 Hi, I'm Mark Uptegrove, President and CEO of the LBJ Foundation. Welcome to an evening with Valerie Jarrett, a top advisor to President Barack Obama in and out of the White House. During President Obama's eight years in the White House, she was one of the most powerful people in Washington. As senior advisor to President Obama, she oversaw the offices of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs and shared the White House Council on Women and Girls. She now serves as a senior advisor to the Obama Foundation and a senior distinguished fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. Her New York Times bestselling memoir, Finding My Voice, published in 2019, chronicles her uniquely American story. Well, Valerie Jarrett, welcome. We're delighted to have you here today. Thank you, Mark. I'm delighted to be with you. President Obama came out with his long-awaited memoir earlier this month, and you first met President Obama during a dinner in Chicago that was arranged by his then-fiancé, Michelle Robinson, who wanted you to meet. And you write of that meeting in your memoir, Finding My Voice, although we had just met, we were already finishing each other's sentences while Michelle listened intently, amused at our bonding session. So talk about how this meeting came about and how you came to meet Michelle Robinson and Barack Obama. Yeah, so the year was 1991, and I was deputy chief of staff to Mayor Richard Daley and recruiting people to come and join the office. And a good friend of mine, Susan Schur, who went on to become the first lady's chief of staff, was the corporation counsel at the time. And she sent me a resume and across the top it said, brilliant young woman, not the least been interested in practicing at a big law firm anymore, would like to explore public service. And since I had been at a big law firm and left it to join the administration of Mayor Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago, initially I thought, oh, this is someone I want to meet. And when I met her, she blew me away. She was so old beyond her years, committed to public service. And the reason why is that she told me in that first conversation that both her father and her best friend had died in the prior year. And her father had been a lifelong city worker, blue collar worker, but a precinct captain. And so she had learned about public service from him. And when their deaths wondered whether she was really leading a purposeful life and wanted to explore taking the sleep of faith. And she saw a resume on my desk and she never mentioned anything about Princeton undergrad, Harvard Law School. She told me her story. And I fell for her and offered her a job on the spot. No, I didn't have any authority work to offer her a job, but I did it anyway because who could turn down this amazing young woman? Wisely, she demurred. And a couple of days later when we were chatting, I said, well, what about the job offer? And she said, well, I have bad news. My fiance doesn't think it's such a good idea. And I said, well, who's your fiance and what do we care what he thinks? And she laughed and said, well, his name is Barack Obama. And he started his career as a community organizer and he's worried about me going from the private sector right into a political position. And he wants to know who's going to be looking out for me. And so would you be willing to have dinner with us and talk it through? And quite wisely, I said, yes. And so that's what landed me at this dinner in the summer of 1991 with Michelle Robinson and Barack Obama. And he encouraged me at that dinner to tell my story and started saying, well, you know, where are you from? And I said, Chicago, he said, did you grow up here? And I said, yes. And he said, were you born here? And I paused as I always do when people say where you were born because I was born in Iran. And particularly as a child, I just felt so different. And in the beginning, I had to explain where Iran was. No one had ever heard of it. And after the hostage crisis under President Carter, well, of course, everyone had heard about it. And it's gone downhill since then. And when I said that, he said, well, that's interesting. I lived in Indonesia. And we started comparing what it was like to spend our formative years outside of the United States in countries that didn't have many of the benefits that we have here that people in the US take for granted. And also the worldview it gave us, appreciating that the United States is a great country. It's not the only country on Earth. And that we have a great deal to learn outside of our shores. And so that's why in the context of the book, I said we started finishing each other's sentences because I felt like I finally found somebody who had a similar childhood to me and whose childhood shaped him in some fundamental ways, similarly to my own. And I think it amused Michelle because she and I really had bonded as well in that interview around having two parents who loved us, who believed in giving us all the support and encouragement, but also expected us to do something purposeful. And so I bonded with them each in different ways. But the three-way bond has withstood the test of time. It'll be 30 years next summer. So these kindred spirits become dear friends who end up occupying the White House and bringing you along. And as President Obama writes in his memoir, Valerie, having our friend and senior advisor Valerie Jarrett close by in the White House made everything easier. So what was it like to help run the free world with your dear friend Barack Obama? Terrifying. Terrifying. Every single day, Mark. I was scared to death. And I think, look, as you will remember when President Obama took office, the banks were on the verge of collapse. The automobile industry was in bankruptcy. Millions of Americans were losing their homes and their jobs. We