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You're listening to Comedy Central. Welcome

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back again. Our

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guests to night is he has to discuss the inaugural

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Obama Foundation Democracy Forum

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and how he's training the next generation

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of young leaders in the US and around

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the world. Please welcome the forty four President of the

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United States, Barack Obama.

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Oh I

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do do? What's

0:47

he doing? Thank

0:50

you? Thank

0:53

you? Thank

0:55

you? Bok Alma, that's

1:00

love. Um.

1:08

I should have I should I should have brought

1:10

Michelle here. So this

1:16

is this is how I'd like to be greeted when I come

1:18

home. But

1:20

I feel like Michelle's

1:21

star. Mr

1:24

President, Welcome to the Day to Show. It is wonderful

1:26

to see you. Do you miss your name, by the way,

1:29

because everyone calls you Mr. President? But like I feel

1:31

like I would like if people call me like Mr Daly,

1:33

I would miss just being

1:35

called travor do you miss your names? My

1:38

best friends call me Barack? You

1:40

should, Mr President? You

1:43

know, Welcome

1:46

to the show. Um, let's let's start with I

1:48

mean the most present used. The midterms just happened.

1:51

You know, America voted, the House is flipping.

1:53

Democrats have held onto the Senate. Many credit

1:55

you for coming out and pushing

1:58

out, you know, people to vote. I would love to

2:00

know two parts to that. You know. Number one,

2:02

do you do you feel pressure

2:04

whenever you asked to come up? It's like in the movies when

2:07

you know they need that home run and the basis are

2:09

loading, the team's losing and they go, but rock, we need

2:11

you to hit this out of the park. We might lose everything.

2:13

Do you feel the pressure? Does it get to you? And and second

2:16

of all, what does it say about the state of

2:18

the Democratic Party that they always need you to come

2:20

out and do that before election? Look, I

2:23

think that the reason we

2:26

did better than expected can

2:28

be attributed to uh, not

2:30

me or uh

2:33

you know, anything I did, But it has to do with ay.

2:35

We recruited some excellent candidates. Uh

2:38

you look like Good Westmore

2:41

in Maryland, Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania.

2:45

You look at our Senate candidates John

2:49

Feederman and Mark Kelly Um.

2:53

They are committed,

2:55

passionate, down to earth. They

2:57

connect with people, um

3:00

and so I come

3:02

in mainly to shine a spotlight on

3:04

them. So that's point number one. And the second thing

3:06

that happened in in this mid

3:09

term, and we've seen it now for three elections.

3:11

So I'm starting to feel pretty

3:13

hopeful that this is a habit. Young

3:16

people are voting and you

3:18

got higher. It

3:23

has been many times remarked how I got

3:25

thumped during mid terms during

3:27

my presidency, and part of it was that

3:29

voting rates were really low. People

3:33

In some sense, I think a lot of Democrats

3:36

felt, all right, Obama's there will be okay.

3:39

And you know, if it turns

3:41

out that McConnell

3:43

and Baynard and others suddenly

3:46

have power, then that greatly

3:49

restricts what a president can do. And I think that lesson

3:51

was learned. Trump comes

3:53

in and suddenly and

3:57

now this one, you've seen young people

3:59

come in and they're typically voting

4:01

at a rate of seventy to thirty,

4:04

sixty to forty Democrat

4:06

to Republican, and that makes a huge

4:09

difference, and so they're but

4:12

enthusiasm, I think is what really drove

4:15

this election. I agree with that in terms

4:17

of the people who actually voted,

4:19

but young people don't seem to be turning out as

4:21

much. You know, so the ones who did vote votes an overwhelmingly

4:24

Democrats. But then the number of young

4:26

votes seems to be dwindling from election

4:28

to election, and many young votes are saying they feel

4:30

disillusioned, They feel like America hasn't

4:32

made away for them, they don't see a future for themselves.

