
Trump's most awkward moments of 2017 | The Washington Post
2020-05-30T04:24:50Z

2020-05-30T04:24:50Z

2020-05-30T04:34:10Z
Appreciate you joining us for "Pints and Politics," presented by New England -- -For months, Chris Ryan has brought together candidates and voters in Concord, New Hampshire, to share ideas and have a beer.
-The economy still is a big issue.
And I think that individuals are split about how the economy is working and whether or not it is working for them.
Healthcare has been a driver, as well now Iran is a concern.
Foreign policy has not been a big issue at all during the course of this campaign, but now voters are starting to think more about that.
-His guest this week was former Congressman Joe Walsh, one of the few Republicans running against President Trump.
-So, let's look at your foreign policy here for a second.
We talked a little bit about Iran previous and, you know, what Donald Trump's end game is here.
-I fear for what he'll do.
He'll get us into a war 'cause he can do it.
He will absolutely ignore Congress 'cause he can do it.
The country needs to -- -This is also really the first time that people have had to think about Donald Trump as a commander in chief and what that means.
-And a lot of Americans have -- -I am hoping that it does not lead into something greater than what it could very easily become and a war.
I'm a little afraid, frankly.
-Breaking news.
The Pentagon saying it has carried out a strike at the direction of President Trump that killed Iran's top military commander, Qasem Soleimani.
-Promises military revenge against America.
-With the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary just a month away, an international crisis gave the race a new urgency.
I'm just calling you tonight to see how you're feeling about Mayor Pete.
His military experience is gonna go a long way, especially since what's been going on recently.
-In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, volunteers work the phones for Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a former intelligence officer in the Navy.
-How are you tonight? I'm doing well, thanks.
I think the fact that he has served in the military -- I think that military insight would be extremely beneficial, unlike anybody else right now that's running.
I think the fact that he's been to Afghanistan, I think he's gonna hold a more personal approach to it and not just an abstract idea of what war means.
And thanks for taking my call.
-After Trump's decision to kill a senior Iranian general, every candidate had to address the threat of a new conflict in the Middle East.
-The American people do not want a war with Iran.
-Trump promised to end endless wars.
Tragically, his actions now put us on the path to another war.
-If we have learned nothing else from the Middle East in the last 20 years, it's that taking out a bad guy is not a good idea unless you are ready for what comes next.
-No one wants war, but it's going to take hard work to make sure we don't end up there by accident.
-In New York, former Vice President Joe Biden gave a special address on Iran, while, in Iowa, John Kerry was campaigning for him.
As Secretary of State, he helped negotiate the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
-If we have to go to war today, if we find that escalation after escalation, it will be because Donald Trump himself pulled out of that agreement and created an equation where confrontation was inevitable.
-I'm scared to death.
I have a grandson that's at Fort Bragg right now.
And I don't want them going someplace where I have no faith in the person that's making the call.
And I have no faith in Trump whatsoever.
-I want somebody to be President of the United States who can bring everybody to the table, and there's no doubt in my mind that person is Joe Biden.
-Pat Rynard runs a team of reporters across Iowa.
-Yeah, some Joe Biden events up in Northeast Iowa that some of our reporters were at where you did see a number of caucus-goers come out and say like, "I've been trying to make up my mind, and now I think I'm leaning closer to Joe Biden just because of his significant foreign-policy experience.
I just want to, like -- I want to feel a little bit safer of where we're at in the world.
"Obviously, we're gonna have a big debate here, though, with Bernie Sanders of like, "Is it experience or is it judgment?"
-Biden's long track record in the Middle East could also be a liability, and his competitors have sharpened their attacks.
-Joe Biden voted and helped lead the effort for the war in Iraq, the most dangerous foreign-policy blunder in the modern history of this country.
-Bernie has been very clear about the fact that we need to end the forever wars, and that has been something that is very easily digestible by voters.
-And what happens in this last month really matters, and something like this new Iran crisis can really shape how the final month plays out.
-With so little time left, candidates have to make every moment count.
-That means a lot to me.
-Appreciate it.
For sure.
Hey, how are you? -Cory Booker.
-Yes, sir.
-Nice to meet you, man.
-Nice to meet you, too.
I don't think negativity is gonna beat negativity.
I think that positivity, that light will beat darkness, that love will beat hate.
I just know that me being here to deliver that message is the most persuasive thing.
-But the senator from New Jersey couldn't stay long in Iowa this week.
-Well, we are in perilous times because we have a president who has no strategy, has no ability to control his impulses.
The challenges we have now in Iraq and Iran have me rushing back to DC this evening for classified briefings tomorrow.
-Good evening, everybody.
We have breaking news tonight.
Iran has retaliated and, in that retaliation, has struck at a base.
-It is signaling, primarily to its own people, that it's not just gonna sit back and take it.
-And, according to The White House, at this moment, the president has been briefed on this counter-strike.
-America seemed close to war on Tuesday night, but then both countries stepped back from the brink.
-Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.
-The next day, in Hudson, New Hampshire, some were still shaken.
-You know, we're really upset about what's going on over there.
What do you think your stance is going to be, as far as foreign policy in the Middle East? -I was one of the candidates who came out and said that killing Soleimani was a mistake.
And I know it's a mistake because 75% of Americans want nothing to do with a war in Iran.
I would follow the will of the American people, and the American people want to end the forever wars.
-But for many Americans, there are more pressing issues.
-I don't want to see our troops going to war, but I'm more focused on solving problems here at home.
And you do so by putting economic resources into people's hands.
-Everybody realizes that there's only a few weeks left to make that final sell, and they're all trying to find as many ways as possible to just get in front of all these people because the field is so not set, because so many people are still making up their minds.
