>>LIKE BERNIE SANDERS, DONALD
TRUMP HAS AT LEAST IN PART
INTENDED TO ESTABLISH HIS
CREDIBILITY AND JUDGMENT AS A
POTENTIAL COMMANDER IN CHIEF BY
POINTING TO HIS SUPPOSEDLY
OPPOSITION TO THE WAR IN IRAQ
BEFORE THE WAR ACTUALLY BEGAN,
BUT UNLIKE BERNIE SANDERS, HE
CAN'T ACTUALLY POINT TO A SPEECH
AND A VOTE AGAINST THE WAR,
WHICH BERNIE SANDERS DID DO,
AGAIN, BEFORE THE WAR BEGAN.
HE
SAYS THERE IS EVIDENCE, BUT HE
HAS NOT PRODUCED ANY. AND
UNFORTUNATELY FOR HIM, SOME
EVIDENCE AS TO HIS POSITION ON
THE WAR HAS COME ABOUT.
AN
INTERVIEW WITH HOWARD STERN.
IT
WILL NOT REINFORCE HIS POSITION.
>>
A LOT OF TIMES THE POLITICIANS
DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU THAT.
>>ARE YOU FOR INVADING IRAQ?
>>I GUESS SO.
I WISH THE FIRST
TIME IT WAS DONE CORRECTLY.
>> WHAT YOU SAW THERE WAS HIM ON
HOWARD STERN, WE KNOW IT WAS HIM
ON HOWARD STERN.
THIS
CONTRADICTION WHAT HE HAS BEEN
SAYING TO DIFFERENTIATE HIMSELF
FROM OTHER REPUBLICANS.
SO ANDERSON COOPER DECIDED TO
BRING UP THIS EVIDENCE IN
THE MOST COWARDLY WAY POSSIBLE.
>> INCLUDES AN AUDIO CLIP OF
WHAT APPEARS TO BE YOU ON HOWARD
STERN TALKING ON THE RADIO ON
SEPTEMBER 11, 2002.
HE ASK YOU,
ARE YOU FOR INVADING IRAQ?
YOU
SAID I GUESS SO.
I WISH THE FIRST TIME IT
WAS DONE CORRECTLY.
IS THAT ACCURATE?
DO YOU REMEMBER SAYING THAT?
>>NO, BUT I COULD'VE SAID THAT.
I WASN'T A POLITICIAN, THAT WAS
PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME
ANYBODY ASKED ME THAT.
BUT BY THE TIME THE WAR STARTED
-- THAT WAS QUITE A BIT BEFORE.
>>THIS WAS 2002.
>>BY THE TIME IT STARTED I WAS
AGAINST THE WAR.
A LOT OF PEOPLE
SAID -- IT WAS SO EARLY, EVEN IF
IT WAS AFTER THE WAR, I WAS
AGAINST IT.
THAT WAS PROBABLY
THE FIRST TIME I WAS EVER EVEN
ASKED ABOUT THE WAR.
THAT WAS
PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME.
I REMEMBER THAT, BUT IT WAS
PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME I
WAS ASKED.
>>YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS?
>>I MAY HAVE.
BUT WHEN YOU ARE IN THE
PRIVATE SECTOR YOU GET ASKED
THINGS, YOU ARE NOT A
POLITICIAN.
AND PROBABLY THE FIRST
TIME I WAS ASKED.
BY THE TIME THE WAR STARTED I
WAS AGAINST IT, AND SHORTLY
THEREAFTER.
>>A COUPLE THINGS WE HAVE TO
POINT OUT.
THAT IS HIM ON HOWARD
STERN.
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT IS
HIM.
SO ANDERSON COOPER SAYS, IT
APPEARS TO BE -- I HAVEN'T
LISTENED TO IT.
HE WOULDN'T EVEN
EXPOSE HIMSELF TO THE
INFORMATION SO THAT HE WOULD
HAVE PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY TO
SAY IT WAS NOT ACTUALLY HIM,
THEN HE READS IT AND SAYS, DO
YOU REMEMBER THAT?
NO, NOT THE
REMEMBER THAT.
YOU SAID THAT, IT
CONTRADICTS WHAT YOU ARE SAYING
NOW.
RESPOND.
GIVEN THE CHANCE
TO RESPOND.
THAT IS BEING A
RESIZABLE JOURNALIST.
BUT NOT
IMPLYING IN FIVE DIFFERENT WAYS
THAT WHAT WE KNOW IS TRUE IS NOT
TRUE.
>>THAT IS BECAUSE TRUMP WILL
COME OUT AND SAY -- HE MIGHT SAY
IT IS NOT ME. AND HE DOESN'T
WANT TO CONTRADICT HIM.
IT
APPEARS TO BE YOU.