4:35

Well, look, what is always true

4:37

is young people are going to vote at

4:39

slightly lower rates than old

4:42

people like me because maybe

4:44

got better things to do. Michelle

4:46

and I are sitting at home, you know, eating

4:49

dinner, what kind of run out of

4:51

things to say, Well,

4:54

let's go vote young

4:56

people, Millie and Sasha, they're

4:58

out in our ne on all kinds of

5:01

stuff. So, uh

5:03

so, that's always going to be the case that that

5:05

young people voting rates are a little bit

5:07

lower. They are higher now than

5:10

they were in the mid terms when

5:12

I was president, and in

5:15

such a polarized environment one

5:18

to three percent. If they're

5:20

turning out at instead

5:23

of difference, that can make

5:25

an enormous difference. Right when you look

5:27

at that tiny difference, you still

5:29

see the places where, I mean, people

5:32

got into power despite the fact that they deny

5:34

elections. I think Republicans got a hundred and seventy

5:36

election deniers into Congress.

5:38

People who don't believe in the way America's

5:40

running its elections, people who don't believe Joe Biden should

5:42

be president or they you know, they'll be

5:45

vague about the answers. What do you

5:47

what do you think it says about American democracy

5:49

that so many people are getting elected

5:51

to these positions when they seem to dismiss

5:54

the election itself. Well, the interesting

5:56

thing is you notice election deniers don't

5:58

deny their own election. Funny

6:01

how that works, um,

6:06

how many of them actually believe that,

6:09

uh, some of the

6:11

nonsense that that circulates, versus

6:14

those who think it's convenient or it's a way to own

6:17

the Libs, or it's a way to send a message

6:20

um or align themselves with Trump.

6:23

That's hard to say. But what is important

6:25

is that because

6:27

of some really concerted efforts in a lot of important

6:30

states, some of the most egregious,

6:33

prominent, and potentially

6:36

dangerous election deniers,

6:39

they got thumped. They got

6:41

beat and particularly in these

6:43

secretary of States races and in some cases

6:45

governors races, where you

6:47

know, the next presidential election you could have somebody

6:49

who could really do some damage

6:53

there. I think we held the line. Now, what it

6:55

does say, more broadly is the fact

6:57

that, uh, not just here in

6:59

the United States, but around the world, the

7:01

fundamental precepts of democracy are

7:04

being challenged. Um, we're

7:06

not having arguments about policy,

7:09

but we're having arguments about the

7:13

the rules of the game, which previously

7:17

we all agreed to. Right, there was

7:19

a notion that all

7:21

right, we run elections, whoever gets the most votes

7:23

actually wins. The loser concedes, goes

7:25

back and tries to do better next time. Um.

7:28

And what we've seen now for

7:31

a whole host of reasons, is

7:34

a creeping sense that,

7:37

um, if the outcomes not what we want,

7:40

then we can do whatever we want and say whatever

7:42

we want in order for us to

7:44

win. And that is

7:47

profoundly dangerous. And as I said, it's it's not

7:49

unique to the United States, but when

7:51

it happens in the United States, it sends

7:53

a signal all around the world that

7:57

weakens democracy. And and that's

7:59

why think us getting our house in order is

8:01

so important when when you look at the discourse

8:04

in the country's well and and around the world. But

8:06

again, I think you're correct in that America as

8:08

a leader in what's happening right now,

8:10

the discourse has become so toxic. You

8:13

you were in every single

8:15

state, you were meeting with people all the way

8:17

from Iowa, you know, through to California,

8:20

where wherever you you were meeting people on the ground, they

8:22

were listening to you. There was

8:24

an openness even though people had

8:26

different political affiliations. It seems

8:29

like that has eroded over time. And

8:31

I wonder what you make of that. Where

8:33

where do you think it's coming from? Do you think of social media? Think

8:35

do you think it's the tenor of politicians in the capital.

8:38

Two things. The biggest change that's taken

8:41

place when I ran for let's say

8:43

US Senate in Illinois. You go

8:45

down state, that's the South. I mean, it's rural,

8:47

it's conservative. There aren't a lot

8:50

of folks who look like you or

8:52

me. Um and certainly

8:55

there are more Trevors than there are Barracks

8:57

in the variable. But and

9:00

uh so uh

9:04

and I'm driving around, I've I've got

9:06

you know, map for young people

9:08

here that it's this paper thing. You

9:12

can't figure out how to fold it back, but it's

9:14

how you find your way on roads.

9:17

Um and uh.

