DURING DONALD TRUMP'S INTERVIEW WITH THE WALL STREET
JOURNAL HE WAS ASKED ABOUT A NUMBER OF TOPICS AND A HUGE
PORTION OF THE INTERVIEW FOCUSED ON IMMIGRATION AND BORDER
SECURITY.
SO LET'S DISCUSS WHAT HE HAD TO SAY.
WHEN IT COMES TO
THE BORDER WALL, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ASKED --
>>THAT WAS A REFERENCE TO THE IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION
BEING DRAFTED BY THE GANG OF SIX, THE SENATORS, AND THEN THAT
LEGISLATION WAS THE PARTIAL FUNDING OF THE WALL TO THE TUNE
OF $1.9 BILLION, AND HERE IS WHAT TRUMP HAD TO SAY ABOUT
THAT
--
>>VISA, MASTERCARD, SHINY THINGS, SOMETIMES AT CHUCK E.
CHEESE THEY GIVE YOU TICKETS.
>>HERE IS THE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION, I'M SO GLAD THEY ASKED
--
>>HERE IS WHAT TRUMP SAID --
>>HERE IS THE THING, THAT ANSWER'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.
BE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT THAT NAFTA DEAL WOULD ENTAIL.
JUST
SAYING I'M GOING TO NEGOTIATE A GOOD DEAL WITH NAFTA AND A
PORTION OF IT WILL PAY FOR THE WALL -- NO, YOU ARE ASKING
CONGRESS EXPLICITLY TO GIVE YOU $1.9 BILLION TO BEGIN FUNDING
THAT WALL OFF THE BACKS OF U.S. TAXPAYERS.
THAT IS THE
ANTITHESIS OF WHAT YOU CLAIMED YOU WOULD DO WHEN YOU WERE
RUNNING.
>>THAT'S WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY, WASN'T THAT HIS MAJOR
TALKING POINT WHEN HE WAS RUNNING IN 2016?
SAYING THAT IF
YOU ELECT ME I'LL GET RID OF ALL THESE TRADE AGREEMENTS, TPP, AND
HE HELD THAT WEDGE AGAINST HILLARY CLINTON, THE FACT THAT
SHE HAD INITIALLY SIGNED ON TO TPP.
AND HE SAID HE WOULD GET
RID OF NAFTA.
AND AS YOU SAID ALL OF A SUDDEN NOW IT'S GOING
TO GO ON OUR BACKS AND THE TAXPAYERS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO
FRONT THE BURDEN OF SOMETHING THAT MAYBE LESS THAN HALF ASKED
FOR.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW THE PERCENTAGE OF THE FAVORABILITY
OF THE WALL.
>>BUT IT JUST DOESN'T SELL WELL, THE IDEA THAT YOU ARE GOOD
TO RENEGOTIATE NAFTA IN THIS FANTASY WORLD AND HAVE A
WINDFALL OF PROFIT -- WHO THINKS A GOOD WAY TO USE THAT PROFIT IS
FOR A WALL?
THERE'S SO MUCH STUFF THAT'S A BETTER, EASIER SELL FOR HIM.
>>ARE WE GOING TO GET TO THE VICIOUS RIVERS PART?
>>THERE WAS SO MUCH IN THIS INTERVIEW, I DON'T HAVE THAT
PREPARED, BUT HE DID GO FROM TALKING ABOUT HOW IN THE
ELECTION HE KEPT MENTIONING HOW WE NEED TO BUILD A WALL ALONG
THE BORDER -- NEVER DISCUSSED TREACHEROUS TERRAIN, NEVER
DISCUSSED RIVERS OR MOUNTAINS, NOTHING.
HE JUST SAID WE ARE
GOING TO BUILD A GREAT BIG WALL, REALLY HIGH -- HE NEVER TALKED
ABOUT THE TRANSPARENCY OF THAT WALL, HE NEVER TALKED ABOUT
ANYTHING SPECIFIC, JUST THAT HE WAS GO TO BUILD THE WALL, A BIG,
BEAUTIFUL WALL THAT SECURES OUR BORDERS, AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN
IN THIS WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERVIEW HE START TALKING ABOUT
HOW IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A WALL ALONG THE ENTIRE BORDER BECAUSE
OF THAT TREACHEROUS TERRAIN.
