Trump Eyes Greenland & the Panama Canal. David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winning Author
Resumo
TLDRThe video is a comprehensive discussion on Donald Trump's approaches, focusing on his territorial claims like Greenland and the Panama Canal, and his attitudes towards the press and governance. The guest explains Trump's transactional mindset regarding territory acquisition, likening it to personal property claims. His unfounded interest in the Panama Canal is tied to economic motives, whereas his pursuit of Greenland suggests distractions or strategic interests. The participant also unravels Trump's overarching strategy to control news media, highlighting voluntary compliance from some sectors to avert being labeled enemies of the state. It discusses his attempts to sideline media organizations like ABC and the incoming changes to the FCC under a pro-Trump head. There's a detailed exploration of Trump's plans against renowned journalists and news outlets, intending to undermine their credibility. Finally, the video speculates on Trump's overarching pursuit of dictatorial power, potentially jeopardizing democratic principles and processes, evidenced by his prior and planned actions regarding appointments and alleged claims to have absolute rights under Article II of the Constitution. The discourse underscores the chilling effect on journalism and forecasts a persistent media siege if Trump's administration resumes.
Conclusões
- 🗝️ Trump's territorial interests like Panama Canal and Greenland are part of a broader strategy.
- 🔍 Climate change impacts economic dynamics of regions like the Panama Canal.
- 📰 Trump's tactics involve undermining media credibility to enhance authoritarian control.
- ⚖️ There's an alleged plan to challenge the First Amendment through media intimidation.
- 🌍 Greenland is strategically important and serves as a distraction in the news.
- 📰 Voluntary media compliance indicates a shift in journalistic independence.
- 💼 Trump's appointments aim to destabilize traditional government structures.
- 🛡️ Chaos tactics are central to Trump's strategy to control narratives.
- ⚠️ Trade wars with allies like Canada and Mexico could result from Trump's policies.
- ⏳ The increased lawsuit trend threatens journalistic freedom and ethical reporting.
Linha do tempo
- 00:00:00 - 00:05:00
Discussion on Trump's intentions to claim the Panama Canal and Greenland despite international laws; highlights his disposition to claim ownership and lack of understanding of legal boundaries. Mention of previous statements about having unlimited executive power.
- 00:05:00 - 00:10:00
Concerns raised about Trump's potential actions against the First Amendment. Instances of media intimidation by threatening legal actions. Mention of Trump-appointed FCC head challenging media credibility and independence.
- 00:10:00 - 00:15:00
Speculation on Trump's potential measures to further control the media, such as exclusive access to certain media outlets in the White House. Concerns about attempts to undermine independent journalism and vacuum of credible news being filled with disinformation.
- 00:15:00 - 00:20:00
Trump's strategy of maintaining control through chaos, likened to tactics used by dictators who suppress press freedom. Discussion of historical and constitutional contexts of media manipulation and how this undermines democracy.
- 00:20:00 - 00:25:00
Reflections on media trust erosion due to persistent narratives of 'fake news.' This leads to silos of information and public skepticism towards established journalism, affecting public's understanding and democratic process.
- 00:25:00 - 00:30:00
Analysis of strained media relations under Trump and issues like Arctic claims. Discussion on Greenland's strategic importance and Trump's desire to purchase it despite geopolitical impracticalities. Noted as another distraction tactic by Trump.
- 00:30:00 - 00:35:45
Overview of challenges facing independent journalism and the implications of Trump's governance style towards media and misinformation. Emphasizes the necessity for vigilance in protecting the First Amendment and maintaining transparent journalism.
Mapa mental
Vídeo de perguntas e respostas
What are Trump's views on territorial acquisitions like Greenland and the Panama Canal?
Trump has expressed interest in acquiring territories such as Greenland and the Panama Canal, displaying a mindset that views territories as personal transactions.
How is Trump handling news media regulation?
It's a strategic plan to manage news organizations in favor of Trump, potentially restricting voices and encouraging those who support his narratives.
Why is Trump interested in Greenland?
For strategic minerals and geopolitical reasons, Greenland's location makes it significant. Trump's interest may relate to these factors and the potential for distraction it provides.
What is Trump's perceived motive behind attacking news organizations?
The ongoing attempts to challenge and intimidate media servicing factual news to shift focus and distract from important issues.
How does Trump use distractions in his tactics?
Trump aims to control the narrative by creating distraction, such as the Greenland issue, to divert focus from other governance concerns.
