Trump Untruncated: Post Your Favorite Excerpts

 

They could be positive or alarming, however you view the candidate. The Washington Post interview transcript is here. 

Some of my favorite moments about the First Amendment:

RYAN: But how would you fix that? You’ve said that you would open up the libel laws.

TRUMP: What I would do, what I would do is I’d – well right now the libel laws, I mean I must tell you that the Hulk Hogan thing was a tremendous shock to me because – not only the amount and the fact that he had the victory — because for the most part I think libel laws almost don’t exist in this country, you know, based on, based on everything I’ve seen and watched and everything else, and I just think that if a paper writes something wrong — media, when I say paper I’m talking about media. I think that they can do a retraction if they’re wrong. They should at least try to get it right. And if they don’t do a retraction, they should, they should you know have a form of a trial.

And:

RYAN: But there’s standards like malice is required. Would you weaken that? Would you require less than malice for news organizations?

TRUMP: I would make it so that when someone writes incorrectly, yeah, I think I would get a little bit away from malice without having to get too totally away.

Fine legal distinction, that. And:

HIATT: But just – given the Supreme Court rulings on libel — Sullivan v. New York Times — how would you change the law?

TRUMP: I would just loosen them up.

RUTH MARCUS: What does that mean?

[Crosstalk]

TRUMP: I’d have to get my lawyers in to tell you, but I would loosen them up. I would loosen them up. If The Washington Post writes badly about me – and they do, they don’t write good – I mean, I don’t think I get – I read some of the stories coming up here, and I said to my staff, I said, “Why are we even wasting our time? The hatred is so enormous.” I don’t know why. I mean, I do a good job. I have thousands of employees. I work hard.

Mind you, he wants there to be a trial when someone says something inaccurate and there’s no retraction. Because he’s so scrupulously accurate:

HIATT: Just back to the campaign. You are smart and you went to a good school. Yet you are up there and talking about your hands and the size of private …

TRUMP: No …

HIATT: … your private parts.

TRUMP: No, no. No, no. I am not doing that.

HIATT: Do you regret having engaged in that?

TRUMP: No, I had to do it.

There’s lots of this:

Right now, look, you know, I went to a great school, I was a good student and all. I am an intelligent person.

The insecurity of the man is … what’s the word, Dr. Carson? Pathological?

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  1. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    TRUMP: I’d have to get my lawyers in to tell you, but I would loosen them up. I would loosen them up.

    Well, if I were president, I’d give those libel laws some ex-lax a big dose of ex-lax, well, I’d make those libel laws ingest a diet high in fiber, you know, to loosen them up. I’m great on fiber, fiber is fabulous. I love raisin bran or something like that.

    • #1
  2. J. Martin Rogers Member
    J. Martin Rogers
    @

    His command of the English language is almost Shakespearian… almost.

    But then again it’s really more Curlyian…  Wooo Wooo Wooo! soitenly ! Hey Moe!

    • #2
  3. Sleepywhiner Inactive
    Sleepywhiner
    @Sleepywhiner

    “If The Washington Post writes badly about me – and they do, they don’t write good”

    Does he mean they use the same grammar as him bad, or does he mean they say he’s bad?

    Because I could get behind suing them for the grammar mistakes…

    • #3
  4. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    To what end? Page views?

    The man is who he is and all here are already politically involved and have long since reached their conclusions. What is the purpose?

    • #4
  5. Bucky Boz Member
    Bucky Boz
    @

    Lileks, you are fantastic.

    Here’s a Trump gem I found – he loves Putin, Putin kills journalists, but hey, Americans kill people too.  Oh yeah, I totally am not on board with killing journalists, but Putin’s a good leader.

    Scarborough pointed to Putin’s status as a notorious strongman.

    “Well, I mean, it’s also a person who kills journalists, political opponents, and invades countries. Obviously that would be a concern, would it not?” Scarborough asked.

    “He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader,” Trump replied. “Unlike what we have in this country.”

