Donald Trump has given Recep Erdoğan the green light to attack America’s Kurdish allies in Syria. He’s also called on China to look into that Hunter Biden guy. And for good measure, he’s called Mitt Romney a “pompous ass.” All this as additional whistleblowers emerge to make his life more difficult. The COMMENTARY podcast gang, temporarily without Noah Rothman, tries to figure out what’s behind the latest Trump decisions and what effect they’ll have on the president’s fortunes.
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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in Washington, Senor Writer, Christine rose and high Christine's hygiene. No Rossman is off this week. Producing is, are publishing, associate multi back,
welcome monkey anyway, so we got a lot of stuff going on and it's all very chaotic, more moves toward the impeachment and more more of foreign,
Cars from the train station delays spring was totally unexpected announcement Sunday night last night,
At that we were pulling away from the turkish syrian border, where we have essentially tripwire forces that are that were protecting Kurds from the Turks in a semi autonomous region
of Syria, where the Kurds have serve a free run. Kurds been a significant factor in our fight against ISIS and death.
And against the syrian regime, and that we are basically abandoning the Kurds to whatever the Turks might want want to do. A trump is framing this as a as an attack on Europe, claiming that the Europeans
repatriate their citizens, who went and fought for ISIS and expect us to imprison them and we're not going to be taking Europe scrap anymore, and
the end of it- and this is an extraordinary, really strange event and basically seems either to be intended as a way of distracting
Buddy from the impeachment story, or is Trump attempting to create a plot line for twenty slash, twenty, where he ended a foolish, an ill advised policy of perpetual war in Syria,
because we've already defeated ISIS family we've defeated ISIS, so we don't need to fight anymore and the fact that we have kurdish allies with their allies in the fight in the war on terror. Now for almost two decades, while the Turks
Blocked are tried to block us from doing what we had to say. We needed to do in Iraq and are
you now have become a centrally an adversary of pleasant adversary. The United States.
I know salvo, auto. Member of NATO.
Entirely shocking that we wouldn't go to war.
Not saying we should go, I'm not saying we should go to war with anybody, but the notion that we would
that we want a centrally except Turkey's that goodwill promises
if you made if they made any of everyone made any to trump about, not not massacring the cards, we don't know
no it's a horror, show it to the end that I think Trump will framed this as
evidence of Jesus getting us out of another.
Forever, ever war he's already tweeted out all caps tweet saying the United States will
only go to war only fight when it benefits us directly
will fight to win
of course, as is always the case with these things, it's remarkably short sighted, even in terms of America's best interests, because if the Kurds are overrun by turkish forces, then that raises the likelihood that all the captured ISIS fighters that the turds are. The
excuse me that the Kurds are are looking at that, as if I needed that, on top of everything else,
all the ices fighters at the Kurds or are actually keeping in place and looking at it and have been kept and been captured in and are serving control of. Our farmers
to spring, and that's that's yeah. That's ten thought they had. They estimate that's about ten thousand people like it's, not a small number of captured ISIS fighters and- and we should also recall that Trump making noise that he was going to withdraw from Syria last year at the end of twenty eight teen is precisely what prompted Jim Madam to resign right
that the retroactive he and then he totally reverses policy in their right heritage. We re really reverse the policy any reversed too, because he had. He had one of those phone calls right. He had one of his late Sunday night, chats within these cool. You know, autocrat city loves to just feel like he's connected to and after the phone call, it sounds like even his own staff was taken by surprise at this was going to be the new policy, so you know he love
the strong man and after his chats with strong men, it's like between two ferns or something, and then it gets on the phone with a strong man, and next thing you know you know decades decades of policy with it at with the Kurds in particular, who, as you noted, have been helping his fine ISIS just
superiors. I I have to say that trumps propensity for making it unbelievably difficult for the people who are who feel either, for tactical reasons or for any illogical reasons or for whatever reasons that here
should be defended against. You know democratic onslaughts and unfair charges and Russia's to impeachment olive that all these republicans who say, look he's dead
just kidding or you know it's just trying to get you to cover China by talking about Biden,
in China, and all of that- and you know, Lindsey, Graham others who sort of.
