So upset about this. Especially reportedly saying, giving him advice not to resign, saying that he could weather this. Again, this is an accused Domestic Abuser. Right. You have to question kellys judgment. And, you know, people inside the white house say, look, many of them like kelly, some of them dont like kelly because He Silos Everything and keeps them away from the president. But one thing most people seem to agree on is that he doesnt have any political sense. And, you know, he doesnt understand political . Gloria, listen. No, in terms of i dont want to be insulting. No, but im not saying on the abuse stuff, but im just saying, a priori, this is such a terrible thing, get rid of him. Why is he even still there after all of this time . Thats a good question. I want to get to jim. Chief of staff, john kelly, were talking about him. Forward was pretty glowing. And its sort of odd, a senior white house official told us this evening, don, one of the reasons they were putting out these glowing statements not only from john kelly but from White House Press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders is that those statements were drafted and written in response to the initial daily mail story that broke all of this, and that they did not respond quickly enough when these other reports were coming out including from cnn that featured a photograph of one of porters exwives with a black eye. And that essentially, im told, the photograph of the black eye changed everything. There are many things wrong with that on multiple levels. First of all, it should not take a photograph of somebody with a black eye to prompt the white house to take action. The white house should be a shining example of whats tolerated in the workplace, not having to spin itself out of control the way its doing tonight. The other thing, don, and this gets to what gloria was saying, on the face of it, obviously Domestic Violence should not be tolerated and that should be grounds enough for dismissal. But there is sort of a political
tone deafness, a political malpractice going on with john kelly, to think that he could keep rob porter on despite all of this is kind of mindboggling. It leaves me with the impression that there are two trumps at the white house, the president himself and the Chief Of Staff, and both of them sometimes dont listen to reason. I have to say this, because theres all this consternation about the memo, the memo, the fbi, the fisa warrants and all this stuff, Classified Information. Rob portman was seeing Classified Information and didnt have a permanent Security Clearance. So did jared kushner. So did jared kushner. This is in part because of the allegations of Domestic Abuse that john kelly knew about. Walter shaub tweets tonight, the former head of the office of government ethics, he said john kelly, often touted as the white houses adult, falsely smeared a congresswoman, tells us a
you know, where he tries to walk back and clarify, and then he has to why do you have to say but i stand by my argument that he was a great guy . Its very politically tone deaf. I think when you juxtapose it with that picture, the black eye, you know, look, its reprehensible, its horrible, but, you know, gloria was talking about the optics and the politics of that, yeah, i think its a lack of character, its a lack of decency. Its also political malpractice. I also think that kelly may be having a difficult problem understanding that the person he knows, whom he says is integrity and honorable and all the rest and did a great job, could also be an abuser. I mean, those two things happen a lot, right . People who do their jobs and go about it every day and seem to be just perfectly fine can then go home and hit their wives. And so, you know, maybe kelly is trying to get his head around that. I dont want to make excuses for him. Hold on. It makes me wonder how disconnected from the reality of the moment, especially when you have the me too moment, you have women standing up for their rights, women who have been abused, not only sexual abuse, but this is Domestic Violence, you see a bruise on a womans face, he is not only tone deaf but ignorant of where the culture is now, he is ignorant of society. Remember david johnston, the gold star widow, she lost her husband and the president had this Tone Deaf Conversation and kelly defended the president and talked about i remember when women were respected, lets play the sound bite. I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in our country. Women were sacred. Looked upon with great honor. Thats obviously not the case anymore, as we see from recent cases. But when were at home, i hate to say this, barefoot, pregnant, cooking dinner for their husband, women not too long ago got the right to vote. What is wrong with him to think that women were respected in that time . Its just not true, hes living in an alternative reality. What hes saying is just not happening. Can he survive this, gloria . Should he survive this . Look, i think this isnt the only knock against him, to be honest. And if i i wouldnt be surprised if he is gone pretty quickly. I mean, i dont know. But i think that, you know, there have been stories, and weve done some of them over the past month, that donald trump has had some problems with the general. And i think that our reporting shows, and i know jim knows this as well, that the president was very upset when he heard about this. And so im assuming theyre going to have a very tough
