As fate would have it, Secretary Nielsen happened
to have been in the last week, uh, meeting...
Remember last week's meeting?
The infamous Oval Office shithole meeting?
Yeah, which turned out to be something
many of the senators wanted to discuss
and something she definitely did not.
What do you remember the president saying
about immigration from African countries to the United States?
There were about a dozen people in the room.
There were a lot of cross conversations.
There was a lot of rough talk by a lot of people in the room.
I remember, uh, specific cuss words
being used by a variety of members.
What I was struck with, frankly, as I'm sure you were as well,
was just the general, uh, profanity
that was used in the room by almost everyone.
Secretary Nielsen makes it sound like Trump was just hosting
a giant rap battle.
Just like... ♪ Yeah, come on, uh, come on ♪
♪ My name is Donald and everybody knows ♪
♪ I don't want people if they're from the shitholes ♪
♪ Yeah! ♪
Take it away, Mike Pence!
I feel like Mike Pence only raps the radio edit.
♪ All you mother... in the ... ♪
♪ And you can't in the ..., in the ... ♪
♪ And that's why I don't ..., yeah! ♪
"How'd I do, Mother?"
(cheering and applause)
Oh, and-and get this, and get this,
in fact, apparently, according to Nielsen,
the only person who was making any sense in the meeting
was her boss, President Trump.
What I understood him to be saying is
let's move away from the countries
and let's look at the individual
and make sure that those we bring here
can contribute to our society.
Okay, she's definitely paraphrasing Trump,
because he doesn't speak like that.
Like, he's not that smart.
Like, he's "pick a rhino" smart but not that smart.
Like, sometimes I think Trump is like Groot
and all the Republicans are like the raccoon,
'cause all he says is, like, "No blacks,"
and his team has to translate that into policy.
"No blacks." "What the president means
"is that a merit-based system would enrich
our nation's human capital."
"No blacks?"
"The president thinks that cutting Medicaid
will encourage hard work."
"No blacks."
"He doesn't want black people."
(applause)
I mean, look, look,
I get that Nielsen wants to pretend
that the president wasn't being racist.
But at times yesterday,
her loyalty just made her look really loyal.
What does he mean when he says
he wants more immigrants from Norway?
-Norway is a predominantly white country, isn't it? -I'm...
I... uh... I actually do not know that, sir,
but I imagine that is the case.
-(laughter) -And now you're playing like you don't know
that Norway's a white country?
Come on, really? Norway defines white.
Billy Joel concerts look at Norway,
and go, "Damn, that country's white."
(laughter)
Nielsen was blowing everyone's minds.
Trump is smart, who know Norway is white?
Everyone was swearing.
Things got so confusing
that committee chairman Orrin Hatch ended up
-taking off glasses that he didn't even have on. -(laughter)
Senator Hatch.
I'd like to begin with, uh,
R-1 religious worker visas.
(applause and cheering)
No, no, no. No, no, no. No, no. Hold on.
Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.
-Let me put on my glasses so I can see that again. -(laughter)
I'd like to begin with, uh,
I want religious
(clears throat) worker visas.
(laughter)
Oh, man.
Yo, forget Trump. That dude needs a rhino test.
(laughter)
Because, like, usually, if people make that mistake,
it would end here. I get that.
-But then Hatch keeps on going. -(laughter)
It's like he realizes the glasses weren't there,
but then didn't want to look silly,
so he just carried on with the move.
Just like, "Yeah, uh-huh. Carry on."
(exhales) "Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, yeah, I'm with you. I'm still with you."
(laughter)
But the reason yesterday's hearing got really heated
was because even though she was in the shithole meeting,
and heard tons of swearing in full surround sound,
Secretary Nielsen kept denying
that she recalled any naughty words coming from the president.
AMY KLOBUCHAR: Is it possible he said the word
at the meeting and you didn't hear it?
Anything is possible, yes, ma'am.
I don't... I don't specifically remember
a categori... a categorization of countries in Africa.
I did not hear that word used, no, sir.
I... Apologies. I don't remember a specific word.
I have answered this. I've been very patient
with this line of questioning.
I have nothing further to say about
a meeting that happened over a week ago.
Yeah. You know what? She's got a point.
So what if a man was racist over a week ago?
Does that mean he's a racist today?
That was, like, eight days. Come on.
-(laughter) -People change.
Look, all of this explains
why the junior senator from New Jersey lost his cool.
Tens of millions of Americans are hurting right now because of
what they're worried about what happened in The White House.
That's unacceptable to me.
And I've got a president of the United States,
whose office I respect,
who talks about the countries of origins
of my fellow citizens in the most despicable of manner.
You don't remember.
You can't remember the words of your commander-in-chief.
I find that unacceptable.
-Wow. My man. -(whooping, applause, cheering)
You can feel that Cory Booker was so passionate,
it shattered Orrin Hatch's imaginary glasses.
(laughter)
"Oh, I just got these!"