← The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell
Lawrence: Trump will no doubt be taking credit for Biden’s economic policies
00:39:20
Tonight on The Last Word: Donald Trump repeats the lie that Americans won’t pay for tariffs. Also, some GOP senators won’t say if they back Pete Hegseth. And the New York judge in Trump’s hush money case won’t toss the conviction over the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, Rep. Marilyn Strickland, and Andrew Weissmann join Lawrence O’Donnell.
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- [00:00]
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- [01:02]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Donald Trump wide his way through a few questions from reporters about his economic plans while President Joe Biden described accurately what his policies have done for the economy and what the long term infrastructure projects he's invested in will continue to do for this economy and for this country for many, many decades to come. Donald Trump pulled one of those classic Trumpian stunts today in which he as president and the Republicans in Congress do absolutely nothing. They do absolutely nothing while taking credit for a private company making an announcement about an investment that it was probably going to make an announcement about and that it might or might not be true, like all such announcements and might or might not create jobs in this country. This time it was a Japanese technology firm called SoftBank. Donald Trump promised that SoftBank would invest $100 billion in American projects and create 100,000 new jobs over the next four years. The new York Times immediately pointed out that this idea echoed a $50 billion commitment SoftBank made after Trump's victory in 2016. That promise was followed by investments in a host of fledgling startups, some that surged and others that ran into trouble, including the coworking company WeWork and a company called Zoom that used robots to make pizza. Now, if you haven't had a pizza made by a robot lately, that's because that foolish investment announced with much fanfare the beginning of Donald Trump's presidency, failed completely. And that company that Donald Trump championed as if he created it himself, shut down. The same thing with WeWork, which also went bankrupt while Donald Trump was somehow trying to take credit today for a private company's announcement of its investment plans. President Joe Biden spoke at the Department of Labor about things he actually did in government through legislation that he pushed through Congress with the smallest majority of President's party has ever had in the United States Senate.
- [03:25]
Joe Biden
We're so damn proud to protect the pensions of millions of union workers and retirees. When I signed the Butch Lewis act, you know, think about that. Imagine what the average American would say if you're going to do that with their Social Security, which this guy wants to do. Imagine if you said your pension, you can't count anymore. In addition, we've recovered more than $1 billion in back wages and damages for over 600,000 workers here in America. We push for a right to a living wage and a right to overtime pay. Jobs and factories are coming back home to America because we invested in an American agenda. We're modernizing American infrastructure. Last time this guy had, last guy had the job, he had infrastructure week every week. Didn't build a damn thing. Well, guess what? We build a lot. And guess what's coming. We have $1.4 trillion in economic and infrastructure growth. That's thousands of good paying jobs. The Chips and Science act investing billions of dollars, billions of dollars building. These fabs are going to house hundreds of people working thousands. They're going to be getting paid about average $102,000 a year. Don't need a college degree so much. So much is going on, but it's going to take a little bit of time.
