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King Charles

Nikki Haley Says, U.S. Has Never Been A Racist Country; Maggie Haberman Talks With Gayle And Charles; Roy Wood Jr. And Jordan Klepper Talk With Gayle And Charles; Comedians Roy Wood, Jr. And Jordan Klepper Share Their View On Politics And Racism; Actor Niecy Nash Shares Her Joy Winning An Emmy. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired January 17, 2024 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[22:00:00]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: That source that says the actor was brought to a bank to prepay potential taxes on the timepiece.

The Terminator does not appear to be too phased by what happened to him. He posted this picture afterward, feeding a cookie to his pet pig. We'll keep you updated on that important story and all of them.

Thank you so much for joining us for this busy new hour. A brand new episode of King Charles starts right now.

CHARLES BARKLEY, CNN HOST: Yes, 2024 is here. This is our first show of the year. We are glad to be back. You know, we were preempted last week about a debate. I know you all really watched that thing. But we're ready to start the New Year off right, Gayle.

GAYLE KING, CNN HOST: I say here's to more in 2024. But just in that open trials, it just caught me. It said, you said, I love karaoke. Do you do karaoke?

BARKLEY: I do. Frank Sinatra.

KING: You do?

BARKLEY: I do Frank Sinatra.

KING: What is the song that you do?

BARKLEY: I do New York, New York, New York and My Way. But, you know, I've been doing Kane Brown lately.

KING: I love Kane Brown. I love him.

BARKLEY: Yes. I've been doing Heaven my last couple appearances.

KING: I love Kane Brown.

BARKLEY: Yes, I'm a big Kane Brown fan. But I love karaoke.

KING: Do you care to share with the class?

BARKLEY: Well you have to be drunk and happy we had the words.

KING: Okay.

BARKLEY: Nobody does karaoke sober.

KING: Okay. Listen, I do karaoke sober if I do it. I have a terrible voice, but I love karaoke.

But this is the thing. I say here's to more in 2024. I don't have any New Year's resolutions. Do you have one?

BARKLEY: You know I'm trying to give up Diet Coke.

KING: Okay. And how many Diet Cokes have you had in the last hour? Well, number one, how many Diet Cokes do you drink a day normally?

BARKLEY: 15 to 20. I'm trying, Gayle. I'm an addict. I'm trying to stop.

KING: 15 to 20 a day?

BARKLEY: Yes, I've only had since we got here at 3:00, I've only had like eight.

KING: Charles, this is not good for you. Honestly, this is not good for you.

BARKLEY: It tastes so good, though. Yes, I just love Diet Coke. I really do.

KING: We have so much to get to tonight. It's funny because, you know, people say to me, I watch the show, I really like the show. People ask me all the time, are you worried about what Charles is going to say?

I was on Amtrak, a guy, Tom, I think was his name, said he's like a muffler, you don't know what's going to come out. And I always say this, Charles, you know exactly what you're doing at all times. You never say anything just for click bait, you never say anything just to be provocative. True?

BARKLEY: 100 percent. I know, number one, what I want to say, and I know what the reaction is going to be. Because what I try to do, to be honest with you, I know if I'm going to start a fire. But I really just try to start a conversation.

KING: Yes.

BARKLEY: And I can say, I don't tell people, you're not right or wrong all the time, but part of being in our position, like I just want to throw it out there, and then let's have a civilized conversation about it. But, yes, I always know the reaction of what I say.

KING: I know. That's what I want people to know. You know, there's no -- you don't -- you are very authentic, you don't put on airs and you always speak the truth as you see it. BARKLEY: It is just your truth, Gayle. Because I think that some people think when they speak, it's the gospel. Your truth is only your truth, yes.

KING: And just because you say it, it doesn't mean --

BARKLEY: It doesn't make it true.

KING: So, we have a lot to get to tonight. Just think about that for a second when you think about speaking the truth. We saw former President Donald Trump score a very decisive win in the Iowa caucus. Maggie Haberman, she's so great, is going to join us tonight to talk about what to expect from him and his campaign going forward. She's covered him for a long time. She's written a book. She knows all things when it comes to Donald Trump. I'm looking forward to that.

I just saw Roy Wood Jr. He's here. He's kind of become of our unofficial King Charles political analyst until somebody else gives him a show.

[22:05:04]

You know, there's an opening on Comedy Central.

BARKLEY: You know, Roy, he's never introduced me to Trevor Noah. Trevor Noah is on my bucket list.

KING: We would like to have Trevor Noah here. I think we could pick up the phone. Maybe he'll come.