OH, SHOCKING.
>>BECAUSE WE HAVE MOUNTAINS.
AND VICIOUS RIVERS.
>>HE SAID VICIOUS RIVERS.
>>THAT'S AMAZING.
THOSE MEAN, MEAN RIVERS.
>>I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT.
LET'S GO TO HIS ANSWER REGARDING
THIS BORDER SITUATION --
>>BY THE WAY, IT'S REALLY HARD TO READ WHAT HE SAYS,
BECAUSE HE SPEAKS IN A STRANGE WAY --
>>AND THEN HE JUST KIND OF STOPS HIMSELF --
>>OKAY.
>>YOU COULD GO TO AN AREA THAT DOESN'T HAVE A WALL AND SAY MR.
PRESIDENT, DO YOU LIKE THE WALL?
IT'S A TRANSPARENT WALL, JUST
LIKE YOU ASKED.
YOU CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH IT.
>>THIS IS GOING TO BE STATE-OF-THE-ART WALL.
LET'S GO
TO THE GRAPHIC, THIS IS HIS ACTUAL STATEMENT, A TRANSCRIPT
OF WHAT HE TOLD THE WALL STREET JOURNAL --
>>IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE, YOU ARE WASTING EVERYONE'S TIME,
JUST TO ANSWER HIS QUESTION.
>>IF IT'S LONGER THAN A TWEET IT'S PROBABLY HARD FOR HIM
TO CONSTRUCT A SENTENCE.
>>OKAY, SO HE HAS A COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AS ALL
PRESIDENTS SHOULD HAVE, HIS COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR IS HOPE
HICKS, WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT HER BEFORE, HE APPARENTLY TURNS TO
HER FOR VALIDATION DURING THIS PORTION OF THE QUESTION AND
ANSWER, AND HOPE HICKS VALIDATED HIM BY SAYING THE FOLLOWING, AND
THIS IS AN EXACT TRANSCRIPT OF WHAT SHE SAID --
>>THAT'S HER JOB.
>>SHE'S A COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES -- IT'S WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS TALKED?
I'M NOT
ONE OF THESE PEOPLE WHO SITS THERE AND NITPICKS GRAMMAR AND
SPELLING -- I GET IT, THAT'S ANNOYING -- BUT YOUR
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR SHOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY
COMMUNICATE AND IN TURN HELP YOU EFFECTIVELY CAN INDICATE.
>>YOU HAVE A DOG, YES?
>>YES, AND HE'S THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD.
>>AND HOW DO YOU TALK TO YOUR DOG?
LIKE HE'S A BABY.
THIS
HAPPENED TO HOPE HICKS WITH THE PRESIDENT.
WHEN YOU HAVE A
RELATIONSHIP WITH SOMEONE SOME OF THEIR SPEECH PATTERNS
SUBCONSCIOUSLY MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE WAY YOU TALK, HOPE
HICKS PROBABLY GOES HOME AND SAYS I CAN'T MAKE SENTENCES
ANYMORE BECAUSE I SPEND TOO MUCH TIME WITH THIS GUY.
THERE'S
SOMETHING THAT ALWAYS HAPPENS, YOU GO TO YOUR COMPUTER OR IPAD
OR PHONE AND OPEN UP THIS TRANSCRIPT AND YOU START READING
IT, THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN YOU GET REALLY TIRED OF READING
-- THAT'S WHEN YOU NEED TO CONTINUE.
BECAUSE THAT'S ALSO
WHERE THE PRESIDENT GETS RETIRED OF FOCUSING.
AND HE HASN'T
FOCUSED MUCH ALREADY, BUT THAT'S WHEN IT STARTS TO GET BATSHIT
CRAZY.
IT STARTS TO MAKE EVEN LESS SENSE.
THE REASON I'M
SHUFFLING MY PAPERS IS BECAUSE I DROPPED THEM AND THEY ALL GOT
OUT OF ORDER -- I PUT THEM TOGETHER IN A RANDOM ORDER AND
THEY DON'T MAKE LESS SENSE THAN THEY DID WHEN THEY WERE ALL IN
THE RIGHT ORDER.
