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tv   The 11th Hour With Stephanie Ruhle  MSNBC  April 16, 2024 11:00pm-12:00am PDT

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stop the race to the bottom in the fast-food industry. and build a california for all of us. thank you governor and our california lawmakers for fighting for what matters. the 11th hour with stephanie ruhle starts now. tonight, the trump jury, seven new yorkers have already been seated as the judge signals the trial could be ahead of schedule. plus trump has big plans for his media company. but is streaming really the thing that will reverse the stock slide? and republicans are close to firing their house speaker again because they don't have anything better to do as the 11th hour gets underway on this tuesday night. good evening once again,
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i'm stephanie ruhle. we are now 203 days away from the election. donald trump's first criminal trial appears to now be moving at a lot faster pace than anyone expected. this was day two of jury selection. and by late this afternoon, seven new york jurors were sworn in. if this pay continues, we could see opening statements next week. spending most of the day combing through old social media posts from potential jurors, pointing out any signs of the potential bias. my colleague, they have all the latest. >> reporter: of those selected so far, a salesperson, an oncology nurse, two attorneys, an i.t. consultant, a teacher, and the software engineer. the slow moving vetting process springing into an animated focus group like atmosphere with today's pool of nearly two dozen manhattan residents that are offering their unvarnish views of the gop nominee to his
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face. under questioning by the prosecution and defense. one man calling him fascinating, experience. one revealing he was a big fan of the apprentice in middle school. a woman saying president trump speaks his mind, and i would rather that than someone who is in office who you don't know what they are thinking. a fourth perspective juror telling attorneys i'm a democrat, there you go. but i walk in there and he's a defendant. the defense team raising successful objections it a handful by pointing out the past social media posts, including one who said lock him up. while the judge fumed at mr. trump for appearing to mutter something warning, i will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. jury selection is ongoing until they are selected. the former president is accused of falsifying business records by mischaracterizing the hush money payment he allegedly directed michael cohen made to stormy daniels as legal
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expenses on his company's books. mr. trump, pleaded not guilty. >> and on the way out of the courtroom today, the former president had his own words for the judge. >> we think we would have a very conflicted, highly conflicted thing that shouldn't be on the case. and he is rushing this trial. meanwhile the supreme court heard arguments that could impact another trump case. the one about election interference in 2020. they have charged hundreds of rioters involved in the attack with obstructing an official proceeding. that's one of the same charges that jack smith brought against donald trump. but the conservative majority appeared skeptical about whether that charge can with used in these cases. a ruling is expected some time in june. with that, let's get smarter with the help of our leadoff panel, that we'll need the help tonight. luckily susan glasser is here. mark joseph stern, senior writer, covering courts and the
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law at slate, and harry will join us, former u.s. attorney and the deputy assistant general. harry, you know i'm going to you first. we have seven jurors on the second day. that is extraordinary. yesterday, i felt like we were hearing that it would take weeks and weeks. what is your take on where this trial is right now? >> yeah, you know, as laura said, it was first kind of slow and then all at once. the main reason why we would have this quickly is because at the beginning, they led 48 folks go. anyone who said i can't be fair. and other instances with fewer jurors to choose from. that would have prompted retail discussions, well, can you really? what do you think? let's just get rid of them now and get down to business with the people who are trying to say they can't be fair. and that pretty quickly, went down to a point where they had to play their part, which is
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the challenge or argue the challenge for cause and then boom, you're right at this pace. that we still need 18 and it will be dicey. using six out of their ten challenges. and for any reason unless it is racial and they are going to be out of them and they will need to take some chances that it will be wrenching, we won't be sure. but still at this pace, you know, it could be as soon as tomorrow and i mean as soon as the end of the week with opening statements on monday. >> did you expect that we would be here tonight? it is a stunning tournament on monday, as they said. i think it is a real positive sign that the trial will move forward than a lot of us fear including me. one of the big gambles with bringing this case in new york
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as everyone knows, the juror pool is going to lean democratic. trompes attorneys would seize some of that to try to e prevent 12 men and women and six alternates from serving on the jury to say it is impossible to find new york impartial new yorkers who could sit and judge impartially. and the judge in this case has admirably said all those things have survived, between the mere knowledge of donald trump and jurors who say, of course, i know who he is with strong feelings. others that will come in saying yeah, i know him. i don't like him. i don't want to be here. again as they said by doing that. now look, they are probably registered democrats, at he's some of them. but that shouldn't matter. in our court system, you are allowed to sit on a jury like
