June 9, 2025 • 48 mins
Stephen J. Cloobeck welcomes and chats with his friend Senator Cory Booker on the premiere episode of Hard Truths.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Who is this strong clearst day United, We will find
a way from the valley to the Bay. Join the
Test's up, say Clifornia, hut for you get clue. Komack
is the guy for you.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Come.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Welcome to Heart Truths with me Steven J. Klueback And
I'm so honored today to have as our first guest
a very very special a dear friend, a brother, somebody
who I turned to, UH has taught me a lot.
It's a very spiritual guy, but a true leader, a
true leader, somebody who's not afraid back down. And I
(00:51):
look up to that because we all try to aspire
to do that. So with me today, Corey Booker, Senator
Corey Booker, thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
This is amazing because we've had really intimate conversationsvately, and
I think it's exciting that you're doing this podcast and
we get a chance to have a deep conversations that
mean a lot to others. But I think in many ways,
all of our conversations are usually meaningful to me.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Well, it's great because people don't get to see what
we talk about all the time. You and I we've
shared a lot of really interesting stories, but I think
you have it.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
I think you have a talent, Like honestly, you're like
so unapologetically authentic that you give space to other people
to just be themselves right away. Like you and I
there was no pretense. I still remember walking this hotel
room where I'm supposed to meet a you know, a
potential donor supporter, and there was just no bullshit about you.
(01:41):
You were Immediately I was just like, this is a
regular guy, Like I could hang out with this guy,
Like you were built up as a successful businessman. But
I think one of the most impressive things about you
is you you are the common man. You have an
incredible ability to just connect to people where they are
and make them feel safe space.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Well, you know, it's funny because I'll tell you when
we met, But I grew up I just getting a
good education, because that's I come from a family of immigrants.
My grandfather immigranted in the early nineteen hundreds asylum from
what was going on in Russia. And my father was
(02:22):
the first person to go to school, and of course
he sent me and my siblings to good schools and
we just we were told to work hard and we
lived with integrity, and there's a lot of things in
the book, you know, Facing Hard Truths, which is podcast
is based about which you helped me review, which I appreciate.
I want to thank you. I'm grateful. I was a
(02:45):
busboy at eight, dishwasher, assistant, cook, waiter, and I've always
been in service in life, kind of full circles itself.
I did speech and debate and junior high and high school,
and all of a sudden, I'm always been in politics.
But I grew up wanted to be a doctor or
a surgeon, and pivoted. I learned to pivot.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
What did your family think about that? Because a nice
Jewish boy aspiring to be a doctor, but then you
shifted out of sort of the expectations that were put
on you into doing something very different.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Yeah, that was the senior year of college because my
parents had spent all this money to create a doctor
and brand I sa ain't cheap. Brandness was not cheap,
and you know, it was not very good. At school,
I got by, but I didn't know I was highly
dyslexic until my oldest son was diagnosed. And I don't
even know how I got through school. But I was
(03:39):
negotiating grades that should have been my first indication. Hold on,
what does that mean? You were negotiating grades? Well, if
I got like a C minus, I wanted to get
a C or if I gotta and so you would
go in and talk to the professor. I always going
to the professor, and I could get half a click
on a grade easy every time. I could go from
like a C plus to a B minus just with
a negotiation. But I did get an a better education
(04:02):
than whatever class. Hey, I learned logical tree thinking, organic
chemistry lab. What is it? Clear liquid? They give me
a clear liquid? What is it? You got to figure
out what it's not. It was logic tree thinking, and
I learned negotiation young. And I was always destined really
to be in business and and and helping people in
serving and I just didn't figure it out.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I mean, I love what Mark Twain says. He says,
I never confused my education with my schooling.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And it's all about it's all about schooling. It's all
it's all about the street. It's all about the streets.
When I first met you, yeah, you came into my
room and you hurt yourself and I got you a
bag of ice for your for your.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yes, I was going to sit there and suck up
the pain. My my, my, my ankle was the size
of like a cantalope and just was gonna stuck up
the pain. Take this meeting, get out, and you immediately
like tended to me, which was really really amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
It's my nature, you know what. I want to be
a doctor's doctor's service. Just help people. I just want
to help people all the time. A matter of fact,
you know, I had some great mentors. I really learned
from great mentors. And we all do that. And that's
what I'm here to do today. And I think that's
what we aspire to do, is to teach. And what
can I tell you something like teaching is not about
(05:18):
lecturing in many ways, I think we teach best. And
I think you do this really well in the book
by being courageous in your vulnerability, by showing people that
you know, I made mistakes, by showing people like I stumbled,
I didn't have all the answers, I hit walls, I failed,
I fell flat on my face. I think the more
we show each other the idea of sort of like
(05:42):
a shared humanity, that we're all screwed up, we all
don't always have it all together, and I think that
that's one of the beautiful things about your story is
even today, even the last decade of your life, where
you're at this titan, you and I've had some really
great check ins where you're struggling. Oh, I had the wall.
I hit the wall because I created this worldwide enterprise
(06:05):
and I had the pleasure of working with you when
I created Uh. Senator read and there's an Obama created
the Travel Motion Act two thousand and nine, which I
then rebranded Brand USA the Tourism Department of the United States,
And you're on top of the world. You're you're basically
the head of Tourism of the United States reporting to
the Oval Office in the Western By.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
For me, that was fun because I got to hear
you to just say, like, see that. Like when I
first became mayor, I was like, just let's attack stupid.
If we could just stop stupid, we're gonna get a
lot of things done. When I told two US Senators
to fuck off, so I mean, it's.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Not attacking stupid, well that was it was actually calling
calling you know, a problem a problem. And I remember
I got to thank god, Senator read back up, because
because these two centators really overreached.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
No, but I just I just remember those days, like
you as a business person walking in and saying, wait
a minute, this is one of our biggest exports, and
we're making it impossible for like resilience to get here.
Who are dumping money in places I didn't even realize this,
like like Disneyland and things like that.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
It was really simple. I looked at the power of
our exports and nobody really recognized that. It was like
a seven to one pump. And there were no tax dollars,
no US tax dollarspects on the brand canyon. There was
no Capax or the Statue of Liberty or the Golden
gate Bridge. And we had to educate everyone with regard
(07:29):
to this, there's no capex, there's no taxpayer dollars, and
we're increasing the GDP of the United States. And then
when we drilled down, we figured, okay, what are Europeans
spending per week? What are Brazilian spending per week? And
what are the Chinese spending per week? Our brand, our
brand was so powerful, and I remember the board we
put together wanted to hire you know, these consultants to
(07:51):
come up with a name, up with a name, and
then the bids came in a million two million dollars
to create the brand, and I said, folks, what's the
best brand in the world. You asked a one hundred percent.
So I said, hey, guys, let's just call it Brand USA.
And they go, oh, I guess guess what. We just
saved two million dollars.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
But this is the absurdity of the moment we're listening because,
by the way, I got a chance to see this
in real time, like you confronting problems, or I would
call it stupid just saying this is dumb. These folks
aren't no terroristic threat. They're coming here to dump money
on American businesses. Hundreds of thousands of jobs rely on tourism.
Let's lower this. But the beautiful thing for me was
(08:33):
that seeing how much you were successful. But this is
what annoys me right now is I am watching America
lose billions of dollars because everybody from Canadians to French
to Nigeria don't want to come here right now because
all the things that we did. You know, look even
(08:53):
how they're treated in the airport. I remember you telling
me this, like, why are we treating people coming here?
I like, there're suspected criminals when they're coming here to
go to the Grand Canyon, to go to Disneyland, to
go to.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
The stats first said. I sat down with the officers
of Customs and Borders and I said, gentlemen, I have
tour jurer facilities. You know who the bad people are,
and the airlines are going to send them back on
their dime, not even on the US taxpayer's dime. I said, so,
can you just smile and say welcome to the United States,
(09:23):
And when they leave, can you say did you have
a nice time? Please come back again soon? And they agreed.
I said, we're going to spend hundreds of millions of
dollars marketing in the United States, and we're going to
do it because people want to come here. And I
see what's going on now, allegedly with our president, who's
a supposed to be a brandy guy with his name.
(09:46):
The guy's never operated anything. He likes to self serve.
If he wants to be served, we serve, we serve
he wants to be served. And I sat with him
numerous times because I was going to do a deal
with him. And I came back at the second meeting,
I go you know what, I've got values he doesn't.
I've got integrity he doesn't. I pay my contractors, he doesn't.
(10:09):
I create value, erects value. I can't be partners with him.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
But this is the thing I compliment to you that
I want to shift back to this what's going on
in our country right now is you don't just pay
your contract Like I'm from New Jersey, I meet people
every day that he almost bankrupted by not paying the
contractors that the casino business, or trying to drive them
down to cut forty percent of what I'm going to
pay you screw it, take it or not. And these
are people that live contract to contract. So put that aside.
(10:37):
I see the way you not just treat contractors by
paying them fairly, but you support them and their businesses.
You brag about them, you help them get more business.
You are understanding of this world is not about division.
It's about multiplication. It's about expanding, not contracting. It's not
about dividing us against each other. It's about understanding that
together we achieve more. But I want to get something
(10:58):
to you because Trump to me is promises people are
going to lower costs. I'm going to lower your grocery bills.
I'm going to make life more affordable. He is trashed
our economy. Everything is going up except for the stock market,
which is going down. But this is a nuance that
you understand as a business person that he does not,
is that a significant part of the American GDP is
(11:21):
the fact that we have this golden brand that attracts well,
not just to tourism, attracts investment, It attracts, Yes, the.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
World wants to be here. There's a concept which he
does not get. It takes decades and decades to build
a brand or reputation, reputation same and will go into
that because it goes to integrity and reliability and the
sanctity of who we are as Americans and America and
(11:55):
minutes to kill a brand. Minutes. And I harped on
this every single gold time, and I see these, these
these reality TV moments where relationships are to be cherished,
and he wants to abuse these relationships where I'll sit
(12:17):
in the back of a theater and clap for my team.