Do what they can at these moments
by pressure to stand
by him. He just makes life and imaginably difficult for them, and you have to wonder at some point whether that's part of the point that the that the system of trompe in intimidation and and dominance is that when he gets into trouble- and he scary at the same time like he's, you know threatening Mitt Romney and all of that it's just then that he double
down on something else to make. So what is Lindsey Graham supposed to dance at this morning? He is kind of protesting. If he's protesting, Trump's moves
in Syria, but having defended him yesterday on, you know he's,
something about the second whistleblower get to later. It's like. I saw this before people other people coming forward that I saw the Kavanaugh thing and it was nonsense than
times now and then like eighteen hours later, he's attacking him on
SIRI thai- maybe that's you know, that's honesty or it's. You know, okay, so he'll sporting with this, and not with that. But you have to wonder what Trump sent you know this some other lack of care about what he is doing to his own backers. You know if he is in fact has replaced the
party with the Trump Party and all of that he the only way to be loyal to him. Is that a fear because he will give you no
I need to be loyal to him out of principle. You know there are a few things and again the current and raises interesting questions in this regard we can get to, but you know I can understand why you know about Jews who are thrilled with Trump's behavior toward his real. You know are going to give him the benefit of the doubt whatever he does be.
Csb is being so salt work, but you know then he turns around and betrays the Kurds and the Kurds and the Jews have a lot
Common, particularly in the Middle EAST,
I just. I just raised this point, which is you know he opens up other fronts
That embarrass and humiliate the people who are already, maybe arguably embarrassing and humiliating cells by giving him
benefits of the doubt and on another matters, and that's one thing: maybe that's the
point, maybe that's part of the method
but what I don't understand to be honest, given what we've been kind of piece together from Trump Sid, you know on twitter and his is behavior. It is a policymakers, a leader is this
getting played right there buried in some of these stories about this. The serious issue is
Is an acknowledgement by air darkens people that they knew that that that
the generals one cent com, what they think is best and safest in this region is
the opposite of what Trump has just done and they exploit their exporting that different. So if, if Turkey is exploring that difference, how many other nations know how to play trump and he's the guy who likes to act like he's always, you know the several steps ahead of the game. The huge is getting played over and over again, and I just wonder why that has not why someone lemming, I dont wonder. I am sure that there are people close to him pointing that out, but it's a reality in what you know. You can't spend that forever, but I think, with some extent, with Trump he's getting played only in so far as he thinks he's getting
If he thinks what he's really doing
getting us out of these ideals. Jungle, unwinnable wars than five
Husband say he's getting played, but he knows that he's doing the right thing.
Say that precisely what he says is this is all the Europeans fault, which is itself a fascinating way of looking at it. That I mean so. If there are ten thousand ISIS fighters, maybe a couple hundred of them are: are Europeans and went to fight in Syria and have been kidnapped? I've been captured were imprisoned and he claims they won't take them back of. First of all, I don't wanna. I don't love, that's true. It's not true. Second of all, whatever it is, it's up, it's a small. It's a small percentage.
However, many ISIS fighters are now going to be serve left to the to the Turks to handle, and I don't understand what what Europe has to do with this all together I mean that. That's that's the part of this that this weird thing where he just sprays fire with his
rob, bugaboo and bugbears right, then that's his they. So he thinks he Europe has to do with it, because why is it always fall on us? I'm sick of a bit wise? It always fond America
because ISIS once us destroyed as much as they one Europe destroyed right of that would be the answer that he doesn't want to hear all absolute. Why we don't know what answer he wants to or doesn't want to hear the reason that he gets play when he gets a phone call from error. One or our airlines has a good guess what this is great, we'll take this over, for you don't worry about it. I mean you know that
How are the obvious power comes to mind? Is the Syrian is Mamma so just to not to let trump off the hook, but to say that there is President Putin saying to a bomb and none and oh, it's: ok, no red line
take it from here. We'll make sure we'll put a bleeder will put a cork in the Syrians. Don't you worry about all these chemical weapons will handle it,
Not just Obama every if it's the whole to the side of the country supported. That is a brilliant move
how to get out of the out of a sticky situation at Obama's prouder of his resolve in.
