All right, here we are on this very special Martin Luther King Day Show as we honor the great man that was Dr Martin Luther King. We say this is a day of service. Um. You know, a lot of people are doing uh community type things today, working in the community. There will be a lot of parades in the community to honor Dr Martin Luther King. Uh. We here on the Steve Harvey Morning Show are also doing something very special. As you may know, as you may have heard, our very own leader or Captain Steve Harvey, had a meeting with President elect Donald Trump on last Friday, and Steve is here too. Uh. Well, actually you called in Steve to tell us about that meeting. You've had an interesting last couple of days, to say the least, un Steve, it's been. It's been a little bit more than interesting. Uh. What I'm gonna do, Shirley, Because I've been getting so many requests for interviews, But since I at my own platform that reaches so many I decided to make my statement here on my morning show, which has been so relevant for so many years as to getting out messaging. So I'm gonna make my statement on it and it will be my final statement, and it's directed and aimed at the majority of my listening audience and people everywhere. So, uh, I'm gonna make my statement concerning my meeting with President like Donald Trump. Um. First, i want to say thank you to all the people who have reached out and shown me so much love and support. But I'm also very aware of the anger that so many people feel, and these voices will continue to be heard as they should. But I have an obligation to take a seat at the table when invited. You know, change can only happen when we sit at the table. If we sit at the table, then we can have a say soul onto what's to be eaten on the menu. If you're not at the table, you can't even refuse the menu or suggest what we should be eating. And so therefore, it was very important for me to take the meeting. Okay, all right now, Steve, let's get into it. How did this meeting come about in the first place. Well, several conversations were had prior to the meeting, but I didn't know if it was really real or not until I received an email through my TV show And uh it was an email through uh some people from the Trump side, and and it gave me an opportunity to meet the president. Let Donald Trump and President Trump did not request this meeting personally, as I understood it, but it was set up by members of his team. And I didn't even know if it would happen until I got an email from an assistant who gave me a time and a day, and and sure, I want to be clear here. Mr Trump didn't ask me for any advice or help. And people should know that. I'm assuming that the transition team thought this would be a great meeting between the two of us. And and where we met, Uh, it was a very cordial meeting. He was he was very warm, uh friendly and I'm a sleep When we talked, he was very sincere. You know. We talked about golf, we talked about favorite golf courses, we talked about the election, and it started as just a meet and greet. I'm not ignorant here, I'm pretty sure and his team is pretty smart. They know who's in that room. Uh clearly, Uh, they know what side I was on. Now, Steve, let me stop you right there and just ask you. I'm sure you had to be conflicted to some degree about the phone call about actually meeting with him. What was the determining factor, What were you trying to do? What was your goal in meeting with him? I know you mentioned something in your opening statement about a seat at the table. Why did you decide that it was important for you to meet with him? Well, I thought it was important because the only way we can heal the divide in this country is through conversation. I don't think that we will ever unify this country or begin a healing process until we talked to one another. When I listened to President Obama's final speech in Chicago, one of the things he said to stuck out of my head where he was asking people to get from behind the computers and get out and get involved. Well, I don't text and tweet, and I don't blog, but I have a microphone, so I form my standpoint being a person that I am and the person that God has made me to be. I took that and said, okay, well, let me step from behind the microphone and take a seat at the table. When invited to discuss I didn't know what it would be about exactly, but to my surprise, it turned out really, really interesting because after the beating Greek section of the conversation. To his credit, he asked me what did I want? So you're saying Donald Trump, president elect, asked you what did you want? Yeah, because I'm assuming that people who have been meeting when he wanted certain things, and so we after we exchanged all the pleasantries and everything, he asked me, well, Steve, what do you want? And that's when I took the opportunity to say that I wanted to help aid in any way I could to help improve the housing conditions in the inner cities. I was aware that he had appointed uh doctor being cautious the head of Housing and Urban Development or heard and if I could be of assistant in helping him move that initiative along, that I would be of service in that regard. And I felt that I could get the voice of the people in those communities and was my reaching these communities could possibly get some positive things done. Now here's what was amazing to me, and I have to tell you what he did