| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
|
We look at the start of presidential terms. | |
| This week, we focus on the early months of President Lyndon Johnson's term in 1963. | ||
| Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Johnson addressed Congress shortly after Kennedy's death and called on members to pass civil rights legislation. | ||
| And at 8 p.m. Eastern on lectures in history, University of Southern California sociology professor Brittany Friedman on the formation and evolution of American prison gangs in the 20th and 21st centuries. | ||
| Exploring the American story. | ||
| Watch American History TV Saturdays on C-SPAN 2 and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at c-span.org/slash history. | ||
| Up next, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders discusses conservative principles at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, which was held just outside the nation's capital. | ||
| It's about 20 minutes. | ||
| Let's go! | ||
| Okay, okay, we're waking up here. | ||
| All right, I think Governor Sanders, Sarah, Sarita, my sweet Sarah. | ||
| Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to have Sarah with us. | ||
| We are in countdown mode right now because guess who's coming? | ||
| Who's going to close out CPAC? | ||
| I mean, just a slightly well-known individual, maybe the most popular human on the face of the planet right now. | ||
| America's favorite president. | ||
|
unidentified
|
That's right, President Trump. | |
| Are you all excited? | ||
| So, this is such a blessing for me. | ||
| Sarah and I worked together at the White House for several years. | ||
| And I mean, Sarah, seriously, what you have accomplished is amazing. | ||
| And we're so proud of you. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Just to start right there. | |
| We were trying to raise our kids during that time. | ||
| Trying being the key word there. | ||
| We were trying to raise our kids. | ||
| And somehow, they turned out amazing. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah, yeah. | |
| Which says a lot, really, truly. | ||
| They were all in the backstage. | ||
| Sarah brought her daughter, Scarlett, with my girls, and they were doing the whole posing of taking pictures together. | ||
| We're like, this is the next generation of leadership, seriously. | ||
| But let's get to it. | ||
| Okay, so you were at the National Governors Association dinner, and President Trump had this interesting exchange with the governor from Maine. | ||
| We're all in the family here. | ||
| Tell us what happened. | ||
| Well, I think it was classic Donald Trump. | ||
| If he doesn't like something, he's going to call it out. | ||
| I think it's one of the things that has made him so incredibly popular. | ||
| And one of the reasons he's been able to get so much done is because he doesn't care who's in the room, what it looks like. | ||
| He's going to tell you exactly what he thinks in that moment. | ||
| And that's what he did. | ||
| And frankly, he's on the right side. | ||
| I'm so tired of hearing the left say that they care about women when they can't even tell you what a woman is. | ||
| And we finally have a president who will stand up for women and fight back. | ||
| And I think that it's a great thing to see Donald Trump being the one to sign executive orders that defend and define what a man and what a woman are, which it's sad that we have to do that. | ||
| But also, as a mom of a daughter that is a 12-year-old volleyball player, that we have somebody that's saying, no, we're not going to let men play girls' sports. | ||
| And Donald Trump is doing that. | ||
| And I think he's right to call people out who are on the wrong side. | ||
| We have a rating system that we rate at CPAC, all the state legislatures, all the governors, all the federal legislators as well. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Governor Sanders has ranked the top conservative governor in America. | |
| The top, number one. | ||
| And I know partly is because we're related, but no, but Sarah, tell us about, you're in the middle of the legislative session. | ||
| You have so much going on. | ||
| You've been in office now. | ||
| And what are you planning to accomplish this legislative session? | ||
| What do you think the people of Arkansas really want and what they're focused on? | ||
| We're working on that. | ||
| And President Trump is very quick to remind us on that every time I see him. | ||
| But what we've really focused on is bringing conservative principles back. | ||
| And everything from opening up universal school choice, we were one of the first states in the country to do that. | ||
| Starting next semester, every single student in Arkansas will be able to choose where they go to school and their parents will be empowered to make that decision. | ||
| And I'm really proud we were one of the leaders of that. | ||
| We've cut taxes three times in the state of Arkansas in just two years, now making us competitive with every other state in the region. | ||
| We are getting indoctrination, not just out of our K through 12, but also out of higher education. | ||
| And we don't care if you're tenured or not. | ||
| That is one of the big pieces of legislation that we have going through this cycle. | ||
| We're also removing cell phones from the classroom. | ||
| And I signed legislation this week, bell-to-bell, no sell, and really proud of what we're doing for young people, for parents, for families. | ||
| And we're going to continue fighting and making Arkansas the most conservative state in the country. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And people are moving in. | |