had two wars underway. And here he was, not even a full one-term US senator, taking on this daunting responsibility. And there I am, both his friend as well as having these important line responsibilities and senior advisor. And I was just so afraid that I would give him advice that wasn't absolutely perfect, that I did not sleep for eight years and there wasn't a moment where I wasn't worried. And I think part of it candidly is because he was the first black president, we all felt this heightened sense of responsibility to make sure that he did everything as perfectly as possible so that the door would be open wide when he left. And I think as his both his close friend and his senior advisor, I felt an added sense of pressure because I cared so much about what his legacy would be and how well he would serve our country. But I often have said that I think I was a better senior advisor having had that track record of years of friendship and experience with one another. He knew the only reason why I took the job was to help him. I wasn't looking for another job in government. This wasn't a step stone to something else. I was at the stage of my career where I didn't need to do it. I wanted to do it to be helpful to him and to our country. And the set of experiences that I've had on the ground in Chicago and both the public and private sector, he thought would be helpful to him to make informed decisions in the White House. But I also think I was a better friend having been a senior advisor. So if we'd had a tough day in the situation room dealing with who knows what crisis, and then we're kicked around in the evening having dinner and he's looking away, staring out the Schuman balcony or something, I know what's on his mind. And I think it enabled me to be a more supportive friend appreciating what he'd been through in the course of the day. There will be many going into the Biden White House who like you have not had experience in the White House before now. What would be your advice to them? Well, be humble. Don't think you're going in there knowing all the answers. But also be confident that you were selected for a reason. That if the president taps you as he has tapped many people who I do know, then he has confidence that you will serve our country well. And don't be afraid to speak up. I think one of the biggest challenges that you will appreciate, I know, Mark, is that the higher people go in life whether they're in business or in the public sector. And certainly the president of the United States, the most powerful person, not just in our country, but in the world, it's intimidating. And people tend to think that they have all the answers because they got elected. But if you're there as an advisor, it's because the president trusts you. And he trusts you to tell him not just what he wants to hear but what he needs to hear. And I was very struck when President-elect Biden said when he selected Vice-President-elect Harris, as his running mate, I want someone who will tell me what they think. I want an independent voice who will say, this is my opinion. He's the ultimate decision-maker, but you can't shy away from that responsibility to use your voice as powerfully as you can. And it's not about you. It's about your experience that you bring to the table. And so I don't want anybody who has been selected to serve to shy away from that responsibility of speaking up. Now, be prepared, do your homework, don't just give off the cuff comments because the person who's ultimately making the decision can affect millions and millions of lives. So bring your A game, but then speak up and be a team player and recognize that there is only one president. And your job is to give advice. And I know that the president-elect when he is, sort of will run a transparent, evidence-based process that is thorough and rigorous. But once he makes a decision, then your job is to get on board with that decision. Just as you worked for President Obama for eight years, you worked with Vice President Biden. Valerie, how would you characterize Joe Biden? Joe is just a very special person in so many different ways. Obviously he's bright, experienced, both in the many years he was in the Senate and leadership positions, as well as his time as vice president in the White House. He brings into every conversation the voices of the American people and their life stories and question that every meeting that I was in with him for eight years, what will the impact of this decision be on the people we are here to represent? He never lost that true north of delivering an improvement in the quality of life for the American people. And I think that that sense of responsibility and empathy comes from his life experiences. And look, you know, Joe has experienced more pain than any adult should ever have to experience losing his first wife, his daughter, and then years later, of course, his son, Beau. And he had a choice. He could have let that pain overwhelm him and destroy him and people would have understood. But instead, he worked through that pain through service. And I've watched him in one of the important roles of a president, which is a consoler and chief. And I've seen him with the families of the young people who were children, who were murdered Sandy Hook or the Pulse nightclub, both survivors and family members of those who were killed and seen the degree of empathy when my own father died. Joe came up to my office and consoled me in a way that was really searing because I felt his pain and he talked to me about loss. And I think we need, we hunger for a president in this country who sees us, who understands what struggle is all about, whose father had to leave home for a new job and he often talks about, you just how painful that part of his childhood was. And so empathy on top of experience and intellect and judgment and character