while we were talking. He said that sounds great. He immediately got Dr Being Carson on the phone and he said, Steve, who wants to help with any heart initiatives? And that through because I'm sending a picing. I've never seen anybody jump into action so quickly at a at a request. You know, I'm not a politician, so quite naturally, I'm thinking it's a turn of red tape. You gotta go there. This man on the phone immediately and Dr being Carson and I talked for the first time. He talked for several minutes over the speaker. He's very receptive to me and aiding him in that area. And that was the beginning of it. But I tell you what the part was that I also had a chance to say. Was I said to the President elect, And we had some facilities provided in these inner cities, in the cities that could provide a place where young boys and girls could come for hope and vision with some type of training component to it to help curve I knew it wouldn't alleviate, but it would help curve some of the problems that's plagued in our inner cities. And I don't have all the answers, but I do know that mentoring and guidance has changed for the young people's lives. So Dr Carston and I talked briefly about Chicago as a place we talked about his hometown of Detroit. I mentioned that I was from Cleveland, and they were very receptive because they want to do something with these inner cities. And I didn't expect him to respond so quickly, but he did. And Sharon, I'm gonna tell you, when I walked away feeling that there might be a real chance for some positives to come out of what so many things is all doom and gloom. Yeah, and that's an opportunity you could not have missed. Now, let me ask you this, Steve, were you surprised? I know you mentioned at the top that there was there was a lot of love that you got, But were you surprised at the backlash from the very people you felt you were representing and trying to help with having a meeting with the president elect? On a personal note, a lot of y'all hurt me, You really did. I didn't expect the black the backlash to be sulficious, and you know, but also understand that if I'm gonna keep getting stabbed at now, I'm still Steve Harvey. So please understand. If I'm gonna keep getting stabbed at, then at least who are you stabbing me? Should understand my intent for even taking the meeting in the first place. See when I'm in there and in this, in this table, I'm sitting in these meetings with people who make policy decisions and decide what the media is. When I'm sitting at the table, it gives me an opportunity to say what we would like to have on the fire and so as far as hood going and better housing and conditions in the inner cities, See, Steve Harvey ain't got a dollar invested in rental property. I don't have any money being made in the housing industry. I've never had uh a renovated apartment or house or anything so in It ain't about me and my personal games. It's only that I care about the inner cities. I'm from the hood. I've been trying to do my part for years for boys and girls. Look, man, I don't want to have to sit here and y'all y'all know who I am, but don't going to Hey man, this Steve Harvey Hire. I've been putting in the work for years. These are not my children. I care about Charles kids. I care about these inner cities because that's where I'm from. I love kids. That's not mine. And so when I got the chance, surely I don't need housing. I got the house. You know, I got seven kids to mentor. My kids ain't in trouble. Oh, they made bad decisions because they're growing up. They're trying to get it, because they've got it and made some bad decisive But you know, I just love children who need a chance. I've been fighting to help single mothers with their boys all this time. And if I can get an opportunity to say to the man that's about to become the forty first president of the United States, who wanted to talk to me, who was cordial to me, who talked to me with respect, and actually be something instantly, why would I not take the opportunity to say some of these things? And then he responded immediately I had to give a cutter for that. All right, Steve, you know we have to take a break, So hang on, we'll get back to this. You're listening to show. Alright, we're back with Steve Harvey, the captain of our ship. Steve, let's continue. Uh, A person in your position, you know, just like any other powerful man or woman that's in a powerful position such as yours or um you know that that has a voice for millions. They're going to have to make hard decisions, tough decisions. And I'm sure you anguished about the decision a little bit, but uh, you know before and after. But I mean, you know, you do. A person does what he has to do. And in this instance, like you said, you weren't in it for yourself. You were in it for the people that you are trying to help. And you know, from my perspective, all we can do is salute you for that because you didn't make the call. They called you and they asked you, what can we what do you want? What do you you know what? Surely that's that's true. You know. Um. But I'm gonna be clear, and and everybody hearing me clear, I'm gonna continue this fight at this new level that God has placed me in it. See I've often said, and this is true, that your career is what you paid for. But you're calling is what you made for. See. I didn't ask for this. It's landed in my lap. So you know, there's a