I don't need a trophy. He always wants the trophy.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And that's the thing that just burns me, is that
he has bankrupted his companies seven eight times, and now
he wants to make America the eighth or ninth bankruptcy.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
And let me tell you this. Let's go to integrity
for a second because and that's that's one of the
hard truths in the book Integrity.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Well, well, I want to talk about that because when
you and I joked this morning that we both ran things.
You ran a business, I ran a city. I know
what it was like in the recession not to be
able to make payroll and really struggle trying to figure
out because a city government has to live on its
own self. It doesn't can't print money.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Nope. But this is the thing that I found. I
made mistakes.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
And one of my best books that I'm never going
to write is all the mistakes I've made in the
first year. As we are grown from our mistake, it's valuable,
It's incredibly valuable. And I went from being a guy
who had never managed thousands of employees and all of
that to getting really good at it. And hiring is
one of the most important things. I've seen your teams.
I see how good you are. And I used to
(13:20):
think you just hire for skill. The most talented people
hire them. Now I moved talent down two notches. Third
that I look for when I hire. The second is
are they going to add to my culture or take
away from my culture? The synergy with the table and
the first one. Let me just finish My first rule
in hiring is shared values, character, morals. Where is your
(13:42):
moral compass? Because I made big mistakes when I first
started out in politics, thinking this is really talent, but
they did not share my values and they undermined the
integrity of my organization. And so I know you hire
the good people I see around you make you better.
They they compensate for where I always say people are
(14:03):
mountain ranges. We all have peaks and valleys. Find people
in your life that make your peaks higher and help
you with your valleys one hundred percent. I always want
to sit in the back of the theater and clap
for my team. I want them to get the trophy
and I take the incoming bullets. Yeah, I'll take the shot.
So I want people to watch. You should make available
(14:24):
on like a YouTube or something. Your episodes of Undercover Boss.
I think they are so instructive to what leadership is mean.
Thank you, And they're emotionally moving and they show how
much you love I didn't even know the show inviting
people back.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Four times, no one's been No one's been on the
show more than me, and it was enlightening. I learned
a lot because as a as a chairman, founder, CEO,
people don't tell you everything, and I didn't understand what
was really happening with my team in their daily life.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
And so now let me get to the point of integrity.
Leadership is not a title or a position. It is
an example and action.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
You may have been.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
You know you and I both know CEOs that are
not great leaders. Great leaders are the people that embody
the values that they have and act in alignment with
those values. And to have a president of the United States,
the highest moral position so trash because he does not
embody the best of American character. To watch him on
(15:26):
Memorial Day. On Memorial Day, what he was, the spewing
hate and darkness that he put on his truth social well,
look at the way he was trained.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
I always study people to see how they they they've
grown up and their actions. Does their actions speak volumes? Yes?
And Roy Kohne was his father's attorney. He is the
master of lie, deny, lie, deny okay, And that's the
essence of this present lie deny, lie deny, making things
(16:04):
up out of thin air, always him being the center
of attention rather than us, we being the center of attention,
not relishing relationships. And when when when I hear the
Secretary of Treasury say he loves to live in chaos,
I do too. My chaos is with heart. His chaos
(16:25):
is with hate, and it's about him always being served
and he like And the Secretary of Treasury said to me,
he likes to play the game crazy ivan. I said, what,
because I said, where are we going? But what? We're
all confused right now, so we have no stability. In
the United States is always known for his stability.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
But it's more, you know. Look, one of my favorite
stories about leadership is a story about uh Gandhi. I
don't know if it's apocryphal or not. That he was
sitting in his tent, people coming to visit him and
and and hav an a ord with him. This mother
came with a child and said, my child is getting
very sick because of their poor diet. You emphasize dietary discipline.
(17:08):
Would you tell my son to stop eating sugar and
Ghandi looked at her patiently, looked at the little boy,
back at her, and said, no, I will not. She
seemed disappointed. She started to protest. He goes, no, no, no,
come back and see me in two months. So the
woman leaves, disappointed, waits in line. Two months later, finally
gets into the tent and says, Mahatma, you had said
(17:28):
for me to come back. My son, I'm worried about
his health. He eats so horribly. Would you tell him
the stop eating sugar? Dohnny looks at her, looks at
the boy. Now, he gets up, walks over, puts his
hand on the boy's shoulder, and the boy's obviously affected.
This great man so puts his hand on the shoulder
and says, my son, you must stop eating sugar, and
the boy is affected. The mothers please, she says, thank you,
(17:49):
thank you. This will make a difference. He's heard from
this light. And she starts to leave. Then she stops
and she says, but Mahama, forgive me if I'm disrespectful,
but why didn't you tell my son two months ago
to stop eating sugar? And Connie looked at her patiently
and that because two months ago I was eating sugar.
(18:09):
It is the power of leadership by example, so much
stronger than somebodey who says do right, but they walk wrong.
And that's the alignment we need.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
It goes to a concept You've got to always walk
the talk yes, and and I have. I had this
expression in the the hotel business. You know, I have
fixed broken brands, and I've done the most unthinkable in
the most every single time, whether it was renaming the
airport in Las Vegas, or creating Brand USA, or fixing
this twenty year old broken company. Everyone said you can't
(18:44):
do it. It's unfixable, and it took risk, but I studied.
I did my due diligence that I was there to
fix the customers that were not taken care of, to
create memories. And I put my business card out every
front desk. No one in the hospitality business. I was
going to get to that next. When you told me
that it was early in our friendship, he said, try it.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Here's my car. I put it at the front desk
with my phone number. It is sending a message that
I am responsible. Trump wants to point blame. He always
wants to put blame. He's still blame in Biden. He's
been in office. Readers take responsibility. Cowards a small people.
They're looking always to deflect and to point blame. Your
(19:26):
card is right there, something is wrong. I am the
head of this company.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
One hundred percent. So I would respond to guests and
they would be blown away. They said, we don't believe
it's you. I said, well, call me back at this number. Yes,
And I'd pick up the phone and I'd speak to
them and I say, oh my god, it is you.
And they would tell me we had a problem at
a resort in housekeeping, and I said, okay, we'll make
(19:53):
it right. And I said, I apologize, and the guests
would say, but you didn't do it. It was the
house keeper at this resort. I said, I am the housekeeper.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
I had a leader on my team once in my
first big campaign, and I still remember one of our
campaign headquarters. Hundreds of people passing through, but the bathroom
was broken, and like, we've got to call somebody, who
get somebody in. Here's the campaign manager of the whole campaign.
Walks in the back, sees the toilet's cloth. There's nothing
to unquawk it with, sticks his hand into the toilet,
(20:25):
pushes up and down with his hand, unclawks, the toilet
problem solved, washes his hands, whatever walks out And by
the way, that set a tone that there's nothing beneath you.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Everybody is on this team. I will do every job.
I will do every job. I've swept floors. I have
no problems sweeping floors. I will see my philosophy resist.
When I sit with people, I asked them what they'd
like for dinner, I will cook that for them. I
will serve them. I will sit and listen to their
(20:56):
story and share mine, and I'll clean their plate. And
it's a philosophy of life. And I grew up with aspiration,
and I wanted to collect pens at the beginning, and
every deal I did, I bought a special pen. And
then I wanted to collect watches, and that the cars
were fashionable. And you know what, I don't need anything.
(21:18):
You know what I need. I need for my children
to be safe. I need my children to aspire to
whatever their desires or dreams are, and make sure that
why I am there and we are there to have
peas and at them. And I want them to fall
in a pothole, because not everyone wins the first place trophy.
I told them I got a lot of honorable mentions,
but you know it's more.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
I just want to say it's more than that though.
And again, this is spirituality. It is spirituality. And look,
you can't love your neighbor, which is the biggest commandment
in all of our shared faiths, love your neighbor in
the Jewish faith, which which you are. I study Judaism.
A couple of weeks, few weeks ago, we studied Rabbi
(22:00):
a Kiva. It was this logbo ho Mare, which is
a holiday. You know it, but most people don't know it.
But I'm a Jewish light. You're Jewish light. I'm a
guy that loves world faiths, studies Judaism, study with a
rabbi every Friday to study Torah. Logboh Mare is all
about Rabbi Akiva. This horrible plague kills over twenty thousand people,
(22:21):
and one of the lessons from this holiday is understanding
that Akiva's main mission. Are you living this ideal of
loving your neighbor? You cannot love someone if you don't
know them. And the challenge and again, you do a
good job of this. Honestly, that always has moved me
about you and makes me love you, which is we
(22:42):
live this life world now where we're dividing each other,
separating each other too much. Love is saying that I
love you enough to understand your experience, have empathy for you.
If you're a CEO that doesn't know the pressures of
what it's like to be a line cook or to
clean the bathrooms or the kid at the end, understand
what people are struggling with. We have leaders now the
(23:03):
highest offices in the lands, that are making tax policy
that don't understand the struggles of more than half of
this country right now.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
They don't understand the unintended consequences because they're looking for
the reality moment of the day. And I'll say this
to you spiritually, because I have gone up, I've taken
steps back, and you know, you want to be able
to aspire and inspire. And when I sold my company,
(23:33):
I thought it was a great day. Everyone's like and
I didn't understand the light switch went off and I
got really depressed and it affected me a lot. I
had a lot of trauma, and I sought help and
got through it and I got back on the horse again.
