That they know bad things about him. Good reason to keep really really really good files. You never no who will end up being president of the large western country. Adam davidson, reporter for the new yorker. Now time for last word with lawrence odonnell. Good evening. Good evening, rachel. Boy am i glad ive never done business in russia. Doesnt that all sound obvious when you hear it that of course it would work that way. Well and the fact the thing i have learned from adam davidsons reporting at the new yorker is you dont have to be perfect but you do have to look to see if you are really obviously doing dirty business with people who Everybody Knows are dirty. And it doesnt matter if thats okay in their country. It is not okay in the united
states if youre an American Company or american businessman doing that. Just willful refusal to look and recognize dirt you are wallowing in, thats enough to get nailed in this country under our lawes. And it is absolutely not okay if youre a Business Point who will at some point run for president. Theres that. Yeah. Thanks wsh rachel. Thank you, lawrence. Nbc news is reporting that the president stunned his staff by taking questions at what was supposed to be simply an announcement of another trump executive order. This one about Building Permits for intrastructure. Not surprisingly there were no questions about infrastructure. The president knew exactly what questions would be about. In his defense of his comments about the murder of heather in charlottesville on saturday, by a white supremacist, donald trump relied entirely on a claim that everyone, including every
single trump supporter, knows, is not true. Donald trump insisted that he is always scrupulously careful about checking facts before he makes any kind of statement. I wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what i said was correct. Not make a quick statement. I dont want to go quickly and just make a statement for the sake of making a political statement. I want to know the facts. When i make statement, i like to be correct. I need the facts. So i dont want to rush into a statement. Was it terrorism that event . I want to make sure when i make a statement that statement is correct. I Didnt Know David Duke was there. Not all of those people were neonazis, believe me. Not all of those people were White Supremacists, by any stretch. I want to make a statement with knowledge. I wanted to know the facts. What about the alt left as you say that came charging with the
altright. Im not finished, fake news. This is robert e. Lee. Stone jackton is coming down. Is it George Washington next week and Thomas Jefferson the week after . Nbc news is reporting that senior white house official says President Trump wasnt supposed to answer any questions today. His staff went in through that event with the press with the understanding the president would discuss infrastructure evenly and take no questions. But once in front of the reporters the president quote went rogue, thats the trays the official used, the white house but when you see the video it certainly looked like premeditated decision by the
president to publicly defend comments he made on saturday that were greeted with sharp criticism from democrats and more importantly from the president from republicans. The president just happened to have copy of his saturday statement in his pocket today. So i dont want to go quickly and just make a statement for the sake of making a political statement. I know the facts [ inaudible ] i brought it. I brought it. I brought it. Remember this, saturday. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence. It has no place in america. Then i wept on from there. It seems to the the prewas reading from the written statement he was supposed to read on saturday. But on saturday, he read that but he inserted something about many sides in the hid el of that statement. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides. On many sides. Its been going foreign are a long time in our country. Not donald trump, not barack obama. This has been going foreign a long, long time. Ign a long, long the president decided to take a stand to defend when a said on saturday but he refused as you just saw to quote what he said on saturday and today many sides eventually as he continued to talk became both sides. I think theres blame, yes. Blame on both sides. You look at beth sides, i think theres blame on both sides. And i have no doubt about it. And you dont have any doubt about it, either. The the president believes
events can h inspired and led to charlottesville Terrorist Attack are 100 to blame for a number of reasons. They are adherence of an evil ideology which believes people are interior because of race or ethnicity. When an entire movement build on people different from you it justifies and ultimately leads to violence against them. These groups today use same symbols and same arguments of nazi and kkk groups responsible for some of worst crimes against humanity ever. Mr. President , you cant allow White Supremacists to share only part of blame. They support idea which cost nation and world so much pain. The White Supremacy groups will see being assigned only 50 of blame as a win. We cannot allow this old evil to be resurrected. Marco rubios state of florida was one of the founding members of the con fedry. The government to succeed from the union and fight a war again the United States of america to preserve White Supremacy and slavery. What marco rubio said today is all true. All obvious. But it can cost him some votes in florida. Some support the formally confederate state of florida marco rubio is right that white supremacist groups would appreciate what donald trump said today. And those who voted for donald trump came from former ku klux klan leader david duke who voted for donald trump. After the president spoke today, and assigned blame to both sides, david duke said thank you, President Trump, for your
honesty and courage to tell the truth about charlottesville and condemn the leftest terrorists. One of the leaders of the White Supremacist Nazi demonstration Richard Spencer tweeted, im proud of him for speaking the truth. The lead of glenn thrush and megans art tell of on the front of tomorrows times reads President Trump buoyed the White Nationalist movement on tuesday as no president has done in generations equating activists protesting racism with the neonazis. And rampaged in charlottesville, virginia over the weekend. Never has he gone as far as defending their actions as he did during wild Street Corner shouting match of a news Don Frens In Guilded Lobby of trump tower angrily asserting that socalled Alt Left Activists were just as responsible for the bloody confrontation as marchers, brandishing swastikas, confederate battle flags antisemitic banners and trump pence signs. Legitimacy to neonazis and the kkk and White Supremacists of all stripes. And by calling them nice people. And saying they were just nice people out there just having a nice demonstration the night before. And it wasnt that at all. It was white supremacist holding a klan reminiscent torchlit parade through the streets of charlottesville in which they were shouting various things including jew will not replace us. This is this is beyond appalling. And how does this man continue as president . We expect a president to have some moral authority and donald trump has none. None. Zero. None. I want to listen to what president said today about the night before. About that Friday Night Torch Light Demonstration which you just referred to, gene, in which
the president apparently saw nothing at all that bothered him. Lets take a look that. There were people in that rally, and i looked the night before, if you look, there were people protesting very quietly the taking down of the statue of robert e. Lee. Im sure in that group there were some bad ones. The following day it looked like they had rough bad people. Neonazis, White Nationalists, whatever you want to call them. But there were a lot of people in that group that were there to inisntly protest and very legally protest. We all heard in the video of the night before chanting jews will not replace us, Blood And Soil an old nazi chant. There is video of The Night Before Where Trump Saw a peaceful people who have an affection for robert e. Lee statues. I mean, for me, what is remarkable is i just spent several hours talking to republicans who are just so upset. And i think that what is gok on here is you have a party trying to give donald trump the benefit of the doubt. I talked to someone today about the idea that this republican kind of as soon as donald trump came down from the escalator and started calling mexican rapists and criminals he said i couldnt be part of this any more. But i understood my party would still back him. And i dont fault p people who gave him the benefit of the doubt. That said, today is is really in that republicans words the day it make the decision. A more reckoning for the Republican Party. And for republicanes who watch the president basically say that neonazis are almost the same as people protesting them. This is group of people that would testify that this is a rally o who are pro white, who are White Nationalists. Even if you are someone who wanted to go to the gathering because you were upset about the statue and into confederate history, the most you got to the rally and you heard people chanting about jews, chanting about africanamericans and the kkk and neonazis are into, as soon as you saw that and you did not leave then have you become complicit and you are no longer the nice person. The nice person card leaves and it is out the window because you showed up and stayed and march with a torch with a group of people that were absolutely racist. And jean, the white house is taken by surprise by the president pulling out of his packet his statement from saturday which he obviously stepped up to that microphone today to defend. And i saw on last Nights Program after yesterday when he
said those things, that were seen to be written for a standard republican president ial statement about these events, that the nazis and White Supremacists would still be very grateful to him as president for holding out as long as monday and not saying those things until monday. And thee would get a very clear signal from that kind of holding out that this was still their guy. And here we have the reviews to night after this performance today. From the white supremacist, david duke and others saying thank you mr. President. Sure. They got the signal clearly on saturday. Youre absolutely right, that their reaction yesterday, would have been well he managed to hold out for two days so he is still with us. And but then today, just make it clear, he took it back everything he said yesterday. And went back to his saturday views. And colleagues in the new york times, white house reporters have a fascinating story in the paper that is posted now that basically says white house staff was shocked to hear the president express publicly views that he had previously expressed privately. So this is not it is an secret to them. And it shouldnt have been a surprise. Maybe he was surprised that they actually said it. So really you will keep working there. Really . This is what you signed up for are when you went to work for the white house . Okay. You think that what eugene is talking about though. Is this idea that the Republican Party is really backed donald trump through so many iterations and so and throughsome statements that people across the country were both terrified and offended with. For me as a reporter what ive been talking to republicans about today is is this another Access Hollywood moment where everyone is up in arms and
senators releasing statement after statement about how this is terrible and that they couldnt back donald trump. When marco rubio and jeb bush were saying they couldnt back someone who would speak that way of women. Are we in two weeks going to turn around and say thats another big moment for donald trump but he was able to move on from that and now we are on to talking about health care and infrastructure. If donald trump then it really very markable that his political career can with stand a moment like today. Eugene, presumably to her question, when republican senators and members of Congress Come back it washington and the subject comes back to tax cuts, why wouldnt they get back on the trump train . My guess is they probably will. We will see. But i think they do know deep down inside, this is different. This is not his personal conduct. This is not him being just a crude person or not a politician or different or whatever. This is him betraying the absolute lack of moral core. He doesnt know the difference between neonazis and protesters against neonazis. He doesnt know the difference between George Washington and robert e. Lee, a traitor to the United States. He doesnt care. He has no moral center whatsoever. And they will work with this guy as president of the United States. Its just appalling. Eugene robinson, yamisha, stay tuneed. Who is standing with donald trump . Who is standing against him . Last two republican candidates are standing against him tonight and we will have more on the difference between robert e. Lee and George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and there is a very big difference. And later, is donald trump afraid of steve bannon . Is that what it comes down to now . With a source close to the white house telling reuters, that is
why steve bannon is still working in the white house. Donald trump is afraid of him. Thats coming up. Delicious pasta marinara. But birds eye made it from zucchini. Mmm bird Mashed Potatoes and rice. But made from cauliflower. Looks like i need a fork oh, no. giggling bird new Birds Eye Veggie made. So veggie good. Bird new Birds Eye Veggie made. And lifes beautiful moments. Ns get between you flonase outperforms the 1 nondrowsy allergy pill. It helps block 6 key inflammatory substances that cause symptoms. Pills block one and 6 is greater than 1. Flonase changes everything. Entertaining us, getting us back on track, and finding us dates. Phones really have changed. So why hasnt the way we pay for them . Introducing xfinity mobile. You only pay for data and can easily switch between pay per gig and unlimited. No one else lets you do that. See how much you can save. Choose by the gig or unlimited. Xfinity mobile. A new kind of network designed to save you money. Call, visit or go to xfinitymobile. Com. What he did is reserted on saturday and made it clear what he read on sunday was a monday, two days later. Monday. A hostage tape. Texas republican congressman will herd said this about the president s remarks. If you are showing up to the rally youre probably a racist or bigot. And the images i saw were skin heads and neonazis beating up women and trying to poke people with flal poles. It is not okay and for those watching i think the outrage across the political spectrum about this is maybe the thing that ultimately unites us. Ohio governor john kasich, Last Man Standing in the republican president ial primary said lets get real. There is no Moral Equivalency to nazi sympathizers. There can be no room in america or the Republican Party for racism antisemitism hate or
white nationalisism. Period. And jerry moran said, White Supremacy, bigotry and racism have absolutely no place in our society, and no one especially john mccain tweeted theres no Moral Equivalency between racists and americans standing up to defy hate and bigotry. The president of the United States should say so. And lets take a look at what the always petty president of the United States had to say today about john mccain when the subject of steve bannon came up at the Press Conference and the president was asked if he has confidence in steve bannon and john mccain was mentioned in that exchange. Lets listen to that. Called on to you defend your National Security adviser mcmaster against the task diit the last time. He called on you again. Senator mccain . Right. You mean the one who voted against obamacare . You mean Senator Mccain who voted against us Getting Good Health Care . Senator mccain said that altright is behind these attacks and he linked that same group to those who perpetrated the attack in charlottesville. I dont know, i cant tell you. Im sure Senator Mccain must know what he is talking about. And david jolly we have a tweet from mitt romney tonight saying no, not the same one side is racist bigoted nazi, other opposes racism and