and integrity is really important as well. And so he brings all of that to the table. And at this unique moment in our nation's history, Mark, after four years of a very different president than the one that President Obama certainly was, or frankly than any other president in our history, I think it will be like a salve over our country to have a president who says, look, I run as a Democrat, but I will govern as a president for all of America who won't take the bite either from the press or from anyone else to rush to judgment who recognizes that he has to reach out to people of all walks of life who are a part of the rich fabric of America, including members of Congress on the other side of the aisle. And he has deep and deep relationships with them. And you saw it early on right after he was, right after the networks all called him as the president and the press was saying to him, well, have you heard from leader McConnell? Have you, you know, and he's like, I don't know. And he doesn't take the bite. He will not take the bite. He knows that this is not about him, it's about us. And I think that stewardship and that responsibility is just what our country needs right now. Barack Obama and Joe Biden started off as colleagues in the Senate. They became competitors in 2008 and then they became running mates in 2008. They were on, they shared the ticket and then became extraordinarily close in their relationship as president and vice president. Talk about that relationship. What did it look like in the White House between president Obama and vice president Biden? Well, I think as all good relationships, it grew over time. As you mentioned, they didn't really know each other that well going in, but I think president Obama recognized that he needed someone with a little gray hair, as he says, experience on the world stage, relationships with world leaders and with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. And he wanted somebody whose life experiences didn't mirror his, but who shared his values. And I will say having seen up close and personal how the selection process went where Caroline Kennedy and Eric Holder looked at candidates and vetted them and then made recommendations and going in, then still Senator Barack Obama said to me, I think that's gonna be Joe. And in the end, it was Joe. And then the relationship began and I think I would say that both Dr. Jill Biden and Michelle Obama also forged a close relationship. And so the four of them had this rather unique experience that not that many people in the world have had. And they began to really spend time together and rely on each other and understand one another and trust each other. And one thing that president Obama and vice president Biden did that I thought was really important is they had a regular lunch with just the two of them. No staff, no staffing, no agenda. They just spent time together. And I think there's nothing like breaking bread with somebody when you are in the trenches together where you really get to know a human being and through the ups and downs of the eight years and we all had ups and downs. The steady relationship was really that bond of trust that they had with one another. And I think our teams worked really well together seamlessly and that was important to support them but the tone really does start at the top. And I will never forget, I have this snapshot in my mind painfully at Boe Biden's funeral. And when president Obama embraced vice president Biden he kissed him on the cheek. And it was such a personal demonstrative symbol of their affection. And I think that I don't know in history a president and a vice president who had a closer bond, more mutual respect. And look, with all of his years of experience in the Senate vice president Biden was willing to be vice president. And that says a lot about him too. Right, right. Why did he choose? Why did Barack Obama choose Joe Biden? What led to that decision? I think it was really he thought that their skillset would compliment each other that Joe Biden had this vast experience on the world stage having shared both judiciary but also being on foreign relations steep understanding of foreign policy. And I think president Obama thought that that would help him as he made these difficult decisions that we have to make as not only the president of the United States but leader of the free world. And that that wise counsel would serve him well. And I think he trusted Joe's motivation for why he was in public service to be again with which was to be a public servant. This was never about Joe. And I think he had that sense of him from the very beginning and he thought that you get along well. And some of it is you just trust your judgment. And I think that relationship grew, founded a mutual trust and admiration and then just became even more solid with time. And that's not to say they always agreed with one another. What was always heartening to me was to see them be able to have a disagreement in front of our staff and just say, but it was a intellectual exercise. It was never an ideological exercise. They were always coming at it from the perspective of what will improve the lives of the American people. But they brought different perspectives to the table and they listened to one another and they listened to all of us. And I think it was a very effective management style and led to more informed decisions with fewer unintended consequences. You mentioned Kamala Harris a moment ago who makes history as the first woman vice president, a woman of color. How do you think the relationship will go between President Biden and Vice President Harris? Well, I think there's nothing like being a vice president to know what you're looking for in a vice president. And he has spoken very clearly about the fact that he wants to have the same relationship with her that he had