Interview Quotes

The “Masterclass” Experience

“You know, when I was approached about doing it, I had watched a few masterclasses. And I was really taken with those classes that were telling you how to do something or what the process, like, you know, how to write or how to cook, something along those lines.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 00:44:58

“And so when they asked me, I said, well, you know, what do you want me to talk about? And they said, basically, we want you to talk about why you have done what you’ve done throughout your life and how you overcame setbacks and disappointments. And really became so resilient.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 00:45:39

“I said, well, I have a lot of experience of that because, you know, my life has been covered, as you well know, in, you know, sound bites and images. And this was a chance to really get behind all of that, to talk about the why.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 00:46:21

“I said, here it is, because as I understand how Masterclass is consumed by viewers, people are turning in for, yes, advice about something specific, but also to hear from people who’ve been in the public eye, in whatever walk of life, to kind of pick up either hints or ideas.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 00:51:41

“It did. I didn’t expect that, but at the end, it was cathartic, and it was an intensely personal experience, because oftentimes people will say to me, well, you’re not what I thought you were, or you’re not what I expected.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 00:54:04

“So, for example, not everybody will make a speech in front of millions of people, but nearly everybody at some point is going to have to get over the fear of public speaking.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:01:05

“Everybody’s going to get criticized. You cannot live for very long without having somebody criticize something about you or what you are doing.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:10:20

“And what I learned was to take criticism seriously but not personally.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:11:08

“So, taking it seriously means, number one, really appreciating what the source of it is.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:13:06

“And, you know, you mentioned lock her up. I mean, what an absurd and in many ways dangerous attack. Because, you know, we’re supposed to live in a society governed by the rule of law.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:15:51

“So, it was really part of my goal in doing the Masterclass to be rooted in the kinds of experiences that maybe I’ve had on the international stage, but which are part of, you know, most people’s professional or public life if they’re in any kind of public setting.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:04:09

“It breaks my heart, Willie, to see the kind of bullying and meanness that is directed at young people.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:25:41

“We are conducting a massive experiment on our children because technology, which brings so much incredibly great things to all of us, has downsides. And we’d better be really honest and understanding of those downsides.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:37:31

“So, part of what we have to do, in addition to regulating better, and I hope that the administration and Congress, which seem to be looking at this, will decide to do that, we need to better equip our kids.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:41:42

Setbacks and Resilience

“Well, that was an incredible learning experience. As well as a devastating setback. I learned a lot.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 01:47:28

“And it was just a really hard sell to change something, although we weren’t going for, you know, single payer. We knew that that would never see the light of day politically and, frankly, culturally, publicly.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:00:46

“So we weren’t successful. But what I talk about in the master class is, okay, that didn’t work. We couldn’t get to universal health care coverage despite our best efforts. What can we do?”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:02:29

“And so that is how I see political change in America right now, if it’s at all possible.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:07:39

“I think given where we are right now and given how much has been cut out of that bill, because remember, I think it started at $3.5 trillion or whatever it was.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:12:41

“And I think that’s a pretty good indicator that what’s in the bill right now can be both explained and defended.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:13:38

“And I think I would argue that if you look at the challenge posed by climate change, what’s in these two bills, the one that’s already passed, the one that I hope will pass, is critically important, not just for dealing with the threat of rising temperature in a way of trying to lower emissions, but mitigating against it.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:18:54

The State of the Democratic Party and Political Campaigns

“I think that it is a time for some careful thinking about what wins elections, and not just in deep blue districts where a Democrat and a liberal Democrat or so-called progressive Democrat is going to win.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:24:14

“And our majority comes from people who win in much more difficult districts, and our majority in the Senate comes from people who can win in not just blue states and hold those wins, as we saw didn’t happen in Virginia, but can win in more purplish states.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:28:01

“So, look, I’m all about having vigorous debate. I think it’s good, and it gives people a chance to be part of the process, but at the end of the day, it means nothing if we don’t have a Congress that will get things done, and we don’t have a White House that we can count on to be sane and sober and stable and productive.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:29:16

“And so what are the different kinds of motivations that voters who would be more willing to vote for Democrats are going to need to show up?”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:34:25

“And the same with the Affordable Care Act and other things that, you know, President Obama got passed.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:48:04

“And if you’re living in an ecosystem like we are now, where lies are the currency for the other side, and whether it’s Fox News or Breitbart or social media, the lies never end.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:54:50

“The critical race theory argument was a kind of stalking horse for all of the anxiety and the fear of Zoom education, of kids being depressed because they weren’t with their friends, of moms having to leave the workforce to take care of their kids.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 02:58:33

