Transcripts For CSPAN2 Covering The Trump Administration 20180213

Our privilege to host conversations like this that bring remarkable people who do remarkable things and sometimes are Difficult Conversations to this stage. Tonight what youll hear is as i said that front row seat on history. Being a woman of color at this time and in this place is something that is too rare and that we need to be thinking about on a lot of different levels. So i know your thoughts will be challenged with that and probably in places you be regaled by some of the stories along the way. It is a pleasure and a privilege for me as well to introduce to you a very special student who is going to introduce professor thompson and bring out the panel. She is a a junior. She is our journalism major. She is done remarkable things here at gw and beyond, and schepens be president of the Gw Association of black journalists. Lauryn hill is in her prime of her life i would like to say here at gw. Shes a assistant editor of the ace multicultural magazine. She interned last summer and ssa going to really remarkable career and she is launching right here. Would you join me please in welcoming lauryn hill, and have a very, very good introduction. [applause] thank you, professor. Good evening. My name is rachel and president of gw this is our third major event in as many years. This event is being streamlined on the afroamerican newspaper here comes like to think the school of media public for scrapping tonight event and the black Heritage Celebration Committee for allowing our organization to be part of another great since the programming during the month of february. Our organization believes it is important to discuss the Trump Administration from the perspective of black women journalists, a group whose voices of historically been suppressed but he refused to be silenced. Tonight spin which of the introduce shortly include some of the best most recognizable journalist who covered this countries elected officials. I hope each of you leads to that with a better understanding of the challenges that come with being a woman of color and a journalist during such unique juncture in our nations history. It is now my pleasure to introduce the moderator for tonight. Professor cheryl thompson. Professor thompson teaches investigative reporting and you fighting at gw and has been 21 years fighting for the Washington Post. She has covered the Justice Department, immigration, d. C. Police, the white house of barack obama is first term as spent more than a of projects and investigative teams. She shared the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2002 and she went and any award in 2011 for her interview with young man from chicago who killed a police officer. She is to excellence awards, a headline a word and other national and regional awards. She was part of the posting the ditty yearlong series on Police Shootings which won the pulitzer in 2016. She was named the the 2015 journalism educator of the year. Professor thompson has bachelors and masters degrees from university of illinois at urbanachampaign. She is Vice President of investigative reporters and editors board, the first africanamerican to hold the position and served on the board of the fund for investigative journalism. She is also a member of alpha kappa alpha. Without further ado, professor thompson. [applause] wow. Shouldnt you all be studying . [laughing] , on out. This is our panel. April is being shy. [applause] so niamalika henderson does more about political campaigns than most people. As a senior political reporter for cnn and my former colleague at the Washington Post she is isnt one of the best political reporters in the country. Great to be here. [applause] i met Yamiche Alcindor nine years ago when she came to the post as an intern. Fresh out of that other school down the street, georgetown. I was thrilled going to for mentors pick she was fearless, feisty and dogged, traces that make her the amazing pushes to the ash also like to say she just took a new job with pbs. She gave up a job at the New York Times to go i know. [laughing] and shes also contribute to msnbc. [applause] whether it is discussing tax reform providing about rob order, you all know rob order, that you did know him before a couple of days ago, did you . Trump former staff secretary resigned this week. Darlene superville is a rockstar at the associated press, her home for the last three decades. I know, shes like, did you have to say that . Actually three decades ounce better than 30 years. But neither one. [laughing] the nyu graduate has covered former First Lady Michelle Obama and shes covered white has since 2009. [applause] whether its confronting Sarah Huckabee standards over the president s treason comments or lashing out at a fellow journalist who clearly didnt know you for invoking her name at the end of White House Press briefing, april ryan takes i saw the video [laughing] april ryan takes no prisoners. The baltimore native joins American Urban Radio Network in 1997 and was one of the First White House correspondents to talk to me when i join the ranks during obamas first you probably dont member that, bt pretend like you do. [laughing] so well,. [applause] we want to have a frank discussion a frank discussion about whats going on in the Trump Administration and what its like as a woman of color, and black woman, an africanamerican woman to covered. April is already giving me looks. First question, journalists including the White House Press corps are under attack from the unconventional administration. How do you deal with racially coded policies and statements . In other words, how do you keep your balance . April, you first. How do you keep a balanced . Its not about me. Its about the story and thats what we really aim to do. Its about the story. That room has never been a room that reflects america, number one. And, unfortunately, it seems like when you look like me you stand out like a pink elephant. I sit smack dab on the third row. You cant miss me, and they dont miss me. They choose to overlook at times, but you cant miss me. Covering this white house as an africanamerican woman has been tough. Thats upbeat that is not kind to anyone. But when you are not part of the mainstream, mainstream press, im not, im special media, meaning i have a certain niche. I talk about a question about primarily urban issues, black issues. But i also ask everything. But when you cover this administration and working on those issues, particularly when this administration i am not proceed as a base, it is tough. Its very top, and there have been attacks. Theres been retaliation for question but is not about me. Unfortunately, i have been in the news but is not about me. Its about the story. And when you look at as the story and that yourself, you can can move on, you can keep going back every day. I havent done anything wrong. Im asking questions like anyone else would, the black, white, man, woman, jew, gentile, catholic, protestant. Im asking questions like all these other great men and women who cover this place, 1600 pennsylvania avenue, the most magnificent place in the world. Thank you, april. I just want to say im delighted to be a with all these women who ive known, you ive known for years. We are not that old. [laughing] exciting to be here. I think for me and i dont cover the white house every day in the way that these women do, im not in the briefings as they are, but i think for me, i think i see merrill a sort of reflecting how people deal and a registry and analyzing this residence words, particularly in regards to race president s words. I go back to interactions i had with voters as they were assessing this candidate and some of things he would say and their real reaction, feeling, maybe use words like some racially tinged, racial undertones. Some people use the phrase races but if you look at the way this president talks about race and the boys race, i think its pretty clear, and ive written about this, that he is playing the race card. You hear criticisms about the left point identity politics, because they talk about black lives matter or they talk about the dreamers. Its also true that President Trump place white identity policies. Its pretty evident if you look at the data and the polling in terms of how a lot of these voters feel about race, a sense of racial grievance and racial resentment. I think thats the way i deal with it, try to talk about the dated, how we talked about race. You put together the ways in which he talks about africanamericans, for instance, very easily calling for the firing of nfl players, not so easily calling for the firing of rob order. Calling john kelly making up a a story about this black congresswoman. Thats the way i do with the cook in terms of how i feel personal about it, this is our job. We got in this business to hold peoples feet to the fire, to reflect the voices of the wide range of folks in this country. I think thats the way that idea with it. I think for me, i ask myself are often white i am still important and what am i going to do. The question i would go back to is this young boy, immaterial, who was killed in mississippi as a teenager emmett till. I think no matter what the undoing of a covered everything from dead whales washing up on the beach to crime to transportation at the white house, i think the story of america is a story of race. So when i think of the questions im asking or the stores am going to write im thinking what are we learning about our country what i would learning about the differences in race continue to cover how peoples lives are in real ways . I dont believe in false equivalence is. I think you can be fair but you dont have to always be, there are no false equivalency like segregation was bad. If i was riding in the 1960s i would just say there really wasnt, like charlottesville wasnt something that was bad on both sides. I think as reporter im going into that, im able to say that was not okay. Im haitianamerican, when the president was talking about the countries and questioning what haitians have been doing for america, i simply get into the and say one, thats one for you to say that haitians are contributing, and you should go to savannah, georgia, because of the monument showing that haitians have contributed to america revolutionary that free blacks came and helped americans