Transcripts For MSNBCW The Way I See It 20210117

During my eight years as the chief official White House Photographer for the obama administration, i documented all the important moments of his presidency. The emotion. The tough decisions. The stressful times. The fun times. But also showing what he was like as a dad. As a husband. Just as a human being. To me, that shows how the job of the president should be done. I got hope i got high hopes zblooifrmts i think its my right as an american citizen the speak out when i see wrong. I really come at this from a unique perspective, not just as a former photo journalist, but also having worked for the reagan and obama administrations, and seeing what its like on the inside of the presidency. Whether you agree or disagree with the president s policies, how that president should behave high hopes i got high hopes im going throw some shade tonight if thats okay. But i want to tell you first how i got there. So, if you go back to january 20, 2017, president obama left his successor a personal note and stuck it in the drawer of the resolute desk and the last line of the note was, michelle and i wish you and melania the very best as you impart on this great adventure, and know that we stand ready to help in any ways in which we can. Good luck and good speed. With that, he left the oval office for the last time. Morning, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you, guys. He went and said goodbye to the staff, ushers, grounds keepers. One that had been there since the reagan eras, you can imagine what it was the like for him with the first africanamerican president. Theres a comes before the inauguration. After everyone else finally boarded the motorcade, president obama took trump aside to brief him on a pending National Security issue. He escorted trump to the limousine. They had to ride in the limousine to the capitol together. The guy on the far left is mike white. He was the head of the president ial protective division of the secret service. You also see the person in that position behind the president , behind the first lady. As they were leaving the podium, i now notice that mike white and his deputy were behind trump and melania and not behind president obama. Thats when it really hit me that its for real now. You know, if i go back to january 20, 2017, im ready for the job to be done, because, you know, it just takes something out of you physically, mentally. Theres a sense of relief. Almost excitement that i would not have a blackberry with me 24 7, 365 for eight years anymore. You have no idea how good of a feeling it was to be done with that. But there was a sense of disbelief and worry. I was, i really was concerned for the country. To this day i have that same feeling. Im not literally in the room anymore, but i know what happens in the room. And thats what scares me about whats happening today in the oval office. After i left the white house i started this personal instagram account. My intention was to highlight some of the photographs that i made throughout my career. I never intended to be vocal in any way about what was going on. So, the first day he came to me with his photo that he wanted to post on instagram with the president sitting on the resolute desk and the red curtains, and he wrote, a caption, Something Like, i like the old curtains better. What did you think . And i said, you cant say that. Because he had spent eight years having no voice and no opinion of what was going on, and suddenly, heres an opinion about drapes. And i said, you cant do that. Now, what i cant tell you is i had just seen a picture of the redecorated oval office with these gold ornate curtains, and there was even a comment on that first post from somebody that said, pete is dropping shade with a comment on drapes. And i have to admit, i have no idea what dropping shade meant. I knew what i was doing. I just didnt know it was called dropping or throwing shade. If theres a question, then give us a question. When you report fake news, which cnn does a lot, youre the enemy of the people. Go ahead. Hi pete. Hi. Its nice to be here. Is there hope for photo journalism . I think theres a lot of people doing a lot of great work, but it doesnt help when the president of the United States calls journalists fake news and the enemy of the people. I think thats really dangerous. I think our president is causing grave damage to the institution of the free press. The official White House Photographer to president S Ronald Reagan and barack obama, please welcome to the stage, pete joseph souza i want to ask you as a photo journalist, your commitment to photographing is the truth. But when youre the chief White House Photographer, will you consciously or sub consciously building an image of obama . Yeah, i think thats a good question. I often say to people, though my background is a photo journalist, certainly when youre the chief White House Photographer, youre working for the government. But, so, i didnt ever think of it as a conflict, because i wasnt a pr photographer. I look at myself as a historian with a cam rachlt. The job as the chief official house photographer is to visibly document the presidency for history. So when inauguration rolled around, i had in the back of my mind for the journey i was about to take this thought make authentic photographs. Think mood, emotion, context. Be ready for the fleeting moments, both big and small. My goal was to create the best photographic archive of a president that had ever been done. Lasting images for history. The origination of my office was a military office during the kennedy administration. Lbj wanted somebody to cover everything, and he had this guy named yoshi yokomoto who travelled with him as vice president. And you know, johnson was such a character. And okomoto was such a great photographer that his pictures were just amazing. More than anyone, his work was the kind of work that i wanted to do. I wanted the level of access that yokomoto had to johnson. Thats what i was striving for with obama. Photographs can tell a story just as a book can tell a story. And its a very special thing because it breaks down the idea that these people are somehow different from us. Yes, they have different responsibilities, greater anxieties, but theyre leading a life that has a daily ritual to it. I think i knew how the job should be done having worked for the reagan administration, too. The White House Photo editor called me up one day out of the blue and said, i want to you apply for this job. It was totally unexpected. Im in my 20s. I had never met a president before. I was just nervous. Its kind of just like, overwhelming to me. I actually turned it down at first. A, he was not really that into politics. B, i was really not the biggest fan of reagan. Five ways. [ speaking Foreign Language ] well, this is but you hope that what youre doing is important for history, right . Used to say journalism is the first of history. Im thinking heres a chance to actually be involved in documenting history. The Photograph Office primarily it was myself and fits and jack and then pete. But we were very much a team. Working at the white house as the first woman official photographer was a humbling experience. I was recording for history. Now was pete nice and clear . Yes. Okay. The orchestration of Television Coverage absorbs the white house. They provide pictures of him looking like a leader, confident with his marlboro man walk, a good family man. The white house has become more and more a theater, and the question has become, are the Television Networks going manage that theater, manage that space, or is the white house going to do that . They were very aware of creating the best backdrop possible for tv networks in time and newsweek. You want us beside