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- 00:00:00uh the last day or so has been uh one
- 00:00:04that's been punctuated with again the
- 00:00:07president elect Trump who you've written
- 00:00:10about so extensively and you've
- 00:00:12researched so extensively talking about
- 00:00:16grabbing the pan Panama Canal and also
- 00:00:19grabbing Greenland uh he spoke of
- 00:00:21Greenland in his first Administration uh
- 00:00:24the Panama Canal is something new I
- 00:00:27wonder if you could speak to this just
- 00:00:29general disposition of uh grabbing
- 00:00:31territory which he seems to feel some
- 00:00:34predisposition toward doing and if you
- 00:00:36can give us maybe a little something on
- 00:00:38these specifics Panama Canal and
- 00:00:40Greenland please well you know most of
- 00:00:43us have a sense of this is my property
- 00:00:46that's your property and it's improper
- 00:00:48to take your property Donald isn't one
- 00:00:51of those people Donald has spent his
- 00:00:53entire life saying oh you have something
- 00:00:55it belongs to me and figuring out how to
- 00:00:58get it from people I mean that's the
- 00:00:59essence of what con artists are and
- 00:01:02do now the Panama Canal matter he's
- 00:01:06complaining about pricing uh ships that
- 00:01:09move through the Panama Canal are
- 00:01:12primarily American ships followed by
- 00:01:14Chinese uh either owned or commissioned
- 00:01:18ships the problem the Panama Canal is
- 00:01:22facing is that because of climate
- 00:01:24disruption which is a hoax right it's a
- 00:01:26Chinese hoax the vast amounts of water
- 00:01:30they were using to raise ships up and
- 00:01:32then lower them back down as they go
- 00:01:34from the Pacific to the Atlantic and
- 00:01:35vice versa they can't
- 00:01:38do uh there's an obvious solution to
- 00:01:40this which is uh building a huge network
- 00:01:44of pipes and tunnels to capture the
- 00:01:47water and minimize the losses at each
- 00:01:50end uh that's clearly not going to be
- 00:01:54cheap uh rates have gone up there are
- 00:01:57fewer ships going through as a result of
- 00:01:59of this but you know we have no rights
- 00:02:03to the Panama Canal um it's a case I
- 00:02:07know well because my father my late
- 00:02:09father-in-law was the lawyer who argued
- 00:02:11the case before the US Supreme Court on
- 00:02:13behalf of the losing side uh his friend
- 00:02:17Senator Jesse Helms um and we have no
- 00:02:21rights to the Panama Canal and this is
- 00:02:23just Donald demonstrating two things he
- 00:02:26doesn't know anything he is just
- 00:02:28appallingly ignorant but more
- 00:02:30importantly Donald said something in his
- 00:02:33first term that didn't get nearly enough
- 00:02:36attention he said I have an article two
- 00:02:40that's the executive article of the
- 00:02:42Constitution I have an article two that
- 00:02:45says I can do anything I want well it
- 00:02:48doesn't say that at all it's not very
- 00:02:50long you can go read it on the internet
- 00:02:52the it 700 words I think total and 400
- 00:02:56of them are the operative section we
- 00:02:57care
- 00:02:58about but Donald believes that he
- 00:03:01believes that as president he has
- 00:03:03Supreme dictatorial monarchal powers and
- 00:03:08he's going to try and behave that way
- 00:03:09and he's now surrounded by a bunch of
- 00:03:11ideologues many of whom have a track
- 00:03:13record as managers you know unlike
- 00:03:16Donald who's an utterly incompetent
- 00:03:18manager uh they know how to manage and
- 00:03:20they're going to guide him in various
- 00:03:22ways and then also remember that a key
- 00:03:25to Donald's success is
- 00:03:27chaos keep things stirred up get people
- 00:03:30focused on what you want them focused so
- 00:03:32they don't focus on the important things
- 00:03:35that are happening so here I think is
- 00:03:37the most important thing we've seen in
- 00:03:40the past
- 00:03:42week uh early on an earlier episode I
- 00:03:45said you're going to see an allout
- 00:03:47assault on news
- 00:03:49organizations and the ABC Network which
- 00:03:52is owned by Disney indicated that it
- 00:03:56decided that it was going to settle a
- 00:03:57suit it was sure to win
- 00:04:00give $15 million to the Future Trump
- 00:04:02library and a million dollars to Trump
- 00:04:04lawyers when there's no case there this
- 00:04:08is what the great Professor Timothy
- 00:04:11Snyder at Yale calls a voluntary
- 00:04:14obedience uh Brian stelter uh briefly a
- 00:04:18colleague of mine at the New York Times
- 00:04:19longtime CNN U media reporter has a
- 00:04:23piece out
- 00:04:25today uh showing that the incoming
- 00:04:30head of the FCC he's already a
- 00:04:32commissioner Trump will promote him to
- 00:04:34be a
- 00:04:35chairman uh is going after ABC and
- 00:04:39saying you know you're you're a bad
- 00:04:41influence you're he doesn't quite call
- 00:04:43him an enemy of the people but basically
- 00:04:46trying to intimidate them in their
- 00:04:48national news reports and their
- 00:04:51relationship with affiliate
- 00:04:54stations um there is um in Europe
- 00:05:00uh as the link you sent me showed a
- 00:05:02significant increase in lawsuits brought
- 00:05:05to slap reporters around a strategic
- 00:05:08lawsuit brought to try and stop
- 00:05:10publication of
- 00:05:12something
- 00:05:14and uh I think you're we're going to see
- 00:05:17beginning January 20th a really severe
- 00:05:20attack on the First Amendment now
- 00:05:23finally uh the incoming chair of the FCC
- 00:05:27has gone after um Steven
- 00:05:30Brill the journalist entrepreneur who
