Friendly Trump interview goes south INSTANTLY amid disaster answer

The so-called manifesto is a stunning. thing to read, Mr. President. He appears. to reference a motive in it. He writes. this quote, "Administration officials, they are targets." And he also wrote. this, "I'm no longer willing to permit a. pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat. my hands with his crimes." What's your. reaction to that? >> Well, I was waiting for you to read that. because I knew you would because you're. you're you're horrible people, horrible. people. Yeah, he did write that. Uh I'm I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape.

anybody. Uh. I'm not a rapist. Excuse me. Excuse me. I'm not a pedophile. You read that crap. from some sick person. Uh. I got associated with. all stuff that has nothing to do with. me. I was totally exonerated. Your. friends on the other side of the plate. are the ones that were involved with, let's say, Epstein or other things. But. I said to myself, "You know, I'll do. this interview and they'll probably I.

read the manifesto. You know, he's a. sick person. But. you should be ashamed of yourself. reading that because I'm not any of. those things. And I was never Excuse me. Excuse me. You shouldn't be reading that on 60. Minutes. You're a disgrace. But go. ahead. Let's finish the interview. >> The other thing that he wrote in the. the. >> Yeah. Uh when you have to go on national. television and insist, quote, "I'm not a. rapist. I'm not a pedophile." That kind. of speaks volumes onto itself, doesn't. it? Especially considering he follows up.

that denial with an outright lie, "I was. totally exonerated." Um okay. How? How. exactly is Trump exonerated? Did I miss. the release of the other 3 million. Epstein files? Or is it that Trump's. DOJ, under his leadership, continues to. hide the exact files that could actually. exonerate him? In fact, it is that very. cover-up that makes it all but. impossible to believe Trump's desperate. denials. Since one, it's been insistence. after insistence of covering up.

Epstein's crimes and Trump's involvement. in the whole Epstein situation. From. waving around fake binders with. right-wing influencers to Pam Bondi. saying the Epstein files were on her. desk ready to be released before. suddenly they weren't to Todd Blanche. moving Ghislaine Maxwell to a. low-security prison after she suddenly. announced that Trump wasn't implicated. at all before us then saying that she. wants a pardon to the documents that. were released having victims names. exposed and co-conspirators names hidden. to now where 3 million files are still.

suppressed despite that Epstein files. transparency act law being signed about. 4 months ago. So, obviously, none of. this is proof of Trump's guilt, but you. can be damn sure that it's not evidence. of his innocence. And also, as far as his protest that. he's not a rapist, I'll simply read the. words of one judge transcribed in this. Washington Post article titled "Judge. Clarifies Yes, Trump was found to have. raped E. Jean Carroll." Quote, "The. finding that Ms. Carroll failed to prove. that she was raped within the meaning of.

the New York penal law does not mean she. failed to prove that Mr. Trump raped her. as many people commonly understand the. word rape." Kaplan wrote. He added, "Indeed, as the evidence at trial. recounted below makes clear, the jury. found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly. that." And of course, Trump doesn't. discuss any of those things. He never. tackles the substance. He just. immediately tries to discredit the. journalist who apparently committed the. crime of merely acknowledging objective. reality regarding what the shooter wrote. in his manifesto. So, apparently, her.

job is now to ignore it? I mean, look, I'm as critical of legacy media as. anyone, but she did her job here by. bringing this up. It would have been a. dereliction of duty if she didn't. The. fact that Trump lashes out says a hell. of a lot more about him than it ever. will about her. And look, I don't say any of this to. justify even 1% of someone committing. violence. For as depraved as Trump is, and he is, it is not license to take a. gun and try to shoot anyone. Period.

Full stop. But I also want to make it. abundantly clear that my criticism of. Trump, our criticism of Trump, is not. the same thing as incitement to. violence. And any effort right now to. point fingers at people who have. criticized Donald Trump as somehow being. responsible for an assassination attempt. is not just oozing in bad faith, it is. also deeply un-American. Because think. about it. If any criticism I make of the. guy is going to eventually be used as. evidence that I'm responsible for. anything that happens to him at any.

untold point in the future, then is my. alternative just I'm not allowed to ever. criticize Trump? And that's somehow okay. in a democracy with a First Amendment. that purports to value free speech? You. don't get to both hail yourself and your. party as free speech absolutists, while. also invoking any criticism, no matter. how mild, as the reason that some nut. job decides to bring a gun to his. speech. But here's the craziest part. That. rabid, angry, aggressive person who.

