>>> IF YOU'RE A CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN -- IF I WERE A
LIBERAL -- LIKE, OKAY, THAT'S WHY I ALWAYS START WENT TO
WHARTON, WAS A GOOD STUDENT, WENT THERE, WENT THERE, DID
THIS, I HAVE TO GIVE MY CREDENTIALS ALL THE TIME BECAUSE
WE'RE AT A LITTLE DISADVANTAGE BUT YOU LOOK AT THE NUCLEAR --
WE HAD OUR BEAUTIFUL MARINES STANDING THERE BING, BING, BING,
BING, WE GOT THEM BACK. >> BING, BING, BONG, BONG, YOU
KNOW WHAT THAT IS, RIGHT? BING, BING.
I LOVE IT. >> I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.
REMEMBER IN 2015 AND 2016 WHEN WE USED TO BE SHOCKED, AMAZED
EVEN BY INCOHERENT ME YANTDERRING, ALMOST
INCOMPREHENSIBLE SPEECHES BY THEN CANDIDATE DONALD TRUMP.
WELL, IT'S NOW 2017 AND GRAMMATICALLY INCORRECT
SENTENCES AND HARD-TO-FOLLOW MONOLOGUES ARE A DAILY NATIONAL
OCCURRENCE BUT WITH TRUMP GIVING AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PAPER HE
LOVES TO HATE, THE "NEW YORK TIMES," WE GOT BOMBSHELLS THE,
PRESIDENT SYSTEM WILLING HIS OWN ATTORNEY GENERAL, THREATENING A
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR AND DISMISSING HIS DINNER CHAT WITH
VLADIMIR PUTIN AND WE ALSO GOT MORE EXAMPLES OF HIS BIZARRE
WORD USAGE, LIKE THIS COMMENT ON HEALTH CARE.
"WE HAVE SOME MEETINGS SCHEDULED TODAY, I THINK WE HAVE SIX
PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY SORT OF OKAY, THEY'RE ALL GOOD PEOPLE.
WE DON'T HAVE BAD PEOPLE, I KNOW THE BAD PEOPLE, BELIEVE ME, DO I
KNOW BAD PEOPLE." .
AND WITH ME NOW ARE TWO GUESTS I HOPE WILL HELP ME TRANSLATE
DONALD TRUMP FOR OUR VIEWERS, ACTOR, AWARD WINNING FABULOUS
ACTOR RON PEARLMAN, AUTHOR OF THE MEMOIR "EASY STREET THE HARD
WAY" AND COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LINGUISTICS PROFESSOR JOHN
McWHARTER, AUTHOR OF "WORDS ON THE MOVE."
MAYBE IT'S ELITISM AND I'LL START WITH YOU, JOHN, TO BE
WEIRDED OUT BY THE WAY DONALD TRUMP SPEAKS BUT IT STRIKES ME
WHEN I TRY TO READ WHAT HE'S SAYING, IT'S VERY HARD TO
UNDERSTAND IT IN PRINT. >> THE WAY HE TALKS IS VERY
ORAL, IT'S NOT DESIGNED TO BE READ AND NOT SOMETHING ANYBODY
WOULD WRITE. THE TRUTH IS AS DISGUSTED BY HIM
AS I AM, THE TRUTH IS A LOT OF US SOUND MORE LIKE HIM THAN WE
WOULD THINK, EVEN ON TV SHOWS LIKE THIS.
CONTEXT MEANS A LOT. HE'S NOT A CAREFUL SPEAKER, HE'S
JUST AN ORDINARY BARSTOOL SPEAKER.
>> AS AN ACTOR, RON, YOU'RE CALLED UPON TO STEP OUTSIDE OF
WHO YOU ARE AND BECOME SOMEONE ELSE.
HAVE YOU EVER ENCOUNTERED A CHARACTER LIKE DONALD TRUMP?
. THIS IS HIM TALKING IN A "NEW
YORK TIMES" INTERVIEW. MAYBE I'LL HAVE YOU READ IT.
I THIRD HAVE YOU READ THIS. NUMBER THREE, WE'LL LET YOU TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF YOUR WORD STYLINGS IF YOU HAVE YOUR GLASSES ON.