- 00:05:34was behind Court TV and the American
- 00:05:36lawyer who is a very very deeply
- 00:05:40fact-based
- 00:05:42person anybody who ever worked for him I
- 00:05:44did not but anybody who does they will
- 00:05:46always tell you he was fanatical about
- 00:05:48making sure every detail was correct and
- 00:05:51was in its proper place in the universe
- 00:05:53and his partner the former publisher of
- 00:05:55the Wall Street Journal are running a
- 00:05:57news service dealing with how reliable
- 00:06:01are the various big news organizations
- 00:06:02they got 50 people on their payrolls
- 00:06:04that's a real
- 00:06:05business and the incoming Trump FCC
- 00:06:08chair is going after them right this is
- 00:06:11a they really literally just rate The
- 00:06:14credibility of uh news sites and that's
- 00:06:18right and and some news sites notably
- 00:06:21Newsmax and oan get very very low
- 00:06:24credibility ratings and the reason is
- 00:06:26they don't have any
- 00:06:27credibility but the incoming FC d c
- 00:06:29chairman is suggesting that this is an
- 00:06:31improper business well what's improper
- 00:06:34here is Congress shall pass no
- 00:06:38law the the administration is not in a
- 00:06:42place to police in in any news
- 00:06:45organization they can complain if they
- 00:06:47want but they should not be using their
- 00:06:49police powers in any way and even the
- 00:06:52Imp implication in this letter is enough
- 00:06:55that it's a violation and and after all
- 00:06:59the guy who is brill's partner he was
- 00:07:01the publisher of the Wall Street Journal
- 00:07:02he's not some bleeding heart liberal
- 00:07:04Democrat who thinks Nancy Pelosi is too
- 00:07:07conservative he's on the other end of
- 00:07:09the spectrum but this is the campaign
- 00:07:12will be to reign in news
- 00:07:15organizations um I expect you're going
- 00:07:18to see civil suits filed against the New
- 00:07:21York Times The Washington Post other big
- 00:07:23ners organizations if nothing else to
- 00:07:26soak up their resources so they can't
- 00:07:29put them into news oh that's just such a
- 00:07:32great point I didn't even think of that
- 00:07:33they just essentially want to keep them
- 00:07:35busy distract them and and and soak them
- 00:07:38because it costs money to fight these
- 00:07:39things uh News Guard is what it's called
- 00:07:42that's what David's talking about it
- 00:07:43launched uh fighting disinformation it
- 00:07:45was still a bipartisan battle it's noted
- 00:07:47in the Washington Post in discussing
- 00:07:49newsguard re Revelations the year before
- 00:07:52that Kremlin back to operatives had
- 00:07:53manipulated American social networks to
- 00:07:56mislead and divide Americans had shaken
- 00:07:58Silicon Valley and troubled Republicans
- 00:08:01and Democrats alike that's the odd thing
- 00:08:04to me David it's become this thing as
- 00:08:06you suggested now it's just pursued um
- 00:08:10the Jihad against it is really from this
- 00:08:13Administration I guess the GOP to the
- 00:08:15extent that they've signed on with this
- 00:08:16Administration but as you've also said
- 00:08:19they balance their entire board they
- 00:08:22balance those involved so beautifully
- 00:08:24that it would seem to be a fairly
- 00:08:25neutral kind of evaluation of these news
- 00:08:28sites and credibility and credible and
- 00:08:30and rounded news is the worst possible
- 00:08:34thing to Donald Trump because he knows
- 00:08:36that places like o and fox basically
- 00:08:39appeal to people who already just can't
- 00:08:41so what he needs to do is destroy the
- 00:08:43credibility or destroy the capacity of
- 00:08:48serious Independent News organizations
- 00:08:50to do their work now I forget who it is
- 00:08:52but somebody in the
- 00:08:54administration um it may have been musk
- 00:08:56or Bannon and when I say the
- 00:08:58administration in this case you know
- 00:08:59there are people who will never have an
- 00:09:01official title but they're clearly part
- 00:09:02of this
- 00:09:03Administration uh he has proposed that
- 00:09:06all news organizations be banned from
- 00:09:08the White House Press Room except
- 00:09:11fox now there's no constitutional
- 00:09:14requirement that there be press
- 00:09:16briefings uh there was discussion in the
- 00:09:18first Trump administration of moving The
- 00:09:20Press Room out of the White House to a
- 00:09:22building some distance
- 00:09:24away um they did cut down on those
- 00:09:26briefings too David remember they there
- 00:09:28weren't daily anymore under a trump
- 00:09:30Administration Absolut and and um I and
- 00:09:34you know when when you're in the White
- 00:09:36House Press Room you have some access to
- 00:09:40the nearby area of the White
- 00:09:42House um they can cut that off they can
- 00:09:46do what they do at the press conferences
- 00:09:48is pen people in and issue orders you
- 00:09:51may only point a camera in this
- 00:09:53direction things like that and that's
- 00:09:55what you're about to see is is after all
- 00:09:57if you want to be a dictator you need to
- 00:10:01control information there's no
- 00:10:03Independent News in
- 00:10:05Russia uh many Russian bureaus are now
- 00:10:10actually run out of places like uh
- 00:10:12ankora or
- 00:10:14Istanbul or other countries they're not
- 00:10:16in Russia because it's dangerous for the
- 00:10:19journalist to be there as we saw with
- 00:10:21Evan gersich who spent more than a year
- 00:10:24uh held by Putin uh as part of his
- 00:10:27campaign to intimidate journalists and
- 00:10:30Trump's going to go full bore on this
