♪ >> from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." charlie: elizabeth warren is here. she is a senior senator from massachusetts, a former harvard law school professor. a champion of working-class families and the middle class. she was rebuked by the senate for quoting coretta scott king. here is a clip from cbs sunday morning. >> republicans voted to silence warren for pugning the character of alabama senator jeff sessions. >> she was warned. she was given an explanation.

nevertheless she persisted. en was reading a 1986 letter from the widow of martin luther king jr. that criticized sessions. once silenced, she kept right reading outside the senate chamber. punishsessions fault to older black civil rights activists. >> do you think there was some sexism? >> there is a problem with having jeff sessions has attorney general. next day,say is the fou rmen stood up and read the same letter and they all got to finish. charli "this fight is our fight." i am pleased to have senator elizabeth warren at this table. is this book -- we see these come out within three or four years before a presidential election. president obama did it.

secretary of state clinton did it. , thiss a kind of campaign is what elizabeth warren believes? warren: it is about what i believe, but now it is not a camping. this is my 11th book. books are part of how you fight. how you get in a fight and how you make an argument for what is it we need to change in this country, and how we are going to get together and how we're going to change it. charlie: the battle to save america's middle class. for anyone that follows politics, that seems an essential argument that ought to be made. rep. warren: no kidding. charlie: republican, democrat, libertarian --rep. warren: vegetarian. the book has two things that we all the way through. -- weave all of the way through. to 2016hat goes up

about how we built a middle-class, and all of the things that took the legs out of underneath the middle class. a big argument about what has happened since 1935. charlie: tell me how we built the middle class. rep. warren: coming out of the great depression -- keep this in mind. gdp starts going up. it keeps going up all the way to 2016. gross domestic product, america is getting richer. good news, right? i am going to divide this line , 1935 to 1980. what happens during that time? gdp is going up. america has impressive taxation. it has -- has progressive

taxation. it has firm regulation on big misses is. it makes sure that the banks are not cheating people. with progressive taxation, we are investing in opportunity. we are investing in public bill, roads g.i. and bridges and international highway systems. inare investing in research, a giant pipeline of ideas that help us build a robust economy. here's the deal -- it worked. it so worked. that is the part that gives me goosebumps. 1980, 90% of america -- everybody outside the top 10%, theof all of america,

working-class, the working poor, the poor poor -- and that 90% of america got 70% of all of the wage growth created in this country. but, the rich did better, the pie got bigger. everyone was doing better. look, it wasn't perfect. african-americans were locked solidly at the bottom. but the idea of opportunity had taken hold. in the 1960's and 1970's, the gap, which wealth has been as long as we have measured, it shrinks by 30%. we are not where we need to become about we are on a good path. then we get hit, in 1980. trickle-down economics, ronald reagan. deregulating turned corporations

loose, less enforcement of antitrust laws, told the banks to have a good time. and cut taxes for those at the top. once you cut taxes for those at the top, you start dialing back on investments in education, in its structure, and in basic research. -- make words government work for those at the top. the rich and powerful get richer -- charlie: there is an ideological argument in favor of national security. sen. warren: no, it was about letting those at the top keep more of their money. that is what tax breaks were sold on. and it would trickle down to everyone else. yeah, let them eat more take and there will be more crumbs for everyone else. 2016, gdp is still going -- what proportion

did they get of all that income growth? the answer is zero, none. nearly 100% of the income growth 2016 goes to the top 10% income earners. i mean all of the new income that we create, all of the new stuff coming in. since 1980, the new growth in has gone to the top 10%. charlie: the top 10 present don't make most of their money from income growth, not from wages or salary. sen. warren: they do both. that is the point. it all moves to the top. the black-white wealth cap tripled during that time period.

in other words, what is happened in these two time periods, is government once worked, made its central middle of the target, how do we make america work better for the middle class? now they have switched it. from the 1980's forward, it is making it work from the top. charlie: people might pause at some of the arguments you have made. let's assume some essentially are true. sen. warren: plenty of documentation in the book. charlie: people felt like there was huge income inequality. that word had lots of light play beforets of 2016. why did donald trump when when the person you are campaigning for didn't win? because he somehow had the capacity to speak a language

behinde people left responded do. heardarren: donald trump the anger. and people are right to the angry. angry that their kids can't get an education without getting crushed by student loan debt. angry that their wages haven't gone up for an entire generation. angry that after a lifetime of hard work, that they can't retire with any dignity or economic security. people are right to be angry. promised andrump what he has delivered have been night and today, exactly opposite directions. charlie: example? sen. warren: he starts out after carrying on and on about goldman