>> I DO NOT HAVE ANY GLASSES. >> "I'VE HAD THE BEST REVIEWS ON
FOREIGN LAND, SO I GO TO POLAND AND MAKE A SPEECH, ENEMIES OF
MINE IN THE MEDIA, ENEMIES OF MADE ARE SAYING IT WAS THE
GREATEST SPEECH EVER MADE BY A FOREIGN PRESIDENT, I'M SAYING
MAN, THEY COVER, YOU SAW THE REVIEWS I GOT ON THAT SPEECH,
POLAND WAS BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL, THE RECEPTION WAS
INCREDIBLE." HE DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A
PRESIDENT, HE SOUNDS LIKE A TOURIST.
>> I JUST WISH MORE OF IT WAS GARBLED.
THERE'S ZERO COHERENCE TO ANY OF IT.
>> BUT IS HE AN EVERY MAN OR IS AN ELITE MAN?
THIS GUY, HE BRAGS HE WENT TO THE BEST SCHOOLS, HE WENT TO
ELITE SCHOOLS, HE WENT TO A PRIVATE MILITARY SCHOOL.
IF YOU WERE PLAYING DONALD TRUMP WOULD YOU BE PLAYING AN ELITE
MAN OR AN EVERY MAN. >> OKAY, SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU
KNOW THIS BUT I HAD THIS TRIP TO FRANCE, I WAS JUST THERE WITH
THE HEAD GUY, WHAT'S HIS NAME? >> EMMANUEL MACRON?
>> ALFONSO MMACK RON. HE NARROWLY BEAT LE PEN.
I THINK SHE WON. I THINK SHE WON.
I THINK SHE WON. BUT I MEAN, LOOK, IT'S -- WHO
KNOWS? ANYWAY, MACRON, GREAT GUY, GREAT
GUY, NEVER KNEW HE WAS FRENCH, VERY HOT WIFE.
VERY HOT WIFE. WE'RE TALKING, WE'RE TALKING
AND, YOU KNOW, I -- ALL MY PROPERTIES I HAVE THIS DESSERT,
IT'S CALLED THE ECLAIR, IT'S CALLED THE ECLAIR, IT'S
PHENOMENAL, IT HAS EVERYTHING, IT'S LIKE LONG, IT'S A LITTLE --
YOU KNOW, THE SHAPE OF IT IS VERY, VERY -- YOU KNOW WHAT I'M
SAYING. AND SO -- AND IT HAS THIS
CHOCOLATE ON THE TOP AND IT HAS SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE OF IT, I
DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS -- JOY, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS.
BUT ANYWAY, I'M TALKING WITH MY NEW FRIEND ALFONSO MACK RON AND
ALFONSO SAYS TO ME, THE ECLAIR. [ LAUGHTER ]
THE ECLAIR. AND I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS BUT WE
HAVE NAPOLEON TO THANK FOR THE ECLAIR.
THAT'S -- THE ECLAIR IS NAMED AFTER NAPOLEON.
[ LAUGHTER ] >> I THINK YOU'RE OUR NEXT
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
. >> I AM RUNNING IN 2020.
>> YOU SHOULD. THAT IS OBVIOUSLY VERY ENTICING
TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. A QUINNIPIAC POLL, IS TRUMP
LEVEL HEADED? 65% SAY ABSOLUTELY NOT.
IS TRUMP HONEST? NO, MAN.
59% SAY HE IS NOT HONEST. IS TRUMP INTELLIGENT?
YUP, 57% SAY HE SEEMS INTELLIGENT TO ME.
>> WELL, HE WOULD BE A VERY INTELLIGENT VILLAGER SOMEWHERE
LIVING WITH ABOUT 200 PEOPLE 20,000 YEARS ARGUE WHERE
EVERYTHING IS ALL ABOUT HIM AND SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS BECAUSE
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS WRITING OR HISTORY OR SCIENCE YET SO
NAPOLEON DESIGNED THE STREETS OF PARIS RATHER THAN IT BEING HIS
NEPHEW AND MAYBE IT WAS THIS AND MAYBE IT WAS THAT.
MAYBE WATERGATE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH BREAKING INTO THE DNC
BUT IT'S ALL JUST HEARSAY. ALL OF THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE
IF YOU LIVE IN A VILLAGE SITTING IN SHORT PANTS ABOUT 20,000
YEARS AGO BEFORE THERE WAS SUCH A THING AS WRITING AND PRINT AND
SCIENCE AND ESTABLISHING THINGS IN BLACK-AND-WHITE.
