On today's show, we have Monica Crowley join us to talk about why she thinks Donald Trump should be the next president, why she's not a Trump supporter, and why she doesn't think Hillary Clinton should win the 2020 election.
00:01:10.000And this year, we've had very interesting domestic developments, haven't we, with the rise of Donald Trump and the debate and the controversies, and I think some of the behind-the-scenes shenanigans happening on the Democratic side.
00:01:22.000With Hillary, Obama, and the Democratic race.
00:01:25.000So there are a lot of things that are keeping me running.
00:02:06.000And Trump, who is a fighter, who is an extremely successful businessman, so his last name, Trump, is shorthand for the American dream, who also gives off a blue-collar vibe, even though he's worth $10 billion, I think there are so many things that have gone into the Trump phenomenon that if the other candidates were intelligent, and that's a big if, they would be taking notes.
00:02:29.000They'd be paying close attention to not Donald Trump's style, per se, or the fact he wears the trucker hat and he does all these things that are, you know, wild, but pay close attention to what he is conveying out there that is gaining him so much traction.
00:02:49.000Yeah, it's funny you mention the blue-collar vibe.
00:02:51.000I always sort of felt that way when I was at Fox News.
00:02:53.000You have these hosts making these huge salaries, and they're looking out for the folks.
00:02:57.000I'm like, you haven't met a folk in 40 years.
00:03:13.000It has nothing to do with where we're going to go with this.
00:03:15.000When you have the Clintons sit front and center at your wedding, when you supported abortion, when you were pro-gun, it's like what's the flash of genius moment for me is what I'm waiting for.
00:03:24.000I'm not saying I couldn't possibly be convinced to go Trump.
00:03:27.000But, you know, if someone invents something, right?
00:03:29.000There's actually a great film about this called Flash of Genius.
00:03:31.000They can pin down to everyone who's either invented something or had some great epiphany, what they call the Flash of Genius moment, where they say, when did you hit this point in your life?
00:03:52.000But there is a really weird shakeout, and I know you have to be careful because you work there, but you guys must feel the grassroots that have, frankly, a lot of them have turned on Fox News with the Megyn Kelly-Trump thing.
00:04:16.000But I think a lot of the Fox audience is the Tea Party crowd.
00:04:21.000It is, you know, normal Americans in the middle of America who have nowhere to go in the media except Fox News and count on Fox News.
00:04:29.000Not to carry the water of the conservative movement, but to at least be fair, okay?
00:04:35.000And for all these years, Fox has, and I think the impression out there, fair or not, was that some of the questions for Trump about going bankrupt, about the women's issues and everything else, were unfair because they weren't focused on the issues.
00:04:50.000The other candidates got issues-oriented questions on ISIS, on reforming Social Security, on dealing with Iran.
00:04:57.000And Trump was fending off these questions that were personal in nature.
00:05:01.000Now, you can say, listen, if you're running for president, you have to take all comers.
00:05:04.000You have to be willing to answer every question, and I totally agree with that.
00:05:08.000I'm just saying that I think for a lot of viewers, Trump looked like he was being singled out for attack on things that were not related to issues that most Americans really care about.
00:05:22.000I understand where you're coming from, and I understand where they're coming from, but I think it's, you know, we've always talked about this.
00:05:27.000They even have a stand-up bit about this, how no one is going to be able to run for president in a couple of decades because all of them have had a Facebook account.
00:06:09.000Right, but my point was the questions, I feel, if it felt like they were singling out Trump, it's because he's been so out there in the public.
00:06:16.000I mean, that's how he's made most of his money, right?
00:06:18.000He really became more successful as a business person after Apprentice took off and that allowed him to leverage it, and I'm not begrudging him at all.
00:06:24.000But that's a big part of what makes up the Trump brand, not so much with, say, a Cruz or a Fiorina or maybe a Ben Carson.
00:06:46.000You get a question, you know how to answer it, or at least should at that level.
00:06:49.000Take Donald Trump, the persona, out of it for a second, and I know that's hard because he's such a big personality, but I've identified three things, Stephen, of what he is doing and saying, the subtext of what he is doing out there.
00:07:02.000That I think are critical, apart from him.
00:07:05.000The first is that the American people are sick and tired of being called the enemy in their own country.
00:07:11.000If you don't agree with the leftist agenda, you're a racist, sexist, homophobe, Islamophobe, a bigot.
00:07:17.000You know this better than anybody because you write and do things about this all the time.
00:07:21.000The American people are saying, wait a minute, we're not the enemy in our own country.
00:07:24.000We have actual enemies who are here and abroad.
