SHOULD PROBABLY WEAR MASKS.
SO PRESIDENT TRUMP ENDORSING
THAT THROUGH HIS CAMPAIGN
FINALLY.
THERE’S ANOTHER MOMENT WHERE
PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS TALKING TO
JONATHAN ABOUT THE LEGACY OF THE
LATE CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS,
REMEMBER THE PRESIDENT FINALLY
PUT OUT A TWEET AND THAT WAS
ABOUT IT AS THE COUNTRY MOURNED
THE DEATH OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS
ICON.
HERE’S THAT EXCHANGE.
>> JOHN LEWIS IS LYING IN STATE
IN THE U.S. CAPITOL, HOW DO YOU
THINK HISTORY WILL REMEMBER JOHN
LEWIS?
>> I DON’T KNOW.
I DON’T KNOW.
I REALLY DON’T KNOW.
I DON’T KNOW JOHN LEWIS.
HE CHOSE NOT TO COME TO MY
INAUGURATION.
HE CHOSE -- I DON’T -- I NEVER
MET JOHN LEWIS ACTUALLY, I DON’T
BELIEVE.
>> DO YOU FIND HIM IMPRESSIVE?
>> I CAN’T SAY ONE WAY OR THE
OTHER.
I FIND A LOT OF PEOPLE
IMPRESSIVE.
I FIND MANY PEOPLE NOT
IMPRESSIVE.
BUT NO --
>> DO YOU FIND HIS STORY
IMPRESSIVE?
>> HE DIDN’T COME TO MY
INAUGURATION, MY STATE OF THE
UNION SPEECHES.
AND THAT’S HIS RIGHT.
AND AGAIN, NOBODY HAS DONE MORE
FOR BLACK AMERICANS THAT I HAVE.
>> I UNDERSTAND.
>> I THINK HE SHOULD HAVE COME,
HE MADE A MISTAKE.
>> TAKING YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH
HIM OUT OF IT, DO YOU FIND HIS
STORY IMPRESSIVE, WHAT HE’S DONE
FOR THIS COUNTRY?
>> HE WAS A PERSON THAT DEVOTED
A LOT OF ENERGY AND A LOT OF
HEART TO CIVIL RIGHTS, BUT THERE
WERE MANY OTHERS ALSO.
>> THERE’S A PETITION TO RENAME
THE EDMUND PETTIS BRIDGE IN
SELMA, ALABAMA AS THE JOHN LEWIS
BRIDGE, WOULD YOU SUPPORT THAT
IDEA?
>> I WOULD HAVE NO OBJECTION TO
IT IF THEY’D LIKE TO DO IT.
>> IT’S A GOOD IDEA?
>> WOULD HAVE NO OBJECTION TO IT
WHATSOEVER.
>> DONALD TRUMP CAN’T EVEN SAY
JOHN LEWIS WAS AN IMPRESSIVE MAN
AND HE BROUGHT UP REPEATEDLY
THIS POOR, TORTURED, TWISTED
SOUL BROUGHT UP REPEATEDLY THAT
JOHN LEWIS DID NOT ATTEND HIS
INAUGURATION FOUR YEARS AGO.
SO AS THIS AMERICAN ICON, THIS
AMERICAN ANGEL, OR SAINT AS JOHN
MEACHAM CALLS HIM, IS LYING IN
STATE, DONALD TRUMP CAN’T EVEN
SAY ANYTHING NICE ABOUT HIM.
IS THAT BECAUSE HE’S
EXTRAORDINARILY SMALL OR HE’S
STILL SENDING SIGNALS OUT TO
WHITE NATIONALISTS LIKE DAVID
DUKE WHO SAY HIS ELECTION WAS
GREAT FOR AMERICA?
>> PROBABLY A COMBINATION OF
BOTH.
I MEAN, FOR ONE TO SIT THERE AS
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES WHERE THE THREE PRECEDING
PRESIDENTS WENT TO NOT ONLY JOHN
LEWIS LAYING IN STATE AND GAVE
STATEMENTS, THEY WENT TO HIS
FUNERAL IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA,
NONE OF WHOM LIVED IN ATLANTA,
MADE A JOURNEY TO HONOR HIM.