Letting the Syrians off the hook for using chemical weapons for the first time in eighty hears you now have in the end, in a war that that's really
That was really fantastic him and so once again Trump. You now has a terrible precedent that he is actually following from Obama, whom he says said with such a disaster and so terrible and all that avian I'll just switch gear, so that aid has has a room. How remarkable posts last week on commentary balancing dot com where you
Get a few freeze and ask a subscriber: we called dumb indefensible what events of what about ISM. So,
Every time anybody says boo by Trump Right, the Trumpy
Saywell Obama did the sir. You know
a bomb but of an end, and the liberals and the people on tv
all her always saying? Well, you know what that's just. What about is a mere just a you know: let's talk about what he's doing and not about what happened before and am, and a lot of us have used what about ISM as as a phrase to attack every, but, like you know, if a bomb when people say vomit done x, you know Republicans would have called for his open peach meant, but its it works in reverse, where you know Trump does what Obama did in the end the end and the left goes crazy and is an unfair trump, but I want you to talk a little about this,
sure. Yet, no so it struck me that we ve been so too quick to condemn pointing out these things as what about his and because
at what about ISM has certain very important purpose, which is that it points out hypocrisy,
and that is not a small cheap shot in a political discussion. If one party,
is outraged because someone did something, but they weren't outraged. When someone else did it, that's worth noting
where the charge against whataboutism is valid, is
in calling out those who site
Something that someone else has done
precedents for doing something bad right,
Matt Hoffman
some ways it it. It has been happening you now with when people talk about extra, come in our trump doing extra constitutional things, and one then says: well, you know I'm sorry, but if Bill BAR is held in contempt by Congress, he has of wonder wondrous precedent in Eric Holder being held in Contemporary Congress and continuing to serve with no in a penalty or problem whatsoever. I mean so that there is that there is a way in which the notion that the Obama administration would never have done any of these things that that trumpeted and, in fact, bomber established the precedent of of of doing things that you.
Of new where I'm constitutional, because you were at your wits end and you couldn't get a by, do anything to help you love and make one, of course, being the legalization. These her executive legalization of the dreamers which
Supreme Court on nine hundred and twenty was a was a wild.
Stu Tional active trumps. My
one ban or whatever you know, Trump does stuff that, by the way, as arguably more constitutional merit than them, one Obama,
Somehow that is, you are not allowed to mention that in polite circle,
But I do think that other thing another reason to defend a form, the form of what about a summit that aid does her well and that peace is that, at a time of fake news and mistrust in media institutions. I was thinking of the one at some of the images of detained immigrants right that were circulating and on social media online and people say MRS terrible were caging children and they turned out to be images that were taken during the Obama administration and even pointing that out. We raise people's hackles and they were saying. Oh that's just what about us, but actually it was a correction of the narrative that was being promoted for particular partisan reasons, and so in that sense I think that's another useful it
if the usefulness disappoint out, you don't know factually this happened in this administration, not that one, that's not what about. As in that's setting the record straight in and kind of untried, to undermine some of these
social media driven fake news, narratives that that that people seem to really be gullible about when it comes to justice.
Political beliefs.
That's right. You know and other sending us in the case of Trump in particular the over. What writing charge against him is that he is sir, so unprecedented
diddly, uniquely bad, that
baptism in some sense, is a is a natural response to that charge. If you
someone's going to say he's doing things that have never actually ever been done before he's that bad, then you might say well what about
when the Obama administration had kids engages with foil blankets on him, will you know it? It leads one to do one of those weird. You know, sir his
Oracle journeys down memory lane. You know what, if the internet existed in nineteen, seventy three, let's say so what was the big issue that helped drive? Nixon from from office was the discovery of an illicit taping system in which you know private conversations were being you know with all kinds of being taped, people didn't know they were being taped, and you know there was stuff on the tapes by the way. Very you know only one thing that really constitution years of taping, a small,
Gun for you no actual cover up, which is what largely led to mix the resignation, but so imagine there's an internet, and there was a book that was published at the time by Victor Laskin, called it didn't start with Watergate, because who was the big bugger?
