100716 TRANSCRIPT Pat McCrory Family Research Council Meeting

[18:17]
TONY PERKINS, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Governor, if you could just speak for just a moment kind of
what happened and your exchange with them here in North Carolina?
GOVERNOR PAT MCCRORY: A guy named Chad Griffin, the head of the HRC, I think hes in his late 30s,
he asked if he could come to my office and I said sure. This is after HB2 was passed. And he came to my
office, and I was with my chief of staff. He now denies this by the way. But I had two other people in the
office. He said governor, were going to make North Carolina the epicenter. I always found that to be a
unique word, the epicenter of the transgender bathroom movement for the United States of America.
And when we finish with North Carolina, were going to move to every state. Second, we are going to
bring in outside coordinators to protest this issue. Youre going to see them all over the state, from the
west to the east to the Piedmont.
[19:20]
Were bringing in 6 tomorrow and more will come. This was 9 months ago. And third, were going to
make you the face of this movement. I cant remember if I got this late or not, but he brought up, or the
name thats been brought up was George Wallace. And My chief of staff who is African American and his
mom and dad were civil rights pioneers in North Carolina. He about got up, it was getting pretty tense.
And Thomas Stith, who I just admire, hes my chief of staff, he said how dare you compare this to the
civil rights movement? And it was pretty tense, and then he pointed his finger at me and I said I dont
think you need to point your finger at the governor and he had to put his finger down. I asked him to
apologize. But this guys good, in fact when he left the room, I was thinking of the movie Anchorman. I
dont know if youve ever seen the movie Anchorman, but theres a scene in Anchorman where all the
different news groups have this big fight, all the different news teams from all the competing channels,
and they have a fight where they literally stab each other and cut each others arms off. Its kind of a
mockery. And do all these things, and they get back to the newsroom and Will Ferrell goes, you know,
that kind of escalated, didnt it?
[20:52]
And when this guy left my office, I turned to Thomas and I said, you know, I think this is going to
escalate. And everything that guy told me 9 months ago happen has happened times 20. So $32 million
dollar budget that they have. Ive done some research on this group. Theyre funded by major
corporations, including banks here in North Carolina, including Microsoft, including Apple, including
Nike, including PayPal, including Salesforce, whos the real leader in this, hes the one that went after
Pence in Indiana. Theyre good. They put these criteria on these corporations and then they turn around
and tell the corporations to fight them. And now theyre putting the pressure on universities. So when
you hear about the NCAA canceling things, there is no NCAA really, the people who run the NCAA are
the Presidents of the Universities. So the headlines dont say presidents of the universities boycott
North Carolina, it says the NCAA or the ACC. These are the presidents of our schools. And the lead guy
who did it, the chairman of the NCAA is Georgia Tech, the president, and Duke helped lead the effort
too. And the meetings are closed and private. Can you imagine the media letting us get away with that?
So they made a decision to boycott the 9th largest state in a private meeting, with no public notice and

yet the people they have are not-exempt, tax-pay supported presidents. And they see nothing wrong
with it. Its amazing, the hypocrisy.
[22:28]
So its been tough, I had one company, PayPal, that I helped recruit North Carolinas call center, 400
employees, three weeks later, they withdrew from North Carolina. Of course, theyre headquartered in
Singapore, they do business in Saudi Arabia, they do business in Russia and China. In fact, they got
caught a year ago doing business in Iran and Sudan. And then theyre lecturing me on values. So there is,
as I call it, inconsistent outrage. But they do have the media on their side and they have a lot of voters
on their side now too because the voters dont understand the issue. I think.
PERKINS: So that is the, when we look at the election here in the state right now its a very competitive
election.
[23:20]
MCCRORY: And most headlines are saying McCrory is either tied or losing because of HB2. And I suppose
if I lost, the national media will say governor, in fact the New York Times and the Washington Post were
saying today that the only reason McCrorys in a tough race is because of HB2. I happen to disagree with
that, I actually was catching grief through my whole tenure, but this is, and Tony, why dont you kind of
explain that?
PERKINS: Well Ill provide some commentary to that. Because I go back to what Chad Griffin told you in
your office because that is exactly true. We went toe-to-toe with them in Houston, Texas but they made
a strategic error in Texas. In Houston, and Rick Scarborough was there, his pasture, what they did was
they subpoenaed, the mayor issued subpoenas for the sermons of these pastors because they preached
against her bill. And that lit a firestorm. In 13 days we gathered those pastors and about 7,000 people at
Grace Church there in Houston and broadcast it across the nation. Into about a million, with a million
viewers on aSunday night two days before the midterm election. And it literally moved the needle on
the midterm election. So they realized that when they went toe-to-toe with the church, it was a
strategic error.
MCCRORY: And theyve left the church out.
PERKINS: They have. And the church here has been relatively silent. Im not saying completely silent
although youve not been directly attacked. But what has to happen is an understanding of what will
unfold. What will unfold from here, is that they are using this as a launchpad to the rest of the nation. If
they can take the governor out over this issue, I can just tell you, Ive talked to a number of governors,
Ive been talking to about 3 or 4 of them just this week. And, theres so few governors, I can count them
on one hand, that will stand like this man has stood in defense of sanity, safety and security.
[25:30]
[Loud ovation]
MCCRORY: You actually need to stand for my wife, because shes the one taking theand I will say this.
And I really appreciate that standing ovation, that means a lot to me. But theres an Orwellian concept

