[Amanpour:] Welcome back to the program. It is painfully apparent the American politics is mired in extremes, whether on religion, immigration or indeed climate change, it seems many American politicians are willing to go places where few others in the world would dare to tread. But if there's a single truth of American politics, it is that money talks. One man trying to use his billions to bring what he calls common sense back to politics is Tom Steyer. In the course of just a few years, he has made himself a must-see donor for any Democrat seeking major office here in the United States. When I spoke to him earlier today from the climate summit in Paris, he told me the fight there is David versus Goliath. Tom Steyer, welcome to the program.
[Tom Steyer, Billionaire And Climate Activist:] Christiane, it is wonderful to be here.
[Amanpour:] Well, I'm sure you didn't expect me to ask this as my first question as you're there for the climate conference but you are a very heavyweight Democrat with a lot of activism and money behind causes for your party. I wonder what you make of what some may feel verges on hate speech by the leading Republican presidential candidate last night, Donald Trump, when he said "ban all Muslims" from coming to the United States.
[Steyer:] Well, I think that when people are upset and worried, that is the time when you have to make sure that you stick to your deepest values and that you represent best what America stands for. And I think that President Obama stood up and did that in his speech. And I think that for Americans, who have had the dubious pleasure of hearing Mr. Trump sound off in various ways that none of us really appreciate, we have to realize that he has a right to free speech, however much we deplore what he has to say. But in times when people are worried, the key is not to lose your head, not to go to the places that he chooses to go but, in fact, to realize that is the time when your deepest values have to come into play.
[Amanpour:] But are there limits to what people can say under the most stressful of circumstances? Is it like, for instance, shouting fire in a crowded cinema, when you say "ban all Muslims" at a time of war with ISIS?
[Steyer:] Let me say this is not the first time in this campaign when Mr. Trump's speech has denigrated entire groups of people and, in fact, tried to, you know, make them less than fully human and have less than full rights. So it's not surprising this is the continuation of a trend. But I think that actually he is somebody who's seeking a lot of attention. The more we ignore him, the more desperate he'll become.
[Amanpour:] Let's transition from that to what you're doing in Paris right now because obviously there was this terrible terrorist attack. And yet, the city, the country has received so many hundreds of world leaders, also people like yourselves, activists who want to do something for the environment. Let me ask you about the right thing economically because you divested from your fossil fuel investments. The Koch Brothers have a huge amount invested in fossil fuel energy. They're on the skeptical side, as is Donald Trump and the rest of the Republican crowd, by and large. What can you tell people about the economic benefits? Because they all say, hang on, this is going to penalize us and cut jobs and harm our economy if we do, you know, something different on climate change.
[Steyer:] Well, Christiane, you're absolutely right. The go-to move for our opponents is to claim that any progressive energy policy is a job-killing energy tax. And let me say, that's the reason I'm in Paris. I'm in Paris, along with Governor Brown, leading a delegation of California business people to show the world that that statement by our opponents is false. The fact of the matter is the places that have progressive energy legislation like California are growing faster than the United the rest of the United States of America. So we have created jobs in the last few years faster than the U.S. We've grown faster than the U.S. And our analysis is, to date and going forward, moving to progressive energy policies creates net jobs, raises people's income and lowers their energy bill so that I have not seen any justification for the other side's claim. And we have spent a ton of time and effort to make sure that what we're saying has been true to date and will continue to be true. The fact of the matter is, from our point of view, it's inevitable that we will create hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs. And the questions will be, will they be good-paying jobs and will they be distributed throughout society? And I believe that they will be.
[Amanpour:] Let me get back to politics again. You have been a supporter of Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side in the past. You've held fundraisers for her. But you haven't actually come out and endorsed here this time around. Why not? And do you think you will?
[Steyer:] Well, what we're trying to do is take advantage of the presidential election process to push candidates from every party, including Ms. Clinton, including every Democrat and every Republican, to come out with what their program and plan is to get us on a sustainable economic path. And what we've defined that as, at least to get 50 percent clean energy by 2030. So we're asking every candidate, including Ms. Clinton, to be specific because I think the time to talk about the science is over and we think the time for good intentions is over. What we want is specific plans. So right now, we're waiting to see how that turns out. We believe that every candidate is going to have to talk at length about energy. We believe that ultimately every candidate, including Republicans, is going to have to accept the science and start to talk about solutions.
[Amanpour:] And finally, as you know, around the world, people look at American politics and they gasp at the number of billions of dollars that get poured into not just presidential campaigns but just about all campaigns these days. You are, again, a very rich person who puts your money to the causes you believe in. On the other side of the aisle, as we've spoken about, the Koch Brothers do the same. Do you think, though, that the amount of money, combined with politics, has a good effect or a corrosive effect?
[Steyer:] Well, we have been consistent in saying that we believe that the Citizens United decision that unleashed corporate money into politics by the Supreme Court was a tragic mistake. And you know, we feel, in general, that this way, where people are using their money to support their self-interests, is something scary and corrosive. We're not speaking up for our personal self-interests. We're going to be as transparent as possible. I'm going to go on CNN to explain what we're trying to do or any other place that people want to hear me. And, in general, we feel that, from our point of view, our advantages are we're speaking the truth, we think the overwhelming weight of evidence is on our side and the American people are smart. And if they get a chance to hear both sides, they will come to the right conclusions. We think this is David and Goliath. We think we have a slingshot and five rocks. And we think that that's going to be what carries the day because, in the end, the truth is going to win.
[Amanpour:] You're talking about the climate now, right?
[Steyer:] I'm talking about energy and climate, yes.
[Amanpour:] Tom Steyer, on that note, thank you so much for joining us from Paris.
[Steyer:] Christiane, it's a beautiful rainy day here in Paris. Thank you very much. It's nice to hear your voice.
[Amanpour:] When we come back, we imagine standing up to bigotry and fear, words that ring true through history. That's next.