sachs. you remember that. charlie: and so did you. sen. warren: he goes in and he hires an entire team of billionaires and bankers. he has got goldman sachs employees at the white house. they could open a branch bank there. charlie: who is to say he is not the most qualified person that has the job that he has? hear fromn: i want to someone that has experience seeing this economy from the other side. we have had enough people in republican and democratic and administrations from the point of view of the billionaires. that is a problem we have had for a long time. charlie: suppose you are the president-elect. what are the main tenants of your economic agenda, beyond what you want to do beyond producing income inequality, beyond making sure that the

middle class is not losing its place in the american economic sphere. sen. warren: let me answer this in a personal way. this is what gets me up in the morning. charlie: you have sent in this book that this is your life's work. sen. warren: it is. i grew up in a family that was holding onto its spot in the middle class truly by our fingernail. a lot of ups, a part of downs. my dad had a heart attack. we lost family car. we nearly lost the family house. my mother got a job at sears at minimum wage. it saved our house and saved our family. i wanted one thing in my life. i just wanted one door to open, and that is that i wanted to be a teacher. i talk about this in the book.

college is the only way you get to be a teacher. key.ie: education is the sen. warren: the bottom line is

their pension.

that is right. john's, opportunities, you bet. that is the heart of america. charlie: they thought they could easily be the republican nominee. why didn't hillary clinton? you are a politician. you don't need to be a pungent. you can't be where you are with understanding both the economy and the politics of it. sen. warren: i know what i fight for. charlie: you have said it was like watching a train wreck. sen. warren: it was. charlie: what was it you are seeing? the democrats

didn't get out there and talk about what was wrong. said, happy days, stock market is up, unemployment is down -- all of which are good numbers. the problem is those numbers have giant blind spots in them. they hide the lived experience of america. charlie: was it necessary to run against the incumbent? sen. warren: i think it was necessary to touch the lived experience of most of america. charlie: would you be in favor of taking more out of the defense budget? sen. warren: i would be in favor of a lot of changes. the defense budget has not been on it. how can it be that we audit on one side of the ledger, not on the defense budget? that is a lot of money that we spend. charlie: when you look at this

book, and think about your other these"a fighting chance," are arguments you have been making. it is not like you went in a log cabin and thought and thought about what was right about america and what was wrong. this has been a central theme of your political life. sen. warren: it has been a central theme of my work for 35 years. this is what i have been working on. look charlie, this is my life. let me put it this way. i opened the book with this point. i told you this story about how my mom was a stay-at-home mom. my brothers were in the military. when my mom got that minimum wage job, that made all the difference in the world to my family. we kept our house. here is the deal. it was a minimum-wage job at a time when congress passed said, we've got to think about minimum wage in terms of what supports a

family. a minimum-wage job would support a family of 30. treatment that -- a family of three. it meant that we could make a mortgage payment. sears and a lot of business, she had 40 hours a week. business, sheo still had 40 hours a week. the minimum wage is set today where a mom working 40 hours a week cannot support herself and a baby. she cannot avoid -- charlie: you would like to see the minimum wage at $12 or $15? sen. warren: i will take all of the above. charlie: but what do you recommend? sen. warren: i'm in the fight for $15, no doubt about it. look at how congress looks at it. they looked at it a generation and said, what does it take

to support a family? gdp kept going up. today there are so many folks in congress who hear from walmart about what the minimum wage should be, who ignore and plaster over data that says to raise the minimum wage. it won't have any impact on jobs. they are not thinking about working families, they are thinking about the top 10%. we can't continue to run the government like this. it matters to everybody's life. charlie: you have to get power in order to change the government. how are you going to do that? what is your prescription for the democratic party? sen. warren: that is why iran for the u.s. senate. charlie: why didn't you run for president? a lot of people wanted you to run for president. sen. warren: i had just been elected to the senate. charlie: obama had just been

elected to the senate. sen. warren: i thought i should have learned my job. there are places where i do make a difference. and it matters. i am in this fight. i want to be in this fight. charlie: chuck schumer is giving you a leadership position in the senate. your voice is heard in the u.s. senate. sen. warren: yeah. charlie: what does the democratic party have to do? one thing is the women's march. why are you looking in the? sen. warren: oh, smiling, because this is where i draw the book to an end, talking about the women's march. charlie: what is its potential? sen. warren: when we read the history of this time period -- charlie: from 2016 forward? trump'sren: donald election will occupy a lot of space.

