welcome to amanpour on pbs. tonight from atlanta, georgia, my conversation with a democrat who could become america's first black female governor. stacy abrams on what her historic candidacy means for the american south and the democratic party. plus, here in our london studio, a french philosopher, reveals his sadness and despair at the fate of europe as it grapples with brexit, trump's trade war and thundering transatlantic links. good evening.

welcome to the program. i'm chris politicians inside the united states trying to figure out how to fight back against the trump affect. overseas, allies are figuring out how to retaliate for trade tariffs. inside america, the democratic party is gearing up to fight back at the ballot box this november. there are signs the base is fired up. hu hundreds more women are running this cycle. the one tracting mo inattractin attention is it's stacy abrams rallying women, minorities and never before voters. she's now on the cusp of history. potentially becoming america's first ever black woman governor. >> we are writing the next chapter of georgia's future. no one is unseen.

no one is unheard. no one is uninspired. >> she would become george's fir georgia's first female governor. her personal story is extraordinary as well. she has written several roman novelromance novels. welcome to the program. >> thank you for having me. >> do you mind me starting out by saying you are are the successful romance novelist you are? >> i'm happy people know that i write at selena montgomery. i'm the recent order of minority leader, how to lead from outside and create real change, which was published in april. >> you are the minority leader in georgia. what would you say writing has done for you as you reached this incredible moment? you won the primary. you are facing the general in november.

your books or this political memoir, what have they done for you? >> my romance novels really help me think about the different lives that people lead and how important it is to tell stories so you can bring people to the table and they understand why issues matter to them. what i was able do with minority leader is talk about my journey to this space. but in a way i hope is more accessible and less about me and more about how other people can own their power and find their path to leadership. >> here you are in atlanta. you are running for office in georgia. you didn't grow up there. a lot of your childhood was in gulf port. you describe your childhood to an extent as one of genteel poverty. that's what your mom said when you didn't have running water or, you know -- there was a lot of poverty. but you read and you went to the library. tell me how your childhood shaped you. >> i'm the daughter of two

extraordinary people who grew up in mississippi. i grew up in gulf port, an hour south. my mom was a library. my dad was a shipyard worker. they struggled to make ends meet. there are six of us. i'm the second of six children. it was entirely likely that my parents could have said, we did what we were supposed to do, it didn't work, let's give up hope. instead, my parents raised us to believe education, that faith and service were really going to be the recipe for us to move forward. they told us all our lives that where we began was never going to dictate where we ended up. our economic life was not a reason we couldn't be successful. i want to give that to everyone else. i had two parents who made sure we read, made sure we had full experiences, who guaranteed all six of their kids went to college. because of that, we grew up with a broader perspective not only of what we were capable of but of what our responsibility was.

to serve others so that they believe they could have the same chance. >> you went on to spellman college, yale university. you became attorney general -- sorry, became atlanta's deputy city attorney at 30. you have raced up the career ladder. what do you -- what is your main issue for people, if you are elected governor in november? >> as the core of my mission is i think poverty is immoral. i think it's economically inefficient. i think we need a leader who believes everyone should have the freedom and opportunity to thrive. that means focusing on education, on economic development, economic security and focusing on making sure that leadership works for everyone and not just the privileged. >> obviously, you are doing this in a pretty republican state. you are doing this in the south of the united states where not to put too fine a word on it, it's hard to be a black woman.

