Form of premeditated collaboration or attempted collaboration with a hostile foreign power in the middle of its attack on american democracy. Youll remember the meeting was in june of 2016, but we didnt learn about it until the following summer. The Campaign Never spoke of it nor the participants nor the Transition Team nor later the white house or the president. No one said anything until the New York Times broke the story last july. And when people did talk, the First Response was to be misleading about what was discussed and to loudly make the claim thats being disputed tonight that the president knew nothing about it before, after, and even a year after the fact. Did you tell your father anything about this . It was such a nothing, there was nothing to tell. Look, here is what happened. Donald trump jr. Put it all out today. Its all out. Did you know at the time they had the meeting . No i didnt know anything about the meeting. Lets focus on what the president was aware of. Nothing. He was not aware of the meeting. It must have been a very unimportant meeting because i never even heard about it. Anderson Cooper takes viewers beyond the headlines with indepth reporting and investigations. Recollection and his understanding of it. And what jay did was he immediately corrected it. And even had been under oath, he would call that recanting. And its jay, not the president. So thats the wisdom of not having a president testify. Its one thing to do it with a lawyer. Its another thing to do it with your client. Got it . Make sense now . The president s defenders cant seem to keep their story straight about the bogus story the president concocted about the meeting that they were misleading about after concealing for a year. Thats one side. On the other side, the president s Turncoat Attorney who might or might not be telling truth about his serially less than honest client. Thats where we are tonight. And so is this. A few years to the day stood up and said this to the country he is now accused of colluding with. Russia, if youre listening, i hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be
rewarded mightily by our press. As we said, the president left town without answering questions about this or Anything Else, which does not mean there was no news at the white house today, just the opposite. Cnns Abbey Phillip joins us now. Has the white house any official responsible this Trump Tower Meeting . They have not. The white house has not offered anything in the way of clarification about many of the comments you played there made from the podium by the press secretary, Sarah Huckabee sanders. And the president , as you just mentioned, left town without making any statements at all, leaving this as simply his word against his former lawyers. But the president tried this morning in a tweet to preempt questions from reporters by saying, denying the storying, saying he did not know anything about this meeting with don jr. And those russians. But he does not want, clearly, to answer any questions from reporters about it at all, and that is not really how this works. The white house wont submit to any sort of inquiries at all from white house reporters about
and abbie, do i have my math right . Are we on day three now without any answers about lies exposed by the cohen tape . Thats exactly right. Three days of the president not saying anything about it, being asked about it. The white house also being asked about it, referring questions to the president s outside lawyers, and also, i should note, anderson, not having any White House Press briefings to answer any Press Briefings at all. Sarah sanders last briefing on monday. The white house has only had three Press Briefings all month. This is the white house retreating from inquiries about all of these controversies swirling around this president. They dont want to talk about it, and theyre not giving reporters opportunities to do it. When they are pressed on it, they are lashing out at reporters, as weve seen this week. The white house is really leaving this out in the open, allowing these questions to continue to swirl around this president. Three Press Briefings in a month, wow. Abbey philips, wow. The damage he could do and some of the other evidence he we can look to determine who is telling the truth here. Carl bernstein, who shares the bylines from the scoop and has been there before. And maggie haberman, and cnn chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin. I mean, maggie, its, again, this odd situation where this is a story involving two people who are not known for their truth telling. Right. I think its interesting looking at that cascade of things, statements from Rudy Giuliani, who is the president s current lawyer. People who get around donald trump tend to take on his personality. This has been a habit that we have seen through the campaign. We have seen it through his career in business. I think when Michael Cohen was working for donald trump, he said things that were not true. I think you see Rudy Giuliani now saying things that are not true. Giuliani told us of that tape of Michael Cohen and donald trump, that it was, quote unquote, exculpatory. He described a series of events on this tape that did not quite play out once you heard the