| It is becoming a popular destination. | ||
| I mean, walk us through why your state, and you know, we always talk about these federal elections, and obviously having President Trump in office is such a critical win. | ||
| But these states are just as critical as well because we meet people from California who talk about how horrific it is to live under Democrat oppression. | ||
| Let's just call it what it is. | ||
| And here we have a perfect example of what you're doing in Arkansas to be that blueprint for other states. | ||
|
unidentified
|
What's your advice to other governors, especially Republican governors that are trying to do the same? | |
| And we talk about conservative principles, but these are American principles of being pro-family, pro-economic prosperity, pro-safety. | ||
| Well, one of the big differences now is we actually have a partner in the White House instead of somebody we have to fight every single day. | ||
| I got to see Lee Zeldon yesterday. | ||
| He's the new head of the EPA. | ||
| I said, I'm just glad we have somebody there that we don't have to sue every single week and we can actually work with to get things done. | ||
| You know, over the last several years, Republican governors are the ones who have held the line. | ||
| While Washington was a completely broken, dysfunctional mess, Republican governors are the ones who stepped up and worked on securing the border. | ||
| We sent Arkansas Guard to the border two separate occasions over the last couple of years because Joe Biden wouldn't get the job done. | ||
| Now we have a partner in Donald Trump who's not going to just be a partner, but he's going to be a leader. | ||
| He's going to be the number one fighter, pushing back on some of the crazy wokeness that we have seen the left try to impose on our families, on our schools, on our businesses. | ||
| And Republican governors are going to be right there with him. | ||
| We're going to make sure that our schools do not become indoctrination factories for the left. | ||
| We're going to make sure that you can run your business the way that you want to and that you can raise your kids the way that you want to as it was intended in this country. | ||
| And I'm proud of the work we've been able to do. | ||
| Arkansas is now the number one state in the country that people are moving to. | ||
| It's not Texas. | ||
| It's not Florida. | ||
| It's not Virginia. | ||
| It's Arkansas. | ||
| So if you don't live there yet, we're ready for you to move and call that your home. | ||
| We're the number one state for economic growth. | ||
| We're the lowest cost of living. | ||
| We are booming on all fronts. | ||
| And it's because we're implementing good conservative policy that lets you live your life without constant government intrusion. | ||
| And that's something we're proud of and something we're going to continue to do in our home state. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Gosh, wouldn't she make a great vice presidential pick in 2028? | |
| I think so. | ||
| I do. | ||
| I do. | ||
| Sorry, Sarah. | ||
| You don't have to respond to that. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| I'm not. | ||
| Very happy to be in Arkansas. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Okay, maternal health, you're providing funding. | |
| I really want you to talk about this problem that you, this crisis you discovered in your state, how you're solving it, because it's not only impacting states like Arkansas, but other states as well in the South. | ||
| Walk us through what you're doing there. | ||
| You know, one of the things that I think is so important for the pro-life community is that we don't just focus on the baby when they're in the womb, but it's what does that look like after, and making sure that we are actually fighting for kids every single day. | ||
| And that's something that's really important in our state. | ||
| We had about 10% of moms in Arkansas that were never seeing a doctor until they were in labor. | ||
| That's unacceptable, especially when they have that access to care. | ||
| They just weren't taking advantage of it. | ||
| We know that healthy moms make healthy babies, so we've invested heavily in making sure that those women get the care that they not only need and deserve, but they know that their life and their child's life has value. | ||
| And it's something that we want to protect at every single stage. | ||
| And so we're investing heavily in the maternal health problem in Arkansas and something that we're going to expect to see a dramatic impact and dramatic results just in a short amount of time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So we've seen President Trump right now where he's been in office for 32 days. | |
| It feels like it's been like 10 years that he's been in office. | ||
| It's so remarkable to watch the amount of work he's been able to accomplish. | ||
| Now, as us, the Trump 45ers, is that what we are? | ||
| Yeah. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Okay. | |
| Makes us sound older. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Makes us sound so old. | |
| Help me figure out here. | ||
| Like I'm watching this and going, I'm amazed. | ||
| I'm amazed. | ||
| It is so different from what our experience was at the time. | ||
| Give us that comparison of what you're seeing and also what advice you're giving to this next administration right now. | ||
| Look, I can't say enough good things about the president and his team and what they're doing. | ||