get pounded and for you from your own people in the form of britain. I think thats what i do to stay balanced in my mind. I want to come back to your haitian response of the later. Darlene . How do i keep it balanced . One thing i would say is that i exercise. [laughing] keep exercising. It helps sort of relieve the stress. Its a stressful place. As april say its our place to cover whether you are black or white, male or female. Its just hard being a white house reporter. I have not expense in kind of personal animus directed toward me because im a black woman. I have a different audience than april does. My audience is a lot broader than hers. One thing i try to keep in my is there is life outside of the white house afterwards. Pursue your interests and that will take some of the sting out of whatever happened to you that day. Race has been, race is such an issue in this administration. Do you remember another administration, a former administration or race lay such an Important Role . Even Obama Administration race didnt come up as frequent as it does now. Race has touched every president in some way, shape, or form. In the last 21 years ive been in the white house we started off, with her together with the large content black reporters at the time of the bill clinton era, president bill clinton. He was doing with africa, putting a focus on africa. He was also putting a focus on healing the racial divide in talking about the heart. Then when you came to george w. Bush, he intrinsically knew why his audience was not for his base was not black. He regaled a im republican because of my father, because i was a coming of texas, because of the Death Penalty issue in texas, and he just kept going on and on. But when katrina hit and one of the issues is if he wouldve put all the more equity into or stayed in the black community i can do with africa are Different Things with africa, he didnt want to tout it because he felt the black population was not his base, if he wouldve done a little bit more insane who he was, it would not abandon so rough when katrina hit. So then you had, and i thought those were menu get this a guy who has this model and ears and this name really mesmerized both democrat and republican for one reason, republican audiences for one reason or another. Everything about him race. Race all over. Just because he was a black man. The spotlight was on the black community because here you have a black man rising to the highest of fights and are still such a problem for so many bills in the black community. Race touches, from coming this white house over 21 years, race touches everything. Its always on the table, from bill clinton told me years ago and subsequently all the other president. And then when this president , race is definitely a factor. When you talk about colin kaepernick, the narrative of bring in the nfl causing a rift with players not playing, causing a a rift with players d the nfl and those who watch, when you talk about sons of what . You know. Then when you go to shole commentary also from Maggie Haberman who is a White Reporter said he said something to the fact of if the nigerians come here, they would want to go back to the hats and all haitians have aids . Yes, shes a very credible journalist. We heard from the campaign trail make America Great again. Codewords. So race has played come in these last 21 years ive seen race plant in some of the best of ways and some of the worst of ways. The unfortunate thing is you can legislate all you want but it only comes down to a heart issue and present is the moral leader. He sets the tone. I think a sum he wasnt coming the white house when obama was in office and you really covered more of the campaign of john trump and the campaign of Bernie Sanders whos out there, i think the narrative about obama was american had reached this place where we were able, a black man i got this big job so america was getting so much better there was going to be this great moment in black people everywhere were going to sum up improve the lives. I think what was lost in the narrative was how many people were angry to see a black man and a black film on the tv every day, and how many people are mad at their own shortcomings because the economy was a working out for them. Theres an idea like people are mad at obama because of the economy by to meet if youre someone who already has a predisposition not to like africanamericans and then you cant get a job and job numbers commit everyday saying the economy is Getting Better and now you have to watch to black girls on tv wearing 1000 dresses, its not just about president anymore. Its about your actual lived experience look at what you could do. America in a lot of ways has told straight white men that you have the privilege, that youre the one who be able to do everything. But its the case for everybody, that there are straight white men who are struggling who cannot get jobs are living in basements who have issues, and thats just catapulting it. As someone who was a fullfledged reporter yet, i would weigh more stories about how great obamas president was for america and that as many stories about all the people that were like starting at a White Nationalist group were being very angry and stewing in living rooms because they didnt like black people. But there were a lot of stories. It was sort of the tea party, right . Some of those rallies, oftentimes they would have signs, send obama back to kenya. There was one site about his ugly daughters. There was this sense you could say, you cover the tea party, some of that language about taking our country back come as if it had gone somewhere as of obama. Went to kenya. [laughing] this idea of politics and race has always gone hand in hand, and i think the brilliance of obama in running for the white house was that he didnt make anyone feel guilty about race and racism. A vote for obama was in some ways absolution for this great sin in state of racism and as promised. He had his own sort of the Sister Souljah moment. Thats when bill clinton goes and criticizes Sister Souljah who is this black rapper and he does that in a crowd at a Jesse Jackson conference, so theres this moment. For obama he doesnt like going to black crowd and essentially saying youve got to do better, pull up your pants. His logic of black respectability politics here. In some cases it generated protests. The issue of the comments he made about haiti, african countries, lets remember one of the biggest pr proponents againt president obama was President Trump before he was president , he said president obama wasnt born in america for many years. Do you think its more difficult to cover race with more context because of it . You know what . You have to when were covering everyone on the stage does a great job in dig in digging in resources and talking. I believe weve had to dig for more facts and stats to prove certain things are not correct because we have a president now who likes to go off feeling. Dont laugh. Its true. A lot of things he sets the tone for other people to pontificate on cnn or any other Network Great networks. [ laughter ] to say what they feel. Im going to give you an example, okay . Im going to give you a big example. Lets go back. We havent even talked about charlottesville. Charlottesville really exposed a lot. When the president had those teleprompters in his face, we were like we can breathe but when he talked off the top of his head, the world shook. It was ugly. You had david duke, former grand dragon of the kkk saying look now, on twitter, david duke even chimed in again during the state of the union when the president said americans are dreamers too. David duke said the same thing. A former grand dragon of the kkk. And yet when going back to charlotesville. It was like six or seven times, i know i was with him when he went to the military base at fort mcneir and was talking to the military, the president , because he was trying to get it right. H. It was almost an apology, an explanation, trying to explain what he was saying. Both sides are good people. A girl died. A woman died. A white woman died. So race is exposed an. This is not archie bunker. This is the president of the United States. When you have people going on, talking what they feel, well, particularly when it comes to the issue of immigrants, we have forgotten, we have pretty much, the vast majority of us, are not native of this land. Native americans are. Were telling people who can come and who can go. This is about this immigration issue is about the browning of this nation. Its about the browning of this nation. We are a nation that is now seeing the numbers of babies born who are majority minority. So this is about the browning of the nation. So when you having like that, people are saying crazy things out of their mouths, oh, well, we want people who bring something to the table. Im like wait a minute. Talking about brown and black immigrants. So i remembered something from 2012 when they had the immigration discussion during the obama years. This has been going on for a long time. I said wait a minute. I read something from the center from American Progress that said black immigrants are the most educated immigrants. Everybodys quoting this now. We have to really go by facts now as journalists. People think youre race baiting, youre lying, because the president is so quick to tweet something, Say Something in the crowd and then celebrate the black Unemployment Rate when it just happened along the way. We have to really now be the reporters that we really are by digging and giving you can say what you want but stats and figures from credible organizations back it up and show the truth. I think the other thing, as a reporter, i dont know if we would be having these conversations if Hillary Clinton had been elected and i dont know if that means that we would have just been like okay, that was a crazy election and people said some crazy things. Most people dont think way. Its like well, theres like at least 33 million or something that think that way so what does that say about our country. I talked to a lot of people whose personal lives are going to be harder because of some of the policies that donal donald p is talking about. People might Lose Health Insurance or medicaid, im talking about a couple who might lose money that would have repaired their roof who