going on here, where whats happening to me and my wife, and they plan to do this with other
governors. Theyre doing this to the business community. Is theyre purging any dissent on this issue. Its
almost like the George Orwell book 1984, where if you disagree with big brother, or you go against the
thought police, if you remember that book, you will be purged and you will disappear. And Ill just tell
you whats happening to me. And Im not known as an ultra-conservative guy.
PERKINS: You are now.
[26:40]
MCCRORY: I am now. But people always say Im moderate. The only reason they say that is because I
was a big light rail advocate. Ive always been rather conservative on social issues.
PERKINS: Do you wear socks?
MCCRORY: Im not Richard Burr. But the point Im making, is they purge you. And by the way, its very
similar to being purged for your faith. You know, youre afraid to bring up your faith often. Im a very
strong Christian, I have a bible study and class at my, every Wednesday morning, which I dont talk
about, thats private, because I dont allow politics to even be brought up in my Bible study. Because I
want to be treated normally. And when they do a special prayer for me, Im going no, I want a special
prayer for each individual in my Bible study. Theyre dealing with their own problems; they just dont
read about it in the newspaper. Thats the big difference. But they purge you. And my wife, for example,
in Charlotte, she primarily stays in Charlotte. Shes been disinvited to charity events, and basically, they
call her up and they say, you know, you better not come. You better not come.
[27:44] You know Ill have a respectful disagreement with Chad Griffin, or whoever, or the head of Bank
of America now, or some other companies that just this week told me they cannot support me, although
youve been an outstanding governor, we still cannot support you because HRC will attack us. And Ive
had at least 5 this week tell me that. At least 5. Good friends. Very good friends. Pat I love you, I love you
man, well be friends for life, I cant support you. By the way, Im trying not to be hypocritical, Im trying
not to say I wont be friends with you because thats what the other side does. Theyll shun you. And Im
fighting the temptation not to do what the critics done. And Im still fighting it by the way, because deep
down I hang up the phone and I go that, mmph. It aint good what I say by the way.
[28:35] And my wife and I have gotten [inaudible], at times, because were being shunned for a political
disagreement, a value disagreement. And Ill listen to the other side when they tell me, and I say I
respectfully disagree with you, they do not say that to me. I wave to them with 5 fingers and they wave
back with the one. And its personal, its death threats. Last week I was verbally assaulted by a 21-yearold drunk student. And she was arrested. And those are tough. Everyone says, gosh you must have thick
skin. I dont have thick skin, I just hide it. [Inaudible] the concept of thick skin. It gets to me, I just hide it
until I go home and sit in a room or walk a dog and I go wow, this is depressing. So I need to let you
know its not easy.
[29:36] And I will say this to you, I really appreciate your standing ovation. And I appreciate so many
people in North Carolina who come up to me and say [in a stage whisper] Pat, Im praying for you and
Im with you. If you just stick right in there, I appreciate it. And they always go behind my back. [end
stage whisper] And Im tired of that. Im tired of being whispered to about the support, because its as
though they dont want anyone else to hear theyre supporting me, or supporting this issue. The silent

