President Trump gave yet another
unhinged performance at a campaign rally on Saturday.
And his education secretary followed up the next day
by giving a train wreck of an interview to "60 Minutes."
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
With the Stormy Daniels story gaining traction every day
and the Russia investigation intensifying,
maybe Trump is under an unusual amount of stress
because on Saturday, he flew to Pennsylvania to rally for
the Republican candidate in a special Congressional election,
and even by his standards,
Trump's antics were especially off the rails.
Now, as for the candidate, Rick Saccone,
who Trump was ostensibly there to support, he barely came up.
Trump's like the friend you invite
to your karaoke birthday party
who shows up late, doesn't bring a gift,
and then sings "Stairway to Heaven"
10 times in a row.
[ Laughter ]
And Trump was playing all the hits,
reeling off vulgar insults of reporters and politicians
by name, like, for example,
when he brought up the prospect of running against Oprah
and implied that he knew something about her
that the public does not.
-Wouldn't we love to run against Oprah?
I would love it.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I would love it.
That would be a painful experience for her.
Oh, I'd love Oprah to win.
I'd love to beat Oprah.
I know her weakness.
[ Cheers and applause ]
No, no, I know her weakness.
-I know her weakness?
[ Laughter ]
He talks about Oprah the way Lex Luthor talks about Superman.
[ Laughter ]
And you're not special.
We all know her weakness.
-I love bread.
[ Laughter and applause ]
-And listen,
don't think you can stop her just because you look like
the Pillsbury Doughboy.
[ Laughter ]
And that's it. That's Oprah's only weakness.
This is a woman who spent 30 years getting celebrities
to cry on television.
She broke Lance Armstrong.
If Trump ever does debate Oprah,
there's a good chance it will end
with him sobbing at the podium.
[ As Trump ] "You know, you know who I wish they'd lock up?
The part of me that's sad."
[ Laughter ]
[ Normal voice ] But, of course, Trump was not merely content
to attack one black woman in his rant.
He then went after California congresswoman Maxine Waters
specifically by insulting her intelligence.
-We have to defeat Nancy Pelosi.
[ Crowd boos ]
And Maxine Waters,
a very low I.Q. Individual.
-I don't know. I bet she says "I.Q." faster.
[ Laughter ]
[ As Trump ] "I...Q."
[ Laughter ]
[ Normal voice ] And Trump knows --
[ Cheers and applause ]
You guys, Trump knows high I.Q. individuals,
like his Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos,
seen here crushing it last night on "60 Minutes."
-Have the public schools in Michigan gotten better?
-I don't know. Overall,
I can't say overall that they have all gotten better.
-Your argument that if you take funds away,
that the schools will get better is not working in Michigan.
Where you have a huge impact and influence over the direction
of the school system here.
-I hesitate to talk about
all schools in general
because schools are made up
of individual students attending them.
-Have you seen the really bad schools?
Maybe try to figure out what -- what they're doing?
-I have not. I have not.
I've not intentionally visited schools
that are underperforming.
-Maybe you should. -Maybe I should.
-F-minus. F-minus.
She's the highest ranking education official
in the country, and she acts like a substitute teacher
who is just realizing her U.S. history isn't up to speed.
[ Laughter ]
"Can anyone tell me what this is a picture of?"
"Yeah, it's George Washington crossing the Delaware."
"Well, no, because Delaware is a state.
[ Laughter ]
So you wouldn't need a boat to cross it."
"Yeah, it's also a river."
"I don't know."
[ Laughter ]
"Yeah, it is. Maybe you should look it up."
"Yeah. Maybe I should."
[ Laughter ]
Now Trump always --
[ Applause ]
Trump always insults
and degrades people at these rallies.
But his performance on Saturday was especially manic and vulgar.
For example, Trump started ranting about his decision
to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
And when referencing an interview he gave years ago
on "Meet the Press" said this about host Chuck Todd.
-It's 1999.
I'm on "Meet the Press,"
a show now headed
by Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd.
He's a sleeping son of a bitch,
I'll tell you.
-You're calling Chuck Todd a son of a bitch?
Seriously, you know someone's not a son of a bitch
when they still come off as approachable
despite having the exact same facial hair as Evil Spock.
[ Laughter ]
Trump is, of course, so obsessed with earning the praise
and validation of the media,
that at one point during his rant on North Korea,
he literally just started rambling nonsensically
about President Obama,
claiming Obama would not have been able to arrange a meeting
with Kim Jong-un.
-They're saying not that big a deal,
anybody could have done it.
Obama could have done it.
Obama had a chance -- [ Crowd boos ]
No, no. They're saying -- Obama.