but the day after his inauguration will also be a big deal. that is the day of the women's march. that is the day when women at d.c. andmmon, in north carolina and around the world changed democracy. they said, our voices will be heard. and it matters. let me tell you how i know it matters. we get into fights. i get it, we are going to lose fights. look at what happened on health care. the republicans said 60 plus times in the house of representatives they voted to repeal obamacare. donald trump said, how many zillion times while running for president, on day one we will review obamacare? day one came and went and they did not review obamacare.

charlie: they said they were going to repeal and replace. sen. warren: no, they did not say that. i have to stop you there. why did they change? because of the voices. because people across this country -- it was more than just democrats. people protested. they went to temples. -- to town halls. charlie: don't take this away until you show me what you're going to do. sen. warren: even donald trump said repeal and replace. and even then, they had to show what they had on the table. they were going to take away health care coverage for 24 million americans, raise the cost on the past families. and why? to produce a tax break on a handful of millionaires and billionaires. americans across the country said no. it that at the end of the day, the reason that trumpcare

failed because for some republicans, it was not brutal enough. the key is the rest of the republicans did not follow them -- charlie: and certain aspects of obamacare they did not want to give up. sen. warren: don't use that tired voice on me, these are good things. people said all across this country, they begin to look at what it means to have health care coverage. they said in effect, health care is a basic human right. votes thatof democrats had in the house and did not increase. what changed was democracy. that started with the women's movement. charlie: a direct connection between the women's march and what happened in the house? sen. warren: yes.

changes where we go next. that is why it is so important. charlie: as the democratic party turned left? explain it to me. you think the democratic party is going. it is a different democratic party than other president obama? sen. warren: i think it is a different party because i think the energy of the democratic party is about getting out and fighting for working people. charlie: is this different from the message of bernie sanders? sen. warren: i think bernie is a big part of that. i think he is part of the energy of the democratic party right now. bernie has been out on the front lines. there have been others out on the front lines. i think the key is that we must be there to fight for people. charlie: but also do you believe you must resist in addition to or in addition to

moving forward ideas, he must resist what donald trump is doing at every step? sen. warren: it depends on what he is doing. i will tell you what exactly i have supported. donald trump centering the campaign he was in favor of glass-steagall, reeking of the biggest financial institutions.

sen. warren: when the next ceo of citibank or goldman sachs makes a call to the secretary of .reasury on every single point that comes up, do you think they take a call from my brother david in an oklahoma? charlie: i don't think they would take a call from my cousin either. sen. warren: that is part of the point. the question is, what information do you get? what understanding of the world? charlie: they would take a call from a labor union. sen. warren: i think i want to get a couple labor union guys in here to talk about that. charlie: we have seen the

president talking to labor union guys. sen. warren: i'm sorry, did you watch negotiations over the tpp? did you see how actively involved the unions -- the labor unions were not actively considered in large parts of the negotiations. if we are going to do this on tpp, because this really matters -- charlie: of course it matters. sen. warren: order the people that come from that negotiate the trade deals? either ceos ofe major corporations or lobbyists for those corporations. they were the ones out. my point it was 85%. aboute: we got here talking about who would take

who's phone calls. i said that leaders of labor unions -- sen. warren: you said they had as much a swing. so how much swing do they have? that is my question. 15% was left over for the environmentalists, the labor unions. charlie: it seems that the issue here is that the people who matter, a, not listening to as many voices as they should. sen. warren: that is my point. charlie: that is my point too. but clearly they are not talking. they are shouting past each other. that is happening in american life, is it not? but --rren: it is, charlie: and they are labeling each other. sen. warren: the point is that personalities policy. is who you know.

part is, do you have some demonstrated independence to be able to separate yourself from the people who have paid your checks? charlie: i totally agree. is, warren: my only point we've got to have people who have the keys to our economy. we have people that have a range of experiences and have demonstrated independence. that does not mean they have never been to wall street, and that doesn't mean there aren't wall street guys that can do that. it isn't about labeling. but it is saying that personnel matters. the experience of the people that get to run the economy -- charlie: i think it is fundamental. sen. warren: i think it would be fundamentally his work for the fact -- if it weren't for the

fact that donald trump put together a team of bankers that don't have much demonstrated experience of working in public interest, or some other way that says they can separate. does that mean i won't try to work with them? charlie: you are already working. if he will step up and agree with you -- sen. warren: no no, i'm there. donald trump said he is in favor of glass-steagall. i have written the bill and i am many to go within. charlie: i promised it would only take 15 and 25 minutes. it is 30 minutes now. sen. warren: i am having fun. charlie: do we always? with respect to the democratic party and the election that took place, when hillary clinton came to talk to you, did you talk about running on the ticket as vice president? sen. warren: yeah. charlie: were you open to that

