Outside the Bubble: On the Road with Alexandra Pelosi (2018) - full transcript

Subtitles by explosiveskull

There's a strange energy radiating
through the country right now.

America has taken a turn.

- USA! USA!
- America, the country,

is as divided as it has been
in 150 years since the Civil War.

If you watch cable news,

it seems as if civility has
reached an all-time low.

We're more divided than ever,

and our identity,
what makes us all American,

has never been more fragile.

You're ugly!
You're ugly!



Get the hell out of here!

You're fucking dumb! You're uneducated!
Get the fuck out of here!

- It's all about Jesus!
- What do you know about Jesus, faggot?

I didn't come along
and divide this country.

This country was seriously
divided before I got here.

Ever since Donald
Trump became president,

many Americans have a sense

that they finally have someone
who understands them.

Enough people in this country are
tired of feeling left behind.

But in my America, my neighbors
have been dressing up

like parts of the female anatomy
and marching in protests.

What we rarely see on TV is people
having genuine conversations

with people
who they don't agree with.

We are making America
great again, baby!



Taking our country back!

It has been said that
where you stand on an issue

depends on where you sit.

Well, I may live in liberal America,

but I know that this is
not the only America.

So, I'm bursting out
of my own bubble

and setting out on a pilgrimage

to meet people in communities
across this country

where the big issues have erupted...

It is not a gun control that this
country needs, it's God control.

...to see what we can learn from
listening to our fellow Americans.

These plants do not
produce enough crap

to cause the climate to change.

If you break into this country,

you should be deported.

We're at a crossroad anyway.

Nobody wants to see color, but...

if you're white, then you're on
the downside, I guess, you know.

We have the greatest president
of all-time, and, you know,

things are really headed
in the right direction.

So, you think God
put Trump in office?

I know he did.

I'm going on a road
trip into the heart of America,

to meet voters who don't see
the world the way I do...

- He's kicking ass!
- Kicking ass!

...to get a better understanding
of where they're coming from

on the big issues that divide us.

USA! USA!

One of the most divisive
issues in America today is guns.

If you wanna talk about guns,

a good place to start is in
Sutherland Springs, Texas,

where a gunman walked
into this church

and killed 26 people,
including 12 children.

Every time there's
a mass shooting in America,

it quickly turns into
a debate about gun control.

Mental health
is the problem here,

but this isn't a guns situation.

I mean, fortunately,
somebody else had a gun

that was shooting
in the opposite direction,

otherwise it would've been... as bad
as it was, it would've been much worse.

...by your strength,
we are here, Lord God.

So, Father God, we're
standing on your word today...

Church
is supposed to be a safe zone.

Even soldiers at war, churches are
sacred, you don't touch them.

Where were you shot?

Um... both legs, b...

this arm, both hands,

and right here.

He came for one person.

That one person wasn't even there,

and he's just killing everybody.

It's not like we were
gonna get out alive

if somebody didn't get out
or somebody distracted him,

'cause he came to play.

Everybody in church that
normally would conceal carry...

because there's about
five or so in the church

that normally have a gun on them...

all of them were gone that day.

Let's talk about guns.
How do you feel about guns?

The day of calling 9-1-1
is no longer an option.

You can either fight back
or beg for mercy.

He said take a, take a safety
course on handling a firearm,

so you can defend yourself
until we get there.

Right now, I'm carrying concealed.

Show me.

Special-made vest.

Wait, I can't see. Oh, wait.

Show me your weapon.

How much ammunition
do you have on you?

I have 41 rounds.

See, I got my magazines here,
and over here.

Do you always
bring your gun to church?

- Yeah. Yes.
- Why?

You don't know. You don't know where
the threat's gonna come from.

Nobody thought it was gonna
happen here, and it happened.

I mean, you don't know.

The media loves
to take the focus off God

and put it into something
secular, like gun control.

It's kind of unfortunate
that they'd rather

push an agenda
that really doesn't matter.

Well, ultimately what matters
is what people believe.

Do you believe in something
higher than yourself?

Or do you just believe just random
things happen to random people?

It is not a gun control that this
country needs, it's God control.

And that's exactly what this
country needs is God control.

I was a Sunday school teacher.
I'm the children's leader here.

Everything that I have taught kids,
everything that I have...

learned about God,

read about Jesus,

all of that has to be the truth.

And if it's not the truth,

then all of it has been a lie.

But God's hand was here with us.

After the shooter walked
out of the church building,

there was actually
a peace in the church,

and I witnessed an actual cloud

lift up out of the church.

Now, my husband,
who came in shortly...

after said that I saw

the smoke from the gunman's...
from the gunman's gun.

And, I said, yeah, the smoke from...

was still in the church,
but this was different.

I felt like I witnessed the souls

being accepted into Heaven.

Both my sons
were here, and...

one is paralyzed and one was grazed.

- How are they doing?
- They're doing well.

My older son,
the one that is paralyzed,

will probably have a year

of out-patient rehab to get
him to his max potential.

He will walk again
one day, for sure.

But if it's here, we'll be excited,

and if it's not, then
we're okay with that too.

- It would be in Heaven, you're saying?
- Yep.

