ALONG WITH POLITICAL REPORTER FOR REAL CLEAR POLITICS KATELYN
HUEY BURNS.
HUEY BURNS. BEFORE HE DID WHAT WE JUST HEARD
THERE, HE PRAISED SENATOR
McCAIN.
McCAIN. PRESIDENT TRUMP IGNORE EDD REQUE
FOR COMMENTS ABOUT THE SENATOR.
LET ME PLAY YOU A LITTLE OF
THAT.
THAT. >> THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
>> MR. PRESIDENT, DO YOU HAVE
ANY THOUGHTS ON JOHN McCAIN?
DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS AT ALL
ON JOHN McCAIN?
DO YOU BELIEVE JOHN McCAIN WAS A
HERO, SIR?
HERO, SIR? NOTHING AT ALL ABOUT JOHN
McCAIN?
McCAIN? OKAY.
OKAY. MR. PRESIDENT, THE AMERICAN
LEGION’S ASKED YOU TO LOWER THE
FLAG TO HALF-STAFF.
ANY REACTION TO THE AMERICAN
LIEGEN?
LIEGEN? >> MAKE YOUR WAY OUT, LET’S GO.
>> ANY REACTION TO THE AMERICAN
LEGION AND THE PROCLAMATION
ABOUT JOHN McCAIN?
>> GOING THAT WAY, GO THAT WAY.
>> KATELYN HUEY BURNS, HE
WOULDN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT JOHN
McCAIN.
McCAIN. DO WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT
LED TO ULTIMATELY HIM AT LEAST
SEEMING TO BE READING A BRIEF
STATEMENT ABOUT JOHN McCAIN --
>> RIGHT, 48 HOURS AFTER THE
SENATOR’S DEATH.
SENATOR’S DEATH. REMEMBER, THE SENATOR’S FAMILY
RELEASED A STATEMENT ON FRIDAY
SAYING HE WAS ENDING TREATMENT.
SO THE WHITE HOUSE HAD AMPLE
TIME TO PREPARE FOR THIS.
AND THIS IS REPRESENTATIVE OF
COURSE OF THAT LONG-STANDING
GRUDGE THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS
WITH THIS.
WITH THIS. THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTING THAT
MANY PEOPLE IN THE WHITE HOUSE
WERE UPSET WITH THIS.
AND WANTED OF COURSE THE NEWS
COVERAGE YESTERDAY WAS ALL ABOUT
TRUMP’S REFUSAL AT THAT POINT TO
LOWER THE FLAGS OR SAY ANYTHING
IN HIS HONOR.
AND THE NARRATIVE WAS BECOME
BECOMING -- THE STORY WAS
BECOMING ABOUT TRUMP.
WHICH EVEN IN THIS DAY AND AGE,
REMARKABLE IN THAT CONTEXT.
>> THIS IS NO SURPRISE TO
ANYBODY.
ANYBODY. THIS IS A LONG-STANDING FEUD
THESE TWO MEN HAVE HAD.
AND YET WHEN ONE OF THEM IS IN
HIS FINAL DAYS AND THEN DIES,
THEN YOU WOULD LIKE TO THINK
THAT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE
PAST THAT THEY ARE THE LEADER
WHEN A COUNTRY CLEARLY AS THEY
ARE NOW IS IN MOURNING.
IT’S WORTH REMINDING FOLKS WHAT
PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS SAID ABOUT
SENATOR McCAIN IN THE PAST.
LISTEN.
LISTEN. >> THE WAY TRUMP LOOKS AT IT,
HE’S AT LEAST BETTER THAN
ANYBODY ELSE IN THE RACE,
BEGINNING WITH JOHN McCAIN.
>> I MEAN, HE WAS CAPTURED.
>> AND HE FLEW COMBAT MISSIONS.
>> DOES BEING CAPTURED MAKE YOU
A HERO?
A HERO? HE’S NOT A WAR HERO.
>> HE’S A WAR HERO.
>> HE’S A WAR HERO BECAUSE HE
WAS CAPTURED.
WAS CAPTURED. I LIKE PEOPLE THAT WEREN’T
CAPTURED, OKAY.
CAPTURED, OKAY. >> GOVERNOR, DOES THIS, THE
STATEMENT THAT THE PRESIDENT
MADE LAST NIGHT, MAKE SENSE TO
YOU?
YOU? IS IT INCONSISTENT OR IS IT
SOMETHING THAT THANK GOD HE
FINALLY DID IT?
>> WELL, IT’S THANK GOD HE
FINALLY DID IT.
IT WAS OBVIOUS HE WAS DRAGGED
KICKING AND SCREAMING.
I AGREE WITH WHAT CAITLYN SAID.
I THINK IT WAS GENERAL KELLY AS
CHIEF OF STAFF THAT MOVED HIM TO
FINALLY DO IT.
>> LINDSEY GRAHAM ACTUALLY ON
THE "TODAY" SHOW INDICATED HOW
GREAT JOHN KELLY HAS BEEN TO THE
FAMILY, CALLING THEM, OFFERING
THEM WHATEVER ATTEND THEY
WANTED.
WANTED. THAT THAT RELATIONSHIP, THE SORT
OF WHITE HOUSE RELATIONSHIP, HAS
BEEN VERY GOOD AND VERY
RESPECTFUL.