But I've had so many struggles in my life growing
and I actually had to deal with my father's bankruptcy.
(23:55):
People didn't know it because I kept a secret till
you passed, shared with negative twenty mine dollars and all
the things that I've done, I realized that getting hit
a little bit's okay. Getting hits okay, it's actually growth,
and I actually enjoy it. I like the cast. And
you know, I'm a little crazy, good crazy. I've been
(24:16):
told by pastors, I'm good trouble and you know it.
It's a part of life. So I've seen that we've
kind of insulated our children a little bit in helicopter
to them, and they've got to learn some heart lessons,
hard truths, and you've got to live look with integrity.
(24:36):
You've got to live with being a good human.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
But it means, you know, Brian Stevenson talks passionately about
the importance of us being proximate to each other. And
so we live in a nation right now where the policymakers,
people in the Senate like me, are not making policies
as if they understand the struggles of the arriage American.
This tax bill to me, which is the biggest transfer
for of wealth literally lower income working class people in
(25:03):
America will pay more to give tax cuts to the
to the wealthiest in America. Now, you and I are
both the kind of Democrats that are like, we want
to celebrate celebrate success, like I want capitalism rah rah yes,
hell yeah, story. I want more stories in America of
someone working them side. I lean into the success. I
(25:23):
am proud of my success, do you know what? And
I am proud, but you know what, I'm a lifelong Democrat,
but I also am going to call out our brethren
in our big tent who don't understand no tax on
tips and what that does to big corporate America. Because
I asked a lot of our fellow Democrats, do you
(25:44):
know what that does the income statement and balance sheet?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And they said, well no, I said, what do you
mean you don't know? It reminded me when I was
dealing a brand USA and they were voting on China
policy and they have never been to China. I said,
how you doing that? And no tax on tips is
the biggest corporate windfall around because employers, okay pay a
(26:12):
tax to our US government, they no longer have to pay.
And that's sixty percent of those that are getting paid
on tips because forty percent don't qualify for taxes. So
we just gave corporate America a big wind fall, the
hedge funds of big windfall. And our brethren in the
big tent didn't even understand that. I said, oh, I
(26:33):
bet you thought that was just about voter harvesting, ballot harvesting,
and they go, and we are in our big tent too.
I got to tell you, we've got some issues when
we're dealing with PPP and we were giving away money.
I called out one of us because one of our friends,
Congressman Raskin, said we are going to hold tight, and
(26:54):
there was someone in Congress who was married to somebody
on Wall Street, and they're looking for a bailout PPP.
And guess what. That company couldn't get a loan. That
company could not do a secondary okay, and they took
a grant from our government. So we financed a broken company,
(27:15):
a bankrupt company. And I called bullshit on it, and
that congressman got so pissed at me. I called my
adopted dad, Harry Dad Mulcherry. I called her out because
if we're going to walk the talk, walk the talk
right and I'm going to be that. I'm going to
be that democrat in the hard center with a big
(27:35):
heart that's authentic, that am compassionate and warm. I'm not
called bullshit on us too well.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I mean this in the same way that we want
people to invest in things that a return. The greatest
investment we can make is in the greatest natural resource
of this country, which in a global knowledge based society,
it's the genius of our children. And so for our
country to be cutting things like food stamps, which the
(28:02):
average family with kids stays on food stamps just one year,
they fall.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Okay, they get and they get. They get.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Literally, the sourcing the nutrition of a child pays so
much dividends in their long term productivity. Every dollar you
spend on a child getting them above the poverty line
so they don't have that in security, that cortisol pumping
into their developing brain. Every dollar you do just to
return for our economy returns seven dollars to our economy
because kids above the poverty line are more productive, more
likely to be entrepreneurs, more successful. The reality is is
(28:34):
you and I look at this is investments. I was
like when I was mayor, what am I going to
do to grow my tax based opportunity? What am I
going to do to cut the things that we are
spending money on that make no sense? And so the
best thing we can invest on is the investment is
the nurturing that genius of a child. Do they have
is their first time they're seeing a doctor when their
mother is pregnant is in the emergency room because they
(28:56):
don't have prenatal care. How could the greatest nation on
the planet Earth have the most low birth weight babies,
the highest rates of maternal mortality and the like. The
next thing is, so make sure they're born healthy and
strong and don't need to spend time in the NICU
when we could have avoided that with prenatal care?
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Are they going to have?
Speaker 2 (29:12):
How can we be a nation that the first time
we're really spending money and investing in our kids is
when they're going to kindergarten, when ninety percent of their
brain development is already done. This is a weird country
where high quality childcare costs more in most states than
a college tuition does.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Well if you look at this, So think about this,
because I've done a lot of due diligence because, as
you know, I am running for governor of California now,
and it never told me what are you doing in
you're out of your mind? But you know what I
take on the most difficult situations. So I've studied sixteen
months the balance sheet and income stated with California. I
grew up here with California values, and I'm hard center.
(29:49):
We don't steal this nine hundred and fifty dollars. It's zero,
because if I stole a piece of candy, I'd be
more afraid of my father than the police. We respect
the law, we follow the law, and there are simple
solutions I have now found where we've gotten just putting
band aids on band aids because we've elected officials. Unfortunately
we've done it. Don't throw any stones. We all did it.
(30:12):
We allowed it to happen. Now we have a choice
to fix it. You want to point fingers, We don't
point fingers like you said. I never point figgers. We
accept where we are today and we move forward. We acknowledge.
And you know, when I was working in the federal
government tourism travel, I learned that you know, most people
that were in an elected office, they didn't understand balance
(30:33):
sheet incap statement. You almost have to give a test
for that, and how about a geography test too. Some
people didn't even have passports.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Okay, come on, well, as one of your friends who
tried to talk you out of running for governor, let
me tell you something that I think has been impressive
what you've done, which is just studying and understanding that
you don't have all the answers the California's problems, but
you can bring together and convene a lot of the
brightest mind you were telling me, which is a weird
You're a great guy, but you're also a nerd about
(31:05):
how excited you were by bringing minds together, developed white papers,
develop ideas, develop solutions to problems that are there in
front of us, but we're often not executing well on them.
This is the truth of America. We are weakened by
leaders that stand up and say, only I can solve
these problems. I've got all the answers. I'm going to
solve the more in Ukraine in a day. My generals
(31:26):
I know better than my generals do. Real leaders understand
that my power is convening and bringing people together. I'm
going to be a hard charging executor, but I'm going
to make sure everybody understands that sometimes the person cleaning
the room, the person who's doing the age fan has
actually sees things and has answer. I've been in the
(31:47):
field over the last year and a half and a
couple of things. When I was with the deputy sheriffs,
sitting in the police car, just chit chadding, getting to
know each other.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
They said to me. The officer was saying, you know,
mister Clubac. I go, no, it's Steven Officer, and he goes, no,
call me Miguel. I know, yes, officer doing respect. And
he was telling me about carping. They have sixteen hour
days because they don't have enough staffing. I said, well,
how's family life, how's your mental health, your brain health.
(32:24):
In the field, I'm seeing what's going on, and I
see narcan administered five times, and I'm telling you. Then
I go and and I see the other leaders in
the state, and I see the other leaders in the state,
and they don't understand. They want to fight these legal
fights that they're going to be losing propositions with our money.
(32:44):
They think it's their money. I figured that out. They
think they're smarter than the customer. We're all customers in California.
We're all customers in America. And I'm saying to myself,
why are you spending three hundred million dollars fighting a
losing lawsuit when there are farm workers that go to
a food bank? In what world do farm workers need
to go to a food bank? Well, let me let
me add to that.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Like, so, my number one issue when I became mayor
was public safety, and and I'm going to lead this city.
The first thing I'm gonna do is spend hundreds of hours,
no exaggeration, with police officers in the car, driving around
with them, and things jump out at you. What's your
biggest pain point? What's your complaint? And one of my
police officers said to me is that when I make
an arrest, it takes me hours to do the paperwork.
(33:28):
And I'm like, wait a minute, you're off the streets.
You make one arrest, you're off the streets for hours.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
To take me to show me that process, and you
ask why? So he shows me the process. Literally the
days of computers. They're feeling out to rest forms.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Silly. I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
I look at a whole precinct they didn't have functioning computers, printers.
They were telling me that they would take the ribbons
out of printers, take the ink out of printers, carry
them around because if you didn't have that when you
got there, it was actually, I gotta have my gun,
I got my handcuff, and I gotta have my printer
a cartridge. I mean, that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
Well, you know what I learned being in the street.
I learned this from being in the hotel business. After
I fixed the company the income sheet, the income statement,
balance sheet, and after I got systems in place of
communication because we've got electronic devices, my job was no
longer at the corporate office. My job was in the
field every day, walking around my kitchen, listen, leaders, listen,
(34:27):
And I talked to my guests walking around the pools.
How are you? What do you say around? What are
we doing right? What are we doing wrong? And we
were just getting better and better and better. And as
my journeys continued in my great state of California, at
fifty eight counties, I admit some incredible leaders. They don't know.
(34:49):
They thought I was just like trying to figure out
what's going on in California, But I was actually doing
job interviews. So I found some great leaders, some bright
stars in California right that have not been elevated yet,
and they will come with me to Sacramento because they've
got great attributes. And I can tell you the leaders
(35:09):
of the past have not led this way because it
comes from this business philosophy of fixing broken and actually
delivering to customers. Something my father taught me. Simple like
biological father, Sheldon, you have the customer or they bark
it for same thing with our tax dollars. All we
(35:30):
want is equal or greater value. Simple, it's not that difficult.
And people say, well, you want to deregulate cluebec. No
regulations are there for a purpose to keep bad actors out.
