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The Breakfast Club
INTERVIEW: Keisha Lance Bottoms Talks Running For Governor Of Georgia, Black Leadership, Kamala Harris + More
00:43:05
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- [00:00]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Charlamagne Tha God
Check out the new season of Reasonable Doubt. Now screaming on Hulu, L.A. s most successful attorney, Jack Stewart, defends a young actor accused of murder. Follow Emma Yahtzee Coronaldi, Morris Chestnut, Joseph Sikora, and guest stars Cash Doll and Lori Harvey as they fight their personal battles in the spotlight of the year's most sensational trial. In the pursuit of justice, every move counts. Reasonable Doubt, season three, now screaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney. For bundle subscribers, 20 terms apply.
- [00:28]
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- [01:00]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Hi, everyone. It's Regina hall and Teyana Taylor here. Let us give you one reason after another to see our new movie, One Battle after another.
- [01:08]
Interviewer/Co-host
Yeah, here we go.
- [01:09]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro. It's a great story. Action, laughs, thrill, you got some heart. And badass woman.
- [01:18]
Co-host/Interviewer
That's us.
- [01:18]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Mm. That's a pretty good list.
- [01:20]
Interviewer/Co-host
That's so many reasons why you need.
- [01:22]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
To catch one battle after another.
- [01:24]
Charlamagne Tha God
Only Beauteous Friday from Paul Thomas Anderson. Rated R under 17 on middle without parent. The best kind of help is the kind you don't even have to ask for. Like your friend pulling up on moving day with a truck, a speaker, and snacks ready to go. Well, that's the energy you get with AT&T's new guarantee. If there's ever a network interruption, they make it right by giving you credit for a full day of service. Proactively credit for fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more or wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more or caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com guaranty for full details. AT&T connecting changes everything. Yes, it's the world's most dangerous morning show. The Breakfast Club, charlamagne, tha God, DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Envy and Jess are gone, but LL Kube, Lauren LaRosa is here. And we got Teslin Figaro sitting in because we have a very special guest, the former mayor of Atlanta and She's running for governor in Georgia. Ms. Keisha Lance Bottoms is here. Good morning.
- [02:26]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Good morning. Thank you for having me.
- [02:28]
Charlamagne Tha God
Thank you for coming. How do you feel?
- [02:29]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
I feel great. It's great to be here. I had a fundraiser in New York, and great to see you in person.
- [02:36]
Charlamagne Tha God
Absolutely. What made you want to run for governor of Georgia in these crazy times?
- [02:41]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Yeah, we are living. It's like in the Twilight zone right now. I woke up the day after the election in November, like so many people wondering what it meant for me personally and just for us as a nation, for Georgia as a state. And I did a lot of praying, a lot of talking, and then some more praying. And I decided in this season to get back in the ring, we need strong leadership, and people are looking to states and to local governments to stand in the gap because we've got so much craziness and chaos coming out of D.C. right now.
- [03:18]
Charlamagne Tha God
You know, Stacey Abrams ran for governor twice, and she fell short, even with massive national attention. What would you do differently so Georgia, you know, doesn't be like, oh, another almost.
- [03:29]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Yeah, well, you know, Charlemagne. One of the first national interviews I did was when I was a candidate for mayor and you had me on, and we did it the old fashioned way. You go knock on doors, you call people. Now we've got tick tock and all these other ways that you have to communicate with people sitting here. I mean, your audience is massive. We have to cover it all. And what you do, you look at every election from Stacy's elections to the VP being on the ballot in November, you take what work, you keep it, and then what didn't work as well, then you fix it. And the reality is this. You know, there is a reason that Georgia went blue in 1920. We've got two state senators who are two senators from Georgia who are Democrats. So it's possible it just hadn't happened yet, but it's certainly possible.
- [04:24]
Charlamagne Tha God
You know, a lot of critics say Democrats in Georgia can't win statewide unless they run more moderate. Like, would you play to the center or lean fully into, like, progressive?
- [04:33]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Well, you know, my mom always says you only have to tell the truth once. And the truth. The truth is, I mean, I am a moderate. You know, you just stand in your truth and what you believe in. And I believe that there are some policies that work from the left. There are some policies that may be more conservative, but at the end of the day, it's about getting things done. And when I served as mayor, we got a lot of things done. From adding and preserving 7,000 units of affordable housing to getting our city workers up to a minimum wage of $15 an hour. Because in Georgia, it's just over $5 an hour to. I mean, I can give an entire list of things that we were able to accomplish, but it was standing in our truth and what our values were.
- [05:24]
Co-host/Interviewer
I'm glad you brought that up, because you were known in Atlanta for really standing up for people against the predatory lending and how the home buyers were getting things taken and things like that, the homeowners. Can you speak a little bit about that?