- 00:10:33he's going to go after the New York
- 00:10:35Times every way he can he uh may go so
- 00:10:39far as to literally ask Congress to pass
- 00:10:41a law that journalists have to submit
- 00:10:43articles to him for his approval which
- 00:10:46is completely against the First
- 00:10:47Amendment but don't be shocked that
- 00:10:49somebody prop it won't happen that
- 00:10:51somebody proposes something like this
- 00:10:54and a constant drum beat of they're the
- 00:10:58liars trust me I am the only source I
- 00:11:01Donald Trump I alone I'm your savior I
- 00:11:04alone know the truth and all these other
- 00:11:07people you know you can't trust them
- 00:11:09they're the enemy of the people and it's
- 00:11:11interesting too David that that that's
- 00:11:14maybe and I really think back to some of
- 00:11:17what you said when you talk about his
- 00:11:20fight against the press it may be one of
- 00:11:22the more effective things he's done I
- 00:11:25mean effective awful I mean I think it's
- 00:11:28despicable and it's
- 00:11:29it it's had a toxicity though that has
- 00:11:31had a rippled effect across media so
- 00:11:33that people don't trust what they're
- 00:11:35seeing you know you don't trust your
- 00:11:37liing eyes type thing and so his attack
- 00:11:39on media and and the fake news thing has
- 00:11:44been the gift that Trump has been uh
- 00:11:47giving himself and it's I think been
- 00:11:50extremely effective and it's it's thrown
- 00:11:52us into these silos of of news and Echo
- 00:11:56chambers that essentially lead us to the
- 00:11:58kind of election outcome that we've just
- 00:12:00seen absolutely Mark um every day I see
- 00:12:06things that come across the social media
- 00:12:08I follow the news media won't tell you
- 00:12:11this and I often take a moment go find a
- 00:12:13couple of eclips sorry about the
- 00:12:15visiting dog um go find a couple of news
- 00:12:19clips and say that's simply not true
- 00:12:22here found in 5 seconds are two links to
- 00:12:25show you that that's not true and people
- 00:12:27come back and say well that's all you
- 00:12:28can find link so you know we know that
- 00:12:30you're a liar too and once you get
- 00:12:34people into this mindset that
- 00:12:36journalists are the enemy of the people
- 00:12:39the only people who are paid to tell you
- 00:12:41the truth as best they can establish it
- 00:12:44we that's the only occupation where
- 00:12:45that's what you get paid to do is tell
- 00:12:47the truth as best you
- 00:12:49can once you break that down then you
- 00:12:52can begin to get people to believe you
- 00:12:54know that you you are the Savior you
- 00:12:57know God God anointed you um and and
- 00:13:01there are all sorts of people who will
- 00:13:02say yeah right the guy had the kids by
- 00:13:05with three wives and lots of Affairs and
- 00:13:08cheated people here and there but God
- 00:13:10chose him for my reasons that are
- 00:13:12mysterious to us this is God's choice
- 00:13:14and once you get to that level of
- 00:13:16thinking there's no more reason and
- 00:13:18rational thought going on and democracy
- 00:13:21requires reasonable and rational thought
- 00:13:24that's the principles on which it was
- 00:13:27based um then this is not limited to
- 00:13:30people with the limited reading skills
- 00:13:33that we've talked about previously um I
- 00:13:35once sat down next to a guy on a Coast
- 00:13:38to Coast Flight wearing his $4,000 suit
- 00:13:41who he saw my New York Times and said
- 00:13:43you know read that it's just opinions
- 00:13:45and I said I well I just bought it in
- 00:13:46the airport and I cajoled him into going
- 00:13:49through the paper and he couldn't find
- 00:13:52anything until he got to Paul krugman's
- 00:13:54column and he goes well look at this
- 00:13:55this just opinion that point I
- 00:13:57introduced myself explained who I was
- 00:14:00and this guy is a a high level executive
- 00:14:03at one of the Wall Street Banks he
- 00:14:05doesn't read this is this was 20 years
- 00:14:07ago this happened by the way I'm almost
- 00:14:0925 now he um he never had read a
- 00:14:13newspaper he didn't know that there's an
- 00:14:15opinion section and an oped page and a
- 00:14:17news
- 00:14:19department and he is not unique about
- 00:14:22that he's unusual but he is absolutely
- 00:14:25not unique about that
- 00:14:29yeah it's um it's fascinating and also
- 00:14:32just yesterday I was having a
- 00:14:34conversation with someone to your first
- 00:14:36point and talking about the it's a
- 00:14:39slight of hand thing that's done where
- 00:14:41you go well the main you you preface
- 00:14:43whatever you're going to say by saying
- 00:14:45well the mainstream media won't tell you
- 00:14:46this but and then you continue with
- 00:14:48whatever you're going to say it's become
- 00:14:50so hacked that it it it couldn't
- 00:14:54possibly be true and yet it is the thing
- 00:14:57that's repeated over and over and
- 00:14:58everybody goes yeah well I'm not into
- 00:14:59the mainstream media of course
- 00:15:00mainstream media won't tell you
- 00:15:02corporate media I mean there is still
- 00:15:04real journalism being done by the
- 00:15:05mainstream media by corporate there's
- 00:15:07lots of real journalism being done and
- 00:15:08there's a dispute going on right now
- 00:15:10between the New York Times And The Wall
- 00:15:12Street Journal the journal ran an editor
- 00:15:14an oped by a contributor not a staff
- 00:15:17member I don't think he is a staff
- 00:15:18member that said the New York Times
- 00:15:20didn't cover at all a big issue to help
