Transcripts For CNNW CNN Tonight With Don Lemon 20200905 : v

CNNW CNN Tonight With Don Lemon September 5, 2020

France, because he didnt want his hair to get wet in the rain. He wants you to forget what youve heard him say about members of the military, for years. There is nobody that feels more strongly about our soldiers, our wounded warriors, our soldiers that died in war, than i do. Its a hoax. Just like the fake dossier was a hoax. Just like the russia, russia, russia, was a hoax. It was a total hoax. No collusion. Just like so many other things, its a hoax. Its like a broken record and a bad record. That just one that just the needle keeps sticking. Hoax. He says it all the time. He used the same kneejerk excuse that he used over russia. Now, cnn has not independently confirmed that atlantic report but we do know is that this president has repeatedly disparaged members of the military. We know that. And he did it, again, tonight, when he threw his former chief of staff, general john kelly, right under the bus. I know john kelly. He was with me. Didnt do a good job. Had no temperament. And ultimately, he was petered out. He got he was exhausted. This man was totally exhausted. He wasnt even able to function, in the last number of months. He was not able to function. He was sort of a tough guy. By the time he got eaten up in this world, its a different world than he was used to, he was unable to function. And i told him, john, youre going to have to go. Please, give me a letter of resignation. And we did that. And now, he goes out and badmouths. Now, there are people that are jealous. There are people that are upset that theyre not here, anymore. There are people weve done an incredible job, the virus came in, and now were doing an incredible job, again. Were going to build it up bigger than it was, before the virus came in. But i dont know that it was him. I dont see that. I mean, i see anonymous. But it could have been a guy like a john kelly. Remember when you were a kid and you would your parents ask you something. You would deny and just wouldnt shut up. And they would say you know, why you talking so much, if you didnt do it . Or as we say, as adults, thou doth protest too much. Hey, don, did you say that . No, i didnt. Does that sound like something i would say . Okay. Next question. Instead, well, this person, its a hoax, losers, theyre upset. They got this. Theyre mad at this person. Theyre trying to get me. Me. Me. Me. Everybodys out to get me. Its so, uh, look how horribly im treated. He cant say it doesnt sound like him because it sounds exactly like something he would say. And, by the way, he is speculating that john kelly might have been a source for that atlantic article. Incident know. We dont know that to be true. Neither does he. Randomly, detouring into false claims that hes doing an incredible job with the pandemic. What does it have to do with that . He is saying hes doing an incredible job with the pandemic, on the day the death toll in this country passed 187,000. And can we remember that, regardless of john kelly, you may disagree with him on a lot of things. On policy. On a lot of things. On the way he conducted himself. Whatever. Thats your business. But john kelly is a retired fourstar general. A member of a goldstar family. His son died. Made the ultimate sacrifice. The irony seems to be completely lost on this president , that he is attacking a military man while trying to deny he tacked attacked members of the military. I i dont attack members of the military. Would never do that. I have too much respect. Youre attacking a member of the military. And its interesting that general kelly hasnt spoken out to deny the story. Now would be a good time for the Anonymous Sources to come forward. To attach their names to the story of the president s claims that he claimed didnt happen, i should say. Compare all of that to a furious joe biden. Demanding that, if the story is true, the president must apologize. Quite frankly, if what is written in the at llantic is true, its disgusting. Donald trump is not fit to be president and commander in chief. The president , reportedly, said, and i emphasize reportedly said, that those that sign up to serve, instead of doing something more lucrative, are suckers. Let me be real clear. When my son was assistant u. S. Attorney, and he volunteered to go to kosovo while the war was going on, as a civilian, he wasnt a sucker. When my son volunteered and joined the United States military, as the attorney general, and went to iraq for a year. Won the bronze star and other commendations. He wasnt a sucker the service men and women he served with, particularly those did not come home, were not losers. If these statements are true, the president should, humbly, apologize, to every goldstar mother and father, and every bluestar family that hes denigrated and insulted. Who the heck does he think he is . Good question. Good question. But, joe biden says he should, absolutely, apologize. He must apologize. Do you think this man doesnt apologize for anything. Nothing. Does this president actually expect you to believe him when he says that he would never disparage our military . Remember, like, you have to have credibility, right . Weve been talking about the credibility gap, in this administration. So, in times like these, if someone is actually attacking you, if someone is actually spreading something thats false about you, and you have actually built credibility. Then, you can come out and say that is something i would never do. And guess what . People would believe you. Because to believe that, to do that, youd have to ignore all the many, many times youve heard him do exactly that, out loud, on camera, for all to hear. And on twitter, on social media, for all to see. Lets remember what he said about john mccain. I supported him. He lost. He let us down. But, you know, he lost. So i never liked him as much after that because i dont like losers. But, frank. Frank, let me get to it. He hit me. Hes a war hero. Hes not a war hero. He is a war hero. Hes a war hero because he was captured. I like people that werent captured. Okay . I hate to tell you. Asked, tonight, if he regretted saying that about mccain, the president answered, i say what i say. Which sounds an awful lot like his statement about the pandemic, it is what it is. He called john mccain a loser. Then, doubled down, criticizing him for being a war hero. Donald trump, who got a draft deferment for bone spurs in his heels, slamming john mccains Wartime Service . Really . John mccain . Who was awarded the silver star . The bronze star . The legion of merit . Two purple hearts and the distinguished flying cross. That john mccain. Look at your screen. This is a man who served in the United States navy, for 23 years. Who was a prisoner of war, for nearly six years. Look at your screen. Nearly, six years in the infamous and brutal north vietnamese prison known as a hanoi hilton. A man who, though he was crippled in the crash of his bomber, refused to be released before american prisoners who had been held longer than him. Who was, then, tortured and kept in solitary confinement for more than two years. Who bore the scars of that experience for the rest of his life. Heroes, who werent captured, youd prefer. This is the john mccain, who went on to serve in the house and the senate, and ran for president in 2008. A man who served his country, until the day he died. And donald trump wouldnt even fly the flag at half staff, until he was pressured into it, two days after john mccains death. Then, he kmancomplained that he wasnt thanked for approving the funeral the senator wanted. I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted which, as president , i had to approve. I dont care about this. I didnt get thank you. Thats okay. We sent him on the way. But i wasnt a fan of john mccain. Every single time. Come on, people. Do you hear what comes out of this mans mouth . I would never say that. I would never say that. Do you see how he treated john mccain, who was a war hero, a prisoner of war. But i would never say that about our uniformed men and women. Please. Donald trump has insulted goldstar families. Donald trump told the widow of a fallen soldier her husband knew what he signed up for, and on and on. His wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably maybe, she wasnt allowed to have anything to say. You tell me. The president said that he knew what he signed up for. But it hurts, anyways. And that was it made me cry because i was very angry at the tone in his voice and how he said it. He he he couldnt remember my husband name. If my husband is out here fighting for our country, and he risks his life for our country, why cant you remember his name . I dont know him. I dont know, as he says, lieutenant colonel. I understand somebody had the misfortune of calling him mister and he corrected them. I understand now he wears his uniform when he goes in. No, i dont know vindman, at all. When you look at vindman, the person he reports to, said horrible things. Avoided the chain of command. Leaked. Did a lot of bad things. And so, we sent him on his way to a much different location. And the military can handle him, any way they want. You said, repeatedly, to americans that after iran retaliated for the soleimani strike, can you explain the discrepancy . No, i heard that they had headaches. And a couple of other things. But i would say, and i can report, it is not very serious. Not very serious. Potential traumatic brain injury is serious . They told me about it, numerous days later. Youd have to Ask Department of defense. No, i dont consider them very serious injuries, relative to other injuries that ive seen. Im just playing you back his words. I dont want to hear it on on social media from anyone, any apologists for this president. All im doing is playing back the president s words, in the context of what he said. And what he meant. That is what the president of the United States, everything i played, everything im telling you, is the truth. If you want to hear it, stay tuned. If you dont, byebye. This president ignored u. S. Intelligence saying that russia is is paying the taliban to kill u. S. Troops. Not even bringing it up on a call with vladimir putin. Its been widely reported the u. S. Has intelligence indicating that russia paid bounties or offered to pay dobounties to taliban fighters to kill american soldiers. You had a phone call with putin on july 23rd, did you bring up this issue . No, that was a phone call to discuss other things. And frankly, thats an issue that many people said was fake news. Who said it was fake news . I think a lot of people. If you look at some of the wonderful folks from the bush administration, some of them, not any friends of mine, were saying that its a fake issue. Outrageous. Outrageous, really. Outrageous. The commander in chief just doesnt seem to care about american heroes putting their lives on the line. Doesnt seem to care about their families. Know what he does seem to care about . Himself. So weve heard nothing, so far, from general john kelly, who the president attacked, tonight. Does his silence speak volumes . General wesley clark is here, David Axelrod as well. Theyre going to discuss, after the break. We are National University and for 50 years weve been home. To the brave men and women who build and serve our communities; who teach our children; and who care for us in our time of need in honor of our 50th anniversary, were committing over 30 Million Dollars to new student scholarship funds. Because we believe in the pursuit of purpose, in the causes you champion, and in the difference you make in the world. Welcome to National University. Apply for your scholarship today at nu. Edu the damning report that he called u. S. Service members killed in battle suckers and losers. He claims its a hoax by one magazine. But multiple, other news organizations, including a fox news reporter, have confirmed key details in the atlantics reporting. General wesley clark is here. David axelrod, here, as well. David is former Senior Adviser to president obama. So good to have both of you on. Thank you so much. Lets talk about this, david. This president. Im sorry. Im exasperated because every time, just reading the open and all the examples of what this president has said. And then, he denies this. Its like, okay, whatever. He is calling the atlantic report a hoax but after everything he has said and done, why should we even believe him . Thats his problem, don. The story is its too awful to defend. And its too believable to deny, given everything thats happened and everything that weve seen. All the clips that youve run, and