the tree, or what . I think for these purposes it would be better to have you doing some nice watering of the tree. We have two shovels. We have a chain saw. No, please. Pete, too hot. Should we just do watering the tree . Watering the tree is fine. Did you get that, pete is this. Yeah. Ive got an idea for a picture. Just one more. Ive got the chain saw. No, and youre blocking me off. Stopping me from dont just stand there. Youre supposed to be im not going to start the saw. No. All right. Thank you. The amount of access you get as the chief official White House Photographer is really totally dependent on the relationship you have with the president. All i tried to do was push for more access for the behind the scenes moments. Most of which were never seen until after he had left the presidency. Some of the pictures that i would make would be fairly intimate. After mrs. Reagan had undergone Breast Cancer surgery at bethesda Naval Hospital every day at the end of the day he would take the hospital and go visit her. They were exactly the same way together behind the scenes as they were in public. It was very much a true love and companionship between the two of them. I always felt the best pictures i made of reagan were not from planned events. They were things that happened between events and moments that you couldnt ever predict. They would just happen and that really humanizes. One of the roles of commander in chief is you send people into harms way. But then the president usually is the one who has to go talk to all the families who have lost someone. Hes clearly empathetic and compassionate, and you can see the emotion in their faces as theyre looking up to see what reagan is saying. Thats the way a president should behave in times like that. In some respects i think it did a disservice not to show him in these true authentic behind the scenes moments more than they did. Okay, folks. Always wanted to stand on the cabinet. [ laughter ]. Mr. President. Another half step. Here we go. Big smile. I wanted this time to talk with you about an extremely sensitive and profoundly important matter of foreign policy. Certainly during the irancontra affair there were a lot of pictures that i made where he was agonizing over what he did or what he didnt do. It was a big scandal. I made that picture with the to youer commission after this manymonth investigation that concluded that in fact reagan had sold arms for hostages. You see that look on reagans face. He was still somewhat in denial, but to me it really defines that whole scandal and how impactful it was on his whole presidency. I did not necessarily agree with some of the things that president reagan was doing. For example, how long it took him to come to grip with aids. I think that, in retrospect is more than disappointing. But this photo i made of him holding a baby with hiv did help destigmatize the disease. That was naive and not as politically aware as i should have been at the time. But i did feel that he was a decent human being. He respected other people from all walks of life. When reagan had passed away and his body was given flown to the west coast, nancy reagan requested that pete be on the plane. He had been at the white house so many years, and pete did that. Lps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. Season, after season. Ace your immune support, with centrum. Crankypated a bad mood related to a sluggish gut. Miralax is different. It works naturally with the water in your body to unblock your gut. Free your gut, and your mood will follow. Your journey requires Liberty Mutual. They customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. Wow. That will save me lots of money. This games boring. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. [laugh] dad i got a job im moving out. [laugh] dream sequence ending no in three, no two, keep packing one. When i left the white house under reagan it wasnt like i was that well known. So for nine years i was a freelance photographer. After that i went to work for the Chicago Tribune base in the d. C. If somebody told me that i would end up working for the most iconic republican president of our generation and then the most iconic democrat president of our generation, i would have said they were crazy. What are those words . Yes, we can thank you all, i love you thank you thank you, illinois in 2004, barack obama was elected to the senate. I didnt see his 2004 speech at the convention because i was traveling with carrie. The hope of the skinny kid with a funny name who believes that america has a place for him, too. I remember the editors in chicago said to me, make you get a picture of obama. I didnt even know what he looks like. Youre on the front page of every paper. Youre all over television. Everyones calling you the future, the savior of the democratic party. Are you . I rang 99th out of 100 in seniority. Im going to be sharpening pencils the first couple years. Jeff zeleny came up to me one day and said, hey, im pitching a story and saying the editors following obamas fist year in the senate. I love this picture because, you know, hes got half a sandwich in his mouth, and then sashas eyeing the other half. This is the day i met him. The president said my camera didnt bother him at all, which is not always the case, especially with politicians. Did they say anything about him to you . I found a good subject. This was the first day that he was in washington as the newly elected senator. And malia was 6. Senator obama spent the day with his family and showing them around and helping them understand what it was like. Sasha was 3. I mean, i think he thought i was a competent photographer. I continue to further that trust as the year went by. Why in the age of youtube and so much video do photographs still have a very powerful impact in terms of covering politics . You know, i like the still photograph. It stops time. You can remember a still photograph. A lot of photo journalists now are evolving into video, but i still think the still photograph, for me, says a lot more. I wasnt with him every day, but i got to know him pretty well professionally. It was very clear this he was different from most politicians. I hadnt really seen somebody, especially a freshman senator with this kind of presence. He had us call him barack. He was casual. He would email you in the middle of the night. Generationally he had more in common than the people who worked for him in his 20s than he did probably the other senators in washington. This would have been 2005. I went to russia and ukraine, azerbaijan with him. Were in the middle of red square, and not a Single Person recognizes him. He was just plain a regular guy. And then went to africa with him in 2006. And we went to mandelas cell. The view on the outside on a clear day, you can see capetown. When we went to kenya, he had a meeting with some ngos. Word got out he was in there, and when he emerged from this meeting there were like, thousands of people waiting to hear him say a few words. When we went to nairobi, he gave a big speech. I got a picture of a guy writing down the bullet points of what he was talking about. Hey the reception at his moms village was chaotic. Any time i think a child comes back to his parents grave makes you reflect on your own life, mortality. Makes you think about the next generation. My wife and i are going to get tested for hiv aids. I want everybody to remember, if a u. S. Senator can get tested and his wife can get tested, then everybody in this crowd can get tested. Because you need to know your status. Seeing the overwhelming response he got in africa, i remember coming back from that trip saying that, you know, i bet he runs for president. I mean, just the way people were hanging on to his every word, you could just see in