- [04:56]
Lawrence O'Donnell
TV news had a choice today. Run video of Donald Trump's lies to reporters about economic policies or run video of President Biden actually telling the truth about what he did and what he got through in legislation. That should not be a difficult choice for TV news to make, but I think we know how most TV news hours have made that choice. Starting next month, Donald Trump will no doubt be taking credit for for every factory opening created by the Biden Chips and Science Act. Every one of those factory jobs making computer chips in the United States that will be created in the next four years will be thanks to Joe Biden's Chips and Science Act. Once again, today, Donald Trump lied about tariffs, as he has every time he has ever said the word tariff publicly. And once again, no reporter's question was able to penetrate Donald Trump's lies about tariff tariffs. Here's an example of the gibberish that Donald Trump gets away with with reporters when he just decides to lie about tariffs. If they tax Us, we tax them the same amount they tax us. Forgetting just for a second about the word they tax us. We tax them, and they tax us. Almost in all cases, they're taxing us, and we haven't been taxing yet. Forgetting for a second about the word tariff. Well, once you forget about the word tariff, the word you're actually talking about, then you can say anything. Then suddenly the word tariff becomes the word tax, which actually is fair enough, because as economists and the founding fathers could have told you, a tariff is, in effect, a tax. It's a sales tax on foreign goods imported into this country. It is a sales tax paid by us, paid by Americans who buy foreign goods. And Donald Trump tells the lie that the tariffs he imposes are taxes that he imposes on China. And he tells the lie that other countries have the power to impose taxes on on us. If the United States of America could tax foreign countries instead of Americans, there never would have been an Internal Revenue Service. There never would have been a need to collect any revenue internally in the United States if the United States could just tax other countries. No country in the world has the power to. To tax another country. The question that I just wish reporters would ask Donald Trump is what is a tariff? Keep it really simple. It is no longer clear how many of the reporters covering Donald Trump actually know what a tariff is. But it seems very clear that Donald Trump doesn't know what a tariff is or is lying about what a tariff is, and simply asking him what is a tariff could be maybe the best way to expose the Trump lie. I don't know what he would actually say to the question of what is a tariff? Because it's impossible to anticipate stupidity and lying combined, which is what you're hearing from Trump about tariffs. But here's the answer to the question, what is a tariff? An American tariff is an American tax imposed on an imported product the minute that product arrives in the United States, because that is the only place where the United States can impose a tariff. And so at the Port of Los Angeles, when your Samsung television is offloaded from the ship it arrived on at that port, Donald Trump is promising to add a 50% tariff to that television and all televisions sold in America, because no televisions are made in America. And companies like Best Buy, which import those televisions, will have a representative at the dock who pays the Trump tariff of 50% on your next television. And that television was going to cost Best Buy $100 to import. It will now cost at the port of entry with a 50% tariff. It'll cost $150 for Best Buy to take that television off the ship, put it on a truck, and drive it to your local store, where you will stare at its price tag, which is going to be at least $150 instead of at least $100 because of Donald Trump's tariff. And you will then pay Best Buy $150 for that TV, because that tariff is really going to be paid by you on the day that you buy that tv. That is when Best Buy is going to make back the 50 bucks that it paid at the dock, in addition to the purchase price of the TV to import the tv. So Best Buy really never suffers that tariff cost. Best Buy just passes on the tariff cost to you. And you're going to pay it. You're going to pay all of it. That is how tariffs are paid. The only people who can pay American tariffs are you American consumers of imported goods. Every cup of coffee you drink is made from imported coffee. Every cup. Donald Trump wants to increase the price of that coffee at least 20% and maybe 50%, depending on his mood on the day when he discusses his tariff plans. It is impossible for a Trump tariff not to increase the price of a product that is covered by the tariff. And yet the only question that reporters have for Donald Trump about tariffs, and he got this question today, is will tariffs on products make the prices of those products go up? That is not a question. That is a fact. There has never been an American tariff imposed on a product that did not increase the price of the product to the Americans who then bought that product. And so this transition period is a transition from a president who told the truth to the people and to the senators and congressmen about his economic policies. And those senators and congressmen then voted for those economic policies. That's how Joe Biden got majority votes in the House and Senate for his infrastructure plan, for his Chips and Science act and other economic policies. He told the truth about what the policy was and what it could do. And we are now in the middle of a transition to a presidency with an economic policy built on lies. Joe Biden spoke today at the headquarters of the Labor Department in a building named for Frances Perkins, the woman who Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose as Secretary of Labor to help him lead the country out of the Great depression in the 1930s through policies created by by Francis Perkins and then approved by Franklin Roosevelt and given the new name, the New Deal, by President Roosevelt when Congress passed those bills. But Francis Perkins said the New deal was born 20 years before the Roosevelt presidency in a tragedy that happened 90 years before 9 11. And like 911 included the horrific spectacle of people jumping to their deaths from what was then one of the tallest buildings in New York City that was engulfed in flames.