AND YOU THE PRESIDENT, SO SMALL,
WHEN SOMEONE ASKED YOU ABOUT HIM
LAYING IN P STATE, YOU SAYING HE
DIDN’T COME TO MY INAUGURATION.
THAT’S LIKE YOU ASKING ME ABOUT
A GREAT FIGURE AND ME SAYING BUT
THEY DIDN’T COME HEAR ME PREACH
LAST SUNDAY.
HOW SMALL FOR YOU NOT TO BE ABLE
TO GIVE THE KIND OF DUE CREDIT
TO A MAN WHO WAS BEATEN AND SHED
BLOOD TO GIVE ALL AMERICANS THE
RIGHT TO VOTE, THOSE OF THE
BLACK COMMUNITY LIKE ME WHO WERE
BARRED FROM THE RIGHT TO VOTE OR
AT LEAST USING IT IN A WAY THAT
PEOPLE COULD NOT PUT IMPEDIMENTS
IN THE WAY.
FOR HIM NOT TO RECOGNIZE THAT
BUT SAY THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE,
TO MINIMIZE THAT IS TO SEND
SIGNALS TO THE MOST RACIST AND
THE MOST BACKWARD AND BIGOTED
PARTS OF THE ELECTORATE WHICH HE
WANTS TO APPEAL TO.
AND I THINK IT’S SAD THAT WE
HAVE THIS PERSON WHO HAS SUCH A
LOW AND SMALL SELF-CONCEPT THAT
EVERYTHING IS ABOUT HIS
INSECURITY RATHER THAN BEING
ABLE TO SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE.
FOR THAT TYPE OF PERSON TO SIT
IN THE WHITE HOUSE IS DANGEROUS.
IT’S THE SAME TYPE OF PERSON
THAT WOULD SAY WITH THE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC THAT WE’RE
FACING, WE’RE DOING BETTER THAN
OTHERS RATHER THAN TRYING TO
STRENGTHEN AMERICA TO SAY WE’RE
GOING THROUGH SOMETHING THAT IS
SERIOUS.
WE MUST BE STRONG AND GET
THROUGH THIS TOGETHER, INSPIRE
US TO DO IT AND SAY TO PEOPLE,
WE NEED TO GET AN ANSWER TO
THIS.
WE NEED TO GET THE VACCINE.
WE NEED TO GET AWAY TO KEEP
PEOPLE EATING RATHER THAN TO TRY
TO PLAY THE BABY THING, I’M
DOING BETTER THAN JOHN NEXT
DOOR.
WE ARE DYING, MR. PRESIDENT, WE
DON’T NEED A COMPARISON.
WE NEED A SOLUTION.
I THINK IT RUNS AS A THREAD
THROUGH HIS WHOLE CHARACTER HE
CAN’T RAISE UP TO IT.
BECAUSE YOU CRITICIZED HIM, YOU
GOT BAD RATINGS.
THAT’S NOT WHAT’S IMPORTANT
HERE.
IF YOU’RE NOT WITH ME, IF YOU’RE
JOHN LEWIS AND DON’T COME TO MY
INAUGURATION YOU’RE NOT GREAT.
THAT’S WHO WE HAVE IN THE WHITE
HOUSE.
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, IT’S
INTERESTING THAT YOU HAVE
REPUBLICAN SENATORS, WE TALK
ABOUT A GOOD BIT, WHO ACTUALLY
ARE LINED UP AND CONTINUE TO
SUPPORT THIS PRESIDENT WHO NOT
ONLY REFUSES TO GO VISIT JOHN
LEWIS AS HE LIES IN STATE AT THE
UNITED STATES CAPITOL BUT WON’T
EVEN SAY A POSITIVE WORD ABOUT
HIM.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HASN’T
HAPPENED IN DECADES.
THAT YOU HAVE A PRESIDENT THAT’S
JUST THIS SMALL.