poet when I pledged, and a lot of people who pledged will understand. There's a line in Invictus that helps me so many times. Nothing helps me more than my heavenly father. But there's a line in the poem and invictors to said, my head is bloody, but unvowed. See, I still love my people, even the ones that don't understand. I'm gonna keep on fighting for you until more of us do understand that all the fights ain't in the streets. Some of these fights is in the boardroom. Some of these fights is in the vote. And that's what our president has said. It's in the vote. It's in the boardrooms. And when you consider these tables, we can't be mad forever. Okay, So what am I gonna say now, Shirley on behalf of people that I respect in love across this country. No, we don't want better housing. No we don't want no facilities. No we don't want none of that because we're mad at who president. Well, he is the forty fifth president on the twentieth. Now, we ain't got to like that, but that's what it is. But if this man was willing to talk and hear anything and then reacts so swiftly, I just have to get him to credit to that. I will. If they ever asked me to talk again, I have to do it again. I wish everybody understood, I really do, but I get it. You don't. You have to stay in the game. You have to continue to look at the big picture because that's who you are. And you know, I wish I could talk to you forever for this, but you know we have to go. You know I'm always on you about going to commercials and all of that. But um, your takeaway as we close this, this will be your final question, your takeaway and your thoughts in the future. Well, my takeaway is simple, what God is leaving me in my life. I've often not cared about the route that You've chosen to send me on. I ain't been crazy about some of the trips out of the hand to take to get to the destination. I wasn't happy with miss universe. I didn't like that, but I did ask God to increase my global presence and persona to say things that would help others. Now Here I am, and so this is where I'll stay. I thank everybody surely. I love you. I love the people, I love my listeners, I love the people I represent. I love people around the country who supported me. I love people around this world who sometimes don't get it, but it's okay. But it's okay. I'm gonna keep fighting and fighting. I love y'all, Thank you very much. All right, you're welcome, and hey, listen, happy birthday tomorrow. We'll say it again, but happy birthday. Enjoy yourself. Tomorrow we're gonna get back to the Reggord ship. I ain't gonna mission. There's no moment tomorrow. I'm hoping enough to do and start bowing sick. All right, Steve, love you too. You're listening.

All right, here we are on this very special Martin Luther King Day Show as we honor the great man that was Dr Martin Luther King. We say this is a day of service. Um. You know, a lot of people are doing uh community type things today, working in the community. There will be a lot of parades in the community to honor Dr Martin Luther King. Uh. We here on the Steve Harvey Morning Show are also doing something very special. As you may know, as you may have heard, our very own leader or Captain Steve Harvey, had a meeting with President elect Donald Trump on last Friday, and Steve is here too. Uh. Well, actually you called in Steve to tell us about that meeting. You've had an interesting last couple of days, to say the least, un Steve, it's been. It's been a little bit more than interesting. Uh. What I'm gonna do, Shirley, Because I've been getting so many requests for interviews, But since I at my own platform that reaches so many I decided to make my statement here on my morning show, which has been so relevant for so many years as to getting out messaging. So I'm gonna make my statement on it and it will be my final statement, and it's directed and aimed at the majority of my listening audience and people everywhere. So, uh, I'm gonna make my statement concerning my meeting with President like Donald Trump. Um. First, i want to say thank you to all the people who have reached out and shown me so much love and support. But I'm also very aware of the anger that so many people feel, and these voices will continue to be heard as they should. But I have an obligation to take a seat at the table when invited. You know, change can only happen when we sit at the table. If we sit at the table, then we can have a say soul onto what's to be eaten on the menu. If you're not at the table, you can't even refuse the menu or suggest what we should be eating. And so therefore, it was very important for me to take the meeting. Okay, all right now, Steve, let's get into it. How did this meeting come about in the first place. Well, several conversations were had prior to the meeting, but I didn't know if it was really real or not until I received an email through my TV show And uh it was an email through uh some people from the Trump side, and and it gave me an opportunity to meet the president. Let Donald Trump and President Trump did not request this meeting personally, as I understood it, but it was set up by members of his team. And I didn't even know if it would happen until I got an email from an assistant who gave me a time and a day, and and sure, I want to be clear here. Mr Trump didn't ask me for any advice or help. And people should know that. I'm assuming that the transition team