    “But again: He kills journalists that don’t agree with him,” Scarborough said.

    The Republican presidential front-runner said there was “a lot of killing going on” around the world and then suggested that Scarborough had asked him a different question.

    “I think our country does plenty of killing, also, Joe, so, you know,” Trump replied. “There’s a lot of stupidity going on in the world right now, Joe. A lot of killing going on. A lot of stupidity. And that’s the way it is. But you didn’t ask me [that] question, you asked me a different question. So that’s fine.”

    Scarborough was left visibly stunned.

    “I’m confused,” the MSNBC host said. “So I mean, you obviously condemn Vladimir Putin killing journalists and political opponents, right?”

    “Oh sure, absolutely,” Trump said.

    • #5
  6. Keith Preston Member
    Keith Preston
    @

    I started the season as a Walker supporter.  I switched to Rubio.  I would be fine with Cruz, but I am, above all, #NeverHillary.

    It’s a republic guys.  We deal with the choices the voters have made.  If it’s Trump, I hold my nose like I did for Dole, Romney, and McCain.

    What is wrong with you people?  The Clintons are a crime family.  EVEN Trump is preferable.  Ask the Benghazi families…and all the agents compromised because of Hillary’s server.

    Trying to decide whether to drop my membership or just come back after inauguration day.  What a waste this site has become.

    • #6
  7. Bucky Boz Member
    Bucky Boz
    @

    Keith Preston:I started the season as a Walker supporter. I switched to Rubio. I would be fine with Cruz, but I am, above all, #NeverHillary.

    Trying to decide whether to drop my membership or just come back after inauguration day. What a waste this site has become.

    It’s a republic guys. We deal with the choices the voters have made. If it’s Trump, I hold my nose like I did for Dole, Romney, and McCain.

    What is wrong with you people? The Clintons are

    Have you not listened to Trump actively and vociferously oppose major provisions in the bill of rights?  Does that not strike you as unique among all candidates of both parties?  Does Trump’s utter lack of experience and demonstrated contempt for the U.S. Constitution not scare the living you know what out of you?  I know that Hillary, unelected, tried to shove single-payer down the throats of the American people and that she did nothing during Benghazi.  I get it.  But in what way would Trump be better than Hillary?  I have yet to hear, at all, from anyone, how Trump would be better than Hillary.  He lacks the temperment, the capability, the experience, and the knowledge of our values and institutions.  Trump is an unmitigated disaster.

    • #7
  8. Klaatu Inactive
    Klaatu
    @Klaatu

    The Clintons are a crime family.

    And a guy who bilks people of ten’s of thousands of dollars is …?

    • #8
  9. Sleepywhiner Inactive
    Sleepywhiner
    @Sleepywhiner

    From the WaPo interview, and he’s said this before, but seriously, this is of a piece with “I can see Russia from my house,” except Trump actually says this stuff:

    Well I know China very well, because I deal with China all the time. I’ve done very well. China’s unbelievably ambitious. China is, uh… I mean, when I deal with China, you know, I have the Bank of America building, I’ve done some great deals with China. I do deals with them all the time on, you know, selling apartments, and, you know, people say ‘oh that’s not the same thing.’ The level of… uh, the largest bank in the world, 400 million customers, is a tenant of mine in New York, in Manhattan. The biggest bank in China. The biggest bank in the world.

    • #9
  10. Bucky Boz Member
    Bucky Boz
    @

    Sleepywhiner:From the WaPo interview, and he’s said this before, but seriously, this is of a piece with “I can see Russia from my house,” except Trump actually says this stuff:

    Well I know China very well, because I deal with China all the time. I’ve done very well. China’s unbelievably ambitious. China is, uh… I mean, when I deal with China, you know, I have the Bank of America building, I’ve done some great deals with China. I do deals with them all the time on, you know, selling apartments, and, you know, people say ‘oh that’s not the same thing.’ The level of… uh, the largest bank in the world, 400 million customers, is a tenant of mine in New York, in Manhattan. The biggest bank in China. The biggest bank in the world.

