The Michael Knowles Show - Ep. 166 - The Kim Summit： Reality vs. Fantasy (ft. Sean Spicer)

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00:00:37.580 President Trump sat down with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un for a productive meeting

00:00:42.540 that offers some hope for a denuclearized Korean peninsula and the world order.

00:00:47.840 But don't tell that to hysterical theoreticians on the left and right who fret and worry

00:00:52.880 that even though everything in reality is fine and actually a little bit good, in theory, everything is terrible.

00:00:59.660 We will analyze the costs and benefits of the Kim summit as well as the MSM spin doctors

00:01:05.360 who are setting Donald Trump up to fail.

00:01:07.840 Then, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer stops by to shed some light on those media spin doctors

00:01:14.220 as well as the White House's strategy for dealing with them.

00:01:17.440 Finally, on this day in history, no coincidence, another renegade American president challenges a communist dictator

00:01:24.000 to give peace a chance.

00:01:26.120 I'm Michael Knowles and this is The Michael Knowles Show.

00:01:35.780 Who knew? I think I'm a hippie now.

00:01:38.260 I'm a hippie. I want to give peace a chance and all of the Democrats don't.

00:01:42.360 They want things to start exploding or anything like that.

00:01:44.920 That was also true during Reagan's time and we will explain that.

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00:03:36.780 Okay, a lot to talk about.

00:03:38.160 I don't know that I have ever seen a diplomatic event 0.87

00:03:41.600 receive stupider press coverage and analysis in my entire lifetime.

00:03:45.800 Other than maybe, do you remember that the koi pond incident? 0.97

00:03:49.820 Donald Trump was in Japan with Shinzo Abe

00:03:53.420 and he fed a fish and then the media tried to make this into some huge gaffe,

00:03:59.460 even though Shinzo Abe did the same thing. 0.99

00:04:01.460 So maybe other than that, but this is receiving really stupid coverage 0.98

00:04:04.680 on the left and the right. 0.99

00:04:06.680 And I don't know.

00:04:07.920 For reaction to pundits coverage, before I give my analysis,

00:04:13.380 in reaction to this historic Trump-Kim summit,

00:04:16.140 we turn now to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

00:04:19.000 Mr. Un, you have been watching CNN all morning.

00:04:22.180 What is your take on the analysis? 1.00

00:04:25.280 Why is everyone so f***ing stupid? 1.00

00:04:28.220 That's a great question. 1.00

00:04:29.200 That's actually my exact reaction as well.

00:04:32.020 The big takeaway here, the 30,000-foot view of this Kim summit,

00:04:36.700 Trump-Kim summit in Singapore,

00:04:38.680 is stop trying to make the first inning into the ninth inning.

00:04:42.740 Stop it.

00:04:44.380 Stop trying to make this into the final thing.

00:04:46.640 Like overnight, we're going to radically change the world.

00:04:49.520 We're in the first inning of this whole thing.

00:04:52.220 Secretary of State Pompeo is hashing things out.

00:04:54.920 We've been negotiating with North Korea for a very long time now.

00:04:57.840 Really for decades, but under this administration,

00:05:00.460 for months and months and months.

00:05:02.600 What you take away from this summit is broadly,

00:05:05.500 we are on track for a deal.

00:05:08.240 That's a good thing.

00:05:09.520 That's the broad scope.

00:05:10.520 A lot of things could have gone wrong here.

00:05:12.660 Imagine all of the things that could have gone wrong

00:05:14.480 that the media would have harped on and said,

00:05:16.700 this is the end of the world.

00:05:17.620 This is humiliating for America.

00:05:19.380 And because none of those things went wrong,

00:05:21.220 now they just have to make stuff up.

00:05:22.540 Here is what could have gone wrong.

00:05:24.120 Kim could have not shown up.

00:05:25.980 That easily could have happened, right?

00:05:27.400 That would have been absolutely humiliating, right?

00:05:30.180 He could have stormed out.

00:05:32.100 He could have shown up.

00:05:32.940 And then he could have stormed out, 0.84

00:05:34.680 like when Trump called him fat,

00:05:36.140 which actually happened.

00:05:37.320 And we'll get to the clip of it later.

00:05:39.920 It is hilarious.

00:05:41.020 Trump called him fat in public.

00:05:42.860 He could have stormed out right there. 0.91

00:05:44.260 That would have been awful.

00:05:45.120 Or Kim could have gotten there and said, 1.00

00:05:47.000 we're not going to denuclearize.

00:05:48.880 I got two words for you, Donald Trump,

00:05:50.480 and they ain't happy birthday.

