Bill and Melinda Gates call for innovation, rebuke nationalism

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Bill Gates, one of the world's richest people, praised the record number of women running for office as "fantastic" and, in a rare television interview, said he "certainly disagreed" with the Trump administration's proposed reduction in foreign aid and President Donald Trump's nationalistic viewpoint.

The on-camera conversation with Hearst Television's National Investigative Unit, conducted in a New York City hotel room Tuesday, coincided with the release of an 18-page public letter from Gates and his wife Melinda, an annual tradition now in its 11th year.

In the letter, the couple, who have dedicated themselves to philanthropy donating more than $10 billion to charitable causes around the world, call for expanded use of cutting-edge science and evolving digital technology to improve health, education and opportunity.

The message is titled, "Things We Didn't See Coming." It's dedicated to Paul Allen, who, along with a young Bill Gates, founded Microsoft, a one-time nascent software company that ended up becoming a technology behemoth and helped revolutionize personal computing around the world.

The 2019 letter from Bill and Melinda Gates spotlights nine areas that they describe as worrisome, inspiring, and which "are prodding us to action."

Recalling the moment during last week's State of the Union address when dozens of freshmen congresswomen dressed in white rose and cheered when President Trump saluted the increased presence of women in the workforce, Gates said, "I think it's fantastic that more women are coming into politics."

"Democracy is supposed to be self-correcting, so if it gets too far one direction, then it's supposed to come back."

In one portion of the letter, the Gates' counter President Trump's nationalism ideology by writing, "We consider global engagement our patriotic duty … There is nothing about putting your country first that requires turning your back on the rest of the world. If anything, the opposite is true."

When asked whether that section was a direct rebuke of the president, Gates replied, "Well, we certainly disagree with the president's recommendation that foreign aid be cut substantially ... Having stability in Africa so they're not involved in wars there and there's not huge migration, having decent health systems so they can catch epidemic before they spread and get to the entire world, there are benefits."

A White House official, responding to Gates’s comments in the interview, told the National Investigative Unit, “President Trump’s policies are building a safer and stronger America. He has ushered in record job gains, economic growth, and fair and reciprocal trade that benefits all Americans while also restoring the Nation’s standing in the world by putting America first and achieving peace through strength.”

In the annual letter, the couple also called for near-zero emissions to slow climate change, urged the use of DNA tests to help prevent premature birth, want to speed up innovation in digital learning tools, and encouraged learning about processing anger from teenage boys.

The annual message is "designed for us to really sit back and reflect and then share the things we get to see that we think other people might benefit from or just find fascinating," Gates said in the 15-minute interview.

Read the Gates' letter in full, here.

Gates’s wealth comes from co-founding Microsoft, which is now part of a debate about technology companies and data privacy. The increased scrutiny was sparked, in part, by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who recently called on Congress to pass stronger laws regulating the data those companies possess.

“There definitely will be legislation,” Gates predicted. When asked whether he felt such legislation was needed, Gates responded, “Oh, certainly.”

Gates has used his platform -- and the foundation he runs with his wife -- to focus on issues he’s passionate about, as have fellow billionaires Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- both of whom are considering presidential runs in 2020.

Asked by a reporter whether he had any designs on the presidency himself, Gates answered without hesitation. “Not at all. I love my job at the Foundation, working with my wife, Melinda,” Gates explained, having previously described philanthropy as his “second career.”

“This is the work I’m going to do the rest of my life… I’m getting to learn, I get to see the impact of these things,” he said. “It’s amazing to have that opportunity and get to do it with my wife.”

To hear the full, uncut interview, check out the video below:

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