The continuing shit-show that is the Trump regime got more exposure today because Lord Dampnut and his ego believe that he can control an interview. In this latest bout, it’s with Lesley Stahl of CBS’s 60 Minutes. More interesting will be whether he’ll claim that this interview was “fudged” like his most recent claim about the 2017 Lester Holt NBC interview which revealed his Russian reason for firing James Comey.
We have to look for more cues in such situations because they function less like the free-associating speech-shtick he does in rallies, and might actually reveal something greater than the sum of his massive lying. It is like wading through a swamp of falsehoods that he’s repeated so many times, he believes his whoppers are true.
Kossack AKALib already posted a story about the 60 Minutes interview of Agent Orange by Lesley Stahl, but there’s one response that seemed interesting:
One Trump response did stand out: “But I rely on them” in reference to Russians
President Donald Trump: I think I'm very tough with him personally. I had a meeting with him. The two of us. It was a very tough meeting and it was a very good meeting.
Lesley Stahl: Do you agree that Vladimir Putin is involved in assassinations? In poisonings?
President Donald Trump: Probably he is, yeah. Probably. I mean, I don't--
Lesley Stahl: Probably?
President Donald Trump: But I rely on them, it's not in our country.
Lesley Stahl: Why not-- they shouldn't do it. This is a terrible thing.
President Donald Trump: Of course they shouldn't do it-
Lesley Stahl: Instead do you believe--
President Donald Trump: That's your (UNINTEL)—
www.cbsnews.com/...
(video) www.cbsnews.com/...
Of course it doesn’t mean collusion because Trump does lie on average 4.7 times a day. But Stahl tried to pin him down several times, only to be exasperated by filibustering.
Lesley Stahl: Will you. Will you pledge-- pledge that you will not shut down the Mueller investigation?
President Donald Trump: Well, I-- I don't pledge anything. But I will tell you, I have no intention of doing that. I think it's a very unfair investigation because there was no collusion of any kind.
Lesley Stahl: But you won't pledge--
President Donald Trump: There is no collusion. I don't wanna pledge. Why should I pledge to you? If I pledge, I'll pledge. I don't have to pledge to you. But I have-
Lesley Stahl: Well--
President Donald Trump: I have no intention of doing that.
To date, 32 people have been charged or pled guilty in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. President Trump's campaign chairman, top campaign aide, former national security advisor and longtime personal attorney are all cooperating in the inquiry the president calls a witch hunt.
President Donald Trump: Do you really think I'd call Russia to help me with an election? Give me a break. They wouldn't be able to help me at all. Call Russia. It's so ridiculous.
www.cbsnews.com/...
And the Toronto Star’s Daniel Dale does his thing with the concurrent analysis in a tweet thread on the Stahl interview.
- Trump on Khashoggi and the Saudis: "As of this moment, they deny it. And deny it vehemently. Could it be them? Yes." Unlike with Russia, though, he doesn't suggest he believes them completely; he adds, "Could it be them? Yes," and he promises "severe punishment."
- Trump repeats his lie that Obama was "going to war" with North Korea. Stahl asks, "We were going to war?" Trump says, "I think it was going to end up in war." He then complains that the media didn't inform people of his fake information: "You don't hear that."
- Not that this was especially enlightening, but it's wild that this is the first time Trump has been pressed about his ludicrous beliefs about climate change.
- Stahl reads Trump Kim Jong Un's awfulness resume. Trump says that he knows these things, since he is "not a baby." Asked why he said he "fell in love" with such a bad guy, Trump says that this was just a "figure of speech."
- When Stahl keeps pressing Trump about saying he fell in love with a bad dictator, Trump says, "Let it be whatever it is. I get along with him really well. I have a good energy with him. I have a good chemistry with him."
- Trump repeats his usual lie about Chinese stock markets being down "32%" in recent months. He says that that "is 1929."
- Trump rails against the EU.
- Stahl: "Are you willing to disrupt the Western Alliance? It’s been going for 70 years. It’s kept the peace for 70 years.
- Trump: "You don’t know that. You don’t know that."
- Trump repeats his usual lies that the EU was formed to take advantage of America and that the US has a $500 billion trade deficit with China.