said you know what, i would rather have mexicans stopped at the border than my own roof picked. I talked to people who will lose their medical care, a woman in ohio who said i dont like all the taxi drivers are black now in columbus, ohio. Theres a real thing that people are seeing America Brown and are realizing that even if their own personal safety or own personal wellbeing, they choose race over that. And i think that its a good conversation to be having and i think as a reporter im happy to see people having to write stories that dont just look like me. Having to write stories about race, as part of i the white hoe beat, not saying just the urban Affairs Reporters handle those issues and the rest of the newsroom go about like this isnt happening. Newsrooms now have to cover race in just about every beat. I think it made the profession better. Race has become such an issue. Ill just ask straight out because im a journalist. Is the president a racist . Im not in the position to say that. She is our spokesperson, just so you know. I wasnt going to call on your first. [ laughter ] ill go to aprilto april on. Yeah, go to april. [ laughter ] so with all going back to the immigration thing around Martin Luther king. Let me stop for a minute. It is a sad day when any reporter, black, white, whatever, has to ask the sitting u. S. President is he a racist. Its a sad day. You did it on Martin Luther king day. I did. But it was a sad day. I did. You know, look, at the base, im a black woman. I know what dr. King did for me. I was torn that day. I had to ask it. He was right there. When you hear credible people from the hill, hill lawmakers, federal lawmakers saying he said that in this room and the immigration debate shifted because you dont he know if you caknow if youcan work under goo, if its going to work out this way. I did it. I asked. Because the day before i had queried a couple of sources and i asked the naacp, the nations oldest Civil Rights Organization, what is the definition of a racist and their definition was the intersection of racial prejudice and power. You said it. I didnt. [ laughter ] but im serious. And now theyre calling the nations oldest Civil Rights Organization is now calling the president of the yates united ua racist. Youve got congressman john lewis and a lot of white people are calling him that too. When you have a pattern that continues and then questions about issues of the confederacy, i mean, if you look at the data on this and you look at polling, there has been a poll a couple of weeks ago, shortly after the ethel comment and it shows Something Like over 60 of the people who responded to this question, which was do you think the president respects black people as much as he respects white people, 60 of the people said no, he doesnt respect black people as much as he respects white people and 17 of republicans, almost one in five, and that was a data point that was interesting, that republicans also the question is, do people think thats a problem, right . Maybe they think its fine that he doesnt respect black people as much as he respects white people. Thats what the just sort of in terms of the country, like what does it mean for the country, for citizens to think that a sitting u. S. President is racist . You talk to republicans and theyll say democrats always think that the republicans this is different. Play fast and loose in the race card and republicans have racial a anamous. This is a different level. Nobody suggested president bush was racest. Other than kanye west. I want to say this. I interviewed Donald Trumps exgirlfriend who is half back. Really . Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait. Im sorry. I missed that. Can you go back . I interviewed Donald Trumps exgirlfriend donald trump junior. Donald trump the president. Wait a minute. Who dated a girl who was half black. And was friends with rappers. I asked her, do you think hes racist . She said i dont know, because he obviously dated me. I identify as a black woman. I am someone who there was question that he knew her mother is black. There is no question. How long did it last . This was before melania, right before melania. Its good that it was before melania. She was still married to marla maples. In between marla and melania. This is turning into the Jerry Springer show. I did not know about this. Anyway, so i asked her, i said why do you think he he acts like this. She said he likes to hang around black people who are famous. He loved Russell Simmons and Jesse Jackson. He was surprised that black people liked tennis. They would go to the u. S. Open and he would say why are all these people here . Also, i asked Jesse Jackson. He gave him Free Office Space in one of his tours. Towers. He would go to meeting where people would try make wall street more black and he did that without cameras. Jesse jackson said he wasnt trying to prove a points. A point. He asked how can i help you guys and he actually helped. Its a very complex thing. In his trump organization, they put c o c on the applica. Hes being sued by the federal government for putting colored on applications, he calling for the Death Penalty for innocent black men, but you also have someone spending money trying to get people, more black people to work on wall street for no apparent reason and who is dating a half black woman. Hes basically a complex figure is what youre saying. I think he probably has i think hes one of the first president s that doesnt talk much about upward mobility. He talks about coal miners and getting jobs back to coal miners. He never says that a coal miner could become could own the coal mining company, right. So i think thats one of the most interesting things about him as well. I think he does he doesnt mind hanging out with African Americans who are wealthy. I think in some ways he might believe that the son of a coal miner will grow up to be a coal miner and the son of a millionaire can do anything. One of the things he talks about in terms of all the people around him that recommend him to those jobs is their wealth. I think theres ideas he has about class as well that arent always brought to bear in terms of the way we talk about him. Of course, if you ask black republicans, there are some that have fled to the hills but there are some who theres some who really will say, no, he really does think about race. Hes better to African Americans than obama. Ive heard them say that. Wait a minute. Ive literally heard people say that, without facts. This is a part of our conversations and actually our beat, because when you look at the black republicans, there are two sects of black republicans. The vanguard is not talking like that. The new black republican, david clark. Paris. Omarosa. Whats the name the girl, the sisters. You know who im talking about. Donna and sue. Thats now the new crop. And darryl stock. Thats the new crop of republican who is not entrenched in politics. They probably voted for obama. I dont know what they did. I know what theyre doing now. I also interviewed the guy who we pointed to and called my African American. Thats what i like to do. Define characters. He also was someone who said im disappointed in the way he talked about charlotesville, disappointed in the way he dealt with the Justice Department but i still support him. We have black republicans who go hand in hand with the new age white republicans, because theres a crop of new age there are people holdovers from other white houses but theres also a lot of republicans that are working at i the white house like home hick hope hicks and or people, who never would have gotten a job at the quit white , but now you have other people who are from new york that the president feels comfortable with. Theres a situation right now, the president said, that this white house was during the first press conference, like a finetuned machine. No, the cogs and wheels are falling off the machine, flying off the machine. This is where its sad, because the new crop of people who are coming and a lot of them are not have no grasp of governance, still, a year in, and the ones who really do who want to help are pushed out and it goes to what you said. There is a vanguard, be it black or white or any race, that wants to help. And some that say no, because this is not the best thing because just how people are scared to deal with this president because he will tweet them. He will be nasty to them. And hes a different breed. But the breed thats coming in understands this breed. Its a different political game now. Its a different white house. Its a different way to handle things. Paul ryan acknowledged that the president s language is different and how he approaches things. Theres a different day in washington. And covering this white house, i really believe that the goalpost has been moved and i dont know if it will ever come back. Theres a change. This has been a shift. Can you imagine a president that doesnt tweet . Now the tweets, if he really wrote it, the one time you saw him at the computer typing a tweet, obama is social media doing it. Obamas tweeting was different than this. Thats the point. What im saying is could we go back to an obamastyle president. Hes not obama. What im saying you mean after trump. I mean like if the next president says my team is handling twitter, youll see me i think there could be twitter fatigue after this president and whoever the president is going to shape the presidency in the way obama did. Obama didnt set the tone for donald trump. Donald trump set the tone for donald trump. I dont like the idea a that donald trump has forever changed the presidency. It gives him too much power. I think whoever is often times you have in politics that the people who comes after is sort of a response and a reaction against or a rejection of the other one. Let me explain why i say that, its because people after obama, people were looking for a superstar. They were looking for another rock star, either Hillary Clinton or donald trump. Okay. Didnt they get one . Excuse me . Didnt they get one . Yes. But they also the key word was change. Like obama and donald trump were change, but you didnt know what you wanted in the change. Its here. And the problem is you have a president who is now scaring republicans in his own party who dont want to run for reelection. Youve got people dealing in a different