00:05:51.860 And that would have been truly humiliating

00:05:54.040 for the United States.

00:05:55.260 The American president flies to this summit,

00:05:57.640 and then Kim could have said,

00:05:58.660 we're not going to denuclearize.

00:05:59.820 And Kim would have had a lot of leverage there, right? 0.90

00:06:01.560 Because he would have been playing on this sort of Obama paradigm

00:06:05.080 of Obama was so desperate to get any deal

00:06:08.360 with America's adversaries

00:06:09.620 that he was willing to give them everything

00:06:12.480 and to be humiliated.

00:06:14.580 Iran captures our sailors.

00:06:15.960 Iran demands we free up money in European banks.

00:06:18.620 Iran demands $100 billion of money flown over in an airplane.

00:06:25.400 He had a lot of leverage here, but it went very well.

00:06:28.660 Now, what could have gone better here?

00:06:30.040 Well, because it didn't go per...

00:06:31.900 I'm not saying this is some huge win.

00:06:33.780 This is a world-changing win.

00:06:35.240 No, this is a minor win.

00:06:37.120 This is a step in the right direction.

00:06:39.100 This is basically good,

00:06:40.900 but it's not worth screaming and pulling your hair right over,

00:06:43.440 and it's also not worth jumping around in the streets

00:06:45.560 to be thrilled about.

00:06:46.900 It's just a good sign.

00:06:48.260 Okay, we can smile.

00:06:49.400 That's nice.

00:06:50.220 What could have gone better?

00:06:51.100 Well, I guess we could have worked out a treaty overnight

00:06:54.280 for the immediate denuclearization

00:06:56.320 and an end to a 70-year conflict.

00:06:58.940 Overnight, with no concessions from the United States.

00:07:01.420 I guess that would have been better.

00:07:03.100 What are the odds that that would have happened?

00:07:06.160 Zero.

00:07:06.900 That does not exist in reality.

00:07:08.660 No negotiation would have let that happen.

00:07:11.280 The purpose of this meeting,

00:07:12.660 and you wouldn't know this if you watch the mainstream media,

00:07:14.820 but the purpose of this meeting

00:07:15.880 was to get some goodwill for continued negotiations,

00:07:19.440 to have the two heads of state here meet one another,

00:07:22.420 have Donald Trump feel the guy out,

00:07:24.300 Mike Pompeo's felt this guy out,

00:07:25.820 and that's what we got.

00:07:28.140 We got this.

00:07:28.800 It all worked out basically pretty well.

00:07:32.460 Now, don't pop the champagne.

00:07:34.360 We don't have a deal yet.

00:07:35.900 We've just got a good step in the right direction.

00:07:37.920 Anybody that was expecting more than that,

00:07:40.580 anybody who was expecting, you know,

00:07:42.880 some overnight magical thing

00:07:46.240 that would have gotten rid of all of North Korea's nukes 0.69

00:07:48.320 that they've relied on for decades,

00:07:50.460 they were trying to set up a narrative

00:07:52.300 that Donald Trump would fail.

00:07:54.200 That's what they were trying to do, right?

00:07:55.460 Because that obviously wasn't going to happen,

00:07:57.240 and so when that didn't pan out,

00:07:58.800 they could have said,

00:07:59.680 ha ha, see, we were right.

00:08:01.280 There is so much bad analysis out there about this meeting.

00:08:05.460 We'll try to get to all of the objections 0.97

00:08:07.160 and show why they're so ridiculous. 0.89

00:08:09.840 But let's begin with the main objection. 0.93

00:08:12.480 So the main objection here

00:08:13.900 is that Western democratic statesmen

00:08:16.880 would never meet with totalitarian dictators.

00:08:20.060 How awful, how terrible that would be.

00:08:22.400 That's never happened before.

00:08:23.880 This is totally unprecedented, awful.

00:08:26.380 No president has ever done this.

00:08:28.140 Well, except for a ton of other world leaders

00:08:30.540 from Western democracies,

00:08:31.820 like Churchill and Stalin.

00:08:33.640 Churchill met with Stalin, okay.

00:08:35.560 Well, okay, but other than that,

00:08:36.800 and Nixon and Mao.

00:08:38.120 Nixon went over and piled around with Chairman Mao, 0.53

00:08:40.360 another much more murderous dictator than Kim Jong-un.

00:08:43.900 And they piled around and like played ping pong 0.87

00:08:45.480 and swam around.

