>>> PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
YESTERDAY DODGED A WHITE HOUSE
REPORTER’S QUESTION ON THE POISONING OF RUSSIAN PRESIDENT
POISONING OF RUSSIAN PRESIDENT
VLADIMIR PUTIN CRITIC ALEXEI
NAVALNY.
>> WHO DO YOU THINK POISONED
ALEXEI NAVALNY IN RUSSIA?
>> WE’LL TALK ABOUT THAT AT
ANOTHER TIME.
>> NAVALNY WAS POISONED ON A
FLIGHT FROM SIBERIA IN LATE
AUGUST AND HAS BEEN RECOVERING
IN A GERMAN HOSPITAL.
WHILE THE PRESIDENT CONTINUES TO
AVOID THE QUESTION, A STATEMENT
RELEASED EARLIER THIS MONTH BY
THE G-7 FOREIGN MINISTERS OF
CANADA, FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY,
JAPAN, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND
THE UNITED STATES, SAYS IN PART,
WE THE G-7 FOREIGN MINISTERS
CALL ON RUSSIA TO URGENTLY AND
FULLY ESTABLISH TRANSPARENCY ON
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS
ABHORRENT POISONING ATTACK.
AND ADDS, QUOTE, WE WILL
CONTINUE TO MONITOR CLOSELY HOW
RUSSIA RESPONDS TO INTERNATIONAL
CALLS FOR AN EXPLANATION OF THE
HIDEOUS POISONING OF
MR. NAVALNY.
>> AND DONALD TRUMP CAN’T EVEN
CRITICIZE VLADIMIR PUTIN.
>> ON HIS TIPPY TOES.
>> LET’S BRING IN RETIRED
THREE-STAR LIEUTENANT GENERAL
H.R. McMASTER, NATIONAL SECURITY
ADVISER FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP FROM
2017 TO 2018.
HE’S OUT WITH A BOOK
"BATTLEGROUNDS: THE FIGHT TO
DEFEND THE FREE WORLD."
GENERAL, THANK YOU, FIRST OF
ALL, FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THIS
NATION BOTH IN AND OUT OF
UNIFORM.
ALSO THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS
BOOK.
BEFORE WE GO TO THE SPECIFICS OF
THE BOOK, I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU
TO GIVE US WHAT INSIGHT YOU CAN
ON WHAT’S DISTURBED A LOT OF US.
OBVIOUSLY DISTURBED DAN COATES
WHEN HE WAS AT DNI, WHERE WE SEE
THE PRESIDENT AFRAID TO TALK
ABOUT NAVALNY.
WE SEE THE PRESIDENT AFRAID TO
TALK ABOUT BOUNTIES ON YOUNG
AMERICANS’ HEAD.
WE SEE THE PRESIDENT IN HELSINKI
DEFENDING KNOW
DEFENDING
DEFENDING VLADIMIR PUTIN OVER
THE INTEL COMMUNITY, AND WE SEE HIM SAYING, WE KILL A LOT OF
HIM SAYING, WE KILL A LOT OF
PEOPLE, TOO, DEFENDING VLADIMIR
PUTIN AGAIN AND AGAIN.
CAN YOU HELP US UNDERSTAND
BETTER WHY THE PRESIDENT IS SO
FEARFUL OF CROSSING VLADIMIR
PUTIN?
>> THANKS, JOE.
THANKS, MIKA.
IT’S GREAT TO BE WITH YOU.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.
HOW WE PERCEIVE RUSSIA.
WHAT I WRITE ABOUT IN
"BATTLEGROUNDS" OUR TENDENCY TO
STRATEGIC NARCISSISM TO DEFINE
THE WORLD THE WAY WE WOULD LIKE
IT TO BE AND BASE OUR STRATEGIES
AND POLICIES ON REALLY WISHFUL
THINKING AND ULTIMATELY
SELF-DELUSION.
WHAT I CALL FOR IN THE BOOK IS
STRATEGIC EMPATHY, TO PAY MORE
ATTENTION TO THE EMOTIONS AND
ASPIRATIONS THAT DRIVE THE
OTHER.
IN THIS CASE, VLADIMIR PUTIN.
AND I THINK WHAT’S IMPORTANT FOR
ALL AMERICANS TO KNOW IS,
VLADIMIR PUTIN WILL NEVER BE OUR
FRIEND.
HE IS NEVER GOING TO CHANGE THIS
KIND OF BEHAVIOR.
WHAT VLADIMIR PUTIN WANTS TO DO,
HE WANTS TO DRAG US DOWN AND PIT
US AGAINST EACH OTHER, AND WHAT
HE’S CONDUCTING IS A SUSTAINED
CAMPAIGN OF POLITICAL SUBVERSION
AGAINST THE UNITED STATES,
AGAINST EUROPE AND OUR ON OTHER
ALLIES.
THE SOONER WE RECOGNIZE THAT, I
MEAN, THE MORE EFFECTIVE WE’RE
GOING TO BE.
I THINK -- I CAN’T EXPLAIN
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S, YOU KNOW, NOT
TAKING THAT QUESTION, FOR
EXAMPLE.
IT’S REALLY -- I CAN’T THINK OF
ANY OTHER PLAUSIBLE ALTERNATIVE
TO THE KREMLIN POISONING
NAVALNY, LIKE THEY ATTEMPTED TO
DO WITH SERGEI AND HIS DAUGHTER
IN APRIL OF 2018.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO IMPOSE
COSTS ON RUSSIA BEYOND THOSE
THAT MAYBE VLADIMIR PUTIN
FACTORS IN WHEN HE MAKES THESE
KIND OF DECISIONS.