way than they have before. Youve got issues on the books that are just kind of in some ways hes incredibly successful. Is he successful or people are just dealing with it right now . Incredibly successful, his poll numbers are high among republicans who are the ones who decide in a primary. I dont know that there are going to be primary challenges, as much as we fau focus on jeffe and the criticism of the president. In 2018 well see. If you look at his policies, rolling back regulations, lowering taxes, and in that way the abortion, guns, they love that and all the other stuff, well deal with that. Evangelicals love this and thats the crazy thing. I used to think white eva evany va white e. You watch the stories and you have to punk wai punctuate it we or youre wrong. What happened with rob porter, i found out it was true and they answered it, the white house the first day, the first week or something, they defunded or eliminated the violence against women office and look at whats happening now. Women came out strongly for him, white women came out strongly for him. And still support him, no . I dont know. Lets go to the polls now. I feel really happy that i was on the campaign trail for so long because it gives me a window into peoples minds and this voters did this thing for me that explained for me why donald trump is where he is right now. Voters saivote aa voter said hea in 2008 because he was the flashy new guy. He said when 2016 came around, the hot hand was with trump. With him, he was talking, he was a person who was entertaining to watch. And i thought to myself, if thats where weve gotten to and if were o a Reality Tv Show society, people have to be popular, its not just policies he anymore. Policyanymore. Presiden they say he understt as a medium. Donald trump understands tv and comes through the screen in a way that Hillary Clinton didnt, in a way that obama obviously understood the power of tv and the power of pop culture as well in a way we hadnt seen before. Not only tv, but he understands the media in general. He reads the New York Times every day, even though he constantly calls them the failing New York Times but thats one of his primary sources. And of course the Washington Post. And the Washington Post. Its a paper he used to read when he was in new york city, developing his real estate deals and the casinos in atlantic city. So he knows what hes doing. For you guys, covering the white house, do you feel isolated in this or supported as a woman of color in this White House Press corps . Well, we have each other. Yeah, we do. All four of you. Let me say this. Let me say this. I consider each one of these ladies on the stage friends. Let me tell you, darlene is and sonya used to be there. We had this sister girl moment. If ever something is going on, well text message. Are you here . Yeah, im here. We look out for each other. And thats a good thing. And yamish, im glad shes at the white house now. We need more of a Diverse Group of reporters at the white house. Yamish, we talked on occasion about Different Things and weve been there for each other. During the cbc, we had crazy experiences all of us together in Different Things. But its a friendship. And then nia, he she used to work at the white house and 24e7thenshe didnt. Shes been climbing higher and higher and higher. And nia, at one of the worst points of my life stop shaking your head she said girl, what are you doing . I said im all right. And we had a conversation. And if it werent for nia well, i was in flux at the time and i didnt know what i wanted to do and my agent and i were faulking aboutalking about thin. Nia made me see clearly. That clarity landed me at cnn. 24 i was in flux. And i hate this thing im from baltimore. We talk about crabs in a barrel. If you dont know what that means, look it up. I dont like that mentality of we cant we all try to help each other in some kind of way. Theres so few of us. I dont like that going after one another. Theres some people out there that are not in the understanding. But its about helping one another and if we can we help all people. We know its a unique situation to be in that white house. Its a unique situation for African Americans to be in that white house and for women, African American women to be in government. You dont he se see many blacksg into politics, political journalism anymore. You dont see a lot of us. It means something when you have that sisterhood or that brotherhood or that coming together to be able to lift one another up, how you doing, like it could be something bad, they might snipe at you from the podium, its something about the camaraderie. And if you think about the numbers, there are sometimes theres accounting, maybe 10, 20 of us all together, black people covering National Politics in washington. You ca can broaden it to natl politics. Maybe 20. Its a small group. More are covering this administration, maybe, than others. No. During the clinton years, we had how many . There was like 12. There was bill douglas. In the white house. Ann scales, ken strickland, it was 11. There was a lot of us. Wendell goaler, jeff balew. During the clinton years, he was known as the first black president. All the newspapers wanted to send black folks down there. Still, 11 . Thats the record. Some people said theres only three of us. I said theres a little bit more. On any given day, when you watch the press briefing, the te front row could be entirely African American. Could be. If i go down the row, theres kristin wilker from nbc. There is h is kevin cork from fx news. Cbs doesnt have anyone. Then theres me. And then aiesha or ashley. Aiesha rosswell from reuters. Somebody keeping count . Abbey from cnn. Abbey from cnn. Kalu at bloomberg. Hes on second row. Sorry. [ laughter ] im on third. Right in the middle. How do you move to the firt row . They are never moving her. They are of definitely not moving her to the first row, not this administration. Who knows . Ashley well see her outside on the white house grounds. Excuse me . Outside the gate. Let me in. This is a good segue into this he question. This he question is specifically for you, april. We are taught as journalists that we never i teach my students, we never become part of the story. Girl. [ laughter ] where shall i start . You brought up omarosa. I did not. I did not bring her up. You mentioned her name. When did i bring her up . You mentioned her. Whatever. [ laughter ] the a. P. Is always right, just so you know. Okay. So in some ways, it has worked in your favor. Has it . Yes. You dont think its working in my favor . This is kind of the warped mentality to he me. Im not saying youre warped. But i can cut off your mic. [ laughter ] thats a good one. This is where i have a problem with it. People think they see you sitting at the desk at cnn, talking or hear were having a fellowship at this wonderful institution, g. W. , or writing books and things of that nature, oh, shes arrived. Guess what behind that ive got Death Threats and im a divorced mother of two kids. Theres a reality for me. And then when your childrens school, your kids are in school and something happens in the Briefing Room and it goes viral and my 15yearold is in Current Events class and she has to text me, mommy, are you okay . Im great. She saw are you going to get the Congressional Black Caucus to have a meeting with me and then shaking your head. The school reached out to both of my daughters to make sure they were okay and watched them. There is Collateral Damage behind this. So i take it for what it is. Its a season. But you know, i dont want to become the story. I havent done anything wrong. I have asked questions that anyone else would ask we are enemies, we are the Opposition Party and it started during the summer of 2016 and carried over into the white house. And im writing about it and i dont want to get into it too much because its hard to talk about, but i was prepared for the time, i guess. But youre not going to knock me down and im going to say this, share this with you and i toldHillary Clinton, i said you taught me a lesson. She said what did i say . People called you a name, you didnt say anything and it stuck. Youre not going to lie on me because i grew up, obama was right. When they go low, you go high but sometimes when a bully comes at you, youve got to hit him one good time to let him know im not the one and i had to do that. Im serious. [applause] going back to what i said, for 21 years ive been doing this. For too many shows, and for somebody to tell a lie on me that i could sue for or continuing to lie on me, i consume four. On the divorced mother of two kids. My whole thing is making sure my kids go to college and we have a roof over our heads. Im not into all that but im not the one, not today. You mentioned russia. Im always looking for a former president george w. Bush said today he was at a summit and he said today that this is a pretty clear evidence that russia metal in the president ial election. At the end of the day, when Robert Mueller is with his investigation, do you think charlene that trunk will be charged with a crime . I cant answer that question. Yes you can. We dont know. We dont know. Was a best guess . 