- [13:07]
Joe Biden
Saturday, March 25, 1911. Frances sat down for afternoon tea at her home with a close friend from New York City. Suddenly they hear the sound of a distant screams and sirens. The building was in flames. Her instinct was to run to the scene. As she approached the fire and smoke, she recognized the Triangle Shirt Factory. A company that employed hundreds of workers, mostly immigrants and women who worked long hours crammed into tight quarters where managers locked them inside to make clothing. In an instant, those workers were trapped in a brutal blaze with no safe exit. Some workers forced to climb out the windows holding on for dear life until their fingers gave out. Others just jumped, prayed and jumped. A total of 150 lives were lost that day. It was the deadliest industrial disaster in American history. Francis was devastated. But that fire ignited a passion in her. It strengthened her resolve to fight even harder for working Americans and working families.
- [14:11]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Many years after, Frances Perkins stood there watching men and women jump to their deaths to escape burning to death and heard the thuds of their bodies hitting the sidewalk. Francis Perkins said that was the day the New Deal was born. The New Deal was a large set of accurately described policies that changed people's lives.
- [14:41]
Joe Biden
The story goes after Franklin Roosevelt asked her to become his Labor Secretary, Frances Perkin immediately responded by outlining her goals. What she wanted done said I want unemployment relief, overtime pay, child labor laws, minimum wage, workers compensation, national health insurance and Social Security. Many of the benefits we take for granted as a consequence of Francis dedication to insight and courage.
- [15:06]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Francis Perkins, Franklin Roosevelt, Joe Biden, they all believed in the government's ability to improve working conditions and improve our lives and improve our economic security. None of them believed that all they had to do was stand beside rich guys making announcements about investments that they might or might not do. More jobs have been created in Joe Biden's four years of the presidency than any other four years of the American presidency. Leading off our discussion tonight is Secretary of Labor Julie Hsu. Thank you very much for joining us tonight, Madam Secretary. And I know you were there today and introduced President Biden in the spirit of Francis Perkins, that who so firmly believed in government's ability to actually improve lives in the same way that Joe Biden does, as he declared today in that speech.
- [16:13]
Julie Su
Yeah, that's right. I mean, when you look at where we were when President Biden first came to office, we inherited an economy on the brink. Most people said that a recession was inevitable. And instead, President Biden came in with exactly that belief that government has a role to play and that if we invest big, if we believe in the American people, if we are honest and serious about tackling problems, we can solve them. As a result, the job growth. The job growth is record breaking. The unemployment rate is at record lows, and we're continuing with these investments that have broken ground, you know, to the tune of some 70,000 projects across the country. And for President Biden, he understood that these investments were not just about repairing roads and replacing lead pipes and building factories. They were really about building lives through good jobs that sustain families and uplift communities. And it was a privilege to bring him to the Department of Labor and to honor him today by putting him into our hall of Honor for the historic work that he's done. And I've been very proud to be able to work alongside him on that.
- [17:26]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Yeah. I was struck by the president today speaking, in effect, in the shadow of Franklin Roosevelt and Francis Perkins, because at the beginning of his administration, I felt at the time that we haven't had a presidency like this since Franklin Roosevelt, who was elected to bring us out of the Great depression, elected in 1932, and the worst depression in the country's history. And here was Joe Biden coming in in the middle of the COVID recession, on the verge of what could have been, what felt like it was on the way to a Great Depression. And both of these presidents had to come up with ideas that no one had ever come up with before. In Roosevelt's case, as you know, there were questions about was it even constitutional to have a federal minimum wage? Was it constitutional to have Social Security? There were tremendous. Because those ideas were so novel. And the Biden approach to dealing with what you were hit with was also equally novel for its time.