He's going to be here with Jordan Klepper. We're going to talk to them about the 2024 race, their experiences with voters, comedy, T.V., and Roy had a big moment on the Emmy stage the other day because they won an Emmy for the Trevor Noah Show. Trevor won an Emmy and they were both part of the Trevor Noah Show.

The entire political world has moved into the tiny state of New Hampshire. Charles, we have to play something. I know you all saw this, what Nikki Haley said this week. Roll tape, please.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're not a racist country, Brian. We've never been a racist country. Our goal is to make sure that today is better than yesterday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We asked people out on the street about that tonight. We didn't find anyone that could agree with that.

BARKLEY: Not anybody with common sense.

KING: Yes, we didn't find anybody.

BARKLEY: Well, you know what, I've been having a hard time trying to decide who I'm going to vote for. So, Nikki Haley is the leader in the clubhouse because --

KING: She was a leader in your clubhouse.

BARKLEY: Because she's a hundred percent correct. If you forget about slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, anti-Semitism, Asian hate that's been going on in this country, America has been smooth sailing.

KING: Yes.

BARKLEY: You know, that was --

KING: I think a lot of people were surprised by that time.

BARKLEY: First of all, you can't be surprised. That was just stupid. America was built on racism. First of all --

KING: America was certainly built on slavery.

BARKLEY: Well --

KING: Yes, certainly that. Yes.

BARKLEY: But listen you can criticize a country. This is the greatest country in the world. You can still criticize it. Anybody who thinks we don't have racism, you turn on the T.V. every single day, there's racism. And for her, somebody who wants to be the president of the United States to set something that's stupid, and that's just stupid. Like I when you heard it, you're like, oh, can you -- I wish I could go back on my T.V. because, you know, some people, somebody --

KING: To rewind to see that you --

BARKLEY: Because you can't think that. You can't think that racism doesn't exist in this country. Right now, like I said, America was built on racism, segregation, Jim Crow, slavery, even now we've got anti-Semitism that's through the roof. In the last couple years, Asian people have been getting mistreated.

KING: Well, she has a town hall tomorrow night, Jake Tapper.

BARKLEY: You know what I want to do?

KING: What, what?

BARKLEY: Listen, I want all the black people here in New York, we're going up to New Hampshire. We're going to have the whole audience black. That's what we're going to do. And when Jake Tapper said, we got a question, we're going to all raise our hand at the same time. If I could get -- it's cold out here right now. If I could get --

KING: Something tells me there's not very many black people in New Hampshire, so maybe you might have to cover New York. Yes.

BARKLEY: Well, I think that the reason she said that everything is rosy with black people, she'd been in New Hampshire and Iowa for the last two months, she ain't seen no black people. But, you know, listen, I'm so disappointed that she said that because it's 100 percent wrong.

KING: Yes, I would like to see her address that. We'll see. We'll see.

Talk about a costly mistake, Arnold Schwarzenegger, we all know him, he was detained at an airport in Munich, Germany, the other day for more than two hours. Why? Because he failed to declare a watch reportedly valued it more than $20,000 upon his arrival.

Has this ever happened to you? I've gone to an airport and they say do you have anything to declare, and I always say, no, I don't, and most of the time, I really don't. So, did this ever happened to you?

BARKLEY: Oh, it happens all the time. You just got to learn a lie and say -- when you go to a foreign country, you have to spend a whole night before peeling off the Cuban cigar labels. And then when the guy looks you and eye and says, Charles, are these Cubans? No, they're not. They're not Cuban. And then if you got a nice watch, no, I already had that watch. You have to lie.

KING: Or you could just declare it.

BARKLEY: No, you're going to pay taxes on it then.

KING: Okay.

BARKLEY: No, you're going to pay taxes on it. Trust me, we pay enough taxes, Gayle.

KING: So, you're encouraging people to lie.

BARKLEY: They do it all the time.

KING: Well, I just have to say this. I was on a plane. Normally, if you're traveling out of the country, you cannot travel with more than $10,000 in cash. I never have $10,000 in cash, but I was on a plane with Oprah. She had $10,000 in cash and you're supposed to declare it. And so it was all the -- I don't like entourage, but all very close friends. And so she said, I have to declare it. I said, but it's your money. It doesn't make sense to me when it's your money.

I said, why don't you split it up? Give me $2,000, give so and so $2,000, give me $3,000. And I am a law abiding citizen. And I said, no one will know. And she said, but I'll know, I'll know. And so she declared it.

BARKLEY: See that's -- I knew Oprah was too good to be true. That broke my heart right there.

