♪
DAVID: ONCE AGAIN, THE PRESIDENT
IS SPEAKING LIVE RIGHT NOW.
HE’S TALKING ABOUT HIS NEW
REQUIREMENTS FOR WORKERS BOTH
FEDERAL AND OTHERS ON THE
VACCINE FRONT.
HE’S ALSO TALKING ABOUT MASKS.
IN FACT, HE JUST ANNOUNCED THAT
THE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
ADMINISTRATION, TSA, IS GOING TO
BE DOUBLING THE FINES ON
TRAVELERS THAT REFUSE TO MASK
UP.
HE SAYS IF YOU BREAK THE RULES,
BE PREPARED TO PAY.
AGAIN, IF HE TAKES ANY
QUESTIONS, WE’LL GO BACK TO THAT
LIVE.
IN THE MEANTIME, WE’LL JUST GIVE
YOU UPDATES AS WE GET THEM HERE.
>>> MEANWHILE, GIVING AMERICA
THE WHOLE TRUTH, IT DOESN’T
HAPPEN AS OFTEN AS IT PROBABLY
SHOULD FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
PODIUM, PARTICULARLY WHEN
MESSAGES ARE AS MIXED AS THEY
HAVE BEEN.
HERE’S WHITE HOUSE PRESS
SECRETARY JEN PSAKI ARGUING WITH
OUR OWN PETER DOOCY.
TAKE A LOOK.
>> MOST OF THE CRITICISM IS NOT
OF LEAVING AFGHANISTAN, IT’S THE
WAY THAT HE HAS ORDERED IT TO
HAPPEN BY PULLING THE TROOPS
BEFORE GETTING THESE AMERICANS
WHO ARE NOW STRANDED.
DOES HE HAVE A SENSE OF THAT?
>> FIRST OF ALL, I THINK IT’S
IRRESPONSIBLE TO SAY AMERICANS
ARE STRANDED, THEY ARE NOT.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO BRINGING
AMERICANS WHO WANT TO COME HOME,
HOME.
WE ARE IN TOUCH WITH THEM VIA
PHONE, VIA TEXT, VIA E-MAILS,
ANY WAY WE CAN POSSIBLY REACH
AMERICANS TO GET THEM HOME IF
THEY WANT TO RETURN HOME.
>> Reporter: THERE ARE NO
AMERICANS STRANDED IS THE WHITE
HOUSE’S OFFICIAL POSITION ON
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AFGHANISTAN.
>> I’M JUST CALLING YOU OUT FOR
SAYING WE ARE STRANDING
AMERICANS IN AFGHANISTAN.
DAVID: THERE ARE A LOT OF
AMERICANS IN AFGHANISTAN WHO
WOULD CALL THEMSELVES STRANDED
RIGHT NOW.
THE PROBLEM, OF COURSE, WITH
THAT, WITH WHAT YOU JUST HEARD,
IS A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER THE
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN
CAME OUT AND ADMITTED THAT
AMERICANS LEFT BEHIND IN
AFGHANISTAN WERE, IN FACT,
STRANDED, ACCORDING TO HIS WORD.
AND, OF COURSE, THE PRESIDENT
HIMSELF, AS PETER JUST REMINDED
PSAKI, SAID THAT OUR TROOPS
WOULD NEVER LEAVE UNTIL ALL
AMERICANS WERE PULLED OUT,
SOMETHING THAT ALSO WASN’T TRUE.
HERE NOW IS ARI FLEISCHER,
FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS
SECRETARY AND A FOX BUSINESS
CONTRIBUTOR.
ARI, WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
THERE’S SO MANY MIXED MESSAGES,
I’M JUST WONDERING, DID YOU EVER
HAVE TO GO OUT TO THE PODIUM AND
SOMEHOW TRY TO MAKE SQUARE PEGS
FIT INTO ROUND HOLES LIKE PSAKI
APPARENTLY HAS?
>> YES.