- [05:36]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Well, affordable housing was a big push from our administration, and it's not just an issue in urban areas. It's happening in rural communities as well. Traveling around the state, it's happening around the country. And you all know, as people are paying attention to the mayor's race in New York, affordability is an issue. So we did focus not just on affordable housing, but also helping the unbanked. We had programs that would help people who were under bank or couldn't go to traditional institutions to even cash their checks at the end of the work week, making sure that we could help build up their credit, making sure that they had a relationship with the bank. We were able to do that through the US Conference of Mayors. Financial literacy is so important, whether it's from helping somebody get a down payment on their first home to helping to create credit that allows them to even think about getting their first home. So it's like the approach is layered. We know that there are a multitude of challenges that people are facing, but government can and should help address some of those. And sometimes it's in conjunction with the. With the private sector.
- [06:52]
Co-host/Interviewer
I want to ask you, 49 women have been elected as governor, and not one has been a black woman. When you talk about what hasn't worked and what didn't work, what are some of the challenges that you see? That although successful in Atlanta, which is the black mecca, how will you, I guess, galvanized. When you look at Georgia as a state which is very different than Atlanta being, I would say, its own, you know, own state by itself, how are you going to, you know, reach out to those communities that are not interested, you know, in electing and not just a woman of color, but specifically a black woman, how do you. How do you plan on dealing with those challenges?
- [07:28]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Well, the reality is this. We've never had a woman elected governor in Georgia either. And it is about meeting people where they are. So we've been traveling around the state. Atlanta is A great place, but I can't rely just on Atlanta. If I did, if any candidate did, we wouldn't win. So we've been making Warner Robbins. Augusta will be in Albany next week. We have been to Savannah, Chatham County. We're moving around the state, talking directly to people. So I've got this whole list of issues that I want to focus on. Eliminating income, state income taxes for our teachers. We got a teacher shortage, expanding Medicaid in our state. We've nine rural hospitals who have closed. We have half our counties who don't have OB GYNs, don't have pediatricians, more deaths than births in more than half our counties in the state. That's unacceptable. So we're moving around, talking to people. I've got my list of issues, but as I'm hearing from people, I'm adding to that list. And it's about reaching everybody. Black women, black men, brown people, white people. It's about listening and being willing to course correct when necessary.
- [08:49]
Charlamagne Tha God
You know, Republicans in Georgia don't play fair, though. You got voter suppression, gerrymandering, culture wars. Like, do you think you can really out strategize that, or you feel like you, like, kind of walking into a trap?
- [08:59]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
No, we've done it before. I mean, and I know you all are paying attention to what's happening in Georgia. 500,000 people have been removed from our voter roll. That's crazy. There are hearings happening right now in the state where they're trying to reduce early voting and remove absentee voting. This whole list. And when you look at a place like Georgia, where the margins are so thin, it matters. So you mentioned Stacy Stacey's first race. 55,000 votes. She lost five. The vice president, 100,000 votes. That's not a lot when you have millions of people showing up to vote. So again, what we gotta do is keep talking to people, get them energized. Listen, listen, listen. I've got four children. Three are teenagers. One is 23. I gotta stop clutching my pearls when they say things I don't agree with, because it's their reality. And as candidates, you know, it's great that we go up on television and do all these fancy things. We got to go into the barbershops, the beauty shops. We got to listen to people and then act accordingly.
- [10:07]
Interviewer/Co-host
In the beginning of the interview, Charlamagne asked you, like, why now in these crazy times that I'm hearing you talk about, like, going out and doing things. And the first thing I thought of, especially with you being the first, if Elected was Kamala Harris's book. And she talked about, you know, just a lot of the struggles she went through, because as a black woman, they weren't. They didn't know. Not only did they not know what to do, it wasn't built for her, but they didn't support. And she dealt with a lot behind the scenes. I know you. You worked with the Biden campaign. What did you experience then?
- [10:34]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
If.
- [10:34]
Interviewer/Co-host
If at all, anything that is preparing you for what you're potentially about to walk into as first woman, black woman governor.
- [10:39]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Yeah, I worked in White House. And you can't work in the White House and sit in that senior meeting every morning, just a few steps from the Oval Office, and not be a better leader. You see how things get done. And it is challenging anytime that you are the first in the room, but it's also this opportunity. I would always chuckle to myself when the president would say, keisha, what do you think? And I would think, I bet nobody's ever been asked that in the Oval Office. Keisha, Keisha, what do you think? So, you know, there are challenges, but there are also a lot of opportunities there. And a lot of times when we are the first, it's hardest for us in those spaces. But you're opening doors so that hopefully you won't be the last, and it won't be as difficult as people coming behind you.
