Brian Williams examines the days top political stories and current politicalcampaign news. Represents what trumps lawyers expect to be their last word on muellers request for a sitdown interview. The letter from trumps lawyers leaves open the possibility of having trump answer some questions in writing. According to the two people familiar with the negotiations. Earlier today during a live radio callin show, conveniently hosted by his cocounsel jay sekulow, Rudy Giuliani called on mueller to end his investigation, but declined to get into details about these negotiations about the interview. We dont have an internal deadline. We are moving i use the phrase expeditiously through this, and understand the significant constitutional issues that are raised. But mayor, i know youve said and ive said, we want the see this come to closure soon here. Mayor . Yeah, we do. Its about time that it ends. I also think and i hope the Special Counsel is sensitive to it as we are. We do not want to run into the november elections. So back up from that, this should be over with by september
eightpage draft order appears to be an effort to stave off aggressive legislation, including a bill introduced in congress this month and to quell criticism that trump seems to give more credence to russian president Vladimir Putins denials of interference than to u. S. Intelligence agencies conclusion to the kremlin sought to undermine the 2016 election. That comes to us as Florida Democratic senator bill nelson, whose running in a tough reelection fight, tells the tampa bay times, quote, russian operatives have penetrated some of floridas Election Systems ahead of the 2018 mid terms. He said any further information is classified. Today the white house actually did impose new sanctions on russia, but not for election meddling. The administration is penalizing the kremlin for using chemical weapons against an exspy and his daughter in the uk, a decision that congress had to push the white house to make. Meanwhile, republican senator rand paul is in moscow this week, of all place, apparently
trap only exists if he chooses to lie. Now jonathan lemire, the question for you which may call for a judgment, what is greater do you think in the trump camp . The fear of a subpoena or the fear of perjury . I think theyre worried about both. I mean, they believe they have legal arguments to protect them against a subpoena. They dent believe that the Department Of Justice in the code there that mueller is certainly a buy the book prosecutor, and we believe that they believe that they would not for that. Perhaps its perjury. Everyone, as i reported before, people around the president just feel that he is walking into a Land Mine Situation if he goes in there, that he is so undisciplined when he speaks, and that he sometimes will try to say things to win over the room and to curry favor with these investigators. Hes going to walk in there and some some mistruths or say things that arent right or be selective in what he says and therefore as giuliani says, walk himself into perjury. The president , though, to this point is publicly saying he still wants to do this. I think the long their goes on, the more that giuliani and the
legal team moves the goalpost sort of making it almost impossible for mueller to finally to agree to this. As much as the Special Counsel does want this interview. As bob just said that. Need to be able to identify. They need to figure out the intent what was behind the president , the actions when he moved whether it was comey or flynn and so on. But at some point theyre going to have to make a decision, if he is not going to sit down, then we have to think about the subpoena. I think at this point, giuliani and others, theyre trying to run out the clock here. They know that mueller is trying not to wade into the mid terms. That if he doesnt do it then, he tables it as of labor day and revisits in november or december, even though, of course, we did see jim comey open up a federal investigation that absolutely mattered to an election just about ten days before voters went to the ballot box. More on that in a moment. Barb, i watched giuliani on fox tonight. At a certain point, giuliani stopped talking about this. He kind of referred to deferred to jay sekulow. A, it is possible one of the feds said your side should really stop talking about these negotiations . And, b, what are the feds likely to make of all this public sharing of letters and demands and no questions on obstruction and the like . Well, ordinarily, the Department Of Justice doesnt want to silence people who want to talk. They have First Amendment rights to do that. So im sure they dont like it. They probably arent happy with it. It may not even be accurate. But theyre probably not going to do anything about it if giuliani and sekulow want to continue to talk about it. I dont think it advances their position in negotiating by talking about it in the public sphere. But i dont think that the Justice Department is going to order them to stop in any way. But youre right that the affect of it all is we get this very onesided narrative. We dent even know whether its true. They made representations about their letter. We havent seen the letter and certainly were not hearing from Robert Mueller. So we dont know what it says. But i do get the sense that
