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Donald Trump Interview at The Federalist
Mollie Hemingway spent five hours interviewing Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida over a wide range of topics, including: Media bias, Covid and Fauci, Afghanistan (the interview predates the catastrophic Biden pull out), his opinion of Mitch McConnell and other Republicans, his abortion record, and, of course, the 2020 election. It’s one of the more balanced profiles of Trump, giving him a chance to speak for himself, while also acknowledging his idiosyncrasies and mistakes he made while in office.
On that last topic, Trump does not come across in the interview as the deranged embittered maniac who tried to overthrow Democracy the way he is portrayed in the mainstream media and NeverTrump outlets like The Dispatch and The Bulwark. Rather, he seems to have some legitimate complaints that states may have unconstitutionally changed election laws to help his opponent.
And, of course, there’s some discussion of those Trump feels wronged him. NeverTrump Senator Ben Sasse, in particular, comes across as a weasel and a scoundrel. After attacking Trump viciously in 2016, Sasse was facing a potential primary challenge in 2018. So, he made a show of mending fences with the president. As soon as the primary was over, he reverted to form.
Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, in a private call with constituents, excoriated President Trump, saying he had mishandled the coronavirus response, ‘kisses dictators’ butts,’ ‘sells out our allies,’ spends ‘like a drunken sailor,’ mistreats women, and trash-talks evangelicals behind their backs. Trump has ‘flirted with white supremacists,’ according to Sasse, and his family ‘treated the presidency like a business opportunity.’
Before reading the article. I had no idea Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy and Democrat ex-Republican pollster Frank Luntz (who has made a career of steering Republicans to the left while denouncing conservatives) were roommates. Strange bedfellows, I guess.
Frank Lantz isn’t a Democrat pollster.
No, he is a game designer. But Frank Luntz is a pollster (per Wikipedia, anyhow.)
I always believed Ben Sasse was one of the more insufferable politicians on the scene. This just confirms my suspicions.
I’ll admit that I was fooled for about 30 seconds but you are correct. (I also wouldn’t have been as nice as “insufferable politician” at this point in time.)
My copy of “Rigged” was delivered today. (:
Ok typo. He is a pollster but not a Democrat pollster.
@MollieHemingway is a national treasure. Hillsdale scored quite a coup when they brought her on board to teach journalism. I envy those students.
Trump is a good man. Better than all the NT right, that’s for sure. I’d rather hang with him then any of the NTs.
The post has been updated to present Frank Luntz’s political stances more accurately.
Got around to reading the article. Great opportunity for Mollie to speak with a former president. A person could learn a lot from that kind of conversation – about leadership, about how the world works, about policies, about the nature of government and liberty.
So, what did I learn from the article? I learned that Trump thinks Mitch McConnell is a “stupid f*cker,” Ben Sasse is a disloyal “loser,” and Kevin McCarthy might be gay – the kind of conversation you might hear among adolescents in a middle school hallway, but taking place instead at an opulent resort between an ostensibly serious political writer and former president of the United States.
Here’s a shocker – he believes the media was unfair to him.
So, basically – whining, name-calling, and winks at Covid and election conspiracy theories. Stroking his fans, the same old complaints and controversies and belly-aches, and not much else.
Oh, except that he also has strong opinions on how Mollie should pose in pictures with him, and she marvels at how right he is.
What a leader. it’s a real mystery how this man’s presidency ended in his most ardent followers throwing an epic and humiliating temper tantrum, and with his party out of power.
If we let this guy continue to dominate our side of the political aisle, if the primaries turn on loyalty to him and his grievances, there’s nothing good coming down the road. Talk about helping the enemy. It will be the greatest gift to the Dems if that happens. They’re blowing it with their overreach, and this would throw them a lifeline.
We’ll be much better off, and the country will be better off, ignoring trump and his mess. Prop up DeSantis and other strong but sane and appealing Republicans instead. Please.