| You know, we used to joke that you aged in dog years during the first administration because it was like seven at a time. | ||
| And so we haven't aged. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Not a bit. | |
| Well, we didn't. | ||
| It was the most intense, most, I think, polarizing, difficult time that we've seen probably in political history in a very long time during Trump's first administration. | ||
| Nobody expected him to win. | ||
| And when he did, they weren't happy that he was here. | ||
| Then they saw what life was like under a Trump administration. | ||
| And they had a chance to see what life was like without Trump in the White House. | ||
| They didn't like it very much. | ||
| And so now that he's back, people want to see him doing exactly what he talked about on the campaign trail. | ||
| They want a strong economy. | ||
| They want somebody who will secure the border. | ||
| They want somebody who's going to take China on. | ||
| He was the first president in my lifetime that actually called China out and is holding their feet to the fire. | ||
| I was the first governor in the country to kick China out of our state off of our farmland and impose a fine on it. | ||
| We know that's popular. | ||
| And it was because of Donald Trump that we were empowered to take those type of strong actions. | ||
| We have a president who's going to make our allies actually respect us and our enemies fear us. | ||
| It's a total opposite of what we saw over the course of the last four years. | ||
| You know, you joke at the speed of which Trump is moving. | ||
| They always have heard the moniker that we wish that government could move at the speed of business. | ||
| Well, he's redefining that all over again. | ||
| There's the speed of government, there's the speed of business, and now there's the speed of Trump, which is unlike anything I've ever seen. | ||
| And he's doing so much so fast, they don't even know how or where to attack him this time. | ||
| And so I hope that he can keep up this pace. | ||
| I've never seen anybody with the level of energy that he has. | ||
| As you know well, it was not surprising that we could get a phone call from the president at midnight, 1 a.m., asking us to do a laundry list of things and then calling us back a couple of hours later at 4 or 5 in the morning and saying, did you get all that done? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I'm like, no, I didn't. | |
| But he doesn't sleep. | ||
| He doesn't expect anybody else to sleep either. | ||
| And he has more, he's almost twice my age and he has twice my energy. | ||
| But it's because he loves this country. | ||
| And he did not need to run and take this job on, but America needed him to be willing to do it. | ||
| And anyone else, anyone else that would have gone through the level of intense criticism and the attacks, two assassination attempts on his life would have given up. | ||
| But this is a president who I think that only emboldens him more. | ||
| The more they come after him, the stronger and tougher he gets, and the more he comes back ready to deliver for the American people. | ||
| And I love getting to see him with this mandate and with this level of excitement for his presidency because he deserved it the first time and he didn't get it. | ||
| And now he's getting it and he's winning and because he is, America's winning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So I love always getting the insider information. | |
| So there would be times, this is so funny, we'd literally get, our first meeting was like 7 o'clock in the morning. | ||
| I can't even remember. | ||
| It was so early in the morning. | ||
| We're half asleep. | ||
| And before you know it, they'll be like, President Trump had tweeted something out at two or three o'clock in the morning. | ||
| So we would all look at Sarah and we'd be like, okay, Sarah, this is what he said. | ||
| What are our talking points? | ||
| I mean, that's how it was. | ||
| I mean, it was so really learning on the job, too. | ||
| So now that you've transitioned from being the president's spokesperson, the press secretary at the White House, into being the governor of a state, how does that feel? | ||
| I mean, how is it so different? | ||
| You know, it's really different when you're the one sitting in the chair and it's your name on the paper to sign legislation or an executive order. | ||
| There's a different weight and responsibility that comes with that. | ||
| But I could not be more thankful for the experience that I had in the White House because I learned so much from the president. | ||
| One, never back down, never stop fighting, and always do what you think is right. | ||
| And the rest of it works itself out pretty well. | ||
| And that experience, I think, gave me such great perspective. | ||
| And one of the most important things and takeaways was that I didn't need the outsiders to define me. | ||
| In those moments, the most difficult days that we had in the White House, of which there were many, we didn't need the outside world to define us. | ||
| We had a creator who had already done that, who had given my life meaning and purpose. | ||
| And my job is to believe that and try to live up to the path that he laid for me. | ||
| And if I do that, the rest of it, whether it's in the White House, my house, or the governor's mansion, gets really simple after that. | ||
| And so proud of what we've been able to do and glad that I got to do it alongside some of the most amazing people on the planet. | ||
|
unidentified
|
You're going to make me cry. | |