with President Obama. The last person who speaks up before a decision is made, he wants to be her. And look, he knows her, he knows that she's fearless, she's passionate about her ideas, she's loyal to him, and she understands that part of loyalty means telling you things you might not wanna hear. And everybody says, oh, I want you to tell me what I don't wanna hear until you tell them what you don't wanna hear. And then it's like, oh, you're gonna say something I'm disagree with. And she will do it in a way where she can disagree with him without being disagreeable. I think they have a friendship, a foundation that began perhaps with Bo and her relationship with Bo, which they both have spoken about very openly. And Bo had enormous respect for her when she was the attorney general in California. And I worked with both of them, as well as with the attorneys general from across the country, as we were tackling what to do about the banking crisis and how the banks have behaved. And she led that charge. And she and Bo were like partners in that effort together. And so I think Bo's stories about her meant a lot to President-elect Biden in this process as well. So I think they will have a strong partnership. I think that inevitably he will give her a responsibility similarly to what President Obama gave him. He was the one that was singly responsible for overseeing the Recovery Act, or bringing down of troops in Iraq. I worked with him on violence against women, including ending sexual assault on our college campuses. And I'm sure that Vice President-elect Harris will carve out areas that she cares passionately about as well as being a true, most senior advisor to him. Does it complicate things Valerie that Kamala Harris could be the standard bearer in 2024? We have a soon to be a 78-year-old President-elect. He will be 82 in four years time. So there's a distinct possibility that Kamala Harris could be running for the nomination. Does that complicate things in your view? Not one bit. And let's talk about that, Mark, because you're a student of history. Tell me of Vice President of the United States who did not want to be President. Of course you wanna be President. The question is, are you gonna comport yourself and fulfill your responsibilities as Vice President? And I think one of the best ways to become President one day is to do the Vice President job well. So I don't think it complicates anything one bit. I think she's ambitious and it's only when that word is used to describe women that it's a pejorative. I respect her ambition. I want her to be ambitious because God forbid anything happened to him. I want her prepared to step up to the plate. Whenever that does happen, we of course all hope it never happens. So I don't find that troubling at all. I think that she will do her job admirally, competently, passionately. And if in the end he decides not to run and she decides to run for a president, they will work out how that works at the end of that first term. And if he decides to run again, I hope that he will choose her as his Vice President again, just as President Obama chose him. How do you think the Biden administration will look different from the Obama administration? Although there are obviously some commonalities. There are a lot of folks who are coming back into the White House who are in your White House, that you participated in. But how do you think fundamentally it will differ from the Obama administration? What were at a different point in time today than we were when President Obama and Vice President Biden took office. A country's been through a really traumatic, polarizing period of time. We're dealing with the first time since the flu epidemic in the early 1900s with a global pandemic where over a quarter of a million Americans have died and more and more are infected every single day. It has been a trauma that has touched every American I know for sure who has either been sick, has a family member or a loved one who's been sick or lives in fear of being sick. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, small businesses have shuttered, large businesses have been traumatized by this. And so as painful as the economic challenges were in 2009 when President Obama, Vice President Biden took office, this adds a whole new dimension to that. And as I mentioned, the polarization of our country, we have a lot of healing to do. The spotlight has been put on the relationships of the Black community with law enforcement. But I believe that law enforcement is simply a microcosm of society. And we have never really reckoned with the racial injustices in our country that are societal and cultural, not just legal. And so there is a lot of work to be done in that arena too. Now I have been quoted as saying, this is not time for novices and people without experience. It should not be on the job learning. What I think he will do and has done so far from the appointments we've seen is picked seasoned experienced people with subject matter expertise who have extraordinary good judgment, a moral compass that only points towards true North, many of who work together with each other in the past. So it's not just the best players on the field, markets the best team already, but also have the creative passionate energy to come up with new solutions moving forward. So this isn't a matter of going backwards. It's a matter of going forward, but having that underbelly of experience that allows you to have the judgment and constructive intellect to come up with the solutions for tomorrow. And so the change is really gonna be more a function of the circumstances that we are in than any core values or ideology. I think that Joe Biden and Barack Obama were in sync in terms of ideology, but our country is at a different moment in time and the challenges are daunting. And I think having an open mind, being