audio. And so i think that you are seeing giuliani try to pit trumps credibility against Michael Cohens and suggest that trump will win. You cant there is a problem, and this was the issue for them during the campaign. The corrosive lying and the Corrosive Distorting and the corrosive lack of telling the truth, it does have an impact at a certain point. Right. And you cant just keep saying to people youre not hearing what youre hearing. Now, look, Michael Cohen contradicted himself, i think. I think he said something a little different to congress about the Trump Tower Meeting and he will have to deal with that if he gets called by Robert Muellers investors. I do think when you look at aggregate what this white house has said, the myriad of things. I never get over jay sekulow saying the president was involved in drafting the report. He may not have been told the truth. But this is the problem we hear over and over again. Well, this is the president saying author is this client saying. Then quit or dont parrot it if you dont believe it. We will see what gets said to
federal investigators. It is a crime to lie to them. Michael cohen has not yet been contacted by them as far as we know. How that plays out remains to be seen. Jeff, donald trump, the president has never under oath about this meeting. So there is no law he would have broken. If he is lying, he is just lying to the American Public and reporters. Correct. Although donald trump jr. May have a problem because he under oath to Congressional Committee said he did not discuss this with his father in advance. So if Michael Cohen is telling the truth, donald trump jr. May have a problem. But its also important to remember why this issue is important. This isnt just some random meeting. This is a meeting between the representatives of the russian government giving dirt, so the Trump Campaign thought, to the leaderses of the Trump Campaign. So every time the president says there was no collusion, i had nothing to do with any russians,
this meeting, if in fact he knew about it at the time, shows that all of those statements, every time he said no collusion, is a lie. So its not just sort of a random lie about the size of the inauguration crowd. Its lying about his involvement with the russian government in the campaign. And carl, if a meeting was squeaky clean with nothing improper, why have there been so many iterations to, you know, to who is there, who knew about it, what exactly took place, what the whole purpose was . Lets be clear about this meeting. This meeting was convened for the purposes of colluding. That was the invitation that was extended to donald trump jr. By mr. Goldstone on behalf of russian representatives to bring dirt to a meeting about Hillary Clinton at the behest of the russian government. It said in the letter of introduction, as it were. So this meeting is unique. It is hugely important, and thus far, from the moment we have learned about it, absolutely every aspect of it has been attempted to be covered up by donald trump and those around him. He has been truthful about nothing having to do with this meeting. Why . Because, indeed, its indicative of collusion. Now, is this the one time perhaps now that mr. Cohen has said this that donald trump is telling the truth about this meeting and that he did not know of it in advance where he has lied about every other aspect of it almost . Its possible, i suppose. But you and others have run through the chronology of what occurred and what he said three days after the invitation was extended and his son knew about it. Yeah. Its very strange, all these coincidences. And its going to get sorted out. And i think thats one of the reasons were seeing donald
trump, according to people around him in the white house, acting so desperately and unhinged in his fury. Maggie, the thing i keep coming back to about this meeting, and probably will repeat this several times tonight is if were if they were to be believed, donald trump jr. Is informed that the kremlin is supporting his fathers campaign, and he chooses and even if Paul Manafort is in that meeting and kushner is in that meeting, he chooses not to tell his fatherer either in advance or after that meeting, this pretty stunning idea, true or not, that the kremlin is supporting your campaign. For such a small organization, a Small Campaign at that point, its pretty hard to imagine. What im not clear so there is a couple of things i would say about that. Its not clear to me what whether cohen is going to say or is prepared to say or has told people that donald trump sr. Was briefed after this meeting or before this meeting took place. And there is a distinction in and heres why. I could see a world as knowing
how people are around donald trump and afraid of incurring his wrath or accused of not being competent or any number of things he says to his nearest and dearest. If you go and tell him that actually this thing did not result in anything, this didnt happen, you are going to get dismissed. So its possible that he was not briefed after. The question was whether he was briefed before. To me that is the big question mark, and i dont know the answer. I think that generally speaking, in that campaign, people did not do things without donald trump knowing. Not everything, but most times. But there is another very important fact that plays into what people knew when, which is Donald Trumps announcement that hes going give a big speech about Hillary Clintons misdeeds involving russia, among other countries. He gives that announcement of the speech when in the leadup to this meeting. Right. The meeting turns out to be a bust, and donald trump never gives this promised speech. How does donald trump decide to gave big speech on this subject without knowing that the Trump Tower Meeting is taking place . And how does he decide to cancel the speech without knowing that the meeting is a bust . Thats a chronology thats very hard to explain. And certainly, carl, what we have seen of this president is hes not great about keeping his cards close to the chest. He does like to promo something. He does like to promote something in advance. Watch for some big things, revelation coming up or big news on a summit or whatever it may be. To jeffs point, its entirely possible that he knew about this meeting and decided to kind of give a little promo. Well, thats what it certainly would look like and appears a perfectly reasonable assumption from what he said. Let me add one more piece of information that i learned in the last few days, not from any source connected to cohen or
cohens attorneys, but this is that there was a weekly Family Meeting convened by donald trump at which he presided over through the whole campaign at which almost everything from what i gather of importance in the campaign was discussed. Now whether or not the meeting mr. Cohen is referring to, assuming that it existed in the way he is talking about it is a Family Meeting, i dont know. But there is a part of the whole Campaign Process in which the family was fully briefed and interacted with one another on all the major happenings in the campaign. Perhaps donald trump kept some things from his children. Thats possible, and from his soninlaw and vice versa. I suppose thats possible too. But we now have a picture of the Family Involvement around this one meeting thats starting to
coalesce in a way that is very distressing. Okay. To Donald Trumps legal team and the people around him. Donald trump sr. Did not attend those meetings. It was always the children. The children just meeting with each other . Correct. And with some of the campaign you mean the Family Meeting . Correct. Thats an important distinction. If were talking about the history of the campaign, that is how that but it was a regular Family Meeting of just the kids . Just the kids and sometimes some campaign aides. I think its also worth mentioning another part of carls story that he wrote with jim sciutto yesterday on cnn. Com. According to cohen, there are other people present at the meeting where he found out that donald trump sr. Knew about the Trump Tower Meeting. Their testimony may be more important than anyone elses, because maybe their credibility is better than Donald Trumps or Michael Cohens. Corroboration is always indispensable when it comes to these swearing contests. Are there emails . Are there texts . Are there tapes or other witnesses who can confirm or refute what Michael Cohen says about this meeting . That may be more important than cohens testimony itself, because his credibility is so damaged. There are a lot of wins for the president , for his Administration Just this week. North korea returning what seemed to be has to be confirmed, remains of u. S. Service members. Certainly economic numbers on gdp growth. All things are good for him, but also this week the cfo of the Trump Organization is subpoenaed and this tape emerged which seems to prove that the president lied about his knowledge about karen macdougals lie. The white house cannot tell a consistent story not just about these issues, but about their own accomplishments. So that is one thing because the president will then tweet Something Like he did this morning. Its not these are distractions and i dont want to talk about this, the way weve seen other politicians do. But we have not talked about the Allen Weisselberg appearance
before the grand jury that is pend, and this is related to the cohen case in the Southern District of new york, and that is a huge deal. Because he knows everything . Everything. He is synonymous with trumps money. So if you are looking at trying to unravel things that could be problematic for donald trump over decades, this is not just over the last year. He was working for Donald Trumps father . He worked for Donald Trumps father. He was involved in the trump foundation. He is involved in the Trump Organization. He is involved in trumps personal trust, the money that was moved over after he became president. And he reviewed the campaigns books at various points. He literally knows everything. I feel like that was the that is getting overshadowed about this talk about what cohen may or may not say. And in reality, the Allen Weisselberg call to a grand jury is an enormous deal. Maggie haberman, carl bernstein, jeff toobin, thanks. Ahead, American Politics and policy, Lieutenant Colonel ralph
peters will have plenty to say about that when we come back. And later two, attorneys, each with skin in the game, clash. Michael avenatti and Alan Dershowitz tonight on 360. Fruits and veggies are essential to your health,
try new one a day with natures medley. I wok Harmonica Interrupts ld. And told people about geico. Harmonica Interrupts how they could save 15 or more by. Harmonica Interrupts . By just calling or going online to geico. Com. Harmonica Interrupts sighs and chuckles sorry, are you gonna. Harmonica Interrupts everytime. Geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. A single tap offerss to peace of mind. Y, uber is giving you new ways to tell loved ones youre on your way. Uber is moving in a new direction. Forward. Is taking the family up to the lake for the weekend. But without the White Knuckles this time. cuz his new 2018 ford f150 has blis with trailer coverage. Its brainiac smart. Not only does it watch your f150s blind spots, its got your trailer covered too. Just another reason why ford fseries is americas bestselling truck for 41 straight years. Clash. This is the new 2018 ford f150. It doesnt just raise the bar, pal. It is the bar. A hotel can make or break a trip. And at expedia, we dont think you should be rushed into booking one. Thats why we created expedias addon advantage. Now after booking your flight, you unlock discounts on select hotels right until the day you leave. Addon advantage. Discounted hotel rates when you add on to your trip. Only when you book with expedia. No question that President Trump has a documented history of embellishment, even lies. And the president Rudy Giuliani now says Michael Cohen has a history of lying as well, despite he is reported as saying the opposite a few months ago. So the question tonight, who to believe. Lets ask author, retired Lieutenant Colonel ralph peters. As a former intelligence officer, i imagine youve had plenty of experience of lies and deception, trying to figure it out. Given that both the president and Michael Cohen have, shall we say, a complicated relationship with the truth, who do you believe here . In this specific case, it
sounds like Michael Cohen is the more honest of the two because he claims that other people were at the meeting where trump was told in advance about the meeting with the russians. And if he can name the other people and theyre compelled to testify and they corroborate his story, well, then youve got an interesting case. But, anderson, even beyond the he said, she said, or he saidhe said, think about it. Can you imagine if donald trump jr. Or any member of trumps family had scheduled a meeting in trump tower with russian representatives to get dirt about Hillary Clinton, invite other senior trump Staff Members and didnt tell daddy . I mean trump would have exploded. You would have heard it from the bronx to beverly hills. Its just not the way the world works. But donald trump, as incompetent as he may be at other things, from business to strategy, he is a genius at pr and propaganda. And what trump understands and what so many of us fail to understand is that the truth barely has a chance against a lie that people want to believe. And during his campaign and right up to this day, and im sure in the future, trump has and will tell lies that people want to believe. Just today i had an exchange with a trump supporter, an educated man who spent much of his life working against the russians, and it is impossible to reason with him. He is immune to evidence. Its not just a lie, its a lie repeated over and over and over and over again. You know, it becomes almost a brand name sometimes, some of these lies or these tag lines. And its hard to fight against. Absolutely. First of all, when you have a plethora, a flood of lies, it does obscure the truth. You can suffocate the truth with lies. But also, again, repetition is
very, very important. Any propagandist throughout history has recognized that. And trump, you know, our intelligentsia may mock his repetition of deep state, witchhunt, crooked hillary, take your pick. Fake news, that sort of thing. Fake news, certainly. Fake news. But those simple binary combinations are easy to remember. Twoword combinations, most of them Mono Syllablic words. Theyre like jingles you hate, but you go in the store and look at which of the thousands of rolls of toilet paper do i buy and that Jingle Sticks in your head. Trump insinuates into your head. The other thing that strikes me with that meeting is in donald trump is informed that russia, the candidate wants donald trump to win, it just defies logic that donald trump jr. Would not Say Something to his own father. Yeah. Hey, you know what . I dont know if this is true or not, but were being told that russia actually wants you to win. Thats a stunning thing for any candidate. Yeah. And donald trump wants to be in the loop. His specialty actually has been keeping other people out of the loop, letting them only slightly. He wants to be the master of information. So, again, it is utterly inconceivable to me that any member of trumps family would have scheduled, or any of this staff would have schedule such a meeting without getting not just telling him, but getting his blessing. You dont just roll on your own on stuff like this. Just lastly, putin said he has invited President Trump to moscow, which the white house says theyre open to. And putin said he is ready to come to washington, praised the president for fulfilling his campaign promises. I wonder what you make of this latest exchange here. Well, perhaps President Trump can visit some old girlfriends. But its, look, Putin Doesnt Want to come here because he knows it would be a spectacle. There is so much anger toward him and russia. But by inviting trump to moscow,
he can lay on all the Military Parades that trump loves. He can give him literally the czarist royal treatment. And so i think its a smart move on putins point. And there is so much else involved in all this. But go back to something i said at the start of the show. The big lie repeated over and over again, the lie that people want to believe can beat the truth. And, you know, the Washington Post now on its mast head, it has a phrase, democracy dies in darkness. Thats not to really true. Democracy dies in broad daylight if good citizens do nothing. And too many of us are doing nothing in the age of trump. Colonel peter, i appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you. Well, as the weekends, one of the biggest story lines of course has been the very public separation between the president and his once fixer, his personal attorney Michael Cohen. Coming up, ill talk with Michael Avenatti and Alan Dershowitz about who they believe amidst all the fire and
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cohen is reporting the president knew of the meeting has thrown the president s former fixer back squarely into the spotlight for what me may or may not say to Robert Mueller but also his onetime client President Trump. Two attorneys who are no stranger to the spotlight themselves in this story, Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels attorney and Alan Dershowitz, who as emerged as one of the president s defenders at times. He is the t author of the new book the case against impeaching trump. Michael, there the past youve called Michael Cohen, quote, an absolute criminal thug. You have called him in a coconspirator. Youre in a legal battle with him on the ongoing Stormy Daniels case. In terms of the Trump Tower Meeting, do you think he is telling the truth here . Well, its a good question, anderson. I dont know if hes telling the truth. I think he likely is telling the truth, but the guy has been all over the map for so many months and years that i think that as a witness, certainly there is questions as to his credibility. Professor dershowitz, if the reporting turns out to be true, and a big if, and the president did know about the meeting, there are others to corroborate Michael Cohens story, is that major problem for President Trump and donald trump jr. Who between with the two of them have denied the president s knowledge of the meeting nine times. Oh, its a political problem to be sure, but i dont think its a legal problem. Even if the president knew of the meeting, knew exactly the role of the woman who was there that she was representing the russian government, and even knew that they were going to go to try to collect dirt that had already been gotten by the russians on Hillary Clinton, that would be a political sin, but it wouldnt be a federal crime. And i think if this is the best that cohen has to offer, i dont think hes going to be given immunity by the federal prosecutors. He may have to compose and not only sing to get that because this isnt very much from a legal point of view. Its a big deal from a political and Public Relations point of view, but legally its a 3 on a
scale of 10 maybe. Whats also interesting about cohens story on this, and again, if it turns out to be true, he claims there are other people present who heard that as well. So if theyre under oath, i guess they could back up what cohen has to say. And if it turns out there are no other people, that will affect his credibility as well. Right. But i think The Big Picture is that even if everything he says is true, its not a crime. You know, in my new book, case against impeaching trump, i set out a hypothetical based on this possibility, a hypothetical. Even if the president actively sought Material Dirt On Hillary Clinton, terrible thing, but even if he sought it, but the dirt had already been gathered, and he wasnt asking them to hack the dnc or do anything criminal, that would not be a crime. It would show, quote, perhaps collusion. But there is nothing in the federal code that makes collusion itself a crime. Well, professor, about those tapes, you tweeted yesterday, quote, i didnt say michael
avenatti was wrong, but if he is right how did he access that confidential information. He implied there is more trump tapes. Lets see whose right. Do you stand by that . Well, i dont want to get personal at all. But i think its hard to imagine how he could have lawfully gotten ahead of those tapes. He did, according to press reports, have a conversation with mr. Cohen at a restaurant, and that raises some questions because, you know, youre not allowed to speak to somebody whose counseled, who has a lawyer and ask him do you want to Work Together to hurt trump. So i dont know whether that occurred. But if it did occur, i think michael has to do some explaining. Michael . Alan, let me say this. You keep saying you dont want the get personal with me, and you keep getting personal with me, including on fox the other night. The question. Im going to tell you, i dont appreciate it. Im willing to put up my track record over the last six months in this case up against yours in
day of the week. I have been very, very accurate in my predictions, in the statements that ive made, and the fax. And the fact of the matter is on sunday, you expressed considerable doubt as to whether i knew what i was talking about, and within 48 hours let me finish within 48 hours i was proven right. I said it was true. I said it was true what you were talking about. And thats why it needs some explanation. You did guarantee the American Public back in may that President Trump would resign. Were watching our watches and waiting to see if that prediction comes true. Thats the one prediction that you really staked your reputation on. So your reputation will turn on whether he does resign or not. Well, alan, let me tell you, im going to determine what my reputation turns on, not you. I have made many predictions that will and i will too let me finish. Ive made many predictions that have turned out to be true. And we have two years left in this president s term. Despite the fact he thinks you write great book, were going to see whats. Monday you said im awaiting
an apology from Alan Dershowitz and others. I stated in late may during the pressure. There were multiple recordings and that was confirmed today. Unlike President Trump and others, i dont make statements that are false. The Washington Post did report there are about 100 recordings. We dont know the full nature of those recordings. Well, back on may, i think it was 29th, anderson, i stood in front of the federal courthouse and demand the release of all telephone trump tapes. I stated at the time there were multiple recording. We now know indeed there are over 100 recordings have been seized. I want to go back to something i said earlier. This information on the Trump Tower Meeting, thats not the best information Michael Cohen has. I can assure you of that. How do you know that . How do you know that, is my question . How can you assure us . Again, im not going to tell you how i know these things. But you know, what alan well, you may have the tell the Ethics Committee, then. You may have to tell that to the things committee. Allen if you had a conversation with a man and you didnt ask his lawyers permission and his lawyer is now evidently complaining about that. Its not enough to say selectively i dont have to answer that question, but i will answer thatlan, alan, you reall to Start Talking only about things that you know about, as opposed to things that you have no knowledge about. You have no knowledge of the communications that went on between me and Michael Cohens representatives long before that long before that no, you dont know what youre talk about, alan. Long before that restaurant meeting. You have no idea about the communications that went on relating to a particular or proposed level of communication. You need to go back let me finish. Let him finish. You need to go back and concentrate on what invites youre getting on Marthas Vineyard since that appears to be what youre really good at. Well, im about to head off to a party. So i have to leave in a minute. Good luck to that. Are you saying specifically that you were given permission by Michael Cohens lawyer to have that conversation with him in the restaurant . Thats a question you should answer specifically, because if you Werent Given Permission to have that conversation with Michael Cohen, you may have to answer to an Ethics Committee about that conversation, because i taught legal ethics for 35 years, and i know a lot about legal ethics. And the one thing i know is youre not allowed to have a conversation with somebody whose counseled without the specific approval of the client of the lawyer to have that conversation. I think you have to explain that meeting. Alan, alan, guess who gave Me Permission . Michael cohen. He gave Me Permission. Thats not enough. Thats not enough. Thats not enough under the rules of ethics. Alan, alan, alan. Yeah. Once again you dont know what youre talking about. You know what i want to know . I want to know about the relationship between you and donald trump. I think you ought to disclose the extent of the relationship. How did you get that positive book review . Why is that it you two happy to disclose it. Why state this you two appear to be such Close Friends now . Ive met him three times in my life. All three times dealing with the middle east. I have no relationship with him. But you have to tell you, i do know legal ethics. And getting permission from a counseled client youre wrong. Youre wrong. Is not enough. Ive been teaching legal ethics for a long time. About that, i am 100 . Michael, let me ask you, i want to ask you about the three additional women you say youre representing. You say theyre also paid hush money. You tell us any more when that hush money was allegedly paid or Anything Else about the alleged relationships and any proof that they happened . In 2015 and 2016, and i find it very interesting that we havent seen a denial from donald trump or Michael Cohen all day. I would think that if i was wrong, we would have seen a
denial. And alan, i feel sorry for the students you taught legal ethics by the way, because you didnt teach them the truth. Well, theyve become justices of the supreme court, judges. Im sure. Some of the most important people in america. Im sure theyre very proud. For a long, long time. I wish you had been in my if you had been in my class you would not have had that conversation with Michael Cohen. Alan, im sure theyre very proud. Im sure theyre very proud of your conduct over the last two years, im sure. Michael avenatti, professor dershowitz, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you. Up next, the worst best week at the white house. The president on the defensive, his white house gripped by one bombshell after another in the multiple investigations against him. Also a triumphant president , taking credit for strong economic numbers. More on that ahead. [music playing] vo from the beginning,
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about the economy, wouldnt he be better served by that in terms of just a focused message . Well, absolutely. I think the white house does bear some of the responsibility for some of the messaging that comes out, and its their they obviously do have a big part of the say in what comes what theyre talking about each day. They can either talk about the economy. They can talk about the successes that theyre pushing, or they can talk about the distraction. But i think there is this cloud. I think that many of the detractors want to have over the white house. I call it, in a sense, the Jan Brady Syndrome where many of the detractors, every time President Trump does anything good, they want to say russia, russia, russia. I was watching twitter this morning when the president was having his Press Conference, and i was shocked, really shocked, the number of journalists and even news outlets, folks who i really respect and have a great deal of admiration for, while the president is up at the podium talking about the growth numbers, as you talked about, the best gdp numbers weve had in four years, that were just
actively hitting the president on russia and cohen and mueller. And the president literally couldnt even get through that Press Conference with folks hitting him. Again, im not saying that the president and the white house are immune from criticism. Im not saying that they dont have days where they create some of the headaches for themselves. But it shocks me every time i see this where they literally wont let the president get up off the mat. Is part of the problem, though, jason, theyve only had three white house briefings in the last month, and this tape has come out which shows that the president lied and the campaign lied about knowing about the deal with ami and karen mcdougal, and theyve not said anything about it on the record . Well, i think to the point about the Press Briefings, i mean the president s very accessible. I had said when i was on the other night that i think hes one of the most open president s weve ever had in the white house, whether it be the Cabinet Meetings or the different press
he has. Obviously the one on wednesday got a little bit off the rails. I think thats probably an understatement. You cant say hes open when they kick out the pool reporter. I mean no, and i how can you say the most open. They threw out one of our colleagues because she did her job. The other problem i think that weve got to be able to face straight ahead is that when you have openness when you want to have it, thats not transparency. Its when youre able to stand up and take tough questions and be available. And you cant then say, listen, i want to be able to have a happy Press Conference about my happy topics and im going to be upset and throw a fit like a toddler because somebody asked me a hard question. Thats what were dealing with. I do want to say one more thing, though. Im surprised that conservatives are not more upset with whats going on in the economy. I remember when President Obama was in office. Because of deficits, we had the tea party marching all across the country. We now have massive deficits under trump, and no complaints at all. The conservatives attacked obama
for bailing out the auto industry. Now you have trump bailing out american farmers, basically taking farmers and moving them from work to welfare because of his trade war, and not a peep. So, yes, theres good economic performance, but its based on massive deficit spending, which conservatives wont check, and a trade war which makes no sense. And bailouts which conservatives wont criticize. So there is something going on in the economy that im surprised. You talk about being shocked. Im shocked i dont hear people like you having more fidelity to your own conservative principles. Van, were looking at Unemployment Numbers that are at a 5ye0year low. You and i both know that the federal debt doubled under President Obama, that because we had a huge recession. If were ever going to but, again, we had the slowest growth. We had the slowest recovery since
[ Overlapping Voices ] it was a slow recovery. So, van, what we needed is to go and jump start this economy and get it moving, and i think thats what President Trump has done. If we go back to the election of 2016, right after that election, you know as well as i do that every corporate leader in america thought that Hillary Clinton was going to win. And they were essentially thinking there were going to be higher taxes and higher regulation as a result of that. So when President Trump won, theyre almost playing with house money. They started investing in their companies, investing back in the economy. That started this rocketship of growth. Then we got deregulation in 2017. We got this big tax cut. Now were going into the trade deals and fighting for american jobs. Van, this economy is a rocket ship, and now were going to go in and take on china, which is really the biggest economic competition over the next 50 years this. Is the big thing. Listen, all that sounds great. Very nice story. Heres the reality. The reality is all the numbers youre talking about were moving
in the right direction under obama, and you guys said we were in hell. The numbers continue to move in the same direction at a slower pace, and now were in heaven. Thats because you read bed thyme stories to your kids and think its real life. In real life, both president s deserve more credit than they get. Van, you sound like jan brady. Dont miss the Van Jones Show tomorrow night, 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cnn. Hell talk to carmel anthony. Van also takes on the progressive movement. Also join us monday for our daily interactive newscast on facebook. You can watch full circle at 6 25 p. M. Eastern. Ill see you there monday. 360 continues tonight. Up next, the shifting explanations about the meeting at trump tower, how we got to this point. What the president is saying now about all of this. You shouldnt be rushed into booking a hotel. With expedias addon advantage, booking a Flight Unlocks discounts on select hotels until the day you leave for your trip. Addon advantage. Only when you book with expedia
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