theyre slowwalking this. Theyre trying get themselves as close to september as possible. Say were negotiating, were still keeping the door open because they know that as that election approaches, its less likely that Robert Mueller would serve that subpoena and launch whats likely to be some very explosive litigation. Also, barb, what is rudy talking about when he says this investigation will violate doj rules if it goes past september 1 . Well, he is conflating some things here. I dont know whether its intentional or not, but there are sometimes something referred to as a 60day rule before an election, there is usually a cooling off period. The language of the rule really is very broad. It just says prosecutors shouldnt do anything to influence the outcome of an election. And what you do or dont do really depends on the facts of the case. But many people have interpreted that to be sort of a 60day rule that says when you get 60 days out of an election, you probably should cool off and not file anything publicly. So with the elections in november, that would be about labor day. So i think there have been many suggesting that Robert Mueller would be unlikely to serve a subpoena then. But to suggest the investigation needs to be over by then is a very different thing. Even if he does go into a cooling off period, which he may or may not do with trump on the ballot, nothing says he has to be done by that point. No one expects mueller to do anything incautious, a. And b, one of the hardened cynics in our business proffered this theory tonight, and that is that by saying september 1, by getting that out into the bloodstream, rudy, who is a member of this team that says nothing really by accident. Usually its back referenced, may be getting into the public consciousness what he sees as a win if and about when mueller suspends for election season, they can say its been properly this investigation been paused, and thats a victory for us. Thats right, brian. Talking to mayor giuliani, you see him preparing right now pour the subpoena, fight that subpoena threat, goes all the way become to march when mueller made it in a private exchange with then trump attorney john dowd. The Republican Party is on edge, especially after tuesdays primaries in ohio and elsewhere about the midterm elections. They dont want to have the Mueller Report hanging over their heads. In my conversations with republican lawmakers on capitol hill, theyre telling the white house, theyre telling trump allies, theyre telling giuliani and the president , anything you can to get russia off of our plate, wed appreciate it. And they know they have to take a tough line and sanctions. The party is more hawkish than the president of russia, but they want this Mueller Report to be not hanging out there as a variable. And so thats why in part this is a political strategy for giuliani as much as a legal strategy. Jonathan lemire, i want to read you the quote, two very young promising writers a the Associated Press have worked together on this piece. Oh, look, its you and your
coauthor. Trump has seethed to confidantes that he views the manafort charges as a warning shot from mueller. He has told those close to him that as he watches the courtroom proceedings, he fears that donald trump jr. Could at some point be the one on trial, left out all the careful sourcing that you were careful to put in this. Youre just back from bedminster, new jersey. How is the president enjoying his vacation . We havent seen too much of him on the vacation. Exactly the way they planned it. Thats right. He did have a dinner with Business Leader last night. We saw the first few minutes of it. But largely he has been laying low. The white house hasnt been speaking out who he has been reading with and golfing with. We know over the last ten days or so, we have seen reflected in his tweets, as well as these private conversations how upset he has been watching the manafort trial day after day. Its the cable coverage, its in his face. Its mostly you, inescapable every day that he sees it there. And that he as hes told
people around him, he feels that sort of muellers opening act. Even though this trial is not about russia, but he feels muellers hand is involved, Obviously Manafort was a prominent part of his campaign and its a sense of what could still be to come. Even though he doesnt believe his son did anything wrong, but he suggests that a, he inadvertently broke the law, perhaps, or b, he is simply the victim of a witchhunt. Stop me if youve heard that before from the president. And in this case, he feels that that could be next. And that is something that even though publicly he is suggesting im not worried about don jr. , privately he is. Don jr. Himself also very much taking this brash approach, moving for ward. He has become a very popular surrogate among republicans for the midterm elections crisscrossing the country. So he is not letting this slow him down. Big thanks to our big three on a wednesday night in august. Jonathan lemire, robert costa, barbara quaid. Thank you. Coming up, he went big for trump early, arrested and charged by a Trump Appointee at
the Justice Department for something he might have been photographed doing at the white house on the lawn. And later, the president says hes five for five. Others in his own party, however, are scoring the situation a bit differently with the midterms 90 days away. The 11th hour just Getting Started on wednesday night. Heres a trip tip when you Search Hotels on tripadvisor. Enter your destination and the dates of your stay. Tripadvisor searches over 200 Booking Sites. To find the best deal on the right hotel for you. Tripadvisor. Now im gonna tell my momma that im a traveller im Gonna Follow The Sun now im gonna tell my momma that im a traveller im Gonna Follow The Sun transitions™ light under control™