- Trump concedes that Putin is "probably" involved in assassinations and poisonings, but he says, "I rely on them, it's not in our country."
- Trump concedes that Russia meddled in the election, but he adds, "I think China meddled too." He provides no evidence.
- Asked if he'll pledge he won't shut down the Mueller investigation, Trump says, "I don't pledge anything. But I will tell you, I have no intention of doing that."
- When Stahl asked Trump if it's true Mattis said the reason for NATO and western alliances is to prevent WWIII and keep the peace, Trump said, "It's not true." Asked what's not true, he said, "I like General Mattis. I think I know more about it than he does."
- Asked if there's anything he wishes he hasn't said or done, or anything he otherwise regrets, Trump says, "I regret that the press treats me so badly."
- Pressed on what his mistakes are, Trump says, "I could have been earlier with terminating the NAFTA deal." (This is confusing because he is also boasting of how well he handled the NAFTA negotiation, which did not involve him terminating NAFTA.)
- Trump speaks favourably of the family separation policy: "When you allow the parents to stay together, okay, when you allow that, then what happens is people are going to pour into our country." He says he's looking at re-implementing it, among other possibilities.
- Trump lies that Obama had the same family separation policy. This goes uncorrected. (Stahl is challenging him much more than most other interviews on various things, but not on his false claims.)
- Asked what the biggest surprise has been, Trump says, "They're babies, the political people. This is the most deceptive, vicious world. It is vicious. It's full of lies, deceit and deception."
-
Trump is accusing Stahl of bias over family separation: "When I say Obama did it, you don't want to talk about it." Obama did not have the same policy. In other words, he's accusing her of bias for not simply embracing his dishonesty.
- Asked about polarization, Trump says, "I think the economy's bringing people together. It was very polarized under President Obama, unbelievably polarized under President Obama. I can see the country uniting." He then criticizes Democrats for behaving "horribly" re Kavanaugh.
- Trump on why he bashes Democrats rather than trying to heal the country's wounds: "I don't think they want to be healed. I do want to heal."
- "I didn't really make fun of her," Trump says of his making fun of Christine Blasey Ford. He lies that she didn't know the year of the alleged incident.
- Told that it seems like he's calling Blasey Ford a liar, Trump says, "I'm not going to get into it because we won. It doesn't matter. We won."
- Told that there are reports of White House chaos, Trump says, "It's so false. It's fake news. I'm changing things around. And I'm entitled to. I have people now on standby that will be phenomenal."
- Asked if he's worried that people are wearing wires into meetings and such, Trump says not really a "wire," but that he's "guarded": "I'm not saying I trust everybody in the White House. I'm not a baby." That was a two-"baby," two-"babies" interview.
- Asked about Mattis maybe leaving, Trump says, "It could be that he is. I think he's sort of a Democrat, if you want to know the truth. But General Mattis is a good guy."
- New tidbits in that interview: updated musings on climate change; claim he knows more than four-star Mattis about the military value of allies; new dismissal of Putin assassinations ("not in our country"); claim it was just a "figure of speech" when he said he loves Kim Jong Un.
Personal favourite part: Stahl asking Trump to identify the unnamed "they" to which he was attributing his beliefs, which he could not do. This is so easy in an interview - just pause and ask for specifics - but it's almost never done with Trump.
Also interesting - Stahl pushing back mildly on Trump's nonsense that Obama was close to war with North Korea, Trump amending to "*I think* it was going to end up in war." On the rare occasions he's challenged even a little on lies, he often retreats fast.
This bit of kitsch hangs in the White House:
As you can see, the painting depicts Trump laughing alongside a slew of former Republican presidents. Trump seems to be enjoying his favorite Coke, while Abraham Lincoln has a glass of water, a beverage chronologically suited to his mid-1800s presidency. Ulysses S. Grant, Calvin Coolidge, and even the not-so-popular Herbert Hoover are lurking in the background, as is a mysterious female figure.
These artistic choices are all the work of the seemingly bipartisan Andy Thomas, who has also depicted Democratic presidents playing poker. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) gave this painting to Trump, and the president called the artist to seemingly compliment the work, saying "he'd seen a lot of paintings of himself and he rarely liked them," Thomas told The Daily Beast.
theweek.com/...