others, makes it very believable that the president could say such things. And you raised a very good point. We havent heard from general kelly, whos central to some of this reporting. He he was, obviously, the person who the president spoke to at general kellys sons grave site in arlington. And general kelly was the chief of staff in charge when the president was in europe, and the trip was pulled down to the cemetery to honor our our lost servicemen in europe. And so, he would have direct knowledge of all this. And i presume, if it were untrue, he wouldve denied it, by now. So, you know, i think the president has a problem, here. And he will deny it. He will deny it, as he has denied every other bad story. He will call it a hoax. By the way, jeff goldberg, at the atlantic, is really one of the most distinguished reporters in our country. Assiduous, careful, theres no doubt, in my mind, that he he he reported this story, thoroughly. And so, we are where we are, and its a very horrifying story. Particularly, for the men and women in uniform, for families of of those people who are serving, those who have been lost, those who have been wounded. That the commander in chief would think in these terms. So i think listen. General kelly may very well come out and deny it. But i mean, boy, whats taking him so long, right . General clark, weve heard plenty of denials from team trump. But nothing from the former white house chief of staff, john kelly, who the president attacked, earlier today, not even knowing if he is a source or not. You know you know kelly, personally. So, his silence, is that telling . Well, i think the silence is telling. But i think, you know, its a very tough call for him, john kelly to come out. Hes had a distinguished service record. And he did his best duty for the country, as he saw it. When the president of the United States asked him to serve, he did. Both, as Homeland Security secretary and chief of staff. His integrity, his sense of duty to the country. And now, to engage in a public, na namecalling exercise with the president of the United States is a tough call. Because, first, it offends his own sense of propriety. Secondly, he knows that theres no resolution to it. Right. And, third, this brings a lot of pain to his family. Therell be death threats. Therell be all kinds of dirt pushed on him. And and he knows, from personal experience with donald trump, these things dont go away. So hed like to hes hes trying to have it both ways, honestly. He knows trump didnt do a good job. This is my speculation. I havent talked to him on it. He knows he knows how trump operates. He knows hes highly emotional. Hes volatile. He was a disaster trying to manage. Hes a poor leader. Doesnt take responsibility. Doesnt organize. Doesnt think logically. Doesnt listen to the facts. Thats what john was trying to help work in the white house. Yeah. On the other hand, he knows how ugly this can be. And he hopes the American People will make the right decision. Well, let me ask you. Hopes he doesnt have to do it and get in it. So your general reaction, upon reading this, how do you feel about this . Look. First of all, i mean, i think all of us who served feel a deep sense of betrayal by the president of the United States. Were not suckers. Were not losers. We went there, to vietnam, to the gulf war, to grenada to panama, to iraq to afghanistan, because we love this country, because we believed in it. Because we believed there was something more important than money. Because we believed in each other and the principles of this country. Our president doesnt believe in those things . He doesnt accept us and our willingness to sacrifice . What is this about . If if if hes the kind of person who is that callous, whos that transactional, who is that materialistic, he has no business in office. And i think this is the deepest of the sentiments that comes through this. Not only for the men and women in uniform, but those of us who have retired, those of us who served, the families, the children. We all felt there was something very special about the call of duty. The president has disavowed it. For the people who have been around him, the generals, the people who have seen the policy process that he leads, its chaotic. Read john boltons book. Its the best of the inside stories, day by day, hour by hour, it shows chaos around donald trump. Yeah. And and so, hes lost that support. Soldiers out there were maybe attracted to him, initially, because a big, toughlooking guy. And maybe they thought that republicans were the daddy party and he made a big thing about taking care of veterans and soldiers. But they see he doesnt mean it. Its hollow. Steadily, lose support. Speaking of, i want to play something. This is former army captain, jason canter was on earlier with me tonight. Here it is. You know, one of the hardest things and something ive never had to do is to, you know, get that last, long hug before your child deploys. And, you know, i even get emotional thinking about it because my familys been through it. Imagine doing that and thinking that the president thinks that you and your family are suckers. And that and that if he or she doesnt come home, then he is a loser. General, do you think this article changed and what jason is saying changed any views of the president within the military . Yes. Yes, i do. I think i think its its it percolates down, through the ranks. People are still watching fox news out there. Some are going to deny it. Some people are going to be sympathetic. But, bit by bit by bit, hes lost the support of the armed forces and especially the people at the top. And thats a dangerous thing for a democracy. You know, our army is not political. Our armed forces are not political. Were going to serve the commander in chief, no matter who he is. But its very difficult when the people who are around him, closest, those in uniform, dont respect him and dont respect his values. David. David, what do you think of jasons remarks . And do you think its changed any minds in the military . Well, look. It is already true if if there was a recent poll of activeduty military, that showed biden leading trump, which is really unusual, in the context of modernamerican politics. Generally, the republican candidate has a sizeable lead over the over

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