“I mean, really, I raised the minimum wage. I mean, I’m so proud of that. Yeah, but what about this? What about that?”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:03:51

“So, all of us, Democrats, obviously, have to figure out a better way of doing that.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:08:56

The Would-Be Victory Speech and Reflecting on 2016

“Well, Masterclass asked me to. Again, I wanted to be as helpful as I could to the viewers and to the process of being in a master class.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:12:48

“And so when they asked me to do it, I really had a hard time getting through it. I mean, it partly was so emotional because it brought back what to me was a great loss, not just for me, but for our country with somebody like Trump getting elected despite everything.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:14:25

“And, you know, my whole emphasis, starting when I was in law school going forward on working for kids, you know, neglected and abused kids, sick kids, poor kids, kids with disabilities, all of that was in many ways motivated by the life my mother lived.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:18:54

“And so I envision myself being on that train and, you know, going down the aisle and finding this little girl and sitting down and talking with her and telling her it was going to be okay.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:23:43

“I mean, if you show emotion that may connect with some people, but for a lot of people, it’s like, ha, told you, you know, a woman shouldn’t have these jobs, you know, they’re too emotional.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:27:01

“Because no woman’s ever been in that Oval Office. And we still have, sadly, you know, a minority, but nevertheless, a minority votes of people who just don’t see a woman ever in that office.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:35:16

“These are common experiences. And if I can, through my, you know, rather public life, help somebody say, okay, wait a minute, let me at least think through what I would do and let me be prepared.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:41:55

“I mean, think about Margaret Thatcher. Think about Angela Merkel. Think about Indira Gandhi. I mean, you, you think about the women who rose to the head of state or head of government in places where they’ve already done that, which we haven’t.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:30:27

“And, you know, I remember that second debate and Trump stalking me. And so in addition to answering people’s questions, I’m thinking like, wait a minute, you know, this is outrageous.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:33:47

“And Lily Ledbetter, that fabulous woman from Alabama who’d worked on a factory floor for decades and rose through the ranks to become a foreman, you know, one of the managers on the floor.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:45:06

“I’d say the last four years between 2017 and 2021 were incredibly difficult and painful for me because when I gave my concession speech the next day, I hoped for the best from Donald Trump.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:51:14

“But it was what he did and how he abused the office and how he mistreated people, starting, you know, with the Muslim ban through the outrageous behavior in trying to overturn the election and encouraging an attack on our Capitol.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:53:24

“I think it’s still hard for some of the press, frankly, Willie, to understand this man is still trying to overturn an election he lost.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:55:56

“And sadly, the Republican Party has gone along with him.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 03:58:15

“And I wrote after January 6th that one of the findings after 9-11 by the 9-11 Commission was a failure of imagination.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:02:32

“And it didn’t end with his defeat. I think a lot of people thought, okay, you know, wow, he messed up this vaccine thing.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:04:40

“And, you know, it’s a time to decide whether we’re going to be a grown-up country or not.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:07:21

“Because I know I occasionally have conversations with some of them. They can’t stand him. They think he’s dangerous.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:10:48

“And I think we have to continue a drumbeat against Fox News, which has been an instrument for this destruction.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:14:30

“And the guy who set it all up, runs it, profits from it, everybody who works for him, they’re all vaccinated. But let’s bring on another kook to say how, you know, it’s going to upset your DNA, make you infertile and, you know, put a chip in your head.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:17:26

“And they are feeding that to people. And we’re just not, I mean, nobody is competing with that.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:22:59

“I mean, this is a make-or-break point. If he were or someone of his ilk were once again to be elected president, and if especially he had a Congress that would do his bidding, you will not recognize our country.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:26:54

“Of course, because, you know, I, yeah, I tried to warn people. I tried to make the case that this was really dangerous.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:30:50

“And I do think but for Jim Comey and the stunt he pulled 10 days before the election, I would have won.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:32:33

“So, yeah, I feel terrible about, I feel terrible about not winning. I feel terrible about not stopping him and the people around him.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:35:39

“Yes, it has kept me sane for years now.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:37:53

“And yes, going into the woods, I find deeply restorative.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:39:33

“They would cry. They would say they were so sorry. They’d say they, you know, lots of times they would say they worked so hard.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:40:49

“And I didn’t want them to get discouraged from pursuing their own dreams.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:43:01

“Well, I sure hope so, Willie, but, you know, we’ll got to make it happen.”

— SPEAKER_00 • 04:44:31