intellectually and emotionally curious, being a good listener, these are all strengths I think that both Biden and Harris have, which will serve our country well. And believing in the American story that they have both lived and recognizing that not everybody has access to that story, which is why I think the phrase build back better is such a great one. Neither one of them wanna go backwards in time. They both wanna make sure that as we emerge from what has been a horrid trauma for so many Americans, that we do it with an acknowledgement that there are many people who have not had an even playing field ever and that we ought to work on leveling that playing field for all. As you suggest, there are myriad crises that President Biden will face when he takes the helm, but when you were working on the transition in 2008, we were also facing a major crisis. It was the financial crisis where there was a threat of economic freefall. And yet there was this remarkably smooth transition between the George W. Bush administration and the Barack Obama administration. Why did that transition go so well, Valerie? What was the secret in that the smoothness of handing the baton from George W. Bush to Barack Obama? Well, a lot of the credit goes to George W. Bush. And as co-chair of President Obama's transition, I was concerned given that obviously George Bush should not only be a Republican, but we had major policy disagreements. President Obama, much of his campaign was based in the differences that he had in ideology with President Bush. But President Bush made it very clear from day one that his responsibility as a steward for the country was to ensure a smooth transition to power. And he said to President Obama and he said to his team, I expect you to give the full cooperation of the Bush administration to President Obama. And I didn't know what that would really entail. And it wasn't just ensuring that the General Services Administration find that the attainment and that their election was concluded and begin the process of the paperwork to open up the government. But it was really rolling up their sleeves and saying, we are here to help you. I know I met with my predecessor a couple of times in the White House. He was totally available to the transition team as was every unit of government in the White House and throughout the administration. And then on the personal level, President Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush were unbelievably welcoming to the Obamas. The Bush twins came back to the White House. There were some photos that I think Jenna released recently of giving Malia and Sasha a tour and showing them all the cool places to hide out in the White House. And that should be kind of the, some of the unknown to be stigmatized or remove the unknown qualities to it as well because not only was President Obama moving into the White House but his children were changing schools, moving cities. Michelle Obama is leaving her job. There was a lot of personal change that was happening. And the Bush family just simply could not have been more supportive. I would also add that I think our transition team did a really superb job of making sure that we were organized and disciplined and had structure. The vetting process that we used to select people in both the White House and the cabinet was exemplary. President Obama said, look, I'm only gonna be as strong as my weakest link and I wanna leave here without a single scandal. And so your job on the transition is to make sure that the people we are recruiting share my values and my moral compass. And I remember all of the members of the cabinet that I interviewed. The last question I would say to them is there anything in your background that could embarrass either President Obama or our country? And we were very fortunate to have a terrific team. So we worked hard at it, but it would not have been as easy and as seamless as it was without the cooperation of President Bush. And I would hasten to add when President Trump was elected, President Obama gave us the exact same challenge. He said, you all, many of you were here. You remember what George Bush did for me. I expect you to do the same thing for the incoming president and his team and we did. What did that transition look like and how did it differ from the one that you had experienced as going into the White House? Well, I can speak for myself to say going in, I was like a sponge. I wanted to have as much information as I could. It didn't matter whether I would agree with the Bush administration on policy. I wanted to know what were their practices? What were their procedures? What were their strategies? How did they handle my responsibilities of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs? What intelligence could they give me about the governors? Many of whom I did not know or the mayors or any of the other state and local elected officials that I was responsible for. I just was like an insatiable sponge. I cannot say that the Trump team had that same kind of insatiable interest in what we did. In fact, I'll give you one example and that is the pandemic. Back in 2014, President Obama said, within five years we're going to have a global pandemic here. Not maybe, we will. And unfortunately he was just almost on the money in terms of when it happened. And so as a result of our experiences with Zika and H1N1 and certainly Ebola, we learned a lot about how to handle and respond in a pandemic, how to present an all of government approach to handling and how to work with our allies around the world to make sure it was contained. And we prepared a report of that process and of the best practices. We created an office within the national security staff in the White House to handle pandemics and make sure they were coordinating from the White House. We also set up and funded offices in the CDC