One day in Heaven, he'll walk.

We know that.
God will put him whole again.

I'm not
worried about walking.

I'm still... functional enough
to serve God,

and that's really all that matters.

I'm still here,
I'm still here for a purpose.

You know, I wasn't left here
because I was blessed.

I wasn't left here
because I was lucky.

I was left here because God still
has something for me to do.

And if this is what
we had to go through

to bring one more
person to know Christ,

then it's all worth it.

Okay.

This is the dad and the mother.

That's, uh, Bryan and Karla.
Bryan is our son.

And Danny is their second son,

and he had a daughter, Noah,

and she was a year old.

She was buried with her dad.

That's Greg.

And that's the family.

And, of course, Crystal was carrying

a... a child. She...

So, you lost eight, but you call it nine
'cause she was pregnant.

We call it nine because
she... she had an embryo.

So...

I just can't understand
how you're so upbeat.

Why?

Because you lost
nine members of your family!

No, I didn't.
They're in Heaven with Jesus.

I mean, they're enjoying it.
They're having fun.

Don't look at the tragedy.
Look at the joy that came from it.

- Joy that came from it?!
- Sure.

- What joy comes from this?!
- I'm just tickled to death

that Bryan is already in...

that Bryan and his family
are already in Heaven.

See, they're still there.

If I'd lost them, yes,
it would be, it would be terrible.

I'd probably be bawling
my eyes out right now,

but I haven't lost them.

They're just somewhere else.

So, why haven't you cried?

Because I don't have
anything to cry about.

After what that killer did to
your family, you don't have hate

- in your heart for him?
- No.

Why? Joy is
so much better.

There's just too much
more to be happy for

than there is to be sad about.

Uh, there's too much more
to love than there is to hate.

So, concentrate on the love.

This town is now on
the map as a tragic location.

I don't look at it
as being a tragic location.

We had a tragic event,

but that didn't change
Sutherland Springs.

After spending Christmas
in Sutherland Springs,

it's clear that Americans live
in a conflict between two narratives:

the secular versus faith-based.

Well, he's right about that.
There are parallels between

Roy Moore,
the accused child molester,

and Donald Trump, the
accused and self-confessed,

sexual assaulter, and so today...

Down here, people like to tell me
that they vote with their Bibles,

which means they get
behind candidates

who support their
Christian worldview.

Perhaps this explains why so many
Alabamians voted for Roy Moore,

the Christian conservative
accused of sexual misconduct.

He did say, "total denial."

Get out and vote for Roy Moore.

Do it. Do it.

Many women here who voted for Roy Moore,
and Donald Trump,

told me they either don't believe

or just don't care about
claims of sexual harassment.

Donald Trump
says he's a man of God,

but he doesn't act like a man
of God in his personal life.

When we're in the flesh,

we don't act as Christian sometimes.

And Trump is no different from

any other Christian, you know.

None of us are perfect,
and all of us, at times,

live in the flesh rather
than in the spirit.

So therefore, when we're in the flesh,
Satan takes over.

He claims
to be a man of God,

but there's no evidence
of that in his personal life.

Well, he doesn't drink.
He doesn't smoke.

- Um... to my knowledge, he's...
- But he pays porn stars!

Does he do it now?

Does he do it recently?

Maybe he's done it in the past,
and God's a forgiving god.

Maybe he's asked for forgiveness
for having done that in the past.

You don't know.
I don't know.

It's really none of our business.

But how do you feel about
what's happening in America

in terms of the women,
the Me Too, all that?

I think Me Too's silly.
I wouldn't be a part of it.

Here in rural Alabama,
the women I met said

the most important women's issue today
is not the Me Too movement,

it's the state amendment to recognize
the sanctity of unborn life.

There's gonna be
something on the ballot

that makes Alabama a pro-life state.

- Is that important to you?
- Yes, yes, it's very important to me.

I think every life
from conception is important.

Yeah, I don't believe
in killing the babies.

I believe in letting them live.

I'm against abortion.

I think it's killing a human life.

It's always been mind-boggling
to me that people could be

against the death penalty
but for abortion.

We don't vote
Republican or Democrat.

We vote what we feel like
pulls closest to this.

But, actually, we do try
to get somebody in there

that's actually gonna
be Christian-based.

- Morally.
- Yeah. Even though some of them

do their own little thing
on the side.

How do you feel about
the whole Me Too movement?

There's a big conversation
in this country

about how women are being treated.

This is my personal view on that.

Uh, I grew up in
a bad situation, and...

as women, we should be stronger

than what has happened to us.

Because if I can raise
above everything else,

and go on with my life,
every woman should be able to.

How old were you when
you started having babies?

I had my first at 16.

And I got three, and there's, uh...

Let's see, I was 16,

18, and 19.

As a woman in
Alabama in 2018...

- Aw.
- ...how does Alabama look?

It's good! Look, I'm doing
an all-male job right now,

and I'm the only woman around
that does pest control.

So, how long have
you been an exterminator?

Altogether, I've been with
this company for six months.

I was with another company
for two years, actually.

So, I have a good bit
of experience in it.

Do you like
being an exterminator?

