WASHINGTON — As President Barack Obama hands the baton to President-elect Donald Trump on Friday, there are plenty of events for all political stripes.
Aside from the three official inaugural balls, Busboys & Poets is hosting its third annual Peace Ball at the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture on Thursday Jan. 19, while Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld are bringing political humor to Warner Theatre on Jan. 28.
One event undoubtedly leans progressive, while the other leans conservative, so you should know that going in. But why not hit both events with an open mind? You might just learn something from calm engagement with other points of view rather than knee-jerk reactions in our comments section.
Busboys & Poets’ Peace Ball at NMAAHC
You know Busboys & Poets for its food, drink and live entertainment at six locations across the D.C. area. But anyone who’s ever read the menus or seen the colorful decor grasps the socially conscious mission statement: “a community where racial and cultural connections are consciously uplifted.”
That spirit ignites the third annual Peace Ball on Thursday from 8 p.m.–1 a.m. at the NMAAHC.
“It’s a multi-tiered event,” Busboys & Poets C.E.O. and founder Andy Shallal told WTOP. “People will walk in, have a little time to partake in the museum. It’s the first time this museum has been available during the inauguration. … So there’ll be a time for entertainment, a time to hear some inspirational talks and speakers, then lots of dancing and food and drinks [at our] open bar. … We called it the ‘Peace Ball: Voices of Hope and Resistance,’ and nothing speaks to that more than this museum.”
This year’s event includes a star-studded lineup: Angela Davis, Stephen King, Danny Glover, Ashley Judd, Ben Jealous, Van Jones, Fran Drescher, Amy Goodman, Eve Ensler, Esperanza Spalding, Solange, NAACP President Cornell William Brooks and “The Color Purple” author Alice Walker.
“You can actually meet the author of ‘The Color Purple,'” Shallal said, excitedly. “You can meet all of these people. These are people that are extraordinary in their way, but they’re also ordinary people. They’re people that you can actually talk to and connect with. … Everyone will bring something to the table, an issue that probably someone in the audience has a passion for and can connect to.”
The idea for the first Peace Ball was sparked by the historic 2008 election of the nation’s first black president. It was held at the Smithsonian Postal Museum across from Union Station in January 2009.
“After Obama got elected the first time, we were so excited,” Shallal said. “The next day after the election, I woke up and said, ‘We can’t let this slip by! We’ve got to continue the celebration!’ So we decided to throw a ball. I’d never even been to a ball in my life … and suddenly I’m planning a ball.”
The event sold out instantly, pushing attendance beyond capacity at the Postal Museum. So, when President Obama won re-election in 2012, Shallal moved the second annual event to Arena Stage with 2,600 guests. Now, the third annual event is the biggest yet at over 3,000 people at NMAAHC.
The timing of these three events has marked the beginning, middle and end of an unprecedented time in American history, tracking the election, re-election and exit of President Obama from the White House. Looking back in hindsight, what does Shallal consider the highlights of the Obama presidency?
“Marriage equality, criminal justice reform, health care, labor reform,” Shallal said. “We have one of the lowest unemployment rates we’ve ever had. … He’s been a very good stabilizing force. He is mindful. He is measured. … Whether you agree with him or not politically, [he’s] someone that has the empathy and sensitivity needed to run a country of such diversity. … He will probably go down in history as one of the best orators we’ve ever had. He’s able to speak not only to the heart of people but to the mind of people. … If you’re over 50 percent [in approval rating], you’re doing pretty well.”
Shallal also has a very personal memory when President Obama visited Busboys & Poets in 2016.
“He actually came with a group of folks that he had just pardoned and had lunch with them,” Shallal said. “That’s a unique moment. … He said people shouldn’t be spending years and years in jail for nonviolent crimes because they had some marijuana in their possession. .. He understood the importance of how race plays into that and how people of color are disproportionately affected by our criminal justice system. He spoke very eloquently about that and I was very moved by that.”
On the flip side, what are some of his regrets over the past eight years?
“No one is perfect,” Shallal said. “We still have wars all over the world, there’s been a lot of drone killings, there’s been a lot of deportations. … Obviously, he didn’t do as good of a job as we thought. There’s a lot of people that felt disenfranchised, that felt left out, and they’re obviously letting their voice be heard. But there’s a civil way to do it and an uncivil way. … These things will not be solved by tweets. Maybe that’s how you do a reality show, but that’s not how you run a country, I’m sorry.”
What are some of his concerns and hopes about the incoming Trump administration?
“As a Muslim man, I find it very disturbing when I hear someone speaking about the possibility of internment camps or registrations for Muslims,” Shallal said. “I’m an American. How is that even possible in America to even talk about that today? … The tweets matter. People take them seriously. … I’m hopeful that things will start to level off, and once all of this ‘campaigning’ is over, we are able to have some leadership in the White House that’s going to be measured, mindful and have empathy.”
Regardless of your political affiliation, Shallal hopes to bridge divides after a divisive 2016 election.
“It’s going to take a while to reconnect people and build bridges to move forward as Americans,” Shallal said. “No one person, president, incident or situation makes change happen; it’s people pulling together as movements that create the change. … We are welcoming people of all political stripes [to the Peace Ball]. This is about peace and justice. Who doesn’t want peace and justice in the world?”
Listen to the full conversation with Busboys & Poets founder Andy Shallal below:
Dana Perino & Greg Gutfeld at Warner Theatre
She was the first woman ever to serve as White House press secretary under a Republican president.
Now, Fox News’ Dana Perino teams with “The Five” co-host Greg Gutfeld for some post-inauguration political humor in their show “Short Stories by Short People” on Saturday, Jan. 28, at Warner Theatre.