>>TRUMP IS SUCH A SUCCESSFUL
BULLY, IT IS INCREDIBLE.
BUT I
WANT TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER OR
NOT THAT IS THE FIRST TIME TRUMP
WAS ASKED.
WHAT'S WHAT WOULD IT
MATTER?
HE KEEPS SAYING THAT WAS
BEFORE THE WAR.
THAT IS WHAT YOU
HAVE BEEN SAYING.
YOU HAVE BEEN
SAYING YOU WERE AGAINST IT
BEFORE IT HAPPENS.
SO YOU CAN'T
SAY, THAT WAS WAY BEFORE IT
HAPPENED.
BUT ONCE IT HAPPENED,
AND WAY AFTER, THEN I WAS
DEFINITELY AGAINST THE.
THEN
YES, YOU JOINED THE 60 OR 70% OF
AMERICANS WHO WERE AGAINST IT BY
THAT POINT.
WHAT I LIKE ANDERSON
COOPER, I LIKE HIM I THINK MORE
THAN YOU GUYS.
I THINK HE IS A
GOOD BROADCASTER.
I THINK HE HAS
DONE A GOOD JOB, UNTIL THIS ONE.
>>BEFORE WEDNESDAY -- REMEMBER,
I SAID I THINK HE WILL ASK
FOLLOW-UPS, AND HE DIDN'T.
>>IT IS A HARD JOB.
BUT THERE IS
NO WAY ANY PART OF THAT QUESTION
IS OKAY.
BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL,
IF YOU GUYS AREN'T SURE IT IS
DONALD TRUMP, THEN DON'T
BROADCAST THAT.
DON'T TALK LIKE
-- YOU HAVE FACT CHECKERS, YOU
HAVE A HARDER SHIP WITH
FACTCHECK.ORG.
BEFORE YOU HAD
THAT, I GUESS YOU PUT ANYTHING
ON THE AIR WHENEVER YOU FELT
LIKE IT FOR 20 YEARS.
OF COURSE
IT IS HIM, OR THEY WOULDN'T DO
IT.
JOHN, YOU HAVE THE BEST
POINT -- THAT IS THE BIGGEST
COPOUT QUESTION EVER.
>>WAS THAT YOU?
>>DO YOU REMEMBER?
>>I DIDN'T HEAR IT.
WHERE AM I?
>> GUYS, LET'S BE FAIR -- HE WAS
IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
WHAT
DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?
>>PEOPLE
ASK THINGS ALL THE TIME.
>>THAT
IS THE POINT HE IS MAKING.
I DIDN'T HAVE TO BE A
POLITICIAN, I KNEW IT WAS WRONG.
YOU CAN'T SAY I WAS WRONG TO
SUPPORT IT, I WASN'T A
POLITICIAN.
>>TECHNICALLY NOW HE IS STILL
IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
>>HE CAN BE WRONG ONLY LIKE.
>>WE KNOW THIS THOUGH, THE FIRST
TIME YOU ARE ASKED THE QUESTION
YOU CAN SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT
BECAUSE IT DOESN'T COUNT.
>>WHAT IS AMAZING TO ME IS WE
DISPROVED THAT TRUMP SAID
ANYTHING ABOUT THE IRAQ WAR
BEFORE THE WAR BEGAN.
IT TURNS
OUT BECAUSE OF THIS TAPE FROM
HOWARD STERN, WE WERE WRONG.
WE
THOUGHT HE SAID NOTHING, IT
TURNS OUT HE WAS IN FAVOR OF IT.
BUT FOR ALL THE MEDIA TO COME
OUT AND BE LIKE, OH MY GOD, IT
TURNS OUT HE WASN'T AGAINST THE
IRAQ WAR BEFORE -- WE KNOW.
WE
LOOK AT ALL THE STUFF, AND THERE
IS NO RECORD OF DONALD TRUMP
BEING AGAINST THE WAR BEFORE THE
WAR.
NO RECORD OF IT.
YOU LET
HIM GET AWAY WITH THAT FOR WHAT,
SIX MONTHS, BEFORE YOU FINALLY
TURN AROUND BECAUSE OF A LITTLE
TAPE ON HOWARD STERN?
AND BY THE
WAY, TO BE FAIR TO THE MEDIA,
RIGHT BEFORE THE HOWARD STERN
THING, THEY FINALLY WERE LIKE,
WAIT A MINUTE, WE COULDN'T
CORROBORATE WHAT TRUMP WAS
SAYING.
OF COURSE, YOU CAN'T
CORROBORATE ANYTHING HE SAYS.
YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT FACT
CHECKING SIX MONTHS AGO
LIKE WE DID.
>>WE DON'T HAVE THE GEORGE
STEPHANOPOULOS CLIP --
>>I DO, ACTUALLY.