5050. He doesnt act like a man is innocent. Really, he doesnt. What are you going to continue to try to cut out and fire people who are investigating you . If you have nothing to hide, you should be okay. He does not like act like a man is innocent. Im with darlene, i haveno idea. No one in washington knows. Robert mueller, theresbeen a week but for the most part theyre running a tight ship. Theres not been one thread i read said Robert Mueller is leaning this way or hes going to invite someone with the last name trump. Kushner, there hasnt beenone story thats like its about to happen right now and until it happens, its anyones guess. I think we do know what the republican reaction will be. The, there was all this talk will he get impeached . House republicans particularly, impeachment charges would have to reach and we pretty much know that they are going to be in this president corner because his success is their success. I think thats one of the things, the lessons and what they demonstrated clearly. The memo for instance, theyre going to find a way toprotect this president and impeaching the president is incredibly hard and it should be hard. Thats one of the things that i agree about the mueller story. We have no idea some of the republicans, they shifted. Theyre not running for reelection. Downey and corker. Thats what i was going to say, you say they will stick with him but how long. Their political livesarrested. I think they will stick with him because Republican Voters will largely listen. I think we are in an era of tribalism. And they in some ways donald trump was right when he said he could shoot somebody on fifth avenue and he wouldnt lose any power. I think theyre very loyal to him they largely like what hes doing. Certainly policy wise, the economy is doing well. The stock market had a terrible day today. Its been a terrible week. But by and large, i think if you look at polls, republicansare with the president. I think that we know about republicans might do because Robert Mueller has somehow become almost an enemy, if you watch fox news and you talk to republicans on the hill, theyre starting to become this Smear Campaign to say that hes going to be leaning this way or that way because of his political beliefs. Even when we go back to that vanguard versus new republicans, there almost painting it that hes republican but its an oldschool republicanwho doesnt want to see trump be successful. As africanamerican female journalists, what is the toughest part of covering this. . Being a target. Why you think your target . Im not the base, the twitter verse. See her credentials, i mean they dont understand that there has been, going back to what whitney said. Theres spots where theres tribalism and i think if you look at stories, people see itdifferent ways. What were looking at is in a different way than im seeing it and i think people are not able to see it too because of partisan politics. I was chastised for asking the question about would you support slavery or something because of what general kelly said about the compromise about confederacy in the civil war. And if the compromise happened, we wouldnt be on the stage. So they were calling robert e lee and honorable. So again, thats not long after charlottesville, not long after trying to mess with Frederica Wilson or this one thing they do well. Targeting people. They do it very well. And im waiting to see going back to oryza, im going to see how theyre targeting her now. Talking about she went three times on the president and they are very good at targeting people. So i think its hard sometimes to do your job but if you know you can go home at the end of the day and say i did what i was supposed to do. I did everything that a White Reporter would do or any other reporter. I can go to sleep peacefully and have a rest and get upand do it again the next day. Targeting is hard. One of the hardest things, and this is not specifically being a black woman. But its sometimes just trying to get answers to questions. And sometimes its very basic questions. Its if the president going somewhere, im trying to think of a recent example. Its not anything youre asking best super complicated or right, when is rob porter leaving. And for example today, we came in and there are reports on tv that yesterday, they said he was, he submitted his resignation, the accepted it and he was going to stay on a transition period and we came in and there were reports on television said he was out immediately and we tried all day to get someone to say well, is he gone, has he left . As he worked his last day at thewhite house and nobody would say anything. But until the briefing which was originallyscheduled for 1 pm , then it got pushed to 2 30 pm, were all sittingout there waiting. Then it was after, a little bit after 230 and they announced on the overhead speaker at the briefing is pushed until 315 and it didnt start until almost 4 00. I have a question. Remember the video everyone was showing yesterday and he was walking with the two people whenever, someone was resigned and terminated, im wondering if that was an escort, remember the video . They said he came in and work today and wasimmediately back. I heard him, i heard what they said. I dont think there were any videos today. But no, this is for yesterday. There is novideo of him so it wouldnt be out of the realm of possibility that he was gone since yesterday. I know about spam, one of the basic questions. Alternative fax. Do you think its stories that, do you think you get stories that your white counterparts wouldnt because youre a woman of color . Or is it the opposite. They dont give me stories. I find these. But i find out from the outside, not on news. I get my stuff from outside and just ask on the other side in their life, how did she find out about that . Ive got sources. Good sources, too. I think i covered ferguson and there were people who let me in their homes in missouri i think mainly because i was black and asking questions and i could tell them my brother is someone was an africanamerican man who had issues with the police. Ive been stopped by the police because someone thought i was a black man goes my hair was too long and i was driving my mothers car so people tell you things for Different Reasons but i also think that as a reporter, for the most part you try to endear yourself to people for any reason. Ive been in the homes of what people who told me point blank i dont think white people like to work. They still gave me iced tea, i didnt drink but i was at the hour but the thing is if you are a humanbeing, i found if youre a human being , then they will give it to you but having covered politics now for only two years, i think the people give you things people dont give you things for reasons too so if im covering a young white guy, the Senators Office more likely to give me information because im going to be sitting at the bars as them or i went to the same school, im in the same story. Im in a. K. A. Do so im not going to have a connection to any white women at Phi Beta Kappa alpha. There on the scaffold alpha anything right now. So to me, theres this Human Connection that you make with people that i think that if youre a white woman Walking Around and youre from the same sorority as someone, hold pics or whatever but the idea is that the connections that you may is when you get different stories and i dont know the stories that are not getting but the hill or the white house is majority white so i dont know if they look at me and there like im not going to tell her what our plans are for haiti because shes racist. They might look at someone else and say we think this person is going to sit here because of this when they might think the opposite. They want to leave something to april because were using a blackreporter and the unemployment story to her, maybe it will look like were extra concerned about this. Its not racism, its aboutwhat they want to do and who they want to attract for that moment. Its always keeping it in place. You would for instance when it was black History Month or i remember you had an interview with obama at some point. And i think a lot of its about outlets. Maybe they want something to kind of target. Obama would go on black radio a lot when he was trying to get people to sign up but wait a minute. I havent had an interview with this president. I asked on twitter, ive asked Sarah Huckabee, i wanted interview with this president. I guess we do, i want to talk about all the issues and race because i want to see it from him. I did on the campaign but he was campaigning. He never responded. I did on the campaign trail. I did it while he was president , i want an interview with him and this is not about race, this is not the president of the United States of america and i want to be there when you get an interview. I dont think it might be any of us in this room. So yamiche, as we know your parents are haitian and your parents, they are physicians. They are doctors. Phds, they are educated. So how did you not let trump derogatory comments about your country how affect how you cover the issue . Its kind of an active. I was looking down so when theNew York Times goes on pbs, i had a week off. Immigrants work hard. [applause] i also worked for msnbc and nbc news, so im taking the week off and i like, im not going to do any hits, im in ohio visiting my fiancc and theres these comments, i get a call from my aunt crying. I dont believe he would say this about us after he said what he said about aids because aids has gone through a lot in this country. The age rumor, why did you say i haitian of age, there was a time when people wouldnt even let patients give blood. Your kids were getting bullied at school, those are my cousins, my mom was being told i dont want to share the lunchroom with you because i think you have aids. That happened to people related to me so theres a deep history. For them to say they have a and people who lived experiences, they had a protest in the street because the United States was saying patients were the reason why this was in the United States so all that was happening and i was like, this is awkward. Im not trying to do this. My mother called me and said your reporting. And shes like so . So that im like okay fine. I said i started saying heres what im hearing, heres whatsgoing on and i said, i called the haitian ambassador. Im haitian, i guess and im a reporter so im always on that to interview him. And theyve been doing a lot but i got some actual news that the haitian government formally asked the United States to explain themselves. That i started to clean up, and i have , i work anywhere so im tweeting out my notes saying this is what i heard. Rachel maddow calls me and says can you come on. So i have to take the breath because i speak nationally, like i was trying to pull myself down so i had to date, i was doing yoga in the studio because i wanted to be sure. I was clear, precise and people didnt think i was ranting because i had reporting i wanted to tell people. I have facts about savannah i wanted to tell people, facts about my own parents and obama with two pacs. Facts i wanted to get so i focused on, you could get any haitian persons view how angry they are but for me, i interviewed people so whenever i feel like im upset or im going to pry about something. I tried toreport those things and every time that happens to me, i feel like im at my best. Im breaking stories or having something on the front page because im so emotionally invested in something