Robert F Kennedy, as attorney general, was wiretapping, half the country, including civil rights leaders and and and Lyndon Johnson. You know how to taping
some in the White House- and you know this whole notion- that Nixon was unpretty,
doing things that were impressive. I was one of the things that drove him insane
concerning perfectly well that he was
thing firmly in the tradition of his at least two predecessors and
They were held to know standard and he was held to a very
high standard or you know and unacceptable ever so, a map, but the gatekeepers then, where the New York Times
composed and C B S news and they were not interested in playing, be it didn't star with Watergate, but what? If there was a Fox news and nineteen, seventy three nights integrity for what if there had been a wash in times or Brush Limburg, talk radio, or are all of that? You think that the counter narrative would not have been struck. That said, you are, you are hold. You are saying that Nixon did things that were done worse. In fact, worse Robert Kennedy was, you know, was a was a disgraceful attorney general then not only was he, you know he is liberal, like I'm terrible horrible thing happened to me was assassinated was a terrible tragedy, a monstrous event, but, of course,
she was unassailable partially because of them partially cuz. He was a Kennedy and he had been Roy Cones partner in the Joseph Mccarthy.
Then he was a trade general bugging half the country and an Nixon like like that.
I am the little Abner cartoon with it. It was the only one that came down. I'm Joe Bissell Stick with a cloud over his head, the only during comes down, and so I don't know I mean in this case I am I'm glad Nixon resign from office. Nixon was a disgraceful president. That's not what I'm talking about! I'm just saying that there is a bizarre thing that happens when these partisan assaults start where, where they are used as an opportunity to work.
Ass, queen the sins of the previous administrations that gave trump and others,
The idea that it was ok, wit where'd. You get the idea that Jeff sessions was supposed to be his personal lawyer and protect him from things from error code.
Who called himself an attorney general called himself Obama's wingman
I'm only- I only represent the people. I have a separate responsibility. He said
My job is strange animals to protect Barack Obama from his evil, Republicans so
comes, and he doesn't know anything about anything whatever until he's like. Well, that's what Jeff sessions is supposed to be for me.
But what you know, none of this is to defend these things. No, it's an idea. Is it, and especially, if you are a conservative who thinks Trump did do wrong with regarding the Ukraine,
And thinks he is wrong about Jeff sessions.
Don't want to hear it from people who had no problem with it when Obama was doing it. When
had a problem with both, which is why there is a certain type of one, can offer a certain type of grudging, respect in a weird way to the knee list of the right thing to people like out of Kerchal, Easter, John Nolte, or something like that whose line is
reed Buddy, did it ever or everything is just partisan warfare they wanted destroy,
we're going to destroy them, Trump's good, because he doesn't play by these rules? That say I need to follow the marquess of queensberry rules, but the Democrats can do whatever they want. Everybody's bad, everybody's, a crook everybody saw
and so at least he sucks for us, then sign some says it's a horrifying argument, but it has the advantage of not being sort of like morally. You know full of this kind of.
Eyebrow exactly I mean, but all that said what's going on with the Kurds is a disgrace, and it's a disgrace that, moreover, you know trump him.
Hope will. If Trump is re elected, he will live to regret this because who's going to take his word. For anything I mean, I think, that's the ultimate point about this. One of the reasons that we get into these fiendishly difficult situations is we Americas
You know America's bona fetuses put on. Why is because it was from lay down the line by policies that are enacted that actually lead to you. Don't people
and in the battle and taking up arms at all.
This and then when people say, will you can't just bug out because we ve done say you know we're we're thousand
The people are going to die or tens of thousands of people are going to die. If you do that
Then you do it anyway, then, the next time you come and say: will you know we're going to need your help, monitoring North Korea or going to need your help? You know sort of making sure that the that the I don't know.