around the world so that our scientists would be on the ground and have an early alert system should a pandemic break out. All, and we did it and we did a tabletop exercise which was required to ensure that the incoming national security team had the benefit of that effort. And the best I can tell all of that was thrown in the garbage can. And so the administration has a choice. They can listen, they can learn, they can get the benefit of the prior experiences or they cannot. And I think across the board pretty much our experience was that they were not at least but interested in the eight years where we had learned a great deal that I think could have been a benefit to them. What are the, obviously we're in a transition right now, a very different presidential transition. What are the consequences of Donald Trump not only not participating actively in the transition but continuing to question the election results and fundamentally our democracy itself? Well, I'll speak to the last point first because it's really has long-term consequences I fear the foundation of our democracy rests on free and fair and open and safe elections. And there are many people across our country that spent a lot of time and effort preparing for this election in the midst of a pandemic. And by questioning its integrity in the face of the Attorney General saying there's no evidence of vote fraud, the former head of infrastructure security and cybersecurity saying that there was no vote fraud. Republican and Democratic election officials in all of the states saying there was no vote fraud. Over 30 or 40 lawsuits thrown out remarkably by many of the appointees who came from President Trump one of them from the third circuit saying the only way you win this lawsuit is if you present some evidence of fraud and there was no evidence that you presented. But we also know that the president has a huge bullet pulpit and so when he uses that megaphone and the incredible footprint he has on social media and more traditional media to continue to perpetuate that there was fraud and that the integrity of the election is in question then all of those 70 million Americans who voted for him are left questioning the legitimacy of President-elect Biden. And that is not good for the country. That is not good for our country to have his question and look President Trump tried the same thing by supporting the birth of nonsense which was intended to question the legitimacy of President Obama saying he wasn't born in our country where there was no evidence. And then years later he has to admit, yes in fact he was born in this country but the damage had been done. And so I really call on all of the folks who supported President Trump to appreciate the fact that he is just in denial and listen to the experts listen to the people who he trusts the most. The person he put in charge of the federal government's effort in Homeland Security to ensure safe election was fired after he said it was not safe. His attorney general who has stood with him as a non-independent attorney general in every single possible way even he had to say there is no evidence. And so I encourage people to listen to that but it's a big problem. To your first question every day that went by that we did not have cooperation from the Trump administration set the Biden administration further behind and so they're playing catch up. And we shouldn't have to play catch up in the middle of a global pandemic with millions of people out of work and sick. We should have a seamless transition and so we lost precious time in there. The 9-11 report pointed to the fact that Bush v. Gore which delayed President Bush from moving forward with his transition in a timely manner could have led to challenges in national security. A lot of people all over the world are watching and not just our friends. And we look vulnerable when there isn't a smooth transition and we hold ourselves out. And I feel like this is my point on this Mark as that beacon of hope as the model of democracy. And so if we can't behave well in an election and have that smooth transition then how do we hold other countries accountable when they don't act according to the true democratic values? And so it is deeply and profoundly un-American, un-patriotic and it puts our country at risk. And even though we have moved beyond the initial lack of cooperation, I have to believe that public servants would be more forthcoming the way the Bush administration was with us the way we were with President Trump. If the president would conceive would do the respectful thing and call President-elect Biden and call upon his team to fully cooperate as opposed to continuing to use his platform to try to challenge the integrity of the election. It really is an abomination. Sure and challenging the integrity of the election is just one of the many ways that Donald Trump continues to stoke the fires of division. What can Joe Biden do on an immediate term basis upon taking the presidency to heal those divisions and unites? What quick wins could he achieve in bringing us together? Well, I think he's already started. If you listen to the language that he uses as he speaks every time in public, he always says, look, we have to come together. We have to heal these wounds. We are not each other's enemies just because we disagree about top politics doesn't mean that we are enemies of one another. And I think his faith and his conviction that there is goodness in all of us will be felt by the American people. But look, it's no fun to have your candidate lose. Four years ago, I was in the fetal position with the covers over my head at about this moment. So I know how hard it is to lose. But when you are a public servant is your responsibility to suck it up and behave accordingly. Remembering again that this is not about you it is about all of us. And I think Joe Biden