.
. >>> IF YOU THINK THE ELECTORAL
COLLEGE IS CRAZY, THE UNITED
KINGDOM HAS JUST OUTDONE IT.
BORIS JOHNSON JUST BECAME THE
NEW BRITISH PRIME MINISTER
WITHOUT EVEN HAVING AN ELECTION.
HE WAS CHOSEN BY A PRIVATE VOTE
OF MEMBERS OF THE CONSERVATIVE
PARTY TO REPLACE CONSERVATIVE
PARTY PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY
WHO QUIT BECAUSE OF THE
IMPOSSIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING
BRITAIN’S EX-FROM THE EUROPEAN
UNION, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS
BREXIT.
BREXIT. JUST OVER 0.10 OF 1% OF THE
BRITISH POPULATION ACTUALLY
VOTED IN THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY
CHOICE OF A NEW PRIME MINISTER.
THE VOTERS INCLUDED CHILDREN
BECAUSE THERE ARE NO REAL LAWS
ABOUT THIS KIND OF PRIVATE
VOTING WITHIN A PARTY.
AND THE VOTERS WERE OBVIOUSLY
DOMINATED BY PEOPLE WHO LIKE
BORIS JOHNSON DO NOT DISTINGUISH
BETWEEN FACT AND FICTION.
A "NEW YORK TIMES" OP-ED PIECE
BY BRITISH WRITER JAMES BUTLER
SAYS, "BORIS JOHNSON IS HOW
BRITAIN ENDS."
BRITAIN ENDS." SUCH IS THE GLOOM IN BRITAIN
TONIGHT.
TONIGHT. BORIS JOHNSON IS REGARDED AS THE
DONALD TRUMP OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM, WHICH MEANS THAT DONALD
TRUMP LIKES BORIS JOHNSON.
>> THERE’S A BRITAIN TRUMP.
THEY CALL HIM BRITAIN TRUMP.
PEOPLE ARE SAYING THAT’S A GOOD
THING.
THING. >> NO BRITISH PRIME MINISTER HAS
EVER BEEN -- HAS EVER BEEN MORE
UNPOPULAR ON HIS VERY FIRST DAY
IN OFFICE THAN BORIS JOHNSON.
LIKE DONALD TRUMP, BORIS JOHNSON
MADE IT TO THE TOP OF BRITISH
POLITICS WITH THE HELP OF
VLADIMIR PUTIN AND RUSSIANS WHO
ATTACKED THE BRITISH VOTING
SYSTEM AND HELPED DELIVER AN
ELECTORAL VICTORY FOR BREXIT IN
A REFERENDUM THREE YEARS AGO,
51.9% VOTING IN FAVOR OF BREXIT
WITH RUSSIAN SUPPORT AND 48.1%
VOTING AGAINST BREXIT.
LIKE HIS PREDECESSOR, BORIS
JOHNSON IS PROMISING TO DO THE
IMPOSSIBLE AND NEGOTIATE A NEW
EXIT DEAL WITH THE EUROPEAN
UNION, BUT UNLIKE HIS
PREDECESSOR, HE IS ALSO
PROMISING TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE
WHEN HE FAILS TO NEGOTIATE A NEW
EXIT DEAL.
EXIT DEAL. BORIS JOHNSON SAYS HE WILL
SIMPLY LEAD THE UNITED KINGDOM
OUT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
WITHOUT ANY EXIT DEAL AT ALL,
WHICH WOULD INSTANTANEOUSLY
BRING A LEVEL OF CHAOS TO
BRITAIN NOT SEEN SINCE WORLD WAR
II.
II. "THE WASHINGTON POST’S" BRIAN
CLOSS AND NATIONAL SECURITY
EXPERT JEREMY BASH WILL JOIN US
AFTER A BREAK TO DISCUSS DONALD
TRUMP’S NEW COMPETITION FOR MOST
RECKLESS AND INCOMPETENT LEADER
OF WHAT ONCE WAS ONE OF THE MOST
democracy works for people.
>>> I KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE PEOPLE AROUND THE PLACE WHO WILL
QUESTION THE WISDOM OF YOUR
DECISION.
DECISION. [ LAUGHTER ]
>> AND THERE MAY EVEN BE SOME
PEOPLE HERE WHO STILL WONDER
QUITE WHAT THEY HAVE DONE --
>> JOINING OUR DISCUSSION NOW,
BRIAN KLAAS COLUMNIST FOR "THE
WASHINGTON POST" AND JEREMY
BASH, AN MSNBC NATIONAL SECURITY
ANALYST AND FORMER CHIEF OF
STAFF AT THE CIA AND DEFENSE
DEPARTMENT.