9:19

But I go into a town and it'd

9:23

be Republican, a

9:25

lot of evangelicals, et

9:28

cetera. But I could

9:30

go to a diner or a VFW hall or

9:33

uh county fair. I

9:36

could go to the local newspaper,

9:39

and the owner there is conservative and he's

9:41

got a bowtie and buzz cut. He's

9:44

kind of skeptical about my ideas. But

9:47

there wasn't the filter that

9:50

had been created by Fox

9:52

News or the

9:55

media infrastructure, the sort

9:57

of right wing conspiracy theory, uh

10:00

ye know, folks. And so

10:03

they came at me with an open mind, and

10:05

I could I could listen to them,

10:07

and they could listen to me, and at the end of

10:09

the day they might say, well, he's a little liberal for our taste,

10:11

but we have something in common. He

10:14

talked about, you know, his

10:16

mom getting sick. I remember my mom

10:18

getting sick. You know, it seems like

10:20

he loves his kids. I love my kids, and there

10:22

was some sense of connection.

10:25

And I think the filter now has become

10:28

so thick. It started

10:30

I think with Fox News and some of the other

10:33

uh uh you know, traditional

10:35

media, and now with

10:38

social media that's gotten turbo charged. If

10:40

you go into those same communities now, they

10:43

have so many preconceptions about

10:46

what somebody like me believes,

10:49

cares about, etcetera, that it's very hard to

10:51

penetrate. So I think that the

10:53

answer is both thinking

10:56

about information flow and media

10:58

and how do how can we breakthrough

11:01

that information bubble that people are in. That

11:04

requires, by the way, progressives

11:07

to get out of their media

11:10

bubble because we've got some preconceptions

11:12

that I think create barriers

11:14

as well. And then working

11:16

a lot more locally, uh,

11:19

because you noticed that when

11:22

you're on the ground doing

11:24

stuff, it's harder to stereotype

11:27

people. And the

11:29

nationalization of our politics

11:31

I think has been damaging. The

11:34

more we can focus on grassroots

11:38

efforts, real

11:40

world rather than just virtual meetings m

11:43

conversations, that's what,

11:46

over time I think can

11:48

can help strengthen democracy. And

11:50

that's part of what you know our

11:52

EMPSIS has been at the at the foundation

11:55

is with young leaders who are working

11:57

on the ground, coming up

12:00

with new ideas to create those connections. Well, I definitely

12:02

want to speak to you about that. I want to speak to about democracy

12:04

worldwide. I want to speak to you about disinformation

12:07

and what we can do to immunize ourselves

12:09

from it. But we gotta take a quick break. We'll

12:11

be right back after this with more from President to us about

12:15

alcome back to the Daily Show. We are still

12:17

here with President Barack Obama chatting

12:19

democracy, disinformation and who

12:22

is better looking between us. I want um,

12:25

let's start. Let's

12:29

you know, the real question is how how will they

12:31

luck when he's sixty if

12:34

you wants

12:40

attractive when they're in the almost

12:46

almost yea almost

12:47

almost. Let's

12:50

run all over. Let's talk about

12:53

plancy, Let's talk about your your your foundation,

12:55

Let's talk about what you're doing. We see you out there, you

12:58

know, we see you talking about democracy. See,

13:00

the world isn't a really interesting place in that.

13:03

You know, a few years ago and I think the world

13:05

was of the world was

13:07

you know, you could say the countries were democratic. Democratic,

13:10

you know, they had they had elections, people

13:12

won those elections, there was an exchange of power,

13:14

etcetera. And now I think seventy

13:17

of the world is living in a state where they

13:19

either ruled where it's a complete you know, autocracy,

13:22

or it isn't a democracy.

13:25

Two things again, One, why

13:27

do you think the world has gotten there? You know, if

13:29

if democracy and freedom on

13:32

things that everybody wishes to have, why

13:34

does it seem like the world is moving away from that? And

13:37

then secondly, what can

13:39

we do or why should we then try get back

13:41

to this democracy? If you look

13:43

at the trend lines, there are a bunch of

13:45

factors. I think globalization,

13:48

the global economy, disrupted

13:51

a lot of traditional societies.

