"THE CONSERVATIVE SENSIBILITY." WE WILL DIG INTO THAT BOOK IN
JUST A MOMENT.
JOE AND MIKA HAVE THE MORNING
OFF.
OFF. PRESIDENT TRUMP LACKEDNDED IN TH
ABOUT 4:00 THIS MORNING KICKING
OFF A FOUR-DAY VISIT.
ANY MOMENT NOW PRESIDENT TRUMP
IS SET TO RECEIVE A CEREMONIAL
WELCOME AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE,
WHICH WILL INCLUDE A GREETING
FROM KWEEZQUEEN ELIZABETH.
TONIGHT HE WILL TAKE PART IN THE
FIRST STATE BANQUET HOSTED FOR
AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT AT
BUCKINGHAM PALACE SINCE 2011.
JUST BEFORE LEAVING FOR THE UK,
PRESIDENT TRUMP WEIGHED IN ON
BREXIT IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE
BRITISH "SUNDAY TIMES" AND THE
SUN" TRUMP SAID THERESA MAY
AHEAD OF HER REGSIGNATION BOTCHE
THE BREXIT TALKS, SAYING SHE
LEFT THEM, QUOTE, ALL THE CARDS.
>> WHAT DO YOU THINK WENT WRONG
FOR HER?
FOR HER? >> I THINK THAT UK ALLOWED THE
EUROPEAN UNION TO HAVE ALL THE
CARDS.
CARDS. I HAD MENTIONED TO THERESA THAT
YOU GOTTA BUILD UP YOUR, YOUR
AMMUNITION.
AMMUNITION. THEY DIDN’T GIVE THE EUROPEAN
UNION ANYTHING TO LOSE.
I’M SURE THAT YOU COULD HAVE
BUILT UP A BIG ADVANTAGE FOR
YOUR SIDE AND NEGOTIATED FROM
STRENGTH.
STRENGTH. >> SHE SAID MR. PRESIDENT THAT
YOU SUGGESTED SHE SUE THE EU.
HOW WOULD THAT WORK, DO YOU
THINK?
THINK? >> WHAT I WOULD DO IS FOR THOSE
MISTAKES MADE BY THE EU THAT
COST THE UK A LOT OF MONEY AND A
LOT OF HARM, I WOULD HAVE PUT
THAT ON THE TABLE.
WHETHER IT’S IN THE FORM OF
LITIGATION OR IN THE FORM OF A
REQUEST.
REQUEST. WELL, IF I WERE THEM I WOULDN’T
PAY $50 BILLION.
THAT’S A BIG NUMBER.
IF THEY DON’T GET WHAT THEY
WANT, I WOULD WALK AWAY, YES.
I WOULD WALK AWAY.
IF YOU DON’T GET THE DEAL YOU
WANT, IF YOU DON’T GET A FAIR
DEAL, THEN YOU WALK AWAY.
>> RICHARD HAASS, THERE’S SO
MUCH IN THE AIR AS THE PRESIDENT
ARRIVES AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE IN
JUST A FEW MINUTES.
UNCONVENTIONAL ISN’T QUITE THE
WORD FOR AN INTERVIEW GIVEN
BEFORE YOU LAND ON SOIL AND
CRITICIZE THE PRIME MINISTER,
THE DUTCHESS OF SUSSEX AND THE
MAYOR OF LONDON.
>> A DIPLOMATIC TRIFECTA.
IT’S NOT WHAT WE STUDIED WHEN WE
PREPARED FOR THAT CAREER.
HE’S WALKING IN AGAINST THE
BACKDROP WHERE HE’S HAD A
TERRIBLE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE
SOON-TO-BE DEPARTED PRIME
MINISTER.
MINISTER. HE’S ADVOCATED ALREADY WHO
SHOULD SUCCEED HER.
HE’S ALREADY SAID WHO HE THINKS
OUGHT TO BE THE NEXT AMBASSADOR
TO THE UNITED STATES, THE PERSON
THAT’S PRO BREXIT.
HE’S CALLED THE EUROPEAN UNION
AWEA
AWEA FOE OF THE UNITED STATES.
ALL THIS AT A TIME BRITAIN FACES
MAYBE ITS GREATEST INTERNAL
CRISIS SINCE THE SUEZ AFFAIR.
THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY IS AT
STAKE.
STAKE. THIS IS WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS
WADING INTO AND SHALL WE SAY HE
HASN’T CALMED THINGS DOWN AND
ALL THIS BEFORE HE GOT THERE.
NOW WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
>> WILLIE, DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN
MITT ROMNEY WENT TO THE UK WHEN
HE WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?