peoples faces that this guy was Something Special to them. Obviously he was very intelligent, but i think he also had the right temperament to become president. To me, this picture really tells a story about a young u. S. Senator about to walk out, announce that hes running for president , knowing that his life will never be the same and i think you can see that in his face. You see the anxiety in michelle. Shes trying to brush off lint from the back of his jacket. I knew the gravity of the moment, and i knew he had a shot. I knew once people got to see him and hear from him that he had a shot. He had the kind of qualities within him where people people would relate to him. I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of america. People forget that hillary was so far ahead, had so many endorsements that people thought he was a total long shot. Doesnt obama face a big uphill battle despite all the Media Attention hes getting . Hell have to deal with the issue of only two years in the u. S. Senate. The media was ready to write us off or put us in the barrel. It was like, the broader force out there is not going let this happen. American history wont be the same again. Americans elected a young man with a young family, an africanamerican, the first ever. Its been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day in this election at this defining moment, change has come to america. Gibbs called me on january 5th and offered me the job. I just said to gibbs, look, if i do this, i have to have access to everything. And he said to me, the president elect gets it. Theres no worries here. I said, okay, ill be there tomorrow. Two days later, i met up with obama. He walked in the room and he said, were going to have some fun. Moving on the horizon, smooth sailing i think there was an enormous amount of respect overseas when he was elected. I think people were just excited that our country had finally put prejudice aside and elected an africanamerican president. Really a different kind of politician. That resonated around the world. I wont let you down, no, honey, i wont let you down pete was with the president all the time. Every thursday around 9 00 i get his schedule, but i came to learn the schedule was really just a starting point. All right, lets go. I covered all the behind the scenes meetings, all the situation room meetings. I cant take ownership of this analogy, but imagine trying to take a sip of water from a fire hose that never shuts off. I wont let you down, no, honey, i wont let you down it was nonstop every day, 24 7. Always on call, always ready. That was the challenge for me for my job for eight years. Pete had walking pneumonia one time, and he still came to work. If you really want to document the presidency for history, you got to be there all the time. Because you cant predict when an image is going to happen. Pete really wanted to be the guy who disappears. And thats the gift when youre the White House Photographer is the president doesnt even know youre in the room. Occasionally the cabinet could be gathered to present some really tough decisions to the president. You know, there would be chatter, chatter, people commiserating. And the first sign that the president was imminent was when pete walked in. Everything would freeze. So i dont know what it felt like for him for eight years to have that Chilling Effect on every room. Why should historians Pay Attention to what you do . Well, i think for me the job of the chief official White House Photographer is important for history, and thats the one thing i am concerned about with, you know, whats happening with the Current Administration that the access is not the same as as as i had for president obama. And i think history will suffer as a result. R as a result. So you want to make the best burger ever . Then make it that means selling everything. And eating nothing but cheese till you find the perfect slice. Even if everyone asks you. Another burger truck . Dont listen to them that means cooking day and night until you get. [ ding ] you got paid that means adding people to the payroll. Hi mom. That means. Best burger ever. Intuit quickbooks helps Small Businesses be more successful with payments, payroll, banking and live bookkeeping. Research shows people remember commercials with nostalgia. So to help you remember that Liberty Mutual customizes your Home Insurance, heres one thatll really take you back. Its customized Home Insurance from Liberty Mutual only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. President obama put his Administration Front and center on yet another aspect, restructuring the u. S. Auto industry. Early in 2009, we were in the midst of this big financial crisis. I think this picture helps show whos in the room, the mood, the emotion of the moment, which was he was about to call the ceos of two Automobile Companies to tell them the federal government was going to take over the company. As you recall, it was very controversial at the time. And i was thinking, who is this man . How does he deal with crisis . I think some words crossing my mind were leadership, character, and empathy. The more ive studied leaders in crisis times, whether its lincoln or fdr or roosevelt or lbj during the civil rights struggle, they had a family resemblance of leadership traits. The first one being humility. The ability to acknowledge error and learn from your mistakes. I would go from there to empathy as an absolutely critical human quality, the ability to understand other peoples points of view. All the other leaders i studied were able to communicate in a way to the people so they felt a sense of trust in what they were saying. They were inspired to act because of them. And then beyond communication is the ability to control emotions and remain cool during difficult times. And then at the very end in some ways you have to have the solve confidence to create a team of people around you who can criticize you, who can question your assumptions, who can argue with you and then accept its going to come from the country at large is such an important quality in a leader. Looking at president obama, he came into office with a desire to wind down americas wars overseas and step up the focus at home. But events had a way of intervening, especially in the middle east. I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in afghanistan. We did not ask for this fight. But while we have achieved hard earned milestones in iraq, the situation in afghanistan has deteriorated, and as commander in chief, i have determined it is in our Vital National interest to send an additional 30,000 u. S. Troops to afghanistan. President obama again and again would come back to, okay, if we do what youre proposing how is it likely to play out . He welcomed dissent and debate and discussion. His belief was that he would make the best decisions if he had been exposed to the greatest array of counterarguments, alternative viewpoints. Lets say a really difficult backdrop like syria. We had tensions over that. We had nothing but lousy options confronting the president. But the person who has to live with the consequences and to know that they own the outcome, thats the president. And the president alone. President obama said, actually, that he viewed the presidency as a relay race. Youre given certain problems when you come in. You work on those problems. Some of those things will not be solved during your time. Maybe some steps have been take en to get that solved. Maybe weve gone backwards or forwards. Wars may there there that shouldnt have been fought. Wars are going to be left unfinished. But its really that continuing march. For me, it is constantly important to remind myself why i got into this business in the first place. Especially when its hard. You look at an