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this with your own views about politics and even about politicians, as long as you feel you can enter that courtroom, set all of that aside. >> yeah. and a reminder, this is happening in a new york courtroom because that's the state where the crimes were committed. i saw them on tv today saying it was no coincidence and pure strategy that this would be happening in blue new york. it's happening in new york because that's where the crimes he's charged with were allegedly committed. our colleague von hilliard spoke to one juror who was dismissed. i want to share what she said about the former president. >> i have never seen him in person before. you see someone blown up larger than life for so many years on the media. to see them in person is very
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jarring. you get the sense that oh, this is just another guy. i guess when you're on any jury, you have elements of that person's future in your hands. so whether it was trump or whether it was stranger off the streets in man man who i had never heard of before. if you commit to sitting on the jury, you change that person's life forever. >> susan, the nation has seen this man. he's sworn in as the leader of the free world. we have seen him under investigations. we have seen him through impeachments. we have seen him through countless political scandals. what might be the biggest challenge for these jurors? >> you know, it is an awful lot to ask an ordinary american to step outside of their daily life and to basically decide the fate of the free world.
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you know, there are e enormous cases to the three that are still pending as we don't know if there will be trials in those. it's a huge burden. our systems and visions, the jury of one's peers. but let's be real that donald trump is generous in a way. he's not just an average joe citizen in this context. the burden on this case and on all the cases is the credibility of the legal system and the individual jurors. of course, it's the question of whether we're going to have someone who is going to be a convict or the president of the united states. those are not generally speaking, the choices that we present every day americans with. so i'm very sympathetic to these folks that are coming here, inviting the scrutiny. all they did was answer a summons from the state of new york to show up for jury duty and then you have donald trump combing years through their social media. in one case, i was looking at today. one of the jurors, it was their
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husband's social media accounts from years ago that were being combed over by the lawyers for donald trump. that's got to be a jarring experience even for the most dated new yorkers. there were some of those characters who showed up as well. it underscores how extraordinary this moment really is. >> imagine you're an average new yorker who postponed jury duty three times. you've got vacation, a dentist appointment, a work assignment. then you get hit with this today. harry, here is how i really want to know because the judge made it very clear that it was his courtroom when he very sternly told donald trump that he could not intimidate jurors. donald trump now has to sit there day in and day out in a situation he's never in. in a safuation where he is not special and he knows all this evidence is coming out with witnesses that are about to lay it out there, underoath. what is this going to do to
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them? what will they hikely see from donald j. trump? >> i think this is a huge factor that people haven't really observed. he's the guy who will go where he wants, when he wants. he does what he wants. he says what he wants. they need to stay in that chair and they were operated there basically for a little mutter to the crowd and they just came down on him as he could not go next week to the supreme court argument, taken under advisement as the judge, whether he could see his son's graduation. and he is not in charge. this is a guy who not only always has been, but a big part of his image is doing exactly what he wants. now there's long periods that are boring in court. we saw him possibly fall asleep a couple of times. and he just got to stay there and take it. i think he would be exploding inside. i do think the final kind of
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fights over the jurors will be more impacted and impassion. we will see that happen. but this has to be, you know, in a way to sit there. >> and susan, how will he handle it? this is someone who has never worked for anyone else or obeyed anyone else. you wrote a book on how he's going to operate. what is this going to be like? >> it is going to be an enormous personal challenge for him. in a way that is a very, not dehumanizing experience, but really you're out of your control and as long as you are in the control of the state and
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in control of the judge where you have to show up when it is a criminal case. and this man, he's this close and they show that he's leading in the effort to return to the oval office to have the power over the vast nuclear arsenal as they need to sit in this courtroom and listen to the ridge who doesn't like it. i mean it strikes me that this is the most jarring positions that we could imagine and it will sum up the absurdity. but will he explode? it is possible, but he might also fall asleep. >> all right, mark, new topic. they heard about the obstruction charge used in the january 6 prosecution.