>>GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS GETS AN
A, HE DID IT EXACTLY RIGHT, BUT
EVEN AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW
YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ, YOU SEE
THE BRILLIANCE OF TRUMP, BECAUSE
EVEN CRUSHED, HE COMES BACK TO
THE ORIGINAL POINT.
>>GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS -- THIS
IS HOW YOU PRESENT THE
INFORMATION AND TIE IT INTO THE
MESSAGE THAT TRUMP HAS BEEN
SPREADING OVER THE PAST SIX
MONTHS.
STEPHANOPOULOS PLAYS THE
VIDEO, NOW HE SAYS WILL YOU STOP
CLAIMING YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE
AGAINST THE WAR BEFORE IT BEGAN?
TRUMP SAYS THAT WAS BEFORE THE
WAR BEGAN, AND BY THE TIME IT
BEGAN I'M ON THE RECORD AS
SAYING WE SHOULDN'T GO IN.
WHICH
IS NOT TRUE.
SO STEPHANOPOULOS
CUTS IN AND SAYS YOU ARE NOT ON
RECORD OPPOSING IT BEFORE IT
BEGAN.
TRUMP RESPONDS --
>> IT SOUNDS LIKE I'M MAKING FUN
OF HIM I LITERALLY READING THE
THINGS HE SAID.
>>IT IS PALIN-ESQUE.
>> WHEN HE SAYS THERE IS
EVIDENCE, AND I WILL FIND IT,
THAT BY DEFINITION MEANS YOU
DON'T HAVE IT.
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE.
>>YOU ARE DONALD TRUMP, YOU HAVE
UNLIMITED RESOURCES.
YOU WOULD
HAVE FOUND IT.
DOES SOMEBODY
HAVE A LEXIS-NEXIS ACCOUNT HERE?
DOES THAT STILL EXIST?
>>IT IS SIGNIFICANT WHETHER HE
WAS ON THE RIGHT OR WRONG SIDE
OF IT, IF YOU WERE TO BELIEVE,
FOR INSTANCE, THAT IT MAY HAVE
BEEN THE WORST DECISION EVER
MADE BY A PRESIDENT IN HISTORY.
AND THE PERSON WHO SAID THAT
WAS,
LAST NIGHT, DONALD TRUMP
AT THE TOWN HALL.
SO IT IS THE WORST DECISION
EVER, WHICH YOU ARE ON THE
RECORD AS SUPPORTING
AT THE TIME.
>> HE MADE IT A CORNERSTONE OF
HIS CAMPAIGN THAT HE WAS AGAINST
IT BEFORE HAND, WHICH GOES TO
HIS BRILLIANCE, BECAUSE WE JUST
PRESUMED THAT WAS THE CASE.
NOBODY FOUND ANYTHING ELSE.
IT
TURNS OUT HE WAS ON THE MOST
POPULAR RADIO SHOW IN THE
HISTORY OF MANKIND AND SAID THE
EXACT OPPOSITE.
BUT SOMEHOW
PEOPLE WERE UNABLE TO FIND THAT.
BY THE WAY, GEORGE
STEPHANOPOULOS FOLLOWED UP HIS
PALIN-ESQUE ANSWER BY SAYING,
YOU SAID YOU WERE FOR THE
INVASION.
BUT WHAT I LIKED IS
TRUMPED BY ZEAL FINISHED, YOU
CAN SEE I WASN'T STRONGLY IN
FAVOR.
THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I
WAS EVER ASKED.
BY THE TIME THE
WAR STARTED, I WAS AGAINST THE.
AND IN 2003 YOU HAVE EVIDENCE I
WAS AGAINST IT, AND I
HAVE BEEN FOR YEARS.
>> THERE IS A QUOTE OF HIM IN
MARCH, 2013, OR 2003, IT WAS
AT AN OSCARS AFTER PARTY, AND HE
SAID THAT THE WAR IS A MESS.
>>BUT IT HAD ALREADY STARTED.
>>THAT WAS THE SECOND TIME HE
WAS ASKED ABOUT IT.
>>THAT IS TOTALLY FINE, THAT YOU
WERE EVENTUALLY AGAINST THE.
THAT IS WONDERFUL.
>>BY THE WAY, WHAT HAS DONALD
TRUMP NOT SAID WAS A MESS?
THAT
DIDN'T INVOLVE DONALD TRUMP?
I
DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE ARE BEING
FAIR OR NOT, BUT THE REAL QUOTE
WAS IN 2004.
FAIRLY LATE IN
2004, HE DID COME OUT AND SAY
THIS IS GOING WRONG, I'M
DEFINITELY AGAINST IT, ETC.
NOT
JUST A PASSING, IT IS A MESS.