it's hard to be black in america today and get to where you want to get to. you are vying to become the first ever black female governor in the united states. is this your moment? do you feel that there is an opening right now? if so, why? >> i think there's an opening because america and the south is changing. it's not just the demographic changes that i think have certainly come to georgia and made this possible. it's also a change in ethos. we saw in november of 2016 that voting matters. your voice matters. it does, indeed, make a difference who gets elected. so i think my opportunity is to harness that energy but also harness the urgency of this moment. every single day we wake up to news about a new atrocity and a new quiet bigotry. what i want folks to understand in my campaign is that this is about them. it's about their voices and their opportunity to actually

change the direction of the south. it's going to be hard. but it's absolutely possible. we saw in the prima peopl turned out who had not voted before. if we do this right with people at the core of our campaign, we will win in november. >> give me the strategy then. obviously, we read and we -- we observe a lot of these races. and obviously, a lot of democrats feel that they should go off to the voters who voted for trump, try to peel them back or peel them away. i think you are going off to a different demographic, right? explain to us the strategy and who the numbers are. >> sure. traditionally, there has been a tendency to spend more money on republicans who have disagreed with us than to invest in those who share our values and share our beliefs. my goal is to go after democratic leaning voters and any independent thinker who wants their voice to matter. that can sound sort of naive.

but here is the reality. we know that people want their children to be educated. they want good jobs that pay well. they want government that works for everyone, including expansion of medicaid, which is something we saw happen in virginia. the numbers in georgia say i need 250,000 people who didn't vote in the last election to turn out and to lift up their voices. we know we have more than a million voters who share these beliefs but have not had a candidate who is willing to invest in their voices. my campaign from the very beginning has been about investing in voter engagement and voter turnout, because we know that's the pathway to success. >> how do you convince people? let's look at the 2016 election. a lot of people in the black community didn't come out to vote. is that right? >> here is the thing. registering voters is a critical part of building our electorate. it's up to candidates to give voters a reason to actually exercise their right to vote. what we have seen happen too

often in the south is that you do not have candidates who invest a commensurate amount in the voters who stay home. they don't stay home because they don't want to vote. they stay home because they don't see a reason to vote. my campaign has been grounded from the beginning in actually talking to voters. you asked about strategy. it's going door to door, it's having real conversations, it's making certain people understand what the governor does. if they know that the governor can make certain that they make more money, that they have access to transit, that they have access to health care and that there's someone willing to talk to them about real issues. i have a younger brother who is an ex-felon. i talk about the reality of how hard it is to transition back to community, what it means for families to have one of your loved ones incarcerated. we have to have leaders who have real conversation. i think for african-american voer voters but for every ter, you want something to vote for, not

something to vote against. you have to have candidates willing to invest in your voice and say that your issues matter, too. that's what i've been doing. that's what i will continue to do. >> obviously, very open to talking about your own experiences and connecting with voters through your on human family, professional experiences. tell me what it's like to be an african-american woman in a white society or a white dominant society trying to get ahead? do you feel that even where you are now you get equal respect? or is it more difficult than if you are a white man? >> the whole premise is exactly that. that issue is the beginning of the conversation. of course, there's not equality. of course, there are challenges that are embedded. but the issue is, do you allow those challenges to hold you down, to paralyze you, or do you use them as a catapult?

i grew up believing that my differences are part of what make me capable of doing what i need to do. we all experience this in different ways. my mission is to create space so that everyone feels that they belong. there's a woman i met in georgia who wants to start a day care center but doesn't think anyone would invest in her because she's the cashier at the grocery store. she needs to believe that her capacity for opportunity is as great as any ceo. i want to be the governor who says no matter what your difference is, we believe in your capacity and your potential that everyone should have the freedom and opportunity to thrive. >> stacy abrams, you have knocked down one door at the next. i can't believe it. i'm having to read it in black and white that when you were a high school volume dick toaledi invited to the governor's mansion, you weren't allowed in.