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>> and this is the charge that has been used in 350 prosecutions. and donald trump for his own efforts that it will be a major opponent. and to hold people accountable for generation and let up to it. and this particular law and this particular charge. and for january 6. and clarence thomas, and the purpose of the law was not really to target. and which in my view is really
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quite a crammed, unbelievable reading of the law that specifically says it is a crime to corrupt an official proceeding. and what we would have here is january 6 rioters, attempting to obstruct the counting of the votes on january 6. and the case is very plain. who would be too vague to be applied to the cases. if the court does hold that, this would be a huge shock to the entire prosecution of january 6 because it would not only mean that hundreds of existing prosecutions and some convictions are on shaky
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grounds to be overturned, but it would mean that they would be cutting the heart out of the january 6 indictment against trump. jack smith would have to come back, probably add new charges, reorient and redesign his theory of the case. that would extend this case even more and probably push his trial if it ever happens even further down the road. >> my goodness. mark, harry, susan, thank you. i mean i see harry frantically wanting to respond. i'm so sorry, we're out of time. harry, you know you're coming back next week. thank you all for being here. in other trump news though, i want to share with you, the trump's media stock was down again today. after they floated this idea of starting a streaming service, which to a non-investor might sound compelling. he loves tv. but launching a streaming service is extremely hard and it costs billions of dollars. disney, disney is still trying to figure it out and they've got marvel and star wars. but what is more noteworthy
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about what happened today is that only seven million shares of this stock traded. that is a very small number. why does that matter? it signals that investors, pension funds, wall street managers, they are not buying this stock. they can't, they have a responsibility. and this company is not sound. yes, he has 80 million shares and he'll get more money on paper. and when allowed to sell those shares, he needs to find big buyers. and trading on a day like this, that is not a good sign. we'll keep you up on this. when we come back, mike johnson refuses to resign as republicans inch closer to
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ousting their own speaker again. we'll get into the never ending gop chaos and later, she's the number one draft pick in the wnba. but caitlin clark's salary is a fraction of her male counterparts. the 11th hour is just getting underway on a tuesday night.
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so, ditch the other guys and switch today. buy one line of unlimited, get one free for a year with xfinity mobile! plus, save even more and get an eligible 5g phone on us! visit xfinitymobile.com today. i am not resigning and it is in my view that someone would bring a vacate motion.
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it is not helpful to the cause. it is not helpful to the country. it does not help the house republicans advance our agenda, which is in the best interest of the american people here. i'm not concerned about this. i'll do my job. >> well, there's got to be a concern and it can't be that absurd because the speaker of the house felt the need to respond right there. house speaker mike johnson took the extraordinary step of pledging publicly not to resign from his job. he did that, of course, because earlier in the day, thomas massey announced he would join marjorie taylor greene's motion to oust johnson, again, both republicans, he's the republican, speaker of the house. all of this is because johnson unveiled plans to introduce separate aid bills to ukraine, israel, and taiwan. this is an absolute mess. come friday, house republicans will be left with one single seat majority, leaving johnson's speakership in the most vulnerable place since he
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won the gavel six months ago. for more let's bring in axios political reporter, my old friend, and amanda carpenter. writer and editor for protect democracy. former senior staff to republican senators. for weeks, it seems like this effort to oust johnson was dead in the water. how did it come back? >> just math, right? i mean the margins are so slim. i don't know how dead it was like this is always sort of hanging over them. you know, we can all do the math and it is pretty basic. as he loses to the republicans, he will need two democrats. it's a similar dynamic for all three and potentially a fourth bill that's going forward for every republican or a lot of support that he'll need to make it up, you know, not a big margin for error. >> there is a chance that he
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could survive this and being at the mer i have? every time more water leaks out, the vote gets weaker. >> if he wants to have that house, he's going to have to make deals with the democrats and reality based republicans. should he choose to try to get marjorie taylor greene's approval for every bill, that is an impossible task and she threatens him every single time. he doesn't want to admit this, but that's the reality that he's trapped in. and until he decides to say this is the way that i'm going to run this house, which i don't expect him to take because they have not been able to do it thus far. and as long as she sees fit.