But too many regulations impede good business from doing good business.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
But it's you know, and this is what I love about.
Like we interact with government. There's touch points all the time, yep.
And you have one bad touch point, you lose faith
in the whole operation. Like I found out when I
got in the mayor couln't understan and why there are
lines wrapped around around the streets and around city hall
where people just trying to pay their traffic tickets makes
no sense.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
I said, that is outrageous.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
They don't have time that now they're getting hit with
a traffic ticket and now they're going to hit with
I need two hours away from my life just to
get this money in. So leaders listen, they walk around,
they understand the pain points, and government especially especially should
be the top of customer service.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
Bottom. We're all in hospitality, right.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
I want to ask you a question because I know,
I know we're gonna have to wind down, but let's
both answer this question. Tell me a moment where you
were not living in perfect integrity in your life, and
the hard the lesson you learned that got you to
be more in alignment with your values.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
I'll answer the same question. That's a great question. It's
a great question because we've all I've got one for
you after this. Okay, when I lost my purpose in life,
when I lost my when it showed my company, I
lost my purpose, I fell and I hit hard and
(37:05):
I had to pull myself back up in the deepest way.
But I had to see the precipice of hell. And
because I lost, I lost my will because I I
wasn't on the world stage and I knew I had
something to offer, but I was rudderless. Yeah, and I
had to dig deep, dig deep, and I had to
figure out the following. I had to find the love
(37:26):
for myself again. No, I remember you too, and I'm
very open about this because this is is very important.
That's why I'm so impactful when I deal with those
that have fallen into homelessness and I take care of
those in that and I speak to these folks and
I said, you know what, you think, you got it bad.
We all got it bad sometimes. Okay, it's not just you.
(37:47):
I've been there. Everyone's got it. So you know, if
you so you become self aware. You got to love
yourself again, love yourself. You got to put on your
oxygen masks first before you can help others. And you
got to be open and honest. And okay, everyone makes business.
I've made mistakes. You raise your hand. Okay, we're all human,
(38:07):
but you have to have integrity.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
I have to say, I remember those days and I
was worried about you, and then I remember when you
clicked in again.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
You're like Corey. First of all, I'm not drinking anymore.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
You sort of like straining your life and reassessing your purpose,
which was really.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
Because you know, look, every every business you pay a price.
Whatever you do in life, if you're if you're really successful,
what you do it never worked the day in my life,
and you got to be You have to have passion.
I was a passion And in every business you pay
a price. If you're in the hospitality business, what are
you doing every day? Well, you know, I think, but
I think I just as your friend, like I saw
(38:45):
you wrestling with that darkness. Oh it's terrible and uh
and I've that when I've been utter lists, the worst
of my vices come out the you know. But in life,
I think having a purpose driven life, having a mission,
having a what they call b hag one of my
favorite business books, a big Harry audacious goal. And I
(39:05):
know you are better, You are at your best when
you have a great challenge of service. So I've watched
you with the Boxing Commission, I've watched you and that,
I've watched you with the Brand USA. I caught you
at the tail end of your businesses and it's amazing
how when you have a big enough why in your life,
why is huge, yes, And when you have a big
(39:28):
enough why in your life, you suddenly have no patience
anymore for the things that are distracting you, undermining you.
But I do love this thing about you, know, to
live a life of loving others, that you've got to
start first with yourself. And I think that's something you.
You You stared at the darkness within you and somehow
(39:49):
you were able to ignite again sort of light like
everyone can. And I tell everyone you could do it.
I mean, I've done it so many times in my life.
But I mean I went to the press, well, and
I'm not ashamed, it's just okay. I said, what's left, Well,
there was a lot more left, and we're doing now.
So I say to everyone, there is a lot more left.
(40:13):
Just not just love your neighbor, love thyself. You will
then love thy neighbor. But when I've fixed broken, I
found out we forgot. It wasn't just the American Army
putting a big company all over the world. Because I
operated in thirty five countries, sixteen languages, multiple currencies. I
had to be culturally relevant, all right. Always lean into
(40:37):
where you're operating. And we're not doing that in the
United States now because we've forgot about face in Asia,
the concept of face, we forgot about our allies in Europe.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Okay, when it comes to a nation living with better integrity.
I don't know if you want me to answer the
question I asked you, or do you want to do
you have a different question, what do you want to.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
I have a question of you. My question is if
you could have one day on planet Earth with somebody
that has passed. It could be anybody, Socrates, George Washington,
a relative friend, who would you like to spend one
(41:17):
day with? You know, you asked me at a time
where I've been missing my dad and my granddad a lot. Yeah,
I choose one and my grandmother.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
I have to say, but I think I was just
writing a story about my dad struggles with Parkinson's and
how difficult that was to watch my father with this
vicious thief that stole from his cognitive abilities as physical abilities.
And I saw his grit, I saw his strength of character.
(41:52):
But yet Parkinson's won in the end. And this is
where Harry Reid and I bonded. Actually, because my father
died in Nevada, and he died right in the time
I was running for the office. I now hold he
died six days before I became a United States senator
when he first had his stroke during the primary, and
both my mom said to me, do not stop. We're
(42:15):
here primaries in a few days. You can come here
after the primary. But Harry Reid, finding out that my
father was in the hospital, went to the hospital, sat
with my mom, alerted the hospital that this is a
person that once should get the best of everything, stayed
(42:37):
in there. It was just amazing to see his act
of grace during during that time. But I will tell you,
when you lose a parent, and you know this, it
is a hole that never gets filled.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
I was devastated, my best friend, my father. I was devastated.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
And so every time I have a moment where where
I didn't get to share with my dad, And you've
met the woman I'm getting very serious with, and she's
watched me tear up and get emotional that he my father,
never gets to know her. In fact, I think two
of them would have gotten a lot better than maybe
even she does with me. But every moment of big
moment of my life, I feel his absence, and so
(43:19):
you know, I think I'd.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
Love to have him here. I see we're going to
talk about our fathers. We're both going to cry because
you can talk about my dad. Because my dad he
lived with me the last three years of his life,
and I took care of him. And I was his
son and his older brother, and he didn't have a brother,
(43:41):
let alone older brother had It was so juxtaposed. But
I would say to him in a very sweet way,
how old are we to understand and have compassion? And
I learned some great stories about my dad. And you know,
my dad traveled with me everywhere. I worked for him,
he worked for me, and you know, it was just
(44:03):
but it's not amazing. In the end, you're getting stories.
Were both did a cry, right, Yes, you're getting stories.
It's it's crazy, but.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
It's amazing that like when you when you were at
that last minute where you have just a little bit
of time left, I was still learning things about him.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
Oh my god, yeah, and still hearing stories. I thought.
I thought I knew all this part about when you
were in college or what you did here, and so
to lose that and I was dealing with Alzheimer's, so yes,
I got I got, you know, way to have dinner
and I'd order his dinner and you'd have his ice cream,
and of course they'd take it away, and he would say,
where's my ice cream? So I would just lean into
(44:39):
it and say, get him around it. You forgot the
ice cream to the waiter, and I'd wink at him
and we'd go to the same restaurants. It was kind
of a show. After a while. I limited him to
three ice creams, but because I let him eat whatever
the hell he wants. But I mean, you learned so
many things. I mean, I learned stories about my father
when he went to Cuba, and I'm like, you never
(44:59):
told me that story. And after dinner, he after dinner
and we're in Las Vegas, he said, I'm going home
to see mom and Dad. I said, where are you going?
He goes, I'm going to Chicago. Yeah, And so then
I'm like, you just lean into it.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
This is this song by Luther Vandros Dance with my
father again. It's the best. And so I hear that
I'm a white boy, but i'd look, I can know
Gap band twelve inch outstanding.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
Okay, So there's this there's I hear that song and
I think of all of the things, if I could
have one more conversation with him, one more walk, one
more just heart like you know that's that and that
song I hear it and that's always triggers in me.
But I will tell you this right now. This is
word Nachus that you know Nacus is supporting. Yeah, I
(45:46):
know that your father and my father. Oh they're looking
at us. They're in heaven looking down at us, and
They're like, what.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
Are these twohead's doing. And I'm telling you this. It's good.
We'll end on that note, but I want to tell
you this, my dear friend. Yes, I am so grateful,
utterly grateful that you have come on this friend. Let
me let me give you a prayer, and I hope
I feel this in your life. You feel this in
my life because you and I were sitting here. We
are in a great period in our lives.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
But we know each other well enough to know all
the faults and the foibles, and we share each other.
So there's a there's a prayer. God grant me at
least one friend that really knows me and is still
my friend. Otherwise, even though they know me, they're still
my friend. I will always be your friend, my brother,
I will always be your friend. I am afraid for you.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
I told you that this pinky promise you get a
pinky promise.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
I don't know if I'll move this MC, but I'll
pinky promise you we can do that piggy percase. I'm
I'm you are stepping out into a political world that
I that again. I've tried to talk you out of it.
I'm afraid for the well. Remember I said this to you.
I'm most worried about your heart.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
I'm not. I'm not.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
I've seen you tackle every challenges in government, in business,
in philanthropy and excel at it. My prayer for you,
besides that you have more than just me, who loves
you unconditionally, despite your high places and your low places.
I love you unconditionally. But my prayer for you is
that God uses you to serve in ways beyond your
(47:19):
wildest dreams. But even along the journey, you never forget
what you learned in that dark place. Love yourself by
source your joy from within.
Speaker 1 (47:29):
I promise you this. Yes I know the assignment. Yes
I'm gonna slay it because I got California.