    Trump sympathizeers/supporters – defend the man.  I dare you.

    • #10
  11. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength.

    Playboy interview, 1990

    “The power of strength.” Churchillian in its majesty. It would bring tears to Cicero’s eyes. O tempora, O mores!

    • #11
  12. Klaatu Inactive
    Klaatu
    @Klaatu

    The man is not a serious person. Anyone who believes this man is remotely qualified to be president is not a serious person either.

    • #12
  13. Lazy_Millennial Inactive
    Lazy_Millennial
    @LazyMillennial

    “I like to be good. I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don’t do a lot of things that are bad. I try to do nothing that is bad.”

    “I am not sure I have,” Trump said when asked if he’d ever asked God for forgiveness. “I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don’t think so,” he said. “I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don’t bring God into that picture. I don’t.”

    Source for these two

    “Who do you say God is?” Brody asks Trump.

    “I say God is the ultimate,” Trump replies, then steers the conversation to his golf course.

    “You look at this incredible — here we are on the Pacific Ocean. How did I ever own this? I bought it 15 years ago.  I made one of the great deals, they say, ever, this piece of land. I have no more mortgage on it as I will certify and represent to you. And I was able to buy this and make a great deal.  That’s what I want to do for the country.  Make great deals.  We have to, we have to bring it back, but God is the ultimate. I mean God created this and here’s the Pacific Ocean right behind us. So nobody, no thing, no there’s nothing like God.”

    Second source

    • #13
  14. Klaatu Inactive
    Klaatu
    @Klaatu

    Trump sympathizeers/supporters – defend the man. I dare you.

    Open borders!

    Betrayal!

    The Establishment!

    Anger!!

    • #14
  15. BD Member
    BD
    @

    I think I’ve read criticism of the NYT v Sullivan decision in National Review and/or The Weekly Standard over the years.

    There’s a guy named John McCain running for reelection to the Senate this year. No First Amendment fan he:

    – “Sending Brad Smith to the F.E.C. is akin to confirming a conscientious objector to be secretary of defense.”

    – “These ads are direct, blatant attacks on the candidates. We don’t think that’s right.”

    Add #NoMoreMcCain to #NeverTrump to protect the First Amendment.

    • #15
  16. Sleepywhiner Inactive
    Sleepywhiner
    @Sleepywhiner

    More good stuff.  He can’t just laugh about the hands and shake it off.  He HAS to go on a diatribe…

    A hand with little fingers coming out of a stem. Like, little. Look at my hands. They’re fine. Nobody other than Graydon Carter years ago used to use that. My hands are normal hands. During a debate, he was losing, and he said, “Oh, he has small hands and therefore, you know what that means.” This was not me. This was Rubio that said, “He has small hands and you know what that means.” Okay? So, he started it. So, what I said a couple of days later … and what happened is I was on line shaking hands with supporters, and one of supporters got up and he said, “Mr. Trump, you have strong hands. You have good-sized hands.” And then another one would say, “You have great hands, Mr. Trump, I had no idea.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “I thought you were like deformed, and I thought you had small hands.” I had fifty people … Is that a correct statement? I mean people were writing, “How are Mr. Trump’s hands?” My hands are fine. You know, my hands are normal. Slightly large, actually. In fact, I buy a slightly smaller than large glove, okay? No, but I did this because everybody was saying to me, “Oh, your hands are very nice. They are normal.”

    • #16
  17. Klaatu Inactive
    Klaatu
    @Klaatu

    Add #NoMoreMcCain to #NeverTrump to protect the First Amendment.

    Did I miss McCain announcing he was running for president again?

    • #17
  18. Sleepywhiner Inactive
    Sleepywhiner
    @Sleepywhiner

    Klaatu:

    Did I miss McCain announcing he was running for president again?