- [11:30]
Charlamagne Tha God
How do you navigate supporting a president like Biden while still being honest about what he could have done better, and he could have done better for black communities? Because I'm on record as saying the now of the Democratic Party and the future of the Democratic Party, you got to throw that old regime under the bus. And the VP does a great job of doing that in her new book. I don't know if you read it yet, but yes.
- [11:49]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
No, I haven't read it yet. But, you know, there were a lot of great things that happened from the Biden Harris administration that delivered for our communities. And I think, unfortunately, right now, like, just a couple of days ago, I was speaking with someone about black farmers on all the strides that have been made in our rural communities, specifically to support black farmers. Trump administration's already clawed it back. So there were a lot of things that were done well, and I'm very proud of that. Hindsight is always 2020. You think about things that perhaps could have been done differently. But at the end of the day, that administration delivered a lot of wins for our communities. And now we got to look forward and figure out, how do we keep going, how do we keep building? How do we keep moving? Even when I talked to you when I was running for mayor several years ago, Instagram was this new thing, this new communications tool that we were using. We're light years away from that. And if we are stagnant, then we're not going to progress as a party. But what I know is this, this democracy that we live in, for now, it's a work in progress and we've got to be nimble. The Republican Party, I compare these MAGA Republicans. A broken clock is right twice a day. They've hit it on messaging and they've hit it on the long game. And I think we can learn some lessons in that.
- [13:20]
Charlamagne Tha God
I guess that's it for me. Right? Like Democrats, you know, Democrats couldn't message when they were winning. Right. At least on a federal level. So now that they're losing, what can the party message to people? And I know it's just a state race, but you're still representing the Democratic Party. So what is the message now?
- [13:37]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Well, I think, Charlemagne, we'll be looking to you all to help us with that too. Like how do people get their messaging? How do we communicate with people? We perfected political messaging and ads and all these things that we've done for decades on end. What we've not perfected is, and I'll just go back to this example. I remember my now 15 year old son was like looking at some NBA something or another on television and I heard Trump's voice coming through. I'm like, what is Donald Trump like? What are you watching? He's like, oh yeah, he's on here all the time because he was talking to our kids when we were still on cable tv. So I think it's going to take all of us, it's going to take us thinking differently, you know, the way that we've traditionally done. Politics clearly doesn't always work. It's not always effective. You can still be principled, but you can still be willing to learn something new. And that's a challenge. And for me, again, I'm listening when I go in the barbershop with my kids, I'm listening when my son tells me, you know, which he did two, three years before the election, that we had a problem with young black men. I'm like, no. You know our polling saying xyz, he's like, no, y' all got a problem. So I'm learning, I'm learning to listen.
- [15:10]
Charlamagne Tha God
You know, Keisha, a black mother from the south, she said my son was watching some NBA. Something, something, something, something.
- [15:17]
Co-host/Interviewer
I want to go back to when you said a part of it is leaning on us. And I want to talk about pressure that a lot of us, we put on, you know, Democrats as well. I know Charlemagne's taking a lot of heat for it. I certainly took a lot of heat. I want to go back to what you said about the black farmers. And so although the Biden administration did deliver, still pressure had to be put on the Biden administration to do the right thing in 2022. Attorney Benjamin Crump had to file a lawsuit against President Biden. So I think it's fair to say that, yes, the Biden administration delivered, yes, they certainly did more than what a previous administration would do or perhaps what another administration would do. But he also, because I remember he was very conflicted about having to do that. And so how do we be honest enough for people to say that, yes, we are putting pressure on possibly your favorite president or whoever you may like in order to get things done? And how can we be honest about that when we're, you know, doing our advocacy in the media? Basically respect that. That I may have to say, this ain't it. Y' all not doing the right thing, because it's traditionally been this, well, you're helping Trump or you're helping other side. When that's not it. We're trying to just actually help the black farmers.
- [16:25]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Yeah. And. And what I'll say is this is we can't let perfection get in the way of us participating. I'm not saying the Biden Harris administration was perfect. Clearly it wasn't perfect. But I'll put the worst day of the Biden Harris administration up against this Trump administration any day of the week, because at least I knew we had a chance. And again, elections are about looking forward. We want to make sure that when we elect people that we have a chance to have a seat at the table. I've been inside the White House with Ben Crump, so I know he get. He gets to walk through the door and have those hard conversations. Sometimes you agree, sometimes you disagree. But as we look to 2026, we got to think about, do we want to have a chance again? Do we want to have a fighting chance? And my concern right now is at the rate that we are going and the way our democracy is being unraveled, literally hour by hour, that if we surrender our right to participate, we're not going to have anything to participate in. John Lewis was my congressman. He represented my district. And I'm often reminded of his words, our vote is the most powerful weapon that we have in a democracy. If we don't use it, we will lose it. I get that people are frustrated and people are choosing the couch. They're not choosing Democrats. They're not choosing Republicans. They're just disgusted. They're like, I ain't voting for none of y'.