Trump showed himself to be in that video. clip that I first showed, I think that. we can all agree that that is exactly. who Trump is, exactly who he's always. been, right? At this point, you would. have to be brain dead not to recognize, after the billionth meltdown, that there. will never be a new tone, he will never. be presidential, he will never change. He is who he is. And yet, someone should. probably tell legacy media. >> You know, a couple minutes before this. happened, I was with House Speaker Mike. Johnson. I shook Johnson's hand. I was. talking to him. And then I was walking.

across the ballroom, Victor, kind of. taking the long way toward the CNN. tables, cuz I wanted to see some of my. friends and some of my sources. And so I ended up on the ground next to. a executive from Comcast, some people. from NBC. And in that moment, you know, there was a lot of unity. And I'm. thankful that President Trump talked. about that unity last night and did not. try to heighten the tensions or escalate. the situation. He could have very easily. gone out there and bashed the press last. night and blamed the media for. attracting this suspect to the ballroom,

but instead he basically said we're all. in this together and that's certainly. true and that's how it feels this. morning as well. >> I'm sorry. Trump could have attacked the. press for attracting the shooter? Is. that seriously the bar right now? Thank. you, President Trump, for not blaming. journalists for attracting a mass. shooter for the crime of reporting on. what the president does and says. Look, the option always exists to simply. not treat Donald Trump like a 9-year-old.

who needs to be graded on a curve. Here's another one. This one from PBS. President Donald Trump was somberly. contemplative and unusually conciliatory. after confronting what he saw as a third. attempt on his life in less than 2. years. Somberly contemplative and unusually. conciliatory. So, when this grown-ass. man, who also happens to have the. nuclear codes, somehow manages not to. blame random people or attack the press. or melt down in the middle of the. street, we have to give him flowers now?

Are we throwing him a parade for not. eating crayons, too? Look, I understand that the legacy. media's job is not to be on a political. party's team. That's fine. If you watch. my videos, you know where I stand. politically, but the legacy media does. have a vested interest in not. normalizing autocracy. The idea of. democracy persisting is existential for. that very legacy media. I write about. this phenomenon in my upcoming book, The. Day After. Democracies don't just fall.

off a cliff, they get pushed. First, an. autocrat wins an election and seizes. full power, the legislature becomes a. puppet, the courts lose their. independence, businesses prostrate. themselves to make money. The only. surviving check and balance is the. media. So, the media's independence is. hacked back through extorting its. corporate owners with threats, nuisance. lawsuits, and government oversight. The. free press does not die with a bang, but. with a bunch of wimps. That's the story. of Vladimir Putin's Russia, Viktor. Orbán's Hungary, and Erdoğan's Turkey. Their countries used to enjoy a vibrant.

choice of media. Now, the surviving. independent voices are few and far. between, if not in real danger. So, if. you'd like to support independent media. that isn't going to try and normalize. Trump's behavior, whether because there. are political incentives or financial. incentives, independent media that won't. give Trump credit for doing the absolute. bare minimum or not even managing to do. that, then the best way to support my. work is to pre-order my book The Day. After or come see me in person during my. book tour. You can find all of that. information, both the pre-order links.

and the book tour links, by clicking the. link right here on the screen or in the. post description of this video or in the. comments. Because my job is not to do. both sides coverage, it is to tell the. truth about what's going on. And yes, I. have a bias, but it is in favor of. democracy. So, if that means I'm going. to do the unthinkable and call out one. side without feeling the undying urge to. pretend that both sides are equally as. bad, then so be it. Because while some. institutions want to pretend that this. is all politics as usual, I refuse to.

pretend that any of this is normal or. okay. Before you go, I'm very excited to. announce that I've written a new book. titled The Day After: How to Wield Power. in a Post-Trump World. The book explores. what is, in my opinion, the single most. important theme that we're dealing with. in politics today and moving forward: power. Specifically, how Republicans. abuse it and how Democrats refuse to. wield it. This book explains how we got. here and, more importantly, how we. should finally wield power if we're. lucky enough to get it back. It is the.

blueprint for progressives who want to. do far more than just restore the status. quo. Please pre-order today by following. the link on this screen. You can grab. yours from any of the major retailers. like Amazon and Barnes & Noble or scroll. down on the page and get a copy from an. independent bookstore closest to you. Thanks so much for supporting. independent media.