00:07:35.000Number two, his catchphrase, you're fired, that is the subtext of everything he's doing and saying out there, because it's at the GOP establishment, you're fired.
00:07:45.000It's to the lamestream media, you're fired.
00:07:47.000It's to the leftists in the White House and running the country right now, you're fired.
00:08:04.000Because after decades, and certainly in the last seven years, Of the wealthy being demonized and achievement being demonized, he goes out there unlike Mitt Romney and has unapologetically said, yeah, I'm rich and I embrace it.
00:08:53.000And that's why, listen, I understand why, again, I understand we have to be careful since I understand why a lot of people are upset with Fox News.
00:08:59.000I think they see it, you know, listen, it's no secret that cable isn't really doing that well for anybody.
00:09:04.000And I think they've seen it go a little bit more centrist or appear that way.
00:09:08.000And they've I feel like Fox News has been pushing Jeb Bush.
00:09:11.000Now, having worked there, I know they don't have a secret meeting behind anyone's back and say, we're pushing Jeb, see?
00:09:17.000And so they see Fox now as more of an establishment kind of centrist Republican network.
00:09:23.000And they see them trying to force Trump out.
00:09:26.000So I can understand why people feel that way.
00:09:27.000I think he's a symptom of people who are really tired of the status quo with politics.
00:09:32.000Now, that being said, I find it ironic that what's sort of...
00:09:36.000In order to attack what they see as a centrist sort of semi-liberal network now, which is absurd, they've needed a full-on card-carrying Democrat until 2008 and Donald Trump to do it.
00:09:48.000So I understand the dialogue that needs to take place.
00:09:50.000I just think it's taking place for all the wrong reasons right now and not a lot.
00:10:16.000You get these dust storms that happen and sort of consume everybody for a day or two days or a couple of days, and then they die down and go away, and you're on to the next dust storm.
00:11:28.000But do you think that maybe – do you think considering how inconsistent he's been – I mean just woefully so – do you think that maybe he understands what you're talking about from a business sense and is using it to help Trump as opposed to maybe actually really trying to spearhead a new conservative movement?
00:11:43.000I'm not saying that's the case, but wouldn't that be a valid criticism considering he's been so – I mean he has yet to really attack Hillary Clinton.
00:11:50.000Certainly not like Fiorina or someone like Cruz.
00:12:17.000I don't know whether he's got the fire in the belly to go all the way or can keep from really stepping in and going all the way, but what I do see, Stephen, is a real change in the dynamic out there.
00:12:30.000Where when you say, well, we don't know if he's a conservative, he's been Democrat before, he's given to Democrats, all that is true.
00:12:36.000And as a conservative, I don't necessarily trust his instincts.
00:12:39.000I mean, he said he would fund partially Planned Parenthood.
00:13:19.000I think that's a big part of what people don't like.
00:13:22.000And they feel like Trump is exposing it a little bit.
00:13:24.000You know, when he says he buys off politicians and he's proud of it, he exposed it.
00:13:28.000But the fact is, anytime you see someone expose something, you know, that's working in media, often they're exposing something so that they're hiding something else.
00:13:37.000And Trump doesn't talk about his cozy relationships with people over there at maybe Fox News, at CNN, and we all know he has them.
00:13:43.000You know him personally, but of course I know you to be an ethical journalist.
00:13:47.000I don't know that everyone on either side is.
00:13:48.000We have to go to a break, and I want to bring you back because I like what you have to say.
00:14:00.000Thursdays and also follow her on Twitter.
00:14:02.000Monica Crowley, thanks for being back.
00:14:04.000Alright, I hear where you're coming from on Trump and I agree with you on a lot.
00:14:07.000I think the issue, we're kind of getting into Sarah Palin territory where there's no room for an in-between for a critical look.
00:14:13.000Either people are all in for Trump and, I mean, if I say anything about Trump, the tweets are, so you love Bush and you think Obama's done a great job?
00:14:20.000I've been critical of Jeb for a long time.
00:14:30.000Do you feel like we've hit that ground, like Sarah Palin, where either everyone is all in or people can't stand them, there's no room for in between?
00:14:39.000I do see the emotional reactions to Trump.
00:14:43.000And certainly when this whole thing came down, another weird dynamic happened where you had a lot of women, including black women, defending Trump and pushing back on Megyn Kelly and saying, leave Trump alone, kind of thing.
00:15:03.000Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton was defending Megyn Kelly.
00:15:05.000So there are very weird dynamics and weird bedfellows going on here.
00:15:11.000And people do feel emotionally invested in this race, because I think a lot of voters feel like this is the last chance.