conversation. I mean, jim, wouldnt you assume that . Absolutely, yeah. And again, there are people inside the white house who dont have kellys back. And some of the president s closest friends have been kept from talking to the president by general kelly, so they dont like him very much. Well have to see where this you know, where this takes us. The bigger point im trying to make is women are fighting for equality, i know theyve had the right to vote for a hundred years, but fighting for equality, especially in this day and age, when it comes to abuses of all sorts. Jim, when did john kelly find out about this, do we know for sure . You know, don, from what we understand, this was not known in the initial months of the administration. I heard that from a senior white house official earlier today, but that this was becoming known, this was becoming Common Knowledge as john kelly was taking command of the staff inside the west wing. Was he keeping it from other
people . And he was aware of these problems well, he was aware of these problems with the security Background Check and others were aware of the problems with the Background Check. And to not take action on that also raises questions about kellys judgment that i think hes going to have to answer eventually. Whether he knew about all of these allegations, i dont think that has been shown at this point. He does say in this statement tonight something about these new allegations, he was shocked by these new allegations. But again, when they put out that statement, when the White House Press secretary came into the Briefing Room earlier today, they put out a statement, from john kelly, from sarah sanders, from orrin hatch, all praising rob porter. And the question is, how could they possibly think thats a good idea when this person was already saying, porter was already saying im stepping down, im resigning, and oh, bouy wby the way, i know about these pictures because i took them. It would seem to me everybody in the white house would have to do
a gut check, hit the pause button, and come up with some new statements. And they just didnt do that. And it raises major questions about their competence, i think, in terms of handling a crisis of this magnitude. Youve got a pained look on your face, matt, why is that . Look, this is just you know, this is a really, really bad story on so many levels. You know, youve got a guy here, youve got not one exwife, but two. Two. And then a third hold on. Anyone who says this is some conspiracy by the media, you would have to go back in time, predict that donald trump would become president , and then come up with this story in order to get him out of office. So none of that makes sense. But go on. I believe the women. And then youve got that picture. And youve got a third woman who is coming forward, a girlfriend. And look, john kelly is entrusted to, you know, protect
america in terms of the Sensitive Information that staffers are exposed to. You know, it just boggles the mind. This is a huge, huge problem. And they just compounded it by their statements. I just i dont see how anybody could possibly defend this. And i dont know let me ask, what is the new information that has come out . It seems to me that is the new information the picture . Because there was a Restraining Order against him. So does the picture make that much of a difference . Up know jim made this point earlier this evening. I dont see how a picture should make that much of a difference when you have the fbi report that says this mans exwife had to get a Restraining Order against him and he was accused of punching in a glass door. I agree, gloria, but the
picture is powerful. It is, but if there is a Domestic Abuse report against somebody in the white house, i dont think you need a picture. Thats my point. The other thing about john kellys judgment here, this is a guy, hes not a young sort of naive quixotic person. It is a huge flaw. This is somebody who has seen a lot of the word. For him not to see that, thats problematic. I was just going to say very quickly, if its possible, to bounce off what he was just saying, i talked to a general who had served with general kelly, Chief Of Staff kelly, in iraq, who said to me this evening, i dont recognize this john kelly. That was my question. Who is this john kelly . Is this the person we thought he was . Exactly. And that is what i think a lot of people are saying right now. They thought john kelly was going to be the adult in the room over here in the white house and they didnt expect this. Just yesterday he was in hot water for saying that some dreamers were too ladizy to get off their asses so sign up for protections under the daca order. I do have to say, gloria, just talking about, yes, you shouldnt have to have a picture. But the picture i think made all the difference when it came to al franken, right . It was right there in our faces. Yes. Yes. And now were looking at this rob porter story, its right there in our faces for us to see. I think that makes a huge opinion, especially in the court of public opinion. Thank you all, i appreciate it. Ahead, our sources telling cnn a white house official, even Chief Of Staff john kelly knew about Domestic Abuse allegations
against top aide rob porter for months. What happened to white house hiring . Only the best people, remember that . Smothered in mozzarella. But it wasnt mega. So we topped it with protein packed chunks of buffalostyle chicken. Now thats mega. Do not take victoza® if you have a personal or Family History of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. Stop taking victoza® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing, or swallowing. Serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. So stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. Tell your doctor your medical history. Gallbladder problems have happened in some people. Tell your doctor right away if you get symptoms. Taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. Side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. Change the course of your treatment. Ask your doctor about victoza®. Dont we need that cable box to watch tv . Nope. Dont we need to run . Nope. It just explodes in a high pitched yeahhh. yeahhh try directv now for 10 a month for 3 months. No satellite needed. Breaking news tonight, sources tell cnn that top aides to the president including the Chief Of Staff john kelly found out Top White House staffer rob porter was Hitting Roadblocks with his Background Check months ago, the reason being allegations of Domestic Abuse. Why did no one tell the president , and how did he get
