The midterm elections are just around the corner, and it’s very likely that Americans, of all political backgrounds, will vote in accordance with how they feel the Trump administration has performed thus far.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump sat down with the host of 60 Minutes Lesley Stahl to discuss a wide range of issues, including climate change, NATO, North Korea, Russia, and the Brett Kavanaugh nomination process.
Lesley Stahl wrote a piece for CBS News following the interview, in which she discussed the meeting in its entirety.
“When we sat down with him this past Thursday (day interview was recorded) in the White House, we found him confident and boastful, as he told us he’s learned on the job. He was eager to joust over the issues of the day: the economy, China and Russia and of course: ‘fake news.’”
–Lesley Stahl CBS News Correspondent & Host of “60 Minutes”
If you prepared to watch this interview with the idea that President Trump would simply answer the questions asked, you must’ve realized, early on, that this was not the case. When asked about whether climate change was a hoax, President Trump said that he does not believe it to be made up, but that it might not be “manmade” and he doesn’t “wanna give trillions and trillions of dollars” and “be put at a disadvantage.”
It was almost like Stahl asked the President to clean his room and he responded with, “but, mom! I don’t wanna!” Never the less, the interview persisted.
When asked about whether he thought Moscow had any involvement in the 2016 presidential election, Trump said he didn’t think it was solely Russia. “They meddled. But I think China meddled, too. And I think other counties…and I think, frankly, China is a bigger problem.”
President Trump’s tossing of China under the bus adds to months of instigative comments made by the President in reference to China, not to mention the ongoing trade war caused by Trump’s new tariffs on Chinese goods. The Trump administration imposted 10% tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese products, including spices, baseball gloves, network routers, and industrial machinery parts, and plans on imposing more tariffs soon.
The President spoke on his plan for Chinese tariffs during the “60 Minutes” interview, saying that he “might – – might” impose more tariffs. When asked if he was ready to negotiate, according to CNN, Trump responded, “I have great chemistry..with President Xi (Jinping) of China. I don’t know that that’s necessarily going to continue.”
Sometimes, I find it fun to imagine what Trump was like when he was in the sixth grade. I picture an language-arts teacher asking him for his homework. “Now, Donald, did you turn in your book report? The President, in my imagination responds “I might have turned in my homework. But listen, my homework is the best homework in the class. I love homework. Some of my best friends do homework. The problem is when we read about China…”
The image fades…
Perhaps the most interesting scene in the interview was when Stahl asked Trump to reflect on his first two years as President of the United States. She asked what he’s learned thus far, and what has been the most shocking since he took the job.
“So I always used to say the toughest people are Manhattan real estate guys and blah, blah. Now I say they’re babies. The toughest are the political people. This is the most deceptive, vicious world. It is vicious, it’s full of lies, deceit and deception. You make a deal with somebody and it’s like making a deal with – – that table.”
-US President Donald Trump
What I gather from this incredibly introspective answer, even for President Trump, is that he is coming to terms with something I believe all politicians recognize at one point in their career. Our President is struggling with the toxicity in government, and the game that is politics. He grew up in the world of real estate, a sector not generally associated with honesty, and that was the basis for his professional understanding.
Coming into the position of president, without any prior government experience was like saying, “I’ve never done this before, but everything looks incredible from the outside.” The naivety in his answer is incredible and terrifying.
What I can ascertain is that our the shock factor felt by President Trump thus far was a direct consequence of his lack of political experience. It makes perfect sense, especially given the diction he demonstrates at rallies and press conferences. I wholly applaud President Trump for speaking his mind, but there is a key element of decorum that he still needs some support on.
As the interview with Stahl wrapped up, she asked Trump if he felt he treated Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, one of several women who accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, with respect.
“You know what? I’m not going to get into it, because we won. It doesn’t matter. We won.”
Yes, Mr. President, you won. Now what?