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he surrendered to fbi agents this morning. Hes accused of tipping off his son who then sold stock in a Pharmaceutical Company days before news came public that tanked the stock. According to the indictment, collins was attending, there he is, a congressional picnic on the white house lawn june 2017. Indeed, he is visible in picture theres from that day. Pictures that appear to show him on his phone at times. Its alleged that during the event, he received an email from the ceo of the company informing him of bad news that a key drug trial had failed. Collins was on the board of the company. But armed with that insider information, the feds say he immediately called his son. The indictment says collins son cameron sold a large block of stock and tipped off others, including his fiancees father, who is also facing charges of Insider Trading. The feds allege they avoided in all more than 700,000 in losses by dumping the stock when they did. U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of new york, a trump
appointee, by the way, said someone who helps write the laws of this land act as if they didnt apply to him. Congressman collins cheated our markets and our justice system. These charges are a reminder that this is a nation of laws. And that everybody stands equal before the bar of justice. All three men, including the congressman pleaded not guilty in manhattan federal court. Earlier tonight in buffalo, collins said he is looking forward to clear his name. The charges that have been levied against me are meritless, and i will mount a vigorous defense in court to clear my name. I look forward to being fully vindicated and exonerated, ending any and all questions relating to my affiliation with an aide. Congressman says he is not only staying in his seat, his name will be on the ballot as he is running for reelection in
november. Meanwhile, House Speaker paul ryan has stripped collins of his post on energy and commerce pending an investigation into the accusations. With us tonight to talk about it, daniel goldman, former assistant u. S. Attorney for, wait for it, the Southern District of new york, who prosecuted an Insider Trading case just last year. And Shane Goalmacher is back with us. Welcome to you both. Shane, i dont want this to become an episode of billion, but we have upstate political players and power bosses and we have the aforementioned Southern District of new york. Talk about this seat. How safe was it for collins . What was his position in the new york delegation . And what would it take for those political bosses to say, you know what . This seat is too valuable. We need you to step aside. Well, his position in the new york delegation shifted dramatically the day he endorsed donald trump. He was the first member of
congress to do that, because after that he became a Senior Member when trump became president because suddenly he had entree to the white house. The president was calling him on the phone. He became an important member of the delegation. He wasnt before. He was a back bench member. And he represents the Trumpiest Seat in new york. Donald trump won almost 60 there, more than any other seat in the state. This is seen as a safe republican seat, except candidates running under indictment are almost never actually safe. Counselor, correct me if im wrong, other when there is an Earnings Call and a stock takes a tumble, or skyrockets up, when there is an event that cause as stock to tumble or soar, doesnt the s. E. C. , Dont The Feds kind of rewind the tapes two, three days and look for any large blocks of stock, any Significant Movement of stock . And youve got guys like this member of congress. Dont they understand people are
watching and listening . Well, it is interesting. Finra, which is the sort of Nonprofit Arm funded by congress has algorithms that goes back and looks at all of these things. And thats where a lot of these investigations begin. But, you know, it was a small, small stock generally speaking. It was 50 cents when this occurred, or when this information was relayed to him. It was very difficult to trade in the united states. It was only over the counter. It was not on a Larger Exchange because its an australian stock. So i think it was it seems, if you can put yourself in his mindset, it was almost instinctive, like i got this information, i got to tell my son. I cant sell my shares, which is laid out in the indictment as to why he cant, including the fact that his shares were in australia and there was a moratorium on trading them. So im just going to tell my son. And then his son took it and told everybody else. But this guy was on the board of
this company. He has a fiduciary duty to maintain the confidentiality of what is clearly inside information. And for someone in elected office to completely abdicate that responsibility and pass along information that he unquestionably knew he should not be doing is a blatant violation of the law. By the way, 50 cents a share. Were talking about a lot of stock, if they were stemming losses potentially close to 3 4 of a Million Dollars . Yeah. The stock went down 92 after this was made public. A true penny stock after this. Shane, the problem with the seat and the area in New York State where its located is how cruel the economy was to that real estate, that part of New York State. The optics of a member of congress cozy with the Trump White House on the lawn, on the south lawn, on his phone. It looks very swampy. And if the right democrat comes