issue right now like health care. So many of us campaigned on the idea that we were going change this healthcare system. Well, here we are with a chance to change it. This is an early healthcare speech he was working on with jon favreau. Every page looked like this. I think it really shows you how involved he was in the words that are coming out of his mouth. Dont you wish we had that now . I think this picture tells you something about how he works with other people. Because instead of just handing jon the markedup draft the next morning when we came to the office, he called jon in and they sat on the sofa for an hour and a half over every change he made. I know how bitter and contentious healthcare reform has become. This bill is the greatest threat to freedom i have seen in the 19 years i have been here in washington. Weve gotten caught up in the political game in a way thats just not healthy. This is nancy ann paril who was as responsible as anyone for the affordable healthcare act. She had two young boys, who never saw her. She would leave the house in the morning and by the time she got home they were often asleep. Thats the kind of sacrifice people at the white house made. President obama was aware of this. It wasnt anything that was ever said, but i started noticing it. Where whenever he could, he would make a point to make sure the boys were invited when the nba basketball players came to the house or Something Like that. This is nicky. He invited him in the oval office to share a power bar with him. Um nicky came to one of my book signings. Hes now a sophomore at duke. And told me how much this picture meant to him. And he realizes now the good work that his mom was doing. Theres still some lobbying to be done, lots of phone calls. This is in the limo with his legislative director. And i think this was the phone call where he realized that they probably had enough votes. And he took his lucky charms off his pocket. I saw he took his lucky charms out that morning. I was like, okay, this is a good sign. Its done. The bill is passed. [ cheers and applause ] he felt on this day that he got something done that bettered peoples lives. I had shingles. Horrible. A young thing like me . Actually anyone 50 or over is at increased risk for shingles. The pain, the burning my husband had to do everything for weeks. And the thing is, theres nothing you can do about it well, shingles can be prevented. Shingles can be whaaat . 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The speech was so exciting i filled the disk. One of the cool things that my office did was hang jumbo prints. Its a tradition that started with the nixon administration, so we would update them every few weeks. Theres actually only a few dozen people that interact with the president of the United States on a basis. Yet theres hundred os people working for him. So this was a way for them to see him in a very personal way. I think it sort of gave them added purpose. The first time that we went to the u. N. , we had a break one afternoon, and he and reggie love played basketball for like an hour. Now, reggie love was 27 at the time, was 66. He was the captain of the Duke University Basketball Team when they won a national championship. Barack obama was 20 years older, at least four inches shorter, and didnt start for his high school Basketball Team. But hes like the most competitive guy ive ever met. At one point, president obama goes up, blocks reggies shot. They finish the game, and president obama makes a bee line towards me. He comes up to me and goes, did you get that block . And im like, scrolling through, and i come to this picture, and he goes, thats great. Make that a jumbo. He made reggie sign it, dear mr. President , nice block, reggie love. Somebody came to me and said, we need to get these online. Pete said the white house wants us to put pictures out on flickr. My job was to make an edit of some 10,000 to what would be about 50 pictures a week. That was unprecedented. No Previous Administration had ever put out as many pictures. I thought it was a great way for the public to see what was happening behind the scenes. When you get to be my age and you look back at things that happen early in your life, you start sort of connecting the dots a little bit. Im just trying to remember, with jane, when we went to washington i think it was in 1965 but we went and visited the white house, and we also got this book called the white house. And i used to look at this book all the time. This book was published shortly before kennedy was assassinated. And Jackie Kennedy wrote the introduction. She said the book originally was intended just for children. Im going to get emotional just reading this. It seems such a shame that they meaning the kids that visit the white house, should have nothing to take away with them. It was hope they would read more about the president s who interested them the most. This book, for each administration was updated subsequently. Last version of this i had the cover photo and had several photos of president obama inside the book. So talk about full circle. This was when my mom met president obama for the first time. And he wrote, to lillian, it was a joy to meet you. Thanks for doing such a great job with pete sophomore this is my grandmother and grandfather. They were both born in they emigrated within a year or two of each other. My parents both worked. My mom was a nurse. My dad was a boat mechanic. I had no interest in anything other than sports. I didnt get interested in photography until i was in college. If there was such a category i would have been most unlikely to succeed. I think when he was at b. U. He took a course in photography, and he came home and said, mom, i want to be a photographer. I said, oh, my god four years at b. U. And youre going to take pictures . Thats when i thought, oh, my god. To me it was magic. Shooting a roll of film, rolling that film up on to the reel, and as youre shaking the tray, the image starts to appear. Youre in control from start to finish. And i was like, this is what i want to do. He really wanted to be a photographer, you know, and thats a really competitive field. And the day that he left to go to kansas to get his masters degree and he was driving out of the driveway i was starting to cry. Our dad said, why are you crying . Hes just going away for a year. And i said, no, hes not, hes never coming back. I was trying to make a good picture for each assignment no matter how bad it was. If theres a dog that crosses the street at 1 00, that has the potential to be a page 1 photo. You realizes your photographs do have impact. I got a call from the director of photography at sun times and he said, we want to you come in and interview. I flew to chicago and he hired me. I went from a 6,000 daily circulation daily newspaper to a 600,000 circulation newspaper where i was one of 25 photo journalists. I think it was helpful for me to have the number of experiences i had had. Did some stuff for national geographic. When life was a monthly, di some work for them. Right after 9 11, a correspondent and i snuck into afghanistan just as the war was getting under way and in some ways was one of the more fulfilling things ive done in my career, because my images were appearing in the tribune every day and i felt like i was doing good work and people were seeing it. I dont want people to come away with the impression i was a war photographer, because i wasnt. But when there are rpgs coming at you, i did not do a good job, because i was scared [ bleep ]. Ill admit it. The realization was, okay, im not good at this. We thank you, again, for being here tonight. Lindsey was kidnapped twice in her career. We know that brian swims with sharks. Pete, was there ever a time [ laughter ] you really felt fearful