>> After admitting that Donald Trump and his administration engaged in a quid pro quo with
the Ukrainian government in order to dig up dirt on Trump's political opponent Joe Biden.
The Trump administration and other conservatives appear to be turning on him, and it's delightful.
Now let's start off with Jim Acosta who tweeted, quote, Trump was not happy with Mulvaney's
performance in the briefing room today, I'm told.
And as we had reported yesterday, Mulvaney tried to walk back his statements, and that
didn't work out so well.
But I also wanna just quickly go to what Mulvaney said specifically.
And then we're gonna go to Kevin McCarthy's ridiculous defense of Mulvaney, take a look.
>> Did he also mention to me in the past the corruption related to the DNC server, absolutely,
no question about that.
But that's it, and that's why we held up the money.
Now, there was a report- >> So the demand for an investigation into
the Democrats was part of the reason that he-
>> It was on the- >> Ordered to withhold funding to Ukraine.
>> The look back to what happened in 2016 certainly was part of the thing that he was
worried about in corruption with that nation, and that is absolutely appropriate.
>> Withholding the- >> But to be clear, what you just described
is a quid pro quo.
It is funding will not flow unless the investigation into the Democratic server happened as well.
>> We do that all the time with foreign policy.
And we were holding up money at the same time for, what was it, the Northern Triangle countries.
>> So it's clear, he confessed to a quid pro quo, I mean, it's as clear as day, right?
So with that said, here's Kevin McCarthy trying to clean up some of the damage.
>> I think you saw Mick Mulvaney clarify his statement.
He said, let me be clear, there was absolutely no quid pro quo between Ukraine military aid
and any investigation into the 2016 election.
>> One of your own members said of Mr. Mulvaney's statement, this isn't an Etch A Sketch.
You cannot go and revise what you say in front of the cameras and say, actually, I meant
the opposite.
>> No, I think what Mick clarified in his state was very clear.
>> Mick Mulvaney said one thing in the press conference and the exact opposite in his statement,
so which one do you believe?
>> I think Mick Mulvaney clarified his statement to be very clear.
I checked Mick Mulvaney at his word for clarification.
>> I clarified my statement so I could be clear-
>> Yeah, no, my favorite- >> That's what he just said.
>> I didn't see who asked that last question, but great job by that reporter, which Mick
Mulvaney do you believe?
>> So good, and just to add to the growing list of people on the right who are turning
on Mulvaney, you have Sean Hannity on his radio show.
Here's what he had to say about the situation.
>> I just think half these Republicans, too, what is Mulvaney even talking about?
I just think he's dumb, I really do, I don't even think he knows what he's talking about,
that's my take on it.
This is why I think some of these people are so stupid, read the transcript, we don't need
a non-whistleblower or a whistleblower.
You don't need a chief of staff's idiotic interpretation of things when the president
and the president of Ukraine and everybody else can read it all themselves.
>> Okay, so Hannity now, based on what he said about Mulvaney, okay?
The acting chief of staff for Donald Trump has to concede that Trump lied, he lied when
he said this.
>> I know the best people, I know the best managers, I know the best deal makers.
We're gonna make America great again, we're gonna use our best people.
We can do it because the people are so amazing, I want the best people.
But the Cabinet, we're gonna have all the best people, we're gonna find out who they
are.
So we're gonna get the best people, but we're gonna use our best people.
We need to get the best and the finest, we're gonna deliver, we're gonna get the best people
in the world.
We're gonna have the best people in the world, you gotta pick the best people.
>> Wow.
>> He fires them at a, seems to be, a pace of about one a week.
>> So if they're the best people, why does he have to keep on firing them at an unprecedented
pace?
So look, that was funny that Hannity said, well, his chief of staff's an idiot.
Apparently not the best people, but other than seeming to have come back from a three-martini
lunch.
>> Totally.
>> Right, there was that strange tone in his voice.
>> Yeah.
>> He should've checked with the White House, as he normally does, because that is not the
correct talking point.
The correct talking point for the White House is Mick Mulvaney was right in his clarification,
okay?
But he didn't go with that, he go, aah, that idiot.
Now, why did Mulvaney say that, so there's a couple reasons why.
One is when you look at the guy behind the curtain, they're actually not that great,
they're not that smart.
Mulvaney's never been that smart, none of these politicians are really that smart.
Then why are they in power, how did Mulvaney get in power?
Largely by being a water boy, an errand runner.
>> Yep.
>> So the donors pay him a lot of money, payday lenders, a study.
Then he gets put in charge of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where he dismantles that
group on behalf of payday lenders.
You don't need to be that smart, you just need to be able to say yes, sir, right away,
sir.
And that's what Mulvaney is, so he melts down at the first sign of stress.
They ask him perfectly easy questions, and he should say no quid pro quo, but he goes
yes, quid pro quo.
Now, that's part of it, but there's a second part that no one is talking about.
If you read the CNN story on how Donald Trump was angry at Mulvaney, you'll notice that
he actually was not angry at Mulvaney.
Which gives you an indication of what actually happened.
So they said he wasn't happy, but they clarified that a White House, I'm quoting CNN here,
a White House official blamed much of Trump's anger on the press.
Saying the President believes that media, quote, intentionally misinterpreted Mulvaney's
comments.
Why is Trump saying that, cuz he told Mulvaney to say that.
He does this all the time, he says, well, what, I didn't do anything wrong.
I don't wanna say it myself, so let's send Mick out there to say it.
Say I did a quid pro quo, so what, we do it all the time, right, otherwise, he'd be livid
at Mulvaney.