were not? sen. warren: she did not make the offer. charlie: you could say look, i would like to help in any way that i can. if i could help as a running mate, i am here for you. did you say something like that? sen. warren: what i said is that, here's what i think is important. i said that before the vice presidential thing was on the table, and after it was off the table. here are the issues i hope you will talk about, and here of the things i hope you will do if elected. charlie: there are things you set on the podium with her. sen. warren: i say the same things in private as i do in public. how the democrats connected this in some way to tax reform -- will they be able trump tome way, donald

release his income tax? sen. warren: well, i don't know. here is what worries me charlie about donald trump and his taxes. he has already admitted and said, i don't pay taxes, that makes me smart. he got over what was an insurmountable hump for mitt romney. that is not is what is hiding in his taxes. charlie: what is hiding in his taxes? sen. warren: exactly. and he has done the work of getting elected already. what bothers me is, what is in his taxes? where has he borrowed money. that'll show up on your money -- on your taxes, you know money to. that raises questions about who has leverage over you. charlie: there were rumors about a russian oligarch.

sen. warren: where does your money come from? are you exposed? -- where are you exposed? those are the things that could affect his decisions as president of the united states. it is the ultimate conflict of interest. are you putting the interests of the american people first, or are you putting the interest of protecting your own fanny first? charlie: what is your assessment of the? sen. warren: well, i can't see his taxes. it makes me very uneasy. it is important point tuesday after. stay after. charlie: there are two investigations. sen. warren: i mean an investigation with a special prosecutor and independent commission.

think about the facts that we know. the intelligence community has made clear that the russians hacked into american systems in order to influence the outcome of the election. the fbi has an active and ongoing investigation into the relationship between the trump campaign manager the russians, and major figures in the trump campaign had to resign in disgrace because of the connections with the russians. that is enough for investigation. oneally want to be on this nonpartisan, a political. whether you are a republican, democrat, libertarian, independent -- whatever you are, you should care about getting to the bottom about whether the russians finagled the electoral system. we need an independent investigation. we need it now and we need to get to the bottom of it.

charlie: "the fight is our fight: the battle to save the middle class." elizabeth warren, democratic senator from massachusetts. sen. warren: thank you. charlie: back in a moment. stay with us.

charlie: the armenian genocide of 1950 and 1923 claimed the

lives of 1.3 million people. the event,recognized the u.s. and turkey have not. one of the first feature films depict the genocide. here is the trailer. >> thank you. [shouting] ♪ >> the world is at your feet. >> i am with the associated

press. >> a toast to old friends and new. >> bravo. >> [applause] >> she is a fine woman. >> you make me feel like i have come home. >> she was very fond of you, it is obvious. it is very dangerous for armenians right now. i want to get you out of here. >> is it is not safe for me, it is not safe for any of my people. >> the associated press reporting on the war. >> there is no war here. ♪ no one here is safe. >> i have to get us out of here. >> i was told to organize an escape route. what can i do? ♪

love,r ♪ >> chris? ♪ >> we will build a future together. joining me now is the film's writer and director, terry george as well as three of its stars, christian they'll, oscar isaac -- i'm pleased to have them here at his table. this is historical. tell us what happened and why there is so much controversy, and why there has not been a film. terry: the background to the

genocide result is that when the first war broke out, the turkish government, the ottoman empire government made a decision to eliminate the armenian population. war used the cover of a between the turks and the russians in the northern border to say to the armenians had risen up, and they had to be moved out of that war zone. what happened is that the bulk of the population around the ottoman empire were walked into the desert and massacred in ffs, drownedds, cli at sea. this was not the first genocide of the 20th century, but a key moment in these catastrophes in that the word itself genocide came from this event. charlie: why has the united

states refused to clearly call it a genocide? terry: the fact that it hasn't been covered by film. the reason why are merged together in that turkey has enormous strategic influence, both during the cold war and now. the turkish government said about denying the event and suppressing the event in terms of filmmaking and reporting. twice attempts- were made to make a film about the siege. the turkish government leaned on the the state department and studios to have its cost. -- to have it squashed. charlie: and still being fought over. terry: before president obama was elected promised to recognize the genocide, and

reneged on that promise. his last comment was, my opinion of the event hasn't changed, but the g word could not be spoken. friend,sador, who was a was unable to say the g-word either although she wrote a book highlighting the armenian genocide. it is a very emotive topic. now the position that president taken -- increased this week. i don't see a change in turkey's attitude or president trump's attitude toward it. charlie: this is also a love story too. tell me about that. it involves both your costars. traditional armenian

woman. believe that there are two different kinds of love in this love story. here, i believe that she is in love with michael. betrothed for practical reasons. he goes on to become a medical student to pursue his dreams. i was lucky enough to play this armenian traditional woman. the armenian myself, both my mother and grandmother are fine examples. this story was very personal for me. i have heard the story from my ancestors brought down to my grandparents, told us about how they survived.

