>>> CAN YOU SAY AFFIRMATIVELY THAT WHENEVER THE PRESIDENT SAYS
SOMETHING, WE CAN TRUST IT TO BE
REAL?
REAL? >> IF HE’S NOT JOKING, OF
COURSE.
COURSE. >> HE IS THE FOUNDER OF ISIS.
HE’S THE FOUNDER OF ISIS.
SO I SAID THE FOUNDER OF ISIS.
OBVIOUSLY I’M BEING SARCASTIC.
WIKILEAKS, I LOVE WIKILEAKS.
AND I SAY IT IN A JOKING MANNER
IN A SPEECH, JOKING.
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT WIKILEAKS.
DON’T WORRY ABOUT THAT BABY.
I LOVE BABIES.
I LOVE BABIES.
I HEAR THAT BABY CRYING, I LIKE
IT.
IT. ACTUALLY, I WAS ONLY KIDDING.
YOU CAN GET THE BABY OUT OF
HERE.
HERE. HE SPEAKS AND PEOPLE SIT UP AT
ATTENTION.
ATTENTION. I WANT MY PEOPLE TO DO THE SAME.
I AM THE CHOSEN ONE.
IT WAS SARCASM.
WE WERE ALL JOKING.
I HAVEN’T TOUCHED MY FACE IN
WEEKS, IN WEEKS.
I MISS IT.
WELL, I WAS KIDDING.
>> TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
OFFICIALS SPEND A GOOD DEAL OF
THEIR TIME TREADING LIGHTLY
AROUND THE BOSS.
THEY’RE OFTEN FORCED TO REACT IN
REAL TIME WHEN HE GOES OFF
SCRIPT, PUTTING THEM IN THE
POSITION TO CLEAN UP, TO EITHER
REFUTE HIS MISINFORMATION OR
ATTEMPT TO DEFEND IT.
FORMER SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL
ENVOY BRETT McGURK DESCRIBED HIS
TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE THIS
WAY.
WAY. >> WHEN YOU’RE IN THE HIGH-LEVEL
DECISION-MAKING CIRCLES, THERE’S
SOMETHING CALLED THE
EFFECTIVENESS TRAP WHEN YOU HAVE
A LEADER LIKE PRESIDENT TRUMP.
TO BE EFFECTIVE, YOU NEED TO BE
IN THE ROOM AND IN THE CIRCLE.
BUT IN ORDER TO BE IN THE ROOM
AND IN THE CIRCLE, YOU SOMEHOW
SOMETIMES NEED TO MUZZLE YOUR
RECOMMENDATIONS, LIVE TO FIGHT
ANOTHER DAY.
ANOTHER DAY. THIS IS A TERM THAT CAME OUT OF
THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE, AND I
JUST -- I REALLY FEEL FOR THE
FAUCIS AND THE DR. BIRXES.
WE NEED THEM ON THE WALL RIGHT
NOW.
NOW. >> BACK WITH US AGAIN TONIGHT,
EUGENE ROBINSON, PULITZER
PRIZE-WINNING COLUMNIST FOR "THE
WASHINGTON POST."
WASHINGTON POST." AND WE’RE SO HAPPY TO HAVE DOUG
BRINKLEY BACK WITH US,
PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN AND
AUTHOR.
AUTHOR. AND FOR YOUR QUARANTINE READING
LIST, HIS LATEST BOOK -- AND I
HAVE THEM ALL -- "AMERICAN
MOONSHOT: JOHN F. KENNEDY AND
THE GREAT SPACE RACE" HAS JUST
BEEN RELEASED IN PAPERBACK.
GENTLEMEN, GOOD EVENING TO YOU
BOTH.
BOTH. DOUG, I HAVE TO BEGIN WITH YOU
BECAUSE IN THE LAST SEGMENT, WE
JUST HEARD A COLUMBIA PHYSICIAN
SAY TO OUR AUDIENCE, ABSENT
POLITICS, DO NOT FOLLOW THE
ADVICE THE PRESIDENT GAVE.