KING: But my point is she does the right thing even when no one is looking.

[22:10:01]

And I am a law abiding citizen but I would have given you $2,000, given me $3,000. That's what I would have done.

BARKLEY: I would have done that too.

KING: Yes, that's what I would have done. Coming up next, fresh off his victory in the Iowa caucus, we're going to talk to somebody who won a literal Pulitzer for her reporting on Donald Trump. We're talking about the great Maggie Haberman about where do we go from here. Lots of people got lots of questions.

You're watching King Charles, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We are very excited about our next guest. Her name is Maggie Haberman of The New York Times. She is a badass. She's a Pulitzer Prize winner and the author of the bestselling book, yep, bestselling book, Confidence Man, the Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America. So, Maggie, welcome. I'm really glad you're here. I've admired you for a very long time.

So, you literally wrote the book on Trump. And today we saw he almost got kicked out of the courts today for his very disruptive behavior. He gave a speech attacking the judge. And then he goes outside and, of course, talks to the press. So, the way you look at it, do you think that the Trump trials or the new Trump rallies, we used to always cover the rallies, and now when he comes out of court, everybody covers what he has -- well, not everybody, but he gets a lot of coverage when he comes out of the courtroom.

[22:15:10]

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: pretty much. I mean, he has melded his legal cases and his political campaign, so they are indistinguishable. He fundraises off the legal cases. And this was a civil case. He didn't have to be there today.

He chose to be there. This is not a criminal trial where he would have to be in court. But most of his supporters don't know the difference. They don't hear the difference. They just hear noise that he's under fire, and they tune in that way, and they give him money that way.

And so he is really leaning into this because he has learned the lesson that there is a benefit to him politically.

KING: Well, today in court, he seemed to want to get kicked out of court. Can you talk about what happened in court today?

HABERMAN: Sure. So, he went to court --

KING: He seems to deliberately taunt the judge.

HABERMAN: It seemed very much like that to me. This was, again, the civil trial involving E. Jean Carroll, this New York writer who accused him of rape decades ago. And he was already found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a previous case related to her that she brought.

In this case, he showed up for her testimony. And so instead of us talking about her testimony, we are talking about the fact that he was making noises. He was over her whispering to his lawyer. The judge, Lou Kaplan, who is a very serious judge, he's been on the bench a very long time, and it's a federal court, it's not the same as a state court where things tend to be a little looser.

This judge gave him warnings and said at one point, something to the effect of, I know you want to get thrown out and I'm not going to do that, and Trump responded, I would love that. And I suspect, Gayle, that that is true. He would have liked to have gotten thrown out because he would then claim he was a victim. It's heads he wins, tails, the other side loses.

BARKLEY: How long you been covering politics?

HABERMAN: 20-some odd years.

BARKLEY: Have you ever, and I trust your expertise, seen candidates like him, you either love him or you hate him. Like there's no middle ground, like his people love him and everybody else hates him. Have you ever seen this type of firestorm?

HABERMAN: The only close to polarizing figure like Trump that I have seen ever at any level is Rudy Giuliani, whose city hall I covered for the final three years of his administration, and then I covered his presidential campaign, which was very different because he was covered post-911 in a different way nationally.

But at city hall, he was incredibly polarizing, and he made a number of racist statements, and he was constantly at odds with black leaders, and he was constantly, reflexively pro-cop, no matter what the incident involving cops was.

And that's the only thing that I can remember like this. But even still, it doesn't come close.

KING: But this is what I struggle with, Maggie, covering him, and I'm curious about how you handle this. You know, I always think that you're always entitled to your own opinion, but you're not entitled to your own set of facts.

How do you cover something where he's very fluid with the truth, as we know, and that it doesn't matter what he says, it doesn't matter that people will just believe anything that he says, even when it's been proven not to be true, how do you cover someone, or how do you present stories when the facts don't matter?

HABERMAN: So in the case of --

KING: Is it hard for you?

HABERMAN: I think it's hard that there is no longer an objective fact set that is agreed upon in this country, and that became clear in 2016 that things were heading that way. It has devolved much worse since then.

I think one of the starkest examples is that since he left office and since he has been telling his election lies about 2020 relentlessly, and he won't stop doing it, and I don't think he's going to stop doing it in this campaign, the number of Republicans who believe his version of events, both about the election and about what happened on January 6th, has really changed. And so that's the starkest example.

I mean, it's incumbent upon us to tell the cleanest, clearest version of the truth that we can. But is it --

KING: But does that matter?