majority has got to quit being silent and speak up. [Applause] You have 4 weeks to do it. And Tony what
happens when the silent majority, if it is, I dont know if there is a silent majority. The surveys arent
showing that by the way. The surveys are showing you are the minority. Thats what the surveys are
showing. Right now. But what Im saying is the people who are undecided on this and other issues, they
are starting to listen to the people who speak the loudest. And in parties, going yeah, leave them alone,
theyre right. Leave it alone, stay away from it. McCrorys wrong on that. Because all theyre hearing
from are the critics, while the silent majority is going [whisper] were with you. [end whisper] And if the
people who are unsure about this issue only hear from those who speak loudest, theyll assume thats
the right answer. Right?
[31:25] And thats whats happening in the nation and in North Carolina right now. Youre being purged
because of your silence. The people who are speaking up are being purged and Im seeing it every
day. And even some people that initiated this, which wasnt me, they have now turned silent because
theyre losing financial funds. They cant raise money, because of this issue. So they dont even bring it
up anymore. And so the purging is out there, the purging of norms, the purging of money, the purging of
being embarrassed, the purging of being called a bigot. Which is an insult to me, because Im the
farthest thing from a bigot. I love everyone, and Im going to treat everyone equally. Im going to treat
people who are transgender. Im going to hug them and say I love them. But I dont disagree, I dont
agree with the concept of redefining gender. That is a major societal change. [Applause] And it just cant
be passed off as a political battle. Even the 21 states that are suing with this. By the way, the Obama
Administration has since stepped in, most people dont realize this, HB2 is irrelevant. The Obama
Administration, through 2 letters through Title VII and Title IX, have actually told every business in the
United States of America that they have to recognize gender identity, regarding restrooms, locker
rooms, and changing rooms. Thats their letter and its stayed right now by the Supreme Court, and no
one knows about it. And they have also done this to universities, that all universities must recognize
gender identity in locker rooms and so forth, or youll lose your Title IX funding. And no one knows it.
Ive said it over and over again and the media doesnt want to hear it. So thats going to the Courts. But
even the 21 states that are suing, theyre kind of being quiet about it, because they dont want boycotts
like North Carolina. Does that make sense? I mean politically, theyre going [stage whisper] Man Im
with you, Im with you. [end whisper] So you have 5 weeks, or 4 and a half weeks to speak out in North
Carolina, and let your congregations and your businesses, and everyone else know, are there people
behind this issue or not, and were going to find out. And what do you think the ramifications are?
[33:55]
PERKINS: Well this is a game-changer if North Carolinaand let me just say about Houston. Because we
were very much involved with that. In the polling it was behind all the way to the end. So when it ended
up 61% of the people in Houston voted overwhelmingly to reject the mayors policy that surprised a lot
of people. Because there is a reticence to speak out because of the attacks that come. But heres whats
important as the governor said. In the next 30 days that you are as culture impacting leaders, as
influencers in your church, you are here because youre influencers. Influencers in the community. That
you not shrink back. That you not grow silent. But that you speak out with clarity on this issue. Because
what happens here in North Carolina, one of two things is going to happen. You will prevail, the
governor and the leadership that made this commonsense law the policy of the state, will prevail. And
these businesses are no longer going to listen as they did in this election, to the Human Rights
Campaign. And so other governors, other state leaders across the country will then be emboldened to
push back. But if they lose

MCCRORY:Its done.
PERKINS:Then they are going to roll across this country. And push this agenda everywhere. I already
know it. I mean Ive talked to some of these state leaders. They dont want what happened in North
Carolina. And unfortunately a lot of politicians, not all, but a number of them, re-election is, not
accomplishing anything, but re-election is a priority. And so anything that impedes the re-election is
going to get their attention. And thats why, Im going to tell you, I admire Governor McCrory for the
stand that he has taken, and he has not backed down. And I can tell you that there are a number of
governors that have. And he has stood strong. So please, please, help America and stand with this man
and his team and get others to stand with him and vote for him.
[36:02]
MCCRORY: And my opponent just to let you know is Roy Cooper. He only uses the word discrimination.
And its you know, McCrory supports HB2 which is a discriminating bill, it cost jobs, it insults North
Carolina, it embarrasses North Carolina. I already know at the debate were going to have Tuesday,
how embarrassing, in fact hes running a commercial right now saying, Im not going to talk about the
social issues. Im going to talk about teacher pay and jobs and so forth. But he talks about social issues
every night. This social issue. In his speeches he brings up HB2 5 times in 30 minutes and then hes
running commercials saying Im not going to talk about social issues. So youre going to have to be
direct in informing people about this. Because theyre confusing everybody. Everyone, look how long its
taken me to explain it. [36:56] Because the News & Observer, and McClatchy, and WRAL, New York
Times and Washington Post have headlines on this issue. I just pulled it up, tomorrows newspaper will
be headlines about me. Governor McCrory may lose the governorship because of HB2. Thats the
headline, New York Times. So there are going to be articles every day. Every day there will be a new
company, or a baseball team, or whatever, not coming to North Carolina, up until election day. They
want this to be a story about jobs. By the way, North Carolina has a $525 billion dollar economy, you
could say this has cost, to the economy, $300 million, thats .001%, by the way, thats nothing to sneeze
at, but theres no perspective given. So people are starting to think that this is costing jobs. Theyre
making this a jobs issue. Does that make sense?