- [18:27]
Julie Su
That's exactly right. And it was also about being willing to be bold. So it was about putting in place policies that he knew that we knew were going to meet the moment that we're going to be big enough for the challenges that we faced. And so the investments that we're making right now in our nations, infrastructure, in clean energy, in manufacturing, in our environment, have never been made before the way that we're doing it. And at the same time, it was very clear to both him and to me that we had to put workers first. Never before has there been a president who has so unapologetically wielded the power of his office on the side of people who do the day to day work, who construct our buildings, who teach our children, who pick our crops, who nurse our sick. And putting workers first has been really fundamental to the president's vision. And we have put in place policies that have helped to keep mine workers safe, farm workers safe, expanded overtime, lifted wages. And we've done that even in a situation where Congress wasn't willing to act. And I think that's the kind of bold leadership that we needed. And as a result, we are going to pass off the strongest economy in the world to the next administration. And so many of the benefits of these investments are going to come to fruition in the next two years, the next four years.
- [19:56]
Lawrence O'Donnell
The president has now given two weeks in a row, given two speeches like this one at Brookings last week and then this one, both of them, in effect, exit statements to the American public about this is what we did, this is the work we did for you. And I'm wondering, wondering if you think it might be easier if they actually listen to it if they get presented to them, easier for people to understand now in retrospect what the Biden administration actually accomplished.
- [20:30]
Julie Su
I think yes. And I also think that people will understand it in again the months and years to come because we've always said that reversing decades of underinvestment in infrastructure, decades of a growing gap between the rich and the poor, of higher CEO pay while workers wages have stagnated, that these things were not going to happen overnight. But when I travel the country, I do see apprenticeship programs bursting at the seams. I see people doing jobs in their communities that did not exist four years ago. And so that tide has started to turn. But the real changes, they don't happen overnight. And so I think people will also begin to really feel them in the months and years to come, especially though, if the work does continue, right? I mean, in the passing off to a new administration that's already said, for example, that some of the investments in our climate, for example, you know, are not something that they want to continue. I think it would simply be unconscionable to reverse the progress that we have made and where we set such a clear path forward for how to build a strong economy that benefits all individuals and puts workers at the front.
- [21:45]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Joe Biden, Secretary of Labor JULIE Su, thank you very much for starting off our discussion tonight.
- [21:52]
Julie Su
Thank you so much.
- [21:54]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Reports of the revival of Pete Hegseth's nomination to be Secretary of Defense are greatly exaggerated. Turns out Hegseth does not yet have the votes to be confirmed. And he's not the only unqualified and dangerous Trump nominee who doesn't yet have the votes to be confirmed. That's next.
- [22:16]
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- [23:52]
Lawrence O'Donnell
The reports of the resuscitation of the Pete Hegseth nomination for Secretary of Defense are premature, to say the least. The only thing that matters for a nominee for Senate confirmation is does that nominee have 51 votes? The answer to that remains no for Pete Hegseth, despite enormous pressure on all of the 53 Republican senators who will be voting on Senate confirmations next year. Pete Hegseth still does not have the votes for confirmation, but he is not alone in that. Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, and Robert Kennedy Jr. Donald Trump's unquote qualified nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, also do not have the votes to be confirmed. The unprecedented Trump pressure campaign on Republican senators to vote for confirmations, something no previous president ever had to do for his Cabinet, might in the end be enough for 51 Republican senators to vote for the only nominee in Senate confirmation history to promise to stop drinking if, and only if he is confirmed. Pete Hegseth has promised to stop drinking if he is sworn in as Secretary of Defense. But he has not promised to stop trying to climb on the stage with strippers, as he reportedly did just a few years ago. At every scandal point in Pete Hegseth's past, he was married to one of his three wives. The accusation of rape that he faced in a police investigation in Monterey, California, about a night he spent in a hotel room there occurred during his second marriage, a marriage that began as an affair during his first marriage. P Texas promises like I will stop drinking are not worth much, according to his record of promises to his wives. South Carolina's senior senator Lindsey Graham, whose record of weakness in the face of Trump pressure is flawless, has been reported now as a strong supporter of Pete Hegseth. But even Lindsey Graham yesterday added the word unless to his support for Hegseth. I'm in a good place with Pete unless something I don't know about comes out. These allegations are disturbing, but they're anonymous. Unless something else comes out. So if more allegations come out, who knows how Lindsey Graham votes? Lindsey Graham told Kristen Welker on Meet the Press that Pete Hegseth told him that he would release the woman who accuses him of rape from the non disclosure agreement she signed when Pete Hegseth paid her an undisclosed amount of hush money. Pete Hegseth's lawyer, Timothy Politore, immediately threatened a defamation lawsuit against the woman if she speaks publicly, adding, I suspect that she's not going to come forward at all. There's no benefit. It's all downside. And the downside now includes threats of litigation from Hegseth. Pete Hegseth claims the encounter was consensual and no charges were ever filed against him. No criminal charges. Former hero, heroin addict and convicted drug criminal Robert Kennedy Jr. Has become the first nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary who has ever been questioned about his support for the polio vaccine.