00:08:46.800 But other, and I'm sorry,

00:08:48.420 also Kennedy and Khrushchev.

00:08:49.560 So Kennedy met with Khrushchev,

00:08:51.240 a maniacal dictator of the Soviet Union

00:08:54.380 who almost blew up the entire world

00:08:55.880 during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

00:08:57.940 But other, well, okay.

00:08:59.620 Also Donald Rumsfeld met with Saddam Hussein,

00:09:02.500 then a special envoy to the Middle East for Ronald Reagan.

00:09:05.780 Rumsfeld met with Saddam Hussein,

00:09:07.040 another murderous dictator who used WMD on his own people. 0.64

00:09:11.160 But other than, no really,

00:09:12.580 except for Reagan and Gorbachev.

00:09:14.440 Reagan meeting with Gorbachev

00:09:15.840 before the liberalizing policies

00:09:17.840 of glasnost and perestroika.

00:09:19.740 Reagan meeting with the Soviet dictator,

00:09:23.040 a guy who, you know,

00:09:24.160 enslaved a gazillion people behind the Iron Curtain

00:09:26.140 and palled around and smiled

00:09:27.900 and shook his hand and slapped him on the back.

00:09:29.420 Okay, so it actually happens all the time.

00:09:32.020 Oh, okay.

00:09:32.720 So I, I'm sorry,

00:09:34.620 because I thought,

00:09:35.260 because I watched CNN,

00:09:36.360 I thought this had never happened.

00:09:37.640 This was totally unprecedented.

00:09:38.860 This destroyed American credibility

00:09:40.420 on the world stage.

00:09:41.180 Actually, it happens all the time.

00:09:43.580 So this is actually much more of a no-brainer

00:09:47.020 than any of those, right?

00:09:48.180 Does anybody really believe

00:09:49.860 that Kim Jong-un

00:09:51.080 is on the same level of wickedness

00:09:53.560 as Stalin or Hitler or Mao?

00:09:57.280 Of course not.

00:09:58.800 Of course,

00:09:59.220 that's not to say Kim Jong-un is a good guy. 1.00

00:10:00.880 He's a miserable, awful, vicious, evil thug. 1.00

00:10:04.440 But as a matter of scale, 1.00

00:10:06.080 even as a matter of ideology,

00:10:07.940 there is not a chance

00:10:09.140 that Kim is on the same scale as Hitler, right? 0.60

00:10:12.220 So what is at the heart of Hitlerism 0.92

00:10:15.200 or of Stalinism or, you know,

00:10:18.060 it's expansion, right?

00:10:19.780 So Hitler's plan was to conquer 0.97

00:10:22.000 all of these countries,

00:10:23.140 conquer all of this territory,

00:10:24.520 expand, expand, expand.

00:10:25.480 Same thing with the Soviet Union.

00:10:26.940 Expand, expand, expand,

00:10:27.960 take over the whole world.

00:10:28.920 We're going to have this giant empire,

00:10:31.120 the Soviet empire.

00:10:31.840 What is Kim Jong-un's plan?

00:10:33.580 Is to maintain his own little neighborhood

00:10:36.780 over there in Northern Korea

00:10:38.760 to keep his own little tin pot dictatorship. 1.00

00:10:41.520 Kim is a gangster. 0.99

00:10:43.440 He's much more like Castro 1.00

00:10:44.700 than he is like Hitler. 0.71

00:10:46.340 He's like Castro. 0.63

00:10:47.260 He's a little dictator of a banana republic.

00:10:50.500 And by the way,

00:10:51.160 Barack Obama dealt with Castro.

00:10:52.640 Remember, Barack Obama deals with Raul Castro.

00:10:56.220 Everybody says this is wonderful.

00:10:57.760 And in that negotiation,

00:10:59.060 Obama gave Castro everything

00:11:00.560 in exchange for nothing.

00:11:02.700 Gave him everything.

00:11:04.000 Said American tourists can come here.

00:11:05.720 Even though I can't get the sanctions

00:11:07.420 repealed from Congress,

00:11:08.540 I'm going to make it much, much easier

00:11:10.280 for Americans to spend money there.

00:11:11.900 I'm going to practically stop enforcing

00:11:14.060 sanctions against Cuba,

00:11:16.340 the Cuban Embargo Act.

00:11:18.060 When Donald Trump deals with Kim Jong-un,

00:11:19.840 he gives him basically nothing.

00:11:21.860 Nothing yet.

00:11:23.920 Donald Trump gives Kim

00:11:25.080 basically nothing yet.

00:11:27.580 And the yet is where

00:11:28.600 the negotiations come in.