>> at first. the governor invites all valedictorians to come. we got on the public transit to get to the governor's mansion. my parents couldn't afford a car. the security guard at the gate looked at us, looked at the bus and told us it was a private event and we didn't belong there. luckily, my parents were aggressive and they argued with him. he agreed to check his checklist and let us inside. what i talk about is that i don't remember meeting the governor. the governor had nothing do with my denial. i don't remember meeting my fellow valedictorians. what stuck with me was someone looking at me and my circumstances and deciding i didn't belong in this most powerful place in georgia. i want to be the person who says those gates are open for everyone. no one should be denied access because of their circumstance. >> you also speak about the power of education, obviously, and how that's the fundamental pillar for anybody trying to make it. you are very open about the debt you have gotten into since being in your education.

this is a terrible burden many, many americans have to shoulder as they try to come out into the world. >> part of the reason i'm so open about my life, i try to be as honest and transparent as possible because we can't elect people for perfection. we have to elect people who understand real lives, who know what it means to navigate education debt. i'm also navigating the fact that i'm financially responsible for my parents and for any niece who they are raising because my younger brother couldn't take care of her. my parents are taking care of my grandmother who is now part of our generational home. we need people in leadership who understand how complicated life can be and that are willing to not only own their own responsibility but help think about solutions for everyone. that's why i want this job. >> stacy abrams, you certainly relate and you certainly understand. thank you so much for joining us tonight. and turning now to president

trump's unprecedented trade offensive against several key u.s. allies overseas. canada, mexico and the eu. the european trade commissioner warned the u.s. is, quote, playing a dangerous game by slapping tariffs on european steel and aluminum exports and canada's minister of foreign affairs called the move insulting. >> i would just say to all of canada's american friends, and there are so many, seriously, do you believe that canada, that your ally represents a national security threat to you? that's why the prime minister said, it is, frankly, insulting. when ronald reagan visited canada, he said, we are more than friends and neighbors and allies. we are kin who together have built the most productive relationship between any two countries in the world. >> it is an extraordinary

debacle. it comes at an uncertain time for europe as brexit negotiations are stuck in trade limbo. the uk leaves the eu in march 2019. there's still no deal on the issue. my next guest, the french philosopher, is somehow hoping to stop brexit with his new one man play. it's called the last exit before brexit. i spoke to him here in the studio before he took to the stage. welcome to the program. >> thank you. >> why have you come to britain to launch this appeal? why here? >> why here? >> why this debut? >> because brexit is supposed to happen here. after that, europe begins to dismember itself, to fall into pieces. here in london and the worst is

london is the software of europe. dna of europe. europe was built after english ideas. >> really? is that how you see it in. >> i really believe that. i believe the cradles of europe are, of course, the uk. after world war ii, it is english ideologues who built the pattern after which this space of free exchange, of refusal of totalitarianism and so on, was built. england, uk is quitting a space which she herself designed. >> you are unusual for a frenchman. frenchmen and women are choef

n shoef nis tick. about france. >> because one of the first sentences i heard in my life was my mother telling me that if i was alive, if i came in this bloody world, it was thanks to winston churchill and the brave pilots of the royal air force. that's why i'm born. that's why i'm here today. so i have a depth toward america and england. this is what i say tonight in this last exit before brexit. >> you feel you have a huge debt. frankly, so many people do. it's not often we get distinguished philosophers to come and try to persuade the brits. how do you think you are going to be received? >> i think i will be received we will see. maybe tomatoes. who knows? i don't hate confrontation. i think the mood will change in this country.

i cannot believe that this country goes through to the end in this huge mistake. mistake for europe and mistake for uk. great britain will become little england if brexit goes to its end. some people voted for brexit because they -- because of austerity, unemployment. there will be more of that. my feeling is that something is going on now in the depth of this society. we will have some surprise. we have to wait one year. many things can happen in one year. i would not be surprised if we had a big surprise before the end. >> don't you think france dodged a it would have been frexit if le pen won.

but macron won. >> he won against le pen which was unconsiderable a few years later and closed to a dual between le pen and macrlontron. >> extreme left. at least we said, we all are german jews. it was an internationalism to be extreme left. today, to be extreme left in france and in uk is shoef nis tick. >> is it like extreme right today? >> not a little like. i do believe that in france, they are twins. twins. on europe, they think the same. on media, they think the same. on establishment, the short mind, they think the same. >> you are jewish. you come from algerian origin.