>> YES, WE WERE JUST DISCUSSING
THE QUAINTNESS OF THE MITT
ROMNEY ROW OF 2012 WHEN HE
CRITICIZED LONDON AND SAID THERE
WERE FEW THINGS THAT WERE
DISCONCERTING ABOUT THEIR
SECURITY PREPARATIONS AND THAT
WAS AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT.
>> BORIS JOHNSON MADE THAT AN
INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT.
INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT. CLAIRE McCASKILL, HOW FAR WE’VE
COME.
COME. >> HOW FAR WE’VE COME.
I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT
WITH SOME FOREIGN LEADERS AND
THOSE FROM THE CONSERVATIVE
PARTY AND LABOR PARTY,
CONVERSATIONS WHERE YOU NEED TO
LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS.
WHAT HAPPENED IS THE TRADITIONAL
PARTIES DID VERY POORLY.
IN THE UK, THE ONES THAT DID THE
BEST WERE THE ONES THAT HAD
CLEAR MESSAGES ABOUT BREXIT.
THE ONE PARTY WHO SAID WE SHOULD
WALK AWAY AND THE OTHER PARTY
WHO SAID WE SHOULD FIGHT TO STAY
IN.
IN. AND THERE’S REALLY A VACUUM OF
LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE LABOR
PARTY THAT IS CAUSING THEM TO
EQUIVOCATE.
EQUIVOCATE. MY SENSE IS THERE WILL BE
ANOTHER REFERENDUM.
ANOTHER REFERENDUM. MY SENSE IS THAT THE BRITISH
PEOPLE WILL VOTE TO NOT LEAVE
THE EU.
THE EU. AND SO THE PRESIDENT DOING THIS
IS REALLY FLYING IN THE FACE --
I’M NOT SAYING THAT IT WOULD BE
A RUNAWAY, I THINK IT WOULD BE
CLOSE.
CLOSE. BUT TO THINK THAT THERE ISN’T
HUGE POLITICAL FORCES BEHIND THE
NOTION OF STAYING WITHIN THE EU
IS IGNORING THE REALITY ON THE
GROUND THAT WAS REFLECTED IN
JUST THE ELECTIONS THAT SOOCCURR
A FEW WEEKS AGO.
>> GEORGE, PRESIDENT TRUMP IS
OFTEN GRADED ON A CURVE, BUT
WHAT ABOUT RELATIVE TO PAST
PRESIDENTS AS YOU LOOK AT THE
SCOPE OF HISTORY, THIS VISIT BY
PRESIDENT TRUMP TO THE UK, HOW
DIFFERENT IT IS.
>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THERE’S
NO BUSINESS THAT HE HAS WITH THE
UK AT THIS POINT THAT I CAN
UNDERSTAND.
UNDERSTAND. I THINK HE WENT THERE TO GET THE
STATE DINNER.
STATE DINNER. >> HE WANTS THE FALDERAL.
>> OF COURSE.
HE HAS, OF COURSE, NO PRINCIPLED
OBJECTION TO NATION A
INTERVENING IN NATION B’S PUBLIC
LIFE.
LIFE. WE’VE SEEN THAT ALREADY.
SO THE FACT THAT HE WOULD GO AND
SAY BORIS JOHNSON OUGHT TO BE
THE NEXT PRIME MINISTER IS NOT
SURPRISING.
SURPRISING. >> AND DO YOU BELIEVE THAT -- IS
THERE SOMETHING STRATEGIC THAT
THE PRESIDENT HOPES TO GET OUT
OF THIS?
OF THIS? HE’S GOING TO BE DEALING WITH A
PRIME MINISTER WHO’S LEAVING IN
A MATTER OF DAYS.
HE HAS PUT HIS THUMB ON THE
SCALE A BIT FOR BORIS JOHNSON.
DO YOU BELIEVE HE’S GOT ANY
METHOD TO HIS MADNESS AS HE
HEADS THERE?
HEADS THERE? >> I DON’T THINK HE DOES PLANS.
I DON’T THINK THAT’S PART OF HIS
REPERTOIRE.
REPERTOIRE. WHETHER OR NOT THEY SHOULD HAVE
A SECOND REFERENDUM, THE
QUESTION IS THE FIRST REFERENDUM
WAS, I THINK, A BIG MISTAKE.
AND IF THEY HAVE ANOTHER ONE,
THEY MIGHT JUST FOR DEMOGRAPHIC
REASONS VOTE TO STAY BECAUSE THE
REMAIN VOTE TO STAY IN THE
EUROPEAN UNION WAS YOUNG,
THEY’RE RISING.
THEY’RE RISING. THE LEAVES, THE BREXIT PEOPLE
ARE DEFINITIONALLY DYING OFF.