HE'S A -- HE MIGHT BE QUITE INTELLIGENCE BUT HE WOULD HAVE
TO BE A HIGHLY INTELLIGENT PRE-NEO-LITHIC VILLAGER, HE'S
TRAGICALLY UNADORNED? >> WHO, BY THE WAY, THERE WAS AN
ACTUAL GUY, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS, I JUST LEARNED THIS,
JOY, DID YOU KNOW THIS? 20,000 YEARS AGO THERE WAS A GUY
NAMED BERMUDA -- [ LAUGHTER ]
-- HE WAS WEARING SHORTS. YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING WITH
THIS? >> I THINK I DO!
>> THE ODD THING ABOUT IT IS, WE LAUGH ABOUT IT AND I GUESS IT IS
KIND OF AN ELITIST THING. I GET MAD WHEN PEOPLE SAY
"FOLLOWING GUESTS." I DO HATE IT.
IT'S NEXT GUESTS. THOSE THINGS DRIVE WE CRAZY BUT
IN AMERICA IT'S SEEMED EXTREMELY ELITIST TO CARE ABOUT THAT.
DONALD TRUMP SPEAKING THE WAY HE DOES AND BEING VERY ORDINARY IN
THE WAY HE IS IS PART OF THE REASON A LOT OF PEOPLE,
PARTICULARLY CONSERVATIVES, LIKE HIM.
>> IT HELPS GET HIM ELECTED. IT MAKES HIM SEEM AUTHENTIC.
AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, CASUAL SPEECH IS FUN TO LISTEN TO.
LISTENING TO SOMEBODY WHO TALKS LIKE TRUMP, ISN'T IT WALL STREET
IN THOSE HOLES AND NONS.E.C. WE YOU ARE THES YOU KNOW WHAT A
BURN MEANS. BUT HE'S PRESIDENT.
HE'S SAYING IMPORTANT THINGS. HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE MAKING
SENSE. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO WEAR A SUIT.
HE DOESN'T WEAR HIS LINGUISTIC SUIT OR USE HIS LINGUISTIC
DEODORANT. >> THIS IS ANOTHER CLIP THAT'S
REALLY INTERESTING SOUNDING THAN THE "NEW YORK TIMES" INTERVIEW.
THIS IS "TIME" MAGAZINE, DONALD TRUMP SAYING HE'S A VERY STABLE
PERSON. HE SAID "I'M A VERY STABLE
PERSON. I'M SO STABLE YOU WOULDN'T
BELIEVE IT. WE NEED A STRONG TONE AND A
COMPASSIONATE TONE, PLUS WHAT ICE UP HERE, HE SAID POINTING TO
HIS TEMPLE. TEMPERAMENT IS MY STRENGTH, I'M
NOT A FAST TRICKER, I'M THE OPPOSITE OF A FAST TRIGGER BUT
NOBODY IS GOING TO PUSH US AROUND."
>> THE OTHER THING IS HE MASHES IN -- AS YOU BRILLIANTLY DID,
RON -- DIFFERENT IDEAS THAT DON'T HAVE TO DO WITH THE
QUESTION. DID WE JUST GET TOO ACCUSTOMED
TO PRESIDENTS WHO SPEAK FORMALLY AND WELL?
NOT ONLY BARACK OBAMA BUT GO BACK, WHEN YOU LISTEN TO FDR
SPEAK IT'S A FORMAL WAY OF SPEAKING, A VERY ERUDITE WAY OF
SPEAKING. EVEN RONALD REAGAN, HIS
PERFORMATIVE THE SORT OF PRESIDENCY WAS VERY OFFICIAL.
>> EVEN G.W. TRIED. >> HI TRIED.
HE TRIED AND BUMBLED. >> BUT HE WAS MAKING AN EFFORT.
>> HE WAS TRYING. SO THE FORMAL PRESIDENCY.
IS IT OVER? >> NO, IT'S JUST TEMPORARILY ON
PAUSE AND I THANK GOD THERE THAT THERE'S A STANDARD THAT IS
BEING -- IS UNDER SIEGE. IT'S UNDER ASSAULT AND YOU KNOW,
IT'S INEVIDENTBLE THAT THIS -- HE HAS EXPOSED SOMETHING THAT IS
UNACCEPTABLE IN TERMS OF THE COMPORTMENT OF -- THIS IS AN
INCREDIBLY DISTINGUISHED POSITION.
THIS IS A POSITION THAT AFFECTS NOT JUST EVERYONE IN THE UNITED
STATES BUT EVERYBODY ON THE PLANET AND WE ARE BEING HELD
HOSTAGE BY SOMETHING WHO HAS NO CORE SOMEBODY WHO HAS NO CENTER,
SOMEBODY WHO HAS -- WHO JUST WILL SAY ANYTHING TO GENERATE A
RESPONSE. THAT'S REVERSE ENGINEERING.