hired in spite of that . Remember, only the best people . Porter resigned today. Scott generjennings and alice st join me. He denies the allegations, he says these allegations are simply false, i took the photos 15 years ago. The reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described. I will not engage with a Smear Campaign. So hes calling it a Smear Campaign. Scott, respond to that, do you think its a Smear Campaign . Frankly i dont understand the strategy of defending someone whos already decided to resign. Rob porter has a version of the story, the exwives have a version of the story. The fbi investigated it and brought it to the attention of Top White House officials. Heres the deal. No matter what the story is, you have to ask yourself, whats
best for the president . Number one, whats best for the president is to not have people with this Background Working in the white house. Number two, how can you have a staff secretary who cant get a Security Clearance when they handle the most sensitive documents, all the documents . Number three, at the end of the day youre there to serve the country and the president. If this is going to hurt the president and his agenda, you have to act on it at that point. So right now, theres no defense of this. You cant defend it. You have to let it go and move on. Frankly theyre going to have to admit a mistake, which is they should have fired him when they found out about it months ago. But youre not making an excuse in his defense, saying that this is a Smear Campaign . I just want to get to him it probably sounds like a Smear Campaign. Hes got a version that doesnt match the version his exwives are telling. But he had a Restraining Order against him, he knew they were going to make these allegations. Clearly he knew they were going to tell the fbi. Anybody who gets a background
check in this kind of a job knows theyre going to interview people like this. Do they need to admit that they made a mistake . You have to disclose on your forms and frankly to your superiors. This is in my background. Do they need to admit they made mistakes, scott . If so, does kelly need to own it and should he keep his job . Yeah, look, i think at the end of the day, theyre not going to be able to skirt around the timeline. The timeline is going to have to come out. Theyll have to be transparent about this. You can make mistakes in judgment. It does happen. This is a pretty big one, frankly. The job is big. The white house staff secretary handles all the paper flow in and out of the oval office. This isnt somebody in some farflung agency. Theyre near the president all the time. I just dont think theyre going to be able to not answer questions about the timeline here. I didnt think the second statement, frankly, cleared it up. I understand Chief Of Staff kelly feels personally loyal to mr. Porter. But at the end of the day, hes got to decide whats best for
the president right here and whats best is not to defend this. All right. So alice, this photograph is really damning, we talked about this last segment. There it is. Porter is saying i took the photograph or whatever, but there you go. His exwould i haife told the n post, i thought by sharing my story with the fbi, he wouldnt be put in that post. Im telling the fbi this is what hes done. And Jenny Willoughby is telling them. And the white house says, sure, this is okay . I was let down by that. What do you say about this, what do you think about what the white house has done . I think they clearly dropped the ball here. Look, rob says that this didnt happen. He says hes innocent. He says its a Smear Campaign. But the fact that he cant
categoca categorically deny this leaves questions. Look, i dont care if this guy has the ivy league parchment on the wall and has great character at work. If hes facing mounting allegations of spousal abuse, that raises a question. To scotts point, whats in the best interests for the president . Obviously to get rid of him. But whats in the best interests of the American People if we allow someone like this to be in such a high level of importance in the white house . And look, i think everyone can agree that, look, there is a special place in hell for people who abuse their spouse. If we dont take this as an opportunity to stand up against Domestic Violence, i think this is a tremendous statement on where we are as a country. And look, i think its really important for the white house to push back even further. The fact that they let him go without shoving him out the door is unfortunate. And i hope that we hear much more about this from the white house as to why he was allowed
to stay as long as he was. Alice, wasnt this a concern with, pardon my language, the grab them by the pussy tape, people who would make an excuse for that or still support someone who would use language like that and would admit to doing it, that they may not take allegations like this seriously, and that is in fact a reality thats happening now . From what it sounds like, the president didnt know the gravity of this until late today. Well, its the people around him, some of the same people who defended him on this tape, who supported him after that tape came out, are still in the white house, and some of his top advisers. Yes, and shame on them. I think as soon as the president understood the gravity of this, he made sure swift and Decisive Action was taken. I think they need to continue to do so. I would like to hear more from the president on this. I think we need to make more of a statement on standing up for these women and making sure that