00:11:29.780 So lefties and Trump critics on the right

00:11:32.060 are spinning this summit

00:11:33.820 as this huge loss for America,

00:11:36.060 this huge win for North Korea. 0.50

00:11:37.960 This, we shouldn't pay that

00:11:39.140 really much attention

00:11:40.120 because we knew they would do this, right?

00:11:43.080 Sean Spicer was talking about this yesterday.

00:11:45.220 And we'll have him on later.

00:11:46.380 We're going to talk with Sean Spicer.

00:11:47.600 He's coming up.

00:11:48.420 But he was talking about this yesterday.

00:11:49.420 He said there's no bar

00:11:50.420 that Donald Trump could reach

00:11:52.700 that would get mainstream media approval

00:11:54.380 for this summit.

00:11:55.840 They'll find something wrong in the handshake

00:11:57.480 or what he says

00:11:58.540 or a joke that he made, right?

00:11:59.700 And that's exactly what is playing out.

00:12:01.480 But it gets so much crazier than this.

00:12:03.300 You've got to hear some of the hysteria

00:12:04.960 that is coming out of the mainstream media.

00:12:06.620 And we will explain why it gets to the central premise

00:12:09.620 of the left 0.98

00:12:10.780 and why basically everybody is reacting stupidly 0.99

00:12:13.380 to this summit. 0.98

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00:14:15.800 All right.

00:14:17.380 So back to the media hysteria

00:14:19.460 over this summit.

00:14:21.620 So Brent Budowski,

00:14:24.060 writing in The Hill,

00:14:25.180 he says,

00:14:25.700 this is the headline,

00:14:27.020 Trump let Kim get away with murder. 1.00

00:14:30.780 All right.

00:14:31.580 How's he going to go on from there?

00:14:33.080 This is what he writes.

00:14:33.860 Quote,

00:14:34.300 Trump is now a danger

00:14:35.600 to the Democratic Alliance.

00:14:37.460 By the way,

00:14:37.880 I thought he was a danger

00:14:38.720 after net neutrality

00:14:39.900 and tax reform.

00:14:41.620 Isn't that the big danger?

00:14:42.920 Isn't that going to kill us all?

00:14:44.200 Okay.

00:14:44.340 But now, I guess,

00:14:45.280 now he's super serious.

00:14:46.380 Now he's a danger

00:14:47.140 to the Democrat Alliance.

00:14:49.140 Budowski goes on,

00:14:50.100 quote,

00:14:50.620 he is the only president

00:14:51.640 in American history

00:14:52.740 who treats America's friends

00:14:54.380 like enemies

00:14:55.080 and its enemies like friends

00:14:56.520 until,

00:14:57.260 except the last president,

00:14:58.520 Obama,

00:14:59.080 who treated our allies

00:15:00.360 in Israel like enemies

00:15:01.320 and our enemies in Iran

00:15:02.460 like friends.

00:15:03.360 And, oh,

00:15:04.560 and a lot of statesmen

00:15:05.500 deal with adversaries

00:15:06.920 with both diplomacy

00:15:07.860 and with strong-arm tactics.

00:15:09.600 This, you know,

00:15:10.620 basically every claim

00:15:12.100 he makes is not true.

00:15:13.040 Statesmen regularly

00:15:15.180 meet with dictators.

00:15:17.020 This guy is upset

00:15:18.000 that Donald Trump

00:15:18.980 was mean

00:15:19.580 to Justin Trudeau

00:15:20.800 of Canada.

00:15:21.560 And it's funny,

00:15:22.320 we talked about Trudeau

00:15:23.040 yesterday

00:15:23.440 and how he's like

00:15:23.980 a little whiny little boy.

00:15:26.200 People forget

00:15:26.940 that Ronald Reagan

00:15:27.640 was also mean

00:15:28.360 to the last Trudeau

00:15:29.500 of Canada

00:15:29.980 because obviously

00:15:31.140 little boy Justin Trudeau

00:15:32.420 is,

00:15:33.200 he got his position

00:15:34.100 through nepotism.

00:15:34.880 His father,

00:15:35.820 Pierre Trudeau,

00:15:36.420 was a former leader

00:15:37.640 of Canada

00:15:38.080 and Reagan

00:15:38.940 didn't like him either

00:15:39.860 because they're like 0.99

00:15:40.640 these whiny lefty, 0.98

00:15:41.700 you know, 0.99

00:15:41.820 they're just not

00:15:42.400 enjoyable people

00:15:43.580 to deal with.