I love the people. I don't like it
because there's no benefits with it.

You know, you need insurance
and stuff now, so...

Sometimes the chemicals
make you sick.

They call it a chemical headache.

I weighed 190 when I first started,

and I probably weigh about 160 now.

And the chemicals, you know,

that's the benefits of it,
'cause I did lose a lot of weight.

But, also, the chemicals make me
kind of nauseated and sick a lot,

and that's why Chuck wants
me to get another job.

Here in Alabama, do men
have more say in their household?

I think they do
to a degree, yes. I do.

And it's not a bad thing.

I got a head of my house,

and I'm not gonna overstep
my boundaries with him,

and women tend to do that nowadays.

If we're talking about the Bible,
the man should lead the woman.

And God teaches us that, as women,

we are supposed to be submissive
to our husband. It says that.

As a Christian woman voter,
what issues matter to you?

I don't believe
in abortions, period.

I mean, I was 16, raised my kids,

and if you can't raise them,
give them to someone who can,

if you don't want them.
That's where I'm at with that.

But this is
a Christian household, right?

- Yes, ma'am.
- And you voted for Trump

'cause he's a man of God, right?

Uh, actually, I voted for him
because I was just hoping

somebody could go in there
and do something different

and make things
better for everybody.

Something's got to give
in this society.

I mean, something up
there's got to give.

They've got to give...

the people that are
not rich a chance.

I mean, we're sinking, and,

you know, like Chuck said,
we make it day by day,

wondering where we're
gonna get our next meal at.

Our economy,

it was sucking...
'cause I was part of it.

I was working a job that
I was getting paid $7 an hour.

- How old are you?
- I am 47 years old.

- And you got paid $7 an hour?
- Yes, ma'am.

- Is that legal?
- Yeah, that's what we said.

But... we wasn't
too... I don't know.

But the thing of it is, is...

But how can you
live on $7 an hour?

You can't.
That's the point.

You can't live on what we're...

That's why it takes two of us.

My husband and I both have to work.

Trump, to me, is our
best option right now.

And this is how...
You wanna know how I feel?

We're looking at it as maybe,
he might... can lift this,

the United States
back up from poverty.

'Cause we are broke people here.

We are suffering,
and if he can do good for us,

give him a chance.
Let him be up there.

I don't care what he does 'cause
it's not for me to judge him,

as long as he gets
us back on our feet.

Driving across
this part of the country,

the blue-collar workers I talked
to said they feel ignored,

dismissed, looked down upon
by the coastal elites.

Clearly, Donald Trump
speaks to these people.

We've ended the war
on beautiful, clean coal,

one of our great natural resources.

And our miners have been mistreated,

and they're not being
mistreated anymore.

We're doing tremendous business.

When you look at what's
happening in West Virginia,

you look at what's
happening in Pennsylvania,

you look at what's
happening all over,

it's like a, it's like
a different world.

This is
the old 4 West Mine.

This is the... Part of the mine here is
gonna be shut down here pretty soon.

Two weeks, this place
will be no longer here.

That's pretty sad
to see this place go.

I've been here for seven years.

We thought, in the past, that that
would be our, uh... our livelihood.

But with everything
that's going on in politics

and stuff like that, they, you know,

such a strain on coal, they kind of
shut us down a little bit, so...

I thought, I thought
Trump was gonna save these jobs.

Well, that's what I mean. Trump, Trump
was, actually, he is saving jobs.

Um, our coal mine shut down because

we were doing some illegal
things underground,

and we got caught doing it...

so, which we were fined for.

We had two deaths at our mine,

um, so, that kind of put
a big damper on things for us.

But did you vote for
Trump because he told you

he was gonna save coal mining jobs?

- That was a big portion of it.
- But you lost your job!

Right. Um...

So, and you still support him,
even though you lost your job?

Absolutely. Absolutely,
I support industry.

I believe in Trump because
he supports, he supports me.

Like, I feel like Trump
personally supports me.

Even though my mine's shut down,
I feel like he, personally, supports me.

Donald Trump came here,

told people he was gonna save
their jobs in this coal mine,

and you just lost your job.

In retrospect, also,

Hillary Clinton also said
that coal miners

would also lose their jobs.

So, if you contradict
what she says, I mean,

how can you, how can
you vote for somebody

that's gonna tell you flat out
you're gonna lose your job?

- Oh, I love this picture.
- Yeah, ironworkers.

So, this has
special meaning for you?

It does, yeah. That was the first
picture I seen whenever I walked in,

the first day
in the training center.

- Why is Trump so popular here?
- Blue-collar jobs.

Everybody around here,
it's all blue-collar work.

It's, most people...

There isn't enough
things in our area

to where we can
have a hundred lawyers,

and we can have a hundred judges.

Most, most people around
here don't go to college.

It was all straight
out of high school,

straight to work, and...

Honestly, around here, it's not
even straight out of high school.

It's straight out of junior high.

Me and most of my friends were,
ever since we was,

we was old enough to run a shovel,

most of our parents are,
"Hey, here. Go do this."

So, honestly,
work is my biggest issue

to where I voted for Trump because
that affects me directly.