The Taliban? Don't we enter Afghanistan from pakistani terror to whatever and then it's like anything
three months or measure discovered change your mind. What the other thing! I think that it does from domestic standpoint that spares corrupting is it's. It's really undermining that extremely delicate balance that we have between whoever happens to be in the White House and our military leadership, and there's this constant bargain that that has struck, particularly when you have a civilian president, which is what we ve had for a very long time. Now we ve had a we ve had a non military person serving in the highest office in the land there is it there's, there's a careful
It's almost like a ballet of deference that has to take place, and he trump more than almost any other. President in recent memory strikes me as someone who has
tempt for that day,
that has to take place and he claims to love the generals and be impressed by them
doesn't seem to respect the process and have enough humility to really listening. And that I mean. Obviously, the maddest relationship showed that it in.
The detail, but just
the way that he is treating his own people, who are the experts in this area and who are the ones who have to give the orders to people to go in
their lives to do things and no more than tromp. He is disrupting that balance.
A balance has sustained this country and prevented us from being the kind of place that has frequent military coups and the like for a very long time- and I and I am concerned about that- I'm concerned about what it does for the morale of our of our military leaders and unconcerned about the President setting in India the lovers I'm in unless I would I have to SAM less concerned about that that I don't think that they are, they are their own policy deference in any way shape or form the generals. That's why they're not why it's actually a bad idea to have a general as your secretary of defence? Maybe is is tat, someone who is just an active duty general in part because or admiral whatever in part, because they are supposed to carry out civilian instructions, and you were when you intermix. If you then get this problem, where obviously implicit more than implicitly, they can play a role and in policy making, but it is a bit of it- is a bit of an interim mixing for them to be doing that. I will say that what strikes me is that is that Trump likes the generals as a cordon of legitimacy around
against him, but once once that purpose was served, he had no difficulty dismissing master. He had no difficulty really dismissing when my modest matters will matter smile resign right now, who is who has his first nationals?
Flynn yet no difficulty dismissing the doesn't have any difficulty. You know eighty
taxing them when they, when they ve app when they have served their purpose and that he's he's sucked from their from their metals and title, and you know, and badges and everything like that everything we can get out of it in their best
day is probably the first day is there? Is there a chance that, on this Curtis disaster, because people like Lindsey, Graham and other Republicans, are pushing back, and everyone is so up in arms about it that this could turn out to be one of those trunk things wear
So little little time he walks it back and claim some sort. I know it re right now why I certainly hope so. Yeah sure you could walk back and we can walk anything back and we can walk anything forward. That's that's a secret. I've been again like he matters resigned over from making it.
Isn't that trump, then never Merced. So could he reverse this because he didn't really think it through a need.
And you know we here, he is like destroying the National Security Council he's going to shrink in size
who the hell knows, who we talk too were consulted with chances. Are nobody
seven Kelly except I'm well enrich our dog and the other general so whose eternity MIC Belvane. What is Mikel Lady know about Syria. I mean you know
Well, then, you can't know about everything in Oda,
When be in, this matter is taking on the consumer product safety,
Commission, whatever else and now he's also supposed to be making policy
Syria, I mean, as I say, we just have no idea who who who now- and we also know that, since he has these weird external here's, the serb, weird personal State Department, which will get to it.
I mean for all we know he's got some friend who is a friend of aerial ones, who has been his personal negotiator? Were there no one and it was,
doing are the ones bathing cuz. The friend wants the wants to build a hotel in Istanbul. I mean
well. That's the deal making approach to foreign policy and its got him in the Smet Disuse Impeachment Mass, but that that has always he's always been pretty pretty blatant about. That being is his operation by the way again. So if we started, we shift over now to the impeachment mess and what we have here is this whole new set of fact, since we last talk revelations of these texts between Gordon underlined that someone
Or something right again, someone the our ambassador to the European Union, who was a hotelier in Seattle who gave Trump one million dollars had been apparently Rubio guy, but them gave Trump a million dollars and got himself an appointment in apparently acts very grandly in Brussels and all that anyway. He apparently somehow see she's the Ukraine portfolio at some point along with the Skywalker, and they were texting each other throughout the summer, and we there a lot of their text to were released at the end of last.
