The nation’s four former presidents, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and assorted celebs took the stage at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia Saturday for History Talks, an event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary spotlighting democracy, social justice, healing division and political satire.
A+E Global Media‘s History Channel partnered with Philly-based media giant Comcast for the gathering that also saw Doris Kearns Goodwin interview Michelle Obama and Hoda Kotb sit down with Nicole Kidman. Colin Jost and former SNL cast mate Kate McKinnon stepped up just after a Bill and Hillary Clinton convo with Ted Danson.
“There’s one segment that seems a little out of place in this lineup,” Jost joked. “What are we doing here?”
Political satire has long been a staple of NBC’s late night juggernaut. McKinnon recalled her first political impression, as Mitt Romney’s wife. “And the feeling I got doing it, the response from the audience, was like a level above just regular comedy. It was sort of, ‘We’re in this together, and we’re all thinking the same thing, and we’re talking about it together.’ The level of engagement with the audience was just a cut above, and so I really got addicted to doing political satire specifically.”
She’s also done Hillary Clinton, Kellyanne Conway, Rudy Giuliani, Sean Spicer, Jeff Sessions, Angela Merkel, Elizabeth Warren, and lots more. Jost just had his first outing, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “I’m probably 200 behind you.”
McKinnon said she does think about people’s feelings “even when I disagree politically with the person I’m doing the impression of. Do you?”
“No, I just think of them as, like, sacks of meat. I don’t care. No one’s really human to me,” Jost quipped, adding quickly, “No. I do too. I’m not, we’re not, mean people … There’s a Kurt Vonnegut line that I really love, he talks about how, when you get to the gates of heaven, a great excuse is to say I never asked to be born. I always think about that … We have to give people a lot of leeway because no one asked to be born, and also no one asked to be born into lots of different circumstances that people are born into. And I think we have to recognize that in other people.”
Tina Fey (who hails from the Philly burbs — and was an iconic Sarah Palin) spoke earlier and said the relationship between SNL and current events shaped her growing up. “You know, from Chevy Chase playing Gerald Ford, seeing that as a kid, I knew it was funny, I didn’t know exactly why.”
Nicole Kidman talked about developing her career, moving between acting and producing, and the importance of supporting women in Hollywood. She noted that female directors have come a long way but there “still an enormous gap. I think we are still looking at, in terms of female directors, 14%, maybe it’s 16% now. I think it’s good to say those numbers because people think it’s all fine now. No.”
And, she added, “As we are talking about helping women and female voices to be heard in this industry, wouldn’t it be lovely, in our lifetime, to be able to see a female president.”
But the former Presidents, and First Ladies, were the core of the event.
President Obama stressed the importance of the Constitution and an inclusive America. “There’s been this continuing contest throughout our history around those who would try to interpret those original documents as being able to accommodate caste and hierarchy and privilege and preferences and exclude, versus an idea that says, no, no, we the people means we the people.”
The Obama Presidential Center, a 20-acre campus with a museum, public library, conference center, and park will open in Chicago in June.
Michelle Obama said audio is a focus for the Obama’s production company Higher Ground. She has a podcast and is supporting a group of young podcasters. “They’re a bunch of great kids with their own shows, in their 20s and 30s.”
Today show host Jenna Busch Hager interviewed her dad, President George W. Bush. Jason Kelce chatted with Tom Brady.
This was the fourth installment of History Talks, developed by A+E Global Media’s President and Chairman Paul Buccieri. The events bring together diverse political and cultural leaders, but having four former presidents was a unique one. The confab does not invite sitting presidents and seeks to be politically agnostic.
That proved difficult and while it wasn’t particularly hardball there were some strong feelings evident.
“The number one question facing us today,” said Bill Clinton, “is do we believe, on our 250th anniversary, are we willing to stake our lives fortunes and honor, on the fact that we are all created equal and that our diversity is a blessing a not a curse?”
“We are living through challenging times,” added Hillary Clinton. “There is no doubt in my mind that we’ll get through it, but it’s one that is posing a lot of new questions about power, about unaccountable power, and some very old questions about how we organize ourselves and whether we stay faithful to ur founding values and the rule of law.”
Garth Brooks called music a unifier — “music is love.” He closed the event with a plea to safeguard democracy. “Democracy is this gorgeous, gorgeous word that most of the world only dreams about. We live it. We must to anything and everything to preserve democracy”