THAT'S NOT WHAT A LEADER IS SUPPOSED TO DO AND THERE'S A
REASON WHY WE'VE HAD 44 OTHERS AND NOW HIM WHICH DOESN'T
RESEMBLE OF THE OTHER 44 AND THERE'S A REASON WHY HOPEFULLY
IN MY LIFETIME AND MY CHILDREN'S LIFETIME WE'LL NEVER SEE
ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN. >> JOHN, WE'VE BEEN TALKING
ABOUT RICHARD NIXON IN THIS RECENT MOMENT AND I'M STRUCK
WHEREVER I LISTEN TO RICHARD NIXON HOW EVEN HE SOUNDS LIKE A
MAN ATTEMPTING TO SPEAK WITH HONOR AND HOLD HIMSELF UP IN AN
HONORABLE WAY. THE WAY HE SPEAKS IS ALSO VERY
FORMAL, LIKE A PRESIDENT, HE WAS A CLOTH COAT GUY AND I WONDER IF
BECAUSE AS RON SAID IT'S ONE GUY OUT OF 312 MILLION PEOPLE, HE'S
OUR ONE AVATAR WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT NEED TO HAVE THAT PERSON BE
A BIT GRAND? >> IT'S INTERESTING, NIXON WAS
SIMILAR TO TRUMP IN MANY WAYS THAT HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED BUT HE
CAME BEFORE A CERTAIN TIME SO EVEN THOUGH HE HAD A RESENTMENT
OF THE ELITES HE HAD A SENSE TO PRESENT HIMSELF, TO MAKE A CASE
HE HAD TO AT LEAST TRY TO SPEAK WELL AND HE LEARNED TO DO IT.
HE WAS A GOOD SPEECH MAKER OFF THE CUFF.
HE COULD SPEAK QUITE FLUENTLY. THE MODERN NIXON DOESN'T FEEL
THAT WAY BECAUSE WE BECAME SO MUCH MORE INFORMAL AFTER THE
LATE '60s. THAT WAS GOOD IN MANY WAYS BUT
IT MEANS WE HAVE AN ELECTORATE WHO DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FACT
THAT THE PRESIDENT CAN'T RUB A NOUN AND VERB TOGETHER.
IT DOESN'T MATTER AND IN FACT IF HE WERE MORE SMOOTHLY ARTICULATE
FOR MANY OF THEM IT WOULD MAKE HIM SEEM LESS PRESIDENTIAL, LESS
APPROPRIATE AND THE FACT IS WHEN YOU POINT THIS THING OUT IN MY
EXPERIENCE, YOU'RE OFTEN ACCUSED OF BEING SMUG, THINGS HAVE
CHANGED. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WILL
CHANGE, THE ARTICULATE PRESIDENT IS NO LONGER NECESSARY.
>> AND IT'S SAD BECAUSE EVEN GEORGE W. BUSH, THE SON OF A
PRESIDENT, FELT THAT HE HAD TO PRETEND TO BE A RANCHER RATHER
THAN A FORMAL -- >> THAT WAS PART OF --
>> YALE EDUCATED ELITE VERY WEALTHY MAN.
HE CAME ACROSS IN HIS OWN MIND HE WANTED TO SEEM LIKE A GUY
HAVING A HAMBURGER WITH YOU. >> AND YET HE HAD TO MAKE A
SPEECH WHEN IT WAS TIME WRADS THIS PERSON FEELS NO NEED.
>> NO NEED TO DO IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THIS WAS FUN. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR
AND DAILY BEAST CONTRIBUTOR JOHN McWHORTER AND RON PEARLMAN,
GREAT ACTOR WHO YOU CAN CATCH IN THE PREMIER EPISODE OF "STARTUP"
WHICH IS STREAMING STARTING SEPTEMBER 28 ON CRACKLE.
DO NOT MISS IT, WE LOVE RON PEARLMAN.
>>> COMING UP AT NOON, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR SAMUEL BUELL
JOINS MY PAL ALEX WITT, MY GIRL, TO TALK ABOUT PARDONS.
SEE HOW INFORMAL WE ARE? AND IN OUR NEXT HOUR ON "A.M.
JOY" WE TAKE YOU TO EARTH TWO AND WE FLIP THIS HOUSE.
THAT'S ALL COMING BACK.