So Trump, not trusting state department which, by the way, is something that happens with president again. This didn't start with Trump having private back.
Negotiations on all sorts of things is something this happened in all presidencies in part because presents don't have the confidence in the foreign service officers to represent them appropriately in some of these kinds of conversations, sometimes with good reasons of these, unless one when the state Department is at odds with the White House,
The state, probable, slow, walk things come out of the White House. Oranges bury the release round area so anyway, so so, in this case, so's sermon apparently serve takes over the Ukraine portfolio and is playing a role in helping to push the idea that the Ukrainians really need to step up to help Trump. On the on the question of Hunter binds role in.
The gasoline them in the whatever you know. Who cares what the details are now so Tundra, Biden's role in the gas company where he at a consulting fee, and they should all they needed- was an ounce of investigation so that they can have an investigation, blah blah blah blah okay. So now we have that which gives
no more meets, puts more mean on the bones of the of the idea that trumpets using american foreign policy to vans is naked political interests. Denny asks for help from China for on the White House lawn then.
Get word that there are more whistleblowers, there's at least one more whistleblower with direct knowledge. Now here's what cracks me up about the leak by the lawyer, Zayd about II, whistleblower,
So we spent a week hearing that it doesn't matter whether or not the whistle blower has first hand knowledge or not write. The blog doesn't say, that's tat, first hand. Knowledge can first or second hand knowledge blah blah now is like, but now
what's the bar with first half the first whistleblower was bad cuz. He didn't have first hand knowledge, or does it mean that they just basically know. Somebody who says he's willing to confirm some of the details in the whistleblower report
is he really a whistle blower whistleblowers, a formal now
Eagle term involving somebody who enters the whistle blowing process will table cracks me up there
Why do you need any more whistle trump is blowing the with Europe? Is the whistle blower? You don't need a whistleblower trumps walk around saying F course. I did it
I'm interested in the perfect call. It was a perfect call like.
Whistleblower, he's walking around blowing the whistle every chance he gets eye care
corruption. I did it. I asked for help we're ok, so there are two ways of looking at that Christine right there do it, one of which is what trouble.
Doing is corrupting our understanding of the truth because he says I did it and do something about it right and the other is that he is revealing a fact about leadership and american policy, which is that
Okay, so he's not going to do no bull, you bowl blank, you
yeah he went to them. Instead investigate Hunter Biden, cuz he's corrupt.
And maybe it'll also help me out, while everybody else does it to everybody? Did it? You think people didn T, let others just anymore times again cracks maps. Ten former chiefs of staff say we would never in a million years, do anything like this right and James Baker says for republican congressmen came to us and that we need to ask Moscow and London to find out if Clinton try to renounce his citizenship when he was on a trip to Moscow in nineteen seventy six hours.
Renounces citizenship in Moscow I mean that was Bob Dornan. That was crazy. Talk like no. Nobody would announce their citizenship and moved to Moscow, like that was some deranged lunatic fantasy. So.
Never do that, I'm a million years. How dare you there was a inspector general investigation into the Baker State Department, because somebody in the Baker Statesboro went and looked at Clinton's pass
port file to find out whether there were you not whether he had gone elsewhere behind the iron curtain. When he went to Moscow in the late sixties, which,
they violation of the law. You are not allowed to look at anybody's passport file unless it is subpoenaed or you know whatever. So yet the push White House, the ito in their desperate straits, to look for dirt unclear did actually I'm in the bushes, whatever whoever wasn't Bush under Baker actually did some
like really untoward with Clinton's passport file, so right there you have the will. We would never. In a million years he had the Clinton people never did anything except sell access.
To the blinking bedrooms, chinese Chinese, in indonesian nationals, I mean you know so again.
