Finally got around to looking at this trainwreck today:
Donald Trump’s New York Times Interview: Full Transcript
Okay, so first of all, the Times begins the interview with this line:
SULZBERGER: I thought maybe I’d start this off by asking if you have anything you would like to start this off with before we move to the easiest questions you’re going to get this administration.[laughter]
NO! No, no, no, no, no. That is not how you approach the soon-to-be-most powerful man in America. Not like sniveling little toadies. Not like craven little apple-polishers. You're supposed to be the institution that holds his feet to the fire, not his P.R. firm. You're not supposed to be his friend!
I'm a little concerned about your choice of approach.
Is cowardice really going to "wow" the judges?
Then Trump says this:
TRUMP: O.K. Well, I just appreciate the meeting and I have great respect for The New York Times. Tremendous respect. It’s very special. Always has been very special.
Really? Really, New York Times? You're really going to let him say that without calling him on it? You're really going to sit there and smile as if he hadn't been tweeting shit like this for months?
Wow, it is unbelievable how distorted, one-sided and biased the media is against us. The failing @nytimes is a joke. @CNN is laughable!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016
The failing @nytimes has gone nuts that Crooked Hillary is doing so badly. They are willing to say anything, has become a laughingstock rag!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2016
Wow, the failing @nytimes has not reported properly on Crooked's FBI release. They are at the back of the pack - no longer a credible source— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2016
The failing @nytimes reporters don't even call us anymore, they just write whatever they want to write, making up sources along the way!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2016
And by the way, Times, I got those Tweets from an article entitled
The 282 People, Places and Things Donald
Trump Has Insulted on Twitter
Which was published on YOUR WEBSITE!http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/28/upshot/donald-trump-twitter-insults.html
So it's not like you guys don't know about this.
Then he goes on to say this:
Always has been very special. I think I’ve been treated very rough. It’s well out there that I’ve been treated extremely unfairly in a sense, in a true sense. I wouldn’t only complain about The Times. I would say The Times was about the roughest of all. You could make the case The Washington Post was bad, but every once in a while I’d actually get a good article. Not often, Dean, but every once in awhile.
And still no one from the Times says anything? No one pounds his fist on the table and shouts "stop being such a crybaby, you pathetic little worm! You're going to be the leader of the free world, act like a fucking man for once in your life, you sorry little whiner!"
Look, I have great respect for The Times, and I’d like to turn it around. I think it would make the job I am doing much easier.
And no one says "um, excuse me Mr. Rump, but it's not our job to make your job easier. If anything, we should serve as an obstacle to your ambitions."
We’re working very hard. We have great people coming in. I think you’ll be very impressed with the names. We’ll be announcing some very shortly.Everybody wanted to do this. People are giving up tremendous careers in order to be subject to you folks and subject to a lot of other folks. But they’re giving up a lot. I mean some are giving up tremendous businesses in order to sit for four or maybe eight or whatever the period of time is.
And no one says "Well, A) we've seen some of these names and no one is impressed. And B) do you really not know how long a Presidential term is? Oh, and C) Is there any way you could try to speak in some sort of coherent sentences? With some recognizable English syntax? Thanks!
But I think we’re going to see some tremendous talent, tremendous talent coming in. We have many people for every job. I mean no matter what the job is, we have many incredible people. I think, Reince, you can sort of just confirm that. The quality of the people is very good.
REINCE PRIEBUS, Mr. Trump’s choice for chief of staff: [inaudible]
Oh my God, Reince! I feel for ya. I wouldn't be able to come up with a decent response either!
And no one even bothers to ask him to repeat what he just said because at this point, it would just be mean.
And I thought we were going to win it. And we won it, we won it, you know, relatively easily, we won it by a number of points. Florida we won by 180,000 — was that the number, 180?
PRIEBUS: [inaudible]
What we do want to do is we want to bring the country together, because the country is very, very divided, and that’s one thing I did see, big league. It’s very, very divided, and I’m going to work very hard to bring the country together.I mean, I’m somebody that really has gotten along with people over the years.
And no one in the room says "Really? Because what you're know for more than anything is insulting people on social media. In fact here in our very paper we recently published a list of the 282 people, places and things you've insulted on Twitter.
Are you planning on "bringing the country together" with shit like this?
Remember when the two failed presidential candidates, Lindsey Graham and Jeb Bush, signed a binding PLEDGE? They broke the deal, no honor!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2016
Oh wow, lightweight Governor @BobbyJindal, who is registered at less than 1 percent in the polls, just mocked my hair. So original!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2015
Ben Carson is being severely criticized for being incapable of understanding foreign policy be one of his top consultants. Not good!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2015
Lying #Ted Cruz just (on election day) came out with a sneak and sleazy Robocall. He holds up the Bible but in fact is a true lowlife pol!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2016
And that's just what you said about your fellow Republicans! How are you going to "bring America together" when you can't stop trying to drive away members of your own party? Let alone Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, Independents, etc?
Any way, the transcript goes on for quite a while, so I think we'll just stop here for now and maybe pick it up tomorrow.
Good night.