Speaker 2 (47:38):
God bless this great state that did so much for
my family. It will be the bully pulpit again in
the United States is thank you, Thank you
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Say you thought, I want to call the LAS
Who is this strong clearst day United, We will find
a way from the valley to the Bay. Join the
Test's up, say Clifornia, hut for you get clue. Komack
is the guy for you.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Come.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Welcome to Heart Truths with me Steven J. Klueback And
I'm so honored today to have as our first guest
a very very special a dear friend, a brother, somebody
who I turned to, UH has taught me a lot.
It's a very spiritual guy, but a true leader, a
true leader, somebody who's not afraid back down. And I
(00:51):
look up to that because we all try to aspire
to do that. So with me today, Corey Booker, Senator
Corey Booker, thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
This is amazing because we've had really intimate conversationsvately, and
I think it's exciting that you're doing this podcast and
we get a chance to have a deep conversations that
mean a lot to others. But I think in many ways,
all of our conversations are usually meaningful to me.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Well, it's great because people don't get to see what
we talk about all the time. You and I we've
shared a lot of really interesting stories, but I think
you have it.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
I think you have a talent, Like honestly, you're like
so unapologetically authentic that you give space to other people
to just be themselves right away. Like you and I
there was no pretense. I still remember walking this hotel
room where I'm supposed to meet a you know, a
potential donor supporter, and there was just no bullshit about you.
(01:41):
You were Immediately I was just like, this is a
regular guy, Like I could hang out with this guy,
Like you were built up as a successful businessman. But
I think one of the most impressive things about you
is you you are the common man. You have an
incredible ability to just connect to people where they are
and make them feel safe space.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Well, you know, it's funny because I'll tell you when
we met, But I grew up I just getting a
good education, because that's I come from a family of immigrants.
My grandfather immigranted in the early nineteen hundreds asylum from
what was going on in Russia. And my father was
(02:22):
the first person to go to school, and of course
he sent me and my siblings to good schools and
we just we were told to work hard and we
lived with integrity, and there's a lot of things in
the book, you know, Facing Hard Truths, which is podcast
is based about which you helped me review, which I appreciate.
I want to thank you. I'm grateful. I was a
(02:45):
busboy at eight, dishwasher, assistant, cook, waiter, and I've always
been in service in life, kind of full circles itself.
I did speech and debate and junior high and high school,
and all of a sudden, I'm always been in politics.
But I grew up wanted to be a doctor or
a surgeon, and pivoted. I learned to pivot.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
What did your family think about that? Because a nice
Jewish boy aspiring to be a doctor, but then you
shifted out of sort of the expectations that were put
on you into doing something very different.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Yeah, that was the senior year of college because my
parents had spent all this money to create a doctor
and brand I sa ain't cheap. Brandness was not cheap,
and you know, it was not very good. At school,
I got by, but I didn't know I was highly
dyslexic until my oldest son was diagnosed. And I don't
even know how I got through school. But I was
(03:39):
negotiating grades that should have been my first indication. Hold on,
what does that mean? You were negotiating grades? Well, if
I got like a C minus, I wanted to get
a C or if I gotta and so you would
go in and talk to the professor. I always going
to the professor, and I could get half a click
on a grade easy every time. I could go from
like a C plus to a B minus just with
a negotiation. But I did get an a better education
(04:02):
than whatever class. Hey, I learned logical tree thinking, organic
chemistry lab. What is it? Clear liquid? They give me
a clear liquid? What is it? You got to figure
out what it's not. It was logic tree thinking, and
I learned negotiation young. And I was always destined really
to be in business and and and helping people in
serving and I just didn't figure it out.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I mean, I love what Mark Twain says. He says,
I never confused my education with my schooling.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And it's all about it's all about schooling. It's all
it's all about the street. It's all about the streets.
When I first met you, yeah, you came into my
room and you hurt yourself and I got you a
bag of ice for your for your.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yes, I was going to sit there and suck up
the pain. My my, my, my ankle was the size
of like a cantalope and just was gonna stuck up
the pain. Take this meeting, get out, and you immediately
like tended to me, which was really really amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
It's my nature, you know what. I want to be
a doctor's doctor's service. Just help people. I just want
to help people all the time. A matter of fact,
you know, I had some great mentors. I really learned
from great mentors. And we all do that. And that's
what I'm here to do today. And I think that's
what we aspire to do, is to teach. And what
can I tell you something like teaching is not about
(05:18):
lecturing in many ways, I think we teach best. And
I think you do this really well in the book
by being courageous in your vulnerability, by showing people that
you know, I made mistakes, by showing people like I stumbled,
I didn't have all the answers, I hit walls, I failed,
I fell flat on my face. I think the more
we show each other the idea of sort of like
(05:42):
a shared humanity, that we're all screwed up, we all
don't always have it all together, and I think that
that's one of the beautiful things about your story is
even today, even the last decade of your life, where
you're at this titan, you and I've had some really
great check ins where you're struggling. Oh, I had the wall.
I hit the wall because I created this worldwide enterprise
(06:05):
and I had the pleasure of working with you when
I created Uh. Senator read and there's an Obama created
the Travel Motion Act two thousand and nine, which I
then rebranded Brand USA the Tourism Department of the United States,
And you're on top of the world. You're you're basically
the head of Tourism of the United States reporting to
the Oval Office in the Western By.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
For me, that was fun because I got to hear
you to just say, like, see that. Like when I
first became mayor, I was like, just let's attack stupid.
If we could just stop stupid, we're gonna get a
lot of things done. When I told two US Senators
to fuck off, so I mean, it's.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Not attacking stupid, well that was it was actually calling
calling you know, a problem a problem. And I remember
I got to thank god, Senator read back up, because
because these two centators really overreached.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
No, but I just I just remember those days, like
you as a business person walking in and saying, wait
a minute, this is one of our biggest exports, and
we're making it impossible for like resilience to get here.
Who are dumping money in places I didn't even realize this,
like like Disneyland and things like that.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
It was really simple. I looked at the power of
our exports and nobody really recognized that. It was like
a seven to one pump. And there were no tax dollars,
no US tax dollarspects on the brand canyon. There was
no Capax or the Statue of Liberty or the Golden
gate Bridge. And we had to educate everyone with regard
(07:29):
to this, there's no capex, there's no taxpayer dollars, and
we're increasing the GDP of the United States. And then
when we drilled down, we figured, okay, what are Europeans
spending per week? What are Brazilian spending per week? And
what are the Chinese spending per week? Our brand, our
brand was so powerful, and I remember the board we
put together wanted to hire you know, these consultants to
(07:51):
come up with a name, up with a name, and
then the bids came in a million two million dollars
to create the brand, and I said, folks, what's the
best brand in the world. You asked a one hundred percent.
So I said, hey, guys, let's just call it Brand USA.
And they go, oh, I guess guess what. We just
saved two million dollars.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
But this is the absurdity of the moment we're listening because,
by the way, I got a chance to see this
in real time, like you confronting problems, or I would
call it stupid just saying this is dumb. These folks
aren't no terroristic threat. They're coming here to dump money
on American businesses. Hundreds of thousands of jobs rely on tourism.
Let's lower this. But the beautiful thing for me was
(08:33):
that seeing how much you were successful. But this is
what annoys me right now is I am watching America
lose billions of dollars because everybody from Canadians to French
to Nigeria don't want to come here right now because
all the things that we did. You know, look even
(08:53):
how they're treated in the airport. I remember you telling
me this, like, why are we treating people coming here?
I like, there're suspected criminals when they're coming here to
go to the Grand Canyon, to go to Disneyland, to
go to.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
The stats first said. I sat down with the officers
of Customs and Borders and I said, gentlemen, I have
tour jurer facilities. You know who the bad people are,
and the airlines are going to send them back on
their dime, not even on the US taxpayer's dime. I said, so,
can you just smile and say welcome to the United States,
(09:23):
And when they leave, can you say did you have
a nice time? Please come back again soon? And they agreed.
I said, we're going to spend hundreds of millions of
dollars marketing in the United States, and we're going to
do it because people want to come here. And I
see what's going on now, allegedly with our president, who's
a supposed to be a brandy guy with his name.
(09:46):
The guy's never operated anything. He likes to self serve.
If he wants to be served, we serve, we serve
he wants to be served. And I sat with him
numerous times because I was going to do a deal
with him. And I came back at the second meeting,
I go you know what, I've got values he doesn't.
I've got integrity he doesn't. I pay my contractors, he doesn't.
(10:09):
I create value, erects value. I can't be partners with him.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
But this is the thing I compliment to you that
I want to shift back to this what's going on
in our country right now is you don't just pay
your contract Like I'm from New Jersey, I meet people
every day that he almost bankrupted by not paying the
contractors that the casino business, or trying to drive them
down to cut forty percent of what I'm going to
pay you screw it, take it or not. And these
are people that live contract to contract. So put that aside.
(10:37):
I see the way you not just treat contractors by
paying them fairly, but you support them and their businesses.
You brag about them, you help them get more business.
You are understanding of this world is not about division.
It's about multiplication. It's about expanding, not contracting. It's not
about dividing us against each other. It's about understanding that
together we achieve more. But I want to get something
(10:58):
to you because Trump to me is promises people are
going to lower costs. I'm going to lower your grocery bills.
I'm going to make life more affordable. He is trashed
our economy. Everything is going up except for the stock market,
which is going down. But this is a nuance that
you understand as a business person that he does not,
is that a significant part of the American GDP is
(11:21):
the fact that we have this golden brand that attracts well,
not just to tourism, attracts investment, It attracts, Yes, the.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
World wants to be here. There's a concept which he
does not get. It takes decades and decades to build
a brand or reputation, reputation same and will go into
that because it goes to integrity and reliability and the
sanctity of who we are as Americans and America and
(11:55):
minutes to kill a brand. Minutes. And I harped on
this every single gold time, and I see these, these
these reality TV moments where relationships are to be cherished,
and he wants to abuse these relationships where I'll sit
(12:17):
in the back of a theater and clap for my team.