thought this would be a great meeting between the two of us. And and where we met, Uh, it was a very cordial meeting. He was he was very warm, uh friendly and I'm a sleep When we talked, he was very sincere. You know. We talked about golf, we talked about favorite golf courses, we talked about the election, and it started as just a meet and greet. I'm not ignorant here, I'm pretty sure and his team is pretty smart. They know who's in that room. Uh clearly, Uh, they know what side I was on. Now, Steve, let me stop you right there and just ask you. I'm sure you had to be conflicted to some degree about the phone call about actually meeting with him. What was the determining factor, What were you trying to do? What was your goal in meeting with him? I know you mentioned something in your opening statement about a seat at the table. Why did you decide that it was important for you to meet with him? Well, I thought it was important because the only way we can heal the divide in this country is through conversation. I don't think that we will ever unify this country or begin a healing process until we talked to one another. When I listened to President Obama's final speech in Chicago, one of the things he said to stuck out of my head where he was asking people to get from behind the computers and get out and get involved. Well, I don't text and tweet, and I don't blog, but I have a microphone, so I form my standpoint being a person that I am and the person that God has made me to be. I took that and said, okay, well, let me step from behind the microphone and take a seat at the table. When invited to discuss I didn't know what it would be about exactly, but to my surprise, it turned out really, really interesting because after the beating Greek section of the conversation. To his credit, he asked me what did I want? So you're saying Donald Trump, president elect, asked you what did you want? Yeah, because I'm assuming that people who have been meeting when he wanted certain things, and so we after we exchanged all the pleasantries and everything, he asked me, well, Steve, what do you want? And that's when I took the opportunity to say that I wanted to help aid in any way I could to help improve the housing conditions in the inner cities. I was aware that he had appointed uh doctor being cautious the head of Housing and Urban Development or heard and if I could be of assistant in helping him move that initiative along, that I would be of service in that regard. And I felt that I could get the voice of the people in those communities and was my reaching these communities could possibly get some positive things done. Now here's what was amazing to me, and I have to tell you what he did while we were talking. He said that sounds great. He immediately got Dr Being Carson on the phone and he said, Steve, who wants to help with any heart initiatives? And that through because I'm sending a picing. I've never seen anybody jump into action so quickly at a at a request. You know, I'm not a politician, so quite naturally, I'm thinking it's a turn of red tape. You gotta go there. This man on the phone immediately and Dr being Carson and I talked for the first time. He talked for several minutes over the speaker. He's very receptive to me and aiding him in that area. And that was the beginning of it. But I tell you what the part was that I also had a chance to say. Was I said to the President elect, And we had some facilities provided in these inner cities, in the cities that could provide a place where young boys and girls could come for hope and vision with some type of training component to it to help curve I knew it wouldn't alleviate, but it would help curve some of the problems that's plagued in our inner cities. And I don't have all the answers, but I do know that mentoring and guidance has changed for the young people's lives. So Dr Carston and I talked briefly about Chicago as a place we talked about his hometown of Detroit. I mentioned that I was from Cleveland, and they were very receptive because they want to do something with these inner cities. And I didn't expect him to respond so quickly, but he did. And Sharon, I'm gonna tell you, when I walked away feeling that there might be a real chance for some positives to come out of what so many things is all doom and gloom. Yeah, and that's an opportunity you could not have missed. Now, let me ask you this, Steve, were you surprised? I know you mentioned at the top that there was there was a lot of love that you got, But were you surprised at the backlash from the very people you felt you were representing and trying to help with having a meeting with the president elect? On a personal note, a lot of y'all hurt me, You really did. I didn't expect the black the backlash to be sulficious, and you know, but also understand that if I'm gonna keep getting stabbed at now, I'm still Steve Harvey. So please understand. If I'm gonna keep getting stabbed at, then at least who are you stabbing me? Should understand my intent for even taking the meeting in the first place. See when I'm in there and in this, in this table, I'm sitting in these meetings with people who make policy decisions and decide what the media is. When I'm sitting at the table, it gives me an opportunity to say what we would like to have on the fire and so as far as hood going and better housing and conditions in the inner cities, See, Steve Harvey