13:54

What do you mean, well,

13:56

Uh, the global

13:59

supply chain eiminates industries, eliminates

14:01

jobs, increases,

14:04

Uh, you know, the wealth

14:06

gap not only between

14:08

countries but within countries. Right. So, and

14:11

then modernity challenges

14:14

people's traditional notions

14:16

of religion and family and general

14:19

roles. And you've got these culture

14:21

clashes. Right, You're in some village

14:23

in Yemen and suddenly your kid has a phone and

14:25

it's looking at the Kardashians and right,

14:29

and and you're so so

14:31

you get this vertigo and what

14:34

happened, what you've seen happen

14:36

I think in a whole bunch of places

14:39

is essentially a pushback,

14:41

a backlash to change that is

14:43

happening too fast, uh

14:45

for their comfort. And when

14:48

people are pushing back against

14:50

change, then they're vulnerable to politicians who

14:53

say, you know what, I can make things

14:55

just like it was back then, when

14:59

you we're

15:02

feeling more important, you had higher status.

15:05

You know, you didn't have people who don't look

15:07

like you suggesting somehow

15:09

that yeah, you're

15:13

doing something wrong. Um,

15:16

that somehow your traditions

15:19

are flawed and and

15:21

that appeal usually also

15:25

involved saying the problems

15:27

you're feeling are somebody else's faults. It's

15:29

those folks there, it's immigrants, it's gays,

15:31

it's hind News,

15:33

it's Muslims, it's

15:36

so forth and so on and

15:39

uh. And that then

15:41

gets turbo charged with the

15:44

information issues that we talked about. Um

15:48

And Look, democracy requires

15:50

by definition, getting along

15:52

with people who don't agree with

15:54

you. Uh. And the

15:57

other thing that happens is these countries have become

16:00

less homogeneous, right. And so you

16:02

just had a um,

16:05

a right wing party

16:09

in Sweden, which

16:11

we always used to Swedes right there,

16:15

so chill and democratic, right, But

16:18

if you've got a whole bunch of immigrants

16:21

coming in, suddenly people start getting

16:23

nervous. And and so part

16:25

of what I think we have to

16:27

do is to stand

16:32

fast on the principles of

16:34

equality and self

16:36

governance and representation and everybody

16:39

gets a seat at the table. But

16:41

I think we have to also find a language and a

16:43

story, a

16:46

way of telling the story about

16:48

how we can get together that does

16:50

not threaten people who are uncomfortable

16:52

with change as much. Um

16:55

And and that's you know, going

16:57

to be different for different countries. But I'll

17:00

give you an example. There's a young leader who we worked

17:02

with from Slovenia,

17:04

she's part of our network, who

17:08

was an advocate

17:10

for doing something about domestic violence. The

17:13

laws of that country didn't have domestic violence.

17:15

There was a real problem. Ran a referendum,

17:18

it got crushed, and we

17:20

worked with her and suggested,

17:22

well, maybe you want to talk to the people who didn't

17:25

vote for it. So she goes out to these

17:27

rural villages with these um

17:30

older, traditional rural, very

17:32

religious, very conservative women and just interviewed

17:34

them and listen to them and talk to them.

17:37

And it's not that they agreed

17:40

with domestic abuse, it's

17:42

that they thought their

17:45

way of life was being challenged. She

17:47

adapted their language, ran the referendum

17:50

again a few years later, and it passed right

17:53

because she adopted the language

17:55

that made them feel as if, Okay,

17:58

this is not so much of a earthquake

18:03

a huge change in how we live, but it's rather

18:05

affirming our best values. And

18:07

I think us finding ways to do that

18:10

in a consistent way will help um.

18:14

But it's hard. Yeah. Look,

18:16

for most of human history, democracy is

18:19

relatively recent vintage.

18:22

It's a blip. Yeah, tribe,

18:26

uh, you know, nation, state,

18:28

race, sect. You know, that's

18:30

typically been how we organize things. And

18:32

it's always easy to say us versus

18:35

them, that that's that's the easy politics.