I don't need a trophy. He always wants the trophy.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And that's the thing that just burns me, is that
he has bankrupted his companies seven eight times, and now
he wants to make America the eighth or ninth bankruptcy.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
And let me tell you this. Let's go to integrity
for a second because and that's that's one of the
hard truths in the book Integrity.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Well, well, I want to talk about that because when
you and I joked this morning that we both ran things.
You ran a business, I ran a city. I know
what it was like in the recession not to be
able to make payroll and really struggle trying to figure
out because a city government has to live on its
own self. It doesn't can't print money.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Nope. But this is the thing that I found. I
made mistakes.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
And one of my best books that I'm never going
to write is all the mistakes I've made in the
first year. As we are grown from our mistake, it's valuable,
It's incredibly valuable. And I went from being a guy
who had never managed thousands of employees and all of
that to getting really good at it. And hiring is
one of the most important things. I've seen your teams.
I see how good you are. And I used to
(13:20):
think you just hire for skill. The most talented people
hire them. Now I moved talent down two notches. Third
that I look for when I hire. The second is
are they going to add to my culture or take
away from my culture? The synergy with the table and
the first one. Let me just finish My first rule
in hiring is shared values, character, morals. Where is your
(13:42):
moral compass? Because I made big mistakes when I first
started out in politics, thinking this is really talent, but
they did not share my values and they undermined the
integrity of my organization. And so I know you hire
the good people I see around you make you better.
They they compensate for where I always say people are
(14:03):
mountain ranges. We all have peaks and valleys. Find people
in your life that make your peaks higher and help
you with your valleys one hundred percent. I always want
to sit in the back of the theater and clap
for my team. I want them to get the trophy
and I take the incoming bullets. Yeah, I'll take the shot.
So I want people to watch. You should make available
(14:24):
on like a YouTube or something. Your episodes of Undercover Boss.
I think they are so instructive to what leadership is mean.
Thank you, And they're emotionally moving and they show how
much you love I didn't even know the show inviting
people back.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Four times, no one's been No one's been on the
show more than me, and it was enlightening. I learned
a lot because as a as a chairman, founder, CEO,
people don't tell you everything, and I didn't understand what
was really happening with my team in their daily life.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
And so now let me get to the point of integrity.
Leadership is not a title or a position. It is
an example and action.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
You may have been.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
You know you and I both know CEOs that are
not great leaders. Great leaders are the people that embody
the values that they have and act in alignment with
those values. And to have a president of the United States,
the highest moral position so trash because he does not
embody the best of American character. To watch him on
(15:26):
Memorial Day. On Memorial Day, what he was, the spewing
hate and darkness that he put on his truth social well,
look at the way he was trained.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
I always study people to see how they they they've
grown up and their actions. Does their actions speak volumes? Yes?
And Roy Kohne was his father's attorney. He is the
master of lie, deny, lie, deny okay, And that's the
essence of this present lie deny, lie deny, making things
(16:04):
up out of thin air, always him being the center
of attention rather than us, we being the center of attention,
not relishing relationships. And when when when I hear the
Secretary of Treasury say he loves to live in chaos,
I do too. My chaos is with heart. His chaos
(16:25):
is with hate, and it's about him always being served
and he like And the Secretary of Treasury said to me,
he likes to play the game crazy ivan. I said, what,
because I said, where are we going? But what? We're
all confused right now, so we have no stability. In
the United States is always known for his stability.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
But it's more, you know. Look, one of my favorite
stories about leadership is a story about uh Gandhi. I
don't know if it's apocryphal or not. That he was
sitting in his tent, people coming to visit him and
and and hav an a ord with him. This mother
came with a child and said, my child is getting
very sick because of their poor diet. You emphasize dietary discipline.
(17:08):
Would you tell my son to stop eating sugar and
Ghandi looked at her patiently, looked at the little boy,
back at her, and said, no, I will not. She
seemed disappointed. She started to protest. He goes, no, no, no,
come back and see me in two months. So the
woman leaves, disappointed, waits in line. Two months later, finally
gets into the tent and says, Mahatma, you had said
(17:28):
for me to come back. My son, I'm worried about
his health. He eats so horribly. Would you tell him
the stop eating sugar? Dohnny looks at her, looks at
the boy. Now, he gets up, walks over, puts his
hand on the boy's shoulder, and the boy's obviously affected.
This great man so puts his hand on the shoulder
and says, my son, you must stop eating sugar, and
the boy is affected. The mothers please, she says, thank you,
(17:49):
thank you. This will make a difference. He's heard from
this light. And she starts to leave. Then she stops
and she says, but Mahama, forgive me if I'm disrespectful,
but why didn't you tell my son two months ago
to stop eating sugar? And Connie looked at her patiently
and that because two months ago I was eating sugar.
(18:09):
It is the power of leadership by example, so much
stronger than somebodey who says do right, but they walk wrong.
And that's the alignment we need.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
It goes to a concept You've got to always walk
the talk yes, and and I have. I had this
expression in the the hotel business. You know, I have
fixed broken brands, and I've done the most unthinkable in
the most every single time, whether it was renaming the
airport in Las Vegas, or creating Brand USA, or fixing
this twenty year old broken company. Everyone said you can't
(18:44):
do it. It's unfixable, and it took risk, but I studied.
I did my due diligence that I was there to
fix the customers that were not taken care of, to
create memories. And I put my business card out every
front desk. No one in the hospitality business. I was
going to get to that next. When you told me
that it was early in our friendship, he said, try it.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Here's my car. I put it at the front desk
with my phone number. It is sending a message that
I am responsible. Trump wants to point blame. He always
wants to put blame. He's still blame in Biden. He's
been in office. Readers take responsibility. Cowards a small people.
They're looking always to deflect and to point blame. Your
(19:26):
card is right there, something is wrong. I am the
head of this company.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
One hundred percent. So I would respond to guests and
they would be blown away. They said, we don't believe
it's you. I said, well, call me back at this number. Yes,
And I'd pick up the phone and I'd speak to
them and I say, oh my god, it is you.
And they would tell me we had a problem at
a resort in housekeeping, and I said, okay, we'll make
(19:53):
it right. And I said, I apologize, and the guests
would say, but you didn't do it. It was the
house keeper at this resort. I said, I am the housekeeper.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
I had a leader on my team once in my
first big campaign, and I still remember one of our
campaign headquarters. Hundreds of people passing through, but the bathroom
was broken, and like, we've got to call somebody, who
get somebody in. Here's the campaign manager of the whole campaign.
Walks in the back, sees the toilet's cloth. There's nothing
to unquawk it with, sticks his hand into the toilet,
(20:25):
pushes up and down with his hand, unclawks, the toilet
problem solved, washes his hands, whatever walks out And by
the way, that set a tone that there's nothing beneath you.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Everybody is on this team. I will do every job.
I will do every job. I've swept floors. I have
no problems sweeping floors. I will see my philosophy resist.
When I sit with people, I asked them what they'd
like for dinner, I will cook that for them. I
will serve them. I will sit and listen to their
(20:56):
story and share mine, and I'll clean their plate. And
it's a philosophy of life. And I grew up with aspiration,
and I wanted to collect pens at the beginning, and
every deal I did, I bought a special pen. And
then I wanted to collect watches, and that the cars
were fashionable. And you know what, I don't need anything.
(21:18):
You know what I need. I need for my children
to be safe. I need my children to aspire to
whatever their desires or dreams are, and make sure that
why I am there and we are there to have
peas and at them. And I want them to fall
in a pothole, because not everyone wins the first place trophy.
I told them I got a lot of honorable mentions,
but you know it's more.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
I just want to say it's more than that though.
And again, this is spirituality. It is spirituality. And look,
you can't love your neighbor, which is the biggest commandment
in all of our shared faiths, love your neighbor in
the Jewish faith, which which you are. I study Judaism.
A couple of weeks, few weeks ago, we studied Rabbi
(22:00):
a Kiva. It was this logbo ho Mare, which is
a holiday. You know it, but most people don't know it.
But I'm a Jewish light. You're Jewish light. I'm a
guy that loves world faiths, studies Judaism, study with a
rabbi every Friday to study Torah. Logboh Mare is all
about Rabbi Akiva. This horrible plague kills over twenty thousand people,
(22:21):
and one of the lessons from this holiday is understanding
that Akiva's main mission. Are you living this ideal of
loving your neighbor? You cannot love someone if you don't
know them. And the challenge and again, you do a
good job of this. Honestly, that always has moved me
about you and makes me love you, which is we
(22:42):
live this life world now where we're dividing each other,
separating each other too much. Love is saying that I
love you enough to understand your experience, have empathy for you.
If you're a CEO that doesn't know the pressures of
what it's like to be a line cook or to
clean the bathrooms or the kid at the end, understand
what people are struggling with. We have leaders now the
(23:03):
highest offices in the lands, that are making tax policy
that don't understand the struggles of more than half of
this country right now.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
They don't understand the unintended consequences because they're looking for
the reality moment of the day. And I'll say this
to you spiritually, because I have gone up, I've taken
steps back, and you know, you want to be able
to aspire and inspire. And when I sold my company,
(23:33):
I thought it was a great day. Everyone's like and
I didn't understand the light switch went off and I
got really depressed and it affected me a lot. I
had a lot of trauma, and I sought help and
got through it and I got back on the horse again.
But I've had so many struggles in my life growing
and I actually had to deal with my father's bankruptcy.