HABERMAN: Well, it matters in terms of how we do our jobs because that is our job. And how many people understand that or hear that? We can't do anything about it. All we can try to do is make sure that our stories are checked out and clear.

BARKLEY: Have we ever had a candidate win a nomination and never did a debate?

HABERMAN: I really can't think of anything like this from somebody who wasn't an incumbent. He is running as if he's an incumbent and that's what --

KING: And that does not hurt him. Not doing any debates does not hurt him.

HABERMAN: Not doing any debates, doing minimal events in Iowa. I mean, he did, you know, something close to 30 events, but that's nothing compared to what the other candidates did. This is unprecedented and it is almost entirely and not only because he does have a strong base of support, but these indictments have galvanized his supporters in ways that did not become clear until the summer.

KING: Yes. I've heard supporters say, listen, he may be -- someone even said he may be morally bankrupt, I may not agree with how he conducts himself, but I like his policies. And so those seem to -- sometimes he behaves in ways that we would not want our children to behave.

[22:20:02]

To think some of the -- you know, telling the truth has always been very important to most parents, I know, or the way you treat people and the way you talk to people and about people seems to matter.

So, he behaves in ways that many people would not want their parents to behave, but people say, yes, but I like his policies. Is that where we are? Is that where we are in this country?

HABERMAN: That is very much where we are. We're essentially -- you know, everything is divided by not just how you view certain policies over behavior or, you know, quote/unquote, right and wrong, it's -- his supporters will say what he does is right because what he's doing impacts them in the way that they want and makes their lives better.

KING: You wrote a book about him. Do you have a rapport with him still? You seem to have had a rapport with him. HABERMAN: Well, I covered him and, you know, I dealt with him a lot as a subject who I covered. He was very angry about the book. I had a lot of reporting in it that made him very upset and he has continued to vent that upset. But the way he is is he will always engage with a reporter eventually if he sees some reason to. And so he called me the other day.

KING: He called you the other day?

HABERMAN: Yes, for the first time in a long time. And I wrote him --

KING: To say what?

HABERMAN: He wanted to talk about these cases and these trials that he was going to. Because I was writing a story about how, you know, politics in the courts were going to converge again in January. This was a couple of weeks ago. And he called to say that he wanted to attend all of these trials and to talk, you know, again about his attacks on the judge and the civil case and to talk about E. Jean Carroll, much of which I didn't report on.

But he thinks he's his own best comms director and his own best defender, and you'll see more of that as (INAUDIBLE).

BARKLEY: One final question. As a mom, are you --

KING: (INAUDIBLE).

BARKLEY: As a mom and your kids going to be grow up in the next few years, are you hopeful about the next year?

HABERMAN: I think this is going to be a pretty bleak campaign on many levels. But I just think that the way that our campaigns are fought now are all about who you hate and who hates you back. And I think you are going to see that to the nth degree in 2024.

KING: Right. To be continued.

BARKLEY: Thank you.

KING: Thank you very much.

BARKLEY: Thank you for taking the time.

KING: Coming up next, comedians Roy Wood Jr. and Jordan Klepper.

Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:26:23]

KING: Welcome back. As we all know, it's stumping season, and it's not just Nikki Haley, Donald Trump and Joe Biden touring America. Comedians Jordan Klepper on my left, Roy Wood Jr. on my right, they're on the road too, talking to voters on their America for the Last Time Tour.

That's quite the title, America for the Last Time Tour. Just -- Charles just rolls off the tongue.

BARKLEY: It rolls off, didn't it?

KING: You may know them from Comedy Central's political powerhouse, The Daily Show. And I'm not sure anybody has a better feel for what people want and what they are feeling right now. Roy and Jordan, we welcome you back to the show. And we should say congratulations because Trevor Noah won an Emmy, you all were part of that team. Congratulations.

BARKLEY: Yes. Thanks for introducing me to him, Roy.

KING: We saw you on stage.

BARKLEY: Oh, I'm sorry, you didn't.

ROY WOOD JR., COMEDIAN: Well, you could have come over to the show. It's right up the street, like we ain't right around the corner. Thank you for having me. Good to see you all again. And, Gayle, he tripping.

JORDAN KLEPPER, COMEDIAN: Do you actually have Trevor's phone number?

WOOD: I'm black.

KLEPPER: Okay. I was going to say, if you want to share that with me, I would take it. Any connection would be nice.

WOOD: I'll tell him later about that.

KLEPPER: Okay, great.

KING: We'll see what we can do. I'm black too. We'll see what we can do. I got his number too.