there is a better Vetting System for people that have this close access to the president of the United States. Thank you all. Thank you both, i appreciate it. When we come back, white house officials are saying they expect the president to release the democratic Rebuttal Memo by friday risks national security. They didnt say that about the republican one. Its absolute confidence in 30,000 precision parts. Or it isnt. Its inspected by mercedesbenz factorytrained technicians. Or it isnt. Its backed by an unlimited mileage warranty, or it isnt. For those who never settle, its either mercedesbenz certified preowned, or it isnt. The mercedesbenz certified preowned sales event. Now through february 28th. Only at your authorized mercedesbenz dealer. With its historical ance records. Test. You could learn youre from ireland. Donegal, ireland. And your ancestor was a fisherman. With blue eyes. Just like you. Begin your journey at ancestry. Com on the only bed that adjusts on both sides to your ideal comfort, your sleep number setting. And snoring . Does your bed do that . Right now during the ultimate sleep number event, save 50 on the ultimate Limited Edition Bed with adjustable comfort on both sides. Ends soon. Visit sleepnumber. Com for a store near you. When you have something you love, you want to protect it. At legalzoom, our network of attorneys can help you every step of the way. With an estate plan including wills or a living trust that grows along with you and your family. Legalzoom. Where life meets legal. That the white house will attempt to neuter the memo. I will be surprised if they release it. They will use their efforts to redact as an excuse to take out the most meaningful parts. Its easy to be suspicious of this white house who has done nothing at this point in time to suppress and make this investigation as difficult as possible. How big an impact will this memo have on countering the nunes memo . I think it effectively counters point by Point The Nunes memo. I think it will do a lot to restore the integrity of the investigation. I dont know that it can restore the damage thats been done between the relationship between the Intelligence Community and congress, or to restore the faith that people have in how this process works. I think theres still going to be real damage to how we keep our country safe. Congressman, i want to talk to you about the trump campaign
chiefs, Corey Lewandowski, steve bannon, refusing to appear before your committee. Are you goinghem if they continue to refuse . Look, there is an existing subpoena on mr. Bannon, apparently they dont like him either. He was asked questions, but when he said there was a gag order from the white house, they didnt press him. That remains to be seen. Mr. Lewandowski simply said hes not going to answer questions with this extraordinary expansion of a privilege that the white house has yet to exert. So we dont have the power to subpoena. This is clearly mr. Nunes power. So thats a great concern. It should be noted, when we talk about the midnight ride, theres much more that hes done to suppress the investigation. Hes refused to issue subpoenas. Hes gone along with this gag order. He is not really the only one to
blame. None of these things could happen, including this latest escapade with Rogue Investigations and the memo that came with it. None of these things could happen without the Speaker Of The House involvement. Before we get to a constitutional crisis, i think were just at constitutional clashes now, he has to step up. The only republicans ive seen who have spoken out about this memo and what should be done with it on the minority and majority side are members who are planning to leave congress. Where are the Profiles In Courage . Youre talking about paul ryan, Speaker Of The House. Can you really count on him . To many peoples estimation, so far when it comes to this administration, he has no backbone. He hasnt shown a willingness to step up. I was talking to a Group Earlier today, indivisible. And i said, at some point we have to get past the Talking Points weve had so far. Lets talk about what the speaker and chairman nunes are doing. They are not only facilitating the suppression of this investigation. By doing that, theyre putting the president above the law. We are a coequal, separate branch of government. In effect, what theyre really doing is theyre advocating and allowing the president to rise to an autocracy. President trump tweeted today, new fbi texts are bomb shells. A bombshell, really . Look, the president is in somewhat of a desperation mode. The Mueller Investigation is getting closer and closer. Its found its way inside the white house. They must be especially concerned about general flynns cooperation. After all, he had a lot of exposure, he was only indicted and pled on one count, his son wasnt pled at all. This is his reaction, a desperate move. The Speaker Of The House is more interested in protecting the president from the legal challenges he face than in protecting the country. Congressman quigley, late at the capital for us, we do appreciate it, thank you, sir. Thank you. When we come back, whats behind Steve Bannons and Corey Lewandowskis refusals to testify before the House Intelligence Committee . Could they be forced to do so . Chile, Whats Going On . Im at the el tatio geysers. Geezer. Geyser. Geezer. Geyser. Enough. Geezer. Whoaa, wooooo. Dude, be careful. I think you should come camping. Why would i camp in the Atacama Desert . Oh. 3x Points On Travel and restaurants on every continent. Sapphire reserve, from chase. Make more of whats yours. I thought i was managing my moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. But i realized something was missing. Me. The thought of my symptoms returning was keeping me from being there for the people and things i love most. So, i talked to my doctor and learned humira can help get, and keep,uc under control when other medications havent worked well enough. And it helps people achieve control that lasts so you could experience few or no symptoms. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, control is possible. Michael, former trump confidantes Corey Lewandowski and steve bannon are refusing to answer questions before the committee. Adam schiff says, over the past several weeks we have seen a developing pattern, some witnesses postpone, others cans recall and two specifically have refused to answer questions about the events following the election of donald trump as president. It will therefore are necessary for our committee to enforce the subpoena on bannon and move to compel lewandowskis testimony. Do you think, michael, they are doing this at least in part in coordination with the white house . Well, its hard to know. With respect to each, they in their earlier rounds of testimony, or lewandowski i think didnt remember much during his earlier rounds of testimony, but bannon specifically said that he wasnt going to answer questions because the white house had instructed him not to. Chief of staff kelly said there werent any communications of that sort. Mcgahn and his lawyers seem to say there were conversations of that sort. But the reality is of course that the president seems, if they are coordinating, to be asserting privilege that does not a coupcontemplate what the privilege provides for, that is Policy Making between the president and his chief officers. Bannon, they want to talk about a whole host of things that took place before the election, and then after he left the white house. There is no Executive Privilege to be asserted there. So if it is a coordinated effort between the white house and bannon or lewandowski, its obstructionist behavior as far as im concerned. Kim, i think i mispronounced your name, its kim walie. Do you think they are
intentionally stonewalling the committee, and if they are, what can be done about that . I think this comes down to the schoolyard question of can you make me . At what point is Congress Actually going to pull some levers of power to get some of these witnesses to actually testify . And its not that clear what congress can do. I mean, it has implied power to investigate in order to legislate. So in theory, the sergeant at arms of the house could actually physically bring a witness before the chamber and hold them in contempt and put them in jail. But that hasnt happened in a long time, if they dont cooperate. Theres a criminal route that can be taken. But in order to do that we need cooperation from Donald Trumps department of justice. Then theres a civil route for the senate. But that only works if you have a resolution of the senate. So this really ideally would be resolved with some kind of negotiation. My guess is, its more likely theyre trying to work out the
kinks, hopefully in a negotiation, rather than flat out stonewalling and then we would be in some kind of drama again. Don, may i add something, and kim is exactly right on the three ways that congress can assert its power here. But what Congressman Schiff is saying is, we went round one with bannon and he wouldnt cooperate, and so the full committee voted to bring him in by subpoena. And now hes dishonoring that subpoena. So schiff is saying, its time to hold him in contempt. And i think that is the right course of conduct. Lewandowski is in another place in the timeline because he hasnt been subpoenaed. So i think what the committee needs to do to show its serious about this investigation is hold bannon in contempt and Subpoena Lewandowski for a future appearance and see whether he also resists. So kim, a source tells cnn that the president thinks he can handle an interview with Robert Mueller because of his experience in prior lawsuits. That source tells cnn he thinks he can work this out. He doesnt realize how high the stakes are. Do you think this is part of a Negotiation Tactic or does he think he can really prevail with this strategy . I think your question does he think is an important one. Probably for a psychologist more than for an attorney, in that to the extent to which he believes that he is innocent and that hes even perhaps in a victim posture, you might want to win the battle by telling what his truth is. I think most Defense Lawyers would say thats a bad idea for him personally. But maybe theres a Silver Lining to that strategy for the american public, in that we can actually just get to some kind of resolution and have the president actually participate in this process in a way that brings some transparency and closure, ultimately. If the president thinks he can or tries to smooth talk Robert Mueller, michael, and his team, how do you think thats
going to go . If hes truthful, it will go just fine. If its not truthful, it wont go quite as well for him. Mueller is not going to take lightly lying about material matters that he is investigating. So the president has to be sure that he can tell a coherent, truthful narrative. But with respect to whether or not he should or he shouldnt, this is an interesting situation, because i dont think legally theres any way he can in the end not testify. I think the power of the Grand Jury Subpoena under the facts of this case would necessitate his testifying. So if he forces the issue and says i am not going to testify, and mueller issues him a Grand Jury Subpoena and takes him to court, and the court forces him to testify because thats what the law requires, it makes it look much worse than if the president just goes in as bill clinton did, you know, sort of not happily, but purposefully, so that he could try to, you know, put an end to this in the same way that kim said would bring closure to the matter. Thank you, michael, thank you, kim, i appreciate your time. The president says i want a parade. So the pentagon is now trying to figure out the logistics from that. Will the pushback even from his own party stop it from becoming a reality . And approved just for uc and crohns. Entyvio works at the site of inflammation in the gi tract and is clinically proven to help many patients achieve both Symptom Relief and remission. Infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. Entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. Pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal Brain Infection caused by a virus may be possible. This condition has not been reported with entyvio. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections or have flulike symptoms or sores. Liver problems can occur with entyvio. If your uc or crohns treatment isnt working for you, ask your gastroenterologist about entyvio. Entyvio. Relief and remission within reach. crying, screaming today is your day. Crush it. Angies boom chicka pop whole grain popcorn. Boom