(23:55):
People didn't know it because I kept a secret till
you passed, shared with negative twenty mine dollars and all
the things that I've done, I realized that getting hit
a little bit's okay. Getting hits okay, it's actually growth,
and I actually enjoy it. I like the cast. And
you know, I'm a little crazy, good crazy. I've been
(24:16):
told by pastors, I'm good trouble and you know it.
It's a part of life. So I've seen that we've
kind of insulated our children a little bit in helicopter
to them, and they've got to learn some heart lessons,
hard truths, and you've got to live look with integrity.
(24:36):
You've got to live with being a good human.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
But it means, you know, Brian Stevenson talks passionately about
the importance of us being proximate to each other. And
so we live in a nation right now where the policymakers,
people in the Senate like me, are not making policies
as if they understand the struggles of the arriage American.
This tax bill to me, which is the biggest transfer
for of wealth literally lower income working class people in
(25:03):
America will pay more to give tax cuts to the
to the wealthiest in America. Now, you and I are
both the kind of Democrats that are like, we want
to celebrate celebrate success, like I want capitalism rah rah yes,
hell yeah, story. I want more stories in America of
someone working them side. I lean into the success. I
(25:23):
am proud of my success, do you know what? And
I am proud, but you know what, I'm a lifelong Democrat,
but I also am going to call out our brethren
in our big tent who don't understand no tax on
tips and what that does to big corporate America. Because
I asked a lot of our fellow Democrats, do you
(25:44):
know what that does the income statement and balance sheet?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
And they said, well no, I said, what do you
mean you don't know? It reminded me when I was
dealing a brand USA and they were voting on China
policy and they have never been to China. I said,
how you doing that? And no tax on tips is
the biggest corporate windfall around because employers, okay pay a
(26:12):
tax to our US government, they no longer have to pay.
And that's sixty percent of those that are getting paid
on tips because forty percent don't qualify for taxes. So
we just gave corporate America a big wind fall, the
hedge funds of big windfall. And our brethren in the
big tent didn't even understand that. I said, oh, I
(26:33):
bet you thought that was just about voter harvesting, ballot harvesting,
and they go, and we are in our big tent too.
I got to tell you, we've got some issues when
we're dealing with PPP and we were giving away money.
I called out one of us because one of our friends,
Congressman Raskin, said we are going to hold tight, and
(26:54):
there was someone in Congress who was married to somebody
on Wall Street, and they're looking for a bailout PPP.
And guess what. That company couldn't get a loan. That
company could not do a secondary okay, and they took
a grant from our government. So we financed a broken company,
(27:15):
a bankrupt company. And I called bullshit on it, and
that congressman got so pissed at me. I called my
adopted dad, Harry Dad Mulcherry. I called her out because
if we're going to walk the talk, walk the talk
right and I'm going to be that. I'm going to
be that democrat in the hard center with a big
(27:35):
heart that's authentic, that am compassionate and warm. I'm not
called bullshit on us too well.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I mean this in the same way that we want
people to invest in things that a return. The greatest
investment we can make is in the greatest natural resource
of this country, which in a global knowledge based society,
it's the genius of our children. And so for our
country to be cutting things like food stamps, which the
(28:02):
average family with kids stays on food stamps just one year,
they fall.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Okay, they get and they get. They get.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Literally, the sourcing the nutrition of a child pays so
much dividends in their long term productivity. Every dollar you
spend on a child getting them above the poverty line
so they don't have that in security, that cortisol pumping
into their developing brain. Every dollar you do just to
return for our economy returns seven dollars to our economy
because kids above the poverty line are more productive, more
likely to be entrepreneurs, more successful. The reality is is
(28:34):
you and I look at this is investments. I was
like when I was mayor, what am I going to
do to grow my tax based opportunity? What am I
going to do to cut the things that we are
spending money on that make no sense? And so the
best thing we can invest on is the investment is
the nurturing that genius of a child. Do they have
is their first time they're seeing a doctor when their
mother is pregnant is in the emergency room because they
(28:56):
don't have prenatal care. How could the greatest nation on
the planet Earth have the most low birth weight babies,
the highest rates of maternal mortality and the like. The
next thing is, so make sure they're born healthy and
strong and don't need to spend time in the NICU
when we could have avoided that with prenatal care?
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Are they going to have?
Speaker 2 (29:12):
How can we be a nation that the first time
we're really spending money and investing in our kids is
when they're going to kindergarten, when ninety percent of their
brain development is already done. This is a weird country
where high quality childcare costs more in most states than
a college tuition does.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Well if you look at this, So think about this,
because I've done a lot of due diligence because, as
you know, I am running for governor of California now,
and it never told me what are you doing in
you're out of your mind? But you know what I
take on the most difficult situations. So I've studied sixteen
months the balance sheet and income stated with California. I
grew up here with California values, and I'm hard center.
(29:49):
We don't steal this nine hundred and fifty dollars. It's zero,
because if I stole a piece of candy, I'd be
more afraid of my father than the police. We respect
the law, we follow the law, and there are simple
solutions I have now found where we've gotten just putting
band aids on band aids because we've elected officials. Unfortunately
we've done it. Don't throw any stones. We all did it.
(30:12):
We allowed it to happen. Now we have a choice
to fix it. You want to point fingers, We don't
point fingers like you said. I never point figgers. We
accept where we are today and we move forward. We acknowledge.
And you know, when I was working in the federal
government tourism travel, I learned that you know, most people
that were in an elected office, they didn't understand balance
(30:33):
sheet incap statement. You almost have to give a test
for that, and how about a geography test too. Some
people didn't even have passports.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Okay, come on, well, as one of your friends who
tried to talk you out of running for governor, let
me tell you something that I think has been impressive
what you've done, which is just studying and understanding that
you don't have all the answers the California's problems, but
you can bring together and convene a lot of the
brightest mind you were telling me, which is a weird
You're a great guy, but you're also a nerd about
(31:05):
how excited you were by bringing minds together, developed white papers,
develop ideas, develop solutions to problems that are there in
front of us, but we're often not executing well on them.
This is the truth of America. We are weakened by
leaders that stand up and say, only I can solve
these problems. I've got all the answers. I'm going to
solve the more in Ukraine in a day. My generals
(31:26):
I know better than my generals do. Real leaders understand
that my power is convening and bringing people together. I'm
going to be a hard charging executor, but I'm going
to make sure everybody understands that sometimes the person cleaning
the room, the person who's doing the age fan has
actually sees things and has answer. I've been in the
(31:47):
field over the last year and a half and a
couple of things. When I was with the deputy sheriffs,
sitting in the police car, just chit chadding, getting to
know each other.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
They said to me. The officer was saying, you know,
mister Clubac. I go, no, it's Steven Officer, and he goes, no,
call me Miguel. I know, yes, officer doing respect. And
he was telling me about carping. They have sixteen hour
days because they don't have enough staffing. I said, well,
how's family life, how's your mental health, your brain health.
(32:24):
In the field, I'm seeing what's going on, and I
see narcan administered five times, and I'm telling you. Then
I go and and I see the other leaders in
the state, and I see the other leaders in the state,
and they don't understand. They want to fight these legal
fights that they're going to be losing propositions with our money.
(32:44):
They think it's their money. I figured that out. They
think they're smarter than the customer. We're all customers in California.
We're all customers in America. And I'm saying to myself,
why are you spending three hundred million dollars fighting a
losing lawsuit when there are farm workers that go to
a food bank? In what world do farm workers need
to go to a food bank? Well, let me let
me add to that.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Like, so, my number one issue when I became mayor
was public safety, and and I'm going to lead this city.
The first thing I'm gonna do is spend hundreds of hours,
no exaggeration, with police officers in the car, driving around
with them, and things jump out at you. What's your
biggest pain point? What's your complaint? And one of my
police officers said to me is that when I make
an arrest, it takes me hours to do the paperwork.
(33:28):
And I'm like, wait a minute, you're off the streets.
You make one arrest, you're off the streets for hours.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
To take me to show me that process, and you
ask why? So he shows me the process. Literally the
days of computers. They're feeling out to rest forms.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Silly. I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
I look at a whole precinct they didn't have functioning computers, printers.
They were telling me that they would take the ribbons
out of printers, take the ink out of printers, carry
them around because if you didn't have that when you
got there, it was actually, I gotta have my gun,
I got my handcuff, and I gotta have my printer
a cartridge. I mean, that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
Well, you know what I learned being in the street.
I learned this from being in the hotel business. After
I fixed the company the income sheet, the income statement,
balance sheet, and after I got systems in place of
communication because we've got electronic devices, my job was no
longer at the corporate office. My job was in the
field every day, walking around my kitchen, listen, leaders, listen,
(34:27):
And I talked to my guests walking around the pools.
How are you? What do you say around? What are
we doing right? What are we doing wrong? And we
were just getting better and better and better. And as
my journeys continued in my great state of California, at
fifty eight counties, I admit some incredible leaders. They don't know.
(34:49):
They thought I was just like trying to figure out
what's going on in California, But I was actually doing
job interviews. So I found some great leaders, some bright
stars in California right that have not been elevated yet,
and they will come with me to Sacramento because they've
got great attributes. And I can tell you the leaders
(35:09):
of the past have not led this way because it
comes from this business philosophy of fixing broken and actually
delivering to customers. Something my father taught me. Simple like
biological father, Sheldon, you have the customer or they bark
it for same thing with our tax dollars. All we
(35:30):
want is equal or greater value. Simple, it's not that difficult.
And people say, well, you want to deregulate cluebec. No
regulations are there for a purpose to keep bad actors out.
But too many regulations impede good business from doing good business.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
But it's you know, and this is what I love about.