- [27:08]
Julie Su
Mr. Kennedy, what's your position on the polio vaccine?
- [27:13]
Advertiser
Do you mind repeating what you said previously about the polio vaccine?
- [27:16]
Julie Su
Do you support it?
- [27:18]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Yeah. Robert Kennedy has said that the polio vaccine has killed people. He doesn't know how many. Robert Kennedy has said there is no vaccine that is safe and effective Joining our discussion now is Democratic Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland of Washington. She's a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. You have jurisdiction over the Defense Department and, and the next Secretary of Defense will be reporting to you in accountability hearings in your committee. What do you make of the Hegseth nomination so far?
- [27:55]
Marilyn Strickland
I was on your show about a week and a half ago, Lawrence, and my position has not changed. Pete Hegseth is unqualified to serve as Secretary of Defense. This is an incredibly important job with a lot of jurisdiction, a giant budget and the fact that he has been accused of sexual assault, that his own mother wrote a scathing note to him about what a terrible person he was and how abusive he is. He's been accused of being drunk on the set at Fox News. And now Senator Graham has said, let's see the report of the non disclosure agreement. My worry of course in this is that Jane Doe, who's the accuser, is going to be bullied, intimidated, and she will be dragged through the mud. And there's a reason that victims of sexual assault are very reluctant to come forward because they're the ones who get put on trial. I will say it again. There are a lot of people who are Republicans who are qualified to be Secretary of Defense. Pete Hegseth is not one of them. And the only reason he is being chosen is because he is blindly loyal to President elect Donald Trump.
- [28:54]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Leaving all the scandal elements aside for a moment on Hegseth, what do you make of his qualifications otherwise?
- [29:03]
Marilyn Strickland
You know, he will be succeeding a four star general. And I appreciate his service in the military, but he has never had charge of anything on the same scope scale of the Department of Defense. And you know, I talk about qualifications, even sexual assault aside, but you cannot ignore that. That will not go away. There are a lot of people with a lot of military experience who are not civilians, who could step in and do this job and have expertise. I think about the career of Lloyd Austin. He served his country for a long time. He's had jurisdiction and control over so many people, different branches of government, as part of what he did as Secretary of Defense. But to compare General Austin to Pete Hegseth is an insult. And again, I come back to these allegations of sexual assault. There will be, I believe, 25 women in the US Senate in 2025, nine of whom are Republicans. I ask myself, how on earth could these women even support this nomination, let alone vote for him to confirm him.
- [30:03]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, thank you very much for joining us again tonight.
- [30:08]
Marilyn Strickland
Thank you for having me on, Lauren.
- [30:09]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Thank you. The breaking news of the night, Judge Juan Merchand says the United States Supreme Court's immunity decision, presidential immunity decision has no effect on Donald Trump's 34 guilty verdicts in his Manhattan courtroom. That's next with Andrew Weissman. Why get all your holiday decorations delivered through Instacart? Because maybe you only bought two wreaths but have 12 windows. Or maybe your toddler got very eager with the Advent calendar. Or maybe the inflatable snowman didn't make it through the snowstorm. Or maybe the twinkle lights aren't twinkling. Whatever the reason, this season Instacart's here for hosts in their whole holiday hall. Get decorations from the Home Depot, CVS and more through Instacart and enjoy free delivery on your first three orders. Service fees and terms apply.