IT
WAS MORE SUBSTANTIVE IN 2004.
BUT BY THAT TIME EVERYBODY KNEW
IT WAS A MESS.
WE WERE HAVING A
GIANT COLLECTION ABOUT WHAT A
MESS IT WAS.
>>EXACTLY.
>>AND
TO BE FAIR TO TRUMP, THE HOWARD
STERN ANSWER WAS, I GUESS SO.
>>HE IS RIGHT ABOUT THAT, IT WAS
A PRETTY SOFT, I'M IN FAVOR.
>>WHICH
IS STILL ON THE WRONG SIDE OF I
WAS STRONGLY AGAINST THE.
>>HE DIDN'T HAVE STRONG THOUGHTS
ON IT BECAUSE HE DOESN'T HAVE
STRONG THOUGHTS ON ANY TRUE
POLITICAL ISSUE.
RIGHT NOW,
YEAH, HE SEEMS LIKE HE HAS
STRONG BELIEFS OR IDEAS, BUT HE
DOESN'T. EVERYTHING IS SHALLOW
AND FAKE.
HE HAS NEVER REALLY
THOUGHT ABOUT FOREIGN POLICY.
HE
IS NOT A POLITICAL THINKER OR
FIGURE, HE IS A HACK AND
CLOWN AND FRAUD.
AND PEOPLE KEEP TREATING HIM
LIKE HE IS THIS INTELLIGENT
PERSON, LIKE, HE MIGHT HAVE
CONSIDERED THE DOWNSIDES OF
INVADING A COUNTRY.
HE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT,
HE DIDN'T CARE.
>>I GUARANTEE IF YOU ASKED HIM
NOT JUST IN 2003 OR 2002, BUT IN
2004, MAYBE NOW, IT MIGHT BE A
MESS IN IRAQ BECAUSE OF THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SUNNIS
AND THE SHIA, GO AHEAD AND TELL
ME WHAT THE SUNNIS AND THE SHIA
ARE.
GOOD LUCK.
>>BY THE WAY, ELIZABETH WARREN
CAN ASK THAT AT THE NEXT
DEBATE ON FOX.
>> AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT
DISTINCTION.
PART OF THE REASON
HE IS SUCCESSFUL SO FAR IS THAT
HE HAS SAID I'M NOT A
POLITICIAN.
PEOPLE HATE
POLITICIANS, THAT IS WORKING.
BUT DON'T CONFUSE THE TWO
THINKS.
POLITICIANS RUN FOR
OFFICE, THEY OFTEN LIE AND ARE
GREASY, ETC., THAT IS THE STUFF
WE DON'T LIKE.
BUT THEN WHEN
THEY GET INTO OFFICE THEY ARE
SUPPOSED TO DO POLICY, AND IT IS
VERY IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO KNOW
POLICY.
SO YES, DONALD TRUMP IS
NOT A POLITICIAN, HE HAS NEVER
RUN FOR OFFICE, I GUESS YOU GIVE
HIM CREDIT FOR THAT, ALTHOUGH HE
LIES LIKE A POLITICIAN, SO I
DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH CREDIT WE
SHOULD GIVE HIM.
BUT THE SECOND
PART, THE POLICY STUFF, YOU
DON'T GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR NEVER
DOING POLICY, THAT IS A BAD
THING.
YOU DON'T GIVE HIM CREDIT
FOR NOT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT
ANY POLICY, THAT IS THE BAD
PART.
THAT IS NOT A THING YOU
SHOULD BE LIKE, YOU DON'T KNOW
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SUNNI
AND THE SHIA, YOU HAVE NO IDEA
WHAT IS GOING ON IN IRAQ OR IRAN
OR THE FEDERAL RESERVE OR
ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD?
WAY
TO GO, DONALD.
YOU ARE JUST AS DUMB AS I AM.
>>HE ALSO CAN'T MAKE UP HIS MIND
ABOUT ANYTHING.
HE HAS SOME
STRONG STATEMENTS ABOUT THE BUSH
AND MINISTRATION INVADING IRAQ
AND HOW TERRIBLE IT WAS, AND HOW
BUSH LIED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
ABOUT WEAPONS OF MASS
ATTRACTION.
HE GOT A LITTLE BIT
OF CRITICISM, NOW ALL OF A
SUDDEN HE WON'T SAY IT.
HE IS A CLOWN.
>> THIS WHOLE THING OF BEING
AGAINST THE IRAQ WAR FROM THE
BEGINNING, IT IS NOT LIKE THAT
IS NOT POLITICAL.
THE REASON HE
IS DOING IT IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS
THAT AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE KNOW THE
IRAQ WAR WAS A MESS.
NOW ONLY
ABOUT 20% THINK WE SHOULD HAVE
GONE IN THERE.