Like we interact with government. There's touch points all the time, yep.
And you have one bad touch point, you lose faith
in the whole operation. Like I found out when I
got in the mayor couln't understan and why there are
lines wrapped around around the streets and around city hall
where people just trying to pay their traffic tickets makes
no sense.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
I said, that is outrageous.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
They don't have time that now they're getting hit with
a traffic ticket and now they're going to hit with
I need two hours away from my life just to
get this money in. So leaders listen, they walk around,
they understand the pain points, and government especially especially should
be the top of customer service.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
Bottom. We're all in hospitality, right.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
I want to ask you a question because I know,
I know we're gonna have to wind down, but let's
both answer this question. Tell me a moment where you
were not living in perfect integrity in your life, and
the hard the lesson you learned that got you to
be more in alignment with your values.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
I'll answer the same question. That's a great question. It's
a great question because we've all I've got one for
you after this. Okay, when I lost my purpose in life,
when I lost my when it showed my company, I
lost my purpose, I fell and I hit hard and
(37:05):
I had to pull myself back up in the deepest way.
But I had to see the precipice of hell. And
because I lost, I lost my will because I I
wasn't on the world stage and I knew I had
something to offer, but I was rudderless. Yeah, and I
had to dig deep, dig deep, and I had to
figure out the following. I had to find the love
(37:26):
for myself again. No, I remember you too, and I'm
very open about this because this is is very important.
That's why I'm so impactful when I deal with those
that have fallen into homelessness and I take care of
those in that and I speak to these folks and
I said, you know what, you think, you got it bad.
We all got it bad sometimes. Okay, it's not just you.
(37:47):
I've been there. Everyone's got it. So you know, if
you so you become self aware. You got to love
yourself again, love yourself. You got to put on your
oxygen masks first before you can help others. And you
got to be open and honest. And okay, everyone makes business.
I've made mistakes. You raise your hand. Okay, we're all human,
(38:07):
but you have to have integrity.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
I have to say, I remember those days and I
was worried about you, and then I remember when you
clicked in again.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
You're like Corey. First of all, I'm not drinking anymore.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
You sort of like straining your life and reassessing your purpose,
which was really.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
Because you know, look, every every business you pay a price.
Whatever you do in life, if you're if you're really successful,
what you do it never worked the day in my life,
and you got to be You have to have passion.
I was a passion And in every business you pay
a price. If you're in the hospitality business, what are
you doing every day? Well, you know, I think, but
I think I just as your friend, like I saw
(38:45):
you wrestling with that darkness. Oh it's terrible and uh
and I've that when I've been utter lists, the worst
of my vices come out the you know. But in life,
I think having a purpose driven life, having a mission,
having a what they call b hag one of my
favorite business books, a big Harry audacious goal. And I
(39:05):
know you are better, You are at your best when
you have a great challenge of service. So I've watched
you with the Boxing Commission, I've watched you and that,
I've watched you with the Brand USA. I caught you
at the tail end of your businesses and it's amazing
how when you have a big enough why in your life,
why is huge, yes, And when you have a big
(39:28):
enough why in your life, you suddenly have no patience
anymore for the things that are distracting you, undermining you.
But I do love this thing about you, know, to
live a life of loving others, that you've got to
start first with yourself. And I think that's something you.
You You stared at the darkness within you and somehow
(39:49):
you were able to ignite again sort of light like
everyone can. And I tell everyone you could do it.
I mean, I've done it so many times in my life.
But I mean I went to the press, well, and
I'm not ashamed, it's just okay. I said, what's left, Well,
there was a lot more left, and we're doing now.
So I say to everyone, there is a lot more left.
(40:13):
Just not just love your neighbor, love thyself. You will
then love thy neighbor. But when I've fixed broken, I
found out we forgot. It wasn't just the American Army
putting a big company all over the world. Because I
operated in thirty five countries, sixteen languages, multiple currencies. I
had to be culturally relevant, all right. Always lean into
(40:37):
where you're operating. And we're not doing that in the
United States now because we've forgot about face in Asia,
the concept of face, we forgot about our allies in Europe.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Okay, when it comes to a nation living with better integrity.
I don't know if you want me to answer the
question I asked you, or do you want to do
you have a different question, what do you want to.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
I have a question of you. My question is if
you could have one day on planet Earth with somebody
that has passed. It could be anybody, Socrates, George Washington,
a relative friend, who would you like to spend one
(41:17):
day with? You know, you asked me at a time
where I've been missing my dad and my granddad a lot. Yeah,
I choose one and my grandmother.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
I have to say, but I think I was just
writing a story about my dad struggles with Parkinson's and
how difficult that was to watch my father with this
vicious thief that stole from his cognitive abilities as physical abilities.
And I saw his grit, I saw his strength of character.
(41:52):
But yet Parkinson's won in the end. And this is
where Harry Reid and I bonded. Actually, because my father
died in Nevada, and he died right in the time
I was running for the office. I now hold he
died six days before I became a United States senator
when he first had his stroke during the primary, and
both my mom said to me, do not stop. We're
(42:15):
here primaries in a few days. You can come here
after the primary. But Harry Reid, finding out that my
father was in the hospital, went to the hospital, sat
with my mom, alerted the hospital that this is a
person that once should get the best of everything, stayed
(42:37):
in there. It was just amazing to see his act
of grace during during that time. But I will tell you,
when you lose a parent, and you know this, it
is a hole that never gets filled.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
I was devastated, my best friend, my father. I was devastated.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
And so every time I have a moment where where
I didn't get to share with my dad, And you've
met the woman I'm getting very serious with, and she's
watched me tear up and get emotional that he my father,
never gets to know her. In fact, I think two
of them would have gotten a lot better than maybe
even she does with me. But every moment of big
moment of my life, I feel his absence, and so
(43:19):
you know, I think I'd.
Speaker 1 (43:20):
Love to have him here. I see we're going to
talk about our fathers. We're both going to cry because
you can talk about my dad. Because my dad he
lived with me the last three years of his life,
and I took care of him. And I was his
son and his older brother, and he didn't have a brother,
(43:41):
let alone older brother had It was so juxtaposed. But
I would say to him in a very sweet way,
how old are we to understand and have compassion? And
I learned some great stories about my dad. And you know,
my dad traveled with me everywhere. I worked for him,
he worked for me, and you know, it was just
(44:03):
but it's not amazing. In the end, you're getting stories.
Were both did a cry, right, Yes, you're getting stories.
It's it's crazy, but.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
It's amazing that like when you when you were at
that last minute where you have just a little bit
of time left, I was still learning things about him.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
Oh my god, yeah, and still hearing stories. I thought.
I thought I knew all this part about when you
were in college or what you did here, and so
to lose that and I was dealing with Alzheimer's, so yes,
I got I got, you know, way to have dinner
and I'd order his dinner and you'd have his ice cream,
and of course they'd take it away, and he would say,
where's my ice cream? So I would just lean into
(44:39):
it and say, get him around it. You forgot the
ice cream to the waiter, and I'd wink at him
and we'd go to the same restaurants. It was kind
of a show. After a while. I limited him to
three ice creams, but because I let him eat whatever
the hell he wants. But I mean, you learned so
many things. I mean, I learned stories about my father
when he went to Cuba, and I'm like, you never
(44:59):
told me that story. And after dinner, he after dinner
and we're in Las Vegas, he said, I'm going home
to see mom and Dad. I said, where are you going?
He goes, I'm going to Chicago. Yeah, And so then
I'm like, you just lean into it.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
This is this song by Luther Vandros Dance with my
father again. It's the best. And so I hear that
I'm a white boy, but i'd look, I can know
Gap band twelve inch outstanding.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
Okay, So there's this there's I hear that song and
I think of all of the things, if I could
have one more conversation with him, one more walk, one
more just heart like you know that's that and that
song I hear it and that's always triggers in me.
But I will tell you this right now. This is
word Nachus that you know Nacus is supporting. Yeah, I
(45:46):
know that your father and my father. Oh they're looking
at us. They're in heaven looking down at us, and
They're like, what.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
Are these twohead's doing. And I'm telling you this. It's good.
We'll end on that note, but I want to tell
you this, my dear friend. Yes, I am so grateful,
utterly grateful that you have come on this friend. Let
me let me give you a prayer, and I hope
I feel this in your life. You feel this in
my life because you and I were sitting here. We
are in a great period in our lives.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
But we know each other well enough to know all
the faults and the foibles, and we share each other.
So there's a there's a prayer. God grant me at
least one friend that really knows me and is still
my friend. Otherwise, even though they know me, they're still
my friend. I will always be your friend, my brother,
I will always be your friend. I am afraid for you.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
I told you that this pinky promise you get a
pinky promise.
Speaker 2 (46:39):
I don't know if I'll move this MC, but I'll
pinky promise you we can do that piggy percase. I'm
I'm you are stepping out into a political world that
I that again. I've tried to talk you out of it.
I'm afraid for the well. Remember I said this to you.
I'm most worried about your heart.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
I'm not. I'm not.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
I've seen you tackle every challenges in government, in business,
in philanthropy and excel at it. My prayer for you,
besides that you have more than just me, who loves
you unconditionally, despite your high places and your low places.
I love you unconditionally. But my prayer for you is
that God uses you to serve in ways beyond your
(47:19):
wildest dreams. But even along the journey, you never forget
what you learned in that dark place. Love yourself by
source your joy from within.
Speaker 1 (47:29):
I promise you this. Yes I know the assignment. Yes
I'm gonna slay it because I got California.
Speaker 2 (47:38):
God bless this great state that did so much for
my family. It will be the bully pulpit again in
the United States is thank you, Thank you
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Say you thought, I want to call the LAS
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