Okay. But, anyway, Maggie Haberman was just here, guys, last break. Did anything she say jump out at you when we were talking about the political season, the campaign? Roy, you want to go first?

WOOD: Yes, I think Maggie was spot on and talking about how emotions are driving the voter base now and not necessarily policy, you know. Jordan and I've had --

KING: Or the truth?

WOOD: Yes, the truth doesn't matter. Truth stopped mattering like five, six, seven years ago. Nobody care about truth anymore. It's just that's my guy or it's not that guy.

And Jordan I've been out on tour and doing Q&As with some of the audiences and like we're out in Little America and people -- like I've never seen people more unexcited about two choices.

KLEPPER: We'll say it's going to be Trump versus Biden and nobody gets excited about that idea. Nobody wants this rematch. Biden is not --

KING: On either side, right?

KLEPPER: Well, I mean, I think on the Trump side, Trump already has his voters, has had his voters. I think the thing that --

KING: But Trump voters seem pretty excited about him.

KLEPPER: They've already bought the hats. They're re-buying the hats. I talked to a man who bought a hat every single month, and they're not reformatting the hats. They keep rebooting the money game.

On the left, though, we're definitely talking to people at our shows who are more progressive, and they want any other choice but Biden. And they don't feel he's a strong enough candidate, which is a bummer. He has some downsides. He has the whole Hunter Biden situation, which, in and of itself, is clearly going to be an albatross for him.

KING: Yes. So, they say they don't want either candidate on both sides. Who do they want? What does that person look like?

BARKLEY: That's a great question, Gayle.

KING: I'm serious. Who do they want? Yes.

WOOD: It seems like everybody wants somebody younger, but I don't understand. Here's my question to you all. How is it that Biden is considered old, but Trump isn't?

BARKLEY: Well, because --

WOOD: Trump, he was like three, four years younger than Biden.

BARKLEY: Yes. But ages are totally different, Roy. You know that. One guy looks a lot younger, acts a lot younger, maybe to a fault, but they're basically the same age.

WOOD: One guy moves old. The other guy talks concussed.

BARKLEY: That's right.

WOOD: So, I don't really -- it's just like, which level of coordination do you prefer, is what I feel like it comes down to.

BARKLEY: It's frustrating because these politicians to me, in my opinion, they've ruined the country, the Democrats and the Republicans, because they fight over every subject. Me and Jordan ain't ever met before. There's no way we'll disagree on -- and I'm just talking right now.

No, because --

KING: There's no way you'll disagree on what?

[22:30:03] BARKLEY: On every subject, like the repulse on the Democrats, like, you're watching TV, like, would they disagree on that? Like, I can meet a random stranger, but, and who's, like, man, let's have a conversation about something. There are some things we would actually agree on. Now, we could disagree, but the way these politicians have ruined this country, like, wait, if they want it, Maggie talked about it. We like our guy, we hate the other guy. I'm like, I don't hate --

KING: I'm going to oppose it just because it was your idea.

BARKLEY: Just because you came up with it. I'm like, no man, there's some things we're going to agree on, some things we're going to disagree on. And if we disagree, let's try to reach a happy medium. Because we're all Americans.

KING: Yes.

BARKLEY: See, because I hate the fact that you have to pick between being a Democrat and Republican. I think everybody should be an independent. And then you vote for the hell you want to. But our system is broken. Our system is broken. A lot of people agree with you on that. And it's really sad. Roy, let me ask you a question. You know, we had a couple, Wolf Blitz, John King. Why is President Biden struggling with black people?

ROY WOOD, JR., COMEDIAN: I think that there are a lot of unfulfilled promises from the administration, at least that's how it feels with black people. I think also when you look at black people, I feel like as a group, we've always felt like we've always put our needs to the side for the greater good.

You've always -- because you're always asked to vote for the best candidate, even if their platform isn't necessarily benefiting your particular group or your voter base. And I think at some point, like other voter bases, black people are like, no, we want ours now. We want some reparations.

I tried to ask Biden for reparations at the correspondence dinner when I saw him. He walked off.

KING: How'd that go over?

WOOD, JR.: He wasn't able to chat about that. That wasn't the time or place. But I really feel like, there has to be some degree of connecting, but I think every base wants that. And I think that's where it comes back to what we've been finding on the road, is that people are concerned about their issue and their issue only.

And we've turned into a voter base in this country that is all about what's in it for me and my people first. And you're supposed to vote for the best candidate for the country, not necessarily, which means sometimes it's not the best candidate for yourself or for your group. I think there's still time for Biden to connect with black voters, but I do not.