And so, sometimes, it's just whoever inspires you the most right at the end.
-Thank you, Hudson! Thank you! Yeah, let's win this whole thing!
-It's a little cold, but it's not terrible.
-Aah! -Why do I always spin? -The front page of The Des Moines Register has the Democratic front-runners on a sled, in order of how they're doing in the latest poll.
-Oh! -The race is tight, and the coming weeks are critical.
-We have a government that's great for giant drug companies, just not for people trying to get a prescription filled.
-Annie Linskey is covering the Warren campaign.
-There are people who are really trying to decide between -- and you often see her -- between her and Bernie Sanders, between her and Pete Buttigieg, between her and Joe Biden.
So there is a contingent that is still -- hasn't quite figured out what they're gonna do, and you know, it's getting towards the end here.
You want to keep who you have, 'cause people are -- even the committed people are changing their minds.
Do you want to keep who you have and then grow a little bit? And that's kind of the game for all four of the top candidates.
And you're just seeing some of that last-minute, you know, swapping around that makes this such a tense process.
the other thing that's amazing here in Iowa is it really feels like a four-way tie between the top four candidates.
-But it's also a time when the race can turn personal, even between the two candidates who had refused to go after each other until now.
-I was disappointed to hear that Bernie is sending his volunteers out to trash me.
A story in Politico revealed the Sanders campaign was giving volunteers talking points, saying Warren only appealed to highly educated, affluent voters.
-Bernie knows me, and has known me for a long time.
He knows who I am, where I come from, what I have worked on and fought for, and the coalition and grassroots movement we're trying to build.
-Bernie Sanders was hoping to focus on climate change this weeks.
-You have people who reject science and are literally endangering the well-being of their own kids, their own grandchildren, and future generations.
-But his message got lost in the feud with Warren.
-Sean Sullivan is following Sanders.
-The campaign is also trying more to contrast with Warren.
What do you guys think about this? Is it okay for him to be talking about another candidate? -I look at this as a very good strategy.
He doesn't want to -- He doesn't want to disparage other candidates himself, and so, yeah, I mean, the volunteers and the people that he's working for are doing that for him.
I do think it's important that he needs to distance himself, at least in how he's different from other candidates.
-And on Monday, the feud intensified.
-We're learning new details about what was allegedly said during a 2018 dinner between senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Sanders told Warren, a woman could not win the presidency.
That's according to four sources, two of whom spoke with Warren after the dinner.
-Senator Sanders is categorically denying that assertion.
His campaign manager telling NBC News, "I believe strongly what we are talking about here is a lie." -The candidates had a chance to make up, or make it worse, at this debate in Des Moines.
Dave Weigel has covered every stage of the Democratic primary and says the dispute could hurt both campaigns.
-Both of them had strategies they were perfectly fine executing, and arguments they wanted to make against Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, who would get drowned out if too much time is spent on this.
-This is their final debate before the first votes.
-Anything that divides progressive voters, who are a fairly large, not entirely dominant, part of the party, makes them all worried.
-And I don't want to waste a whole lot of time on this, because this is what Donald Trump and maybe some of the media want.
Anybody knows me, knows that it's incomprehensible that I would think that a woman could not be president of the United States.
-Senator Warren, what did you think when Senator Sanders told you a woman could not win the election? [laughter] -I disagreed.
Bernie is my friend, and I am not here to try to fight with Bernie.
But, look, this question about whether or not a woman can be president has been raised, and it's time for us to attack it head-on.
And I think the best way to talk about who can win is by looking at people's winning record.
So, can a woman beat Donald Trump? Look at the men on this stage.
Collectively, they have lost 10 elections.
The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they're been in are the women -- Amy and me.
[cheers and applause] -That is so good! -It's a primary.
There has to be discourse like that, you know? That's why we're doing it.
You know, I think it's -- they can try to portray it as, like, infighting, but it's not.
You know, I think it's healthy to have this conversation.
I think it's healthy to talk about why do we look at electability, like likability, in regard to gender.
I think it's so unfair to equate the two.
-After the debate, CNN microphones picked up audio of a tense exchange.
-I think you called me a liar on national TV.
-What? -I think you called me a liar on national TV.
-Let's not do it right now.
You want to have that discussion, we'll have that discussion.
-Anytime.
-You called me a liar.
You told me -- Alright, let's not do it now.
-I don't want to get in the middle of it.
I just want to say hi, Bernie.
-Yeah, good, okay.
-We all, in the press, probably some voters, were saying how the Warren-Sanders dispute would be resolved.
I think it was, in one way, resolved in a way that both camps can muddle it through, the Warren camp with being happier than the Sanders camp.
But it remains a literal "he said, she said." -A week of chill between Sanders and Warren creates an opening for a candidate like Pete Buttigieg.
-I'm asking you to caucus for me because I believe the presidency has a purpose, and that the purpose of the presidency is not for the glorification of the president, it's for the unification and the empowerment of the American people.
That's why I'm asking for your support.
[cheers and applause] -Do you get a sense of who would be better-equipped to win? -Chelsea Janes is covering the Buttigieg campaign.
I think, right now, staying out of the fray really helps him, because it's in keeping with the message he's trying to send, which is, "Hey, I'm the guy that's gonna calm this down.
I'm the guy that can convince independents and Republicans to come to us."
-I mean, I'd just like somebody that, you know, gets along a little bit better, you know, or tries to, you know, with everybody, 'cause, I mean, Congress has so much fighting all the time.
-I think he seems very methodical and common-sense.
-As the days tick toward February 3rd, it's all about candidates making last impressions across the Iowa landscape, where time is short and voters are undecided.