- [30:58]
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- [32:03]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan issued a 41 page decision today denying Donald Trump's claim that the 34 criminal convictions against him be overturned and dismissed because of the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity. Concerning the Supreme Court's ruling, Judge Merchand's decision reads, quote, the Trump versus United States Court's decision was principally concerned with a president's ability to make decisions and to make those decisions for the public good. Based upon that concern, which Chief Justice Roberts refers to in various ways throughout the Trump decision, it is readily apparent that Trump versus The United States addressed a very specific issue. When May a former president be prosecuted for official acts taken during his presidency? That is not the issue currently before this court. The Trump attorneys claimed that some testimony from the trial was related to official business of the presidency and that that testimony contaminated the verdict. Judge Merchand dismissed that writing in his decision. This court finds that even if the disputed evidence was admitted in error, such error was harmless. Joining us now is Andrew Weissman, former FBI general counsel and former chief of the Criminal Division for the Eastern District of New York. He's an MSNB legal analyst. Andrew, what is your reading of Judge Merchan's decision?
- [33:33]
Andrew Weissman
So let's remember that the Supreme Court decision that put this all into motion, we had this very strange part and that strange part that was relevant to today because everyone who's listening is probably going, but wait a second, that New York case had nothing to do with Trump as president. And the Supreme Court said, well, that may be true, but one thing you can't do is you, you can't use certain evidence from when a person is president, even when the case, the criminal charges are when a person is not president, when it's unofficial acts. So this was an unofficial acts case, of course, because it had to do with primarily what happened before Donald Trump was president. And the issue is, as you said, whether there was this taint. It is important to note that it's the weakest part of the Supreme Court decision. It was only five to four. Amy Coney Barrett did not join the majority on this part. And Judge Marshan really goes to town in chapter and verse as the trial judge pointing out that the claimed taint did not exist at all, or it was something that Donald Trump invited himself and put into evidence. So I think it's a very strong decision on why the Supreme Court's effort to really hand Donald Trump a victory in the January 6th case and obviously try to also affect this case, why it is not applicable. Obviously, Donald Trump will appeal this, but it's a very strong decision.
- [35:07]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Yeah, it had nothing to do this appeal, and this decision had nothing to do with Stormy Daniels testimony or Michael Cohen's testimony, the really big witness's testimony. It just was linked to a couple of White House aides who gave relatively minor testimony, including one that was purely procedural. How does the NFL envelope get from this part of the White House to that part of the White House? And that's the kind of thing that might be excluded if this case was being tried again. But the judge is saying, as they frequently say in situations like this, even without that evidence, you would still have a very convincing guilty verdict here.
- [35:45]
Andrew Weissman
Yeah, absolutely. That's typically what's called harmless error analysis, that you can have something that is improper, but it really isn't misunderstood material to the outcome. I think one of the things that Judge Merchand noted with respect to that particular testimony is that it was Donald Trump himself who is eliciting that testimony because he thought it was favorable. And it's information that Donald Trump then used in his closing to say this is why he's not guilty. So you can't elicit the testimony and then say it was error to allow it. And I thought that was really a strong part of the record. And it really showed that Judge Marchand was the trial judge. He had been there. He was manipulating, meticulous in going through exactly what happened here to show that the defense was trying to essentially snooker the court by saying, you know, this was error to allow it when it was the defense that was actually submitting that evidence. So one final thing, though, is there is still one more motion on immunity that is pending. It is on what's called temporary presidential immunity. So it's not on the same Supreme Court decision, but we still are going to await that one decision. It's fully briefed as of today. So that's the one thing that could happen between now and the issue is when a sentencing would occur. So that could be put off. It could not be put off. That's going to be the subject of that one pending motion that we still are going to wait.
- [37:15]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Andrew Weissman, thank you very much for joining us tonight.
- [37:18]
Andrew Weissman
You're welcome.