KING: You do? You do think there's time? WOOD, JR.: I still think there's time.

KING: All right, Roy.

WOOD, JR.: Jordan, how do you feel about the black people?

JORDAN KLEPPER, COMEDIAN AND WRITER: What's that? How do I feel about black people? I'm two thumbs up, man.

KING: Roy and Jordan. We'll be right back. We're going to get your take on that viral Emmy moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:36:56]

BARKLEY: Welcome, welcome back. We got Jordan and Roy here. Roy, you became a viral moment at the Emmys. What the hell were you saying?

WOOD, JR.: Unintentionally. I wasn't saying that. I was just happy.

KING: Wait, wait. We have evidence. We have evidence. Play the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOOD, JR.: And honestly, the person I always thank, because he's just a crazy genius for thinking of it. Hey, Jon Stewart, wherever you are, my friend, thank you for calling me up. Thank you for asking me to come and join you on this crazy journey. And thank you to everybody else in this category. Thank you to these people. We did it, baby. We did it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: What were you saying, Roy?

WOOD, JR.: I said, please hire a host. That's all I said. But it wasn't --

KING: Do you mean please hire a host or do you mean please hire me?

KING: No, a host because it was a night that Trevor Noah and the staff and everybody that was on that stage and the crew that was watching back in New York. They work hard. And I was just happy for him. And I'm happy for "The Daily Show". And I'm happy for what the show can be in 2024.

So, the idea was, come on, let's get a host and let's get on the road. I wasn't trying to steal a moment. I've apologized to the people who need to be apologized to. Because I wasn't trying to steal that moment that Trevor worked so hard for. But it was said in the spirit of excitement, not trying to -- It wasn't -- the intent was not malicious. It was, let's go, let's do this.

BARKLEY: Jordan, I'm going to ask you a question. So, okay, so clearly -- WOOD, JR.: He wants to host the show, yeah, she can.

BARKLEY: If you guys, you all not just, I mean, obviously you want to make money, but if you're taking time to talk to your audience, what are you all trying to accomplish with the tour?

KLEPPER: Well, I will say, I love hanging out with this guy, and so we wanted to go on the road, and literally talk to people. We do get to -- we have the best job in the world. We get to take the news, we get to find what's humorous about it, we get to call out B.S. where we see it. And we oftentimes do that from a studio in New York when you go into Charlottesville, Virginia, you go to Indianapolis, you go to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

We're opening it up to be like what do you care about and what's surprising, I think, to us is like, we're comedians who care a lot about the news and hopefully have a point of view about it. We don't get a lot of questions about what was it like to meet Tom Cruise when he came to "The Daily Show." People have real issues. They want to talk.

KING: And they want to talk.

KLEPPER: They want to talk about it and it's also a space where people who want to feel heard and talk to other people about it. I think we're often surprised after the show, people will tell us like, this was cathartic. Like to be in a room with people who we can talk about education issues. And we joke --

KING: Cathartic is the word they use?

KLEPPER: They use the word cathartic.

KING: Talking to comedians.

KLEPPER: I went to Kalamazoo and -- where I'm from -- and I did a show where I talked about the news. People talked back to me and they said like, we rarely are in places surrounded by 2000 other people who are talking about the things that bother them in the community right now.

And we don't create those spaces anymore. And it's- it's a sad state of affairs that happens at a comedy show, but it shows there is a need for community and discussion.

KING: What do they say about the news? I get the impression they don't believe the news, they don't trust the news. What do they tell you about that?

KLEPPER: I think there's not a lot of faith in the news. I think people can search out the news they want wherever they want it.

[22:40:00]

KING: And then they stick with that news. I mean, that's why we're all so siloed, because if you're only listening to one network and only one point of view, then you believe what you're seeing on that one network and that one point of view.

JORDAN: And you double down on that because you see other people getting bad news, which makes you believe and hold harder to the news that you have, even if you have doubts. I think like we have a crisis of certainty in this country.

KING: Crisis of certainty.

KLEPPER: And everybody thinks they have it. And I think uncertainty is the only way you can actually have a conversation.

BARKLEY: No disrespect to you, Jordan. Roy, Nikki Haley said America's never had racism. I got to let you, you can't, ain't letting you --

KING: She said it's never been a racist country, yeah.

WOOD, JR.: If America's not racist, then Nikki Haley should run for president under her birth name and see what happened. Ask old Vivek Ramaswamy how that went for him in Iowa. They told Ram, what they said in Iowa, Jordan, they were like, yeah, we're not sure about him because we don't know about that name. Too many consonants in your name, Vivek.

