>>> MANY, MANY PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS AND VERY SERIOUS
QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONS. SO PERHAPS HE WAS BORN IN THIS
COUNTRY, AND THAT IS A VERY BIG
CHANCE OR, WHO KNOWS?
>> YOU REAL BELIEVE THIS GUY --
>> I DON’T WANT TO ANSWER THE
QUESTION.
QUESTION. I DON’T WANT TO ANSWER THE
QUESTION.
QUESTION. >> ABOUT OBAMA --
>> HIS MOTHER IS A U.S. CITIZEN.
IS HE A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN?
>> WHO KNOWS?
WHO KNOWS?
WHO KNOWS? >> WE ALL DID BUT WHEN YOU LAY
OUT YEARS AND YEARS OF DONALD
TRUMP’S BIRTHER ATTACKS LIKE
THAT, IT’S EASY TO NOTICE A
PATTERN.
PATTERN. NEVER QUITE GOES ALL IN
RHETORICALLY SPEAKING.
RHETORICALLY SPEAKING. AS HE WOULD TELL IT, HE’S JUST
ASKING A QUESTION.
THE RACIST, BASELESS CONSPIRACY
THEORY QUESTION SAID IF YOU
THINK OF THE TRUMP KIDS AS
HOSTAGES TO THEIR OWN DNA, IT
SHOULD SURPRISE NO ONE THAT
DONALD TRUMP JR. STARTED ASKING
THE SAME KIND OF QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONS THE PRESIDENT’S
SON-IN-LAW RETWEETED FROM AN ALT
RIGHT ONLINE PERSONALITY SAYING
KAMALA HARRIS WASN’T, QUOTE, AN
AMERICAN BLACK BECAUSE OF HER
ANCESTRY.
ANCESTRY. WITH A COMMENT, IS THIS TRUE?
WOW.
WOW. AND PEOPLE NOTICED.
DONALD TRUMP JR. LATER DELETED
THAT TWEET AND A SPOKESPERSON
FOR HIM -- IMAGINE THAT JOB --
LATER CALLED IT A
MISUNDERSTANDING ADDING THIS --
DON’S TWEET WAS SIMPLY ASKING,
ASKING IF IT WAS WAS TRUE KAMALA
HARRIS IS HALF INDIAN BECAUSE
IT’S NOT SOMETHING HE HAVE EVER
HEARD BEFORE.
HEARD BEFORE. ONCE HE SAW FOLKS WERE
MISCONSTRUING THE INTENT OF HIS
TWEET, HE QUICKLY DELETED IT.
BY THE WAY, TALKING ABOUT KAMALA
HARRIS, IN THE LAST HOUR
BRAND-NEW POLLING CONDUCTED OVER
THE WEEKEND AFTER THE DEBATES
HAS HER SURGING INTO SECOND
PLACE, FIVE POINTS BEHIND FIRST
PLACE JOE BIDEN.
JOINING OUR CONVERSATION, ALICIA
MENENDEZ, CO-HOST OF PBS’S
AMANPOUR & COMPANY.
WHAT IS GOING ON, MY FRIEND?
>> OH, MY GOODNESS.
SO MANY THINGS GOING ON.
>> I KNOW.
TAKE YOUR TIME.
>> GOING BACK TO FEBRUARY,
KAMALA HARRIS WAS ON THE SHOW
"THE BREAKFAST CLUB" AND AT THE
TIME SHE CALLED THIS OUT I WILL
FACE THE QUESTIONS OF WHETHER OR
NOT I’M BLACK ENOUGH AS BARACK
OBAMA FACED.
OBAMA FACED. THAT’S ONE PIECE.
>> WOMEN ALWAYS KNOW, RIGHT?
WE KNOW WHAT’S COMING.
WE CAN WRITE THE ATTACKS ON
OURSELVES.
OURSELVES. >> SO SHE DID.
AND NOW THERE’S THE BIRTHERISM
QUESTION GETTING A SECOND LIFE,
WHICH IS MEANT TO DISCREDIT HER
CANDIDACY AS MORE DANGEROUS
SHOULD SHE WIN THE PRIMARY AND
GENERALING, IT DISCREDITS HER AS
A LEADER AND BECOMES AN ONGOING
QUESTION WITHOUT WOULD BE HER
PRESIDENCY.
PRESIDENCY. AND THEN THERE’S ANOTHER PIECE
THAT WE’RE NOT ABLE TO DEAL WITH
MISINFORMATION.