We need to make sure that,
at the end of every day,

we don't have to worry
about losing our house.

We don't have to worry
about not be able to make it

to work 'cause our vehicle breaks.

When March 2nd comes
around, I'm gonna try to find

another coal mine that'll hire me.

I'm gonna continue coal mining.

Um, I guess, once you become a coal
miner, you're always a coal miner.

This is one of the old mines
from Bobtown that shut down,

probably, I'd say, 20, 30 years ago.

Kind of what our industry's becoming,
just kind of... old and rundown.

But people don't understand, that's
what keeps our country going.

There's a portal right there.

That's where the guys would
go in the mine, right here.

This is where the guys
would come in and out.

They would bring
supplies in, equipment.

Um, I don't know if you can...

You can't really see
down the tunnel,

but there's old
train tracks right here.

It's a trolley,
it's an old trolley mine,

so they would bring in stuff
on trolleys, stuff like that.

This is it.

You get down there further and that's
where the guys would mine coal.

Dude, this is cool. I've
never been in a coal mine before.

You're fucking crazy, Brooklyn. This is,
this is what it's about, right here.

This is, this is guys
coming out every day.

This is, this is what we do.

This is, this is our life.
This is every day for us.

This is... another day
at the office, basically,

but this is our office, underground.

This is what we do.

So, you can see the smile
on my face, just...

I love it, love being underground.

Yeah, that's from
the old mine right there.

Was that why Trump
resonated with you?

'Cause he said he was
gonna save the coal jobs?

Yeah. I mean, I respect him
'cause of that.

I just, I just respect that somebody
actually took us in consideration

about coal mining and how important
we are to the world and our country.

He gave you a voice?

Yeah. He gave us
a voice, absolutely.

We're just kind of
saying our last goodbyes,

all the guys that
got laid off today.

Talking about where
they're gonna go from here,

and their effects on the family,
with the mine shutting down. Uh...

I'll probably never see half of
these guys again ever in my life,

but, uh, the time we spent together

was something I'll never forget.

Today is my
last night at the 4 West.

It sucks.

You know, losing a job.
Have to go to another one.

You know, find another one.
Lot of guys can't find them.

Lot of guys are
too old to find them.

You know, you
feel bad. They're hard workers.

So, it sucks.

I was upset,

because I've been
working here seven years,

and, you know,

everything I have is

because of 4 West.

If they wanna reduce
coal mining jobs, it's stupid.

I feel pretty good about
America with Trump being in there.

I don't really agree
with all the feminists,

and the leftists, and...

I think a lot of them
just, pretty bluntly,

are retarded. They don't...

They don't understand what
it is to be an American.

They just want everything
handed to them.

They don't wanna actually
go out and work for it.

Old Trump, man, he's gonna
make America great again.

He is a man for the blue-collar guy.

Three-quarters of America
is on an access card,

and a quarter of them is working.

So, what, what's the big
definition of that?

The minority's supporting
the majority.

- There you go.
- Yes! There you go.

You people think us Pennsylvanians

are a bunch of hillbillies,
hicks, ain't got nothing.

Right there's 20 grand.

There's 20 grand.
There's 30.

We spend thousands of dollars

to come out in the woods
and drink beer.

Everybody has
their own opinion,

and it doesn't agree
with anybody else.

America is more divided now than
it probably has been... ever.

We are in so many pieces

that you might as well
pick up these leaves

and try to rebuild that tree.

Coal workers look at the industry
as a way to feed their families.

Without coal, places
like Bobtown would die.

But in the liberal worldview,

coal is the enemy
of the environment,

and environmentalists
blame the industry

every time there's
a natural disaster.

When Hurricane Harvey hit
the Gulf Coast region,

it was one of the most expensive
natural disasters in US history.

It destroyed homes and
shut down businesses, here,

in the heart of America's
petrochemical industry.

All of this with the
global warming, and the...

a lot of it's a hoax.
It's a hoax. I mean,

it's a money-making industry, okay?
It's a hoax.

Is this ground
zero for Hurricane Harvey?

This is
ground zero right here.

We had over 54 inches
of water here, in Port Arthur.

And so many people were
devastated by this, this storm, but...

- It feels like a ghost town!
- Yeah, it does.

I mean, this neighborhood had
tons of kids running around.

This was vibrant and full of life.

To see it like this is,
is heartbreaking.

This is the third hurricane,
a really major one,

in the past 10 years,
so, we're crawling back.

You know, our people are
blue-collar, hardworking,

but it takes a while to recover
from one of these things.

With all due respect,
your town looks dead.

Yeah.

So, you need those refineries.

Yeah. Here in Port Arthur,

what we do is oil and gas.
We do refining.

We refine over a million
barrels of oil a day.

If there is such a thing as
global warming, and the ice caps melt,

- your town is the first to go.
- Yeah.

Do people in this town
believe in global warming?

You know, with so many obstacles

our citizens have to face
here, in Port Arthur,

they don't have the luxury of
worrying about global warming.

The thing that's
affecting people's lives

more than anything else right now
in Port Arthur is the lack of jobs.

If I could put some
food on people's plates,

I think that's
the most important thing.