00:15:44.300 So, okay,

00:15:44.740 I guess they forgot

00:15:45.320 about that.

00:15:45.980 Here is some

00:15:46.840 mainstream media analysis

00:15:48.740 and build-up

00:15:49.500 to show you

00:15:50.160 exactly what I mean.

00:15:51.500 The optics

00:15:52.120 are very significant

00:15:53.280 and as you know,

00:15:54.420 a lot of analysts

00:15:55.320 have suggested

00:15:55.980 this is already

00:15:56.720 a public relations win

00:15:57.880 for North Korea

00:15:58.920 because the North Korean

00:15:59.900 leader is being

00:16:00.480 well-received

00:16:01.540 on the international

00:16:02.400 stage right now.

00:16:04.140 Is it already

00:16:04.780 a win

00:16:05.180 for Kim Jong-un?

00:16:06.320 And that's a big win

00:16:08.800 for him

00:16:09.480 regardless of

00:16:10.580 what comes out

00:16:11.080 of this summit,

00:16:11.680 him on the world stage

00:16:13.000 in a way that

00:16:13.860 no leader from North Korea

00:16:15.140 has ever been.

00:16:16.040 I think this is

00:16:17.040 a huge win

00:16:18.580 in terms of respect,

00:16:20.780 legitimacy.

00:16:22.920 So,

00:16:23.520 this is really funny,

00:16:24.540 isn't it?

00:16:24.920 This is,

00:16:25.440 they say,

00:16:25.960 hey,

00:16:26.180 regardless of what happens,

00:16:27.560 this is going to be

00:16:28.880 a loss for Donald Trump.

00:16:30.420 Well,

00:16:30.620 how do you know that?

00:16:31.500 You,

00:16:31.680 they're so transparent

00:16:33.900 in trying to set up

00:16:34.940 Trump to fail

00:16:35.980 they say,

00:16:36.640 no matter what happens,

00:16:37.840 he's going to lose,

00:16:38.500 right?

00:16:38.880 Okay,

00:16:39.160 can we all agree on that?

00:16:40.300 Like,

00:16:40.460 no.

00:16:41.700 He could lose

00:16:42.460 if,

00:16:42.680 you know,

00:16:43.500 Kim storms out 0.99

00:16:44.480 or insults the United States

00:16:46.040 on the world stage,

00:16:46.820 but he could win,

00:16:48.100 right?

00:16:48.260 It could be a sort of win.

00:16:49.880 And this is also funny

00:16:51.280 because do you remember

00:16:52.080 the Olympics,

00:16:53.140 which happened

00:16:53.940 five minutes ago?

00:16:55.540 Do you remember

00:16:55.940 during those Olympics

00:16:56.800 in Korea

00:16:57.440 how the left loved

00:16:58.980 putting the Kim family

00:17:00.000 on the world stage?

00:17:01.280 Because their argument now

00:17:02.200 is if you put Kim

00:17:03.320 in the spotlight

00:17:04.020 and you put him

00:17:04.620 next to American leaders,

00:17:06.420 then that's going

00:17:07.540 to be bad.

00:17:08.440 That's going

00:17:08.780 to be really bad

00:17:09.460 except for five minutes

00:17:10.460 ago when it was great

00:17:11.300 when that dragon lady 1.00

00:17:12.500 became the breakout star

00:17:14.000 of the Winter Olympics,

00:17:15.080 right?

00:17:15.220 They said,

00:17:15.620 oh,

00:17:15.820 she stole the show. 1.00

00:17:16.900 She's the breakout star.

00:17:18.220 Oh,

00:17:18.320 but that was when

00:17:18.780 it was the Olympics.

00:17:19.440 That was when

00:17:19.860 it was a left-wing thing

00:17:20.860 doing it.

00:17:21.580 Now that Donald Trump's

00:17:22.340 doing it,

00:17:22.680 it's bad.

00:17:23.680 Do you follow that logic?

00:17:25.140 And by the way,

00:17:25.840 what's going to happen now

00:17:26.880 is the left is going

00:17:27.600 to say,

00:17:28.100 well,

00:17:28.400 sure,

00:17:28.960 okay, 0.84

00:17:29.260 that was hypocritical, 0.72

00:17:30.460 but now conservatives 0.99

00:17:31.380 are hypocritical 0.99

00:17:32.340 to enjoy this summit. 0.96

00:17:34.640 Not true.

00:17:35.340 Not true at all.

00:17:36.360 The Olympics

00:17:36.780 was the left

00:17:37.420 cheering on brutal dictators

00:17:39.180 despite Donald Trump.