ain't got a dollar invested in rental property. I don't have any money being made in the housing industry. I've never had uh a renovated apartment or house or anything so in It ain't about me and my personal games. It's only that I care about the inner cities. I'm from the hood. I've been trying to do my part for years for boys and girls. Look, man, I don't want to have to sit here and y'all y'all know who I am, but don't going to Hey man, this Steve Harvey Hire. I've been putting in the work for years. These are not my children. I care about Charles kids. I care about these inner cities because that's where I'm from. I love kids. That's not mine. And so when I got the chance, surely I don't need housing. I got the house. You know, I got seven kids to mentor. My kids ain't in trouble. Oh, they made bad decisions because they're growing up. They're trying to get it, because they've got it and made some bad decisive But you know, I just love children who need a chance. I've been fighting to help single mothers with their boys all this time. And if I can get an opportunity to say to the man that's about to become the forty first president of the United States, who wanted to talk to me, who was cordial to me, who talked to me with respect, and actually be something instantly, why would I not take the opportunity to say some of these things? And then he responded immediately I had to give a cutter for that. All right, Steve, you know we have to take a break, So hang on, we'll get back to this. You're listening to show. Alright, we're back with Steve Harvey, the captain of our ship. Steve, let's continue. Uh, A person in your position, you know, just like any other powerful man or woman that's in a powerful position such as yours or um you know that that has a voice for millions. They're going to have to make hard decisions, tough decisions. And I'm sure you anguished about the decision a little bit, but uh, you know before and after. But I mean, you know, you do. A person does what he has to do. And in this instance, like you said, you weren't in it for yourself. You were in it for the people that you are trying to help. And you know, from my perspective, all we can do is salute you for that because you didn't make the call. They called you and they asked you, what can we what do you want? What do you you know what? Surely that's that's true. You know. Um. But I'm gonna be clear, and and everybody hearing me clear, I'm gonna continue this fight at this new level that God has placed me in it. See I've often said, and this is true, that your career is what you paid for. But you're calling is what you made for. See. I didn't ask for this. It's landed in my lap. So you know, there's a poet when I pledged, and a lot of people who pledged will understand. There's a line in Invictus that helps me so many times. Nothing helps me more than my heavenly father. But there's a line in the poem and invictors to said, my head is bloody, but unvowed. See, I still love my people, even the ones that don't understand. I'm gonna keep on fighting for you until more of us do understand that all the fights ain't in the streets. Some of these fights is in the boardroom. Some of these fights is in the vote. And that's what our president has said. It's in the vote. It's in the boardrooms. And when you consider these tables, we can't be mad forever. Okay, So what am I gonna say now, Shirley on behalf of people that I respect in love across this country. No, we don't want better housing. No we don't want no facilities. No we don't want none of that because we're mad at who president. Well, he is the forty fifth president on the twentieth. Now, we ain't got to like that, but that's what it is. But if this man was willing to talk and hear anything and then reacts so swiftly, I just have to get him to credit to that. I will. If they ever asked me to talk again, I have to do it again. I wish everybody understood, I really do, but I get it. You don't. You have to stay in the game. You have to continue to look at the big picture because that's who you are. And you know, I wish I could talk to you forever for this, but you know we have to go. You know I'm always on you about going to commercials and all of that. But um, your takeaway as we close this, this will be your final question, your takeaway and your thoughts in the future. Well, my takeaway is simple, what God is leaving me in my life. I've often not cared about the route that You've chosen to send me on. I ain't been crazy about some of the trips out of the hand to take to get to the destination. I wasn't happy with miss universe. I didn't like that, but I did ask God to increase my global presence and persona to say things that would help others. Now Here I am, and so this is where I'll stay. I thank everybody surely. I love you. I love the people, I love my listeners, I love the people I represent. I love people around the country who supported me. I love people around this world who sometimes don't get it, but it's okay. But it's okay. I'm gonna keep fighting and fighting. I love y'all, Thank you very much. All right, you're welcome, and hey, listen, happy birthday tomorrow. We'll say it again, but happy birthday. Enjoy yourself. Tomorrow we're gonna get back to the Reggord ship. I ain't gonna mission. There's no moment tomorrow. I'm hoping enough to do and start bowing sick. All right, Steve, love you too. You're listening.