>> Yeah.
>> But he's actually all mad at the press for misinterpreting the comments.
Why does he say that, because it's his comments.
And he thinks, well, those are genius comments, they just misinterpreted them.
Furthermore, they said, White House lawyers and press staff had prepared Mulvaney before
his press briefing, which Trump knew and approved of.
So Mulvaney ran that by Trump, Trump said to go do it.
>> Mm-hm.
>> And then when he catches a lot of flack for it, the lawyers panicked.
So Jay Sekulow, who's his personal lawyer, White House Counsel, they're the ones who
are livid.
And they're like, no, you just admitted the crime!
So they had Mulvaney do the clarification, where he says the exact opposite.
But the reality is Trump didn't mind Mulvaney saying that, he very, very likely ordered
him to say that.
>> That's really interesting, because earlier this morning there was reporting from CNN
indicating that Mulvaney wasn't supposed to talk.
Based on what the White House Counsel said, he wasn't supposed to talk about Ukraine at
all.
The whole point of that press conference was to talk about Trump Doral, and then he got
questions about Ukraine, obviously.
So it seems like, as always, no one in the White House is really talking to one another.
>> No, absolutely not, and it's just yet another episode of the novella or soap opera that
we're seeing right in front of us.
I mean, we don't know when Trump says, I hire the best people, what does he mean by best
people, best at what?
Best at following my orders, it seems like, or best at just sort of not being in my way.
I also think that this comment from Mulvaney is actually deeply insightful.
And it also speaks to part of who Trump is, his brazenness, especially given that Trump
probably signed off on this, per your point.
There is one sort of amazing thing about this presidency.
Which it really gives us a glimpse into how deeply corrupt our systems of government are
at this level in this country.
Of course it's quid pro quo, that's kinda how things function in systems of power in
this country.
Not always but often, and it's just incredible that we have all this indignation at what's
occurred when it's just now clear in plain light.
>> That's what makes this such a great point.
Because one of the things that the establishment is mad at Trump for is not so much that he's
doing these acts of corruption as that he's doing them so brazenly and stupidly and out
in the open.
Hey, knucklehead, we're supposed to do that in coded terms.
And we're supposed to have all of our family members get contracts, but not actually say,
hey, give the guy the contract for this.
We're supposed to do the corruption, but we're not supposed to admit the corruption.
And we're supposed to couch the corruption in legal terms.
But Trump is too stupid to follow those rules, so he just brazenly says it.
And so, yeah, of course, I asked for a political favor.
You think Democrats and Republicans in the past haven't asked for political favors from
opposing countries or allies for their own benefit?
Of course they have, but they've done it in coded language.
You think that the Saudis gave all that money to the Clinton Foundation because they really
cared about women's rights across the world and health care across the world?
No, of course they were buying influence, but they did it in a way that was legally
acceptable and is totally fine and dandy with the establishment.
>> The political class in this country thrives on mirage and deception and hypocrisy, right?
And so we have this incredible moment to have a glimpse into how the political class of
both parties function, thanks to this presidency.
He's not exceptional, he's exceptional in the fact that he's insane and irrational and
everything is very personal for him.
But he's not exceptional in terms of his corruption, right?
And that's why we need a real progressive to actually contest this.
To be an articulated distinction from this whole mess that has contaminated or, at least,
messed up our country.
And why so many people are unhappy with our politicians and our government.
>> So it remains, she's a surrogate also for Bernie Sanders, I wanna clarify that.
>> Okay.
>> And look, we're all progressives here, we call ourselves home of progressives.
And so the distinction between us and the right wing and establishment, those are the
three different camps, in my opinion.
The establishment also chafes at personal corruption, like what we're seeing from Donald
Trump, and so do we.
It's illegal and it is obvious, right, and it's the kinda corruption that is over the
top and forces you to take legal action against them, okay?
But what the establishment doesn't mind is systemic corruption.
And that is campaign donations, independent expenditures, the jobs that are doled out
by all these industries for people in politics and the press.
The paid speeches, all of that systemic corruption they are perfectly happy with.
Ironically, that's what unites the left and the right cuz we can't stand that systemic
corruption.
And that's why the media's lost so much credibility, cuz they keep telling us, don't believe your
lying eyes, that systemic corruption does not exist.
And right now, to this day, they say, no, Donald Trump is an aberration.
That corruption stands alone, and everybody else is pure as the driven snow.
And that is preposterous, he just adds personal corruption on top of the systemic corruption.
And look, lastly, as he unwinds here and unravels, it gets worse and worse for him every day,
Mulvaney is an excellent example.
That we asked you guys, will Trump serve until the end of his term?
So this is the classic tick, tick, tick, tick and, so far, 68% of you now, a majority, over
two-thirds saying he will not make it to the end of his term.
Back then, back when it was first said, it was considered outrageous.
Now, mind you, of course, this is our audience, so of course they're more likely to believe
me, we've been saying it for a long time.
I'm not Trump, I don't think it's a scientific poll.
But it is interesting that you guys have moved significantly towards, he's not even gonna
finish the term.
So that's where we are, but you can keep on voting tyt.com/theend.
We do it because we care about what you think, and I was curious where you stood.
I might've guessed that it might've been around 55, 45, that you would think that he wouldn't
finish his term.
Today, my guess is if we had asked that three months ago, most of you would've said no,
right, I'm sorry, yes, that he would finish his term.
But now that number's getting bigger and bigger every single day cuz he's unraveling every
single day.
I don't think, obviously, I'm in the 68%, at this pace, there's no way he makes it.