DEPARTMENT. BRIAN, LET ME GO TO YOU IN
LONDON.
LONDON. WHAT IS THE MOOD IN LONDON
TONIGHT?
TONIGHT? >> WELL, DISBELIEF.
I THINK THAT THIS IS, YOU KNOW,
IT’S A TRUMP-LIKE FIGURE RISING
IN BRITAIN.
IN BRITAIN. YOU NOW HAVE ON BOTH SIDES OF
THE ATLANTIC A NARCISSISTIC
SERIAL LIAR WHO HAS LARGER THAN
LIFE HAIR, WHO WAS BORN IN NEW
YORK, WHO HAS MADE RACIST
STATEMENTS AND WHO HAS
ENCOURAGED POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN
POWER BOTH IN THE UK AND IN THE
U.S. NOW, AND I THINK THAT THERE
IS ALSO A LOT OF WORRY BECAUSE
THERE IS 99 DAYS UNTIL THIS
SO-CALLED DO OR DIE THAT BORIS
JOHNSON HAS PLEDGED TO REMOVE
BRITAIN FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION,
EVEN WITHOUT A DEAL.
WHICH WOULD CAUSE CATASTROPHIC
CHAOS.
CHAOS. AND, YOU KNOW, AT ONE POINT THE
BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENSE WAS
THE LARGEST PURCHASER OF
REFRIGERATORS IN THE ENTIRE
WORLD BECAUSE THEY WERE
STOCKPILING MEDICINES IN PEACE
TIME FOR THIS.
THERE IS SERIOUS RISK AHEAD AND
BORIS JOHNSON MAY NOT BE UP TO
THE TASK.
THE TASK. >> JEREMY, ANOTHER BIG WIN FOR
VLADIMIR PUTIN.
VLADIMIR PUTIN. >> THAT’S RIGHT.
BECAUSE OF COURSE THERE ARE
STRONG ALLEGATIONS THAT RUSSIA
INTERFERED IN THE BRITISH
SELECTION OF BREXIT AS THEIR
FUTURE PATH, AND IT’S NOT --
IT’S NOT A MYSTERY.
WE KNOW WHAT PUTIN’S END GAME
IS.
IS. HE WANTS TO OBVIOUSLY SEPARATE
THE UK, WHICH IS AMERICA’S KEY
ALLY IN THE TRANS-ATLANTIC
ALLIANCE, FROM THE REST OF
EUROPE.
EUROPE. SO HE WANTS TO BREAK THE
EUROPEAN ALLIANCE JUST AS HE
WANTS TO BREAK APART NATO WHICH
BINDS THE UNITED STATES, CANADA
AND OUR TRANS-ATLANTIC ALLIES.
THIS IS PUTIN’S GAME.
WHEN HE GOES ONE-ON-ONE AGAINST
A COUNTRY HE FEELS HE CAN WIN,
IT’S WHEN HE GOES AGAINST AN
ALLIANCE LIKE NATO OR THE
EUROPEAN UNION, HE FEELS
COMPLETELY ISOLATED AND SMALL.
>> BRIAN, FOR PUTIN, HE WANTS TO
WEAKEN EVERY INSTITUTION
INVOLVED.
INVOLVED. HE WANTS TO WEAKEN BRITAIN AND
THE GOVERNMENT.
THE GOVERNMENT. HE WANTS TO WEAKEN THE EUROPEAN
UNION.
UNION. THIS BREXIT, THIS HARD CHAOS
STUFF WOULD DO THAT.
>> YEAH, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
SERIOUS ECONOMIC DAMAGE.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT SERIOUS
DIVIDES BETWEEN BRUSSELS AND
LONDON.
LONDON. WHICH WILL HAVE KNOCK-ON
GEOPOLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS.
GEOPOLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS. WHICH ARE VERY, VERY WELCOME FOR
VLADIMIR PUTIN.
VLADIMIR PUTIN. AS JEREMY RIGHTLY POINTS OUT, IF
YOU HAVE THE U.S. RETRENCHING,
BEING DONALD TRUMP’S AMERICA
FIRST STRATEGY COMBINED WITH AN
ECONOMICALLY DECLINING UNITED
KINGDOM, ALL OF THAT IS MUSIC TO
THE EARS OF VLADIMIR PUTIN.