RESPECTFUL. >> THAT’S RIGHT, AND I THINK A
LOT OF THE STAFF OF THE WHITE
HOUSE HAS BEEN VERY RESPECTFUL
AND RESPONSIVE.
AND RESPONSIVE. BUT THIS IS A STORY BECAUSE
McCAIN IS, YOU KNOW, A NATIONAL
TREASURE.
TREASURE. THIS IS GOING TO BE MEMORIALS IN
THE CAPITOL, IN THE WHITE HOUSE,
IN ARIZONA.
IN ARIZONA. THIS IS GOING TO BE ANOTHER
WEEK.
WEEK. IF THE PRESIDENT HADN’T DEFUSED
IT SOMEWHAT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN
THE MAJOR NARRATIVE.
YOU KNOW, THE THING -- THE THING
ABOUT JOHN McCAIN, I MEAN, HE IS
A GREAT ICON.
MY VERY BRIEF REMEMBRANCE OF
HIM, WE WERE ADJOINING
LAWMAKERS, WAS HIS GREAT TEMPER.
HE USED TO GET MAD SO EASILY.
WE WERE AT AN INDIAN PARADE
ONCE.
ONCE. I GOT AHEAD OF HIM.
I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO TAKE
MY HEAD OFF.
HE WAS SOMEBODY THAT REALLY
STOOD UP FOR OUR VALUES.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THE
PRESIDENT’S REMARKS WERE
GRACIOUS, BUT IT WAS ABOUT TIME.
JUST PUT ASIDE THESE GRUJDGES.
>> I MENTIONED HIS CLOSE FRIEND
LINDSEY GRAHAM WAS ON THE
"TODAY" SHOW THIS MORNING.
HE SAID LOOK IT’S THE
PRESIDENT’S RIGHT TO FEEL ANY
WAY HE WANTS TO.
BUT SENATOR GRAHAM WAS ASKED
ABOUT ANOTHER STRAINED
RELATIONSHIP THAT HAS BEEN VERY
MUCH IN PUBLIC.
THAT’S BETWEEN TRUMP AND HIS
ATTORNEY GENERAL.
ATTORNEY GENERAL. HE SAID SOMETHING REALLY
FASCINATING.
FASCINATING. TAKE A LISTEN TO THIS.
>> THIS RELATIONSHIP IS BEYOND
REPAIR I THINK.
>> SENATOR GRAHAM, I MEAN, THE
ONLY BEEF THE PRESIDENT SEEMS TO
HAVE AGAINST HIM IS THAT HE’S
NOT GOING TO GET RID OF THE
INVESTIGATION INTO PRESIDENT
TRUMP.
TRUMP. >> LET ME FINISH THE SECOND
PART.
PART. IT’S MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT.
>> WHAT ELSE ARE WE MISSING?
>> WELL, WE WON’T SAY ON THIS
SHOW BUT IT’S A PRETTY DEEP
BREACH AND HERE’S WHAT I’M
SUGGESTING, THAT HE’S NOT THE
ONLY MAN IN THE COUNTRY THAT CAN
BE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
>> A PRETTY DEEP BREACH?
HAS THERE BEEN TALK ABOUT THIS?
ANY IDEA WHAT THEY MIGHT BE
REFERENCING HERE?
REFERENCING HERE? >> WHEN GRAHAM WAS ASKED ABOUT
THIS ON CAPITOL HILL, HE WAS
SAYING SESSIONS MIGHT BE OUSTED
AFTER THE ELECTION, AFTER THE
MIDTERMS.
MIDTERMS. THE PRESIDENT HAS EXPRESSED HIS
FRUSTRATION WITH JEFF SESSIONS
OVER MONTHS AND MONTHS AND
MONTHS.
MONTHS. THEY SAY THAT THERE ARE NO
ANNOUNCEMENTS TO MAKE AT THIS
TIME.
TIME. THERE IS A QUESTION ABOUT HOW
LONG THIS CAN GO ON.
BUT YOU ARE HEARING FROM A VERY
DEFIANT JEFF SESSIONS ISSUING
THAT STATEMENT LAST WEEK THAT
WAS VERY STRIKING.
YOU ALSO HAVE ROSENSTEIN IN
PUBLIC EXPRESSING CONFIDENCE IN
THE INVESTIGATION.
THE INVESTIGATION. I’M WAITING TO SEE WHAT THE
REACTION IS AMONG REPUBLICANS
WHO HAVE OFTEN SAID THAT THEY
WON’T HAVE THE APPETITE TO
CONFIRM SOMEONE IN HIS PLACE AND
THAT THIS WOULD CREATE SOMEWHAT
OF A REAL POLITICAL CRISIS FOR
THIS PRESIDENT.
THIS PRESIDENT. >> I THINK THE HESITATION,
CHRIS, IS THE SENATE WON’T
CONFIRM ANYBODY OTHER THAN
SESSIONS.
SESSIONS. I THINK THEY DON’T HAVE TIME.
THEY DON’T WANT TO GO THROUGH
IT.
IT. HE’S AN EX-SENATOR.
SO THE PRESIDENT’S KIND OF IN A
BOX.
BOX. I THINK WHAT HE’S HOPING FOR IS
SESSIONS ON HIS OWN RESIGNS AND