- [18:04]
Charlamagne Tha God
All.
- [18:05]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
And that is the worst thing that we can do, is to give up and not be a part of the conversation and not be counted. So, no, no administration gets it all right. The Obama administration didn't get it all right. The Clinton administration didn't get it all right. But we at least had a chance to try again. I don't see that with this Trump administration.
- [18:32]
Charlamagne Tha God
You know, one thing you did when you was mayor, you gave raises for police officers and firefighters. And I always say, I feel like, you know, more money should go in police officers pockets. Right. I feel like, you know, if you have a higher salary for police officers, you'll get a higher quality of person for the job. Right. Why did you decide to do that?
- [18:49]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
We had a retention issue. We were. We were really struggling, and we were. Our officers were leaving. They were coming to get trained in Atlanta. They were leaving to go to other surrounding metro areas, cities and counties because we were not on par, not just locally, but nationally as well. Our firefighters hadn't gotten their. Their money, their appropriate raises in 50 years. And at the end of the day, it's, you know, whatever your position is on police officers or public safety in general, you know, it's not just about calling somebody when there's a crime. When you have a car accident, when somebody breaks in your car, you got to have somebody who can come and investigate and then be able to go show up in court and testify and do all those things. So it was important. And, you know, it was. I didn't get the support of police officers or firefighters when I ran, but I thought that it was the right thing to do, and it was the right thing to do for our city.
- [19:55]
Charlamagne Tha God
Did they give you credit after the fact?
- [19:57]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
They did. Okay. They did.
- [20:00]
Interviewer/Co-host
Some of your kids, I know you're. You got four kids.
- [20:03]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Yeah.
- [20:03]
Interviewer/Co-host
Your wife and some of your kids are older. I heard you say some help you with, like, social media, stuff like that. Like, how do you balance? Because what you do in politics is very demanding. How you balance just like life outside of that with everything else that you balance for a lot of people.
- [20:16]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Yeah, Yeah. I mean, you know, thankfully, I have a. An incredible family that sacrifices more than anybody could possibly Understand? And my therapist said something to me that I keep in my heart a lot. She said, you were a strong mayor. I want you to be a powerful governor. Strong women push through. They have heart attacks, they have strokes, and they die. She said, powerful women stop. They learn the lesson, and then and only then do they move on. So for me, it's about balance. So if I have to. If I have to stop what I'm doing and be balanced when it comes to the needs of my kids or my family, my husband, that's what I have to do. Because that's power. Because when I'm out of sync, my family's out of sync, my community is out of sync. So I'm focused on being powerful as a mother, as a wife, and as a leader. And balance is hard, but it's a choice.
- [21:27]
Interviewer/Co-host
It means.
- [21:27]
Co-host/Interviewer
You think women get that grace, though, because you don't really hear men saying, I'm gonna be balanced. I'm gonna be a mother. Do you think that's why people have a problem with women?
- [21:34]
Charlamagne Tha God
To lead our wives?
- [21:35]
Co-host/Interviewer
Yeah, exactly. Like, they don't want a leader that's going to be balanced. They want you completely off balance and totally focused in on that. So, I mean, do you think that plays a part in why? Yeah, I mean, I don't want women leadership.
- [21:49]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Life isn't fair. People are going to always take exception to what you choose and how you choose. But for me, I know that I'm a more powerful leader when I'm balanced than when I take the time to take a walk or when I take the time to do something like listen to a book. It makes me stronger, and it makes me more focused. It makes me a better mother, makes me a better wife. It makes me a better leader. And a lot of times, you know, whatever your profession is, we often don't find that balance, and we don't choose it for ourselves. So we go, you know, I was strong, and I push through, and then we pass out somewhere because we've been pushing through, and power is saying, sometimes I got to put me first. You know, we often hear this metaphor when you're on a plane, you got to put your oxygen mask on first. Well, that's true. Because if I'm not right, nobody is right in my house.
- [22:51]
Interviewer/Co-host
What are your therapy? As much as you want to share, what are your therapy sessions like, how do you separate Keisha Lance Bottoms as the person, the mom, the wife, versus I'm coming here because my job and politics are putting me in a bad mental space or do they all come together in therapy?
- [23:07]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
It all comes together. I love therapy. It's wonderful. I highly recommend Check out the intense.
- [23:12]
Charlamagne Tha God
New season of Reasonable Doubt now screaming on Hulu. LA's most sought after and successful defense attorney Jack Stewart thought she had seen it all. But now she will face her toughest case yet when she defends a young actor loved by millions and accused of murder. Join Jax as she takes on the district attorney, the press and even her own partners to prove his innocence. The jury's verdict will determine Jax's future and the fate of her client. Following Emma, Yahtzee, Coronaldi, Morris Chestnut, Joseph Sikora and guest stars Cash doll Lori Harvey and more as they fight their personal battles in the spotlight of the year's most sensational murder trial. In the pursuit of justice, every move counts. Reasonable Doubt Season three now screaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.