“We will be just one week after the inauguration, so we plan to keep things real current,” Perino told WTOP. “You just get a snippet of what we’re thinking on [‘The Five’], because it’s five people with five segments and when you split up that time, there’s not a lot to go around. When we do ‘Short Stories,’ we have a little bit more time to be expansive in our comments and a little bit more playful. We love to take questions from the audience, so we’re looking forward to hearing what’s on their minds, too.”
What’s her dynamic like co-hosting with Gutfeld?
“I call him the brother I never wanted,” Perino said. “We get along great. I find him hilarious and brilliant, and he tolerates me — barely. The great thing about our show is that we don’t script it at all. Of course, there are going to be topics we cover — we do talk a lot about politics during our show — but we also talk about our concerns for the future. Greg is very much into artificial intelligence and where that leads us. … As soon as the machines get smarter than us, then what do we become?”
Speaking of technological change, Perino doesn’t seem to mind President-elect Trump’s tweeting.
“I think it’s funny people get so worked up about him tweeting,” Perino said. “That will start to change when he takes over as president, then he goes from campaigning to governing. … I also think he could use it pretty effectively. For example, to get the Republicans to turn right around on their ethics office decision in just a 24-hour period. That’s real power. So I would say to his opponents: You’re not going to get him to put it away, so try to match him. And if you can’t match him, beat him another way.”
Now that the dust has settled on the 2016 election, what’s Perino’s takeaway on the wild campaign?
“Now that we’ve had a chance to catch our breath, it’s been interesting to watch how the campaign for many people has continued after November,” Perino said. “You even still have the fight over the legitimacy of the election. … I know Democrats want to say that, and I don’t think they’re wrong to point out there was Russian interference, but I do think the left has failed to recognize why it lost.”
Perino says Hillary Clinton simply didn’t campaign hard enough in the states that mattered, the so-called “Rust Belt” states, and failed to turn out the successful Obama coalition from 2008 and 2012.
“It was a close election, closer than many think,” Perino said. “If you look at the vote totals in the three key states — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — he won by less than 1 percent. That’s like getting an inside straight in poker, but he pulled it off. … How can you have a recount in a state you never visited? … If America elected presidents based on the popular vote, she would have won by 3 million votes, but it’s not a new concept that we have an electoral college and her team missed it.”
Looking ahead, what can we expect from the Trump administration?
“Republicans have this amazing opportunity in front of them, but that opportunity is fraught with peril,” Perino said. “There are big, thorny issues. Unwinding a legislative effort like Obamacare is very complicated. … You are going to have a Supreme Court nomination. … You also have the fight against terrorism, plus all of the other proactive things Donald Trump wants to do. There’s going to be so much news in these first 100 days. I’m looking forward to it. I have a new motto: Embrace the chaos.”
You can bet Perino will be weighing in every day on “The Five” alongside Gutfeld and co-hosts Eric Bolling (financial analyst), Kimberly Guilfoyle (legal analyst) and Juan Williams (political analyst), who provides the show’s progressive opinions, along with Bob Beckel who just recently made his return.
“Believe it or not, our show has been on the air for six years,” Perino said. “Kimberly and I, we love to try to keep the guys in line. … Juan Williams is a veteran political reporter from Washington, D.C., so we’re very fortunate to have his input. He likes to drive some of the conservatives in our audience crazy, but I tell them it would be boring without him. We have Eric Bolling, who has an energy and business background and has been a Donald Trump supporter from the beginning, then you’ve got Greg Gutfeld, who I’d say is a libertarian-conservative mish-mash, [what we call] conservatarians.”
While the show is doing gangbusters as one of Fox News’ top-rated shows, there are also certain challenges unfolding at the network. Both Megyn Kelly and Greta Van Susteren have departed for NBC News and MSNBC, while Gretchen Carlson exited over a sexual harassment lawsuit against former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, who submitted his resignation to owner Rupert Murdoch.
“I think that embracing the chaos applies not just to our politics … but also in our own lives,” Perino said, optimistically. “Reinventing yourself is something that all of us have to keep in mind going forward. Many people decided to make changes in their careers this past year. … I’ve been here through all those changes [over the years] and it’s been very seamless. One of the reasons is that we don’t have much choice. You have to put a product on the air 24-7, and we’ve never skipped a beat.”
With cable news networks battling for ratings, Perino laments how divided the country has become.
“Even to the point where we are asked to take sides with Putin or our government,” she said. “Politics has become too much like team sports: even if your team is having a really bad season, you still hate the other side so much. People actually get along a lot better than you think. Most people don’t spend their entire days thinking and talking about politics. There’s a lot of other wonderful things in life.”
Such perspective has served Perino well over her career. The Wyoming native moved to D.C. after college to work as a congressional staffer for several years before moving to England and San Diego with husband Peter McMahon. She returned to D.C. as Department of Justice spokesperson in 2001, then became White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush in 2006. Perino was just the second woman ever to hold that title after Dee Dee Myers did it under President Bill Clinton.
“I knew when I was offered the job, my life would change dramatically,” Perino said. “I also felt there was a responsibility that came with that: to always be giving back to younger generations. … When I look back at all the good things that happened in my life … it was things that I had not planned. So my request to all young people: Please don’t worry your young life away. If you’re born in America, you’ve already won the lottery. … The only thing you have to decide is how hard you are willing to work.”
Her best piece of advice? Something her collegiate speech coach told her just before a public competition: “It’s okay to have butterflies in your stomach, as long as you make them fly in formation.”
“If you’re doing public speaking … the day that you stop getting butterflies, the day that you stop getting a little nervous when you go out in front of the crowd, is when you should probably hang it up,” Perino said. “Because it’s that kind of energy that actually channels good communication.”
Next stop for the butterflies? Warner Theatre.
Listen to the full conversation with former White House Press Secretary Dan Perino below:
