Transcription
MUCH, INCLUDING THE REFLECTING POOL.
AND WHEN REPORTERS FINALLY GOT A CHANCE TO ASK QUESTIONS, AND ONE OF THEM ASKED ABOUT THE TERRIBLE INFLATION NUMBER THAT CAME OUT THIS MORNING, SHOWING THE HIGHEST INFLATION RATE OF DONALD TRUMP'S PRESIDENCY. DONALD TRUMP'S FIRST LIE WAS TO SAY, "I LOVE IT." THOSE ARE HIS EXACT FIRST WORDS, "I LOVE IT." HIS SECOND LIE WAS THE NUMBERS WERE GLITCHED. DONALD TRUMP TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT EVERY NUMBER THE GOVERNMENT ISSUES IS WRONG, WHETHER IT'S A VOTE COUNT IN LOS ANGELES OR AN INFLATION NUMBER THAT HE DOESN'T LIKE.
BUT HE INSTANTLY ABANDONED HIS LIE ABOUT THE INFLATION NUMBER WAS GLITCHED, INFLATION. YOU KNOW WHY? AND THEN HE RAMBLED ABOUT HIS WAR IN IRAN, AND HE ACTUALLY NEVER ANSWERED THE QUESTION ABOUT WHY HE LOVES INFLATION.
>> MR. PRESIDENT, ABOUT THE LATEST INFLATION NUMBER WHICH CAME OUT THIS MORNING. COULD THAT BE A.
>> NO, I LOVE IT. THE NUMBERS WERE GREAT.
>> YOU KNOW WHAT I REALLY LOVE? I LOVE THE INFLATION. YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE AS SOON AS THIS WAR IS OVER, YOU KNOW, I CAN SAY IT NOW. SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T KNOW. YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TAKING OUT MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL. NOBODY KNOWS IT. YOU KNOW WHO DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT IT? IRAN. UNTIL RIGHT NOW. WE TOOK OUT THE OTHER NIGHT 22 SHIPS LATE AT NIGHT WITH NO LIGHTS BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ANY RADAR, BECAUSE WE BLASTED THE CRAP OUT OF IT.
AND THEN HE JUST KEPT GOING, AND HE COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THE LIE THAT HE SUGGESTED HE WAS GOING TO ANSWER THE "I LOVE THE INFLATION." YOU KNOW WHY HE FORGOT TO ANSWER THE WHY QUESTION THAT HE ASKED OF HIMSELF? THIS IS THE SLEAZY REAL ESTATE SALESMAN'S PITCH AT WORK. THIS IS DONALD TRUMP TRYING TO SELL AN APARTMENT IN THE 1980S, AND THE POTENTIAL BUYER LOOKS OUT THE WINDOW AND SEES NOTHING BUT THE BRICK WALL OF THE BUILDING NEXT DOOR. AND DONALD TRUMP SAYS, "I LOVE THAT THERE'S NO VIEW." AND THEN HE GOES ON TO TELL THE BUYER ABOUT HOW MUCH BETTER IT IS FOR SLEEPING, THAT YOU'LL NEVER HAVE ANY DIRECT SUNLIGHT IN THIS APARTMENT, WAKING YOU UP ALL THE TIME. THE SALESMAN JUNK THAT DESPERATE, FAST TALKING LIARS LIKE DONALD TRUMP TRAFFICKING SO NERVOUSLY AS HE DID TODAY.
DONALD TRUMP SAYING TODAY HE LOVES INFLATION. HE LOVES EVERY PRICE GOING UP. HE LIKES EVERYTHING BEING MORE EXPENSIVE. HE LOVES THAT. HE WANTS EVERYTHING TO BE MORE EXPENSIVE FOR EVERYONE OUT THERE WHO VOTED FOR HIM TO MAKE EVERYTHING LESS EXPENSIVE. THE STOCK MARKET WAS ALREADY HAVING A BAD DAY. AND THEN WHEN DONALD TRUMP SAID, "I LOVE INFLATION," THE STOCK MARKET GOT MUCH WORSE.
79 YEAR OLD DONALD TRUMP, WHO IS DAYS AWAY FROM BEING 80 YEAR OLD DONALD TRUMP, GETS LOST IN HIS OWN LIES NOW, MUCH MORE THAN HE USED TO. AND SO WHEN HE SAYS, "I LOVE THE INFLATION" AND THEN ASKS, YOU KNOW, WHY HE FORGETS THE WHY? AND SO REPUBLICANS RUNNING FOR REELECTION ARE LEFT WITH THE BURDEN OF DONALD TRUMP SAYING, "I LOVE INFLATION." AND DEMOCRATS CAN SHOW DONALD TRUMP SAYING THAT ON VIDEO IN AS MANY CAMPAIGN COMMERCIALS AS THEY WANT.
IN A TENSE MEETING IN THE SITUATION ROOM, WHERE THE WHITE HOUSE CAN MONITOR EVERY POTENTIAL HOT SPOT IN THE WORLD, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SAID, "THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM." IT IS THE SAME SITUATION ROOM THAT HAS FACED HUGE PROBLEMS BEFORE, JUST AS PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY DID FACING DOWN THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS IN THE SITUATION ROOM IN 1962, WHEN THE WORLD CAME THE CLOSEST IT EVER HAS TO NUCLEAR WAR. AND THAT'S WHAT RANKS AS A HUGE PROBLEM IN THE SITUATION ROOM, THE SAME PLACE WHERE VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN SAT WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA AND OTHER NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIALS WATCHING THE SUCCESSFUL MISSION PRESIDENT OBAMA AUTHORIZED TO APPREHEND OR KILL OSAMA BIN LADEN.
BUT IN DONALD TRUMP'S WHITE HOUSE, THE SITUATION ROOM HAS BEEN DISGRACEFULLY DEGRADED TO THE PLACE WHERE THEY DISCUSS THE EPSTEIN FILES. THE SCENE IS DELIVERED IN REMARKABLE REPORTING, INCLUDING OVER 1000 INTERVIEWS OF PEOPLE CLOSE TO DONALD TRUMP BY NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER MAGGIE HABERMAN AND JONATHAN SWAN IN AN EXCERPT OF THEIR FORTHCOMING BOOK PRINTED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES TODAY UNDER THE HEADLINE "INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE FREAK OUT OVER THE EPSTEIN FILES." THE TITLE OF THEIR BOOK THAT WILL BE PUBLISHED IN TWO WEEKS IS "REGIME CHANGE: INSIDE THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY OF DONALD TRUMP." IT CAN BE PREORDERED ONLINE NOW, AS I HAVE ALREADY DONE.
WHEN REACHED FOR COMMENT, THE WHITE HOUSE DID NOT RESPOND TO ANY SPECIFIC DETAILS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORT. THE SITUATION ROOM MEETING DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK HAPPENED 11 MONTHS AGO, JUST 11 MONTHS AGO, ON JULY 17TH OF LAST SUMMER. VICE PRESIDENT JAMES DAVID VANCE WAS THE HIGHEST RANKING OFFICIAL IN THE SITUATION ROOM. DONALD TRUMP'S CHIEF OF STAFF WAS THERE, HIS WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL, HIS PRESS SECRETARY, ALONG WITH HIS TRUSTED DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, TODD BLANCHE, WHO WAS ALSO HIS FORMER CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER. ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI AND FBI DIRECTOR KASHYAP PATEL JOINED THE DISCUSSION BY SPEAKERPHONE.
MAGGIE HABERMAN AND JONATHAN SWAN IN THEIR REPORTING IN THE NEW YORK TIMES TODAY. RIGHT. THE VICE PRESIDENT APPEARED PANICKED TO OTHERS IN THE ROOM ABOUT THE WAY THE SUBJECT OF EPSTEIN WAS ALREADY DIVIDING THE MEGA COALITION. HE WAS PRIVATELY PRESSING FOR THE ADMINISTRATION TO RELEASE ALL THE FILES. VANCE HAD ALSO FLOATED TO COLLEAGUES AN EXTRAORDINARY PR GAMBIT THAT THE WHITE HOUSE ENLISTED TUCKER CARLSON TO INTERVIEW EPSTEIN'S LONGTIME GIRLFRIEND AND COCONSPIRATOR GHISLAINE MAXWELL IN PRISON. IT MIGHT HELP THE PRESIDENT IF WENT ON IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
IN THAT MEETING, VANCE TOLD THE GROUP THAT HE BELIEVED ALL THE FILES SHOULD BE RELEASED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. HE ARGUED THAT CONGRESS WAS GOING TO FORCE THE RELEASE OF THE EPSTEIN FILES EVENTUALLY. WHEN THE WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL, DAVID WARRINGTON, SAID GHISLAINE MAXWELL COULD BE GIVEN A PARDON OR HAVE HER SENTENCE REDUCED, THERE WERE OBJECTIONS, NOT BECAUSE IT WAS THE WRONG THING TO DO, BUT BECAUSE IT, QUOTE, "WOULD CREATE A HUGE PR PROBLEM."
SO WE NOW HAVE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF DISCUSSIONS IN THE WHITE HOUSE THAT MIRROR WHAT WE SUSPECTED THEY WERE DOING IN THE WHITE HOUSE A YEAR AGO. WE SPECULATE THIS PROGRAM A YEAR AGO ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DOING THERE, ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF DONALD TRUMP WANTING TO PARDON GHISLAINE MAXWELL IN EXCHANGE FOR GHISLAINE MAXWELL SAYING SHE NEVER SAW DONALD TRUMP DO ANYTHING WRONG.
IN THAT MEETING IN THE SITUATION ROOM, TODD BLANCHE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF ASKING FEDERAL JUDGES IN FLORIDA AND NEW YORK TO UNSEAL GRAND JURY TESTIMONY IN THE EPSTEIN RELATED CASES, WHICH EVERYONE AGREED WAS A GOOD IDEA, ESPECIALLY WHEN TODD BLANCHE PREDICTED THAT THE JUDGES WOULD REFUSE TO RELEASE THE GRAND JURY TRANSCRIPTS, THE TIMES REPORTS. IF THE COURTS REFUSED TO UNSEAL THEM, AS BLANCHE PREDICTED, THEY COULD SHIFT THE BLAME FOR WITHHOLDING THE EPSTEIN MATERIAL AWAY FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND ONTO THE JUDGES. AND ALL THE BETTER IF THE JUDGES HAD BEEN APPOINTED BY DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTS. BLANCHE'S SUGGESTION WOULD MAKE IT APPEAR THAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTED THE MATERIALS RELEASED, WHAT IT WAS ALMOST CERTAIN NOT TO HAPPEN.
TODD BLANCHE'S ALL ALTERNATIVE TO JD VANCE'S IDEA ABOUT HAVING TUCKER CARLSON INTERVIEW GHISLAINE MAXWELL WAS FOR TODD BLANCHE HIMSELF TO INTERVIEW GLENN MAXWELL, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT TODD BLANCHE THEN DID.
THERE IS A DRAMATIC ACCOUNT IN THE BOOK EXCERPT OF THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FBI, DAN BONGINO, CLASHING WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BONDI AND WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF SIOUXSIE WILES. BONGINO SHOWED UP TO A DAILY JUSTICE MEETING WITH THE FBI STAFF AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. HE WAS IN A VOLCANIC MOOD. AS SOON AS HE ENTERED THE ROOM, HE ERUPTED AT BONDI, SHOUTING AT HER, "YOU EFFED THIS THING UP FROM THE START," BONGINO YELLED. "THE WAY YOU'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS, THAT DUMB EFFING CHARADE WITH THE EPSTEIN FILES, THE THERE ON MY DESK NONSENSE. ALL THE PROMISES TO THE FOLKS OUT THERE." PATEL AND BONGINO BOTH SUBSEQUENTLY TOLD A WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL THAT BONDI NEEDED TO RESIGN.
TWO DAYS LATER, ON JULY 9TH, THE TWO MEN WERE SUMMONED TO A MEETING WITH WILES AND BONDI IN THE SITUATION ROOM COMPLEX. THEY WERE THE LAST TO ENTER THE SMALL, WOOD PANELED ROOM SEATED AROUND THE TABLE WHERE BONDI, WILES, BLANCHE AND TAYLOR BUDOWICH, WHO WAS ONE OF WILES DEPUTIES. THE MOMENT BONGINO SAT DOWN, WILES TOLD HIM THAT SHE HAD BEEN INFORMED HE LEAKED A SENSITIVE STORY ABOUT EPSTEIN AND TRUMP TO ABC NEWS.
