Donald Trump is going to Pittsburgh over the objections of those grieving their families and friends. And sending the army to the border to protect a nation of 320 million immigrants from being “invaded” by a few hundred families trying to escape cruelty and violence. Neither action makes any sense except in terms of creating more cruelty and violence.
On Monday evening, Donald Trump sat down for this latest in a long line of Fox News interviews, this time with host Laura Ingraham. Ingraham did ask Trump about going to Pittsburgh, and Trump responded that he was going to visit the the police officers and others wounded during the shooting “So I look forward to going.” This being Fox News, there have absolutely zero mention of how family members and community leaders had asked that Trump not come.
Throughout the interview, Trump seemed unprepared and scattered. Even by Trump standards. The single point that Trump was pushing was simply “Donald Trump is not responsible.” Unless it’s a good thing. In which case it’s all Trump. But even that theme could only be picked out of the weeds with some heavy lifting on the part of Ingraham. For example, asked about toning up his rhetoric and accusations that he ‘could do more’ to elevate the political discussion, Trump cranked out this response.
Trump: Well you know, I did a rally and I said, in fact, I was thinking about canceling it; I also did the Young Farmers and it was great doing that and then I had a rally afterwards and then I said, you know, you make them too important if you start canceling. I remember Dick Grasso wanted to get the stock exchange opened as soon as possible; he did a great job and other things.
Trump held rallies in the wake of hurricanes striking the coast, including holding a rally as a Category 4 storm was just in the process of coming ashore. He held a rally during the national mourning for John McCain. Yes, he went right on with a rallies following mass gun murders. No matter what is happening, Trump holds a rally — because what are human lives next to people getting the opportunity to praise Trump? And those Trump supporters … they need to be fed.
Trump: So you're doing a rally and rallies are meant to be fun. Rallies are meant to be everything and I said, "Tone it done," and then you saw the group saying, "No, don't tone it down, don't tone it down." So we had a great rally in Illinois, for some great people and frankly, I think that's probably the way it should be.
Great people. You might even say very fine people. People who want their 90 minutes of hate, no matter how much the daily news has already delivered.
The rambling stock market bit at the end of that statement is based after a story that Trump invented whole cloth on Saturday, when he claimed that stock market chair Richard Grasso “opened the market the next day” to show those terrorists they couldn’t slow down America. Except that’s a lie. Following 9/11, the Stock Market took it’s longest pause since 1933. It didn’t open again until September 17, and when it opened it set a record for single day decline. That doesn’t make such a great story, but then there’s really no danger that Donald Trump would ever tell that story, because it’s the truth. And Trump doesn’t come near the truth.
Ingraham does her best to pull Trump away from claims of Antisemitism by bringing up his Jewish Son-in-law. Trump responds by claiming to have made Jerusalem the capital of Israel, and to have received an award from “the State of International” proving he’s not Antisemitic. And the reason the people were shot in Pittsburgh is because Donald Trump was too close to Israel. So there.
Ingraham went next to Trump’s description that the free press is the “enemy of the people.” But, being Laura Ingraham, she couldn’t actually ask it without teeing Trump up.
Ingraham: Many at CNN, but not just CNN. There was a woman who was on CNN a short while ago saying that you have radicalized more people than ISIS -- that was CNN today.
Trump: Well, that's must be some kind of a sick woman. When I say "the enemy of the people" I'm talking about the fake news and you know it better than anybody. You have news out there that is so fake and I can do the greatest thing ever, North Korea, as an example -- we would have been going to war -- normal would have been going to war with North Korea.
The most instructive things out of this byplay is that Ingraham sets Trump up with a softball, built on a statement she claims was made by an anonymous woman, whose appearance on CNN, is completely shorn of context. The woman in this case was not a CNN host, but a GQ columnist who was being interviewed on CNN. But then, Ingraham certainly wouldn’t be concerned about Fox taking credit for everything that anyone says on their air.
And given all that set up, the best that Trump can come up with … is a lie. The United States was not on the brink of going to war with North Korea. And North Korea represents a greater threat now than it did when Trump took office.
Just to reinforce how simply insane the entire interview was …
Trump: I think President Obama would have gone to war very -- if he had an extra year he would be in right now a war with North Korea -- he told me it was by far, and I'm not knocking him for this, he said it's by far his biggest problem. Look at what we've done. And yet, when they talk about North Korea, they say, what's taking so well?