That's the whole point is that
people who see now willing to give Trump a pass on this, we're all outraged by Clinton properly, and now it's like
Clinton or whatever they don't even care. But I think Trump is not all in on the strategy. I agree that he goes around saying in a blowing saint whistle and it's like it's either going to prove to be a terrible own goal, or it's just or it's going to work, but he there is some signs recently that he's not sure of the strategy right. So he's he's going to send MIKE Pence to these districts that he carried in his presidential campaign that have gone Democrat Democrat reporter
near the odor. Was the story last week that he hadn't established in impeachment more room like he served enduring on that which would seem to be the first thing you need to do in this situation and thinking that he can pick up the phone and persuade Nancy Pelosi they'll, just let it all go by like I think he thinks he's going to
his way out of this. The same way he you know, air Dogan talked him ended, you know abandoning the curd. So I'm not sure I think, under the surface of all his broken out, show there some there's some nervousness. There should be ok, so there are two ways of looking at twenty twenty. In my view, from terms perspective, one of which is
He did something no one's ever done before he, but no one thought he would win, and you know he has more support than people realize it's all sort of vote CHE. His numbers are our illegitimate, low in polling and he's gonna come through this just fine bright and the other is that he one in twenty six
by drawing to an inside straight and so that that's a terrible strategy, retread dragoons inside straight, but he did it and he won, and he.
The only thing he really knows how to do in twenty twenty is try to draw to an inside straight again, so
Order battle against him right now, he's apparently under
water in Ohio.
Now. If you loses out o Ohio,
what is fire if he loses Ohio, basically barely needs to be in a Democrats. Barely need to win anywhere else have been a need to win one other state out of the you know what out of Florida,
was consonant Pennsylvania and then they they base
they have the same number of electoral rolls are more than he got against Hilary he's gotta when a hot he's
underwater, there's underwater everywhere, and there is no conventional threat
Do that you can look at that, will help him to win. He's got his guy Brad Parscale, that campaign manager, who sang we'll do it on Facebook.
And we're raising. You know we're going to have a billion dollars and we can do whatever we want with the billion dollars, but
but there's no strategy he's got away
where he won before and that's it, and if you could just do that again and he's still drawing to an inside straight, and if that's the case, then why does he have to?
turn self up into into into knots, trying to figure out how to view no tiptoe his way through this he'll just be himself will be able to he'll be as comfortable as he possibly can be. Let me ask you guys a question
you need to really sure up your base, cuz you're, losing support in these states MIKE.
I know right MIKE, I would not be out my go to mean he doesn't leave my payment. We need teammates like a wrestling
I don't know he needs. You know.
Steve. Kanye Kanye could do it for,
but by pay Emmi might pensive like the man walks into Roman. You know all that.
Baltimore are just sucks up all the moisture and everybody falls to the floor and dehydrated. I mean I don't even know what MIKE Pence that's the best they can come up with. Let you know apparently Trump is always heard of had some affection for pants. Like he's, he,
well. You see that go out there with the with the Christians and bright, has just put your pen Mackenzie concepts christian moment together. You know
right now I remember he apologized that that was the grab them by the you know what comment it was that narrative was so fascinating to me in terms of his relationship with pence, because that's who he worried about he's like what is MIKE going to thinking like how about the
I can female population. That's a large group like you shouldn't you be no. He was more worried about what might with think of you. So what are you guys think about the attack on a MID Romney this weekend did oh well, I mean you know it's it's disgusting, it's not at all unexplored
it's silly and crazy. Well, an and hit you know Trump allied media called it ain't, an important lesson that he was teaching meant Romney, which I thought was interesting. Unlike do we should cease being despicable. Let's thoughts this well, let's even let's even fitly, take this or moral frame out of it. So what
To me is that he's using Romney? I guessed it too far. Shots across the bow of the republican
In twenty twenty, who might be tempted to split themselves off from him, but he would want them to split themselves off from him see. This is where it gets complicated. So you got four Republicans who are in various forms of potential danger in reelection two thousand and twenty Vette Susan Collins. You got Cory Gardner in Colorado. You've got Martha Mcsally in Arizona, and you have who am I blocking on unblocking on somebody who is not anyway Richard Burr,
In North Carolina they're there now, if they should lose now, maybe if they lose, he loses the presidency anyway. So it doesn't matter, but if somehow he should
inside straight
now. He's got a democratic Senate and a democratic house and his life isn't worth a plug nickel until two thousand and twenty five he his larger political interest, which is in maintaining Republican Senate, is challenged by his insistence on raw personal loyalty to him. By saying you know, Mitt Romney is a bad
and even he's not up for reelection and twenty twenty. But you know implicitly, all these other people are who might wanna, who might wanna puts a mere between them and he should want that to happen if they think it's unnecessary and he's clearly not going to let that happen or Romney Hitman trumps has had a peck.