along in that district and says this is the rich getting richer. Must be nice to be at a picnic at the white house, must be nice to avoid three quarters of a Million Dollars. You could see red turn to blue. The democrats dont have the candidate they wanted in this race. Its a local elected official progressive activist. But the governor was actually trying to get his running mate, Kathy Hoch Toll leave the governorship and run for congress. He publicly basically lobbied for her to do so. She lost to Chris Collins a few years back. She said no. So they ended up with this progressive activist. He has almost no money, about 81,000 in the bank. Chris collins has 1. 3 million in Campaign Cash and millions in personal funds he can tap into. But he is already running up legal bills. May not want to front the legal bills himself. He may want to use the Campaign Money to pay off things. He spent 250 million already to the law firm defending him. If youre facing jail time and
you have millions of dollar, i think you spend as much as you can to not go behind bars. Thats one of the hopes the democrats have over the long run. The seat went from off the board to on the board. This may not be the most competitive seat in new york. It may not be the most competitive seat certainly in the country. But its something that certainly the republicans are going to have to look at you. Saw that video, right . This is on the white house lawn, on camera, on the phone. That is a devastating political ad. Daniel, roughly how many years is he looking at if convicted . Guessing in the four to fiveyear range. Okay. Gentlemen, thank you. We couldnt help but note goldman and goldmacher would make great letterhead. Thank you both very much. Coming up, prosecutors in the trial of Paul Manafort may be resting their case. And tonight whats now an open question. Is the judge in this case making the case more difficult for the feds, when we come back. Lass, we really pride ourselves on making it easy for you to get your windshield fixed. Teacher lets turn in your science papers. Tech vo this teacher always puts her students first. Student i did mine on volcanoes. Teacher you did . oh, i cant wait to read it. Tech vo so when she had auto glass damage. She chose safelite. With safelite, she could see exactly when wed be there. Teacher you must be pascal. Tech yes maam. Tech vo saving her time. [honk, honk] kids bye tech vo . So she can save the science project. Kids whoa kids vo safelite repair, safelite replace lets do an ad of a man eating free waffles at comfort inn. They taste like victory because he always gets the lowest price on our rooms, guaranteed, when he books direct at choicehotels. Com. Or just say, badda book. Badda boom. Book now at choicehotels. Com oh oh ozempic® vo people with Type 2 Diabetes are excited about the potential of
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gates to admit on the stand that he made many, many mistakes over the years. But the real meat of todays testimony came in the form of financial documents and flow charts. An fbi Forensic Accountant testified that manaforts lavish purchases coincided with massive wire transfers from foreign banks. An irs agent told the jury manafort hid 16 million from the government, and that his 2014 tax return was, quote, false. Back with us is barbara mcquade, who not only is a former u. S. Attorney, she was in court for todays readings. We cant thank her enough for staying late to talk about it with us. Barbara, what does the jury make of this thing thus far . Weve gone from are ostrich jackets to mention of four Extramarital Affairs to a man they know is the star witness. One of the things today i thought was a great recovery day for the government. After sort of this Roller Coaster Ride of rick gates on the stand, they had sort of a stomach soothing day with these
two experts. The Forensic Accountant and the irs Revenue Agent who did a very nice job, rather tedious presentation, but went through charts that they had compiled that showed very meticulously thats it was Paul Manafort who controlled these accounts overseas, that wire transfers went from the accounts to buy his luxury goods, the suits, the rugs, the car, the homes, and all of those things, and that this income did not show up on his income tax return. So i thought that was very methodical. It was exactly what they needed after hearing from rick gates. You know, they often refer to that as if the cooperator sandwich, you want to put the cooperator whose testimony is likely to be risky in the middle of the case. That seems to be exactly what the government is doing. And i want to ask you about this federal judge again. Well talked about him last night. But the question is what did this judge do today that got your attention and why . Well, one of the things he did today, again, is interjecting his own views about the case when its supposed to