AND WILLIE, THE CHOICES ARE NOT
GOOD FOR SUPPORTERS OF DONALD
TRUMP.
THEY ARE EITHER BEHIND A MAN WHO
IS SO SMALL THAT HE’S REFUSING
TO PAY ANY TRIBUTE TO ONE OF THE
GIANTS IN CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY,
BECAUSE HE DIDN’T ATTEND HIS
INAUGURATION.
OR HE’S TRYING TO SEND A MESSAGE
TO WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND OTHERS
THAT HE’S NOT GOING TO SAY
ANYTHING NICE ABOUT A BLACK MAN.
AND, OF COURSE, YOU HAVE TO PUT
THAT AS A POSSIBILITY AFTER
MONTHS OF DONALD TRUMP PICKING
AWAY, DAY BY DAY, ON THE SCAB OF
RACISM IN AMERICA.
>> YEAH.
I LIKE TO POINT OUT, ALSO, I
THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE FORGET,
JOHN LEWIS ALSO BOYCOTTED GEORGE
W. BUSH’S INAUGURATION BECAUSE
OF THE OUTCOME OF THE ELECTION
THAT HE THOUGHT WASN’T
LEGITIMATE AT THAT TIME.
YOU KNOW WHO SPOKE AT HIS
FUNERAL?
GEORGE W. BUSH, TRAVELLED FROM
TEXAS TO GEORGIA AND SPOKE AT
JOHN LEWIS’ FUNERAL.
EVERYTHING GOES THROUGH THE
PRISM OF DONALD TRUMP’S
PERSONALITY, WE KNOW THAT.
SO THE FIRST THING HEJONATHAN
ASKED, HE SAID HE DIDN’T GO TO
MY FUNERAL.
AND ALSO SAID, I DIDN’T KNOW HIM
PERSONALLY.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO KNOW HIM TO
KNOW HIS STORY.
WE KNOW DONALD TRUMP WATCHES TV,
THERE WAS PLENTY TO SAY ABOUT
JOHN LEWIS IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW
ANYTHING ABOUT JOHN LEWIS GOING
IN.
IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM, A PERSONAL
GRIEVANCE HE FELT BECAUSE JOHN
LEWIS WASN’T NICE TO HIM ONCE.
JONATHAN SWAN YOU GAVE HIM EVERY
OPPORTUNITY, TAKE YOUR
RELATIONSHIP OUT IT, HIS
PERSONALITY OUT OF IT, WHAT DO
YOU THINK OF HIS STORY?
AND HE STILL COULDN’T SAY A NICE
WORD.
>> THERE WAS A STRIKING PART OF
THE EXCHANGE AFTER SAYING JOHN
LEWIS DIDN’T ATTEND HIS
INAUGURATION
INAUGURATION, PRESIDENT TRUMP
SAID NOBODY HAS DONE MORE FOR
BLACK PEOPLE THAN I HAVE.
THE IMPLICATION IS DONALD TRUMP
IS SAYING HE HAS DONE MORE FOR
AFRICAN-AMERICAN THAN ONE OF THE
CIVIL RIGHTS ICONS IN THE LAST
HALF CENTURY.
THERE WAS ANOTHER PART OF THE
INTERVIEW WHERE HE SAID NO
PRESIDENT HAS DONE MORE FOR
BLACK PEOPLE APART FROM MAYBE
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
I SAID ARE YOU SAYING YOU’VE
DONE MORE THAN LYNDON JOHNSON
WHO PASSED THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT?
HE SAID, HOW DID THAT WORK OUT?
I WAS SORT OF CONFUSED --
>> BLACK PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO
VOTE.
>> YEAH, IT WAS A VERY -- A VERY
STRANGE PART OF THE -- HE TALKED
ABOUT OPPORTUNITY ZONES AND
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM, ET
CETERA.
BUT I DID RETURN TO IT BECAUSE
IT WAS A STRIKING COMMENT SAYING
YOU DID MORE THAN LYNDON JOHNSON
WHO PASSED THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT,