Transcripts For CNNW CNN Tonight With Don Lemon 20201223 : v

CNNW CNN Tonight With Don Lemon December 23, 2020

Ive always hated a monday morning quarterback, in sports, and also when the American People and their lives are on the line. Youre the person in the oval office with the biggest platform, everyone would have stopped to hear you speak. If you wanted more money for people, you should have said something. Instead, you have a president rip van winkle who said, oh, did you want me to sign something . Its infuriating. If it werent so tragic, you could ponder it. But this is something in realtime, people are affected. Theyre wondering why. And i cant stand a johnny come lately. Extending any timeline of pain is unforgivable. But its too true, laura coates, and ill be watching. Thank you. I cant wait for the surprise tomorrow as well. I just have to figure out what it is now. Spoken like a true parent. This is cnn tonight, im laura coates in for don lemon. Twas a few nights before christmas, and all through the white house, breaking news. President trump signaling he may not sign the 900 billion covid relief bill, demanding congress amend it after sitting on the sidelines doing nothing for weeks. If not months, frankly. Calling the planned 600 payment ridiculously low, demanding it be raised to 2,000 per person, or 4,000 per couple. Democrats said, we agree. Bring it on. This comes after President Trump issued a series of pardons, to corrupt congressmen, admitted lia liars, and convicted killers of innocent civilians during wartime. With that business handled, trump lashed out to republicans he believes are disloyal, including south dakotas john thune, the senates number two gop leader. Hes on record saying the senate needs to sign off on joe bidens election win, and trump calling john thune weak. And reporting that trump is increasingly disrustful of longtime allies like mike pence, mark meadows, mike pompeo, and Mitch Mcconnell. One senior republican telling cnn, were watching a petulant child not getting his way, throwing a tantrum. Some becoming increasingly alarmed in his behavior, and what he may do to try to overturn the election results. There are 29 days left in his presidency, and all of that happened in a few hours. Lets go to jeremy diamond, mark mckinnon, and ellie honig. Lets start with you, jeremy, we have a wave of controversial pardons. Theyre talking about he may not sign the covid relief bill. Hes lashing out at republicans who arent supporting him. For somebody in their lame duck presidency, theres a lot happening all at once. What is going on over there at that building behind you . Yeah, i think theres a few things going on. But at the core is really an attempt by the president to try and exert what little power he still has left as a lame duck president. Whether the pardons hes doing, which only the president of the United States can do, and he still is the president of the United States. Whether its the attempt to say, i will not sign this piece of legislation unless you amend it. All of these things are attempts by the president to exert the power he has left. But ultimately, these are showing the limits of his power, because congress isnt going to amend the legislation. The president is making this push and yet its only going to hand him yet another loss in a string of losses that the president has been suffering since election day. And the second thing this represents is the president seeking attention, the limelight, as its going away from him. Joe biden assembling his cabinet, Holding Press Conferences on television, and the president is looking for a way to try to steal back some of the limelight in any way he can. And hes doing it by setting things on fire and starting controversies. Imagine who really deserves the attention right now. Mark, the people at home are really trying to get the attention. Thats what the stimulus bill is about. Well remind people why we didnt have a stimulus bill until last night. And by the way, what has the president been doing in the meantime . This is not somehow just starting yesterday. This has been going on for months. What gives . I like your analogy of rip van winkle. Its like hes been asleep for a year, its what the democrats were proposing a year ago. To step out now, after the deal is done by his people, we would think with his imrimatur, it was the secretary of the treasury who cut the deal. So to suggest that the deal can be redone, first of all, it wont be. This is just an attempt on the part of donald trump to get some credit. He should have just stepped in and said, finally we came together, get some bipartisan credit, and sign the deal. There are multiple opportunities where he could have had feathers in his cap. Operation warp speed, two vaccines. And the relief funding. But instead, hes lashing out at mcconnell, hes warning the number two gop senator, john thu thune, that hell be primaried. At some point, does rip van winkle realize its time to go down the hill . This would be the time to get some credit for the deal, and say, hey, thanks to me, youre getting this relief. Instead, hes saying it wasnt enough. I havent been part of this deal. See you later. Elie, let me bring you in. Were in a bit of a hamster wheel, we expected a little bit of these pardons, the political pardons. Talk to me a little bit about them. Two are for men who pleaded guilty in muellers investigation. Papadopoulos, he was at some point known as an errand boy or a coffee boy. Are these an abuse of power . I dont think we knew it would be this bad, this early. Is an abuse of power . Yes. Is it constitutional . Yes, because the pardon power is so broad. But these pardons fall into three groups. The first is what you just said. Some of these remaining defendants from the mueller investigation, i think theyre unjust. But when you get into the members of congress, outright crooks, thieves, whose only qualification for a pardon is the word republican before their title. Collins, hunter. And then convicted war criminals, convicted by a jury of murdering civilians. If thats not an injustice, i dont know what is. The pardon power can be used to pro pro promote justice, but donald trump is using it for opposite purposes. And on the screen, the viewers are looking at people who were involved in a massacre of civilians. Children were harmed as part of that. And the idea of not only pardoning the four blackwater guards convicted in connection to an iraqi massacre, this is supposedly the law and order president. Talking about the rule of law, this throws it out the window. Members of congress committing some of these offenses, i believe at one point on white house grounds, this is the executive branch doling out things that make you say, i beg your pardon . The law and order president is a joke at this point. And heres the thing. I think hes just getting warmed up. Its december 22nd, he has 20something more days in office. If we think this is it and hes done, think again. I think hes setting the stage for even more dramatic, selfserving pardons. Im looking at rudy giuliani, steve bannon, certainly at his family members, his children, other members of the trump org. And i dont know about this line, but will he attempt to pardon himself . Buckle up. There is more to come for sure. It took all i had not to just quote pacino and say, im just getting warmed up. Jeremy, you reported about the volume of pardon requests the white house is getting. All the people with their hands out. Were no doubt going to see a lot more. And is this an indication that he understands that his time in the white house is nearly up . Normally, the pardons come in the waning days of a presidency, right . Thats the great irony, you wouldnt be doing a slate of controversial pardons if you were planning to have another four years in office. But the president is tacitly acknowledging his time in office is coming to an end. But at the same time, hes refusing publicly and privately to acknowledge the results of this election. What the pardons come down to is the notion its coming down to, attempting to exert any power hes got. And some of the things the allies are using, theyre telling the president , you are the only person with the power to do this. Please grant this pardon. Mark, there are a lot of reports, speaking of allies, there is a lot of consternation and surprise from republicans on capitol hill. I hear the word surprise, i think about behavior that was unpredictable. Is this a bit of pearl clutching and feigning surprise . Are they really surprised at this point . Well, how many days of the Trump Presidency have we said we couldnt be more surprised, and the next day something happens. These pardons, particularly the congressmen who are clearly corrupt, theyre convicted criminals of high crimes, financial crimes, selfdealing. It doesnt get any swampier than this. And pardons are supposed to be correct an injustice, to right a wrong. Theres none of that here, this is cementing an injustice. They could have commuted their sentences, hes pardoning them. Hes saying its okay. And what did they do to deserve this . They endorsed donald trump. This is party over country, and loyalty over everything else. One heck of a playbook to follow, and its good to be the king. Thank you for your time, gentlemen. I appreciate it. Thanks. White house officials are telling cnn its scary, and no one is sure where this is heading in trumps final days in office. 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Org [child] your gift, no matter how small, shows you care. Our breaking news, President Trump signaling he might not sign the massive covid relief bill. Now demanding changes. Also, issuing a series of pardons with just 29 days left in his presidency. And now lashing out at gop allies. Joining me now, john kasich, the former republican governor of ohio. I think i certainly have the right person tonight to talk about this, because you have pardons, hes talking about not signing the covid relief bill. Lashing out at Republican Leadership for not supporting him. What were seeing right now, some call it a tantrum. What do you see . Well, when it comes to the pardons, as a former governor, you know, i had the ability to do them. I went through them very carefully, trying to create a sense of justice where i thought there wasnt any. But president s have the power of pardons. Until congress would mute it or take it away or whatever, they have the power to do it. And i think your guest earlier said, get ready. Because i think theres more coming. In terms of his attacking members, you know, look, i think you said it, there are things he can celebrate. He can celebrate the fact that they passed a bill that will get some help to people. He could celebrate that. But its just i dont understand it. Because politically it doesnt make a lot of sense. On the hack, the cyber attack on the United States, hes downplayed it. Said it may not be russia. Everybody else in the world is saying its russia. This is a chance for him to stand up and be strong in protecting the country. That is something that will fall into joe bidens lap. And he hasnt done that. I cant do a calculation with the guy. But remember, i didnt support him when he ran the first time. I was hoping he was going to do well. He didnt do well. I spoke at the democratic convention, none of this surprises me. This is what i was worried about. Nothing to this extreme, but i was concerned about these things, and unfortunately theyve happened. Its hard to be able to predict all that has happened. Its impossible. The idea of a president running through the tape, even after they had lost, which we usually see with transitions. But talking about your ability as governor to give clemency and pardons, and the calculations involved with trying to correct wrongs. Some are predictable, like people involved with the russia probe. But what about pardoning the war criminals, at the time when the president elect is trying to restore americas global standing. What message does this send to the world, when the president of the United States says, war criminal . Youre pardoned. I think its not only its that issue, which is a serious issue. I dont know all the details in that case, but its extremely serious. And the fact that he isnt responding to the cyber attack, he should be bringing the world into that. And you see him denying the results of an election, what has bothered me, there are a lot of people around the world who look at america, and look how long it took for leaders in congress to come along. People in the world used to say, we admire what is going on in america, but today they say, i dont think we want any of what america is doing. And joe biden will have to reassure people that america is back. And i think the way in which this happens, forget the washington stuff. Start thinking about what you can do in your community to bring justice, to improve the lives of other people. Thats what has made america strong. The public itself. Stop fighting about whether trump won or lost. Lets dig in, of course he lost the election. But can we put that aside . Its christmas, people are hungry. Can we get them food, stand up for a family that doesnt have enough money to buy presents for their kids . Those are the things that help bring us together, and can help raise us again in terms of people understanding the heart of america. Im sad to say that, but i think its true. Its also difficult for the average american electorate, theyre asked by people who run for office for the opportunity to lead. Can you please choose me . Congressmen who have been pardoned, one who misused public funds, one who committed securities fraud. Youre asking the American People to start from the ground, but the people theyve chosen to lead have been derelict in their duties. What do you tell americans who said, i thought part of my civic duty was choosing people to lead who could solve problems. What do they think now . Recently, weve been disappointed about what has been happening in congress. I made a lot of speeches last year. I suggested to people, who would you miss more, the secretary of state or the trash man if they went on vacation . We study the history of the country, the civil rights movement, it came from the people in the streets, not from the top down. Womens suffrage came from the bottom up. Ending the vietnam war, that came from the bottom up, not the top down. So we cant get too depressed and worry about what the heck is going on in that place. Its important in some very important respects. But the strength of our country does not lie in that capital. It lies in the homes and communities across our great land. Yeah, theres frustration. We all get upset. And i say, okay, move beyond that, and think about what you can do to be a center of justice. That is what gives us purpose in life. I appreciate the sentiment. I believe in the optimism. But as much as power i know you believe in this. But the power of the purse, to be quite frank, is in the capitol. As much as the people would like to speak truth to power in the way youre talking about, theres a lot of power concentrated in washington, d. C. And the stimulus relief package is just one notion of how it can feel very futile to the average person who is trying to be that center of justice, when theyre trying to make ends meet, and theres no rope. And the president is lashing out. I want to just make this point, the president is lashing out at anyone he sees as being disloyal, including mcconnell and the number two republican. Both individuals wield a great deal of power that can create hurdles for the average american. Democrats as well, of course, right . Well, laura, youre right about that. But i have a different theory about all of this. I think the republicans should have been standing up to him from day one. You know, thats what they should have been doing. And telling him, were not putting up with this. But for some reason, they cower to him. Had the republicans in the congress stood up to him from day one and said, were not going to accept these tweets, the kind of stuff you said after charlottesville, were not going to put up with this. If youre mad at us, tough. But they didnt do it. They ran away. And i think its, you know, they enabled him to do the things hes been doing. And i dont understand it. Because when i was in the congress, and i was there for 18 years, we were a ragtag group of people who could fight leaders and tell truth to power. It wasnt perfect, but we changed the welfare system, and other things, and if the establishment didnt like it, we went ahead and did it. And ive been disappointed in the fact that politicians today are too worried about their own futures and not enough about the country. Then they gerrymander the districts so you cant beat them. We need significant change in the political institutions, and i think both parties have let us down. If they dont get their act together, there may be another party. And we could talk together about what that may look like. Are you my running mate are are you the front runner . Its you. Lets hope the parties can be saved, and they can get together. Look, this package they just passed, it does have significant aid to Small Business

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