THE PAST 24 HOURS, WE HAVE HEARD
GROWN-UPS SAY, PAY NO ATTENTION
TO WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID.
IS THERE ANY PARALLEL IN ANY OF
YOUR READING AND WRITING ABOUT
AMERICAN HISTORY?
AMERICAN HISTORY? >> NOTHING LIKE TRUMP’S
CAVERNOUS STUPIDITY.
CAVERNOUS STUPIDITY. HE’S DONE IN A LOT SINCE THE
COVID-19 CRISIS HAS ERUPTED.
BUT THE IDEA OF TELLING PEOPLE
TO INJECT OR USE, YOU KNOW,
DISINFECTANTS AND TAKE THEM AND
HAVING LYSOL COMPANY HAVE TO
COME OUT AND SAY, PLEASE DON’T
DO THAT, AND DOCTORS ALL OVER
THE COUNTRY TODAY ARE HAVING TO
KIND OF DO A CLEANUP FOR TRUMP’S
FOOLISH REMARK.
FOOLISH REMARK. IT WASN’T SARCASM.
IT WAS IGNORANCE.
HE TAKES INFORMATION FROM
SOMEBODY, DISTILLS IT, MISSTATES
IT, AND THEN GOES ON TELEVISION,
AND IT’S REALLY ALMOST
UNWATCHABLE, HIS PERFORMANCES IN
THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFINGS.
BUT, YET, HE HAS PURSESTRINGS
AND POWER, SO PEOPLE HAVE TO
TUNE INTO THEM.
IT’S UNFORTUNATE THAT WE JUST
CAN’T LISTEN TO SOME OF THE
GOVERNORS TALK ABOUT WHAT
THEY’RE DOING IN THEIR STATES
AND NOT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE DOING
DONALD TRUMP CLEANUP WORK.
>> THE GOVERNORS HAVE BECOME
WHAT THEY INTENDED TO BE AND
THAT IS GOVERNORS, LOCAL LEADERS
LEADING THEIR STATES.
EUGENE, ABOUT THE PARTICULAR
HELL AND THE UNIQUE CONUNDRUM OF
PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THE GROWN-UPS
AROUND THE PRESIDENT, YOU AND I
TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT WITH THE
LIKES OF GENERAL MATTIS.
TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE UP
AGAINST NOW.
AGAINST NOW. >> WELL, THEY’RE UP AGAINST THE
UNIQUE DANGER AND SPECTER OF
DONALD TRUMP.
DONALD TRUMP. I MEAN WE’VE NEVER HAD -- AS
DOUG SAID, THERE’S NEVER BEEN A
PRESIDENT LIKE THIS.
HE IS -- HE IS HEADSTRONG.
HE IS IRRATIONAL.
HE IS IMPERVIOUS TO NEW
INFORMATION OFTEN WHEN HE
DECIDES HE KNOWS SOMETHING, EVEN
IF HE DOESN’T KNOW IT.
HE HAS DECIDED HE KNOWS IT,
THEREFORE THAT’S THE WAY IT HAS
TO BE, AND THAT’S THE WAY
EVERYBODY HAS TO PRETEND IT HAS
TO BE.
TO BE. YESTERDAY WAS JUST -- JUST A
DISASTER.
DISASTER. IT WAS HORRIFYING TO LISTEN TO
HIM RECOMMEND INJECTING
DISINFECTANTS AND TALKING ABOUT
SOME METHOD OF GETTING
ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT INSIDE YOUR
BODY.
BODY. YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS ONE SORT
OF POTENTIAL BRIGHT SPOT IN WHAT
WAS OTHERWISE A REALLY BLEAK
WEEK, IT IS THAT TODAY HE DID
NOT TAKE QUESTIONS AT HIS
BRIEFING, AND MAYBE THE
EXPERIENCE OF BECOMING THE
OBJECT OF WORLDWIDE RIDICULE AND
DERISION BECAUSE OF THE REMARK
YESTERDAY HAS SOURED HIM ON THE
IDEA OF COMING OUT EVERY DAY AND
TAKING TWO HOURS’ WORTH OF