Acting like a fangirl during a fawning interview with liberal Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff aired during Tuesday’s 9 a.m. ET hour, MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle praised the prominent Hillary Clinton backer for using his position in business to push left-wing social justice issues and urged him to condemn the “void of trust” in the Trump administration.
Ruhle touted the sit-down with Benioff as her way of celebrating Equal Pay Day: “Today is Equal Pay Day, so to honor it, I sat down with Marc Benioff, a leader, the CEO of the cloud computing company Salesforce. But his company isn’t just about computers, it's making headlines by spending three million bucks in 2015, and again now, to bring salaries of all female employees up to the level of their male counterparts.”
The activist anchor worried: “Marc, we are here because it is Equal Pay Day. But equality is not just about compensation, it's about rights. It’s about human rights. When people are potentially losing health care, when we've got immigration issues, it doesn't feel like we’re moving forward.”
Benioff proclaimed: “Well, I think that, for each person, we have to decide what we want to do individually to create equality....for us, education is equality, accessibility is equality. But tonight, equality is equal pay for equal work.”
Ruhle of course avoided the fact that the gender pay gap is a myth that has been repeatedly debunked by multiple sources.
She cheered President Obama for demanding that companies disclose their compensation for all employees so the government could enforce its version of “pay equality,” but fretted: “That's not happening now. Are we at risk of losing those things? Can you push those agendas forward with the current administration?”
Benioff seized the chance to promote the issue:
Well, I think that you have to look at what the World Economic Forum has said, which is it will take more than a hundred years, based on current pay practices, for men and women to be paid the same. That just is unacceptable to me. It’s just too long. And that’s why I think we have to put up a flag and say, look, you can do this. It’s as easy as pushing a button and saying that you are going to pay men and women the same.
Ruhle noted his efforts to work with the new administration on job creation. However, she then wondered how that was even possible given the Trump White House’s opposition to liberal orthodoxy:
And while we’re working with an administration that might be denying climate change, it doesn’t want to invest in research, wants to de-fund N.I.H., how does that work?...Do you believe that the White House is on the same page? You’ve told me before that trust and thoughtfulness are so important for great leadership today. And we are living in an administration where it seems like there’s a void of trust.
In June of 2016, Benioff appeared on CBS This Morning and was treated to adulation from the hosts, who applauded his liberal activism and recent effort to bully the state of North Carolina over its transgender bathroom bill.
Here is a full transcript of Ruhle’s April 4 interview with Benioff:
9:52 AM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Today is Equal Pay Day, so to honor it, I sat down with Marc Benioff, a leader, the CEO of the cloud computing company Salesforce. But his company isn’t just about computers, it's making headlines by spending three million bucks in 2015, and again now, to bring salaries of all female employees up to the level of their male counterparts.
Marc, we are here because it is Equal Pay Day. But equality is not just about compensation, it's about rights. It’s about human rights. When people are potentially losing health care, when we've got immigration issues, it doesn't feel like we’re moving forward.
MARC BENIOFF [SALESFORCE CHAIRMAN & CEO]: Well, I think that, for each person, we have to decide what we want to do individually to create equality. And for Salesforce, you know, of course, equality means many different things. You know that, for us, education is equality, accessibility is equality. But tonight, equality is equal pay for equal work.
RUHLE: You worked with President Obama. And last year, around January, you were applauding Obama's efforts where he said, “I want all large companies to show me, disclose the compensation. Let us break it down between gender and race.” That's not happening now. Are we at risk of losing those things? Can you push those agendas forward with the current administration?
BENIOFF: Well, I think that you have to look at what the World Economic Forum has said, which is it will take more than a hundred years, based on current pay practices, for men and women to be paid the same. That just is unacceptable to me. It’s just too long. And that’s why I think we have to put up a flag and say, look, you can do this. It’s as easy as pushing a button and saying that you are going to pay men and women the same.
RUHLE: When you went to the White House, I know you were talking about this five million apprentice moonshot. You’d love to see that in five years, five million apprentice jobs in America. And when you left the White House, President Trump’s daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, said she’s excited to work on this initiative with you. Is that concrete? Are you working on this program with the White House?
BENIOFF: Well, I love specific, actionable things, that's why I love tonight with equal pay, it's something I can do. I love the idea of a five million apprenticeship moonshot because it's something actionable that we can do. We can put five million people to work in this country who need to be retrained and reeducated and reinvigorated through an apprenticeship program.
RUHLE: The White House seemed excited about the idea, but have they made a commitment to it?
BENIOFF: Well, that’s up to them. I mean, I brought what I could. And I’m doing what I can.
RUHLE: You’re also going to be part, not officially, but maybe going to advise the White House, work with Jared Kushner, on innovation, something you know well. And while we’re working with an administration that might be denying climate change, it doesn’t want to invest in research, wants to de-fund N.I.H., how does that work?
BENIOFF: Well, you can’t move this country forward without basic research and we have to aggressively fund the N.I.H. We cannot tolerate a cut in N.I.H. funding. That's craziness.
RUHLE: Do you believe that the White House is on the same page? You’ve told me before that trust and thoughtfulness are so important for great leadership today. And we are living in an administration where it seems like there’s a void of trust.
BENIOFF: Well, obviously I’m not going to, you know, agree with everything in the White house. And I certainly didn’t agree with everything in the last two White Houses that I worked with. But I am going to try to do what I can, and I think that everybody has to try to do what they can. That's, I think, all you can do.
RUHLE: I think that guy, Marc Benioff, he could end up with a big political job one day.