KING: Did people say that? Did people say that, seriously?

WOOD, JR.: Vivek Ramaswamy, if he'd have showed up to the Iowa caucus as just Gerald, he'd have done way better.

KING: Do you really believe that?

WOOD, JR.: Yes, yes. Just Nikki. Simple, single syllable. That's how you got to run when you run.

KING: Nikki is her middle name. Nikki is her middle name, yeah.

WOOD, JR.: Okay, that's fair. Well, then put that name right on the front end if it ain't racist.

KING: That's her first name. Yeah.

WOOD, JR.: Okay, put it out there then if everything's cool. But she understands that you just got to hit people. You can't hit people with too much.

KING: But she didn't just change her name when she got into politics. She's always been Nikki. She's been Nikki for a long time.

WOOD, JR.: Yes, as a Republican in the South.

KLEPPER: Nikki Haley's smart. I think I see that. She's smart. She knows what she's doing, and it shows you she's playing to her audience.

KING: But how do you explain that comment?

KLEPPER: Because her audience doesn't. KING: How do you explain her comment about America has never been

racist?

KLEPPER: I think she knows her audience doesn't want to hear it. Right now we've created this firestorm around wokeism in a way that like the audience doesn't want to hear any negativity about what they believe or anything in the past. Don't tear down these statues.

And so she knows her audience doesn't want any of that criticism and she plays to it. She knows she doesn't believe it. I don't think she believes it. I think she plays to it. I think that's what's so scary. We're playing to the basest mob mentality.

KING: But you don't think she really believes that. That's interesting.

KLEPPER: I think she's playing the game.

WOOD, JR.: She cannot believe that and not have been running the state of South Carolina. That's not possible.

KING: We couldn't find it. I haven't found anybody that agrees with that statement.

BARKLEY: I hope not.

KING: Thank you, guys. I hope not, too.

KING: After the break, another viral Emmy moment. Actress Niecy Nash -- did you see this? Delivering a word during her acceptance speech. More on that right after the break. You're watching King Charles.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:47:14]

KING: So, before we go, I really want to talk about a moment from this week's Emmy Awards that stood out. Niecy Nash won the Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her performance. The movie was called "Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story". Very heavy topic.

She delivered an acceptance speech that really resonated with a whole lot of people, myself included, because of who she thanked. And you know who I want to thank? I want to thank me for believing in me. And doing what they said I could not do. And I want to say to myself in front of all you beautiful people, go on girl with your bad set. You did that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Yes, you did that. We actually have Niecy now. She's joining us now from Dublin, Ireland, where she's just landed working on her next project. Niecy, congratulations, congratulations. We're giving you a round of applause. So, Niecy, you should know you're out of the country, but you've become a meme. And I'll bet you had no idea you would get that kind of reaction. And

we should say you thanked other people. But you also thanked yourself. And when I watched you, I said, boy, I can't believe she did that. B, I'm glad she did that. And I would never have the nerve to do that. What were you thinking in that moment?

NIECY NASH, ACTOR: First of all, let me just say the reason why I have these sunglasses on --

KING: I was wondering. I was wondering.

NASH: I have been crying all day. I'm just so full and so overwhelmed. I look like one of those teenage girls in a rom-com when the boy just broke up with her and the eyes get so weird. That is how I look. Happy tears, but I look a wreck. So, I'm just trying to spare your audience.

KING: Okay, because I was going to ask you, Niecy do you want to leave your sunglasses on? But okay, I get it, I get it.

NASH: I look a mess. The night, if I could sum it up in one word, was magical. But I had no idea that my words were taking flight. Because after you win, they usher you in the back. You have to do a couple of interviews. You got to take pictures. By the time I came all the way around to come back, the thing was over.

KING: Yeah.

NASH: And you get ushered into the next party so you can get your name engraved on the statue. So, I didn't know it was unfolding the way it was until, I don't know, maybe around two or three o'clock in the morning.

KING: Wow.

BARKLEY: So, when you go to these award shows, you have that -- which I've done many times -- you have to have that stupid look on your face when you lose 99 percent of the time. What -- like -- cause did you go in?

[22:50:00]

How confident were you going in?

NASH: You know, I've been to the big show a couple of times, Charles, and I walked away empty-handed. So, you never know how it's going to go. But I looked over at my better half. I said, listen, if they don't call my name, I'm going to spit on the ground, and we walking out.

KING: No, no, you would not. No. Jessica would not let you do that.

NASH: I was just making jokes.

KING: I know you were.