in the white house, beyond january 20, 2017. Yeah, this way. No, i never felt fearful. I didnt have bullets flying over my head, and i didnt have sharks coming at me from all directions so i had it easy compared to these two. The one thing we were talking about earlier is you have to have intuition in terms of when its time to give a man some space. Slowly back away. Every three months we would go to walter reed and he would visit wounded warriors. I think it affected him emotionally. One time we went and he saw cory remsburg. He had gotten hit by an ied. The guy he was on patrol with was killed instantly. Cory was thrown into a ravine. He was under water. Somehow he survived not drownings. He spent months in a coma and the ability to use half his body. Heres the thing that really took me aback. President obama had met cory in normandy the previous june, and i had taken a picture of that encounter. And the picture, we had sent a copy to the family, and it was taped on the hospital wall. And i was looking at that picture and looking at cory, and saying to myself, this is the real cost of war. Right . You dont usually see it that starkly. Corys made remarkable progress. Three years later he visited with president obama again and was starting to walk with a walker. In january of 2014 was the guest of honor at the student address and sat next to michelle obama. And then towards the end of the administration, president obama visited him in arizona at his new house. One of the most important parts of the president s day is when they would go out to cities all over the u. S. How long did it last . Seemed like forever. Thank god you guys are all right. Yes, sir. Practice on our sins never going let me win under everything just another human being when youre facetoface with people yeah, i dont want to hurt theres so much in this world to make me bleed those images are burned into your brain. Stay with me lets just breathe you carry that with you. Pete would always tell me the stories of what happened on the road that day, and when you go back, you are constantly reminded why youre working so hard. 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I get chills thinking about it because it was some i dont know what the meeting was, but i knew from looking at the president s face the intensity of the decision he was making and i was incredibly moved, because i knew the responsibility and weight of that job, and it made me understand how important it is to have the right person in that chair making those decisions. When we vote, were voting for a decisionmaker. Who is listening to everyone around him and is then making that decision. And people say, doesnt matter whos in the white house. It doesnt matter. It totally matters whos in the white house. Breaking news that the worlds most wanted man has been kill in the a mission led by United States special forces. President trump laying out what he watched as he started to view this operation in the situation room. When you look at t picture, definitely looks like hes looking at the cam rachl. Dont you think . And i have been in this room, psh, more than 1,000 times. The photographer is completely blocking the screen. It looks fishy to me. If youre going to release a photo like that, then youve got to be truthful about whats taking place. What was he looking at . Ill go to the New York Times story that i saw. Unlike his predecessor, mr. Trump does not allow his photographer free range to capture behind the scenes of life and work at the white house. Instead he most often invites ms. Cratehead or other White House Photographers into the room for the purpose of taking an official picture. We need to have real moments of real history, not post moments of history. So its hard to know what youre missing. Ill tell you about the bin laden raid. It was a very tense day. Throughout that day, he had meetings in the situation room, and they had set up the Communications Link in a small Conference Room across from the big situation room. So when president obama walked in, Brigadier General brad webb stood up to give up his chair. President obama saw he have on a laptop communicating directly with admiral mccraven who was running the raid from afghanistan. And said, no, no, no im going to pull up a chaer and sit next to you. Thats why hes seated where he is. Youve got most powerful people in the executive branch of government all gathered in this room at the same time. Yet they were powerless. There was essentially nothing they could do to affect the outcome of what they were witnessing and now its up to the special forces an on the ground. That bin laden photo is so powerful. Nobody is posing. You could see the nerves on everybody. Tonight i can report to the American People and the world, the United States conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden the leader of al qaeda. The picture on the bottom right is right after they knew they had killed bin laden. You dont see high fives. Its anticlmactic in a lot of ways. As a photographer as well as as a human being, what were some of the things which were easy for you to capture, and what were a little more difficult . I dont know that there was anything that was easy. The hardest things were when he would have to meet with families that were affected by tragedies. And im sad to say that we had to do this too many times. And it was incredibly emotional and difficult. I felt intrusive at times. But also that it was part of my job to document these moments. But i would say that those were the most difficult ones. 911. Whats the location of your emergency . Sandy hook elementary school. I think theres somebody shooting in here, sandy hook school. I caught a glimpse of somebody. Theyre running down the hall. Theyre still running. Theyre still shooting. Theres still shooting going on. Please. One of the worst days of his presidency was the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in newtown. John brennan who at the time was the Homeland Security adviser was updating him throughout the morning and phenomenally came in and said that 26 people had died, including 20 grade school kids. Hes reacting as a parent. More than probably as a president. Imagining the horror of kissing your child in the morning, sending them off to school on the school bus and then only a few hours later, having to identify your childs body whos been shot multiple times at close range. He felt it was his duty as president to speak to the nation in these times of tragedy. I had never seen him do this before, blow his cheeks as if he was unsure if he would be able to keep it together. The majority of those who died today were children. Beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them. Birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. Among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams. So our hearts are broken today. This evening michelle and i will do what i know every parent in america will do, which is hug our children a little tighter, and well tell them that we love them and well remind etch other how deeply we love one another. But there are families in connecticut who cannot do that tonight, and they need all of us right now. In our days to come, that Community Needs us to be at our best as americans and i will do everything in my power as president to help. Malia, who had just gotten home from school was standing in the hallway, and he latched on to her and would just not let her go. Two days later, he was invited to come to newtown. It happened to coincide with sashas annual dance recitele, which he was going to have to miss, so he decided to stop by the dress rehearsal in the afternoon before flying up to newtown. He sat in a box by himself, started editing his remarks already for that night, and then when sasha was