Obama. Obama.
-Just -- [ Laughter ]
Just mumbling Obama's name like --
like Obama was the name of his childhood sled.
[ Laughter ]
His presidential diaries are going to look like
the manuscript from "The Shining."
[ Laughter ]
Of course, one major difference between Obama and Trump
is that for Trump the presidency isn't actually a job,
it's just a performance.
And on Saturday, he defended his performance by playing
make-believe onstage and acting out
what it would be like if he were less unhinged
and more subdued as president.
-You know how easy -- remember
I used to say how easy it is
to be presidential?
But you'd all be out of here right now if I --
you'd be so bored.
Because I could stand up, right?
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Laughter ]
I'm very presidential.
[ Deep voice ] Ladies and gentlemen,
thank you for being here tonight.
And then you go, "God bless you,
and God bless the United States of America."
Thank you very much.
[ Laughter, cheers, and applause ]
-I have to say, he might be the only white comedian
who does a white guy voice.
[ Laughter and applause ]
He's pretty [bleep] funny sometimes.
[ Laughter ]
But Trump's ranting about North Korea
and being presidential tells us a lot
about his shock announcement last week that he had agreed
to a summit meeting with Kim Jong-un.
Now it's undeniably better to be on a path toward peace
than a ramp-up to war.
And if Trump somehow manages to fall ass-backwards
into a peaceful resolution with North Korea,
then that is absolutely a good thing.
And if that happens, I will be the first to admit,
okay, he wasn't Darth Vader,
he was Mr. Bean. [ Laughter and applause ]
But for Trump, this is as usual mostly about the show,
not about the policy because for months,
he's repeatedly insisted that diplomacy was not the answer
and even as late as last week, he was incredibly vague
about whether he favored negotiation or military action.
-President Trump tweeted, and I quote...
-We sent out through social media statement
willing to go either way.
Hopefully it's going to be
the proper way.
The proper way is the way
that everybody knows
and everybody wants.
-Wow. You are so clear and well spoken.
Who was your teacher? Betsy DeVos?
[ Laughter and applause ]
So, Trump kept -- kept batting down
his own Secretary of State's attempts to secure
a peaceful resolution even when asked point blank
what he would do was incredibly vague because, of course,
he had no idea what he would do.
It was only after careful diplomacy
that South Korea was able to make this breakthrough,
Trump caring only about the spectacle accepted on the spot,
while Congressional leaders and top officials
at the Pentagon and State Department
learned what was happening from news reports.
So the Pentagon and State Department
have to watch the news to find out what the President is doing.
I guess it's not surprising since the President
also watches the news to find out what the President's doing.
[ Applause ]
In fact, even -- even the way Trump notified
the press about the news
was more about theater than substance.
After the South Koreans relayed the invitation,
Trump walked over to the White House briefing room
and teased reporters with a vague announcement.
-Within the last few moments,
President Trump stuck his head
into the White House
briefing room and said that
there would be a major announcement
coming this evening.
-And I said, "Mr. President,
what is the announcement going to be on?"
And he said, "North Korea."
-We're showing our viewers
a picture when he simply walked
into the briefing room over
there, the press briefing room.
-Okay, first of all, you can't just pop in,
say you've got big news on North Korea, and leave.
That's like your doctor peeking into your exam room
and saying, "I just got your test results back,
and they are crazy!"
[ Laughter ]
Seriously, though, look at him.
He looks like he's popping his head into the break room
to see if there's any pizza left.
[ Laughter ]
[ As Trump ] "You guys, big news on North Korea.
[ Laughter ]
You guys eat all the pizza?"
[ Normal voice ] But Trump made his priorities clear
when he spoke to reporters Thursday.
He didn't comment on the substance
of the announcement or how it would work.
His focus was mainly about how the press would report on it.
-He was almost giddy about this,
ecstatic about this news.
He said that this
would be a big development.
I asked if it was about negotiations.
He said says it's almost beyond that and then he said,
"I hope you give me credit."
-That's all he cares about.
He just wants credit unless things go wrong,
then he wants to avoid blame.
If he meets with Kim Jong-un and it's a disaster,
you know who who he'll blame it on.
-Obama. Obama. Obama.
-So the President is ranting nonsensically at rallies
and his Education Secretary
is giving incomprehensible answers about education,
all while the White House tries to resolve
a tense situation with North Korea.
If Trump manages to stumble his way into
a diplomatic breakthrough,
that would undoubtedly be a great thing.
But if that happens, he will have done it
despite being a very...
-Low I.Q. individual.
-This has been "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