NASH: I was just making jokes just to keep it light. But, you know. I was very, very happy when they called my name. KING: But why did you thank yourself, Niecy? This is what I want

people to understand, because I so admire that you did that. You know, as girls were raised, you don't want to brag, you don't want to toot your own horn, but you thanked yourself, why? Was there something that happened in your life or that was going on in your life that you said, you know what, I'ma thank me?

NASH: Because I know -- because I know what it cost me. You know, I know -- I just know trying to prove myself to my peers and going through the stuff that you go through in life that people don't see. They don't see what happens behind the closed doors. They don't see the pain. They don't see your heartache.

All they see is the shiny parts of your life. And it took a long time for me to get there in that moment. And I was proud of myself, you know, I still am, you know, I really am.

BARKLEY: You know, Niecy, I talked to a lot of young teens in my life and going over the notes about you, you talk about self-esteem. Cause I said, you guys spend so much time worrying about what some fool on the internet says about you. I say it's called self-esteem.

You're never going to be happy as a person until you're able to look yourself in the mirror. Tell me why you think like that because it was beautiful to listen when I was going over the notes.

NASH: Because you know for some reason, we've inverted it you know. And you know, and we look to other people to affirm, you know, mama esteem. That's not what it is. Them esteem, us esteem, you know, no, it's your own self. And when they told me, you know, you got a cute face, but can you lose weight? I was like, no, and I'm about to go home and get pregnant. Now, how about that?

You know? I mean, I just I kept just bucking back and I'm like, you're not going to -- you're not going to break me. And when you tell me that you're going another way, and I'm not your choice, and there was a better name or this or that, I am not from an arrogant place, but from a place that I know the call on my life, I think I feel sorry for you, because I will be something one day. And you don't wish me a chance.

KING: And Niecy, the other thing is you know how hard you worked to get to this moment. And I'll close with this because after that, you said you were going to go skinny dipping with your wife and you were going to take the Emmy with you. Do you want to let us know how the night ended?

NASH: Baby, like a dream. Newborn baby naked in the swimming pool with champagne and that trophy to bear witness. And we had a good time. I married the right woman.

KING: And you are still having a good time working in Dublin. Niecy, thank you so much, because it's late there. I really, really, we really appreciate you taking the time.

BARKLEY: You go girl, congratulations. KING: Congratulations.

NASH: Go on, girl, with your bag.

KING: Go on. Thank you, Niecy. Thank you. Yep, she literally, she's in her hotel room. I think she's still floating. And before we go, here's a video Niecy was talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NASH: I'm going skinny-dipping. Okay, I booked a hotel suite that has an indoor swimming pool. Get into that. Now I'm just waiting for my better half. So we can really get the party started.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Look, they're even playing the song, "There's a Party Going --". You've won an Emmy before. Did you go skinny dipping with your Emmy, dear?

BARKLEY: Well, me and skinny have never been using the same sentence before. It was more dipping, not skinny dipping.

KING: It was more skinny than dipping. I got it.

BARKLEY: Yes.

KING: One more thing, every Wednesday night, we always go outside and talk with people on the streets. It was very cold tonight. It was tough tonight.

BARKLEY: Yes. Very cold. About something incredible. We go outside to talk about what's happening in the show, but tonight, something that has never happened before, and I don't think will ever happen again, happened to us.

[22:55:00]

Here's the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I sent a picture of you guys to my mom.

BARKLEY: Oh, did you?

MOLLY: I said, I hope you don't take offense, I sent a picture. I said, Gail King's here with some guy. And she goes, gee, I don't like sports.

BARKLEY: I'm some guy, y'all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Hello, some guy. I think I should go around telling people, you're my little boo thing. You know that song, Charles? BARKLEY: I do.

KING: You're my little boo thing?

BARKLEY: That was so awesome. I love that.

KING: You weren't upset?

BARKLEY: Hell no.

KING: That's my little boo thing for you. That'll wrap up our first show of the week. We both thought that was very funny. Thank you, Molly, for that moment. We thank you for joining us, our first show of the year. Guess what? We get to come back next Wednesday. We thank you for watching King Charles. You can catch me tomorrow morning on CBS mornings at 7 A.M. Got to get up early, so I'm going to bed. Where are you going tonight?

BARKLEY: I'm just going to bed. I got to go to my real job tomorrow.

KING: This is kinda our real job. Abby Phillip will be right here tomorrow night at 10 o'clock. Love you, Abby. You don't want to miss that. But don't go anywhere because right now "Laura Coates Live" starts right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)