be the jury who is the fact finder. At one point, this Forensic Accountant testified that two of Paul Manaforts purported signatures appeared to her to be different. And the judge remarked you think those signatures are different . Well, i guess the jury will decide. What is the jury supposed to make of that . He is almost testifying. So these interjections i think are incredibly inappropriate. Now it may be that if and when the defense puts on a case, he does the same thing to them. But i do think that there are messages that the jury gets in these cases. The thing that bothers me the most is in his obsession, really to move the case along quickly, he often refuses to allow the jury to see exhibits in realtime. He says they can look at those later. But i think in a case as complex as this, its really important to see those exhibits as theyre coming in. You know, a trial is supposed to be a showandtell. Theyre getting the tell part, but not necessarily the show. And the idea of going back later and finding which one of these bank records matches up to the testimony of the witness is really difficult. So he allowed more of that today, of seeing these charts that were made by these experts, but i do worry about keeping those documents out of the view of the jury as we move things quickly to the detriment of the government who has the burden of proof. If the jury is not convinced, they means they cant find the defendant guilty. As paul newmans character said, your honor, if youre going to try my case, try not to lose it. Barbara mcquade, whose days start very early in that courtroom and who was so kind to stay late and bring us up to date on this trial. Cant thank you enough. My pleasure, brian. Thanks. Coming up for us, one partys big voter turnout. The arrest of a republican member of congress, and a reality tv stars claim of secret recordings. There she is, of president donald trump, her old boss. The growing problems for the grand old parties when we come back. But allstate actually helps you drive safely. With drivewise. It lets you know when you go too fast. And brake too hard. With feedback to help you drive safer. Giving you the power to actually lower your cost. Unfortunately, it cant do anything about that. Now that you know the truth. Are you in good hands . Anncr as you grow older, your brain naturally begins to change which may cause trouble with recall. Learning from him is great. When i can keep up anncr thankfully, prevagen helps your brain and improves memory. Dads got all the answers. Anncr prevagen is now the numberoneselling brain Health Supplement in drug stores nationwide. She outsmarts me every single time. Checkmate you wanna play again . Anncr prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Its not Paul Manafort alone. There is a lot of Paul Manaforts out there across washington, d. C. And people right now are feeding at the public trough, ripping off the american taxpayer, breaking all manner of rules, ethics, laws, and so far they havent been called to account on it. But whats always been the case is that corruption has worked as an issue in political campaigns, and that to be the reform party, to be the Good Government party, to be the Clean Government Party is a powerful place to be. Thats what a former republican sounds like. Political strategist Steve Schmidt reacting to the Current Situation were watching in washington after republican congressman Chris Collins was arrested and charged with Insider Trading and lying to the government earlier today. The charges against collins come as republicans trying to figure out a game plan, perhaps leading into the mid terms in 90 days. Last nights special election in an ohio district that trump won
by 11 points still too close to call as our network sees it right now. Robert costa of the washington post, who we had on earlier tonight, puts it this way. Talking about all of last nights results, Many Republican strategists viewed the results as a dark omen three months ahead of election day, saying they illustrate the limits of trumps ability to boost candidates, particularly in suburban areas where the president s popularity has suffered. Even in republican primaries, securing trumps endorsement was not a guarantee of electoral success. We are so happy tonight to be joined by both eugene robinson, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the washington post, and a. B. Stoddard, a columnist and associate editor at real clear politics. Eugene, whats happening in the Republican Party . Whats happening in the electorate, and is it such a moving target that if i ask you on monday, your answer could perhaps be different . Oh, totally, totally. Ill wait and ask you. So, but here we are on wednesday, and we just had some elections yesterday. So you can say the Republican Party is looking at some substantial losses in the midterm election. Theyre looking down that barrel. As in no more speaker ryan . Certainly could be. And i think youd say thats likely now. Like i will only lasts for a couple of days in this era, apparently. But right now youd have to say thats likely. You know, democrats have to close the deal, right . They have an edge on in enthusiasm. You saw that again last night. Clearly, they have made a whole lot of what should be safe republican districts competitive. But they got to close the deal. And one they can fail to do that is being complacent about last
nights results. Donald trump went to that district in ohio, and it looks like he might have brought the republican balderson across the finish line, right . 1500 votes right now. Its too close to call. So we cant we dont know. But hes ahead by 1500 votes. And that could have made the difference of those 1500 votes. You cant doubt that he boosted gop enthusiasm to some degree in that district. And democrats should prepare for that. I mean, they have to amp it up too. A. B. , our Friend Eugene is not hyperbolic. He is a level headed man who ive known for long time. And yet im looking at the headline on his column. Trumps Rally Rhetoric is going to get somebody killed. And sadly, there is a good chance eugene may be right. And you combine that, that speaks to the tone and tenor of