- [23:50]
State Farm Announcer (Alternate)
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- [24:52]
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- [26:03]
State Farm Announcer
From Paul Thomas Anderson comes one Battle after another.
- [26:07]
Charlamagne Tha God
What's going on, everybody? It's your boy, Juju Green, AKA Straw Hat Goofy.
- [26:10]
AT&T Announcer
You're a movie guy, and I'm sitting.
- [26:11]
Charlamagne Tha God
Here with the lovely and quite frankly, badass women of One Battle After Another. We got Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infinity. When you first read your character on that script, what did your character remind you of?
- [26:23]
Interviewer/Co-host
As you can see, you know, we don't always agree with a lot of things that perfidious do, but for the most part, we see a survivor. We see a woman that's in survival mode. You know, we also see a woman that's unapologetically herself, but then she is also, like, mysterious and, like, you know, she got like, a little sex appeal that's like, you know, how she pulling.
- [26:40]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Them in like that.
- [26:41]
AT&T Announcer
You feel me?
- [26:43]
Interviewer/Co-host
You know, she's mysterious and she's also like a master manipulator. And she's like a octopus. She can like, get her way out of anything. You know what I'm saying?
- [26:51]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Yeah, I love that.
- [26:53]
Charlamagne Tha God
One Battle After Another in theaters Friday. Experience it in IMAX and other premium formats. Get tickets now.
- [26:59]
State Farm Announcer
Rated R under 17, not admitted without parent.
- [27:03]
Charlamagne Tha God
Me too.
- [27:04]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
You know, because you get to unpack all these things. You, you know, we live our lives and we think they're like these segmented spaces in our lives. But through therapy, what I found is it's all related. You bring all that childhood stuff with you. The good, the bad, the ugly, it all. It comes with you into adulthood. It comes with you into marriage, it comes with you into parenthood. Like, you bring it all in. If you don't understand it, sometimes it just doesn't make sense. And the thing I love about therapy is that it's somebody who is not, like, you're arguing with your spouse, like, you're not taking a position. It's somebody who's neutral and who's Helping you unpack it. My therapist can talk to me for 10 minutes about something I've been talking to my husband about for 10 years, and I'm like, oh, okay, I understand that. I get it. Because it's this neutral person who's trained to help you process and unpack. And quite frankly, given all of the challenges we're having with mental health, especially in the black community, like, I'm really proud to speak about it publicly because it is taboo. And we know people are dealing with ptsd, anxiety, depression, and all these things that we often don't identify or that we even call a weakness sometimes in the black community. But it's just like if. If you had high blood pressure, diabetes, we say you need to go see a doctor. Well, it's the same thing with mental health.
- [28:39]
Charlamagne Tha God
That's right.
- [28:40]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
If you're struggling, sometimes you got to go talk to somebody who's a trained professional who can help you unpack and process.
- [28:47]
Charlamagne Tha God
You know, you talked about servant leadership a lot, right? Like. Like, is it possible for a politician to actually be a public servant? Because I always see a lot of people who were servant leaders, right? They were public servants, but, boy, when they get into politics, they, you know, compromise themselves real quick.
- [29:04]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Yeah, well, one, I say I don't think people. I don't think you should be a broke politician because, you know, and sometimes people don't have the choice in terms of their income. But I. I've seen that sometimes that can be challenging for people, that if, you know, you're signing a stack of contracts like this worth a hundred hundreds of millions of dollars. For some people, it can be tempting to kind of, you know, not. Not be honest brokers out of necessity or whatever the reasons. I would say, you know, for a lot of people, we want everybody at the table. We want representation of a cross section of people. But what I tell people, especially younger politicians, is you can have a life after politics. So even if you go in and your. Your income is not great, and you're looking at these contracts you're signing for people getting millions of dollars in contracts, then plan for your. Your future. Don't touch it now. Just plan for your future. Because at the end of the day, you're there to serve and you're there to stay free. And for black politicians especially, we are often targets. And unfortunately, sometimes, you know, it. It's. We make it too easy to. To get in trouble.
- [30:28]
Charlamagne Tha God
So basically, do right by the people when you in office and get that money once you get up, do right.
- [30:31]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
By the People, the best political advice I got was from a friend of mine who said, whatever you do, make sure you can always go home.
- [30:42]
Charlamagne Tha God
That's right.
- [30:42]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
And what he meant by that was, like, when I walk in the grocery store, I'm not afraid. I can hold my head up high. People may not agree with me, but I can defend anything I've done. Any decision I've ever made, even if it's as much as saying I made a mistake. I do it differently, but I can. I still live in the same house, same community, I shop in the same store. Like, all the things are still the same because when I left office, I was able to go back home.