[LAUGHTER]
DAVID: HOW DO YOU MANAGE
SOMETHING LIKE THAT --
>> DONALD RUMSFELD --
[LAUGHTER]
YOU KIND OF SMILE AND GET
THROUGH IT AND THE AUDIENCE, THE
PRESS CORPS, SORT OF KNOWS YOU
CAN’T ADMIT CERTAIN THINGS.
IF YOU DO, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN
YOU HAVE A MAJOR CRISIS, THE
WHITE HOUSE THROWS SOMEONE UNDER
THE BUS KIND OF THING.
SO YOU JUST HAVE TO MUSCLE YOUR
WAY THROUGH IT, SO TO SPEAK.
LOOK, I HAVE SOME SYMPATHY FOR
JEN PSAKI IN THIS INSTANCE.
HOWEVER, HAVING SAID THAT, I
SUSPECT THIS IS ONE SHE’D LIKE
TO HAVE BACK.
I THOUGHT -- I THINK SHE THOUGHT
SHE COULD TAKE A SMACK AT FOX
NEWS AND PETER DOOCY AND THAT
SHE’D BE CHAIRED FOR IT ABOUT
TAKING HIM ON ABOUT THE WORD
STRANDED.
AND I THINK IF SHE HAD IT TO DO
AGAIN, I DON’T THINK SHE WOULD
HAVE GONE AFTER HIM.
IT’S PART OF HOW THE LIBERAL
MEDIA GIVES PEOPLE IN
GOVERNMENT, DEMOCRATS, BAD IDEAS
BECAUSE THEY THINK NO ONE’S
GOING TO CALL THEM ON IT, AND
THEY GOT CALLED ON IT.
DAVID: WE SHOULD MENTION THAT
THE PRESIDENT LEFT THE PODIUM
WITHOUT TAKING ANY QUESTIONS.
THAT HAPPENS QUITE OFTEN, ARI.
OF COURSE, OUR LAST PRESIDENT,
PRESIDENT TRUMP, LOVED TO TAKE
ON THE MEDIA, AND HE’D TAKE THEM
HEAD ON.
HE REMINDED ME, KIND OF, OF
DONALD RUMSFELD WHO ALSO TOOK ON
THE MEDIA AND WAS SARCASTIC AND
BROWBEATED THEM INTO SUBMISSION
QUITE OFTEN.
JUST TELL ME THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THOSE TWO APPROACHES.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY BIDEN SEEMS TO
HAVE SOME PROBLEMS OF HIS OWN
SQUARING THE TRUTH WITH WHAT
HE’S SAYING.
BUT THAT KIND OF AGGRESSIVE
ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE PRESS, IT
DID SEEM TO PAY OFF WITH DONALD
RUMSFELD, DIDN’T IT?
IF.
>> WELL, IT ALSO PAID OFF FOR
JOE BIDEN DURING THE CAMPAIGN
WHEN HE WOULD SIT IN HIS
BASEMENT, AND THE MEDIA JUST
WANTED TO FOCUS ON DONALD TRUMP.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, I THINK
HE’S TRYING TO CONTINUE A BIT OF
THAT AS THE PRESIDENT.
SOMETIMES HE CAN GET AWAY WITH
IT, SOMETIMES HE CAN’T.
ON A DAY LIKE TODAY, THE
THINKING OF THE WHITE HOUSE IS
THEY’RE MAKING NEWS.
THEIR VACCINE ANNOUNCEMENTS, THE
MANDATORY GETTING THE VACCINE,
COMPANIES 100 AND MORE, FEDERAL
CONTRACTORS, ETC., THEY WANT
THAT TO BE THE HEADLINE.
THEY DON’T WANT A STRAY HEADLINE
OFF OF A Q&A WHERE JOE BIDEN
SAYS SOMETHING OFF TARGET.
IT’S CALLED MESSAGE CONTROL,
MESSAGE DISCIPLINE.
EVERY WHITE HOUSE DOES IT.