Not global warming?

Not global warming, not at this time.
No, ma'am. It couldn't be.

This is, basically, Refinery Row,

is kind of what I would call it.

We have Motiva,

Exxon Mobil,

Chevron's out here.

I think it's Motiva on the left,
Valero on the right.

So, these are the refineries
that are causing global warming.

Says you. Just 'cause you say it,
doesn't make it true.

Now, look behind you.
Does it look like they're belching

pollution out of you... out of it?

You know, look at the skies.

Your own eyes tell you that's a lie.

You don't need me to say that.

Does the air smell unpalatable here?

Slight scent of sulfur,
but that's about it.

These plants do not produce enough
crap to cause the climate to change,

and for you to think so
just advertises your ignorance.

We found, during the BP oil spill

that there are enzymes
and microbes in the ocean

that eat those and survive
because of the oil in the sea.

This planet can absorb
what we give it,

and, like a good woman, you know,

you give us a seed,
we give you back a child.

You give the planet seeds,
it gives you back abundance.

Why do you find fault
in that abundance?

Do you really think
you're gonna impact life

by taking us back technologically
a hundred years?

Do you really wanna live with
horses and buggies instead of cars?

Oh, we're not gonna have
any petroleum products

because the climate might warm
up by a couple of degrees?

One thing after Harvey,
nobody was pointing any fingers.

We were all reaching out hands.

And we all just did everything that
we could to help our neighbors.

Right after the hurricane, I
immediately went into cooking mode.

The Friday after the storm,
our Beaumont location

was the only restaurant
in town open.

So, my... my contribution
to recovery was just cooking,

so people could focus on recovery.

So, how do I know who's
still homeless from the hurricane?

'Cause they have
trailers in their yard

or you can see their
windows are vacant.

There's more, more construction
activity than a new neighborhood.

It just doesn't stop.

That's their life out there
by that travel trailer, see?

Okay, let's talk
about Texas politics.

- Mm-kay.
- This is bubble-to-bubble.

When we had Hurricane Sandy, your
senators voted against giving aid to us.

And then when you
guys had a hurricane,

they all wanted handouts.

- They voted to get FEMA money.
- Well, that's human nature.

- That's hypocrisy!
- Well, that's human nature, too.

I don't wanna pay for your hurricane

anymore than you wanna
pay for my hurricane.

How about we take the federal government
out of the equation? It's...

detrimental to self-sufficiency

to have Big Daddy Government step in

and put a bandage
over every boo-boo.

Do you feel like there
are two Americas?

- Absolutely.
- Do you think this country's divided?

Absolutely. Clearly, along
ideological, political lines.

You're either a progressive,

and you want a big-daddy government
to run your life,

or you're a freedom-loving American,
and Big Daddy Government,

it needs to get out of your life.

One of those two things is
the dichotomy where we're at.

We're in an epic battle for the soul
of the United States right now.

When we first
opened up after Harvey,

we were serving
2,000 people an hour,

until we closed.
And then the...

Despite all the talk
about political tribalism,

everywhere I went,
at the end of the day,

they always invited me to dinner.

Wow.

By his hands, we are fed.

Thank you, Lord,
for our daily bread.

- Amen.
- Let's eat.

Eat!

Hey!

- Get it! Get it! Get it!
- Hey!

Harvey has brought
a change in so many of us.

The beauty of it was is
it brought us all together.

We were all in one mind
and one accord,

determined that we were
gonna work together,

and make this city come back
to be the way it used to be.

I feel, in my heart,

that God is trying to wake us up.

- So you don't believe in global warming?
- No, ma'am.

Why did God flood your
town and make you all homeless?

Uh, read the Bible. I mean,

what did he do
with Sodom and Gomorrah?

Um, look, I mean,
he warned Noah, and...

Um, I'm not saying that God...

He allows things to happen.

If you don't believe in global
warming, then it had to be God.

So, why did God flood your town?

The Bible is clear
that storms will come.

So, while I don't believe
that God did this to me,

I believe that God is
with us during the storm.

He'll never leave us,
he'll never forsake us,

and he will see us through, despite
the storms that come in our life.

The word of God says
that we're gonna have signs

and wonders that's gonna start
to happen on the last days.

I believe that Harvey was a, um,

a sign of the times,
but I don't think

it was Armageddon. Of course.
I think that's down the way.

It's coming, I do believe that's
gonna happen in our world.

We'll see it, but I don't think
Harvey was Armageddon, no.

But it does feel like
the end times around here.

Well, that's only because
you gotta keep looking up, sis.

I'm believing that our city,

yeah, it got flooded, but you know
what? We said it got baptized.

My son said it,
and I believe it's true.

Baptism is, I mean, the old man
dies and the new man rises,

and I'm believing that's the same
thing for Port Arthur, Texas.

It was flooded, yes,
but we're calling it baptized.

All the old things that needed
to be washed away is gone,

and it's gonna rise up
to be the best, greatest city

that it's ever been before.
That's what I believe.

We say it's climate change
and they say it's God's will.

And even though the Bible doesn't
mention greenhouse gas emissions,

we will undoubtedly continue to disagree
about this until the end times.