- [37:20]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Coming up, Faith can help you reach your goal, but sometimes it takes a little more than that. That's next. Her name is Faith, but she needed more than Faith to get where she is today. She needed and she received your help.
- [37:41]
Faith Mwengera
My name is Faith Mwengera. I'm 17 years old from 4. My favorite subject, it's English and chemistry, including biology. Just because I want to be a nurse, and those are subjects which I need to work hard into for I to fulfill what I want.
- [38:05]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Faith Wangera wants to be a nurse. That means she has to go to college. But she lives in a country where only 7% of girls graduate from high school. Like many African countries, public primary school is free in Malawi, but public high school is not free. And if a family in Malawi can afford to send one child to high school, that child is more likely to be a boy than a girl.
- [38:31]
Faith Mwengera
It is important for girls in Malawi to get educated because they will stand on their Own. As a result, no one will be forcing them to do what they don't want.
- [38:43]
Lawrence O'Donnell
That's why we provide scholarships for girls like Faith to attend high school in Malawi through the Kind Fund Kids in Need of Desks, a partnership we created with MSNBC and UNICEF to deliver desks like these, like this one right here, to primary schools in Malawi where the kids have never seen desks. The arrival of these desks creates an excitement in classrooms that they've never seen before. One teacher told me it's like Christmas morning. And a new enthusiasm for attending school. These desks finally allow teachers to organize their classrooms the way they've always wanted to. You can help more girls finish high school by going to lastworddesks.msnbc.com you can make a contribution in any amount and specify that your contribution is for desks or girl scholarships. You can make a gift in the name of anyone on your holiday gift list and UNICEF will send them an acknowledgment of your gift. Most children's education in Malawi ends in primary school. Faith was able to attend high school because the KIND fund includes that scholarship program for girls. Faith is a senior in high school now. If Faith makes it to college next year, she will be the first in her family to finish high school and go to college. Her younger brothers and sisters are already encouraged by what they have seen her.
- [40:08]
Faith Mwengera
Achieve as a family. We are five kids and I'm the firstborn. We have been led by a mother, only five of us. And when my siblings see me, they get encouraged. The way they see how I'm going through in my education, they get encouraged and. And even the ratio at the time telling me that I also want to go to secondary school as you did.
- [40:41]
Lawrence O'Donnell
The girls on Kind Fund scholarships at Faiths High School gathered a few weeks ago to cheer for the Kind Fund.
- [40:52]
Julie Su
We are the girls.
- [40:54]
Lawrence O'Donnell
We are the girls. We are the girls.
- [40:55]
Julie Su
We are the girls.
- [41:07]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Faith is hoping to go to college and study to be a nurse at the same university where Joyce Chazale is currently studying medicine after graduating from high school on a KIND Fund scholarship. Joyce has made several appearances on this program throughout her high school years and is thriving at Kamuzu University, as are other girls who managed to graduate from high school thanks entirely to your generosity. When Faith does become a nurse, that job will not just change her life, it will change the lives of everyone in her family. Because having a real job like that in Malawi almost always means sending money home to help your family, your parents, your younger brothers and sisters.
- [41:52]
Faith Mwengera
When I'll become a nice. My family will be very happy just because they will also be encouraged that everything which we need, it will be possible just because our fellow family has made it have made it. And they will also be encouraged that we will make it and become what they want.
- [42:22]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Faith told us she doesn't think she could have made it through high school without your support and encouragement.
- [42:30]
Faith Mwengera
The one who encourages us in our education, the group of UNICEF is the one who encourages us to continue our education and they provide us many things which makes us comfortable as a student and suits us as a student to continue our education. I don't think it could be someone else who could help us to continue our education.
- [42:58]
Lawrence O'Donnell
At the end of that recorded discussion, we asked Faith if there was anything else she wanted to say and she said zikomo, which means thank you.
- [43:10]
Faith Mwengera
Just thanking you for your encouragement and for everything I would say zigomo.
- [43:20]
Lawrence O'Donnell
Faith Wajara gets tonight's last word. And that word is Zacoma.
- [43:26]
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