00:17:40.980 This summit

00:17:41.600 is conservatives

00:17:42.900 dealing in diplomatic flattery

00:17:45.720 in the hopes of peace

00:17:47.280 after all of the other strategies

00:17:49.340 that we have tried

00:17:50.360 for several decades

00:17:51.280 have failed.

00:17:52.360 That is a huge difference.

00:17:54.700 All of the other strategies

00:17:55.920 have failed

00:17:56.780 and this one offers

00:17:58.880 at least sort of hope

00:18:00.440 for a victory.

00:18:01.980 So you remember

00:18:02.640 also about six,

00:18:04.020 seven months ago

00:18:04.500 when Donald Trump

00:18:05.580 was threatening war,

00:18:06.840 the mainstream media

00:18:07.480 said it was horrible.

00:18:08.640 Remember he was saying,

00:18:09.680 my button is bigger

00:18:10.660 than your button.

00:18:11.560 I've got fire and fury

00:18:12.920 and nuclear weapons

00:18:14.340 that I could write.

00:18:15.000 And they said,

00:18:15.420 that's awful.

00:18:15.860 That's going to lead

00:18:16.200 to World War III.

00:18:17.240 Now Donald Trump

00:18:18.100 is doing the opposite.

00:18:18.860 He's pursuing diplomacy.

00:18:20.140 The media,

00:18:20.700 do you know what they're saying?

00:18:21.380 You're going to be shocked

00:18:21.940 to hear this.

00:18:22.460 They're saying it's horrible.

00:18:23.520 They're saying it's awful.

00:18:24.240 It's kind of,

00:18:24.680 it's weird.

00:18:25.080 It's like he's kind of

00:18:25.800 damned if he does 0.83

00:18:26.340 and damned if he doesn't. 0.99

00:18:27.260 The real answer of course 0.97

00:18:28.400 is that we have to do both.

00:18:30.240 We need to have credibility

00:18:31.880 and the credible threat

00:18:32.740 of violence

00:18:33.200 and we have to pursue diplomacy.

00:18:36.060 The media are reporting

00:18:37.080 that this is a big win for Kim.

00:18:38.540 This is the huge win.

00:18:39.660 What did he win?

00:18:41.460 Ask yourself that

00:18:42.220 because they're all

00:18:42.580 going to report that.

00:18:43.220 That's going to be the headline.

00:18:44.280 This was a huge win for Kim.

00:18:46.340 Okay, what did he win?

00:18:48.940 Did the United States

00:18:49.840 lift the economic sanctions?

00:18:51.780 No.

00:18:52.380 We have some of the

00:18:53.000 stiffest sanctions in place

00:18:55.220 that we've ever had against

00:18:56.320 North Korea.

00:18:57.660 That's the main leverage.

00:18:58.860 That's actually what's at issue.

00:19:00.160 This negotiation

00:19:00.840 is between nuclear weapons

00:19:02.640 and economic sanctions.

00:19:04.140 That's what it is.

00:19:05.340 You get to,

00:19:06.180 you can either have

00:19:07.180 a gigantic nuclear arsenal

00:19:09.300 or you can participate

00:19:10.560 in global trade.

00:19:11.560 That's it, right?

00:19:12.480 And that's,

00:19:12.800 basically we're trying to get

00:19:13.660 the North Koreans

00:19:14.380 to give up the weapons

00:19:15.200 in exchange for participating

00:19:16.660 in the international community.

00:19:18.920 We still have all the sanctions

00:19:20.460 in place.

00:19:21.180 All of that leverage

00:19:21.880 is in place.

00:19:22.520 That's why it's not

00:19:23.260 like the Iran deal.

00:19:24.140 Now, what else did he win?

00:19:25.980 He got publicity

00:19:26.640 on the world stage.

00:19:28.100 Kim gets plenty of publicity

00:19:29.440 on the world stage

00:19:30.420 all by himself.

00:19:32.100 That's totally fine.

00:19:33.140 He already got legitimacy,

00:19:34.660 by the way,

00:19:35.160 on the world stage

00:19:36.040 from April's

00:19:36.880 Panmunjom declaration

00:19:38.260 in South Korea.

00:19:39.900 That was when

00:19:40.400 they went a couple months ago

00:19:41.640 to South Korea

00:19:42.360 and declared

00:19:43.400 they're going to pursue

00:19:44.100 denuclearization

00:19:45.060 and an end to the Korean War.