18:37

What what democracy demands is always

18:40

a little bit more difficult. It also feels

18:42

like, you know when when when you observe it. There

18:45

are two elements that I that I often see is, on

18:47

the one hand, storytelling. As

18:49

you said, it's often

18:52

easier to tell a story of blame. Yes, why

18:54

are things going wrong? It's because of that person. It's

18:56

simple. There's the person. We we we've solved

18:58

it. Why are things going wrong? Well, there's a confluence

19:00

of factors, and you have this and you have the economy. You gotta

19:02

understand the supply to. That's not an answer for many

19:05

people. And when you sell freedom, they got I

19:07

don't. I can't eat freedom. I can't buy

19:09

a house with freedom. I can't, you know. And then

19:11

the second part is what you're talking about,

19:13

you know, the US versus them, the

19:15

who is and who isn't. Sometimes

19:18

I think for many people it feels like it

19:20

feels like the populists come in and

19:23

just do you know, whether it is in

19:25

Brazil, you know, whether it's more so

19:27

narrow, you know, whether it's in America with Trump, whether

19:30

they go they're just gonna do, and whether they

19:32

do or don't actually do it. It feels like they're gonna

19:34

do. But then some people go, oh, but when

19:36

we get the freedom people they

19:38

want to talk and they want to discuss, and it

19:40

seems incremental and it seems like things won't

19:42

change. Is there a

19:44

way to combat that, because it is a feeling a

19:46

lot of the time. Well, yeah,

19:49

Look, if you want to

19:52

be a progressive, pluralists

19:54

tolerant democrat. Uh.

19:56

And I don't mean small D democrat, I

19:59

don't mean Democratic party. Um,

20:01

you know, you can't be a wuss. I

20:05

mean you you you You've got to have

20:09

a story that with some swag, you

20:11

got to be able to sell the

20:13

future and and

20:16

deliver and uh

20:19

and also call out

20:21

the fact that what those folks

20:23

say they're gonna do, they almost never do, right,

20:27

because the truth of the matter is

20:30

is that, Um,

20:32

when you look at we

20:35

we have experiments those

20:38

countries that have the

20:40

ability to harness everyone and

20:43

everybody participates and there's consent and

20:46

people feel like, all right, this is working for us

20:49

versus places that um

20:51

are failed states. You know, the

20:54

track record of democracy is

20:58

is pretty good. But you

21:00

know, we have to be forceful in making

21:02

our argument. And what is true

21:05

is that um

21:07

you know, we can't just talk. We gotta walk

21:10

the walk, which is why you

21:12

know we're having a form in New York. One

21:14

of the topics that we're talking

21:16

about is inclusive capitalism.

21:19

It people are when you think about,

21:22

let's say, here in the United States, there's

21:24

greater appeal of right wing populism

21:28

in a lot of communities, rural

21:30

communities that they're not wrong

21:32

that the economy, the global

21:36

economy has shifted away from them

21:38

to urban centers, even

21:40

in their own states, and so

21:44

the opportunities in Austin,

21:47

Texas are different than in

21:50

a rural community in these Texas

21:52

UM and people notice

21:55

that. So we have to spend

21:57

some time thinking about how are we delivered

22:00

on behalf of people whose

22:02

lives who used to work in a factory,

22:04

who used to uh,

22:06

you know, farm for a living and have

22:09

have dignity and worth and

22:12

stability and security in those

22:14

lives and now suddenly they don't

22:17

feel as if they've got the lottery ticket

22:19

in this in this existing economy, that

22:22

does have to be addressed. And in places

22:24

like Africa, um,

22:27

you know, right now, you

22:29

have let's say,

22:31

China coming in heavy presence

22:34

in a lot of these countries, providing

22:36

a lot of foreign a lot of strings attached,

22:39

a lot of Chinese workers coming into build

22:42

big buildings.

22:45

But if we're not there,

22:48

if we're not helping build that road, if

22:51

we're not there to uh

22:53

build that port, then naturally

22:57

people are going to start thinking, well, maybe that's a that's

22:59

a recipe for bettering

23:01

my life as opposed to you

23:04

know, some flowery language, but it has nothing

23:06

behind it. I wonder,

23:08

though, do you think inclusive

23:11

capitalism is somewhat of a paradox?

23:14

You know, it feels like it feels you think

23:16

it's because it feels it feels like, I mean, capitalism

23:18

is designed to extract as much wealth as

23:20

possible from every single interaction

23:22

that you can look. You

23:24

know, I mentioned yea, Sweden

23:27

and some of the problems they're having because immigration.

23:29

On the other hand, you look at Scandinavian countries. They're

23:31

capitalist countries, but some and

23:33

those work very well. But some people would

23:36

argue that their foundation is more you know, socialists,

23:38

and then they go with it's it's almost like they go with

23:40

with socialists first and then capitalism

23:42

is our undercurrent. Not really you

23:44

know, well, if you go there,

23:48

essentially they people are

23:50

taxed more and they have more common goods.

