With MSNBC Live host Thomas Roberts holding serve from Santa Monica, California on Tuesday afternoon, he brought on none other than NBC News special correspondent and former California First Lady Maria Shriver to demand the American people “pause...to think about how this is historic and unprecedented” for Hillary Clinton to become the first female presumptive presidential nominee.
Turning to Shriver and Democratic California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, Roberts started the fawning session by hyping that Clinton’s nomination “is a big moment for the United States to have a presumptive nominee in Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party, the first woman to do this.”
Roberts also lamented that such a moment might be spoiled with no “minute to relish this” thanks to socialist Senator Bernie Sanders still battling and “promising a contested convention.”
Always reliable when it comes to conflicts of interest, Shriver let loose this gushing decree for the American people to follow when Clinton declares victory (which she’s expected to do on Tuesday night):
[T]his is a moment and I hope we take a moment — I hope we pause not only to think about how this is historic and unprecedented for her, for women, but about all the people that made this moment possible, all the women who went before her, all the women whose shoulders she stands on and I think that this is a big moment for the country, for anybody who has had a mother or a daughter or a sister and I think she deserves that moment.
Newsom seized on those comments and added that Clinton’s candidacy is “also a big moment for men” and children like his because they can now be “looking different at the limitless possibilities.”
“Remember, not only are women 51 percent of the population, the are 100 percent of the births. Women are essentially and ubiquitous in the context of our consciousness but there’s this institutional sexism and we’ve got to bear that out,” he oozed.
Before the segment ended, Shriver reiterated how imperative it is that we bow down to Clinton:
There is a moment. That's true and we have a lot of women running here in California for other offices in the Senate as well, so I think that it is going to be, I hope, a moment for us all, as I say, to pause and I think what Gavin was saying, it’s an important moment for men as well because many of the issues, I think, that Hillary Clinton is talking about, we’ve seen men embrace those issues, family leave, flexible hours, many of the issues.
The transcript of the segment from MSNBC Live on June 7 can be found below.
MSNBC Live
June 7, 2016
2:10 p.m. EasternTHOMAS ROBERTS: Joining me now here on set is California's Lieutenant Governor, Gavin Newsom and also with us, NBC News special correspondent and California's former First Lady, Maria Shriver. So good to see both of you in person, so Maria, let me start with you. This is a big moment for the United States to have a presumptive nominee in Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party, the first woman to do this. Does she have a minute to relish this? Cause Bernie is promising a contested convention.
MARIA SHRIVER: Well, I think what you just said, this is a moment and I hope we take a moment — I hope we pause not only to think about how this is historic and unprecedented for her, for women, but about all the people that made this moment possible, all the women who went before her, all the women whose shoulders she stands on and I think that this is a big moment for the country, for anybody who has had a mother or a daughter or a sister and I think she deserves that moment. This is a state where there are more women, 18 million women here, more women business owners, more women living paycheck to paycheck and this election will be decided by women. Not to say, you know, that Donald Trump won't be getting women voters , but this is a big moment for women.
GAVIN NEWSOM: And Thomas, let me extend on that. It’s also a big moment for men. You know, I have two sons and you know, there is an old line, you can't be what you can't see. It is a profound moment for them in terms looking different at the limitless possibilities. Remember, not only are women 51 percent of the population, the are 100 percent of the births. Women are essentially and ubiquitous in the context of our consciousness but there’s this institutional sexism and we’ve got to bear that out.
ROBERTS: Gavin, while we have a presumptive nominee in Hillary Clinton. The polls are open today here in California. Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, had said that there were nearly 18 million registered voters. Almost 500,000 new Democratic voters. This bodes well for people wanting to be involved in the election process, but you were campaigning with Hillary Clinton over the last 24 hours here through the state. What was she saying behind the scenes to you about the Sanders situation?
NEWSOM: Nothing. They were focused exclusively — I mean, they’re focused on — they are not going to run the 90-yard dash. They are focused on getting out their vote today. Frankly, I was there when she learned the A.P. reported and no one knew which way this would actually work meaning there is an uneasiness. We want to get people out to vote. We don't want to give them any incentive to stay home. Neither side wants to see that, so we’re going to run that 100-yard dash. We have 17.9 registered million voters, the most in the history of this state. That's going to benefit long-term for the state of California. It’s a million more than we had last election.
SHRIVER: But I think it’s also really important to know that people were saying, oh, everything will be done by the time California gets its term. I think you’re seeing people are coming out saying we want our turn, we want to vote and also there’s a lot of independents declined to states in states and I think you’re going to hear more about that. California leads the way very often politically and I think you’re hear a lot more in the coming months.
ROBERTS: I want to show everybody the tweet that Hillary Clinton just sent out a short time ago and it is back to the future because this is from 2008. She said: “If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.” So, there is a moment on social media for that, take care Maria.
SHRIVER: There is a moment. That's true and we have a lot of women running here in California for other offices in the Senate as well, so I think that it is going to be, I hope, a moment for us all, as I say, to pause and I think what Gavin was saying, it’s an important moment for men as well because many of the issues, I think, that Hillary Clinton is talking about, we’ve seen men embrace those issues, family leave, flexible hours, many of the issues. They want to be good parents as well and so I think we see men coming around to issues that were formerly just women's issues. These are family issues and they’re no longer just in the women’s corner.
ROBERTS: Well, I want to thank you both. California’s Lieutenant Governor, Gavin Newsom, and NBC News special anchor and correspondent for us, Maria Shriver, the former First Lady of California.