| Sarah would get up, every time we'd go into her office, she would have her scripture open every day. | ||
| Every day. | ||
| It's what guided you every day. | ||
| Otherwise, I'm not sure we would have survived. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I would agree. | |
| And I'd come in with my holy water, you know, the Protestant, the Catholic, we're all in it together, okay? | ||
| So I just want to get this question in real quick because, you know, Doge has been a phenomenon. | ||
| It's been a phenomenon in the federal government, but you have like pre-Doge. | ||
| We started something we called Arkansas Forward. | ||
| It was a project to go in, look at government efficiency, waste, fraud, and abuse. | ||
| Just within the first six months, we've already identified at least $300 million in savings, which is big for Arkansas, our budget, $6 billion. | ||
| And so for us to identify that level of savings already that we're implementing, and some of it was as basic as getting rid of old phone and fax lines that haven't been in use in years. | ||
| We will now save the state of Arkansas a million dollars a year, just eliminating things like that. | ||
| If we can do that on an Arkansas small state level, I can't imagine what they're going to continue to be able to uncover through Doge and the amount of savings and waste, fraud, and abuse they're going to be able to get rid of. | ||
| It's an exciting thing to see. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So, Sarah, what inspires you every day? | |
| My family. | ||
| I have my daughter's here, so I'll cry when I talk about my kids. | ||
| I have the three most amazing kids, Scarlett, Huck, George. | ||
| They're 12, 11, and 9. | ||
| My husband is incredible. | ||
| He has the patience of Job because he is married to me. | ||
| And I know I'm not an easy personality. | ||
|
unidentified
|
You're easier than you think. | |
| You're wonderful to work with. | ||
| But I have an incredible family that loves me no matter what. | ||
| And my kids are perfect reminders of everything that's at stake, everything that matters and is important in the job that I do. | ||
| And I don't mean the job as governor. | ||
| While that is a big role in what I love, and I'm proud and honored to have, there's no more important and bigger task that I have than being a mom. | ||
| And so I take that really serious and trying to do the best I can to deliver for my kids. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So my call to action to you all is that you pray for Governor Sanders and her family because it's really hard to raise a family, be in the public eye, and do the incredible work that you do. | |
| And what is your call to action to our CPAC family? | ||
| To keep fighting without you showing up and cheering and championing not just the people that are running for office, but more importantly, what they stand for. | ||
| Find people who love this country as much as you do. | ||
| Support them with everything you can and keep showing up because it makes a difference. | ||
| Because there are moments where you're running for office or you're in office and you think you're all by yourself and nobody is there. | ||
| And so when you look out and you see a room of people like this who love America as much as you do, it is a great reminder to keep fighting and not to let the naysayers get you down. | ||
| So keep showing up, keep doing what you're doing. | ||
| Thank you so much for being here. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Okay. | |
| Watch American History TV's 10-week series, First 100 Days. | ||
| We explore the early months of presidential administrations with historians and authors and through the C-SPAN archives. | ||
| We learn about accomplishments and setbacks and how events impacted presidential terms and the nation up to present day. | ||
| Saturday, the first 100 days of Lyndon Johnson's presidency. | ||
| He became president on November 22nd, 1963, after the assassination of President John Kennedy. | ||
| President Lyndon Johnson kept Kennedy's cabinet in place and proceeded to push for legislation on taxes and on civil rights. | ||
| Early in his term, he also declared a war on poverty in America. | ||
| Watch our American History TV series, First 100 Days, Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern on American History TV on C-SPAN 2. | ||
| Tuesday night, watch C-SPAN's live coverage of President Trump's address to Congress, the first address of his second term, and less than two months since taking office. | ||
| C-SPAN's live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern with a preview of the evening from Capitol Hill, followed by the President's speech, which begins at 9 p.m. Eastern. | ||
| And then watch the Democratic response after the President's speech. | ||
| We'll also take your calls and get your reaction on social media. | ||
| Over on C-SPAN 2, you can also watch a simulcast of the evening's coverage, followed by reaction from lawmakers live from Capitol Hill. | ||
| Watch President Trump's address to Congress live Tuesday, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on C-SPAN, our simulcast live on C-SPAN 2 or on C-SPAN Now, our free mobile video app. | ||
| Also online at c-span.org. | ||
| C-SPAN, bringing you your democracy unfiltered. | ||
| British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in Washington for meetings with President Trump. | ||
| The president welcomed the foreign leader to the White House earlier today. | ||
| They sat for a brief meeting in the Oval Office and then took questions at a news conference. |