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>> he went to hug it out with donald trump. didn't that bring him into the good graces with marjorie taylor greene? he was just in mar-a-lago five days ago. >> yeah, but you need to look at the power role that she's playing here. we don't want to admit this because she's sort of a circus- like figure. but look at what she's doing. she's making them respond to her directly saying that i will not resign and she's a manager walking over articles of impeachment to the senate for, you know, mayorkas. she has a leading role in this house and it is like no one wants to admit the fact because that is what has laid here every single day this goes on. >> and i want to ask both of you, who knows better? and he is encouraging drivers
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to drag the protesters. what does this accomplish? is he trying to bait folks like he has not heard from the squad in a while and that they are going after biden because he knows it is absurd to say something like this? >> you know, they need to try to get inside their head. >> do it. >> one, cotton is saying take matters into your own hands, right? and arkansas is his suggestion there. i would look at this as more like tom cotton is trying to speak to his party. he is seeply frustrated with these voters, and he is trying to align himself with that. none of us, the three of us would assume that we're smart for the evening or who will be president in 2025. i e guarantee you there are a lot of republican senators that will want to kind of carry a
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trump adjacent mantle and they want to tap in to this anger that she knows with her time, there is a current that is fed up and they get upset when they have a right to protest in this country on your right to protest and my right to movement, right? he's signaling something and that he's willing to play the culture wars as well. that he is kind of talking about this conservative edge. and again, to me that is what cotton is dong. >> i don't know, amanda, do you agree? is he trying to trigger the left? >> i don't think that he's
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acting to do anything in which he called for that to be set. that was inflammatory and i believed they took it back. when he said it, he posted the video and said yes, this is how it is done. this is more of a strain in which we would like to use force to put down those political opponents, where i'm not liking people shutting down bridges, but this is not how things are done. this is an open invitation and the first thing i immediately thought of, how rittenhouse, the boy who went to wisconsin
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to shoot black lives matter protesters is speaking at the invitation of trading point u.s.a. that's a jarring circumstance where he is essentially saying this is how it is done just like tom cotton. that's the strain i see happening and that is much more scary. >> there you have it. amanda, hans, and hans, thank you for the opportunity for us to be smart at least for the night. >> just one night. when we come back, caitlin clark's rookie contract is a sliver of what the guys make. some people are fired up, we'll talk about gender and pay disparity in the world of sports. we'll talk about the way the business operates because that's what dictates pay when the 11th hour continues.
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this is a dream to get a basketball scholarship, play in the wnba. this is always something i wanted to do. >> well girl, she did it. she is living so many other girls dreams. the university of iowa all star is headed to the wnba after the indiana fever made her the number one pick in the draft last night. there are a lot of fans out there outraged by her salary. she's expected to make $338,000 over four years. the number one pick of the nba signed last year, a $55
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million, four-year contract. on paper, this disparity sounds crazy. but the reality is a lot more complicated than that and i beg you to be patient, pay attention, and hang with us for this. my dear friend nbc correspondent is with us. interviewing clark ahead of draft day, and jamil hill is here, host of the must listen to podcast. i'm glad you ladies are both here because we're hearing experts, novices, fans, just furious today. is it fair to compare the nba and the wnba? just look at the television rights. the nba makes $2.7 billion a year while the wnba so far only makes $60 million a year. this is a business that dictates fear. by the way, welcome to people
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who are just tuning in to this conversation about pay disparity. by the way, the women in this league have been having for years now. understand that you have to throw the nba comparison out the window. the nba had a 50-year head start. if you just absolutely insist comparing the two leagues, why don't you compare them at the stage? the wnba is 27 years in. go back and look at what the nba was. it's not a billion dollar league. in fact in the 70s before magic johnson, larry bird got off life support, there was widespread talk this league was going to be defunked. it took some major star power, continued investment. a lot of things to fall into place in order for it to become the billion dollar league that it is now. what i hate about this conversation, that people see a quick tweet about these salaries and use it and weaponize against women for something that isn't truly
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their fault. this doesn't excuse the pay. but they have to understand the players fighting for better pay equity, they are not fighting against the number one pay. they are fighting to get more of the revenue actually being brought into the wnba. when people see this, they automatically assume the number one pick that caitlin clark expects to be pay like victor wembanyama. it's in a healthier place. they want to make more money. it's just as simple as that. >> steph, what do you think? >> what she said about magic johnson and larry bird. >> bingo. >> it's caitlin clark. i was at the draft last night and i spoke to the commissioner for the wnba. she says what makes a successful sports league, you have to have household names, rivalries, and games that matter. she thinks they've got that cocktail. if you look at what's happening
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right now with tickets for the indiana fever, where caitlin clark is going to be playing. they are skyrocketing. besides that when indiana fever comes to town, they are actually moving their venues to bigger places because the demand is higher. that is how you make more money and how you get bigger corporate contracts and how they go into their next things, leverage. >> that is exactly what i want to talk about as they said the draft got more than $3 million. that's game changer. it doesn't matter what hay get, for good ratings last night. shouldn't this be a moment to celebrate the future because it is a game changer for the women, the sport, the league, for the contract of the future?