IN THE BOOK, THOUGH, I PLACE THE
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S APPROACH
TO RUSSIA, AS YOU ALLUDED TO,
JOE, IN CONTEXT OF SEVERAL
ADMINISTRATIONS.
REMEMBER GEORGE W. BUSH LOOKED
INTO VLADIMIR PUTIN’S SOUL AND THEN YOU HAD, OF COURSE, YOU HAD
THEN YOU HAD, OF COURSE, YOU HAD
PRESIDENT OBAMA LEANING OVER TO
MED
MEDDEVEV AND SAYING WE CAN WORK
TOGETHER AND CLINTON WITH SAV
SAVAROV.
LET’S KNOW PUTIN IS GOING TO BE
HOSTILE AND WE HAVE TO DETER NOT
ONLY OPEN CONFLICT WITH RUSSIA
BUT WHAT I CALL RUSSIA’S
NEW-GENERATION WARFARE, WHICH IS
RUSSIA’S ATTEMPT TO ACCOMPLISH
OBJECTIVES BELOW THOSE THAT
MIGHT ELICIT A MILITARY RESPONSE
FROM THE UNITED STATES AND NATO.
>> IT’S SO IMPORTANT, GENERAL,
YOU LAY OUT IN PERSPECTIVE THE
FACT THAT THE UNITED STATES TIME
AND AGAIN IN THE 21st CENTURY
HAS UNDERESTIMATED VLADIMIR
PUTIN’S DESIGNS ON, CERTAINLY
NOT WORLD DOMINATION LIKE THE
CHINESE, BUT AT LEAST WANTING TO
SHAKE THINGS UP.
AT LEAST HAVING A PRETENSE OF
COBBLING BACK TOGETHER THE OLD
SOVIET EMPIRE.
BEFORE WE MOVE ON, LET ME TRY
THIS ONE MORE TIME.
YOU SAID YOU WEREN’T EXACTLY
SURE WHY DONALD TRUMP RESPONDED
THE WAY HE DID TO THE POISONING.
I’M CURIOUS, ANY INSIGHT YOU CAN
GIVE US AT ALL ON WHY HE WOULD
BEHAVE THE WAY HE DID IN
HELSINKI, DEFERRING TO VLADIMIR
PUTIN INSTEAD OF HIS OWN INTEL
COMMUNITY, WHY HE WON’T SPEAK
OUT AGAINST PUTTING BOUNTIES ON
THE HEADS OF YOUNG AMERICANS
WHEN HIS OWN INTEL COMMUNITY WAS
PUSHING HIM TO DO SO AS EARLY AS
MAY?
>> JOE, YOU KNOW, I WAS GONE AT
THAT POINT.
YOU KNOW, I FELT IT WAS MY DUTY
WHEN I WAS THERE TO PRESENT THE
PRESIDENT WITH THE BETTER
ANALYSIS ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS
AND AGENCIES.
WHAT I FOUND IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN
PRESENTED WITH THAT ANALYSIS,
YOU KNOW, HE MADE GOOD DECISIONS
ON RUSSIA.
YOU MIGHT RECALL THAT IN THAT
FIRST YEAR OF HIS PRESIDENCY HE
IMPOSED A TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF
SANCTIONS ON PUTIN AND HIS
CRIMINALIZED PATRONAGE NETWORK.
>> BUT, GENERAL, YOU UNDERSTAND
THE QUESTION, THOUGH, THAT I’M
ASKING YOU.
OBVIOUSLY THIS --
>> YEAH, JOE, I CAN’T -- I
CAN’T --
>> CAN YOU MAKE ANY SENSE OF IT?
>> NO, IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE,
JOE.
I THINK REALLY WHAT WE HAVE TO
DO IS SEE RUSSIAN BEHAVIOR FOR
WHAT IT IS.
AS YOU ALLUDED TO, RIGHT, RUSSIA
IS NOT STRONG.
I’LL TELL YOU, PUTIN HAS A LOT
OF PROBLEMS THESE DAYS, RIGHT?
HE’S COPING WITH COVID-19 AND
WHAT WAS AN INEFFECTIVE RESPONSE
TO IT, THE COLLAPSE OF OIL
PRICES, HE HAS A WEAK ECONOMY.
THE ECONOMY IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF
TEXAS OR ITALY.
SO, PUTIN KNOWS HE CAN’T COMPETE
WITH US ON OUR OWN TERMS EXCEPT
MAYBE WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS,
WHICH IS A SCARY PROSPECT, BUT
WHAT HE’S TRYING TO DO IS DRAG
US DOWN.
THAT’S REALLY THE APPROACH HE’S
TAKING BECAUSE HE HOPES IF HE
BREAKS EUROPE APART, IF HE PITS
COMMUNITIES AGAINST EACH OTHER,
WITHIN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND
PITS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AGAINST
EACH OTHER, COLLAPSES THE EU,
TRIES TO PULL NATO APART BY
PULLING TURKEY IN OR CULTIVATEIN
RELATIONSHIPS WITH PARTICULAR
COUNTRIES WITHIN NATO, HE WANTS
TO BE THE LAST MAN STANDING.
AS ALL OF US ARE CONSUMED WITH
THESE INTERNAL CONFLICTS AND