Circling For An Answer

'Really goes haywire': Fox News can't reign in Trump's raving reply to yes-no questionhttps://t.co/dV1ubz3dXo

— Raw Story (@RawStory) July 10, 2024

Brian Kilmeade's question:

"There are people who believe you want to get out of NATO — is that what you want to do?" he'd asked.

Trump's answer:

"I just want them to pay their bills, we're protecting Europe, they take advantage very badly. Not so much worse, I tell you what, very badly, you look at China, you know China is terrible, but I straightened them out and then we had COVID and I had to focus on other things and we did an incredible job, we got it back. We saved the country, this country would have gotten into a massive depression if I weren't president and I gave him a stock market that was higher than pre-COVID when COVID first came in. And what he's done to the economy is horrible because of inflation. The costs have gone up at a level — I think it's close to 50 percent, not 20 percent or 25 percent—" 

"So you're not looking," Kilmeade cut in. 

"I think it cost us—" Trump interrupted. 

Kilmeade said, "—to get out of NATO?" 

"You know they don't include the real costs, okay?" Trump continued. "When something really goes haywire like interest rates, they don't include that in their cost of inflation. But what they've done with inflation and what they've done to this country by allowing millions of people, I think 20 million people will be the number by the time this guy gets out hopefully Nov. 5 is gonna be the biggest day, most important day in the history of our country. But you're talking about 20 million people, many coming from institutions, mental institutions and insane asylums, coming from jails and prisons all over the world. Do you know that other countries have the best crime numbers they've ever had—" 

Kilmeade tried again to interject but Trump kept up his train of thought. 

"—because they're sending all their criminal into the United States," Trump continued. "Not just South America, they're sending all of their criminals, Brian, into the United States. We're going to have a problem and we're gonna get'm out." 

"Yeah," replied Kilmeade. 

"But this is what they're doing." 

Kilmeade then tried to return to the subject at hand by playing Trump a clip of Biden discussing increased contributions to NATO Wednesday night. 

"He's taking credit for that," Kilmeade asked. "Should he?" 

"Of course he shouldn't," Trump insisted. "They're under attack. With me there was no attack, everybody felt comfortable. And I took in billions and billions, hundreds of billions of dollars. [Jens] Stoltenberg, the secretary general [of NATO], said 'Trump did something I didn't think was possible.' I took in the money he's spending right now. If I didn't even take it in they wouldn't even have a NATO to fight Russia. It was me that took in all the money. But they felt comfortable because frankly, uh, they weren't going to be attacked. They knew Russia would never attack as long as I was president. When he became president, of course they're paying right now, they're under attack. If they didn't pay right now, the United States, if they were smart, would say, 'Well, I'm sorry, we can't protect you." 'Cause they have the money to pay. But he makes a big deal out of it. Think about it, they're under attack. He is such a dumb president it's not even believable. Of course they're paying they don't want to be attacked, they don't want, they want to make sure Russia, the United States, stays right behind them, Russia doesn't attack them. But it's real easy to get money when you're at war with Russia."

He still doesn’t know what NATO is.

Biden, meanwhile, is hosting the NATO Summit.

You can analyze the sheer stupidity of that “answer” ‘til the cows come home . But the problem among elite donors and the reporters who love them, is that Biden is older. And the polls, which haven’t called any federal election since 2016. But still: run in circles, scream and shout.

Which is always so fucking constructive.