Didn't think. I think about anything beyond it. Well any any. This followed the again it follows the pattern like the Erdogan phone call followed the pattern, which is that Trump loves to bring up in these new tweet grants that someone pegged him for his endorsement right. There's always the sort any set it about Romney, and he said. Oh, you know impeachment Romney, like probably got more than sixty percent of the vote, and you too, I don't. I don't think impeachment is really gotta, be a problem for me Romney, but there's a again. It speaks to his that this Moody has, and I grew thereby think it was just a if there's no strategy here, there's just emotional, overreaction and anger, but you know also Romney, has become one of the targets of the hard core,
Her trunk base trump definitely knows that
and is happy to to check them on him and Sandstone
that I don't even know why Romney cares. That's! What's interesting here is Romney was elected last year, he's seventy one or seventy two years old.
Pratt. He may serve another term. He may not by the time he's up it's twenty twenty four anyway Trump can't hurt him
the one state one Republican stay were Trump is not particularly popular anyway and he can do whatever he wants, and you know at the at the worst. I say I mean this is a kind of ludicrous fantasy, but.
You have trouble really really really goes after Romney's jugular Romney could declare for president run against them in a couple of states and spend a couple.
Healing hollers seven hundred billion dollars in in in New Hampshire. You know in six weeks and see if he could sort of funeral get forty percent against him and he could probably win Ohio when you tan
not that it would matter, except that you know when somebody runs against somebody and in a party it's significant now, I don't think mom is going to do that, but I don't think it's so totally beyond the bounds of all probability. That.
Trump isn't being slightly feckless. Here you know I mean
how many says he shouldn't have said that about China,
He doesn't know. We shouldn't have said about China.
Like what he he's out of control,
you shouldn't, have gone White House lawn and said to try to do something about Hunter Biden.
Among other things by may already be like on the downswing too to oblivion.
In any way like he doesn't need to double down on the punches trumped up because they got
Trump implicitly acknowledged just the point you made by now, they're backpedal and claiming the China thing was a joke right is like a haha, just trumping trumping his until he didn't really mean it
because they don't know what else on earth. To save. I mean you know
we spend our lives wondering you know if you are skeptical about Trump is he you know is? Is this.
You know: does he make grammatical mistakes or spelling mistakes in the tweets on purpose? Cuz that creates more discussion or you know, is he crazy, as he not crazy? This is he that? What one thing I think is clear is that he has a is that his strategies are very easy to discern on the surface and the notion that they are anything more than what you see on the surface is kind of problematic, because they're never.
Are never out early consistent. So his strategy with Mueller was to say the whole thing was a witch hunt until everything emanated from that he said it from the first day and it went from it's not like he had some deep five levels of you know ways of getting at Mahler's legitimacy. He just said it was a witch hunt and that's where
Now this is a witch hunt also and when he said China GO investigate Biden what he meant was China go investigate bite.
You didn't mean I'm joking, you didn't mean. I want the media to investigate Biden and Hunter and China. He meant you know
What do me a solid where you trade negotiations? You know, maybe if you dug up something on biting, you know I we could. This would go a little bit her.
I mean I don't know why you can't take him at his word. You know it's not like it's full of veto. Wonderful fancy fly enough,
Flights of fancy, like maybe China could find. I don't know so I guess what that we can early exit if you were casting Tuesday night easy fast and we will be back on Thursday.
Transcript generated on 2019-11-24.