREE DAY DISCUSSION, ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT ESPECIALLY MICHIGAN AND OTHER PLACES BY DECIDING NOT HAVE A PRO-PALESTINIAN SPEAKER, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO REACH OUT TO THAT COMMUNITY?>> WELL, I THINK THE VICE PRESIDENTS SPEECH MADE THE FOUNDATION FOR THAT, SHE SPOKE HER TRUTH.
AND I THINK HER TRUTH, WHEN YOU TALK OF THOSE COMMUNITIES, I THINK YOU SEE SOME SEMBLANCE OF ALL OF THAT IN THOSE COMMUNITIES.
SO SHE WILL CONTINUE TO GO AND REACH OUT TO THOSE AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO GO TO THOSE AREAS, WE WILL GO TO WHERE PEOPLE ARE AND HAVE DISCUSSIONS AND NOT ONLY WILL IT JUST BE NOT JUST WORDS, BUT I'M A FIRM BELIEVER, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT TELLING PEOPLE WHERE YOU ARE, IT IS ABOUT SHOWING THEM AND THE MOST POWERFUL WE -- THING WE CAN DO OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS IS NOT JUST TELL PEOPLE ABOUT OUR POSITION, BUT TO ACTUALLY SHOW THEM WITH OUR ACTIONS AND THAT IS WHAT THE VICE PRESIDENT IS WORKING ON DAY IN AND DAY OUT, TO SHOW FOLKS THAT WE ARE COMMITTED TO GETTING A CEASE- FIRE, WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROTECTING THE ISRAELI PEOPLE AS WELL AS THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE.
AND I THINK OUR ACTIONS ARE GOING TO BE MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN JUST OUR WORDS.>> A WHILE BACK, YOU SAID AS DNC CHAIR, ONE OF YOUR BIG GOALS WOULD BE TO RE-ENGAGE AND WIN BACK LATINO AND BLACK MEN WHO HAVE DRIFTED AWAY FROM THE PARTY.
TRUMP JUST YESTERDAY WAS BRAGGING THAT HE IS GETTING LACHMAN, LATINOS FOR HIM, TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IN THAT REGARD?
>> I THINK DONALD TRUMP CONTINUES HIS DELUSION.
BECAUSE HE'S NOT GETTING LACHMAN AND LATINOS, FOR THE LAST 1 1/2 YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN GOING AROUND INTO THE COMMUNITIES, MAKING SURE WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH BLACK MEN AND LATINO MEN SO THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WE DO NOT TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED, WE SEE THEM AND WE HEAR THEM AND WE VALUE THEM AND WE ARE GOING TO FIGHT FOR THEM.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE SEEN AND HEARD.
EVERYBODY.
AND THEY WANT TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE AN AGENDA FOR THEM, THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE HARDSHIPS THAT THEY ARE FACING.
AND I THINK THE VICE PRESIDENT IS ROLLING OUT THINGS BECAUSE THAT ECONOMIC ANXIETY IS STILL A VERY PRESENT THING.
BLACK MEN AND LATINO MEN WANT TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR FAMILIES, THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE SECURE, NOT ONLY PERSONAL SECURITY BUT ECONOMIC SECURITY AS WELL.
SO, THE MOST DEHUMANIZING THING, TO FEEL AS THOUGH HE CANNOT PROTECT, HE CANNOT DEFEND, HE CANNOT TAKE CARE AND PRODUCE FOR HIS FAMILY.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT AND WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT OUR MESSAGES ARE DILUTED WITH THAT AND MAKING SURE THAT OUTREACH IS ALSO ROOTED IN THAT.
>> THIS WAS A HISTORIC NOMINATION, A BLACK WOMAN, SOUTH ASIAN WOMAN, WE ARE SEEING HISTORY BEING MADE BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STRUCK ME IS THAT VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS DIDN'T DWELL ON THAT IN HER SPEECH, THE HISTORIC NATURE OF IT.
TELL ME ABOUT WHAT YOU SEE AS THE HISTORIC NATURE AND PERHAPS WHY SHE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT MORE.
>> WELL, I THINK WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS TO UNDERSTAND, REGARDLESS OF HER BACKGROUND, THIS IS A PERSON WHO IS READY ON DAY ONE TO BE THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF.
THERE IS NOBODY MORE EQUIPPED TO BE SO.
SHE HAS BEEN THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THESE UNITED STATES IN THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS, SHE HAS HELPED SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH JOE BIDEN, PAST THE MOST TRANSFORMATIONAL LEGISLATION WE HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST FEW DECADES.
TO BRING AMERICA OUT OF THE DARKNESS AND DESPAIR OF COVID, TO HELP REBUILD OUR RELATIONSHIP ABROAD SO THAT PEOPLE RESPECT AMERICA AGAIN, TO PROTECTING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND SHE HAPPENS TO BE A WOMAN AND SHE HAPPENS TO BE A BLACK AND ASIAN AMERICAN DISSENT.
BUT, IT IS GROUNDBREAKING BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, PEOPLE WILL GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHO SHE IS AND MANY PEOPLE WILL GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THEMSELVES IN HER, AND THAT IS THE MOST AMAZING THING.
THIS IS A HISTORIC MOMENT, AND YOU KNOW THIS PICTURE I'VE BEEN PAINTING FOR FOLKS ALL WEEK AT THIS DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION IS THIS IMAGE, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE ARE THINKING OF THE FUTURE, THIS IMAGE OF JANUARY 20th, 2025 ON THE STEPS OF THE UNITED STATES CAPITAL, JUSTICE JACKSON STANDING THERE HOLDING THE BIBLE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS AND KAMALA HARRIS STEPPING UP, PUTTING HER HAND ON THAT BIBLE AND TAKING HER PLEA TO TO PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, STANDING ON THE STEPS OF THE BUILDING.
THAT IS WHAT AMERICA CAN DO.
IT GIVES ME CHILLS JUST THINKING ABOUT IT, TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THAT IS WHAT AMERICA CAN DO AND THE SELECTION IS WITHIN OUR POWER.
AND WE WILL REJOICE IN THE JOY OF OUR ANCESTORS AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.>> JAMIE HARRISON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
About This Episode EXPAND
Joe Biden biographer Evan Osnos unpacks the DNC and Kamala Harris’s nomination acceptance speech. Jaime Harrison, chair of the DNC, also breaks down the events in Chicago this week. Peter Friedman, Sydney Lemmon and Max Wolf Friedlich discuss their new play “Job” about the pitfalls of social media. Musician and producer Jack Antonoff talks about Taylor Swift, producing and his band, Bleachers.
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