00:15:17.000You know, we've been saying this for a couple of election cycles now, but I think probably this one is it, because if you don't, Have a conservative in there, even a Republican.
00:15:26.000I mean, Jeb, to me, is the worst possible candidate you can put up.
00:15:30.000But if he's the nominee, I will vote for him because this is last chance station.
00:15:33.000If you don't repeal and reverse pretty much everything Obama has done, then the country is gone.
00:15:40.000Well, that's a perfect example right there, right?
00:15:41.000A pivotal issue is the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, as people call it.
00:15:46.000Trump's the only one on that stage who unapologetically said that he thought single-payer, socialized health care worked great in Canada.
00:15:53.000Then he regurgitated some old, tired talking point from the Republican Party about across state lines.
00:15:57.000But the fact remains, he genuinely thinks that single-payer socialized health care is a good thing in several countries.
00:16:05.000Being from Canada, I'm going, we're talking about him making a menstruation maybe joke about Megyn Kelly when he just supported socialized health care, said it worked?
00:17:36.000Right, and that will become clear, and then people will take second looks at other candidates, and it will wash out the way it's supposed to wash out.
00:17:45.000But what I'm saying is right now they're responding to something else.
00:17:48.000And it's not that they're being bought.
00:17:50.000I mean, you know, the Tea Party crowd.
00:17:53.000These are normal Americans who want somebody who's actually going to stand up and fight.
00:17:57.000Ted Cruz has stood up on Obamacare and fought and took all the slings and arrows from his own side, his own leadership, the media, the left, the Democrats.
00:18:25.000Pay attention to what he's creating out there and what he's tapping into.
00:18:29.000I think Cruz is actually handling this the smartest way, because he actually is the fighter, along with Scott Walker.
00:18:36.000They have proven records of standing up to the left and fighting back.
00:18:39.000That's what voters want, and I think once the Trump phenomenon becomes less of a novelty, I think that's what the Republican primary voters want.
00:18:54.000I think when it comes to a general, people want someone who they feel is strong in leadership and is an effective communicator.
00:18:59.000And that's the issue I think Ted Cruz is going to have.
00:19:11.000Rogers delivery that people, when you look at national polls, feel is a little disingenuous.
00:19:16.000So I think we need to separate maybe right now what is necessary for these primaries.
00:19:20.000And I think Trump is tapping into something versus who's going to beat Hillary Clinton.
00:19:25.000And I think that narrows the field a little bit.
00:19:27.000I think, listen, there are a lot of things with which I disagree with her.
00:19:30.000As a matter of fact, you know who I think was handling this really well was Carly Fiorina until the Megyn Kelly thing.
00:19:35.000I would have gone a different angle as a woman with that because there is such a large contingency of people who are so tired with feminism that I think they just rejected and went after Megyn Kelly.
00:19:47.000Because they're tired of anyone playing those cards.
00:19:49.000And I think she waded into that a little bit, Carly, and I think she would have been better to attack Trump's manhood because then you'd see him fly off the handle and yell all kinds of misogynistic epithets where he would be off the rails.
00:20:01.000But, you know, imagine if someone just came out and said, well, if Donald Trump can't handle these kinds of questions from Megyn Kelly, I guess I, Carly Fiorina, am more of a man than Donald Trump to run for president.
00:20:19.000Attacking Trump doesn't serve any purpose.
00:20:21.000Perry might have killed his chances doing that.
00:20:23.000It just doesn't look good for anyone right now.
00:20:25.000You know, if you say something about Trump, we've noticed that with the website.
00:20:29.000We can't post all pro-Trump stuff because I'm not huge on Trump.
00:20:32.000But if we post anything critical, people just say you're a rhino and they turn on you.
00:20:36.000Why do you think Cruz is the only one who sees that?
00:20:39.000Well, you know, he's a brilliant guy, so I think he understands what's going on here.
00:20:44.000He's also totally plugged into the conservative base, the Tea Party, the evangelicals, and he knows what they're thinking.
00:20:51.000Everything that I laid out to you earlier in this interview about being turned into the enemy in their own country and wanting to fire the GOP leadership and the media and the left and the Democrats, all the things that Trump is giving voice to, Cruz understands, and Cruz has been doing it.
00:21:38.000Oh, I think what I was saying was about Ted Cruz sort of maximizing what Trump is onto here.
00:21:46.000And I think that the others basically should get out of the way, let Trump make the path for them, but understand what he's doing here and back off the criticism of Leave the guy alone, like that Britney Spears YouTube thing.
00:22:05.000He was like full-on looked like a woman, and now he's gone back to looking like a guy, and he's, I guess, sort of, well, not gender fluid, he's sexual orientation fluid.
00:23:20.000I lay out the entire scenario about how Barack Obama's taking her out, he's doing her in, and he is going to support his own vice president, giving him the full weight of the White House, all of the technical infrastructure that they used in 08 and 12, the social media and all the rest of it.
00:23:35.000Hillary Clinton has been begging for that for seven years.
00:23:38.000He refused to turn it over to her, and now we know why.
00:23:43.000They're sounding a little bit fluoride in the tap conspiracy theory-ish, but I think you're right.
00:23:48.000I think it's actually probably a good read.
00:24:25.000But you know what the Democratic ticket's going to be?
00:24:27.000It's going to be Joe Biden because Obama's going to back Biden, and he's going to make it clear to minority voters that Biden is his guy, so he will get the black vote, the Latino vote, and everything.
00:24:38.000And the vice president, because if they marginalize Hillary with an indictment or a special prosecutor, whatever they're going to do, they're going to need to make it up to women, so it's going to be Elizabeth Warren.
00:25:20.000And I always used to get her messed up just in my brain of Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
00:25:25.000And I know they look nothing alike, but so many of their stories were so interchangeable for a while, where in my head I'd go, now which cackling, shrill, evil broad said this?
00:26:22.000He's not going to sing to his own playbook.
00:26:25.000He will sing according to the Obama playbook, and Obama knows that.
00:26:29.000I don't think it's necessarily wrong for Barack Obama to think he could win a third term, though.
00:26:34.000As much as it pains me to say it, I do think if he were able to run, the guy is so good at campaigning and everything is in such disarray right now.
00:26:42.000I wouldn't be surprised if he were to win.
00:26:50.000I mean, look, if he could do it, if he could pull it off, and like I said, he's ravaged the Constitution in every way possible before this, so if he thought he could do it, he would.
00:27:30.000If Hillary Clinton were done with her political career and it came out that she had some secret lover named Ethel, we'd all go, yeah, sure.
00:28:15.000You don't think Hillary Clinton has the kind of leverage where she can make him do whatever she wants when she knows there's a sexual harassment lawsuit?
00:29:41.000I'm not a huge fan because after I left Fox News, there's some guy, and I sat across from her many times there, some guy did some online video.
00:29:47.000That's the problem with media now, is no one can play nice with each other.
00:29:50.000But the one thing is, I think it was an appropriate question.
00:29:53.000Do you think it might have been better played for her to come out and speak against the people kind of playing the delicate flower, she's a woman, Trump was out of line?
00:30:01.000Because it seemed like a lot of people were saying, listen, she's a strong woman, why doesn't she handle herself with this?
00:30:05.000There just seemed to be an awkward silence when that was going on.
00:30:10.000Is there something we don't know about?
00:30:14.000She's tough as nails, so I'm not really worried about her.
00:30:17.000I actually focus more on Donald Trump, and I think the way he should have answered that question was, You know what, Megan, first of all, I can't remember any of those quotes.
00:30:26.000Secondly, if they are attributable to me, I'd like to hear the whole context because we know about the one about a woman on her knees was taken completely out of context.
00:30:34.000About begging him for a job, not, you know, sexually servicing him.
00:30:39.000And the third point I would say was I would have looked at her and said, Megan, if you want to talk about the mistreatment of women, I'm happy to talk about ISIS selling women into sex slavery.
00:30:48.000Or the Taliban shooting Malala in the head because she demanded education.
00:30:52.000Any of those issues I'm happy to talk about.
00:31:24.000All I know is when I'm on, you know, radio or television or something, your mind is working so fast, especially in a pressure cooker like a debate or, you know, on a television interview.
00:31:36.000I, you know, given what I know about Donald Trump, I do not think he would be that crass.
00:31:43.000So I actually think he was like in the middle of a thought and then jumped to the next thought.
00:31:48.000And it came out that way, I do not think.
00:31:51.000I actually take his explanation at face value.
00:32:24.000But I also think, again, I keep getting back to, I think a lot of voters look at him and go, he's a little bit of an a-hole, he's a little bit of a jerk, but you know what?
00:32:34.000That could make him a really great president.
00:32:52.000I've got an interview with Carly Fiorina this week.
00:32:54.000Oh, we had her last week, so tell her I say hello, and I'm interested to see what she does, and we'll have you back sometime with Skype, because everyone wants to see your, you know, come on, that's a big selling point for me.
00:33:05.000I know, I know, I can't even turn on my TV, but okay, we will work on Skype.
00:33:11.000I'll make you walk me through installing it and getting it up and Okay.