SO I THINK THAT OVER THE LONG
RUN THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE
SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO IN THE
UNITED STATES AS WELL IN THE
SENSE THAT THIS IS BAD FOR
AMERICAN INTERESTS TO HAVE A
CLOSE ALLY, AN IMPORTANT ALLY
LIKE THE UNITED KINGDOM
INFLICTING SUCH OBVIOUSLY
AVOIDABLE DAMAGE ON ITSELF.
>> THIS MIGHT BE A VERY
SHORT-LIVED BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
BORISIONSON
BORISIONSON BORIS JOHNSON IS GOING IN THERE
WITHOUT AN ELECTORAL MANDATE OF
ANY KIND.
ANY KIND. >> BREXIT’S A TERRIBLE IDEA.
IT’S EVEN WORSE WITH NO DEAL
WITH THE REST OF THE CONTINENT,
SO I CAN’T SEE HOW BRITAIN
ESCAPES THIS MOMENT UNSCATHED,
BUT I THINK THE BROADER ISSUE
AND IT’S KIND OF A MOMENTOUS
MATTER HERE, LAWRENCE, THAT WE
HAVE THE ELECTION OR THE
SELECTION OF BORIS JOHNSON
WITHIN 24 HOURS OF ROBERT
MUELLER GOING TO THE HILL
TOMORROW TO LAY OUT IN GRAVE
DETAIL THE WAY DONALD TRUMP
REQUESTED RUSSIAN ASSISTANCE, HE
RECEIVED RUSSIAN ASSISTANCE, HE
WELCOMED RUSSIAN ASSISTANCE, HE
COVERED UP RUSSIAN ASSISTANCE
AND THEN HE REWARDED RUSSIAN
ASSISTANCE.
ASSISTANCE. AND HOW DID HE REWARD RUSSIAN
ASSISTANCE?
ASSISTANCE? IN PART BY DENIGRATING NATO.
IN PART BY CHEERING ON BREXIT.
IN PART BY CHEERING ON THE
BREAKUP OF THE EUROPEAN UNION.
SO HERE YOU HAVE PUTIN’S HANDY
WORK THAT WILL NOW BE ON FULL
DISPLAY ON CAPITOL HILL
TOMORROW.
TOMORROW. >> AND BRIAN, IT IS SUCH A
POWERFUL COINCIDENCE BECAUSE
ROBERT MUELLER WILL BE
TESTIFYING, ESPECIALLY TO THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, ABOUT
THE WAYS IN WHICH RUSSIA DOES
THIS.
THIS. AND THEY’RE VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT
WE SAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
WITH THE ADDITIONAL ELEMENT OF
SOME ABILITY TO TRACE WHAT
APPEAR TO BE RUSSIAN FINANCIAL
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BREXIT
CAMPAIGN.
CAMPAIGN. >> YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS IS
SOMETHING WHERE THE
DISINFORMATION PLAYBOOK, THE
INFORMATION WARFARE PLAYBOOK
THAT VLADIMIR PUTIN HAS STARTED
TO FINE TUNE IN RUNNING UP TO
THE 2020 ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED
STATES IS SOMETHING THAT
EVERYBODY IN EUROPE AND IN THE
UK IS GETTING USED TO.
IT’S THE NEW NORMAL.
AND I THINK PART OF THAT IS
BECAUSE AS ROBERT MUELLER WILL
LIKELY POINT OUT TOMORROW, THERE
HAS BEEN NO SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES
TO IT, BOTH IN THE -- FROM THE
BRITISH GOVERNMENT OR FROM THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.
SO I THINK THAT’S SOMETHING THAT
WE’LL HAVE TO LOOK AT, WHETHER
BORIS JOHNSON IS ACTUALLY UP TO
THE TASK OF STANDING UP TO
VLADIMIR PUTIN.
VLADIMIR PUTIN. AND THE PROBLEM IS BECAUSE HE
NEEDS NEW ALLIES, BECAUSE THE
ALLIANCE WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION
IS BEING DOWNGRADED, HE TOUGH
ON AUTHORITARIAN ADVERSARIES
LIKE RUSSIA AND CHINA, WHICH IS,
AGAIN, ALL VERY GOOD NEWS FOR
AUTOCRATS AROUND THE WORLD THAT
DONALD TRUMP LOVES AND ADMIRES
AND THAT ARE GOING TO INFLICT
SERIOUS DAMAGE ON WESTERN
DEMOCRACIES.