One of the things that amazed me about Trump in 2015-16 was that he didn’t perform a prepared speech at campaign stops. He riffed off the cuff and every time it was different. Sure he hit the high points, but it was all improv. I’m similar in that I hate delivering presentation at work the same way. I find it boring due to my ADD. The more I read and hear about Trump the more I am convinced that he is extremely ADD. That can be a great asset when one channels it and he has.
At some point the GOP may realize how much they betrayed their constituents in their milquetoast approach to the 2020 election and ensuring it was run fairly. Maybe someday people in the US will realize what an outsized role Big Tech and Big Media played in tilting the field against Trump. It seems that the GOP didn’t care because they never wanted Trump in the first place, but the cost to the nation for their weakness is incalculable and, for me at least unforgivable.
She’s been consistently solid both as a reporter and as a news-media critic. I’m more or less looking forward to the book, but I’ll definitely read some reviews. I enjoyed the excerpt in the Federalist though it felt somewhat sympathetic.
That would be great but I’m not holding my breath. The Democrats are pushing the California Model of one-party dominance nationwide and the GOP is letting it happen.
The Kabuki theater of the Facebook “whistleblower” who jumped into the scene with ready-made website, PR, and verified 50k Twitter account to advocate that Govt should censor the internet kind of shows the direction this is going.
No. All the conservative issues the GOP pretends to support are just marketing. Trump gave the game away by actually trying to secure the border, cut regulations, and defend freedom.
Can you do a book review once you read it?
Off the cuff and telling the fake news CNN to go pound sand at the press conferences was great! At least he took questions and the background wasn’t fake! The press has to miss that much!
Are you sure???
An the pomposity of their enablers in neighborhoods like this to this day is telling…
Probably. Won’t be too soon–working a startup that is running long.
I’m struck by the need of the TDS people to constantly remind us that they hate Trump, which we are already well aware of. I often wonder if any Never-Trumper has ever considered that many of us hate the Establishment GOP just as much, and then try and understand why that is.
I liked this comment because of its contrarian nature, and, to be honest, because it contains some degree of truth. Without necessarily sorting out everything, the above-quoted passage just doesn’t add up. It essentially reiterates the Cheneyesque theme that the rioting of certain individuals of free will should be laid at the feet of Trump despite the fact that 100 times that number were present and did not riot. It’s a big stretch and leads one to wonder what else is being “stretched.”
As an aside, should anyone be surprised at the pomposity of Ben Sasse?
Yes it does. What a typical political creature.
I don’t think there is any way to be a good journalist. The ‘profession’ of journalism is irredeemably corrupt. If Hillsdale teaches anything other than that reporting is about delivering words your editor and/or proprietor wants – that is, if it seeks to perpetuate the dangerous falsehoods of ‘objectivity’ and ‘speaking truth to power’ and being ‘essential to democracy’ – then they are playing the left’s game and leading young conservatives astray.
But there are ways to be a good “reporter.” IMO, we have too many journalists and not nearly enough reporters. Thank you Bob Woodward.
Your reaction doesn’t surprise me in the least. If you are someone who hates President Trump — and you do — you will find enough in this interview to justify your hatred. And you did.
I thought the interview was great, and I agree with VTK that the President does not come across as an angry, bitter, malevolent force that you, your pal Gary, and the rest of the French Davidians at the Bulwank and the Dispatch depict him as. Not at all. He comes across as someone who fully accepted his loss and has moved on, while still questioning the process — as many of us do. If that makes him a villain, your soul is broken.
We will have to wait until 2024 to find out if the grass roots want to join Trump on another political suicide mission.
OK, is that the first use of “French Davidian” here? Excellent.
You mean like in 2016?
And a good part of this interview was done in February when it was fresh.
Nah, it’s old. But always brings a smile.
Aren’t you the one who called him a “pretentious decorum-scold” last year? I thought that was perfect. Like a lot of NTs, he is concerned about appearances, but with no substance at all.