Trump's former defense secretary Mark Esper is out there trying to sell his book
and of course his book has to do with his time within the Trump administration.
And he's come out with some new revelations.
In fact during a recent interview on 60 minutes, he cited a proposal to
take military action against Venezuela meaning Trump wanted to do that,
which isn't that surprising to strike Iran also not that surprising.
And at one point somebody proposed we blockade Cuba, Esper said such ideas
would occur at various times, certainly the last year of the administration.
Now all of that is unsurprising and to be quite honest with you,
I wouldn't be surprised if it was a democratic president wanting those things.
But let's go to some of the newer things that we've learned.
So he says quote, these ideas would happen, It seemed,
every few weeks something like this would come up and we'd have to swat them down.
And then we learned about what Trump wanted to do in Mexico.
Esper's interview follows a series of revelatory claims he makes about his
time in the Trump administration including exploring the possibility of
secretly launching missiles into Mexico and
asking whether people protesting the death of George Floyd could be shot in the leg.
Now we talked about the proposal by Trump in response to
the George Floyd protesters.
So that's not really a new piece of news.
But let's explore what Trump wanted to do in Mexico a little further.
He actually elaborated on this during an interview this morning,
let's take a quick look.
>> You also wrote that President Trump asked the military if he could shoot
missiles into Mexico.
And you basically explained to him that that's illegal, it's an act of war.
And he said well, we'll shoot those missiles at cartels and and drug houses.
When you told him that, what was his response?
>> Well look, yeah he wanna shoot a drug labs.
And and as I say, I get it, right?
We all are troubled by drugs in America.
He was trying to find a way to go after this, but
there are right ways to do it and wrong ways to do it.
And when I said no, you can't it would be an act of war illegal.
He said, well look, nobody will know.
They just won't find out, >> Wow,
>> Nobody would know,
they just won't find out.
That is the brain of a child who led this country and
is very likely to lead it again in 2024.
But before I get to the entirety of Trump's response to all of these
allegations, I just wanna give you a response to the Mexico allegation
in response to experts claim that he'd pushed back on Trump's
suggestion that the US used missiles to destroy drug labs in Mexico,
Trump responded no comment meaning it's definitely true.
>> Yeah, that's exactly right.
I was just gonna bring up the same thing because on everything else he's like fake
news, no way didn't say it, right?
On bombing our neighbor Mexico and starting a war with Mexico,
he's like no comment.
And by the way, he's not entirely wrong.
Wait, what do you mean?
Should we have started a war with Mexico?
No, we should not have done that.
But the reason why he's not backing away from that is I bet you,
the overwhelming majority Republicans would get animated by that,
would love that and are more likely to vote for him if they hear that story.
He wanted to bomb the Mexicans and kill a bunch of them.
And maybe start a war with Mexico our neighbor.
That sounds so good for Republicans.
>> Sure it does.
Yeah, I'm sure it does.
Let's destabilize more countries.
Let's create more refugees and
then whine when people are seeking refuge in our country, let's do that.
Well, we've got a great track record of that.
>> Yeah, but the right wing would like it.
And so that's why he's not backing away from it.
I think that hurt at all.
Look a little bit later we're gonna get to Esper's four knows.
The four things they had to make sure that the mad king would not do while
he was in office cuz everyone knew that the president was insane and
we might re elect him.
This country is in so much trouble.
>> So Trump mostly denied everything with the exception of the Mexico allegations.
Trump in fact lost it in a lot of his responses to 60 minutes.
They wanted to seek comment from Trump.
He says Mark Esper was a stiff who was desperate not to lose his job.
I actually do believe that.
He would do anything I wanted.
That's why I called him Yesper.
He was a lightweight and a figurehead and I realized it very early on.
And to be honest with you, that is the exact kind of reaction or
response from Trump that I think ends up working.
Because it takes credibility away from Mark Esper.
And is anyone really gonna deny that Mark Esper was looking out for Mark Esper?
I mean, he was serving in the Trump administration and he decided to sit on so
much of this information for when he would be able to sell books.
So do I deny that Mark Esper is looking out for Mark Esper?
No, I don't deny it.
I think that Mark Esper is also a terrible person.
He's looking out for his own profit motives.
But at the same time, I definitely believe that Donald Trump wanted to do some of
these horrendous things because Trump would actually vocally say he wanted to do
horrendous things.
For instance, he also said that Esper was so
ineffective that Trump had to run the military himself,
which is do not believe that for a second.
>> [LAUGH] how? >> Trump did not,
>> How, can I just say.
How would he even run the military?
Somebody just asked him a question.
>> I know how to run the military, >> I know it better
than anyone >> I know how to tell the generals
to do this strike and that strike and maybe you do a drone strike and
maybe we do the mother of all bombs.