23:53

But you're still going around at a job and

23:55

you get paid and you know you

23:57

can't. It's not like you're going into the store just happen

24:00

whatever you want walking out, but

24:04

fish, friend, you

24:07

gotta pay for it. Right then the

24:09

guy registers checking and did

24:11

the American profit here today? But the reason I'm

24:13

asking that is because and maybe it's

24:15

the words that fail us sometimes. I often, you

24:17

know, I'll talk to my friends about this. It's interesting that we

24:19

sort of stopped. We went, oh, the socialism,

24:22

there's you know, there's this, there's the communism, this capital

24:24

and then we just stopped, like this is it? This capitalism?

24:26

And that's that I sometimes wonder is there

24:28

not something better? Is there something we could be

24:30

making? Maybe I should

24:32

be is inclusive capitalists. The reason

24:35

I just used let's

24:38

say a Denmark is an example, is

24:41

not because it's gonna work perfectly

24:43

in India, the United States, etcetera. The

24:45

point though, is is they've they've got some blend

24:48

some mix, right, there

24:51

is an advantage in terms of efficiency

24:54

and also freedom to a market

24:56

system. You have a control system.

24:59

You know, some guy in office is deciding how many

25:01

potatoes we're going to grow this year. That usually

25:03

doesn't work. The flip side

25:05

of it is that what we've also

25:07

learned is that if some kind in a

25:09

boardroom is deciding

25:13

I'm gonna ravage the environment

25:15

to do whatever I want, that

25:17

doesn't work either. So we're

25:19

gonna have a blend of some sort. We want

25:22

some collective decision making about

25:25

the social good, and we

25:27

want something that's efficient

25:29

and dynamic and allows us to exercise

25:32

our innovation and freedom.

25:34

And we don't need to worry so much about

25:36

the labels as we do about

25:39

being practical and thinking about

25:41

what's working and what isn't. And this is

25:43

going back to the information issues. This

25:46

is part of why to me,

25:49

one of the biggest challenges of democracy is

25:51

not just the mechanics of elections or

25:54

uh the independent judiciary. Those

25:56

things are all important, but this

25:58

is why this information and media issue

26:01

is so important, because what

26:03

we've seen here in the United States

26:05

and elsewhere is a

26:08

a abandonment of

26:10

a commitment to facts and

26:12

reason and logic and you know,

26:15

stuff that is

26:18

useful, uh and

26:20

and necessary.

26:23

And if we can't have a debate based

26:26

on facts, then we can't get to better

26:30

solutions. Right we start talking

26:33

in slogans and nonsense and there's no

26:35

reality check. We just make

26:37

stuff up. I didn't lose an election.

26:39

You know, there's something broken over there, um

26:42

and and it doesn't and and it's impervious

26:45

defects. So so part of what I

26:47

think, why I've been

26:49

spending a lot of time thinking about this uh disinformation

26:52

issue, is how do we and

26:55

how we teach our kids

26:57

in you know, either

26:59

industry standards or

27:01

and or regulation of these social

27:03

media platforms. How do we get

27:06

back to the point where you can have opinions?

27:09

We all do, but facts

27:12

matter, and and proof

27:14

matters, and and our

27:16

capacity to debate and

27:18

say, you know what, if we do things

27:21

this way, it might work better. And

27:23

then you may disagree, but

27:25

at least we we agree

27:27

to a set of rules whereby we can arrive at

27:30

a better solution. It's possible to

27:32

get to that place when almost to let's just talk about the

27:34

United States, almost half the country says, well,

27:36

what all those rules and why are you even deciding them?

27:38

And why are we having this conversation You

27:41

are not even affect How do you honestly mean,

27:43

how do you get to that place with people we're

27:47

not The interesting thing is, even

27:50

in those places that are just inundated

27:52

with what I considered to be nonsense

27:56

and lies

27:58

and destroy portions, when

28:02

people operate in their own lives,

28:05

they're still operating on facts right on

28:07

their jobs. When

28:09

they're coaching their kids the

28:12

league or their soccer game. In football,

28:15

they don't let the ref just kind of say, you

28:18

know what, this time, we're just gonna

28:20

get five points for the touchdown. It's like

28:22

wait, wait, wait, folks

28:25

on the sidelines saying no, it's

28:27

six points for the touchdown, and then you get the extra point.