BIDEN DOES IT MORE BECAUSE WHEN
HE TAKES Q AND As, HE OFTEN
GOES OFF SCRIPT AND SAYS WACKY
THINGS.
SO YOU CAN EXPECT THIS TO BE THE
WAY JOE BIDEN’S WHITE HOUSE
HANDLES IT.
DAVID: WELL, AND IT’S SO
REVEALING ABOUT THE WAY THIS
PARTICULAR PRESIDENT IS
OPERATING.
I MEAN, HE VERY OFTEN DOESN’T
SEEM TO BE SURE OF WHAT HE IS
SAYING, WHERE HE IS GOING.
HE’LL ACTUALLY STOP AND CORRECT
HIMSELF AND SAY, WAIT A MINUTE,
I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO ASK YOU THAT
QUESTION.
IT DOES -- I MEAN, CLEARLY TRUMP
WAS THE ONE WHO GUIDED THE
PRESIDENCY.
GEORGE W. BUSH SEEMED TO TAKE
ADVICE FROM ADVISERS, BUT
ULTIMATELY, HE MADE THE
DECISION.
THIS IS A PRESIDENT WHO SEEMS TO
BE GUIDED BY OTHERS.
>> YEAH.
REMEMBER WHEN HE SAID I’LL
FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS WHO I
CALL ON --
DAVID: YEAH.
HE’S SAID IT SEVERAL TIMES.
>> -- INSTRUCTIONS TO THE
PRESIDENT, YOUR STAFF.
YOU CAN’T INSTRUCT HIM.
BUT, LOOK, HERE’S THE PROBLEM
WITH THIS APPROACH.
IT MAY WHO FOR THE DAY.
IT MAY WIN YOU THE HEADLINE
TODAY, BUT IT UNDERMINES THE
PUBLIC’S FAITH IN WHO YOU ARE.
IF THERE’S A REGULAR REASON
YOU’RE NOT OUT THERE TAKING
QUESTIONS, IT ADDS UP, AND THE
PUBLIC STARTS TO WONDER IF THE
PRESIDENT IS UP FOR THE JOB.
AND JOE BIDEN IS APPROACHING
THAT POINT IN PART BECAUSE OF
HIS AGE, IN PART BECAUSE OF THE
WAY HE’S SAID THINGS THAT
TOTALLY, IMMEDIATELY TURNED OUT
TO BE WRONG ON THE GROUND,
PARTICULARLY IN AFGHANISTAN.
IT UNDERMINES HIM.
SO THERE’S A REAL LONG-TERM
DAMAGE DONE WHEN THE PUBLIC
STARTS TO ONLY SEE JOE BIDEN
WITH A TELEPROMPTER AND A
SCRIPT.
THEY DON’T THINK HE CAN ACTUALLY
WORK ON HIS FEET, MOVE ON HIS
FEET, THINK ON HIS FEET.
DAVID: YEAH.
>> THAT COULD HURT AND IT’S
STARTING TO ADD UP.
DAVID: ARI, I’M GETTING THE
WRAP, BUT I JUST HAVE TO ASK YOU
VERY QUICKLY, NERVE, 20 YEARS --
9/11, 20 YEARS AGO, WHERE WERE
YOU WHEN IT ALL HAPPENED?
>> I WAS WITH THE PRESIDENT IN
THE SCHOOL ROOM IN FLORIDA WHEN
ANDY CARD WHISPERED IN HIS EAR
AMERICA’S UNDER ATTACK.
I WAS 20 FEET ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THE CLASSROOM, AND I
BASICALLY SAY STAYED WITH THE
PRESIDENT FOR MUCH OF THE DAY,
TAKING NOTES AS A WITNESS TO
HISTORY THAT DAY.
DAVID: YEAH.
AND WHERE WILL YOU BE ON
SATURDAY?
>> I’LL BE AT GROUND ZERO IN THE
MORNING.
DAVID: OKAY.
ARI, GOOD TO SEE YOU.