- 00:15:24Biden the editors of the times sent them
- 00:15:26a letter pointing out that here are 24
- 00:15:28articles that ran in the last several
- 00:15:30months before the election uh and here's
- 00:15:33how many of them ran on the front page
- 00:15:35so what the journal person wrote is just
- 00:15:38a flat out either completely wrong
- 00:15:41factually or a lie if he knew it was a
- 00:15:43true and did it anyway that that's a lie
- 00:15:46which would constitute actual
- 00:15:49malice um and by way Journal has not run
- 00:15:52a correction Mark they have not run a
- 00:15:55correction and that that's surprising
- 00:15:58because whatever I might think of the
- 00:16:01opinions in the opinion pages of the
- 00:16:03Wall Street Journal which are pretty out
- 00:16:05there and they've written many
- 00:16:07editorials about my work without ever
- 00:16:09naming
- 00:16:10me they all at least had a color of you
- 00:16:13know they're in the they're they're
- 00:16:15taking a jaundice view of what I wrote
- 00:16:18but just being completely wrong and not
- 00:16:21correcting the record that's a very
- 00:16:24troubling sign of where things are going
- 00:16:26and let's remember that the Immigrant
- 00:16:28rert Murdoch is very closely allied with
- 00:16:32Donald Trump and so is his son laan whom
- 00:16:34he's trying he's failing so far in court
- 00:16:37but trying to make sure Lan runs the
- 00:16:39business not the other children who are
- 00:16:42somewhat more Centrist in their view
- 00:16:45yeah that's a tug of- War that's going
- 00:16:46on in the Murdo in the Murdoch world and
- 00:16:48and by the way it's funny on that New
- 00:16:49York Times thing because the libs will
- 00:16:51tell you anybody left or anybody even in
- 00:16:54the Biden sort of Centrist area that
- 00:16:56they view the New York Times as carrying
- 00:16:58the water for the GOP carrying the water
- 00:17:00for Trump I mean that was a big
- 00:17:01criticism so the idea somehow that the
- 00:17:03New York Times was the opposite they
- 00:17:05were tough on Trump but they were they
- 00:17:07were quiet about Biden no I just don't
- 00:17:09see that squaring with with anything I
- 00:17:11saw I want to double back to Greenland
- 00:17:13for a second David and just give me a
- 00:17:15give me a second on that all right and
- 00:17:17and because Greenland um is increasingly
- 00:17:21strategically important I get it I mean
- 00:17:24I understand why it's in Trump's brain
- 00:17:26probably because somebody mentioned it
- 00:17:27to him but could you speak to you know
- 00:17:29his plans the reality the follow through
- 00:17:32and the strategy so so Greenland which
- 00:17:35is a lot smaller than you might think if
- 00:17:37you get a proper map perspective you'll
- 00:17:39see it's about 9% or 10% the size of
- 00:17:42Africa but on maps because of the marada
- 00:17:45projection it looks huge um Greenland at
- 00:17:48one time in the history of the earth you
- 00:17:50know was a Tropical Paradise just like
- 00:17:51Michigan and where I am uh were uh full
- 00:17:55of things like alligators and swamps and
- 00:17:58and Cor coral reefs and there's a lot of
- 00:18:01valuable minerals underneath the
- 00:18:03Greenland ice cap uh Donald has this
- 00:18:07notion that he can just buy Greenland I
- 00:18:09mean it's just a piece of property never
- 00:18:11mind that it's a semi Sovereign uh
- 00:18:14entity under Danish control the Danes
- 00:18:18aren't going to give it up and the I
- 00:18:20think they're about only about 16,000
- 00:18:22permanent residents of Greenland they're
- 00:18:24not going to want to be part of the us
- 00:18:26either but Donald has this this notion
- 00:18:29that you know everything's for sale
- 00:18:31everything has a price um and and the
- 00:18:34few times in his life he's discovered
- 00:18:35people don't have a price my friend
- 00:18:37Wayne Barrett me you know that we don't
- 00:18:40have a price he doesn't know what to do
- 00:18:43because in his world everything is
- 00:18:44transactionally you just put up enough
- 00:18:46money and or whatever it is someone
- 00:18:48wants and you'll get it um so this idea
- 00:18:53that Greenland should become part of the
- 00:18:56us I think is fundamentally just one of
- 00:18:59his distraction things to get us to look
- 00:19:01at something that isn't going to happen
- 00:19:04instead of focusing our attention
- 00:19:07elsewhere distraction is very important
- 00:19:09Donald's one of Donald has many skills
- 00:19:11that I admire and one of them is there's
- 00:19:14an issue where the water is Crystal
- 00:19:16Clear what the issue is and Donald has
- 00:19:18this incredible ability to muddy the
- 00:19:21waters and then we go well I don't know
- 00:19:23we can't quite see what's going on there
- 00:19:26or isn't that fascinating there's colors
- 00:19:28in that mud instead of you know being
- 00:19:33established with the facts and satisfied
- 00:19:35with the
- 00:19:37facts yeah that's interesting and kind
- 00:19:39of I guess given the as you suggest sort
- 00:19:42of the limitations in terms of what you
- 00:19:44could actually do uh as a leader even of
- 00:19:47the most powerful Nation on Earth it
- 00:19:49makes sense that it would fall into the
- 00:19:50distraction category although success
- 00:19:52with the distraction because it's what
- 00:19:53we're talking about it's made the news
- 00:19:55cycle and it's quite prominent you know
- 00:19:57I I want to get to a quickly his uh
- 00:19:59appointments and his nominees and and
- 00:20:02and handicapping them I mean we saw
- 00:20:04Gates go away and now we've seen the