00:19:46.560 So he's already got that

00:19:47.820 legitimacy

00:19:48.500 on the world stage.

00:19:49.540 That's been building

00:19:50.480 for a long time.

00:19:51.820 So what else did he get?

00:19:53.000 He got a handshake

00:19:54.100 and some flattering words

00:19:55.580 from Donald Trump.

00:19:58.100 By the way,

00:19:58.620 I don't know if you've

00:19:59.180 watched any clips

00:19:59.960 of Donald Trump

00:20:00.560 over the past four decades,

00:20:02.120 but he can be a little

00:20:03.220 hot or cold, you know,

00:20:04.220 if you're nice to him

00:20:05.360 and he's getting

00:20:06.320 what he wants.

00:20:06.900 He can be effusive.

00:20:09.000 He can be over the top

00:20:10.360 flattering.

00:20:11.000 And then the minute

00:20:11.740 you turn on him, 0.97

00:20:12.680 he just knifes you 0.99

00:20:13.980 in the back 0.99

00:20:14.520 and he kind of goes

00:20:15.360 back and forth

00:20:15.940 because that's what he does

00:20:16.800 because he's a New Yorker

00:20:18.000 and he's a real estate guy.

00:20:19.380 You know,

00:20:20.360 that's how he talks.

00:20:21.480 I don't think people

00:20:22.260 put a whole lot of stock

00:20:23.360 in some flattering words

00:20:24.520 from Donald Trump.

00:20:26.380 And also,

00:20:27.200 American leaders

00:20:27.740 have always shaken hands

00:20:29.080 with murderous dictators.

00:20:30.840 In fact,

00:20:31.020 this goes all the way back

00:20:32.020 to the founding

00:20:32.440 of the country.

00:20:33.420 Thomas Jefferson

00:20:34.180 and John Adams

00:20:34.960 made nice

00:20:36.060 with the Barbary pirates

00:20:37.640 who were enslaving

00:20:38.880 our sailors

00:20:39.680 basically at the foundation

00:20:41.080 of our country.

00:20:41.880 They made nice.

00:20:42.680 They said nice words

00:20:43.520 to them.

00:20:44.220 They made concessions

00:20:45.240 to them, right?

00:20:46.180 This has been going on

00:20:47.020 since the very beginning.

00:20:48.220 So what did Donald Trump say?

00:20:49.380 Donald Trump said

00:20:50.000 Kim is talented.

00:20:52.220 This is obviously true.

00:20:53.600 It's sort of damning

00:20:54.360 with faint praise

00:20:55.060 because Kim's talent 0.94

00:20:56.000 is at enslaving

00:20:57.040 his own people 0.99

00:20:57.680 and murdering 1.00

00:20:58.420 all of his opponents. 0.99

00:20:59.960 But it's obviously true. 0.95

00:21:01.220 You know,

00:21:01.560 the guy took power

00:21:03.220 at age 26

00:21:03.980 and managed to keep hold

00:21:05.800 over this bizarro world

00:21:07.920 communist dictatorship

00:21:09.040 long after communism

00:21:10.500 was relegated

00:21:11.400 to the ash heap of history.

00:21:13.340 But also,

00:21:13.980 what else did Donald Trump

00:21:14.860 say about Kim?

00:21:15.580 Seven months ago, 0.97

00:21:16.360 he called him short and fat.

00:21:17.800 You know, 0.93

00:21:18.640 he sent out that tweet.

00:21:20.300 He said,

00:21:20.620 oh,

00:21:20.840 I would never call

00:21:21.920 Kim Jong-un short and fat.

00:21:24.240 Actually, 0.98

00:21:24.800 by the way,

00:21:25.380 Donald Trump

00:21:25.900 called Kim Jong-un fat 0.55

00:21:27.720 in the room

00:21:28.800 at this summit.

00:21:29.840 Listen to this

00:21:30.420 and then watch the look

00:21:31.340 on Kim Jong-un's face.

00:21:32.420 Very nice.

00:21:35.540 Getting a good picture,

00:21:36.600 everybody,

00:21:37.060 so we look nice

00:21:37.980 and handsome,

00:21:39.200 thin.

00:21:39.760 Beautiful.

00:21:40.340 Perfect.

00:21:41.720 Thank you very much.

00:21:51.400 So,

00:21:52.200 for those of you

00:21:53.320 who weren't watching,

00:21:55.120 you've got to look

00:21:55.840 at Kim Jong-un's face

00:21:57.420 in this

00:21:57.740 because he says,

00:21:58.720 you know,

00:21:59.020 yeah,

00:21:59.300 we've got to look

00:22:00.080 really thin,

00:22:00.980 really nice.