- [31:13]
Co-host/Interviewer
I want to ask your thoughts on. Because I'll be honest with you, I'm an independent. I used to be a Democrat. And I'm going to be honest. The messaging on, well, at least we have a chance. That don't really land with me. Like, I want the straight, you know, we going in, we are taking whatever we can get, which I get, you know, and I understand your point, but I'm loving the energy that Governor Newsom is. Is on right now. And he's been inspiring to a lot. And lobby may not agree with his politics. I think everybody has a role to play in politics. Your personality is your personality, his is his. Do you see him being helpful overall? Because I know you're running for governor, but the Democrat party as a whole, bringing the smoke. What have been your thoughts on him being able to play that offense, defense, you know, to kind of say things that maybe other politicians cannot or to kind of run that play? How have you been? Have you been receiving? Have you been clutching your pearls or have you been loving some of the petty.
- [32:07]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
I love it. I love it. I mean, and that's his personality. So I love it. I think people are looking for people who are authentic and genuine in their leadership. That's his style. And I mean, I'm here for it. And what I would say, you know, even with you identifying as an independent, the respect that I have for that is that we can't take anybody for granted. And what I'm seeing in this season, people are so much more informed. And I. I'm a Delta. I did something with a group of Deltas, and when I tell you, they asked me the hardest questions of any group that I've been around, you know, and I was like, oh, wow, okay, am I like. And they were there in support of me.
- [32:51]
Charlamagne Tha God
But you wanted this.
- [32:52]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
But they want to like.
- [32:54]
Co-host/Interviewer
And that makes a difference.
- [32:55]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Like, so you know, I'm not taking anybody for granted. We shouldn't take anybody for granted. I think at the end of the day, you know, a lot of people are, are more not Democrat, not Republican and more in the middle than even we self identify as. But going back to Gavin Newsom, I love what he's doing. I love that he's owning it. I think that he is brilliant. I love that it is authentic to him and I love that he is meeting the moment. I think the biggest danger for any of us would be to engage in ways is that that's not authentic to us because people see it and you know, people have a high BS radar and if it's not real, people are going to pick on, pick up on that too. It's real for him.
- [33:48]
Interviewer/Co-host
What have your thoughts been around your safety going back into office? Like, I know you had like you got, your security was extended for some time because the death threats you're receiving and yeah, Trump's in office and you guys had your back and forth with the whole resignation thing where your thought, it's just a crazy time. What are your thoughts around that?
- [34:05]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Yeah, I mean, as a person of faith, I plead the blood of Jesus over me and my family because it's real. When I was mayor, I had a lot of credible threats, including a credible kidnapping threat. I remember going for a walk one day and a man pulling up on me saying, oh, I didn't think it was going to be this easy to find you. Thankfully, he didn't mean me harm, but he did find me out walking by myself some. I'm constantly.
- [34:40]
Charlamagne Tha God
I mean, I understand you, you know, enjoy your freedom, you got faith in God, but why would you be walking by yourself like you still got to protect yourself.
- [34:47]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Probably not, not the smartest thing to do. But, you know, I left out my door and I went for a walk and I didn't think, you know, this man was going to drive over from DeKalb county and look for me that day. Now it. Was it smart? No, but I mean, that was, I wanted to walk by myself that day. And so back in this season, I am mindful of it. I'm, I'm, I'm cognizant of it. Anytime I'm speaking before a group, I find I like, I'm looking around, paying attention to who's moving, who's, you know, where's the exit, you know, layering on security. I mean, it's just, it's, it's the nature of the times that we're living in and it's, it is unsettling, but it's our reality.
- [35:40]
Charlamagne Tha God
Do you think that there's an attack on. On black mares?
- [35:47]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
I think there's an attack on black leadership across the board. I think the attack on black mayors is like, that's generational. You know, even Ambassador Young was called before a grand jury. You know, so it's. Yeah, I mean, I think that's real.
- [36:11]
Charlamagne Tha God
Why, though? Like, why is it. Why black. Why does black mayor leadership get targeted in that. In that way?
- [36:18]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Well, I mean, so I'll give Atlanta as an example. The mayor of Atlanta is the CEO of the city. It's a strong mayor form of government with over a billion dollar budget. Between the airport, the water department and the city's general fund budget, actually probably closer to $2 billion. That's a lot of money and a lot of contracts that you're signing. So even in Georgia and in Atlanta, the guy who's the front runner on the Republican side for governor put forth legislation to take the airport from the city of Atlanta, to take it, to take it over. Because the city runs the airport because there are contracts there. Some would say it had a large part to do with, in helping to build a black middle class in Atlanta. So anytime you have money involved and you have a singular black leader who can sign those contracts, who cannot sign those contracts, it's going to get attention, it's going to get scrutiny, and it's going to make you susceptible to investigations. It's not fair. But that's what that was happening when Maynard Jackson was the mayor of Atlanta. It happened to Ambassador Young. I mean, happens.