- 00:20:06gates report laid bare and you could see
- 00:20:08all that ugliness you can see why he
- 00:20:10didn't want that report out there yeah
- 00:20:12that's exactly right um but uh the other
- 00:20:16appointments that he's made and these
- 00:20:18nominations they involve I'd suggest
- 00:20:21questions uh except maybe Pete hegi does
- 00:20:24have some overlap in the area of uh you
- 00:20:26know kind of a decad and frat boy Dr
- 00:20:28call the time um sexual abuser type
- 00:20:31person uh apart from him it would be a
- 00:20:34question of competence and a question of
- 00:20:36uh being compromised like at Tulsi
- 00:20:38gabard I wonder if you can just give us
- 00:20:40a sense for whether or not many of these
- 00:20:44still highly controversial nominations
- 00:20:47will likely get through the process well
- 00:20:50I how many of them will get through the
- 00:20:53process is going to depend on how Craven
- 00:20:55the Senate Republicans are I mean we we
- 00:20:58know that most of them people like Tommy
- 00:21:00tuberville or tuberville they're just
- 00:21:02going to vote for whatever Donald wants
- 00:21:04but you know Susan Collins always speaks
- 00:21:07a good game and then she folds but Lisa
- 00:21:10marowski probably not going to fold on
- 00:21:13issues some important issues and we'll
- 00:21:16see how a couple of others do Donald has
- 00:21:18made it clear that if you're a senator
- 00:21:20and you don't just do what he says uh
- 00:21:22he'll primary you um and jod Ernst I
- 00:21:26believe is up in two years in Iowa um so
- 00:21:29she may well back down from her
- 00:21:32disapproval of Heth and Patel but the
- 00:21:35bigger picture the thing we need to keep
- 00:21:37our mind on is Donald Trump intends to
- 00:21:40destroy the federal government as we
- 00:21:43have known it so that he can be our
- 00:21:46dictator a dysfunctional government
- 00:21:48benefits him it's bad for Commerce it's
- 00:21:51bad for civil liberties it's bad for
- 00:21:53economic growth but it's great for a
- 00:21:57power monger
- 00:21:58and that's Donald's Focus you know he he
- 00:22:01used to say I only hire the best people
- 00:22:03very best people hire the best people
- 00:22:05and we saw the first Administration that
- 00:22:07wasn't true and this time around that's
- 00:22:09a joke he's hiring literally the worst
- 00:22:12imaginable
- 00:22:14people and the reason's very simple
- 00:22:17Steve Bannon said in 2015 and 16 we're
- 00:22:21going to deconstruct the administrative
- 00:22:24State that's fancy language for we're
- 00:22:26going to destroy the federal government
- 00:22:28as you've known
- 00:22:29it and having this uh fictional uh
- 00:22:33division of government efficiency the
- 00:22:36department of government efficiency with
- 00:22:39the two billionaires I'm I'm assuming
- 00:22:42ramaswami is really a billionaire um
- 00:22:45musk clearly is who have no official
- 00:22:48position that's just an opportunity to
- 00:22:51further wreak havoc and and here's why
- 00:22:55you should think about this matters I do
- 00:22:56this did this with my law student
- 00:22:59if if our classroom was the whole
- 00:23:02world and somebody who makes food in our
- 00:23:06group gets people sick we can deal with
- 00:23:09that you know hey don't do it again and
- 00:23:11if you do it again and somebody gets
- 00:23:12sick and dies we may kill you we may
- 00:23:14take away you're not going to make food
- 00:23:16anymore but when you buy food today at
- 00:23:18the grocery store you don't know where
- 00:23:20it came from you know we have these huge
- 00:23:23slaughter houses that mix beef from you
- 00:23:25know different cows from cattle from
- 00:23:28different Farms from different places um
- 00:23:31uh there's a reason that cans if you buy
- 00:23:34canned uh vegetables on the bottom of
- 00:23:36the can there's a Code what what do all
- 00:23:39those letters and numbers mean it allows
- 00:23:41them with that can to in a matter of
- 00:23:43minutes find out this is where this can
- 00:23:46was filled here's the day it was done
- 00:23:49and there are records on well where did
- 00:23:51the products that went into it and who
- 00:23:53was working at the time uh it's a food
- 00:23:56safety measure and just just as you
- 00:23:59don't want to live in a large city
- 00:24:01without a police intelligence function
- 00:24:04but you need to control that function so
- 00:24:06they're actually working on things
- 00:24:08police intelligence should work on and
- 00:24:10not what we continually see around the
- 00:24:11country the fer all of political games
- 00:24:14and going after political enemies or
- 00:24:17religious opponents you need to have
- 00:24:21food
- 00:24:23safety regulations and rules and the
- 00:24:26money to make sure that we do the right
- 00:24:28thing but we're about to put in charge
- 00:24:31of Health Care in this country a man who
- 00:24:33believes that vaccines cause harm and
- 00:24:36wants to stop the polio virus vaccine
- 00:24:39you know this is the prop polio
- 00:24:42Lobby uh I think it would be reasonable
- 00:24:45to argue the pro smallpox Lobby the uh
- 00:24:48Pro measles Lobby uh which means by the
- 00:24:51way the pro- death Lobby the pro
- 00:24:53blindness Lobby and so we shouldn't lose
- 00:24:57sight of Trump's game here Trump wants
- 00:25:00absolute power the way to get absolute
- 00:25:03power is to take the federal government
- 00:25:05which is a huge sprawling fractious
- 00:25:07operation with lots of different
- 00:25:10contending things and Vanquish it so
- 00:25:13that all bow down to
- 00:25:16Donald you know David I'm reminded of