SO 2 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE CHANGED
SINCE JUNE, 1963 -- 20, 63.
>> MR. WILL, WHERE IS THE
CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT?
CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT? DOES THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT
HAVE A FUTURE?
WHERE DOES ITS PARTY RESIDE?
>> IT DOESN’T HAVE A PARTY RIGHT
NOW.
NOW. BUT YOU DON’T NEED A PARTY IN
ORDER TO THRIVE, YOU NEED THE
RIGHT IDEAS.
RIGHT IDEAS. MARGARET THATCHER RIGHTLY SAID
EUROPEAN NATIONS WERE MADE BY
HISTORY.
HISTORY. THE UNITED STATES WAS MADE BY
PHILOSOPHY.
PHILOSOPHY. AND MY ARGUMENT IS THAT THE
PHILOSOPHY IS STILL VALID, THAT
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE
UNDERSTANDABLY AND RIGHTLY
UNHAPPY ABOUT THE DIRECTION THE
GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN FOR THE
LAST 50 YEARS, DURING WHICH THE
PRESTIGE OF GOVERNMENT HAS
PLUMMETED AS THE PRETENSIONS OF
GOVERNMENT HAVE RISEN.
AND I THINK THEY WILL BE
RECEPTIVE TO AN ARGUMENT THAT
THE PROGRESSIVE OVERTHROW OF THE
FOUNDERS’ VISION, WHICH WAS
REMARK FULLY FORTHRIGHT AND
AMAZINGLY SUCCESSFUL SINCE
WOODROW WILSON BECAME THE FIRST
AMERICAN PRESIDENT TO CRITICIZE
THE AMERICAN FOUNDING, THAT
WE’VE MADE A WRONG TURN AND THIS
IS A WAY OF GOING BACK TO LOOK
AT IT.
AT IT. DO WE WANT TO PERHAPS RETRACE
OUR STEPS.
OUR STEPS. >> THE STATE OF CONSERVATISM,
GEORGE, IN THE TRUMP YEARS, THIS
IS SOMETHING THAT JOE SAYS ALL
THE TIME.
THE TIME. I KNOW HE’D SAY IT IF HE WERE
HERE.
HERE. BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS CAPTURED IN
A TOWN HALL LAST WEEK WITH
CONGRESSMAN JUSTIN AMASH OF
MICHIGAN.
MICHIGAN. OF COURSE HE’S CALLED FOR AN
IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY INTO THE
PRESIDENT, THE LONE REPUBLICAN
IN THAT.
IN THAT. HE WAS ASKED BY A TRUMP
SUPPORTER HOW CAN YOU NOT BE
WITH US?
WITH US? YOU USED TO BE A CONSERVATIVE.
YOU USED TO BE ONE OF US.
TO WHICH HE SAID I HAVEN’T
CHANGED, YOU HAVE CHANGED.
>> THAT WAS ALWAYS RONALD
REAGAN’S POSITION.
REAGAN’S POSITION. HE SAID I DIDN’T LEAVE THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY, THE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY LEFT ME.
YOU MAY NOTICE THAT IN MY BOOK
THE NAME DONALD TRUMP DOESN’T
APPEAR.
APPEAR. NEITHER DOES THE NAME OF DORIS
DAY OR HUMPHREY BOGART.
NONE OF THEM HAVE ANYTHING TO DO
WITH CONSERVATISM.
WITH CONSERVATISM. >> I LOOKED IN THE INDEX FOR
DORIS DAY.
DORIS DAY. >> AND SHE HAS AS MUCH TO DO
WITH CONSERVATISM AS THE 45th
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. >> WHAT HAS HE DONE TO IT,
THOUGH?
THOUGH? PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSERVATIVES
THAT HAVE LATCHED ON TO DONALD
TRUMP.
TRUMP. WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT
CONSERVATISM?
CONSERVATISM? >> IT SAYS THEY HAVE ADOPTED THE
FUNDAMENTAL PROGRESSIVE PREMISE,
WHICH IS THAT ALL POWER SHOULD
BE IN THE EXECUTIVE.
THE EXECUTIVE SHOULD BE
UNTRAMMELLED AND UNLEASHED AND
UNFETTERRED AND RAMPANT.
THE BEST EXAMPLE I CAN GIVE IS
PROTECTIONISM, WHICH IS THE
OBVERSE OF EVERYTHING
CONSERVATIVES STAND FOR, IT’S
THE BOSSIEST POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT
TELLING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHAT
THEY CAN BUY, AT WHAT QUANTITIES
AND AT WHAT PRICES.
IF THAT DOESN’T OFFEND PEOPLE.
IT’S NOT THAT PROTECTIONISM
GIVES RISE TO CRONYISM, IT IS