that counterbalance how angry i am, im reporting facts that make people say this is why people are angry. [applause] one last question and i want to open it up. If you have a question, if you would please go to the center of the auditorium. Theres a microphone there. So my final question for each of you is if you were writing a play or a musical about covering the Trump Administration, what would it be called . A hot mess. And ill say this, partly because this is a white house that thrives on chaos and covering this, sometimes you feel like a hot mess covering it. Theres so many big and unexpected stories that happen. Think about last week, i think it was last week, it was the state of the union. Thats a very routine thing that happens in the white house those on tour and goes to different communities. And it talks but that was a blip. So i think all of us that had to reorient the way in which we covered this white house. And i think its something thats made a hot mess of our personal lives and i think its work for him in terms of his strategy and hes been writing that way. He strived on chaos. Hes the reality tv guy and i think thats always that kind of white house. Thats the one he said. On the other hand i think its been effective in setting a policy that he wants through congress. Maybe he is not as well read in terms of those policies, but i think hes done well in terms of getting those through and doing what he wants to do. I was going to go with chaos but i think im going to go with america because as my parents are from outside the country, or my dad still is and my mom is in miami, they watch International News a lot and i think that we think this is all crazy but its very much americas story. Americas story is we have a lot of race issues. Americas story is everybody possibly know somebody donald trump or has spoken like donald trump. Everybody knows there might be somebody who is super educated, africanamerican got a great job and there was the counterpart that he did do the same things but got the same job. Everyones had the experience where you might have a coworker that can say crazy things all day and somehow everyone thinks theyre great and theyre cute and you can have a somebody who works hard but says very little and tried to just get it done that person is seen as problematic or the moment that they raise their voice and are angry they are critical so i think in the idea that your father could give you a lot of privilege and that america is built on this idea that we question whether or not affirmative action is something thats good but we dont ever talk about the fact that georgetown and other places to fill slaves to build the building to begin with and then your parents or the people that might be your parents might have gone to georgetown anytime when my mom was legally barred from going there but now i forget what its called when is called legacy and its normal because what you get if you go to an all modern but affirmative action is a thing that hurt people. America is a great way to think about this presidency. Reality tv, social media, our country has changed. You are not interested in politically correct people i think at this point in our country. I was going to go with never a dull moment. That recently trained to a different title. My book would call be called omg. Its the story of Donald Trumps presidency or Something Like that is the title and going with the second title , this goes back to a year ago in may. My colleagues and i we were sitting at our booth in the white house and waiting for something to come from the press office. Finally comes into the inbox, email and i said oh my god, he just fired jim comey. And the year and the month, its just filled with moments, a lot of omg moments. And i think a lot of us thought in here to that the year might have gone a little differently, little taller or more stable but it hasnt started that way. Is the omg, never a dull moment. So my real book coming out is called desireb. Was that just a plug. If i had to do it from this moment, the two words that come to mind, one is fake and then the other one is not america. Unamerican. Because unamerican, you know why. Theres nothing fake up here but when you go to unamerican, that was a point moment. When this president said that the people who sat down in class were unamerican. Hes said this over the years that ever since the state of the union address, one party is in the white house and the other one doesnt want to stand up. I remember a time there was one person from the opposite party, the opposing party and president obama said, he said you lie and no one said a word about unamerican. They said that was the word, decor. So i guess im saying unpatriotic and the press is due. A lot of people havent read the constitution. I think thatunamerican , thats just the exact opposite. It will prove how american and patriotic we are. We love this country and stand firm. Cloaked in the first amendment, freedom of the press. [applause] hello, can you hear me . Thank you for coming out, i enjoyed it. My question is in america i guess for the people who dont like trump, if he is impeached and has tostep down and depends was to become president , im curious, what do you think a Pence Administration wouldlook like mark. I think he would get things done and it would be way quieter , but the country would be at war. I think he has a relationship where people would question what he says i need you to vote for this, i need you to defund planned parenthood, i think he would be able to get those things done in a way that trump cant because theres a section of republicans that are like, am i going to stay i reputationon this guy that hes going to turn around and say i cant believe it. They unfunded planned parenthood, i didnt realize that what that is. Its so terrible that he told me to do this. It wouldcertainly be less dramatic. But the Vice President is more conservative so the country would continue to change and go down this more conservative path. But just with less trauma and chaos. He is an ideological enter and knowledge of policy and a lot more conservative in the way that trump did do so it would be, i mean, like i said before, i think trump isnt a true republican. In some ways, i think pence is the model of that. We are getting way ahead of ourselves. Thank you. Good evening. Professor thompson asked you earlier if you feel support from your colleagues in the White House Pool but at this moment when you become a news story, what do you end up doing when you produce or your employer pulls you aside . Do they support you in those moments . Thank you for that question. Do you all want to answer . Because they never become part of the story. Let me say this. The great thing about it and everyone up here knows im a talker. So the one thing that has been great that i talk in my biography, which i always talk about is that from day one theyve known that things happen and it was like a shock. It was not a shock so when they got call, and they got a question on that name, they basically fired me after we had an altercation. And the white house, my boss said let me talk and we know everything thats been going on. We want to truly remain friends but go out and have that person sit on the bar. And my company has been 2000 percent behind me. They stand with me, they watch the briefings. They talk constantly, they know whats going on. And they check, they know whats going on so they have been behind me. Just, theyve given me so much support, im good. Thank you. Thank you for the wonderful conversation. One of the things i was wondering is whats the rise of the term fake news and alternative facts. In your daytoday reporting how often do you see the administration or President Trump himself pull reporting by people of color seem fake news or less credible than white journalists . Furthermore, when you have to disprove that were prove that your reporting is just as credible, more than just dating the facts, what do you do to prove your reporting is more credible . If he calls the news media fate, we all take that. We all take that. But there are, Sarah Huckabee sanders did say to me once that im fake news and i said no. But weve had dinner. Weve talked. We tried to have a conversation, coming together but an understanding of one another. Theres a situation where they dont understand why im asking but everything comes to the white house. And they sat in between and im allowed to ask that. But you have a new wave of people coming in and one point of view that he thinks is different but when i report, i think the onus is on the leaders for their reviewer to really now because the lines have drawn between that, to really take a look at what the person is saying. If i say this is such and such and give me documentation. I gave you the definition of the naacp. And i asked my question, i tried to represent because people like to sayyou are fake, no. I just told you why i asked the president is he racist and it did not give you the definition from the naacp . Today, rob porter, talking about the president was so upset about saddened. Hes saddened by this volunteer so i asked if he so saddened about violence against women, why did he closedown or defund the volunteer Womens Office . Also shut down the women and girls office. So thats real stuff and they could not deny. Im not trustworthy whatever but what i tell you, when i put out there is fact and you can look it up. So thats the only way, just keep doing whos, what, when and where and why. Im not giving you, our opinion but im givingyou what im talking to you. That it real means a lot. I want to know what is something that you wish you knew going into your profession now that you know now . Everything works out, right . I mean, i didnt necessarily have a plan. I started in print. Had a late bloomer, i went to grad school before i ended up going into journalism. And i think that also being nice to everyone. A lot of people we end up working with and hiring by. Come on the panel. Yes, and meet them on the campaign trail and i mean, all of us, you know, go back to 2008 with april, covering obama, its such a small knit community if are on the national, the white house or the hill. And those relationships are really important. Thank you. Hello, everybody. Yeah, i wanted to thank you guys for coming to this panel and i had a question for