will always take the high road. He will follow the script of Michelle Obama when they go low, you go high. And I believe that over time that tone will win out. And he recognizes, I know this, I know this man so well that it is on him to earn the trust of every American including those who did not vote for him and to convince them that he is their president too. And he will go way far in that effort to reach out and encourage the kind of healing that our nation needs. Not just as a result of the last four years but as I talked about earlier the racial wounds that have not been healed for a very long time. I remember when he called George Floyd's family and listening to him recount that conversation and seeing the pain in his eyes as he described the talk mark that happens in every black family in our country where we teach our children our boys in particular, but now our girls too. But they just have to behave differently when they're around police. And it's not intended to say that all police are bad far from it. In fact, the good police are marred by the bad police but that you can't take a chance that you're gonna only encounter good police. And so behave accordingly. And I listened to the way the president elect talked about that at that point he was still the vice president, former vice president. And it was just deeply moving. And I think it is important for the black community to have allies in this effort of racial healing. This is not something we can do on our own and to have the most powerful person in the world give voice to that pain is extremely important. So it isn't just that he has to reach out to the Trump supporters or the Republicans or Democrats who did not vote for him. He also has to be an ally for all the communities who have been hurt, who have been vilified who have been discriminated against for way too long. And that is what's in his heart. And I think over time, the vast majority of American people will grow to appreciate that and respect him and love him for it. Looking back at those eight historic years you spent in the White House, Valerie what is the most indelible memory that you take from that time? Oh, I couldn't put it in one. There are so many special moments and sometimes the special moments were the look on somebody's face who had never been to the White House before as they walked in the door. I remember one day, Michelle Obama created a mentorship program and she invited young teenage girls from around DC to come. And I was along the ground level as they were walking in and many of them were literally in tears. They were so excited to see her. And I watched her hug them one by one and just you could feel them grow. And the respect she showed for them, the validation she gave them. Those are some of the moments that you never forget but I also remember moments like the Nightly Affordable Care Act passed and standing on the Truman balcony at two in the morning with President Obama looking out over the North, the South Lawn and the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. It's just one of my favorite places in the world and asking him how did that night compare to election night in Grant Park in our hometown of Chicago? And he said, no comparison, election night was all about this night. And I will never forget that moment. I remember thinking right then that's why you're president. Because this is not about you. It's about all of us or the Medal of Freedom ceremonies where he would commemorate these citizens with the highest civilian award. And I'll tell you one that just was very touching. I was backstage with the recipients that the year that he gave the Medal to George H.W. Bush and George H.W. Bush was in a wheelchair at the time and I walked over to show my respect and to congratulate him and he pulled me close and he said, this means more to me than anything. And I said, sir, you are president of the United States. What do you mean? He said, no, no, coming from Barack Obama this is everything. And he said, if I don't get a chance to talk to him privately, will you tell him? And he didn't know at the time but of course after the ceremony President Obama invited President Bush back to the Oval Office so that they could have a private moment together. I think Jeb was with him too. But those are the, you know to see what this office is capable of doing the millions of lives that were approved by the Affordable Care Act. And then those tender little moments that I had the honor of experiencing every single day going up to the Hill when there was a vote to repeal don't ask, don't tell, being on the North Portico and watching the rainbow of the White House after having spent the day in Charleston at Reverend Pinkney's funeral with eight parishioners and then to see the celebration where the Supreme Court declared that love was love and spending three hours outside just watching the sunset go down and this iconic photograph which was the number one requested photograph of the entire eight years President Obama was in office when marriage equality was fast. They're just, well, I wrote a whole book about many of those moments and there are many more that I didn't have a chance to put in the book. And so what an extraordinary experience it was for me for this girl who grew up on the South side of Chicago to have the privilege of serving all eight years. And I would add I actually was there longer than President Obama and Mrs. Obama in the White House and that on the last day of the day of the inauguration in 2017, I went over early with Tina Chen who at that point was Mrs. Obama's Chief of Staff. She and I started together from Chicago and both had known the Obamas for the same length of time and we wanted to be there for that final day and watch the ceremony folding of the flag that was flown the first day he was in office and on that last day and seeing