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>> yeah, the narrative is kind of flipped. when you get an influx, they have not watched or understood the history of the league. this is all new information that they are trying to figure it out. it was a huge win. as stephanie eluded to, the indiana ticket sales are up 130%. this success that we have just seen in college basketball is going to translate over. but before this even happened, understand last year's wnba finals is the highest in the final in history. the regular season across all platforms at the wnba regular season game are appearing on the rivalry, what the viewership is for the nhl with so many positives to be pointed out. when you saw the salary figures, if you think they deserve more, it is really simple. buy the merchandise, watch the
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games. and that is the best defense that you could give these women by consuming their products because i promise you that it is worth it. >> and the one thing that i would push back. it's not just new fans, right? it is not new people getting outraged who has a deep understanding of how media contracts work and how caitlin clark's salary is laughable. and outrage at the wnba and that there are actual experts. so where is this outrage coming from when there should be a moment of joy? >> well, i mean pat mcafee is right. especially being in the media game for a long time that he knows how these things work. but the appearance of cat linn clark has galvanized that people care about this because i have been there when the
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players, they somewhat recently renegotiated another collective bargaining agreement. i recall when they were in the process and talking about how they need a bigger salary, so they don't have to play overseas. why is brittney griner in russia playing overseas? the reason she is because of other countries. this is an indictment to the u.s. all the other countries, you know, their human rights. rights for women are not nearly as far along as the u.s. and russia, they are paying a healthy six figures, seven figures for them to come play. what does that say about the u.s.? the other component and part about it is again, i think that people need to understand where the league is in a great place. but the support will need to continue. and a lot of years, women have been undermeaned by the fact that the gate keepers inheritly saw value in men's sports. men's sports have struggled
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before. and the nba, the major league baseball, they are coming off that, but they will continue to invest and people will continue to watch and buy into the product. >> they would rush the field. >> yes. >> i would also say that we would have a responsibility in the media as well. and that if you had fun watching the final four, there is more fun to be had. tune in, buy a ticket, get a jersey. you can't find more caitlin clark jerseys. they're all sold out apparently. >> yes, for now. they'll make some more. >> ladies, thank you so much. amazing conversation. congratulations to those women last night. man, it's a great time for women in sports. stephanie, jemele, great to see you both. another woman i adore. now goodman is reliving the 1960s with her late husband.
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had their four decades of marriage intertwined with a love story between america and democracy when the 11th hour continues. i'm very excited for this conversation.
