YOU, I’M SURE. RIGHT NOW WE’RE GOING TO HEAD
OUT TO HALLIE JACKSON.
PRESIDENT TRUMP ON HIS WAY BACK
FROM FLORIDA.
FROM FLORIDA. HE WAS SPEAKING AT THE
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE’S
WINTER MEETING.
WINTER MEETING. HALLIE IS AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
WHAT ARE WE HEARING FROM THE
WHITE HOUSE TONIGHT?
HAVE WE HEARD FROM THE PRESIDENT
SINCE?
SINCE? >> Reporter: NOT MUCH.
THE PRESIDENT SHOULD BE ON HIS
WAY BACK FROM SOUTH FLORIDA.
HE WAS ON AIR FORCE ONE LONGER
THAN HE WAS ON THE GROUND AT HIS
RESORT TO SPEAK TO DONORS HERE.
WE’RE STARTING TO GET SOME WORD
OF WHAT THE PRESIDENT MAY HAVE
TALKED ABOUT IN THE ROOM.
WE KNOW THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS
BEEN VERY ENGAGED IN THESE
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS.
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS. HE’S BEEN TALKING TO ALLIES,
PEOPLE LIKE SENATOR LINDSEY
GRAHAM, MARK MEADOWS WHO SAID IF
PRESIDENT SAID HE WAS BORED BY
THE WHOLE THING.
THE PRESIDENT SAID HE THINKS
IT’S GETTING REPETITIVE, IF YOU
WILL, AND HE WANTS TO SEE HIS
ATTORNEYS OUT THERE.
BUT JAY SEKULOW MADE THE CASE
FOR HIM AND PUSHING HARD ON THIS
FRONT.
FRONT. WHEN THIS WRAPS UP, WE WILL
LIKELY SEE THE PRESIDENT’S
DEFENSE TEAM COME OUT IN FRONT
OF THE CAMERAS AND SAY HERE’S
WHERE WE ARE ON DAY TWO OF THE
HOUSE DEMOCRATS OPENING
ARGUMENTS.
ARGUMENTS. THEY STILL HAVE TOMORROW, RIGHT,
AND THEN WE GO INTO SATURDAY.
WHICH, BY THE WAY, IT SHOULD BE
A BIT OF A SHORTER DAY.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY’RE GOING TO
START A LITTLE EARLIER, END A
LITTLE EARLIER.
LITTLE EARLIER. IT’S NOT GOING TO BE AFTERNOON
INTO EVENING THING.
THAT’S WHERE WE STAND ON THE
LOGISTICS OF IT.
AS FAR AS WHAT ELSE THE WHITE
HOUSE IS TALKING ABOUT, THEY’RE
LETTING THE DEFENSE TEAM DO THE
TALKING.
TALKING. BEHIND THE SCENES OFFICIALS HAVE
AT LEAST GOT -- LOST COUNT, 17
OR 18 TIMES TODAY MESSAGED
REPORTERS WITH THEIR REBUTLES TO
ALL OF THIS AS HOUSE MANAGERS
ARE TALKING ABOUT THESE POINTS,
THE UKRAINIAN SAGA, IF YOU WILL,
AND THOSE ARE -- THE SORT OF
THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED AT
THIS MOMENT.
THIS MOMENT. >> IT’S FASCINATING BECAUSE OUR
VIEWERS MAY NOT REALIZE, IS THAT
TYPICAL?
TYPICAL? I KNOW WE’RE IN ATYPICAL TIMES,
BUT YOU’LL LOOK DOWN AND GET
MESSAGES LIKE THAT WITH THE TWO
SIDES LETTING YOU KNOW, YOU
KNOW, WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO
GET OUT THERE THIS EVENING,
SENDING THEIR TALKING POINTS.
>> Reporter: ABSOLUTELY.
YOU TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT
BECAUSE BOTH SIDES ARE DOING IT.