Yes, Donald Trump. What is taking so well? Trump then spends the next ten minutes, despite every effort of Ingraham to give him a different softball, explaining how he halted Obama’s nuclear war.
Trump goes on to explain how Ronald Reagan would have insulted people if he had social media. How these rallies he never stops having are the greatest thing ever. And the greatest thing. Like ever. Ever. He spends a lot of time and detail on the rallies.
With a crowbar and several swift kicks, Ingraham gets Trump off the rally discussion and back to attacking other media outlets — which is the primary assignment on any Fox interview.
Trump: I was in the headline of the Washington Post, my name associated with this crazy bomber. Trump bomber or something. But I was in the headline… when they got him. They didn't say -- bomber found -- they talked about Trump in the headline. Now they didn't do that with Bernie Sanders when he had -- they didn't do that with the Democrats when other people came at -- they didn't do that with President Obama with the church, the horrible situation with the church -- they didn't do that. They put my name in the headlines. It's -- when I say "enemy of the people" I'm talking about the fake news and it is fake.
The headline at the Washington Post Trump referred to was likely from a smaller article titled: “‘He felt that somebody was finally talking to him’: How the package-bomb suspect found inspiration in Trump.” Which interviewed the people who knew the bomber.
And the business of Bernie Sanders not getting mentioned during the playground shooting is simply bullshit. Many, many articles and stories — including on Fox — led with the fact that the shooter said he had supported Sanders. Donald Trump didn’t dig that out of an FBI file. He got it from the media.
But it’s really the third part of Trump’s statement that generates maximum WTF. The “They didn’t do that with President Obama with the church, the horrible situation with the church.” Because … was Barack Obama, someone who actually attended church, as Donald Trump does not, supposed to take the blame for a shooting at a church? What church? When? Ingraham, of course, does not press this point.
Trump immediately returns to … talking about the rallies. And complaining about the lack of coverage of how great the rallies are. Requiring Ingraham to put on work gloves and pull him back to another topic, getting Trump to continue his attacks on Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for Florida Governor. Causing Trump to pull out his new go-to line.
Trump: But Florida can't have -- if Florida has a governor like that -- and I know Florida better than I know practically anywhere -- Florida will become Venezuela.
After another side trip to rallies, Ingraham dangles the reddest meat available, luring Trump from his reverie with President Obama.
Ingraham shows a clip in which Obama rightly characterizes the caravan as nothing that should be generating concern.
Obama: They're trying to convince everybody to be afraid of a bunch of impoverished, malnourished refugees a thousand miles away -- that's the thing, it's the most important in this election? Not healthcare? Not whether the folks are able to retire," etc., etc., "rebuilding our roads, bridges, putting people back work?" We're scare-mongering people on the border.
And, as so often in this interview, Trump’s response seems straight from the bottom of a cereal bowl that’s been under warm milk for way too long.
Trump: Well, he's trying to do the opposite. It's the problem with our country -- when you look at that caravan and you look that caravan and look at largely, very, you know, big percentage of men, young, strong -- a lot of bad people, a lot of bad people in there. People that are in gangs -- we don't want them in this country.
Trump provides zero evidence for these claims, which completely contradict the reporting of those on the ground who have actually walked with and interviewed members of the caravan. However, Trump, and Ingraham, are just getting warmed up on this topic.
Trump: We have a very strong border. I called up the military. This caravan is not -- they're wasting their time. They are not coming into the country.
Neither Trump nor Ingraham seems to notice that this statement completely contradicts all the claims about the border that Trump has been making, and continues to make, at his rallies.
Ingraham: What's the military going to be able to do? Obama and Bush both sent the National Guard; it's had no effect.
It’s worth noting that both Obama and Bush sent the National Guard to do things that involved assisting on the border, not pointing their guns at potential immigrants. Don’t get too distracted by that. Because here is Trump’s response.
Trump: But they're not me.
Meaning … the army wouldn’t obey President Obama? Or that Trump is willing to fire on children? Or that the sheer mass of his ego will destroy everything along the border like the monster from Forbidden Planet?
Trump: This is the -- I'm sending up the military. This is the military.
This is … definitely something.