Listen To National Security Adviser Susan Rice's Interview With BuzzFeed
“Can I be blunt? Yes. Can I be diplomatic? Yes. Can I concoct a mixture of vinegar and honey when the circumstances warrant? Yes.”
BuzzFeed's Another Round podcast sat down with national security adviser Susan Rice for a far-ranging interview that covered everything from Syria to her signature blue eyeliner — and you can listen to the whole thing right now.
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Listen to the full episode here. Read highlights and the full transcript below.
"Ooh, that happens. That happens. The last time was my first trip to China, as national security adviser. This was hilarious actually. The Chinese national network was reporting on my visit to China, national security adviser Susan Rice meets with President Xi Jinping, and they put up Condi's picture. They've gotten it right since. That was almost funny.
"But it does happen. And then my mom gets upset ‘cause sometimes people will say, 'Oh, you're Mrs. Rice' or 'You're Condoleezza Rice's mother' and she's like, 'No.' But in all honesty, I've known Condi for many years, and she's been very kind and generous to me. There's no dissing of her. Yes sometimes people get confused, which you know, in China, what do you expect?"
"As a mom, as a citizen, as a voter, this is not what I voted for. And I think there are a lot of reasons to be questioning what's coming next. Many of the things that were said during the campaign I think left a lot of people questioning where they'd fit in an America under Donald Trump, particularly people of color. Particularly women. And I think that doesn't go away just because I'm national security adviser.
"Having said that, my job is to work as best as I can with the people who the Trump administration has designated will come and fill behind me, and I've had constructive meetings with my designated successor, and I'm going to do my best at President Obama's direction to provide them with all the information and all the preparation that we possibly can, because our job is to make as responsible a handoff as we possibly can for the sake of the country and the American people, and I take that very very seriously. So I have to separate my personal concerns from my professional responsibilities. And I'm hopeful that the things that we are concerned about prove to be concerns that we don't need to be worried about. And that indeed where we're headed is a place that is able to sustain I think the very important progress we've made under President Obama, and that there's a clear-eyed recognition that governing is different than campaigning, and that comes with a whole different level of responsibility. And that we'll see the kind of decision-making that we think this country needs and deserves."