Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Reliving the last 24 hours in Trumpistan



BW: Evelyn Duffy, who’s my assistant, Mr. President.

Trump: Hello, Evelyn.

BW: She transcribed all the tapes because, with permission, I taped people for hundreds of hours.
Bob Woodward is well known for making stuff up, amirite?

BW: I take it very seriously. I’ve done books on eight presidents, going back from Nixon to Obama.

Trump: Right.

BW: And I learned something about reporting, frankly, Mr. President.

Trump: Good.

BW: I’ve got to go talk to people and see them outside of the White House and outside of their offices, and gained a lot of insight and documentation. And it’s — you know, it’s a tough look at the world and your administration and you.

Trump: Right. Well, I assume that means it’s going to be a negative book. But you know, I’m some — I’m sort of 50 percent used to that. [Laughter] That’s all right. Some are good and some are bad. Sounds like this is going to be a bad one.

Former employees like Jim Mattis and John Kelly?  And whence comes all this information, besides tapes?

In the book, Woodard says he conducted hundreds of hours of interviews with people who were participants and witnesses in the conversations he describes. The journalist also tapped notes, diaries, and government documents from these aides.

Sadly, that's in the book; which Trump hasn't read and won't read.  So clearly the book is inaccurate. And while we're on the subject:

“I’m not going to sit there and let him look like an idiot. And you publish that transcript, because everything leaks in Washington, and the guys overseas are going to say, ‘I told you he was an idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this idiot for?’ ”

“John, I understand,” Mueller replied to Dowd, according to the book.

I'm happy to tell Mr. Dowd I think that secret is already out.  And yes, lawyers have an ethical obligation not to knowingly let their clients lie under oath, even when those clients can't distinguish truth from falsehood, fantasy from reality.

 But let's save the best for last:

Trump: It’s really too bad, because nobody told me about it, and I would’ve loved to have spoken to you. You know I’m very open to you. I think you’ve always been fair. We’ll see what happens. But all I can say is the country is doing very well. We’re doing better economically just about than at any time. We’re doing better on unemployment maybe than ever. You know, I mean, if you look at the unemployment numbers, you’ve heard me say it. And we’re doing better on unemployment than just about ever. We’re having a lot of — a lot of companies are moving back into our country, which would’ve been unheard of two years ago. If the other administration or representatives of it had kept going, had kept — you know, if the other group had won, I will tell you, that you would have, I think you’d have a GDP of less than zero. I think we would’ve been going in the wrong direction. Because regulations are such a big part of what we’ve done, Bob.
....
Trump: But are you naming names? Or do you just say sources?

BW: Yeah, well, it names real incidents, so . ..
Trump: No, but do you name sources? I mean, are you naming the people, or just say, people have said?

BW: I say, at 2:00 on this day, the following happened, and everyone who’s there, including yourself, is quoted. And I’m sorry I didn’t get to ask you about these . ..

Trump: I mean, you do know I’m doing a great job for the country. You do know that NATO now is going to pay billions and billions of dollars more, as an example, than anybody thought possible, that other presidents were unable to get more? And it was heading downward. You do know all of the things I’ve done and things that I’m doing? I’m in the process of making some of the greatest trade deals ever to be made. You do understand that stuff? I mean, I hope.
...
Trump: I’m just hearing about it. And I heard — I did hear from Lindsey, but I’m just hearing about it. So we’re going to have a very inaccurate book, and that’s too bad. But I don’t blame you entirely.

BW: No, it’s [?] — it’s going to be accurate, I promise.

Trump: Yeah, okay. Well, accurate is that nobody’s ever done a better job than I’m doing as president. That I can tell you. So that’s . . . And that’s the way a lot of people feel that know what’s going on, and you’ll see that over the years. But a lot of people feel that, Bob.

Some people say, donchaknow?  Anyway, Trump knows it's inaccurate because the only measure of accuracy is how great Trump is.  And Woodward is fair, until he's shown to be "a Dem operative."
Although I think he wants to admit he said this:

And when Twitter expanded its character limit to 280, Trump—ever-so-pleased with his tweeting habits—reportedly said, “It’s a good thing, but it's a bit of a shame because I was the Ernest Hemingway of 140 characters."

Yeah, I'm sure that quote is "accurate."

P.S.  Trump has tweeted the statements (or articles about them) of Mattis and Kelly three different times in the last 24 hours.  Obsessed?
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2 comments:

  1. rustypickup3:33 PM

    Now the New York Times has an anonymous op-ed from an official within the administration saying that they are resisting from within the White House. "The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations." In other words, he is dangerous and incompetent. But wait a moment, "To be clear, ours is not the popular “resistance” of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous." In other words, we don't want the gravy train of tax cuts for the rich, gutting regulations to help industry, stacking the courts for generations and kicking people of color to end! The penultimate sentence is this "But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic." His own officials. This administration is out of control.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Thought Criminal5:10 PM

    I don't think I've smiled so broadly as when I heard Woodward had recordings.

    ReplyDelete

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