our times with all this politics were seeing. The question to you is, what are republicans really talking about in cloakrooms and restaurants and homes . Right. Whats interesting is that Troy Polamalu troy balderson, if he won, it would have been because trump. As trump comes and rallies and his reporters love all that disgusting stuff about the fake news and all the stuff he does, all of that aggressive talk really riles them up, and they enjoy it. So when youre in the house and youre looking too hold the house, and youre at the nrcc, the campaign committee, youre looking at the map, you think thats fine for donald trump to go to senate help Senate Republicans in states he won by landslide margins. He cant go to swing districts in the house if they risk losing, and they need to defend their majority. He is welcome in safe districts, but they arent the ones that
they need to hold. And those are a moving target too. So thats really right. The definition of safe. If you look at the political report data that republicans thats making them so nervous, its that if you they did a comparison recently from August Of 2006 to november. August of 2010 to november. There are more competitive seats this august, and those numbers always grow. And they have no idea. Its 53 right now. They have no idea where its going go november 6th. Think of the day the president is having today, while he is keeping his Campaign Chairman continue on trial. Deputy Campaign Director is the star witness. The star witness. His first supporter in congress is arrested and indicted and arrested today. And there are the Election Results from last night which he puts a brave face on. Im sure people have explained to him this really isnt that good, mr. President. So i think you can anticipate in
the next few days he might be on a jag. I think a tweet storm is coming. Dont forget there is somewhere there is an ostrich saying was it really worth to it kill my brother so this guy could have a jacket. A. B. , youre such a nice person, you dont deserve this. Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell the daily bowes that omarosa newman, the infamous star secretly recorded conversations with the president , conversations she has since leveraged while shopping her forthcoming tellall book bluntly titled unhinged. A. B. , nice person, level headed person, what does this say about our time . What this says about President Trump is he asked for this. Im told that the omarosa character was the viper, and you didnt mess with her, she was not loyal to anybody. She was happy to cause trouble
and she would turn on you. He let her into the west wing. She had a nebulous job. No one knew what she did. If this is true, the danger of trump and omarosa is they are not in the reputation preservation business. Theyre unembarrassable. You sure you never really watched . I dont do reality tv. But think about think about it, though. He brought a Reality Television contestant into the white house as a senior adviser. In the west wing. Think about this. He worked in this building and received a paycheck from this company for 14 years. Eugene robinson and a. B. Stoddard, our thanks. Terrific conversation. I think she has been sneaking Reality Television. Coming up, as we have reported, the Trump Presidency has been very good for the Book Publishing business. There is a new one, already up to number two in new releases in just 24 hours on amazon, and its unambiguous. Its equally unambiguous Author Standing by to join us. Go your own way copd tries to say, go this way. I say, ill go my own way, with anoro. Go your own way oncedaily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators that Work Together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. Anoro is not for asthma. It contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. The risk is unknown in copd. Anoro wont replace Rescue Inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, glaucoma, prostate, bladder, or urinary problems. These may worsen with anoro. Call your doctor if you have worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain while taking anoro. Ask your doctor about anoro. Go your own way get your first prescription free at anoro. Com. Our never modest president today talked about his affect on his party, and i quote, as long as i campaign and or support ca within reason, they will win. Our next guest here tonight might disagree even though he is a veteran of republican politics. Theres a hint about how he feels about this president buried in the title of his new book. Its called Everything Trump Touches Dies, a republican strategist gets real about the worst president ever. In it, rick wilson writes while imitation of trump is the stupidest form of political flattery, is r the plague of trumplike candidates racing toward their own doom keeps growing. Republican primaries have become contests for the dar war kaward. Donald trump causes him dumb as a rock which our guest wears as a bang of honor. You have a dedicated following on social media. Im among them. The book is a heck of a journey. How did the trump era happen . It takes two to tango in politics. There were some really good republican candidates. Absolutely. How did this happen . When people ask you that question, whats your answer . This was a failure of leadership at the highest levels of the party, and that includes Reince Priebus and the money part of the party, all those 17 candidates who were considered some of the best and brightest in the field and all of them ris read the situation and all the professional class guys like me misread the situation, too. A lot of us thought this guy is a joke, hes a clown, hes going to selfdestruct. We didnt reckon with people vote ford a candidate who they thought was a character he