While towns like this
wait to be reborn,

many look to President Trump to
alleviate their economic anxiety.

But that's not the only
reason why they support him.

Many Southerners told
me that they feel

like their culture
is being threatened,

and Donald Trump acknowledged
the cultural anxiety

of feeling like a stranger
in your own country.

The United States of America,

the modern United States of America,

has a stubborn problem
with Neo-Nazism

and overt, violent white supremacy.

Southern culture is frequently
symbolized by Confederate markers

that you can see
all across the South.

And the debate over
Confederate iconography

has become one of the ways
we debate race in America today.

This is Charlottesville,
the college town

that became ground zero
of America's race war,

when a group of
neo-Nazis came to town

to protest
the city council's decision

to remove
the Robert E. Lee statue.

When they clashed
with counter-protesters,

the president blamed
everyone involved,

empowering the white nationalists.

I think there's
blame on both sides.

You had a group
on one side that was bad,

and you had a group on the other
side that was also very violent.

After the cameras left,

the city council voted to cover
the statues with black tarps

until the court decides if these
statues should be removed.

How do you feel about
taking the statue down?

I think the statue should stay. I don't
think the statue should go anywhere.

You know, I don't want
my son to think that...

just because everybody else
doesn't like something,

that somebody can come
in and tear it down.

I want my son to grow up
to know that, you know,

whether it's good or bad,

our past is our past
and it's happened.

I feel that they put
that there for a reason.

You know, just because one
set of people don't like it,

doesn't mean
we need to tear it down.

I mean, that's just
somebody else's belief.

You know, I mean,
as much money has been put

into this whole situation
with this statue,

we got vets sleeping
on benches here.

You know, I mean, why don't
you guys put some effort

into helping the veterans that

can't find a place to live or a job

or something like that instead
of doing this dumb shit,

where you're tearing statues down?

I mean, it makes no sense to me.

What you're saying is just
because you defend the statue,

- doesn't mean you're a racist.
- Yeah.

Just because I'm bald-headed
and have a goatee,

doesn't make me a redneck.

You know what I mean?
I mean...

I believe in just as much
as everybody else does.

I just don't feel that our history

should be affected by the opinions

of people in one town.

We're at a crossroad anyway,

the strange times
that we're living in, so...

What do mean, crossroads?

Nobody wants to see color,
but if you're white,

then you're on the downside,
I guess, you know?

That, I don't know, that we're
the ones giving up everything

and everybody else is gaining, so...

It's just interesting.

And so, we came here from
North Carolina just to see it,

you know, to see a big ol' bag.

- What do you think this is a symbol of?
- The South.

So, what is it that you think people
don't understand about the South?

Is that we wanted to be
our own country.

At one time, you know?
And I think it'd have been fine

if there'd been a North
and South United States.

Why should we
protect these monuments?

Because
they're veterans' monuments.

I'm doing it on the sides that
these are American veterans.

Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson,
are certainly American veterans.

The Confederate statue behind us,
that's a veterans' statue.

And so, to us, the Southerners,
it's a very personal situation.

It sounds like you're still
fighting the Civil War here.

Well, it's real to us.

Particularly, if somebody comes,
tries to take these statues down

that represents
your family who died.

Many of the places here,

the blood stains are still
on the ground, so to speak.

In other words, they are still there.
They're sacred places to us.

These monuments were put
up by grieving people,

who had just had a devastating war.

And look it.
"Love makes memory eternal."

They were grieving.
This is a grieving situation here.

You don't destroy the past

just 'cause you don't like it
or you haven't read about it.

We're not the Taliban. We don't tear
down statues and monuments

to people who've come before us.

We learn from our history,
and we celebrate our history.

For me,
it's a censorship issue.

That's one of the first things
that personally occurred to me.

My God, what do you mean,
take the monuments down?

This is like book burning.

I can't believe we're
even talking about that.

That it's okay just to,

for a small group of people
to tell me what I can see.

If you try to talk to about history

and lack of censorship and so
on, then you're just a racist.

Anyone who disagrees with these people
is a racist and a white supremacist,

and that has effectively silenced
moderate voices in this community.

They're literally afraid to show up.

Are you a racist?

- No, I'm not a racist.
- Are you a white supremacist?

No, I'm not a white supremacist,
I'm a preservationist.

And our position is
you don't tear things down.

You add to the narrative.
You add to what's there.

You enhance what is there.

You contextualize what is there.

And if you remove those statues,
you've taken away

a piece of Charlottesville
for ideological reasons

and reasons that don't
reflect the reality

of what was happening in Charlottesville
when those statues went up,

or what has happened in the almost
a hundred years since then.

Charlottesville has
turned into a hashtag.

Ah, yes.

People think of
Charlottesville, and they think

of Nazis marching in the streets.

That's because we've
probably have had them.

You know? But, let's stop
just thinking about the hashtag

and start thinking.

I think it is the absolute duty
of every citizen in this country

to thoroughly understand
the people who disagree with you.

You cannot understand them
in a hashtag environment.

I often think that Facebook
and Twitter and Instagram,

and all those various social media,
they're destroying democracy

because they're destroying
our ability to talk to one another

face-to-face, in a rational way.

The court ordered those tarps
to come off in Charlottesville,

so now those Confederate
statues stand

as a testimony to our
nation's ideological divide.

No one was ever under the illusion

that the scars of racism
healed in this country,

but that fringy group
of neo-Nazis reminded us

that hate is still alive
and well in America,

and cable news is
escalating the conflict

by pouring fuel on the fire,

continuing to feed us this
narrative that we're a nation

at war with ourselves.

Everywhere you go, people are
just regurgitating this:

right versus left,
Hollywood versus the heartland,

faith-based versus secular,

haves versus have-nots,

natives versus the undocumented.

We live on opposite sides
of a political divide,

and the wall runs through it.

We're gonna have strong borders.
We're gonna have the wall.

We're building the wall.
We're building the wall, folks.

We're building the wall.

We're going to build a wall!
It's going to be built.

Mexico is going to pay for the wall.

Build that wall...

To ensure that my own kids
learn how to think outside the bubble,

I'm taking them to see the wall.

The wall just
got 10 feet higher!

We are Trump's
welcoming committee. You are it.

He is landing in Brown Field in
less than an hour, most likely,

and he's heading to that border and
he's gonna look at those walls.

I don't disagree
with immigration at all,

but I do agree that you need to know

who it is that's coming
into the country.

We need to protect our country.

We got a lot of people here
that shouldn't be here.

So far, I think, President Trump is
the greatest president in my lifetime.

This is the day that
Trump's base had been waiting for.

The president is here to check out
the prototypes of his infamous wall.

God bless Donald Trump
for coming to the state.

The leftist, communist, anti-
Americans that are in this state

that are demonizing him,
shame on you.

But, God bless our
patriots for coming out.

God bless our president. Build the wall.
Protect American citizens first.

Protect American sovereignty first.

Restore the rule of law,
and we will take this country back.

The reason we need barriers,

the reason we put a double
layer fence in San Diego,

was to keep criminal
aliens out of America,

illegal aliens out of America.

When they put that fence up,

illegal alien border crossings
in this area decreased by over 90%.

So, you are now
in the most southwest part

of the contiguous United States.

As you see, this is where
the fence enters the water

for the border between Mexico
and the United States.

We call this area,
oddly enough, "bunkers."

Please don't fall in.
That's three stories down.

I don't really wanna write the memo.

In my America,
people think the wall

is an enormous waste of money.
Why do we need a wall?

Um, when you're dealing
with somebody, your nanny,

or the person that's cleaning,
and if they're here illegally,

most of those people you're dealing
with are gonna be good people.

So, that's the prism
you're looking at it from.

But that's not everybody.
Now, people on the far right will say

that everybody is a murderer and rapist.

That's not the whole truth
and nothing but the truth either.

There's an, actually, a middle,
which is more honest.

What we deal with down here

is cartels and gangbangers
and criminals,

and we know there's bad people out there

that wanna do
bad things to this country.

The southwest border, we arrest,
35% of the people we arrest,

statistically, are criminal aliens.

They've been in the US,
they've committed crimes,

and they've been deported.

In our area, it's up to 70%.

You're not seeing that,

but it doesn't mean what
you're seeing is wrong.

It's just, you're not
seeing the whole picture.

I am gonna take you
to two more places,

and one is gonna show you how it
works, having the infrastructure,

and one is gonna show you
how problematic it is

when we have no infrastructure.

So, this is the first
location I wanted to bring you,

Smuggler's Gulch.
The name tells you everything.

It's been a smuggling route
into this country for 200 years.

That berm you're seeing there,
and that fence, did not exist

for the first
two-thirds of my career.

So, having this here now

is where I wanted to show you that

the infrastructure is extremely helpful
and extremely successful

in closing off part of the border,
that was called Smuggler's Gulch.

So, you think this location
is proof that we need the wall?

I think that it's
proof that it works.

I'm gonna take
you to an area next,

where you're gonna see
where the Tijuana River

flows into the United States.

There's no wall there.
There's no barrier there.

So, this is
the Tijuana River valley.

And this is what's called the channel.
That's the Tijuana River.

You probably can smell
a bit of it right now.

There's a mix of
sewage and chemicals.

But what's really
important with this,

besides the chemicals
and the sewage is

that yellow line is the border.

There is no wall, there is no fence.

That's Mexico.

You just walk in,
and you're in the United States.

So, you have to have an agent there.

That agent is the wall.

You have to waste your manpower

of a guy who can't go anywhere.
He has to stay there.

The minute he leaves,
they'll come through.

You can't see 'em, but there's people
in here. There's a guy right there.

What's that guy doing?

Hanging out.

He's probably deportados,
somebody who was deported.

So, that guy's just
walking into America right now?

He's gonna hit America
in about seven or eight steps.

He is now entering illegally
into the United States. Yep.

There's nothing to stop him there.

Why don't we do anything?
Why don't you go chase him?

Because the minute
the agent goes to chase him,

he'll run back three
feet into Mexico,

and then throw rocks at us.
So, what's the point?