- 00:25:19the fact that there was a push during
- 00:25:22the coup
- 00:25:24attempt uh after the 2020 election to
- 00:25:27try to uh declare martial law it was
- 00:25:30being suggested that's why I say it was
- 00:25:31a push it was one of the strategies that
- 00:25:32was being suggested and the way that you
- 00:25:35could declare martial law is to declare
- 00:25:38that there is such chaos that we must
- 00:25:41impose this martial law so I I see that
- 00:25:44kind of strategy that you've described
- 00:25:46like where you install yourself as the
- 00:25:48leader because the country has now
- 00:25:51reached a threshold of chaos that is
- 00:25:54such that we can't do it
- 00:25:56constitutionally anymore I see that is
- 00:25:58very much something that that Trump has
- 00:26:00his eyes on I I I'm I'm not what I'm
- 00:26:03going to say I'm not predicting will
- 00:26:04happen but I will not be the least bit
- 00:26:07surprised if it does happen that Donald
- 00:26:10Trump invoking Abraham
- 00:26:12Lincoln will suspend habius Corpus at
- 00:26:16some point habius Corpus is the right to
- 00:26:19be seen by a magistrate you get arrested
- 00:26:21you know the infamous you get one phone
- 00:26:23call
- 00:26:26um Abraham Lincoln suspended habus
- 00:26:28Corpus during the Civil War Donald keeps
- 00:26:32saying we're in a state of National
- 00:26:33Emergency you know we're in a disaster
- 00:26:35we're in a crisis all of that is setting
- 00:26:37up his ability to make that claim this
- 00:26:40is the key and important point about
- 00:26:42that that people don't know under our
- 00:26:45constitution habius Corpus is not a
- 00:26:48right go look at the Fifth Amendment it
- 00:26:51says the privilege of habius Corpus
- 00:26:55shall not be suspended except a time of
- 00:26:57insurrection
- 00:26:58or I think it's occupation or something
- 00:27:01else I'm sorry I don't remember the
- 00:27:02exact words at the moment but in a
- 00:27:05wartime in a civil war it made sense
- 00:27:07that um Lincoln would do this I I wish
- 00:27:09he hadn't done it but he was within uh
- 00:27:13his rights as president under the
- 00:27:15Constitution Trump's going to try to do
- 00:27:17the same thing then he can lock up
- 00:27:19people who are Troublesome to him and he
- 00:27:21doesn't have to give them their day in
- 00:27:24court this is a classic dictatorial move
- 00:27:28and they've already tried to go after
- 00:27:31Congress Matt Gates went to court trying
- 00:27:34to stop release of the Ethics Committee
- 00:27:37report you know my goodness they've got
- 00:27:39multiple Witnesses of this 17-year-old
- 00:27:42girl he paid sex for that's statutory
- 00:27:45rape in Florida uh
- 00:27:47$90,000 spent on prostitution and drugs
- 00:27:52$9,000 of course Matt Gates's a rich kid
- 00:27:56so it's not like you know he was
- 00:27:57flipping hamburgers before he got into
- 00:28:00the Senate uh and Donald Trump was going
- 00:28:02to make him the Attorney General the
- 00:28:04chief law enforcement officer of the
- 00:28:05United States but going to court trying
- 00:28:09to ask a judge to block Congress from
- 00:28:11doing something which no court has the
- 00:28:12authority to do is a sign of how the
- 00:28:16checks and balances built into our
- 00:28:19Constitution are going to
- 00:28:22be ignored they're going to be plowed
- 00:28:25over they're going to be bent
- 00:28:28uh so don't be surprised at at any of
- 00:28:32these things just don't lose sight of
- 00:28:34the big picture Donald's goal is
- 00:28:36dictatorial
- 00:28:38power and the way you get dictatorial
- 00:28:40power is you Vanquish the existing order
- 00:28:45and you put in place people who will do
- 00:28:47whatever you tell them to do and the
- 00:28:49biggest thing people should be watching
- 00:28:51for is if Trump starts firing Admirals
- 00:28:55and Generals and promoting Junior
- 00:28:57officers to replace them because that is
- 00:29:00the classic sign of a dictatorial
- 00:29:03takeover and there are always we we do a
- 00:29:06really terrific job in this country of
- 00:29:08having a non-political officer Corp even
- 00:29:11though it's very heavily Republican it
- 00:29:12was about 5050 Republicans in Democrats
- 00:29:14until Reagan and then it began to change
- 00:29:16and it's now overwhelmingly Republican
- 00:29:19and in the Air Force we have a serious
- 00:29:21problem that's gone on for years that
- 00:29:24non-believers Jewish officers and
- 00:29:28members of some Christian
- 00:29:31denominations can't get their careers
- 00:29:33going uh in that branch of the service
- 00:29:36there's been a lot written about this by
- 00:29:37the New York Times and others going back
- 00:29:39I don't know 25 years uh but overall we
- 00:29:42do a very good job of having a
- 00:29:45professional officer cor at the top but
- 00:29:48there are always Junior officers uh
- 00:29:51captains Majors Lieutenant Colonels
- 00:29:54Lieutenant Colonel is not quite a junior
- 00:29:55officer who will sell out their country
- 00:29:59for their own Glory or
- 00:30:01ideology and Donald I assure you is
- 00:30:05going to have people looking for who are
- 00:30:07these people we can trust and rely
- 00:30:09because he has said he wants to use the
- 00:30:11American Military against the American
- 00:30:14people well look at Mike Flynn I mean he
- 00:30:17is someone who really scares me and he
- 00:30:20is a Christof fascist with the military
- 00:30:23experience and Trump has said he wants
- 00:30:25to bring him back into the
- 00:30:26administration and uh I mean and Barack
- 00:30:29Obama told Donald Trump before Trump