the white house grappling tonight with news about a top aide facing Domestic Abuse allegations. Sources saying senior officials knew about it and didnt do anything. I want to bring in max boot, a senior fellow at the council on Foreign Relations and the author of the the road not taken. Max good to have you on. I first want to get your take on the disturbing allegations of dmakz against rob porter, Chief Of Staff john kelly coming to his defense. At one point kelly called porter a man of true integrity. What are your thoughts. Well this is appalling. But its part of a pattern with the Trump White House which had a lot of questionable characters like steve bannon, sebastian gorka, michael flynn, now rob porter. People who would not pass any kind of muster in any kind of ordinary white house have nevertheless been allowed very close to the center of power in
the United States government. And i think thats ultimately on donald trump and also on the people who work for him, including general kelly. I think thats a disturbing pattern. Several things i want to talk to you about tonight. On a different topic, and i know you heard about the president President Trump now wants a Military Parade, according to the Washington Post. The president was inspired by the Bastille Day Parade in france. What do you make of in request, and whats behind it do you think. What i make of it is i think we have a president with the mental age of about 8. And he thinks that Military Gear is really neat. We could save a lot of money because a parade would cost 20 million which the military doesnt want to throw away, truly a waste of money. Somebody could save money just buy the president some neat toys and Field Marshal Uniform that he could parade around the white house in. This is like a little boy love
of Military Gear with no idea of What Real War is like, what troops actually do. This is also utterly divorced from american traditions. We certainly celebrate the military and we have parades when soldiers come momi like from the gulf war. But were not north korea, not the the soviet union. We dont glory in displays of military hardware. Our twloer is our constitution, rule of law, free and open society. And unfortunately donald trump is doing great damage to all of those even as he claims to celebrate what makes america great. If he really wanted to pay tribute and honor to Men And Women In Uniform Fighting For Freedoms Overseas Couldnt He visit a war zone, afghanistan or iraq . That would be a great idea. He could also make good on his pledges that he made during the campaign to greatly expand the size of the active duty army, of the navy, air force, because theyre too small for the missions they face. I was at ft. Benning, georgia, giving a talk there and meeting with army leaders there. And their viewpoint is the army is vastly overstretched having to deal with in growing russian threat in eastern europe. Having to prepare for contingency in the north korean peninsula. They have real issues and not money to throw away on the parade. They could use more support from the president rather than tasked with trifl missions like a parade. You wrote an oped in the Washington Post which i fine interesting. You said trump is no adolph hit letter and it does a disservice to naziism to make the comparison. He was a more of hugo chavez. Not uniquely evil process if he ruled in italy in the 50s or venezuela in the twouss he would undoubtedly be a dictator by now. Those are strong words. Do you think the president wants to be seen as authoritiarian to
flex muscles on the global stage . I think this Military Parade is part of it. Remember a few days ago he was saying democrats were treasonous for not applauding. There is a consistent pattern where he calls the press the enemy of the American People. He calls the judiciary a laughing stock. He makes war on all the norms of american democracy and all the checks and balances on his power, including of course the fbi and justice department. So i think the parade is part and parcel with that. The good news is that trump does not rule in an earlier italy or venezuela or argentina, that he rules in a Constitutional Republic with a strong tradition of checks and balances. And those balances are keeping him in line to some extent at least. But its a constant struggle. And you kind of see him wanting to break out and imitate some of the dictators he greatly dmirs lib like putin and xi jinping and erdogan. They have these cheesy military
parades. He wants one of his own. Thats what senator graham said its cheesy and shows weakness. Thanks max. Thanks, don. When we come back, the resignation of a trump top aide. Senior white house officials knew about Domestic Abuse allegations against rob porter. The white house is pushing back saying porter misled everyone in the west wing. Theres a vacation at the end of every week. Whatever type of weekender you are, dont let another weekend pass you by. Get the lowest price when you book at hilton. Com
find the right hotel for you at the lowest price. Refreshing, isnt it . Tripadvisor