"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT," BONGINO REPLIED. "I'LL GIVE YOU $100,000 CASH RIGHT NOW. I'M NOT KIDDING. WALK OUT TO WEST EXEC, PUT THAT REPORTER ON SPEAKER AND GET HIM TO ADMIT I LEAKED IT. $100,000." BONGINO'S AGGRESSIVE RESPONSE TO WILES STARTLED THE OTHERS. SHE WAS THE WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF, ESSENTIALLY A STAND IN FOR THE PRESIDENT. WILES PUT BONGINO ON THE SPOT. "GOING FORWARD," SHE SAID, "WE'RE ALL IN. WE'RE ALL GOING TO AGREE TO MOVE FORWARD. ARE YOU IN OR NOT?"
"NO, I'M NOT," BONGINO SAID. "THIS IS NOT MY PLAN. I'M NOT PART OF THIS GOING FORWARD. FORGET IT. I'M OUT OF HERE." HE STORMED OUT OF THE SITUATION ROOM, AND HE EVENTUALLY RESIGNED HIS POSITION AT THE FBI. MAGGIE HABERMAN AND JONATHAN SWAN REPORT THE RELATIONSHIP. RELATIONSHIPS AT THE TOP OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WERE BY NOW BEYOND DYSFUNCTIONAL.
AT ANOTHER JULY MEETING IN WILES OFFICE, BONGINO AND PATEL TOLD THE CHIEF OF STAFF THEY SUSPECTED THAT BONDI HAD LEAKED NEGATIVE STORIES ABOUT THEM. "BLONDIE EFFED THIS WHOLE THING UP," BONGINO LATER TOLD A CONFIDANT. "SHE WAS THE ONE ON TV SAYING OVER AND OVER THEY HAD ALL THIS STUFF. THERE WAS NEVER ANYTHING. WE WERE ALWAYS CLEAR ABOUT THAT. BUT NOW EVERYONE THINKS WE DID SOMETHING WRONG AND I GAVE UP EVERYTHING." BONGINO COMPLAINED THAT HE HAD GIVEN UP HIS HIGH RATED SHOW AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, AND NOW IT'S ALL DISAPPEARED BECAUSE PEOPLE THINK WE SCREWED SOMETHING UP WITH EPSTEIN. BONGINO PAUSED. "THIS IS GOING TO BE DONALD TRUMP'S IRAN-CONTRA."
THE BOOK INCLUDES DONALD TRUMP'S REACTION TO HIS SUPPORTERS TURNING AGAINST HIM ON THE EPSTEIN FILES. TRUMP TOLD AIDES HE WAS VERY UNHAPPY WITH SOME OF HIS MOST INFLUENTIAL SUPPORTERS, INCLUDING CHARLIE KIRK, TUCKER CARLSON, MEGYN KELLY, ALL OF WHOM WERE PUBLICLY URGING THE ADMINISTRATION TO COME CLEAN. KIRK HAD HELD A TURNING POINT USA EVENT THE PREVIOUS DAY THAT TURNED INTO AN EPSTEIN GRIEVANCE FEST, WITH ONE SPEAKER AFTER ANOTHER BASHING BONDI OVER HER HANDLING OF THE SITUATION. TRUMP HAD CALLED KIRK AND SCOLDED HIM.
THE BOOK EXCERPT THAT APPEARS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES ENDS THIS WAY: THE EPSTEIN CRISIS HAD EXPOSED SOMETHING THAT SOME OF TRUMP'S CLOSEST ADVISERS SPENT MONTHS REFUSING TO SEE. THE PRESIDENT COULD BREAK INSTITUTIONS, REDIRECT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGAINST HIS ENEMIES AND BRING THE WORLD'S RICHEST MEN INTO THE OVAL OFFICE BEARING TRIBUTE. BUT HE COULD NOT, IT TURNED OUT.