each one of you guys. So like at the end of your career, like when youre in retirement age, what is one thing that you not like that, but. [laughter] what is one thing you want to be remembered by as a person and as a journalist . Thats an obituary question. [laughter] pretty much. Pretty much. What drives you guys . I think mentoring. Thats one of the things i try to do with the folks, particularly women, particularly black people in the news room and i think its important. Weve got this next generation and were not going to be in these roles forever, to be generous to folks coming up behind us. I didnt necessarily have a lot of mentors, the late great, amazing gle amazing gwen eiffel and she was one of my role models and thats one of the things for me, bringing up the next generation and mentoring and pouring into folks that are coming up behind you. And go ahead. I just hope that people say i told the truth and that i made a difference and that i really represented everyday peop peoples concerns and challenges. I really hope that if i die, thats clearly what its going to be, not retiring, hopefully not. I think that thats what it is. I think i hope that i can be remembered as a journalist and the body of work i leave behind is not just a hodgepodge of all of cool and interesting things that ive been able to do, but that people can thread together the stories that i wrote and say she was a 2018 civil rights journalist. I think that i would like to be remembered as someone who worked hard, tried to do my best every day, you know, put everything into whatever story i was working on at that moment. I think i would also like to be at that time, i would hope that there would be some other woman of color who would come behind me and work for the ap and get to cover the white house because right now there have only been two, right, sonya, you and me . Two or three . How long have you been aroubeen how long has the ap been around . Since 1846. Thats another panel. And mentoring, also, making exposing truth, putting fact out there. Making sure that people really understood the truth about communities that were underserved, and also, my heart in trying to cover these. I hope i get to cover five and six president s, who knows, but i kind of i wouldnt mind being considered the next helen thomas, as far as longevity. No one could be helen, but and you would get the front row. I dont know if i want the front row. But i also want the heart and the respect of both helen and gwen. Those were some wonderful, trail blazing women whose shoes can never be filled. Thank you. I just think that you all are great and welcome. Id just like to ask you, i, probably like a lot of other people, have not paid as much attention to the news as i have since this election and administration. Its selfcare. And need a therapy group. Whether you like him or not, a lot of people are expositied to you and know your name in the Grocery Stores because were attuned to the news. You in various ways have become celebrities intentionally or not because of the criticism sometimes directed to you, in your case, miss ryan, from the white house. What, if anything, can you find thats positive about the coverage that youve had to do in terms of how has it affected you as a journalist or is there something positive you can take away from this entire experience . I mean, everything, i think. I mean, this is a privilege and an opportunity to cover an administration, cover the country, to talk to people about how they feel about this. Going to their homes. So, yeah, i mean, i am delighted to be in this role. I feel lucky to be covering this administration. Theyre not that many people, clearly not that many black women, black people who get to sit in these chairs. Yeah, i think its an honor and privilege, the job that i have. I think its let me meet people facetoface that are not my mom watching me. I try to think how many people are watching pbs news hour and nbc news when im on, i might throw up so i think of my mother and my mother wants me to slow down. My mom wants me to let them in today. I didnt realize how many africanamericans frankly would walk up to me and say im so happy youre on msnbc or happy for your pbs news hour and happy you can be in my living room. One of the things when i was leaving the times ap coming to pbs, what are you doing . And i started getting emails, oh, my god, i get to see you every night, youre going to be in my home. I never thought about that and i was a print journalist and people pick up the paper on the train and theres something about being in peoples homes that pbs stations reach thats different, that reminds people i can tell people when the haitian things happened, youre watching that haitian reporter working right now. Just the presence of being on tv affects the conversation and it helps people feel like theyre being represented in a way that i never really thought about. Thank you. Last two questions. Im sorry, april wants to answer. Oh . Well. Darlene follows the story. The ap is quick, too. Quickly, i would just say, piggyback om what nia said, theres a saying, its kind of a cliche, but very true that we all have a front row seat to history every day and literally every day when we go into the white house, theres something, some history is happening. Yeah. And there are very few people who get to be there every day and were all privileged to be among that small group. And the other thing i would say some of the challenges were facing in terms of covering this administration i think has made us all kind of redouble our efforts to, you know, make sure our facts are straight, to do the best job we can because this climate right now is so hyper partisan, toxic, theres all this talk about fake news and you dont want to give anyone any ammunition to come at you. For a kid from baltimore who grew up in baltimore and still lives in the community, five generations removed from the last known slave in my family on my mothers side, it is a blessing to cover history, to of four americans president call me by name. The last one may call me some other names. [laughter] but, no, its been a blessing and to be able to watch history and to report on history and for people to know that when i come to you, im telling you the truth. And understanding that maybe the reason why im being targeted is because im effective and they dont like that. So, its been a blessing. You can never dream what the lord has for you. Thank you. [applause] yes, my name is jewulius adams and okay, my name is julius adams and i have a different perspective. I think this is good because americans have been silent for too long and its come in a way that individuals didnt expect so my question to you is that we have heroes and powers from old that we need to draw on and send a statement. How would you as the press, even the entertainment industry, how would your mind on this experience. Let me say this would you, im glad you said that. Im going to like she goes into peoples houses. Ive gone into peoples houses, too. [laughter] icon activists before who became an entertainer Harry Belafonte invited me to his home and he said lets have dinner. I didnt have time, we had tea. You drank the tea . I drank the tea, yes, i did drink his tea. [laughte [laughter] this is right after the election and ive been watching facebook and when a lot of people were like in the fetal position for months. That night, you remember the moment when barack obama was named president and you remember the moment when donald j. Trump was named president , but i went straight to twitter and i saw chris darden, the former prosecutors at the o. J. Simpson trial, this black republican said, oh, theyve let the town clown have the keys to the white house. I said, ooh, chris, youre going to get in trouble and then we hear bob johnson, another friend who says, you know, we have to find common ground. So, i called my former congressman you seem to be name dropping through this whole thing. [laughter] and then no, he did not. Shes asking about the people, im giving her people. So i called fume may who used to be the head of the while were here the former chair of naacp, roxanne. She has taken over this. [applause] so, anyway, and that was a name drop. Yes. He said, i said i gave them all the scenarios and i said, whats going on . He said both men are right. Were at a crossroads. People were in the fetal position weeks later before inauguration, after the election, and people are still having fits. So, i go, when i go to new york and sit with Harry Belafonte, i said, sir, what are we seeing . He was an activist, he marched with dr. King. Laid on pallets on the homes of the mothers and tomatoes from the garden when they were going out to march for selma and the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights and that kind of stuff. He said when i was under the tutelage of paul robeson and deboise, he told me something, this is the greatest time ever. Why would you say that . Because when theres great pain and this is what dubois told me, when theres great pain theres activism, radical activism that effectuates change. The question is where is that activism. People will get up on twitter and do this, you know, im upset, take that. [laughter] behind an emoji, like youre doing all they do is block it. People are not willing, as reporters, im not seeing we might see the women go out the day before, the next day after inauguration. I havent seen and a year later, but im not seeing the ground swell that Harry Belafonte was talking about. When i talked to him again, he was kind of upset about that. Because people talk about this disease on twitter, but not seeing people scuff up those on the street. And as a reporter im not seeing that. So, i you know, and i get where youre coming from. So i see what youre saying, but if youre really upset, give us something to report on. We will report on it, but im not seeing it to report. I dont see people remember how they used to come to the white house and jeff used to be let me in with a tin can. You know, scraping it up against the wrought iron fence and not seeing it in the park like it used to be. No, you can get a permit. And i think its important to note that people greeted obamas presidency with cheers and they loved him as president. And its the same for Donald Trumps presidency, right. What about the majority that