dancing he would turn and watch her. At one point i went down to the third row to take some pictures of sasha in her outfit because i figured those would be the only pictures they would have. When i was standing there, this one young dance troupe filed out from backstage and sat in front of me and there were 20 or 25 little kids. I said, how old are you guys . She said, were 6. And i thought to myself, you know, this is what just got wiped out in newtown is this whole row. And i had to turn away and start i started crying. We flew up to connecticut, and he spent two and a half hours meeting with the families. This is the wheeler family, francine and david. Their son ben who was 6 was shot and killed, and their oldest son nate hid in the School Supply closet during the shooting. We learned that the president was coming. We waited for a long time because the president s people were trying to hurry him through the process, and he said no. I will take as long as it takes. He comes in and he made a beeline for francine. And he just wrapped her up. Just held her. Let her, you know, sob into his lapel. I asked him, i said, is this different . And he said, i hope so. But i dont know. Theres no substitute for empathy. It is a foundational relationship between human beings. And to know that the guy whos running the show cares enough not just to come and visit but to to let you know that he cares about you, that he cared about your wife, know that he cares about your 9yearold kid, we are so good at dismissing the people that we elect to serve us. Were so good at turning that into things that arent people. And we have to be very careful about that. Because when you do that, you get the elected officials that you deserve. Ive seen him run up these steps many times. He didnt run up the steps that night. 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So, can we go to the place i usually get the cherry tomatoes . Can i get one kale bunch . Thank you. Oh, yeah, im voting. Youre pete, right . Yeah. I was at your show last night. Im joanie brown. Welcome to madison. The president takes responsibility for this happening. So, you know, as president he start in the 2009, so as he gets to know me more and hes gets to meet patti, he would tell people he liked her better than he liked me. And so hed start working on me like in terms of, like, well, wait a minute, so you guys have been together for, you know, whatever it was, 15, 17 years, so why havent you gotten married . President obama pushes everybody to get married. He loves love stories. Michelle was on the trip, and were sitting in the Conference Room, and hes just like not letting it go. And hes turning to michelle and saying, can you believe that pete wont ask patti to marry him . Thats when he brought up, well do the wedding in the rose garden and ill officiate. I remember i said to him, no, i dont want to do that. Had goes, what, the rose garden isnt good enough for you . Come hold my hand, dear ill be your biggest fan ooh ooh the most interesting part of my job was that i saw him at all these different compartments of his life. I saw him as a dad. I saw how he behaved with his children. I watched this family grow up, essentially. I think sasha and malia did such a great job under the limelight. Its really a testament to michelle. And barack. And Mary Ann Robinson who you see here on the right, michelles mom helped out, especially when michelle went on solo trips overseas. This is him singing happy birthday to michelle. We were on a boat ride on the gulf coast. I saw michelle stroking his hand. Then at the second inauguration, just before they boarded the motorcade, i approached him. Michelle was standing next to him. I said, mr. President , do you mind if i ride in the limousine with you for part of the parade route . And he looked me in the eye and he said, well, michelle and i were planning to make out. And then he just started laughing. Hes like, of course you can you know. And hell tell you that the best day at the white house was the day Congress Passed the Affordable Care act. Not true. The best day for him at the white house was the day that sashas coach could in the make the game and he got to coach the game. With little help from reggie love. So the vipers were undefeated, and during the first half under the tutelage of coach obama, they fell behind. So he called timeout. And sashas looking at him, like, dad, you are embarrassing me. These are, like, 9yearold girls, and hes coaching as if this is game seven of the nba finals. One of my favorite days was we had a big snowstorm. It was called snowmageddon and he ended upcoming out for two hours. It was just the three of them and me. Sasha, you can see what hes about to do. She did it. I mean, like, who else could throw the snowball in the face of the president of the United States and not get tackled by the secret service . To this day, he has a photo thats the lock screen photo on his ipad, and its this picture of the of them doing snow angels. And then they grow up. Where did the time go . You were just a little girl in my arms i can see with my eyes closed theres a moment when our world was so calm princess in a kingdom i would gladly give away the throne to see you smile i wish that you would stay and although youll grow youll always be my child snow angel i just want you to stay this way forever snow angel in my heart well always be together snow angel one of the most emotional days was in 2015. In the morning on this day, the Supreme Court upheld samesex marriage. It was a beautiful, summary, warm morning. Everyone knew that that decision would come down. Like every morning i went and unlocked the door, turn on the television. You can hear the cheer in the crowd. A very dramatic moment here, a 54 decision. I called joe, my now husband, who was there, and i said, its done. The president walked in and put his arm around me. Felt like for that period of time we were on the right side of history. The president did an interview in the cabinet room several minutes before. I have been going through an evolution on this issue. When i think about members of my own staff who are incredibly committed monogamous committed relationships, samesex relationships, i think they should be able to get married. When he vocalized his support for samesex marriage, that was a moment for me as well. Sometimes there are days like this when that slow, steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunder bolt. Then later that morning we flew to charleston. President obama was invited to give the eulogy for reverend clementa. He was one of the nine africanamericans shot and killed at manuel african methodist episcopal church. Someone who prayed with these nine people for an hour and then took out a gun and killed these people. President obama wanted to give a eulogy with the theme of grace. Amazing grace. Amazing grace. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me it was emotional in the moment, as you can imagine. I didnt know he was going to sing amazing grace. And i didnt realize, like, the struggle. You could see him trying to decide, can i pull this off . Should i speak to words or sing them . And hes trying to get the courage up to sing. And he did. But now im free bidding farewell to the reverends daughters and widow. Meeting with some of the other families backstage. Then we flew back to d. C. Someone had decided to light the white house in rainbow colors. These are all white house staff out on the north lawn. People were crying, people were drinking champagne. It was i think one of only two times that i called my wife. I said to her, i dont care what youre doing, what youre wearing, get in the taxi and come to the white house. You need to be here to see this celebration. Things will 3. Yeah. Uh. Doug . Sorry about that. Umm. What. Its. Um. You alright . [sigh] [ding] never settle with power e trade. It has powerful, easytouse tools to help you find opportunities, 24 7 support when you need answers plus some of the lowest options and futures Contract Prices around. Dont get mad. Get e trade and start trading today. Everyone is at risk for enamel loss. When you drink or eat something thats acidic it sucks the minerals out of the tooths surface. Pronamel is formulated to help deliver minerals to the tooths surface to help reharden and strengthen your enamel. There are many names for enthusiast. But theres only one way to become one. By going all in. The new lexus is. With a lower center of gravity, a more responsive suspension, and an aggressive wider stance. This is what we call going all in on the sport sedan. Lease the 2021 is 300 for 359 a month for 39 months. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. How many people are you going to be speaking in front of . Theres going to be like 800 people. You ready . Im ready. Was obama nice . Yeah. Youll hear all about him today. Sweet. Clearly i could see what he meant to the Africanamerican Community as time went on i was probably more aware of just trying to tell the story of what it meant for them. Uh to have him up on stage. It was often in the back of my mind that he was the first africanamerican president , and i had to incorporate that into my photography. This is ruby bridges, in person and as pictured in the famous Norman Rockwell painting. She was the first africanamerican to desegregate schools in louisiana. I think its fair to say if it hasnt been for you guys i might not be here and we wouldnt be looking at this together. This is Paul Mccartney singing michelle to michelle. The following day i was walking with president obama. I said that was cool when mccartney sang michelle. President obama turned to me and goes, yeah, i dont think michelle growing up on the south side of chicago thought shed be sitting in the white house in the first row as a beatle sang her a song. This is jacob of philadelphia. At one point his mom goes, mr. President , jacob has a question for you. He goes, mr. President , my friends tell me my haircut is just like yours. With that, president obama bent over, jacob touched his head. Click i got one photo and it was gone. That image was what barack obama said to us two years ago in an office in chicago. That kid literally cant even believe even though hes seeing in president of the United States in the oval office, until he can feel his hair he doesnt truly belief hes just like me. That single image stands for so much more, it stands for how kids will see themselves differently forever. But, too, i think it tells you Something Like barack obama, that at the behest of a 5yearold kid you would bend over and let the 5yearold touch your head like that. The fact that pete succeeded in offering a window into the man that have occupying the office, to show what the office can be, what it has been, what it can be again, so show the kind of integrity of purpose, i think thats inspiring. The presidency is about a lot more than policy. Theres something intangible about that office. What do people remember about the obama years . They remember the marriage between barack and michelle obama. They remember a certain speech he gave. They remember how the rooms that used to be only full of white men are suddenly full of people of different races and genders. Thats what they take away from the Obama Presidency. Frankly, thats going to have a Lasting Impact on the country and on the world. I think obama understood that the images of him not only being president but being president in a certain way, that could change attitudes. It did, i think, change perspectives on what is possible and what is achievable for people of color in this country. But it also woke this, you know, constantly present ugly horrific racism. When i first met pete, his politics were not and i always wondered, what did pete souza get from president obama . Like, how did he change . Because he spent so much time with president obama. The political concern, the feeling that you have to care and make a difference you can make a difference. He could no longer be this fly on the wall. And i would see these moments where pete became furious for president obama. The way in which pete was most changed is by becoming a vocal person because of president obama. Hundreds the arrival today. Citizens who are in shock at the speed of which trumps executive orders are turning into action. Pete souza is a very unlikely instagram superstar, attracting millions of followers after he started replying to trumps tweets by posting obama White House Photos along with snarky captions. He is president obamas former chief photographer whos instagram is now full of pics showing glaring contrasts in how the two president s handled certain situations. Its earned him the moniker, the king of shame. Do you have a picture for every single thing that donald trump has lied about with barack obama . Pretty much. Pretty much, yeah. How much joy do you get when you do it . I get a lot of joy, actually. Like, do you giggle . I picture you sitting at home giggling working on your laptop. My wife said she dnt know i was that funny. I said, you just havent been paying attention. When i first started i was trying to be humorous in my comments. En why, i had all these reporters wanting to interview me about what i was doing on instagram, and i would not respond, just say, it speaks for itself. In the words of some younger people, they say you troll President Trump. Why . The photographs i put on instagram now and the words that i write i think speak for themselves. And i think ive gotten more and more out there in terms of making that pretty damn clear how i feel. There are also a lot of questions about the phone call you received from President Trump. What he said was the president. Yes, the president said he knew what he signed up for, but it hurts any ways. He couldnt remember my husbands name. If my husband risked his life for our country, why cant you remember his name . You know, since leaving the white house, i made this conscious decision that i couldnt not say anything, that i couldnt not speak out. It was all about the dignity of the office of the presidency. Especially for young people. What i didnt want them to think, this is the way a president is supposed to behave. No, its not. Pete bore witness to an ethical, decent, not perfect, certainly fallible, lawabiding, humane presidency. For eight years. And my hunch when i saw pete draw devastating contrasts between what was and what is was he just felt he had no choice. Whatever instinct that pete may have had to remain behind the scenes seems to have been obliterated by the harm that President Trump was doing and the urgency to call that out to mobilize people. This was a 911. It just got progressively worse. I just thought it was dangerous. So i think over time, yeah, my instagram posts got more pointed. I thought that trump had just gone way too far. And i said, okay, i want to do this book, shade. Trump tweet on one page, my response on the other. Obama, an intimate portrait, chs a Coffee Table Book based on the presidency will hopefully last. The shade book will hopefully outlive its useleness on january 20, 2021. Pete souza. [ cheers and applause ] wasnt surprised to see him hit this nerve on social media. I was surprised to see him on a Television Show talking. You know, hes a behind the scenes guy. And i think it spoke to just how offended he was by the new reality and how he felt compelled to speak up. We usually dont see this from a White House Photographer who has that fly on the wall quality to him or to her. What made you want to step out and make this stand . I think this guy disrespects the off of the presidency. Its as simple as that. I always thought of you as fairly apolitical. So what is it about this moment and this president that changed you . He bullies people, he lies. He calls you guys the enemy of the people. He doesnt believe our own intelligence agencies. Theres just too many things. Im trying to make an argument that this is not who we are. That this president really doesnt speak for us as americans, what it means to be an american. Believe me, he gets lots of hate mail, because i get a lot of them on his behalf. Hes not loved by everyone, for sure. But for the people who feel strongly as he does, they see him as almost a leader to help them get that message across and help make some changes. Some chas grandmother did you get his number . young woman no, grandma grandma grandmother excuse me young woman vo some relationships get better with time. Thats why i got a crosstrek. avo 97 percent of Subaru Vehicles sold in the last ten years are still on the road. Love. Its what makes subaru, subaru. Get 0 for 63 months on select new 2021 models now through february 1st. Repair your enamel with pronamel repair. 