- [37:43]
Co-host/Interviewer
So basically saying that's where the powers. I'm always talking about local and state, local and state. That's where the power is. That's where things get done the most, the quickest, the fastest. And you're saying that the local level, the mayors, is targeted because of the power that they have. Talk about a little bit about the governor because we love the sex appeal, you know, how sexy it is. Talk about Congress and president, all of that. But talk about the power that a governor has that can literally change somebody's life overnight. Opposed to being in Congress where you have to argue with hundreds of people.
- [38:12]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
So when, when federal money, for example, comes into a state, it often flows right through the state government, through the governor's office. Governor can determine budgets. The governor. Governor can determine how much we're allocating toward this community as opposed to that community. The governor of Georgia is one of the most powerful governors in the nation. Because they have the power of a line item veto. So when legislation comes to the governor, he can scratch out a line and change it just with the or, or she will be able to change it just with the stroke of a pen. So it matters. You are allocating budgets, you are setting priorities. You are appointing people to boards, whether it's the board of Regents, which oversees higher education in the state, to the port of Savannah that deals with export and import that's coming in and out of the state, to infrastructure projects, to public safety. All of that flows from the governor's office.
- [39:20]
Charlamagne Tha God
What do you think about, you know, people. People in Atlanta are very critical of cop city. How would you address that?
- [39:26]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
My concern about that is that when you are not investing in public safety, that you are getting out what you are putting in. So with the police training facility, there were two places that firefighters were being trained, police were being trained. The place that firefighters were being trained ended up being condemned because of mold, a bad mold infestation. The. The place where police were being trained was like a 50 year old school building. The facilities were just, they were awful. And I believe the prior police training place was condemned as well. They were awful. I mean, the reality is that they have to be trained somewhere. And we needed a new facility in Atlanta to train our police and firefighters. And it was costing us a lot of money because we didn't have a state of the art facility. And again, going into the morale and whatever your. Your thoughts are again on public safety, when you have police officers, when you have firefighters, when you have people, ems, paramedics, they have to be trained somewhere. They don't just show up and get put out on the street. And we needed a new facility in Atlanta to do that.
- [40:56]
Co-host/Interviewer
One of the things I give you credit on, I still like to call you Mayor Lance, but I don't see you don't mind you steal your title. You building in non traditional, non traditional coalitions. A lot of times people just tap into hip hop and tap in who they think is cool for the moment. You've done an excellent job of building relationships, you know, with Tip and killer Mike and really understanding how entertainment and hip hop is a part of Atlanta culture. Culture. How do you plan on still, you know, building those non traditional coalitions and how they can benefit you through the state of Georgia? Because a lot of times, like you said, people just do the hot sauce in my bag, you know, to say, you know, I'm, I'm cool for the moment. You've really built some authentic relationships. How Were you able to do that? And how do you see that benefiting you in your race?
- [41:44]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Because you gotta hear from everybody. And I love Tip. I love Carol and Mike. Those are my brothers, genuinely. And I know they bring a voice and a perspective that I'm not gonna always hear in a boardroom. But by the same token, I have to build relationships or have had to build relationships with CEOs, whether it's the CEO of Delta Airlines, UPS or Home Depot, you have to build those relationships, too. And Ambassador Young used to call it the Atlanta way. This where government, philanthropic groups, civic community come together, business community, to be able to get things done. And we've been the beneficiary, beneficiaries of that. So when Killer Mike and Tip served on my transition committee, I'll never forget we're sitting in the Metro Chamber of Commerce, and you got all these Fortune 500 CEOs, and Tip and Killer Mike, like, watching these CEOs smitten, that they were in the room like it was priceless. And in that room, Tip and Killer Mike met a man named Noel Khalil, who was also on the transition committee. He's since passed. He was a wonderful man. Affordable housing builder, Columbia Residential. From that transition committee, they built a partnership that's now allowed them to put affordable housing on the west side of Atlanta. It came out of that room. So that's a responsibility that I felt I had as a mayor, not just to hear from them, but also to make sure they were present in rooms.
- [43:18]
Co-host/Interviewer
Put them in position. Not just entertaining.
- [43:21]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
That's it.
- [43:21]
Co-host/Interviewer
Position.
- [43:22]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
That's it. I mean, and it's. Their influence is huge. But again, also they're bringing up perspective. You know, Killer Mike very proudly said, like, he's an independent. He. He likes Brian Kemp. There are things that Killer Mike believes in that some people may see as. As extreme right wing. You know, I see it just as him being an independent black man making decisions based on what his value set.