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our next guest has won countless honors including a pulitzer prize for her histories of american leaders. her new must read book is a little different. it is all about her own story and the life she shared with her late husband, dick goodman, who had been a key adviser and
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speech writer to presidents johnson and kennedy. for tonight's special keynote conversation, i'm so honored to welcome back presidential historian doris goodwin. her new book, a personal history is out today. i'm so honored to be showcasing this book. tell us about dick. what was it like going through his archives to put this book together? i bet you wish he could read it? >> oh my gosh, i would do anything for that to happen. when he turned 80, he came down the stairs one morning and said okay, the time has come. it's now or ever. i better open the boxes that he had been dragging around with us for 40 years. it was really a time capsule for the 60s. he hadn't wanted to open them because the 60s ended so sadly with the death of robert kennedy, his greatest friend, with martin luther king's assassination, the riots in the city, the violence, the anti- war movements. if i have any wisdom to
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dispense, i better do it now. we began the process of going through the boxes from the beginning to the end without knowing what was going to happen later. suspending knowledge that these deaths would happen. and from beginning to the end, not allowing yourself to know what will happen later. >> but you have this love for the 60s. it's though you were inspired by it because you look at young people in the 60s. they felt like they could change the world. do you not see that today? >> i want that to happen today and there are pockets of that happening. the most important thing i would like if people were to get a message from the 60s as if a time capsule tells you this is the message from now. the only way change happens in the country is if people feel they can make a difference and they get together and mobilize. tens of thousands of people in the 60s joined the peace corp. they joined marches against the segregation and the denial of the vote. the women's movement began.
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the gay rights movement began. they felt collectively we're doing something. it's a great time to be young. systems of discrimination tumbled down. jim crow laws were gone in the south with the civil rights act. the voting rights denied for all those years and black america could vote. then the women's movement begins. it's a wonderful time to be alive. all the difficulty and sadness that fate intervened with those deaths. >> the experience for you of going through your most precious loved ones, belongings, their life work. that's a universal experience that so many people have. what was that like for you and what is your message to others? >> the thing about it is we got a chance to do it together before dick died. in fact in the last years of his life after he got cancer, that eventually took his life. it gave him a sense of purpose. the memories came back. the difficult memories came back. the war on vietnam with linden johnson. eventually he began to soften, remembering how extraordinary
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linden johnson was. remembering young john kennedy, robert kennedy, remembering jackie kennedy. it was like toasting all these people that had been his great friends. and my advice for people would be so often you wait when a loved one is older to go through their stuff. you are left with it after they die and it becomes a really sad going through. but what if you start those memories before they die and you can go back to pictures again. what you always want from a person is the person who dies, who you love. you want to tell their story to their children and grandchildren, so they live on through the stories you tell. so maybe if you start that process and go through the scrapbooks and get the memories told, so we could tell the story. >> going through all the history now, you have to propose that on what's happening in the world today? >> it makes me feel heartbroken in some ways that we're missing that sense of a positive feeling about where america is. america is still a strong country, and yet it needs to
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remind itself that it can make the changes. the overwhelming majority of the people in this country want gun safety, they want their right to choose. they want climate change action. it feels frustrating, i think, for lots of young people that they can't see it moving forward fast enough. it takes time. the civil rights movement started long before the 1960s. they had a lot of failures. they were hurt by people who went after them on the bridge. yet civil rights and voting rights happen because you have the people. like linden johnson, who really wanted to adapt. >> the two of you have a love for america, but the favorite past time is baseball. you grew up an enormous jackie robinson fan. you got his autograph. this week we marked jackie robinson day when he broke the color barrier. what was that like for you? how do you look at his legacy
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now? >> a truly extraordinary american. he was a true trail blazer. i'm not sure if i understood that when i was a little girl. i loved how he ran around the bases, and i finally got his autograph one day. it was so exciting. i had been waiting and waiting for years. you didn't have to pay for them then. i brought my autograph book. girls used to have these ridiculous autograph books. i will love you until niagara falls. i thought he would never look down on it. he looked down on it, i was so embarrassed. then he wrote in keeping with the autograph book, keep your smile a long, long while, jackie robinson. but i don't think i nycha it meant for him to have the whole burden of being a trail blazer. one of the peoples i write about in this book is meryl smith, the first black american to be in the coast guard academy. i interviewed his widow, linda, who knew that he had to do well because the hopes of a lot of people were falling behind him. now i realized that is what jackie ron bin son has to do
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with dignity and such strength. >> you are an incredible woman. it's an honor to be with you on this day. >> i am too. thank you so much. gosh, it is a privilege to speak to you tonight. i'm so lucky. >> oh, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> how lucky we all are today. thank you so much. get her book that you will not be disappointed that it is a love story. one to her late husband and one to our great country. on that note, i wish you a very good night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late. i'll see you at the end of tomorrow.
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