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And one of the things i was was you can tell stories now and then context and make complete sense. Like, you couldnt have offended yourself the way you did about benghazi, for instance. And yet i had no choice because i was speak on behalf of the government and behalf of the president. Thats what i wanted to do and i committed to doing at the time. That meant that in this period i didnt have my own voice. Im a journalist who wishes i could give my opinion once in a while. Im wondering, as the white house official photographer, did you have to wait for a certain time to throw shade . Yeah, i would never have done it during his presidency. I would never have done it if, you know, jeb bush or john kasich or look, this is not a partisan thing to me. This is somebody that i feel is not a good person, doesnt respect the office of the presidency, thinks about himself and not other people, lies to us. So it became something that i felt i had to do. I dont think a photojournalist is supposed to be opinionated. I have in some ways ruined any chance i have of being a working photojournalist again. But to me, thats a small price to pay for doing what i think is the right thing. Pete and i probably ive never talked about this feel similar sense of obligation and so do a bunch of our former colleagues, to fight this battles because we dont want obama to do it. He shouldnt do it. His voice so too important to be trivialized by having to respond to tweets. Ive never been overtly political, and now i am political. Im going to make sure Everybody Knows that what to make sure ev knows that what this guy is doing is not only not normal, but its really dangerous to the country. This is a serious job being the president. Im going to do everything i can to make sure people dont forget that. President obama invited the president elect just two days after the election to the white house. It was a surreal day. And it just so happens by sheer coincidence that another meeting had been scheduled that day with a young boy, alex minterbury. Alex had written a letter to president obama that he was so taken with that he read excerpts at his u. N. Speech that year. I can still remember seeing him in the ambulance, face covered in blood and ash and dust. Its horrific to you, seeing someone younger to me being hurt in an ambulance in nor country while im just sitting around in my grandmas watching tv. For days and days he wanted to say to me where is syria . Where is aleppo . And he said where is it . And i said well, i dont know if hes going to get it. He said he wanted him to come live with him and his family. Since he wont bring toys, alex wrote, i will share my bike and i will teach him how to ride it. We will give him a family and he will be our brother. Those are the words of a 6yearold boy. Its so nice to meet you. How have you been . Good. You look very nice in your suit. Thank you. Is that a new suit . Mmhmm. I thought so. You being so nice and kind, hopefully it makes other people be the same way. This picture was made 22 minutes after trump had left. This 6yearold kid, the son of two immigrants, showed more compassion, more empathy, more understanding and knows more about what it means to be an american than our current president. This is something that we take very seriously. As soon as there is an outbreak anywhere in the world of any disease, the cdc is in communication with the World Health Organization and other multilateral agencies to try to make sure that weve got an appropriate response. Having watched president obama, based on the way he handled the h1n1 epidemic, he couldnt have stopped it but he would have listened to the science early on. Its really on trump for not having a nationwide shutdown. Put it in perspective, this is 40 9 11s. Thats how many people have died. I view everything now through the lens of the presidency. One thing thats changed is that the vast majority of the country realizes having a competent, honest person in the presidency really does matter. I want to speak directly to the young men and women of color in this country. I want you to know that you matter, i want you to know that your lives matter. You have the power to make things better and you have helped to make the entire country feel as if this is something thats going to change. There is a light at the end of this road and i know that theres still a long way to go as long as my head is high and i walk with pride go with the strength inside, take every step in stride no chance will pass me by, as long as i always try wont let my passions die, and as long im alive the future belongs to me the future belongs to me its going to be a beautiful thing to see americas always been two stories battling each other. The progressive, inclusive story of people getting more rights and more people being allowed the promise of citizenship and opportunity and struggling to overcome things versus people who dont want to give up power, you are know . And if you just stacked up the images of the Obama Presidency and the trump presidency, you would see the two stories of america in the starkest possible contrast. I think thats why petes images have triggered such emotion in people because it like, no, thats my america. My america is in these pictures. When the history has been written and the glory days are gone, gone how about you be remembered, what page will you be on and will you be someone they referenced with wise words to quote a paragraph, more than a footnote the answer i propose is to look beyond the days gone past you see tomorrow knows that the future belongs to me the future belongs to me and its going to be a beautiful thing to see future belongs to me, future belongs to me future belongs to me, future belongs to me its coming for the cold in the air, from the nights in Tiananmen Square its real but it aint exactly there and the sirens night and day, the fires of the homeless to the usa im sentimental if you know what i mean oh i love country but i cant the sea and im neither left or right, im staying home tonight getting lost in that hopeless little screen but im stubborn as those garbage bags that cannot decay democracy has come to the usa, to the usa tonight the nation is on edge. State capitols are ramping up security ahead of the inauguration of joe biden. Im joshua johnson. Welcome to the week. Were following breaking news tonight. Capitol Police Arrested a virginia man at a Security Check point yesterday. The man flashed an inauguration credential that authorities described as unauthorized. They say during their search of his vehicle they found an