BUT IT IS INDICATIVE OF THE FACT
WHICH IS A RAPID RESPONSE TEAM
SET UP.
SET UP. WE SAW THIS DURING THE MUELLER
INVESTIGATION, THE HOUSE PORTION
OF THE IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS.
THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS TO MOUNT
THIS VERY ROBUST AND VIGOROUS
DEFENSE OF PRESIDENT TRUMP.
THEY HAVE A ROOM, ALLISON, WHERE
THEY’RE SITTING, COMMUNICATION
STAFFERS, MEMBERS OF THE WHITE
HOUSE COUNSEL’S OFFICE, SITTING
TOGETHER, WATCHING THE
PROCEEDINGS, FACT-CHECKING
PROCEEDINGS, FACT-CHECKING VARIOUS THINGS.
VARIOUS THINGS. THEY HAVE THEIR BULLET POINTS
THEY WANT TO SEND AROUND AND
DOING THAT WITH REPORTERS TO BE
ABLE TO GET THEIR MESSAGING OUT
THERE.
THERE. YOU HAVE THE SAME THING
HAPPENING ON CAPITOL HILL.
I DON’T KNOW THE LOGISTICS OF
THE ROOM SETUP.
BUT IT IS -- YOU KNOW, SOMETHING
THAT YOU DO SEE.
THE REASON IS NOT BECAUSE THE
WHITE HOUSE WANTS REPORTERS TO
BE IN THE KNOW.
IT’S BECAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL
AUDIENCES HERE FOR THIS
IMPEACHMENT TRIAL.
IMPEACHMENT TRIAL. THERE’S THE AUDIENCE WHO’S IN
THE SENATE GALLERY RIGHT NOW --
OR EXCUSE ME, THE SENATE FLOOR.
THERE’S THE AUDIENCE GETTING ON
A PLANE, RIGHT NOW, PRESIDENT
TRUMP, AND THEN THERE’S THE
AUDIENCE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
IMPEACHMENT FOR ALL THE
HISTORICAL SORT OF TRAPPINGS
THAT SURROUND IT IS STILL IN THE
EYES OF MANY OBVIOUSLY A
POLITICAL PROCESS AND PART OF IT
IS GETTING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC
ON YOUR SIDE.
BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS
ARE CONSCIOUS OF THAT.
THEY WANT TO BE SURE TO GET
THEIR MESSAGING OUT THERE TO
SAY, LISTEN, THIS IS WHY WE ARE
RIGHT AND THE OTHER SIDE IS
WRONG, ESPECIALLY.
WRONG, ESPECIALLY. NOT JUST ON THE SENATE FLOOR,
BUT ALSO ON TV ON TWITTER, ON
TIKTOK, HOWEVER THEY CAN.
>> ONE THING I FOUND
INTERESTING, WE GET A LIST AT
THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY OF ALL
THE DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES WHEN
WE MIGHT HEAR FROM THE PRESIDENT
WHEN HE’S MOVING AROUND.
AND ONE BY ONE TODAY, I CROSSED
THEM OFF AS HE OPTED NOT TO TALK
TODAY.
TODAY. THAT IS SOMETHING THAT HE
DOESN’T OFTEN DO.
WE HEAR FROM HIM A LITTLE BIT
MORE.
MORE. WERE YOU SURPRISED AT ALL BY
THAT TODAY?
THAT TODAY? IT WAS A VERY SHORT TRIP.
I DON’T KNOW IF THAT WAS A
FACTOR.
FACTOR. >> IT’S INTERESTING.
TODAY, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES
WHEN THE PRESIDENT WILL HAVE
MEETINGS THAT WE’RE NOT INVITED
TO, THAT WE KNOW ARE HAPPENING.
THOSE AREN’T OPPORTUNITIES TO
TALK.