So, the takeaway is understanding
the difference between border security

and immigration reform,

and that there is
nothing inherently wrong

or evil or any of that
about border security.

We secure things that we care about.

We secure things that
we want to protect.

We secure things that we love,

and there is nothing inherently
wrong with doing that.

We support legal immigration.

We want people that come to this
country that want to be here,

but if you break into this country,

if you break into this country,

and you commit crimes,
you should be deported.

It's pretty simple.

If you don't respect this country,
get the hell out.

Or expect to be deported. That,
that's... it's simple. It's simple.

Attention, attention!

Trump is no racist. No matter
how much they tell you,

Trump is not racist.

You get out
there, and you just,

- preach the word of Trump, huh?
- Preach it, well,

and we do different things. So,
sometimes, we confront the left.

Sometimes we infiltrate,
we go in disguise,

and then we question.

Build it. Build it.

Donald Trump represented somebody
who said, wait a second!

My job's to protect these guys.
I don't care about you.

I don't care about the,
the special interests.

I care about these people.

If this wall protects these people,
then build the wall!

Fight Sanctuary State. Say,
"Fight Sanctuary State!" -

- Build the wall!
- Build the wall!

Build the wall!

Build the wall! Build the wall!

To me, the wall
is a symbol of everything

that America is not.

It's about keeping people out.

You and I do not agree on anything.

- Yeah.
- Can we agree on one thing?

The Mexicans are not
paying for this wall.

I don't care. If Mexico
doesn't pay for this wall,

I don't care. I just wanna
see the wall get built.

I was... When I heard Donald Trump

say Mexico's gonna
pay for it, I thought,

hell yeah!
Make Mexico pay for it.

- Now...
- But they're not gonna pay for it!

But, they, well,
they may. They may.

- No, they won't! Come on! They will not!
- They may. They may.

Wait, what do
you think my America

needs to learn about your America?

Your America is a bubble.

We are in the middle of a civil war,

that hasn't been declared yet.

If we can't even secure our
borders from keeping criminals,

even, even terrorists from
coming into our country,

we no longer have a country.
So, for those who say

we are not in a civil war,
you are blind.

There goes a, there goes
a punk who stole my hat.

We are in the midst
of a cultural civil war,

and the next step will
be bloodshed, I'm afraid.

These are the fascists
here that call us...

That call the right the fascists...

I go to events
to expose the lies,

to expose the left
for who they truly are.

And then they're cowards,
and they stand behind their face masks.

So, you're one
of Trump's warriors?

You're out there
fighting his civil war.

You get punched in
the face by cowards...

Yeah, I'm an American warrior.

You get hit in
the fucking head by cowards.

I went to Berkley
and got hit over the head.

Is this what the left believes in?

This guy, is this...
Is this justified?

So, you've shed blood
over this Trump civil war?

- I've shed blood.
- Back off.

This motherfucker keeps hitting
people in the head with a stick.

We had the anti-American
Marxist people

that are trying to
undermine this country.

They're really, I call them,
"Nancy Pelosi's grandchildren."

This is what you get.

This is what you get with the left.

This is what you get with the left.

I think I need to
introduce you to someone.

Come on, come on. Get your stroller!

There's some people
I want you to meet.

Nancy Pelosi's grandchildren,
ladies andgentlemen!

Nancy Pelosi's real grandchildren.

- Hello.
- You don't have a mask on today.

That's interesting.

Do you usually...
do you guys usually...

No, I'm just kidding. No, you
guys are good guys. Good guys.

So, anyway, hold on!
I get to speak, I'm their mother!

- This guy says...
- Is this a setup?

- Is this the setup?
- His life's work...

No. 'Cause this guy's
work is to do...

He's at war. When I asked him
if this country's at war,

he said he's at war with
Nancy Pelosi's grandchildren.

What do you guys think of that?

- That's not right, that's not true.
- I don't think you would win the war.

- Oh!
- I... I like, I like the...

I like the...

Why do you
hate my children, Ben?

I don't know if anyone
really hates me.

I don't think they should.

'Cause I just wanna build sandcastles
on the beach. I didn't do anything.

So, are you guys
violent, Marxist leftists?

No.

We're just kid who likes...

We're just kids who like
building sandcastles.

You know, and I love that
you like building walls.

I think Donald Trump could use you.

Actually meeting the true grandchildren
gives me hope for the future.

That they're not all
violent, Marxist leftists.

It's such an, it's such an honor to
meet you guys, and to hang with you.

It worries me that our
children have limited encounters

with people who don't
think like they do.

We've become politically segregated.

So, how do we teach our kids

to accommodate each
other's narratives...

Open minds.

...and coexist with people
who we don't agree with?

Back here in Sutherland
Springs on Easter Sunday,

where they're celebrating
the Resurrection,

we can see how it's possible to
heal after a terrible tragedy.

It begs the question,
how can this country repair

our emotionally
polarized national life

to resurrect the idea of America

as the world's most
stable democracy?

Come give a
heart to remind people

that they must give
their heart to Jesus.

We can start by listening
to our fellow Americans,

and thinking outside
of our own bubbles,

so that we can attempt
to heal what divides us.

Hallelujah!

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