the president elect come into the White House and the reception that they had for members of Congress and then seeing them leave. And Tina and I waved goodbye as they went off to the inauguration and we said, well, we last longer than they did. And so incredible experience, what a journey it was and I will cherish those memories for the rest of my life. Well, I want to talk about the presidential the Obama Presidential Center, but before I do while you're mentioning your memoir just want to remind our viewers that Valerie's memoir is finding my voice and I wholeheartedly recommend it to you. Valerie, you continue to be an advisor to the Obamas including advising them on their post presidency and the Obama Presidential Center will soon grace the South side of Chicago. Talk about that institution and how it might differ from other presidential libraries. Well, so first it's location. I couldn't be more excited. It's located a couple of miles from where I grew up where my home is today. I live about a block and a half from the president and first lady's home in Chicago. So they two were, it's in our neighborhood as we say it. I spent my youth traveling through Jackson Park on my bicycle and it is a perfect location right on the lakefront on the South side that has experienced a lot of disinvestment over the decades, but is adjacent to the University of Chicago across the street from the Museum of Science and Industry, a world-class institution and will have an unbelievable view of not just the lake, but downtown Chicago. So the location is perfect. But what's really important to him in addition to obviously having the library and being able to have a depository of everything that happened during his eight years in office on display and available, but also moving forward, the foundation is very interested in creating a platform for civic engagement where the next generation of leaders can come and learn. And when I say come, come virtually, come physically, learn, figure out what are these best practices to go back home and improve their community. And President Obama often says, look, if I can create a million Barack and Michelle Obama's then my work is done here. And we know that work will never finish. So he is as excited about this platform for civic engagement that he's creating. There are programs like My Brother's Keeper designed to improve the trajectory of the lives of boys and young men of color. Mrs. Obama is very interested in global education for adolescent girls. A project she started while she was in the White House. There are so many different ways that they can bring together people on a global basis through fellowships and internships and try to share these best practices. We know what the big challenges are that lie ahead and we know what many of the solutions are. We just have to have the political will and the effort behind it and have people feel empowered to go back to their communities and affect change on the ground. As he started when he began his career so many years ago as a community organizer. So I think that it is a wonderful laboratory for change. As you know, we've traveled around and looked at all of the presidential libraries and each of them are special in their own ways and he is looking forward to making his unique with this civic engagement component to it which is so personally important to both of them. And we look forward to welcoming you officially into the fold. There will be of course a museum component in the Obama Presidential Center and it will depict his life and presidency but when history looks back at the life and times of Barack Obama what will it say about our 44th president? Well, you know, it's kind of like those Monet paintings. It's hard to tell when you're right up here what it's gonna look like with a little distance. But I think everybody will take note that he took office at a tumultuous time in our nation's history. He broke through the racial barriers that had prevented any other black men from being president of the United States. He comported himself as the president of all of America. He presented himself in our country on the world stage with credibility and led by example. And whether it's the efforts on the Affordable Care Act or rebuilding our economy, keeping it from tumbling into the abyss and actually having a record number of jobs created on his watch. All of this I think is a part of his legacy but I think that also he just the core decency and the way he treats everyone from his staff, the most junior person to the most senior, the way he traveled this country and was curious and interested in Americans of all walks of life and how their hopes and dreams informed his decision making. I think he's also quite proud of and continuing that work in what he would describe as the most important office of all, the office of citizen. Valerie, thank you so much for your time today. And thank you for your service to our nation. Highest honor I could possibly imagine and thank you for everything you do at the LBJ Foundation, Mark. What an incredible institution that you lead. And I will never forget our visit there, 50th anniversary, it was just an amazing, amazing day and thank you for what you do to keep that foundation contributing mightily the way it does to this day. Thanks so much, Valerie. My thanks to Valerie Jarrett, to our sponsors, the Moody Foundation and St. David's Healthcare and of course to you for joining us. I hope you'll save the date for our next program, continued conversations with LBJ Protégé and former Texas Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes on January 12th at 1130 Central. These programs are made possible by contributions from our members. If you aren't already part of the LBJ Library family, you can support programs like this by joining us at LBJFriends.org. I'm Mark up to Grove, see you next time.