immigration is a huge -- the idea of migration, refugees, foreigners has played hugely into brexit, into what happened with le pen, into what happened in america with donald trump and what's happening all over the -- all over europe right now. how does europe counter this ugly narrative that we're seeing rising? it's not just anti-semitism. it's anti everything. >> how to fight against that by saying the truth. by saying that the root of the terrorism has nothing do with us. it has to do with a certain conception of islam. it has do with fascism. it has to do with the ghost of the old naziism which has never been criticized in the muslim world. it has to do with all of that. nothing to do with this poor men, children and women coming by sea.

this is a terrible lie and a shame to make. >> were you happy to see this amazing malian immigrant really make a heroic rescue of a young child in paris last week and to see him go and granted citizenship? as an example, as an extraordinary case. >> i am always happy when i see a woman or a man showing these sorts of virtues, these sort of highness and giving this sort of example. we had a man risk his life and lost it to save a woman. we have this man who risked his life and did not lose it in the same sort of situation. this gives you hope in humanity and in your country.

and in the refugees, you are certainly many more men or women like this young malian than terrorist-linked people. >> what do you think as a child of post war of the current president of the united states levying tariffs on his european allies and on his canadianal l allies and the mexican allies? they say we fought together. we have been allies for 150 years. how you can can you do this? >> this is crazy. this is not the least crazy decision which the president of the united states takes since one year. it's completely crazy. west, europe and america, so many common enemies. we have to face the blackmail. we have to face the nuclear weapon of iran. we have to face china.

we have to face putin whose main target is to destabilize the west. we are engaging a quarrel between america and europe. this is completely suicide. this is a form of moral suicide. it's completely absurd. intellectually criminal. >> i want to play you a sound bite from macron. i spoke to him in september in new york. at that time, he was hopeful that he could talk to president trump and persuade him about the iran nuclear deal, about climate, all the things you have commenced and the mutual challenges. this is what he said. >> i have appreciation of president trump. we have very good personal relationship. i have very direct discussion with him. we share our views.

he is very direct. i think he listen to what i propose. >> well, i don't think he listened to what president macron proposed. president macron is very well-known in the united states. obviously, europe wished that he would use his good relationship with president trump to get him to listen. on climate, he hasn't listened. on moving the embassy to jerusalem he hasn't listened, on the iran's nuclear deal. what is europe's defense? >> thank god america is so, so much taller, so much higher with such a bigger memory and so much brighter future than president trump. president trump will have his time and america will last. i suppose that president macron talked to america. when he spoke at congress, he

spoke to america itself. look at the standing ovations he had. you have a president who is strengthening the link of life, the link of blood, of life, of hope between the two continents. you have an american president, provisional american president, like in democracy, it takes four years, who is trying to -- >> eight. >> maybe eight, okay. i will bet four. who is trying to break the link. >> and the norms, the global norms. >> the global norms, yes. but the link. america was built as a sort of rebeginning of europe. this is the spirit of america. the spirit of america, the founding feathathers is based oe idea the values which made

europe are going and replanted in another earth in order to bloom in a more beautiful and more brilliant way. this is the strongest and the most beautiful america. okay? mr. trump thinks other way. america will last longer than mr. trump. >> thank you very much for joining me. that's it for our program tonight. two guests with two messages of hope. join us tomorrow night to see how europe will respond to this unprecedented trump trade war. the eu trade commissioner will join me. good-bye and thanks for watching amanpour.

katty: you're watching "beyond 100 days." industrialized nations meet in canada this week but china isn't in this bloc and the u.s. doesn't seem to want to be. christian: in the age of trump, is the g7 still relevant? the u.s. protectionist president is challenging decades of western unity. katty: american trade tariffs make it harder for leaders to work together against global threats. in a phone call, theresa may tells donald trump that his decision to apply tariffs to eu imports is unjustified and deeply disappointing. christian: also on the program, at least 38 people have been killed and hundreds more killed -- hundreds more injured in guatemala after a volcano sent lava into rr