    He’s hoping to be drafted at the convention…

    • #18
  19. BD Member
    BD
    @

    Klaatu: He’s running for reelection to the Senate, has tried to gut the First Amendment, and has done a LOT of damage to the Republican Party as a Senator. He should go, yes?

    • #19
  20. Tuck Inactive
    Tuck
    @Tuck

    Klaatu: …Anyone who believes this man is remotely qualified to be president is not a serious person either.

    Last I checked, the qualifications were pretty minimal.  Age, natural-born citizen, and wins votes…

    • #20
  21. Sleepywhiner Inactive
    Sleepywhiner
    @Sleepywhiner

    That is a disaster, and we don’t even know where the nuclear weapons are right now. We don’t know who has them. We don’t know who’s trying to get them. The biggest risk for this world and this country is nuclear weapons, the power of nuclear weapons.

    Well, Trump assures us Saddam didn’t have any, so we know one place they are not.

    • #21
  22. Tuck Inactive
    Tuck
    @Tuck

    It’s going to be a pretty entertaining time if he wins.

    I can say this: I do find reading what he says to be pretty entertaining.  Sort of awe and shock combined at what comes out of his mouth.

    Most politicians I can’t even stand to listen to.  Bush/Clinton/Bush/Obama were dry years for me listening to politicians.

    This is actually making me look forward to his first State of the Union.

    That’s going to be a hoot.

    • #22
  23. Klaatu Inactive
    Klaatu
    @Klaatu

    Last I checked, the qualifications were pretty minimal. Age, natural-born citizen, and wins votes…

    Thank you for reiterating my point about the lack of seriousness.

    • #23
  24. Bucky Boz Member
    Bucky Boz
    @

    BD is spot on. McCain and Trump differ in that McCain disdains a portion of the first amendment, Trump hates the majority of it.

    • #24
  25. Bucky Boz Member
    Bucky Boz
    @

    22 I am glad freedom’s fall fascinates you so.

    • #25
  26. Teddy Ballgame Inactive
    Teddy Ballgame
    @TeddyBallgame

    Bucky Boz:

    “I’m confused,” the MSNBC host said. “So I mean, you obviously condemn Vladimir Putin killing journalists and political opponents, right?”

    Why is this news?  Personally, I think the media is about 51%-75% responsible for every problem we have w/r/t politics today.   Questions like these are considered “appropriate”.

    “I presume you condemn anyone who says its ok for cops to shoot people who have no gun and have their hands up in the air?! “

    • #26
  27. tigerlily Member
    tigerlily
    @tigerlily

    BD:Klaatu: He’s running for reelection to the Senate, has tried to gut the First Amendment, and has done a LOT of damage to the Republican Party as a Senator. He should go, yes?

    Yes, Arizona can do better.

    • #27
  28. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Roberto: The man is who he is and all here are already politically involved and have long since reached their conclusions. What is the purpose?

    Discussion of what the front-runner says and thinks and how he says it seems relevant, no? Otherwise we might as well just go dark until November. There’s also the psychological aspect of the interview – everyone in the room knew more details about the issues than he did, and I think on some level he knows that. How does he react?

    • #28
  29. Tom Riehl Member
    Tom Riehl
    @

    James Lileks:

    Roberto: The man is who he is and all here are already politically involved and have long since reached their conclusions. What is the purpose?

    Discussion of what the front-runner says and thinks and how he says it seems relevant, no? Otherwise we might as well just go dark until November. There’s also the psychological aspect of the interview – everyone in the room knew more details about the issues than he did, and I think on some level he knows that. How does he react?

    Which front runner are you talking about?  Hillary or Donald?  Does it matter?

    • #29
  30. Klaatu Inactive
    Klaatu
    @Klaatu

    There’s also the psychological aspect of the interview – everyone in the room knew more details about the issues than he did, and I think on some level he knows that. How does he react?

    By telling them how good looking they are, at least that is how he avoided answering a question about nuking ISIS.

    • #30
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