it was very special to be part of the film. charlie: who is your character? christian: i play a member of the associated press. more for his love for a different armenian character in the film, who wants to return to her roots. -- acerbicassertive, , proud, but irritatingly correct about things. he felt himself to be seizing to be an observer and becoming a participant in the event. he sees it up close. .e sees these massacres immediate impact of it.

it was illegal to take photo documentation. he just has a change in spirit. one wheretwo lines, michael says to my character, it must be so convenient to witness people's pain and report on it and returned to the comfort of your own home. yes, butsponse is, without the press, no one would know anything about the armenian genocide. charlie: does he have deeper involvement? christian: yes, he participates trying to save armenians. charlie: what do you hope people take away from this film? recognizeope people not only the atrocity of what happened, but make parallels to what is happening today in the

same parts of the world, the same types of attacks in this country on the press in the idea of refugees, that there is compassionate elicit sympathy. the 1.5ears go by, million number becomes abstract. hopefully the movie helps humanize these events and gets closer to eliciting that empathy, to see this is the same thing going on now. we were shooting scenes of orphans jumping into the water, swinging -- fleeing from the desert. at the same time reports were happening about refugees drowning in the water trying to save his family. impactful to know that the same thing was happening again. also that people can know that

100% of the proceeds of the film will go to charity. i think that is unprecedented. terry: i have not heard of that. [laughter] amnestyto international, human rights watch -- all charities holding people accountable for human rights abuses and refugee crises. charlie: was john in any way involved in this? >> no, he wasn't. with consultants and supporters, he is active in helping us keep the promise drive. this is a story that families passed on from generation to generation. angela: yes, just like my family did. it is interesting, if you see the film, the orphans in the story are my great-grandparents survived. the funny line that brings everything.

circle,everything full my grandparents lived old armenia because they were left with monuments of charges that now kurds live in. these are the things that have existed before christ, and now they are the homes of other people. they left old armenia and went for refuge.eppo now people are leaving syria for the very thing. they can go to spain or other places. that 100so pertinent years later the same thing is happening. charlie: how much did you know? christian: almost nothing. it is stunning almost no one knows anything. that is just how vendors. -- just horrendous.

1.5 million people died. you think of the lack of consequences provoked the other genocides we have had to witness since. charlie: definition of a genocide? >> it is an attempt by a group, a government or group to exterminate either a nation, tribe, religious sect, or organization. charlie: how many have there been in the last -- >> one committed by the germans in the movie is the first genocide of the 21st century. there were the armenians, then the holocaust. the slaughter of ukrainians, currentlyrwanda, and guatemala.

they are pushing the situation of the yazidis in northern iraq to be recognized as a genocide. the yazidi is a separate sect, but the christians were also presented. -- also persecuted. but their systematic slaughter by isis, they want that recognized. the purpose is beyond recognition. it is to identify the perpetrators and have them pursued and prosecuted for genocide. established by a lawyer to describe what happened to the armenians, and subsequently what happened in the holocaust. wordhole denial, the very being denied by the turks is very ironic.

christian: that denial, don't you think that is serious as well? it is like a debate about climate change. it is a smokescreen -- there is no debate. there is climate change. charlie: lots of people make that argument now. al gore among others. this is your kind of story. >> my kind of story is when ordinary people with weaknesses are confronted by monumental events, and find the inner strength to carry on and triumph over evil. that is what i always look for. "hotel rwanda," or here with michael, i like the idea of ordinary people finding their inner strength. that is the greatest form of storytelling to get a message out. did you choose this

role because of the story, because of the script, the other actors? >> there were a lot of reasons. it is that scene that he village,, finding a everyone slaughtered on the side of a river -- i could not read that without getting emotional. every time i try to consider other things, that scene was undeniable. that was what made me say i want to understand this, or at least shed some light on it. charlie: thank you for coming. it is great to see. much success. promise"is called "the opening in theaters friday, april 21. thank you for joining us. see you next time. ♪

♪ betty: telling us that the economy is on track for more hikes, but no rush to unwind the balance sheet. yvonne: bank of japan governor's it speak exclusively to bloomberg. he will retain current policies for some time. betty: asia-pacific markets following wall street heiser. it rose on bets president trump will cut taxes soon. yvonne: betting against protectionism. concerns about global growth.