- 00:30:33took the oath of office this guy is
- 00:30:37dangerous he's not loyal uh keep him
- 00:30:41away so of course immediately Donald
- 00:30:42Trump made him his uh National Security
- 00:30:44adviser where if I recall he lasted 28
- 00:30:47days four weeks that's right yeah so uh
- 00:30:52well what I get from this here on your
- 00:30:54birthday David K Johnston is that at
- 00:30:56least Greenland and Panama Canal are
- 00:30:59falling into the distraction category uh
- 00:31:02the kind of Controlled Chaos that Trump
- 00:31:05likes to uh stir up regularly uh the
- 00:31:09appointment stuff really scares me
- 00:31:11because you have people who are utter
- 00:31:13novices don't know what they're doing I
- 00:31:15mean Pete hegi couldn't find the men's
- 00:31:17room at the Pentagon and he's going to
- 00:31:19run it I mean it's absolutely out
- 00:31:22outrageous but but he won't at least he
- 00:31:24won't be drinking if he gets the
- 00:31:25appointment that's right I'm Mark before
- 00:31:28we go just one thing people should think
- 00:31:31about the tariffs that are coming which
- 00:31:34we talked about last week how that
- 00:31:35allows domestic manufacturers to raise
- 00:31:37prices and it's really a scheme to
- 00:31:39redistribute money by pulling money out
- 00:31:41of the pockets of consumers and turning
- 00:31:43over to the pockets of people own
- 00:31:45manufacturing companies we also
- 00:31:47shouldn't forget that tariffs are not
- 00:31:49are two-way two-way
- 00:31:52streets uh China can mess with us a lot
- 00:31:55because they have significant Reserves
- 00:31:58of some of the rare earth Min minerals
- 00:32:00like neodymium which we
- 00:32:02need um uh Canada we do a great deal of
- 00:32:07trade with Canada and a lot of it's
- 00:32:09essential to our manufacturing processes
- 00:32:12in the US the Canadians can respond uh
- 00:32:16Mexico you you want grocery prices lower
- 00:32:19don't mess with Mexico because when you
- 00:32:21go to the grocery store whether it's
- 00:32:23here in Rochester New York or it's in
- 00:32:25Southern California where you live uh
- 00:32:27it's highly likely that your raspberries
- 00:32:30and your avocados and uh other fruits
- 00:32:34that perish quickly come from
- 00:32:36Mexico and the Mexicans Can Can U do all
- 00:32:41sort things to drive up those
- 00:32:43prices and interfere with our Commerce
- 00:32:46so Donald's notion that you know he has
- 00:32:48this power that no one can respond to
- 00:32:51will get a very rude awakening because
- 00:32:53president G is is no weakling here and I
- 00:32:57think we'll see that our two biggest
- 00:32:59trading partners Canada and Mexico are
- 00:33:01not going to just roll over for Donald
- 00:33:04well also I mean a trade War isn't it
- 00:33:06true David you really just don't want to
- 00:33:07get into multiple trade Wars I wouldn't
- 00:33:09think especially I mean you're the
- 00:33:11you're the new kid back into hey I'm
- 00:33:12back and let's start some trade Wars I
- 00:33:14mean that's kind of where he is right
- 00:33:16but if you have a megalomaniac mind I
- 00:33:19mean Donald really does believe people
- 00:33:22need to know this it's not a fraud
- 00:33:24Donald really believes that he should
- 00:33:26run everything that everybody else is an
- 00:33:28idiot and you know he's special and it's
- 00:33:32this fictional World he's created he
- 00:33:35when he creates his own reality but this
- 00:33:37is not you know don't don't look at him
- 00:33:39and think he's some cynical fraud he
- 00:33:42believes this stuff and after all based
- 00:33:45on the fact that he's gotten to the
- 00:33:46White House twice why shouldn't he
- 00:33:48believe it you know that someone like
- 00:33:50him can can pull this off um he does
- 00:33:54need to be reminded all the time he
- 00:33:55never got 50% of the vote and he only
- 00:33:58won by 1.5 percentage points this is not
- 00:34:01a mandate although he keeps trying to
- 00:34:04get that into the news and
- 00:34:07unfortunately news organizations on
- 00:34:09running stories tend to develop a sort
- 00:34:12of herd mentality this or that
- 00:34:14organization will break part of the
- 00:34:15story but once a narrative is set for a
- 00:34:18story everybody sort of goes along with
- 00:34:20that so I've noticed the narrative that
- 00:34:23U persistently out of control inflation
- 00:34:26or or um uh High inflation is a
- 00:34:30continuing theme in news accounts even
- 00:34:32though inflation right now is
- 00:34:35significantly below the postor War II
- 00:34:39average so by no reasonable definition
- 00:34:42is it high or out of control but once
- 00:34:45that's in the narrative it's very hard
- 00:34:49to change that because it becomes what
- 00:34:51in newsrooms is called shorthand
- 00:34:54shorthand is fine but it must be
- 00:34:56truthful shorthand accurate shorthand
- 00:34:59not what we're seeing with things like
- 00:35:03you know persistent High inflation which
- 00:35:05is
- 00:35:06nonsense sure sure but as you say it's
- 00:35:09become such a familiar refrain that it
- 00:35:11continues to be to be used uh we're out
- 00:35:14of time David I want to just let you
- 00:35:15know that the the world has wished you a
- 00:35:17happy birthday I can't even post all of
- 00:35:20the comments we're all grateful for
- 00:35:23everything you do what a great resource
- 00:35:25that we've uh We've happened upon merry
- 00:35:28happy New Year Quanza Etc whatever you
- 00:35:31know makes
- 00:35:33you Joy for you and your hi it's Mark
- 00:35:36and I thought that was great hit the
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