- [43:52]
Charlamagne Tha God
Is and who loves Atlanta and who loves Georgia and who is going to talk to whoever's in office and build whoever's in office to do what's best for that state and that city.
- [44:01]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
And it's not. It's not person based, is. I mean, it's not politically based. It's people based.
- [44:09]
Co-host/Interviewer
The governor about the programs that he's doing for trade. I don't know if he likes him personally or not, but I know he likes the program, you know, that he. That he's been able to have that relationship with, to talk about that's right.
- [44:19]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
And again, this coalition building, when I was mayor, we closed this transaction. If you've ever been to Atlanta, outside the Mercedes Benz stadium, it was called the Gulch. Largest real estate transaction in the history of the city. Out of that, we put money towards vocational training because Delta airlines said, I got 10,000 mechanics. I need train. Home Depot said, I need, I need some plumbers. Truist said, I need coders. We put money into this program to help train people to fill these great jobs. We were able to create an affordable housing trust fund that's citywide now. So if you got some rising, rising property taxes, you can go tap into this trust fund to help pay your property taxes. A child savings account. All of our public school kindergarteners now have this child savings account that will follow them through high school. I couldn't do that. Just as the leader, just from our budget in the city, it took all of us being at the table, being able to get it done. And what Tip and Killer might are very astute with is understanding the needs of our community. Everybody's not going to college. Everybody didn't want to go to college, Everybody shouldn't go to college. But they still need to be able to, to get some training so that when the unions are saying, you can come through our program, we'll pay you to train $42 an hour and then you'll have a six figure job coming out. You know, we have to have people advocating for that.
- [45:55]
Co-host/Interviewer
That's right.
- [45:56]
Charlamagne Tha God
That's right. I got a couple more questions. I know you got to go. We'll keep you on schedule. When you look back, what do you feel was your most misunderstood move as mayor, and what would you want people to know about the thinking behind it?
- [46:07]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Probably my choosing not to run a second term.
- [46:11]
Charlamagne Tha God
I was thinking that, yeah, that was.
- [46:14]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
It, because it didn't make sense to people because nobody had ever done it. And my poll numbers were at 68%, which was exceedingly high for any urban mayor. So I knew it was very likely that I would win if I ran again. And I made the decision not to run. And people thought it was from a position of weakness, but it was like one of the most powerful things I've ever done.
- [46:41]
Charlamagne Tha God
What did you learn about yourself from that decision?
- [46:44]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
What I learned about myself is that sometimes you, you things that you do just won't make sense to anybody else. And you got to be okay with that. Also, that in the absence of your narrative, somebody's going to fill that void with something. And I tried as best I could to articulate it to people. Quite frankly, a lot of it I had to unpack in therapy on why I chose it, why I chose to make that decision. But what I do know is had I not made it based on where I was personally and my family personally in that season, I wouldn't be ready to step back in the ring in this season.
- [47:29]
Charlamagne Tha God
Wow. If you became governor, what's the one change you'd want people to remember you for? Not, not just in Georgia, but, but nationwide.
- [47:37]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
The biggest thing right now, the affordability piece, is huge. That's an overarching theme. But Medicaid expansion is huge in our state. We got people dying because they can't get to a hospital. And I think if we can expand Medicaid immediately, it will change the trajectory of a lot of communities in our state. And at the end of the day, I want people to know that I was there, that their lives were better, their communities were better, because I was there to serve.
- [48:15]
Charlamagne Tha God
Absolutely. Ms. Keisha Lance Bottoms, Tell them where to Support your campaign.
- [48:19]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Keisha4Governor.com Please go online. Follow me. Sign up the volunteer. And people say, what can I do if I'm not in Georgia? Everybody has a cousin or a friend somewhere in Georgia. Everybody has a checkbook. We need the resources and we. We need the energy. And Keisha bought Kesha for governor. K E I S H A Keisha for governor.com thank you, Ms.
- [48:47]
Charlamagne Tha God
Bottoms. We appreciate you for stopping by. Don't be a stranger.
- [48:49]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Thank you.
- [48:50]
Charlamagne Tha God
All right, it's the Breakfast Club.
- [48:51]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Hold up.
- [48:53]
Charlamagne Tha God
Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club. Check out the new season of Reasonable Doubt. Now screaming on Hulu. Louisiana's most successful attorney, Jack Stewart, defends a young actor accused of murder. Follow Emma Yahtzee, Coronaldi, Morris Chestnut, Joseph Sikora, and guest stars Cash Doll and Lori Harvey as they fight their personal battles in the spotlight of the year's most sensational trial. In the pursuit of justice, every move counts. Reasonable Doubt, Season 3, now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.
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Charlamagne Tha God
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- [51:00]
Keisha Lance Bottoms
An I Heart podcast.