The Daily Show host Trevor Noah gave Sen. Amy Klobuchar a gushing welcome Tuesday night.
"You're like a home run hitter when it comes to legislation in a town where they say nothing gets done --how do you get it done?" he asked Minnesota's senior senator.
Klobuchar said you have to believe you're there for a reason and find common --and higher--ground with people on tackling issues from opioid addiction to human trafficking. But it was her third point that drew applause from the audience.
"And then the last thing is - memo to the White House!- be civil."
"Just being nice," reiterated Noah.
"It works!"
Noah pointed out that she had been ranked as the most productive senator in the current Congress in terms of getting bills passed into law.
"Do you walk around the halls with a bit of, like, 'Yeah, that's me, that's me'?"
"I think it's a good time in politics to be humble," Klobuchar said.
Klobuchar touted one of her signature issues, the need to lower prescription drug prices, and noted that she had sponsored related legislation with GOP senators like John McCain and Chuck Grassley.
Democrats are struggling to craft a cohesive message during a time of turmoil in Republican-controlled Washington, as some members of the party want lawmakers to more forcefully push back against President Trump and others want Democrats to develop a more independent agenda that appeals to economically struggling voters.
Klobuchar said that during the last election, Democrats didn't focus enough on the economy and what mattered in people's daily lives. But she said Midwestern Democratic senators spanning Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan "are leaving no stone unturned. They're reaching out to people in their state even if they don't agree with them - that's what you have to do." Those lawmakers all represent states that went for Trump.
Klobuchar insisted that the party was united, as evidenced by its opposition to Republicans' efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act this year. The Senate legislation failed after GOP Sens. John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski bucked their party to vote against the measure with Democrats.
"Our party from Joe Manchin to Bernie Sanders stood together from the beginning to the end and that is why three courageous Republicans joined us, and if we had not stood together that would not have happened," Klobuchar said.