I run the military, I'm the best.
That's how you would run the military disaster.
>> So where would you move those battalions?
I don't know, I'll tell you what, I'm the best at battalion, okay?
I've never lost a battalion, never lost one.
I would say, go there or maybe there, okay?
I was running the military.
Right wingers actually believe it.
I mean, they're just there.
We live in Alison wonderland, upside that world.
All right, sorry, I didn't keep going.
>> So in terms of other denials, this one I found pretty hilarious.
Trump denied that he wanted to evoke the insurrection act despite having
said on June 2020 that he would quote, deploy the United States military
if state governors didn't increase their use of force to quell protests.
In fact, I remember covering that when it happened Cenk.
>> So that's the insurrection act.
>> Yeah >> So he's like,
I didn't say the exact quote that I said.
I didn't say, I said it, but it didn't say it.
And Maggie was like, yeah, he said it, but didn't say it.
Yeah, that makes sense.
>> Nailed it. >> And by the way,
Esper also said Trump didn't even know what the insurrection act was.
He thought that Esper had taken it away from him and Esper had to explain.
No, sir that's always existed.
It's from a long time ago and it's a core principal of democracy that you
don't use the military against their own citizens.
Why did you take it away from me?
Okay, an absolute ignoramus.
Can I get to the four nos?
>> Go ahead.
Yeah, so Esper said.
And remember guys, Esper was so right wing Trump picked him and
he picked him late in his administration.
They do have any of these guys and they thought okay,
Esper is such a maniac right winger.
He'll do whatever Trump says.
And by the way that's why they nicknamed him Yesper.
And even Yesper was like no, that guy is a lunatic.
What are we doing?
Okay, so him and Mark Miller, the head of the Joint Chiefs had four nos.
One was no strategic retreats cuz they were worried that he was going to betray
our allies and say, okay I'm taking all the troops out of south Korea and
north Korea you could take it anytime you want, right?
So they wanted to make sure he didn't do that.
No unnecessary wars cuz they are at the end they were really worried in the last
six months that if he was losing in the polls,
he was just gonna start bombing random countries.
Iran Mexico and Venezuela just to start a war so he'll want to win reelection.
So they were trying super hard to make sure he didn't start a war.
Remember Magna thinks that trump is anti war.
[LAUGH] He was seeing him starting one for his own political benefit for
one or two points politically, okay?
No politicization of the military and no misuse of the military.
Why?
Because they all knew that trump was considering using
the military to inside the United States to end democracy.
His own guys knew that he was insane.
It was not in favor of democracy and would do anything for his own benefit,
including starting unnecessary awards or helping our enemies.
That's the person Donald trump is.
No morality, no intelligence, absolutely craven.
That's why Republican voters love him.
>> Yep.
And finally, just one more line from Trump and his response to all of this.
This is fake news.
The fact is I didn't need to invoke the act and never did.
No, you never did because you received surprisingly
successful pushback within your own administration.
But he would have absolutely used the insurrection act to quell protests.
He wanted to do it.
He was vocal about it at the time.
That's just who he is and when he wasn't able to do it?
What did he do Cenk?
What was plan B for Donald trump?
Was plan B for bunker boy to go run into the White House bumper for safety.
>> Who they're protesting me, why don't you shoot them?
They're scaring me.
There was an article just like ten days ago where it sounds like a joke,
but it isn't.
That trump was actually afraid of flying vegetables.
And I know it's hilarious.
At his speeches they had to do precautions because he's really
worried that somebody was gonna throw tomato, okay?
And they're like, sir,
we'll obviously take precautions around that obviously, right?
We don't want you to get it by that, but it's not actually going,
it's not a lethal threat obviously.
He's like, what if they throw pineapples?
I'm not kidding.
He said that.
>> That'd be pretty sweet.
>> [LAUGH] Okay, well the pineapples.
>> Little tropical flair in your activism I'm into it.
>> So he's definitely afraid.
>> He'd be be dull whipped.
>> Okay [LAUGH] Anyways, no,
he's definitely afraid of everything cuz he's an incredible coward.
Again, another reason why Republican voters love him cuz they all live in fear.
Mexicans foreigners, can we shoot them my bunker?
So that said that the typical Republican mentality and so
the fact that he's unintelligent, deathly afraid of everything around him and
has no morals is perfect for the Republican voter.
That's why they stay loyal to him through thick and thin.
None of this will change their opinion.
If anything they'll double down.
He was threatening to murder people who don't agree with him.
The free speech advocates love it, cancel culture.
Let's cancel their lives.
Republicans, they're never gonna make sense.
So it is what it is.