MISINFORMATION. THIS TWEET GOES OUT.
THERE’S A UNIVERSITY OF BOT NET
THAT’S RETWEET IT.
ON TOP OF THAT YOU HAVE SOMEONE
VERY CLOSE TO THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES TREATING IT.
DOES
DOES THAT DOES NOT HELP.
BUT THIS IS A STRUCTURAL ISSUE
ON TOP OF THE OTHER ISSUES WE
HAVEN’T FULLY GRAPPLED WITH.
>> I WATCHED THAT MONTAGE OF
TRUMP, WHICH MADE ME REALLY SAD.
I’M PART OF THE PROBLEM.
I ADMIT IT FULLY.
IF YOU THINK BACK HERE WAS A MAN
WHO WASN’T YET A CANDIDATE FOR
PRESIDENT AND SPOUTING
OSTENSIBLY RACIST STUFF, LIES
ABOUT THE PRESIDENT, AND HE GOT
A MEGA PHONE.
HE GOT A MEGA PHONE FOR ME AND
FROM A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE.
HE WASN’T CHALLENGED ENOUGH AND
CALLED OUT FOR WHAT IT WAS AT
THE TIME.
THE TIME. I THINK WE LEARNED AN IMPORTANT
LESSON.
LESSON. I’M GLAD WE’RE CALLING IT OUT AS
RACIST BECAUSE IT OBJECTIVELY
IS.
IS. BUT WHAT DO YOU DO WITH
DISINFORMATION?
DISINFORMATION? IS IT ENOUGH TO CALL IT OUT?
WHERE DO YOU PUT IT ON A
TELECAST LIKE THIS.
I’M GLAD WE TALKED ABOUT NORTH
KOREA FIRST BECAUSE I THINK IT’S
IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT. >> MAYBE NOT.
SHOULD WE HAVE STARTED WITH
THIS?
THIS? >> I DON’T KNOW.
THESE ARE DIFFICULT EDITORIAL
DECISIONS WE GRAPPLE WITH EVERY
DAY.
DAY. I WISH PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD ABOUT
HOW CRITICAL THEY WERE BECAUSE
THERE ARE STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT
HOW WE SHOULD DO IT BUT IT’S
COMPLEX.
COMPLEX. HOW DO YOU IGNORE THE
PRESIDENT’S SON PUSHING A RACIST
THEORY --
THEORY -- >> WE DIDN’T IGNORE HIM.
>> YOU HAVE TO CALL IT OUT FOR
OBVIOUS REASONS.
OBVIOUS REASONS. YOU HAVE TO CALL UNTRUTHS
UNTRUTHS AND RACISM RACISM.
THE QUESTION HOW DO YOU
EDITORIALIZE IT AND CON
TEXTURIZE IT?
TEXTURIZE IT? >> AND THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO
FOLLOW DONALD TRUMP JR. ON
TWITTER, LET’S FACE IT, WHO
DON’T WATCH THE 4:00 P.M.
HOW DO YOU GET TO THE --
>> THAT’S A QUESTION FOR
TWITTER.
TWITTER. WHAT WE CAN CONTROL IS THE
MEETINGS WE’RE ON AND WHERE WE
WRITE AND TALK.
BUT EVERYONE IN THIS UNIVERSITY,
AND IT’S A VAST UNIVERSITY, HAS
TO REALLY THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY
DID WHEN DONALD TRUMP DID THIS
TO OBAMA AND WHETHER THAT WAS
THE RIGHT POSITION AND WHAT THEY
WILL DO GOING FORWARD WHEN IT
HAPPENS ARE TO KAMALA HARRIS.
>> THIS IS A CASE STUDY FOR WHAT
WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO GO
THROUGH FOR THE NEXT YEAR PLUS
OF THIS CAMPAIGN.
TALKING TO TRUMP’S ADVISERS
THEY’RE DETERMINED TO RUN A
BRUTAL CAMPAIGN, MODELED AFTER
THE WIN IN 2016 AGAINST HILLARY
CLINTON AND WHOEVER THE NOMINEE
IS, WHETHER IT’S KAMALA HARRIS
OR JOE BIDEN OR BERNIE SANDERS
OR ELIZABETH WARREN, THEY’RE
GOING TO BE PULVERIZED BY TRUMP
AND HIS ALLIES AND HIS MACHINE,
HIS POLITICAL MACHINE, ON SOCIAL
MEDIA AND EVERYWHERE.
I DON’T KNOW THEY’RE ALL
PREPARED FOR IT, THE DEMOCRATS
ARE, AND IT’S BOG TO BE A
CHALLENGE FOR THEM AS WELLS THE
MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA
INSTITUTIONS TO POLICE FALSE
INFORMATION OUT THERE.
BUT IT WILL BE A BRUTAL YEAR FOR
US.
US. >> IT’S AN EXTRAORDINARY SIGN OF
THE WEAKNESS OF THE CASE THAT
DONALD TRUMP HAS TO TAKE TO THE
PUBLIC, THAT HE’S SO RELIANT
UPON THE LIES AND THE RACIAL
SMEARS.
SMEARS. IT’S SIGN OF INCREDIBLE
TREPIDATION, FEAR THAT HIS
PROSPECTS HEADING INTO 2020 ARE
WORSE THAN 2016.
HE’S BEHIND ALL OF THE TOP TIER
DEMOCRATS WE SHOWED AND HE
DOESN’T HAVE A CASE TO TAKE TO
THE PUBLIC.
THE PUBLIC. WHATEVER YOU THINK OF THE WALL,
THAT WAS HIS BIG IDEA.
WHATEVER YOU THINK OF JUST ABOUT
EVERYTHING EXCEPT JUDICIAL
APPOINTMENTS, YOU CAN ARGUE HE
FOLLOWED THROUGH ON THAT.
BUT HE DOES NOT HAVE A CASE TO
TAKE TO THE PUBLIC.
HE NEEDS THESE SMEARS.
>> THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT.
AND TO YOUR EARLIER QUESTION THE
STORY, IN MY OPINION AND YOU ALL
ARE PROFESSIONALS AT THIS, IS
THE PRESIDENT’S SON ADVANCED A
RACIAL NARRATIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
THAT WAS AMPLIFIED AMONG THE
PRESIDENT’S FOLLOWERS.
PRESIDENT’S FOLLOWERS. BECAUSE WHEN KAMALA HARRIS SAID
IT DIDN’T WORK LAST TIME, IT’S
NOT GOING TO WORK THIS TIME.
THERE WAS A LOT OF IT THAT DID
WORK LAST TIME.
THERE’S FERTILE GROUND WITHIN
TODAY’S REPUBLICAN PARTY TO
ACCEPT THIS NARRATIVE SO THE
PRESIDENT’S SON KNEW THAT,
OTHERWISE HE WOULD NOT HAVE DONE
THAT.
THAT. HE WAS STOKING THE FLAMES IN A
PARTY WHERE THEY’VE GIVEN
PERMISSION FOR THIS TYPE OF
RACISM.
RACISM. THE OTHER STORY COMING OUT OF
IT, IT’S A REMARKABLE CONTRAST
BETWEEN DONALD TRUMP JR. AND
TRUMP AS CANDIDATE AND EVERYONE
ELSE WHO DENOUNCED IT.
UNDERSTAND WHAT KAMALA HARRIS
DID THURSDAY NIGHT, SHE HURT TWO
PEOPLE VERY BADLY.
SHE DREW BLOOD FROM JOE BIDEN
AND SHE SHOWED SHE COULD GO TOE
TO TOE WITH DONALD TRUMP.
JOE BIDEN RESPONDED SAYING IT’S
WRONG TO PEDDLE RACIST
NARRATIVE.
NARRATIVE. HE CALLED IT OUT.
DONALD TRUMP’S FAMILY ACTUALLY
AMPLIFIED AND THAT’S THE
CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO
CANDIDATES.
CANDIDATES. >> THAT’S A GREAT POINT.
IF YOU DEMONSTRATE THAT BETWEEN
THE TWO PARTIES, THAT IS THE
CHOICE.
CHOICE. THERE’S NOW AN ENTIRE PARTY THAT
STANDS FOR THE AMPLIFICATION OF
RACIST SMEARS AND AN ENTIRE
PARTY -- THAT’S A BRUTAL PRIMARY
FIGHT.
FIGHT. THEY’RE BEING CIVILIZED TO ONE
ANOTHER BECAUSE THEY VIEW THAT
IN INTEREST OF THE PARTY BUT
THEY WANT IT BADLY.
>> TRUMP JR. OFFERED AN EXCUSE,
NOT AN APOLOGY.