28:29

And so we

28:32

abide by all kinds of facts

28:34

in our own lives. It's just this national

28:38

story that is being told where we

28:40

allow lives to be told, and we

28:43

accept them mainly because

28:46

it turns out there when we tell a story about the other side,

28:48

it makes us feel better. It's like, you know, Trevor,

28:51

he's a jackass. You should

28:53

see and

28:56

you're happening to be sitting there and and

28:58

uh and and and so we enjoy

29:01

the performative aspects of

29:04

making stuff up and

29:06

and part of that is because we don't

29:09

think they're consequences to it. Now,

29:11

what we've learned from

29:15

the election of my successor, from the pandemic,

29:18

from the insurrection is actually

29:20

the stories we tell do matter. And

29:23

you know, having some baseline of sticking

29:26

to the truth when

29:28

you're telling stories about

29:31

our country, about policy,

29:33

but also about the other side, that matters.

29:37

Um And and I

29:39

I like to think that part of what happened in this

29:41

election is people said, Okay,

29:44

you know what, some of this stuff is getting a little too

29:46

crazy. It turns out that

29:49

there is a you know, a majority

29:51

of country that does prefer

29:55

normal not crazy. And that's

29:57

and that's is, that's a basis for I've

30:02

to talk to you for hours about this. I know you don't have

30:04

the time. UM it has been

30:06

wonderful having you here, though it's also been wonderful

30:08

seeing you know what what you're getting up to, because after you

30:11

you know, we have the pleasure of interviewing

30:13

at the White House just before you left, and then afterwards,

30:16

I saw you kite surfing, and I,

30:19

uh, I loved it. I loved it. By

30:21

the way, um great technique,

30:23

but I often wonders,

30:26

like, you know, what is Mr President going to do next?

30:28

Where does he go? And you know, you started producing shows

30:30

about issues around the world, and now you've

30:32

got this forum. I wondered if maybe you

30:35

know, you have any tips for me as you

30:37

know, because well because because you I

30:39

mean, you know, I like, we're basically you know, we're guys

30:41

are gonna saying you know, you

30:44

know, I think dumb. I

30:50

think you're gonna have to uh

30:53

really focus on relearning things like

30:55

driving, pressing

30:58

your own elevator button. I

31:01

think was what

31:05

was the last time you heard the drag waters myself?

31:10

Yeah, we have very you you you

31:12

don't like you're very like you

31:14

know. That's like I said, you missed the President forever.

31:18

You have secret Service forever. That's correct, I

31:20

do, and and it, uh,

31:22

I still

31:29

am in a bubble. I thought I thought

31:31

I could escape it quick stories.

31:33

Since we're in New York. I used

31:35

to say, Oh, you know what, once I get out

31:37

of here, I'm gonna just be able to like

31:39

walk through Central Park and that's

31:42

gonna you know, and I'll just put like on a baseball

31:44

cap. And it's gonna be fine and

31:47

yeah. Michelle's all like, yeah, okay,

31:49

good luck with that. And the first time

31:52

I tried it, um,

31:54

I got like half a block and

31:58

then suddenly there was a small and

32:01

their phones and traffic

32:03

stopping and it

32:06

didn't work. So

32:09

um, so uh, you

32:12

know, uh, I guess

32:14

what I would say though, is uh

32:17

that you will be missed here. But

32:20

um

32:22

and uh

32:25

but but but we

32:28

were talking backstage. Uh, you're

32:30

already following. One piece of advice that

32:32

I would have is leave when your poll numbers

32:34

are high. That that's

32:37

how they'll remember you. So I'm

32:40

actually yeah, I'm I'm excited. I'm gonna you know, I'm gonna go

32:42

on the road. Yes, I mean

32:44

I've said this to you before. You know what

32:46

the with it's the White House car spond instead and Georgia

32:48

when you're doing the speed. You're a very funny guy.

32:50

So you want me to open for you? I

32:54

thought I'm showing Chicago. It

32:56

doesn't you know, what's not even open. I wouldn't then

32:58

we could co you know, you can't open

33:00

for me. You you still missed the president. We

33:03

just do like a headlining

33:05

tour. You know what I mean, you

33:08

know what I mean. All

33:12

the good cousin

33:15

of Barack Opoma. Everybody want to cry

33:18

over later than

33:35

The Daily Show with Trevor no Ears editions.

33:37

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33:40

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