>>I WAS GOING TO SAY, IT'S PROBABLY THE SAME CONSISTENCY OR
INCONSISTENCY.
>>YOU'RE RIGHT.
THERE WAS THE BORDER TALK, AND NOW HE WANTS TO
TALK A LITTLE ABOUT DACA, AND THIS STOOD OUT TO ME BECAUSE HE
BELIEVES THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DACA DEMOGRAPHIC AND
DREAMERS.
HE THINKS THOSE ARE TO COMPLETE THE DIFFERENT GROUPS.
DON'T BELIEVE ME?
HERE'S WHAT HE HAD TO SAY --
>>SOMEONE TOLD HIM THIS, SOMEONE SAID THIS.
YOU KNOW,
THERE'S THE DREAM ACT AND THERE'S DACA.
AND HE'S LIKE, OH
REALLY, I'M GOING TO RUN WITH THAT.
HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE
FUNDAMENTAL ANYTHING, THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
SOMEONE SAID
SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THIS TO HIM, AND THEN HE WAS CALLED OUT
ON IT, AND NOW HE WANTS TO CALL EVERYONE ELSE OUT ON IT.
IT'S
LIKE WHEN YOU TEACH YOUR KID A LESSON AND YOU HEAR THEM USE
YOUR WORDS TELLING SOMEONE ELSE THAT THEY ARE WRONG.
AND YOU ARE
LIKE, YOU DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT I WAS TALKING
ABOUT BUT AT LEAST THEY SEEM TO BE LEARNING SOMETHING.
>>THIS REALLY, REALLY CONCERNS ME.
AND AGAIN, IT'S GONE FROM
JUST UTTER DISDAIN TOWARD HIM -- A LOT OF THE FOCUS FROM MY
PERCEPTION WAS ABOUT HOW DEPLORABLE HE IS, BUT YOU READ
THIS INTERVIEW, AND AGAIN I WANT TO REALLY EMPHASIZE THAT IT
CONCERNS ME, AND THIS IS NOT THE MIND OF SOMEONE WHO IS FOCUSED,
WHO IS KNOWLEDGEABLE, WHO IS COMPETENT, WHO IS FIT FOR
OFFICE.
I JUST REALLY WORRY THAT HE IS, YOU KNOW, PUSHING FOR
LEGISLATION AND ORCHESTRATING CERTAIN POLICIES WHEN HE HAS
ABSOLUTELY NO UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THOSE
POLICIES.
>>RIGHT.
HE HAS NO CLUE, HE ISN'T ABLE TO LEARN AND HE HAS NO
INTEREST IN LEARNING.
>>HIS INTEREST IS BEING A SHOWMAN.
AND THE OTHER THING
THAT COMES ACROSS IN THIS IS HIS OBSESSION WITH OBAMA.
AT NEVER
HEARD A LEADER TALK ABOUT THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION SO MUCH
AND SIZED THEMSELVES UP TO IT AS MUCH AS TRUMP SEEMS TO THINK IS
NECESSARY.
AGAIN, IT'S PART OF THE INCONSISTENT RAMBLINGS THAT
CONSTITUTE THE TOTALITY OF THIS PIECE.
HE THROWS IN, THAT'S
DIFFERENT THAN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION.
>>THERE'S THIS WEIRD OBSESSION OF SIZING HIMSELF UP COMPARED TO
PRESIDENT OBAMA.
AND THAT'S WHY HE UNDOES EVERYTHING OBAMA HAS
DONE, THAT'S WHY HE IMMEDIATELY GOES BACK TO, OH, LOOK AT WHAT I
WAS ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH, LOOK WHAT HAPPENED IN THE STOCK
MARKET UNDER MY ADMINISTRATION VERSUS OBAMA'S.
THERE'S A LOT OF
EMPHASIS ON COMPARING HIMSELF TO OBAMA THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE
INTERVIEW, AND IT'S NOT EXCLUSIVELY EVIDENT IN THIS
INTERVIEW.
YOU SEE IT ALL THE TIME, HE DOES IT ALL THE TIME.