TALK. BUT ON DAYS WHEN HE’S TRAVELING
AND I’M GOING TO PULL BACK THE
CURTAIN HERE, WHAT HAPPENS HERE
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
I’M STANDING IN THE BRIEFING
ROOM, BEHIND THE DOOR BEHIND ME
IS THE ROSE GARDEN AND THE LAWN.
THE PRESIDENT, WHENEVER HE
TRAVELS, UNLESS HSIT’S RAINING O
FOGGY, HE GETS ON A CHOPPER, AND
THEN TO AIR FORCE ONE.
THOSE ARE WHAT WE CALL
DEPARTURES
DEPARTURES DEPARTURES.
DEPARTURES. IT’S A FREQUENT MODE OF
TRANSPORTATION FOR PRESIDENT
TRUMP.
TRUMP. OFTENTIMES WHEN HE’S BEEN AT THE
WHITE HOUSE, THE PRESIDENT WILL
TAKE THESE OPPORTUNITIES TO DO
CHOPPER TALKS.
CHOPPER TALKS. THEY’RE EXTENDED QUESTION
QUESTION-AND-ANSWER SESSIONS
QUESTION-AND-ANSWER SESSIONS WITH REPORTERS.
WITH REPORTERS. YOU HAVE THE BLADES WHIRRING IN
THE BACKGROUND.
THE BACKGROUND. BUT IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE
PRESIDENT TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
FROM REPORTERS AND THE WHITE
HOUSE WILL POINT TO THAT.
THE WHITE HOUSE HAS SAID, STOP
GIVING THIS GUY A HARD TIME
ABOUT NOT HOLDING NORMAL NEWS
CONFERENCES BECAUSE HE TALKS TO
YOU A LOT ON THE SOUTH LAWN.
HE DOES TAKE QUESTIONS FROM
REPORTERS MORE SO THAN HIS
PREDECESSORS.
PREDECESSORS. HERE’S THE DEAL, THIS CALENDAR
YEAR, HE HAS DONE FIVE WHAT WE
CALL DEPARTURES.
CALL DEPARTURES. HE’S ONLY ANSWERED ONE QUESTION
FOR ABOUT A MINUTE IN THOSE FIVE
DEPARTURES.
DEPARTURES. IT’S A LITTLE UNUSUAL.
EVERY FEW TIMES, SURE.
WE WERE THINKING, THAT’S A
LITTLE BIT UNUSUAL THAT HE
HASN’T TAKEN THE OPPORTUNITY
GIVEN THAT WE KNOW HE WANTS
MESSAGING OUT THERE.
HE’S BEEN TWEETING ABOUT THE
IMPEACHMENT TRIAL.
IMPEACHMENT TRIAL. FOR WHATEVER REASON, HE’S NOT
TAKING THE OPPORTUNITIES ON THE
SOUTH LAWN LIKE HE HAD BEFORE.
I DON’T WANT TO GET INTO THIS
TOO MUCH BASE THIS IS IN THE
WEEDS OF INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE.
HE HAS OBVIOUSLY SPOKEN ABOUT
PRESS CONFERENCE AND DAVOS WAS
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. HE SPEAKS AT THESE MEETINGS WITH
WORLD LEADERS, SPOKE A LOT AT
NATO BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS.
IT’S NOT THAT THE PRESIDENT IS
NOT ACCESSIBLE AT ALL.
LISTEN, MAYBE BECAUSE IT’S COLD
AND WINTER AND HE’S CHILLY --
>> COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
>> I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER.
MAYBE IT’S SOMETHING MORE LIKE
HIS ADVISERS HAVE SAID DON’T DO
THAT.
THAT. I DON’T KNOW.
BUT THE PRESIDENT IS, YOU KNOW,
NOT TAKING THAT PARTICULAR
OPPORTUNITY QUITE AS MUCH AS HE
ONCE WAS.
ONCE WAS. HE IS STILL TALKING AT OTHER
TIMES.
TIMES. >> WE KNOW WHEN HE DOES, YOU
WILL BE THERE ASKING HIM ALL THE
APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS.