-Democrats are debating whether to move forward with impeachment
as President Trump awaits orders from Saudi Arabia.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
Well, it's campaign season,
which means we'll all be subjected to endless hours
of cable news speculation about every morsel of political news,
from every poll result to every fundraising report,
with panels of truly absurd numbers of people
sitting around giant tables, endlessly dissecting
who's up and who's down in the race.
And I'm sorry, but what is up with
this weird horseshoe configuration?
You couldn't find a table that looks less like
the Legion of Doom?
[ Laughter ]
This is, of course, the time of year
when the cable news pundits speculate wildly,
and often wrongly.
For example, you might remember that,
when Elizabeth Warren
announced that she was exploring a presidential run
at end of 2018, many pundits
proclaimed her candidacy dead on arrival
because she had supposedly missed her moment
by not running four years ago.
-As Elizabeth Warren inches towards
a possible presidential run in 2020,
President Trump is laughing her off.
Does she stand a chance, or has she missed her moment?
-In a new editorial, the
quote, "Warren missed her moment in 2016,
and there's reason to be skeptical
of her perspective candidacy in 2020."
-There are some say that she missed her shot
to run in 2016 for president.
-Perhaps 2016 was Elizabeth Warren's moment,
and she should have run then.
-In 2016, she had so many people urging her to run.
-She might have missed her moment.
That might have been her moment.
-She maybe missed her moment, in some eyes, back in 2016.
-You know your political analysis is bad
when you sound like you're quoting a Kelly Clarkson song.
"You know what? She missed her moment.
And a moment like this, some people wait a lifetime
for a moment like this."
Also, can we go back to this part, real quick.
-As Elizabeth Warren inches towards a possible
presidential run in 2020,
President Trump is laughing her off.
I'm sorry, Trump is laughing her off?
If laughing at somebody meant they couldn't be president,
then, we sure as hell wouldn't have Trump to deal with.
Donald Trump often appears on Fox, which is ironic,
because a fox often appears on Donald Trump's head.
[ Laughter ]
By the way, that...
[ Cheers and applause ]
...interesting factoid --
that comedian, right there, that's my son.
[ Laughter ]
But anyway, there you go.
The pundits said Elizabeth Warren
missed her moment.
And if there is one thing we've learned from the last decade
of politics, it's that the pundits are always right.
-Momentum growing for a surging Senator Elizabeth Warren.
-Senator Elizabeth Warren surging in this latest poll.
-Warren is surging. -She is surging.
All eyes are on a surging Elizabeth Warren.
-New polling shows Warren's economic message
is resonating with voters.
-Take a look at thousands -- thousands of people
who gathered in New York City's Washington Square Park
last night for Warren's anti-corruption speech.
-Her campaign said the presidential candidate
drew a crowd of 20,000 people to her rally
in New York City last night --
the biggest crowd of her campaign so far.
-Warren vowed to take a selfie
with everyone who wanted one at the end.
So, that selfie line for a crowd of 20,000
lasted for four hours.
-Wow.
-She stood there and took selfies after her speech
for four hours.
Can you imagine Trump doing that?
I mean, look at how much he sweats during his speeches.
You know you're out of shape when talking is cardio.
After four hours of selfies, he'd just be a puddle with hair.
But Warren's speech was not just...
was not just about showcasing enthusiasm
or posing for selfies.
It was also about hitting home a crucial point --
a distinction she has drawn
with one of her main rivals, Joe Biden.
Biden has basically said that, once Trump is gone,
things will go back to normal.
Warren, on the other hand, has stressed
that Trump is both the product and the symbol
of a broken system.
-Now, when you see a government that works great
for those with money and connections,
and doesn't work for much of anyone else,
that's corruption, plain and simple,
and we need to call it out for what it is.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Okay. So, let's start with the obvious.
Donald Trump is corruption in the flesh.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Now, as bad as things are, we have to recognize
our problems didn't start with Donald Trump.
He made them worse, but we need to take a deep breath,
and recognize that a country that elects Donald Trump
is already in serious trouble.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-That's a very good point.
It's like finding out your daughter is dating a deejay --
getting rid of the deejay is fine,
but you still have to go back and examine
the way you raised your daughter.
"What did we do?"
Also, can we go back to this.
-Donald Trump is corruption in the flesh.
-The only part of that I disagree with
is the idea that Trump has actual human flesh.
I mean, look at him.
His actual face is indistinguishable
from a Halloween mask.
[ Laughter ]
Anyway, the rest of the point still stands.
Trump is the symbol and the product
of years of elite failure and institutionalized corruption --
a system which Trump has both benefited from
and made worse.
Even if you put aside the mountains of evidence
in the 400-page Mueller report,
and all of the obvious ways in which he's using the presidency
to enrich himself, this week, Trump threatened
an illegal and unconstitutional war with Iran
because Saudi Arabia pays us money.
-We would certainly help them.
They've been a great ally.
They spent $400 billion in our country
over the last number of years.
$400 billion.
That's a million and a half jobs.
And they're not ones that, unlike some countries,
where they want terms.
They want terms and conditions.
They want to say "Can we borrow the money at 0% for
the next 400 years."
No. No. Saudi Arabia pays cash.
-Wait. They paid you $400 billion in cash?
How does anyone --
I think they're scamming you, dude.
[ As Trump ] They gave me $400 billion dollar bills.
And you know they're real,
because they had Ivanka on them.
[ Normal voice ] And of course, as we've established
on this show repeatedly, Trump has all kinds
of personal financial ties from Saudi Arabia,
from which he has personally profited
both before and during his presidency.
At one point, he literally said straight up during the campaign
that he likes Saudi Arabia because they give him money.
-I love the Saudis. Many are in this building.
Saudi Arabia, and I get along great with all of them.
They buy apartments from me.
They spend $40 million, $50 million.
Am I supposed to dislike them?
I like them very much.
-That is the literal definition of a bribe.
And this is the problem with Trump --
he just confessed openly, in plain sight,
in front of the cameras, microphones on,
so it doesn't feel like a confession.
But just imagine that same quote in a different context.
Trump's in a police interrogation room
with Lennie Briscoe, and it's hour six of the interview,
light swinging over his head, sweat pouring down his face,
and the cops are screaming,
"Tell us what you know about the Saudis!"
And Trump's like, "Fine. They buy apartments from me --
$40 million, $50 million.
Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much.
Oh, God what I have said."
Since then, we've learned that Trump has registered companies
in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi officials and lobbyist
spend money at his hotels.
In fact, this week, we got yet another example
of Saudi Arabia spending money at Trump's personal properties,
when Politico reported that a large group of Saudi royals
had stayed at Trump's golf resort in Scotland
earlier this summer.
According to a staffer, a group of Saudi royals
stayed at the resort for about a week
at the tail end of extended travel,
bringing a party of 25 people
and more than 100 pieces of luggage.
100 pieces of luggage.
You know, one bag for clothes, one bag for golf clubs,
and 98 bags stuffed with gold bars.
I'm just kidding. They would never bring gold.
-Saudi Arabia pays cash.
-This is a kind of corruption that is been institutionalized
in Washington for years.
It's just that Trump came along,
and made it worse, and more obvious.
It's also blatantly illegal and unconstitutional,
which is why more and more Democrats are coming around
to the idea that Trump should be impeached.
And yet, once again, the pundits and the establishment
who predicted that Warren had missed her moment
are now hand-wringing
about the possible political consequences impeachment --
like this item from Politico, explaining the thinking
of Democratic leaders on impeachment.
Try to follow along, and see if any of this makes sense to you.
"This political pickle has come up in conversations
with several Democratic sources over the last few days.
If House Democrats impeach President Donald Trump,
and he loses, they fear they could get blamed
for a political hit job.
If they don't impeach him, and he wins,
they fear being blamed by the Democratic base
for not doing enough.
Best-case scenario, Dems are left hoping
they don't impeach him, and Trump loses on his own.
-First of all, that is not the best-case scenario.
The best-case scenario is that Trump sets his Diet Coke down
on his computer, and accidentally sends
all his texts with Putin to the
Then, he has to flee to Mexico, but he gets his pants stuck
climbing over his newly built wall,
and falls bare-assed on the Mexican side,
and that photograph is the only thing on CNN for, like, a year.
[ Cheers and applause ]
That is the best-case scenario.
[ Applause ]
Second, the same pundits who speculated wildly
about Warren missing her moment
are the same ones now insisting that impeaching
a lawless, corrupt President could hurt Democrats.
Who knows what will happen in either case,
but several things are clear --
Trump has broken the law, violated the Constitution,
and, judging from his rallies,
he has got some very serious problems, especially...
-In the flesh.
-This has been "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]