played on Reality Television 14 years in a huge hit show for this network and for trump. The misreads and missteps its a gigantic leadership failure. Now that hes in the presidency and his behavior and his leadership and his governance is such a train wreck, theyre trying to pretend this is the new way we do things and theyve had to walk away from every principle that republicans have ever stated that they believed in. And weve got a president who gompbz by rage tweets from the toilet at 6 00 in the morning. So the journey getting here as a guy who was a Party Loyalist and who fought in the trenches for 30 years in the Conservative Movement in the Republican Party, it wasnt an easy transition. But i sleep well every night. Im comfortable with it. As opposed to some of those youve chosen in the book, you go through the individuals attracted to work for trump. And you give them outside of a benny hannah, you dont see a
filet job like this individually. Do us is the honor, one of the passages that already got me weve excised a dirty word from the first sentence. This is your own writing. First two paragraphs on steve bannon. Will you give us a reading . The brightest hottest weirdest blank star in the trump constellation from the moment of the donalds unexpected electoral victory was steve bannon. If youre looking for the white hot center of esoteric trumpism, bannon is the architect. Once you get past the Homeless Drifter with a hitchhikers head in his backpack, bannon who looks like a spokesperson for a go out med, he is known for his multiple shirts. The tactical Operator Pants are Haul Washings of his style. Persistently rumpled, he was no ones idea of the white houses
dull but suit and tie culture. His eyes stare and odd constellation of facial moles make him look. Thats the books dedication. Im kidding. That is just the portion on rick bannon. Rick agreed to stay with us over the back. When we come back, im going to ask him how this all ends. Omar, look. [ Thunder Rumbles ]
[ Engine Revving ] and then, im Gonna Pike My hips back into downward dog. [ rhythmic tapping ] hey, the rain stopped. A bad day on the road still beats a good one off it. Tell me about that dental procedure again i can still taste it in my mouth progressive helps keep you out there. I can still taste it in my mouth let someone else do the heavy lifting. Tripadvisor compares prices from over 200 Booking Sites to find the right hotel for you at the lowest price. So you barely have to lift a finger. Or a wing. Tripadvisor. With the new Chase Ink Business unlimited card i get unlimited 1. 5 cash back. Its so simple, i dont even have to think about it. So i think about mouthfeel. I dont think about the ink card. I think about nitrogen ice cream in supermarkets all over the world. I think about the details. Fine, i obsess over the details. Think about every part of your business except the one part that works without a thought your ink card. Introducing Chase Ink Business unlimited with unlimited 1. 5 cash back on every purchase. Chase for business. Make more of whats yours. Timeit should be Measuredsured Byby how long steak lobster is back at outback. Back by popular demand, steak lobster starting at 15. 99 and time. Is limited, so hurry in today. Outback steakhouse. Aussie rules. Welcome back. Rick wilson agreed to stay with us. His new book is called the world is over and were all going to die. How do you see theres the actual book. How do you see the Republican Party in our lifetime, serious question, ever resetting and ever going back to a true north. The conservative values you said define the party limited government, respect for the rule of law, Fiscal Discipline and fiscal probity. Strong International Alliances that protect america from the Vis Sisitudes of wild foreign
affair swings. All those things have been abandoned. At some point, either the democrats will pick up the mantle of some of those things and own them. They have a huge Market Opportunity to own Fiscal Discipline because were spending money like drunken sailors on shore leave. And the debt is rising. Deficit is rising. Weve made a huge bet with this tax bill helping 150 guys down on wall street. All those things unless you want to reset on them and do the hard work of it, the party will become the trump party and maybe a Conservative Party emerges from that and hives off from it. But its a very dark path ahead. We the statism and nationalist populism that defines trump lymph will become under the republican brand is unsellable to people younger than 55. What is your 30second answer to how does it end . How does the trump era end . That whole scene in mad max
where the guy is playing the guitar, pretty much like. Trump will collapse of his own weight. Hes a man under enormous pressure. This is not a comfortable space for him. He thought it was going to be a prank and joke and make a ton of money off of it. You can tell he is fiscally and mentally uncomfortable with the position hes in as president. I dont think it lasts. Which can wilsons new book Everything Trump Touches Dies is presently ranked number two among new releases on amazon. Where it has leapfrogged the russia hoax by Gregg Jarrett and now trails only this, stay sexy and dont get murdered, which i think is good advice for all of us. With our thanks to rick wilson for joining us, that is our broadcast on a wednesday night. Thank you so very much for being with us. Good night for all of us here at nbc news headquarters in new york. \s rachel