are against him. You dont see that. When he talks about immigration stuff and charleston, im not seeing it. Well, but you have the protests the weekend, the travel ban was put in place. That was a ground swell. That was a ground swell. All of these people couldnt come into the country, you had people at airports. But not the persistence and consist tense. The women march. , but its not they did it two years running. , but continuously. Im not you dont think its as persistent as the tea party, for instance and thats something he brought up as well. Harry belafonte said the resources are some of the problem. The republicans are funded by the Koch Brothers and n. R. A. And the liberals have a hard time finding and not as much i do think there was an organizing principle around the tea party, you know, the way that there isnt necessarily that around progressives, right . And the progressives, the divisionty of their coalition makes it hard. Essentially its africanamericans, its latinos, College Educated white people. And women. And those people feel differently about issues. , but led movements around the nation that made change. Think about it, the four kids that sat in the woolworth counter, 17 and 18 years old. They changed the dynamic. They started a lot of the ball rolling on the civil rights movement. Dr. King was a young man and only had 4 of black churches that supported him at the time. And thats that. But, i mean, the tea party was a movement and they affected chan change and i think theres a few asked about as journalists, this is a big moment as someone who is i would just say starting my career, i talk to a lot of my mentors and say what do you do . I dont try to say gwens name, and i work at pbs and they still have gwens office, they still call it that. And i talked to her before she died that she told me that i could do these jobs and that i could do this and im kind of in this place, who do i have, who am i going to talk to because for me its like, there is a feeling like i have to step up as a journalist, and the person, the main person i would be asking questions to isnt here, but i find myself asking questions to other journalist because im very new. Im a street reporter, a reporter until like a year and a half ago, i was a backpack, sneakers kind of reporter all the time and i still do that now, but also theres the politics of it. How do you look for policies to explain whats happening on the street is probably the more poignant reporting right now because of whats going on in the white house, but its a tough thing to wrap your head around. Were going to have to go. Thank you. And the final question belongs to you. Hi. Thank you so much for coming and so, youre all obviously very established in your careers, so advice to a young media, especially journalist, you have to be aware of everything thats happening all the time in the field and so how do you maintain your Mental Health throughout this . I dont know. How we maintain our Mental Health. I mean, ill say for me, i have always ive always had a balance, my mom is a School Social worker and always someone who is very, very good at balancing stress. When i was stressed out in college one year, very stressed out and she said you need to start watching greys anatomy and it changed my life. [laughter] so, for me, its really about my mom has like the summers off because shes a School Social worker cause i wanted to hang out with my children and i wanted to go on trips with my children that you were the most important things to me. I was raised by someone who was precise how she set up her life. And im about to get married in three weeks. [applause] for me, it made sense for me to want to make room in my life for a boy who had been calling me for a year. And made sense, maybe i should go on a date and see what this love thing is about. I think that you have to make room in your life for other things and you have to have, even if its very hard to disconnect because i get Donald Trumps tweets as Text Messages and the point is that in some point even 30 minutes or an hour, at the gym running, and mainly because i want to get into the dress not for me, whatever. But i fill my time with netflix and other things. You have to give yourself an hour where youre just like chilling out. And i think you have to learn to say no. I mean, that was a big thing when i started at cnn thats one of the things that john king told me in my first week there, basically learn how to say no, which is very hard at cnn. Because cnn is the kind of place, there was an instance i was literally onset on live tv getting a call from cnn booking me for another hit in the next hour. I mean, thats the kind much you know, pace and expectation that comes with these jobs, because its the white house and its where all of us work, its constant so i think one of the things learn to say no, and learn to know that no is actually a complete sentence. You dont have to say no, i cant do it because this, this, that and the third. I learned that. I have learned that still. And find things you like. For you its greys anatomy which i find stressful. For me i watch a lot of hgtv, fixer upper, joanna. House hunters. Yeah. And now. [laughter] and darlene, you do yoga. Well, i run and you cant be texting and writing and reading your phone when youre running. I also do yoga and thats an hour without the phone. You cant, again, do texting and all of that stuff when youre in a downward dog. [laughter] so, i second everything that nia has said. You do have to carve out pockets of time. A couple of weeks ago i took myself to the movies. What did you see . I was just trying to remember, i saw the post, okay, so its. [laughter] and you forgot that . Oh. I couldnt remember the other day that the state of the union was just last week. Im saying this quickly. I went to the id go on the show 6 a. M. And dead tired and i woke up and omarosa had been fired. [laughter]. Dont, dont. I didnt say a word. For me, self care issue is important. You have your kids. I have my kids, but i need selfcare, too. I do a lot of driving and i drive two hours basically each way every day, so i just kind of depress there, go home, and i try to watch mindless television, if i can, something that i can get ingrossed in that takes me away from all of that. When im not on tv or whatever, which is very you know, its just i try and i need to learn to say no. And i try to go into some kind of mindless state because really . Its bad when you wake up in the middle of the night and pick up your cell phone off your night stand and see who has text messaged you and who youve missed. I think weve all been guilty of that. My day is 24 7 and never stops. Im doing this now, i am for my health and wellbeing, im doing Strength Training and doing the ropes and all of that stuff. Yeah, im trying to get there. So no, i mean and enjoying my kids more, taking them out of town, just going places and having fun. Were going to my daughters got a hamilton workshop next weekend, shes at the hamilton workshop and do theaters shows and that and mindless, just enjoying life because theres life beyond this and for those of you who are stuck on the tv, i love cnn, nia. Great network. Its a great network, but how many of you political political junkies . Oh, lord, theres a thing called selfcare, back away. Ive learned the rollercoaster keeps going and its okay to get off. When i get off, i breathe. And there have been stories of reporters, like i have a friend ill never forget, michael feaney, who died at 32, the day that the iowa caucus happened. I couldnt get out of bed i was crying so hard. There are ive gotten reminders from the world that, yes, work is important and he had just gotten his dream job at cnn an entertainment reporter supposed to be moving to atlanta when he died. And the idea is that like, yes, work is important, but you really want to savor the moment because you dont know whats going to happen and i always think i dont want to be an old woman in my rocking chair which i hope thats what i turn into, and look back and say, i worked so hard i couldnt see my kids or im now divorced because i didnt answer my husbands phone calls half the time because i was so engrossed work. And a reporter died of a brain aneurysm and her mother was like, she worked too hard. But you can work hard, but then, carve out time for selfcare. Right. All right. I want to say, like thank you for that question. And thanks, you guys, youre amazing. This is why [applause] and i just want you to know that your bags. Got gift bags. Wait, there are bags. Weve got gifts. And so, because this is what we do and who we are, bam. [applaus [applause] and now, now. You are afraid of that . Oh, cause youre georgetown. Anyway, i just want to thank you again for coming and thank you for guys for coming out and i really appreciate it. [applause] now, my students, go study. You know im going to be off campus, dont take advantage of it and thank you guys, again for coming out. Thank you for having us, wonderful. [applause] and those of you who yes. Yes. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] cspans history series, landmark cases with a look this month at 12 new Supreme Court cases. Each week, historians and educators discuss the issues and personal stories behind the Supreme Court decisions beginning mon monday, february 26th, and help us follow all 12 case, we have a companion guide written by tony morrow. Landmark cases, to get your copy go to cspan. Org landmark cases. The senate is back this morning and they continue work on Immigration Reform after they voted yesterday to move forward with debate. They gavel in at the top of the hour at 10 eastern. Proposal republicans spoke about was offered by senator Chuck Grassley and includes the white house immigration frame work. This bill would offer a path to citizenship to 1. 8 million dreamers, allocate 25 billion for Border Security and reduce familybased immigration. Madam president , today we begin our immigration debate in earnest. Senator mcconnell has kept his promise to bring an immigration vehicle to the floor, this week well take a series of votes on daca, Border Security and other related subjects. Id like to take a few minutes where im at on these issues and where i see this weeks debates heading. I made very clear, madam president , that i believe that we need a legislative fix for