00:22:01.560 The camera pans over

00:22:02.760 and Kim Jong-un

00:22:04.360 looks there

00:22:04.720 like Larry David.

00:22:05.760 You just kind of see

00:22:06.400 we're going to look

00:22:07.200 really thin

00:22:07.800 and then it goes over

00:22:08.560 and you're like,

00:22:08.980 bum,

00:22:09.340 bum,

00:22:09.780 bum,

00:22:10.200 ba-da-da-da-da-da.

00:22:11.780 It's really

00:22:12.480 perfect,

00:22:13.960 perfect way to start too

00:22:15.260 because it's not just

00:22:16.800 an offhanded thing.

00:22:18.160 That's a little dig.

00:22:19.660 That's a very Trumpy,

00:22:21.380 very New York

00:22:22.120 little dig

00:22:22.820 to say,

00:22:23.860 who's boss here,

00:22:24.740 right?

00:22:25.220 Oh,

00:22:25.480 we're going to look,

00:22:26.300 hey,

00:22:26.460 you've got to work

00:22:27.420 pretty hard

00:22:27.900 to make us look thin,

00:22:28.940 okay?

00:22:29.760 You get it,

00:22:30.980 don't you,

00:22:31.300 Kimmy?

00:22:31.620 You get it,

00:22:32.180 little Un.

00:22:32.880 I don't know what,

00:22:33.820 is it Un-ee

00:22:34.340 or whatever

00:22:35.040 Kim Jong-un's nickname is?

00:22:36.320 He probably doesn't

00:22:36.940 have a nickname.

00:22:38.260 Now,

00:22:38.660 okay,

00:22:39.000 the big concession

00:22:40.140 that is being reported

00:22:41.220 here

00:22:41.520 is that Donald Trump

00:22:43.200 said that he would

00:22:44.020 cancel a joint

00:22:44.940 military exercise

00:22:45.960 with South Korea

00:22:47.140 as a concession

00:22:48.520 toward denuclearization.

00:22:50.320 And everyone's

00:22:50.840 freaking out.

00:22:51.300 They say,

00:22:51.460 oh,

00:22:51.640 South Korea

00:22:52.060 didn't know about this.

00:22:53.120 By the way,

00:22:53.500 South Korea

00:22:53.960 issued,

00:22:55.480 the president

00:22:56.100 of South Korea

00:22:56.580 issued a statement

00:22:57.480 talking about

00:22:57.940 how wonderful

00:22:58.700 this summit was,

00:22:59.780 how great

00:23:00.240 Donald Trump did.

00:23:01.120 So,

00:23:01.440 you know,

00:23:01.820 those headlines

00:23:02.460 take them

00:23:03.380 with less than

00:23:03.960 a grain of salt.

00:23:04.880 But also,

00:23:05.780 the point that

00:23:06.360 everybody's missing here

00:23:07.360 is that the war game

00:23:08.440 that's being talked about

00:23:09.300 isn't scheduled

00:23:09.920 to happen

00:23:10.340 for a full year.

00:23:12.340 The joint military

00:23:13.260 exercise that's been

00:23:14.080 canceled

00:23:14.540 isn't scheduled

00:23:15.780 to happen

00:23:16.140 for a year.

00:23:16.860 By the way,

00:23:17.780 you'll recall

00:23:18.620 another big event

00:23:19.840 in Korea

00:23:20.300 was recently canceled

00:23:22.640 and then it

00:23:23.240 wasn't canceled.

00:23:24.240 The summit

00:23:24.860 that he said

00:23:25.480 that at,

00:23:26.020 right?

00:23:26.800 Donald Trump

00:23:27.420 said the summit's

00:23:28.020 canceled.

00:23:28.460 Too bad it's over.

00:23:29.440 And then a couple

00:23:29.880 days later,

00:23:30.420 Kim comes back

00:23:31.000 to the table.

00:23:31.460 He says,

00:23:31.740 okay,

00:23:31.900 it's back on.

00:23:32.620 This is obviously

00:23:33.520 just a negotiating

00:23:34.420 tactic.

00:23:35.240 He's obviously

00:23:35.900 saying,

00:23:36.720 look,

00:23:37.000 we're going to

00:23:37.440 try to not have

00:23:39.200 to have this

00:23:39.840 military exercise.

00:23:41.680 But then he later

00:23:42.800 said in that same

00:23:43.840 discussion,

00:23:44.500 right,

00:23:44.640 he says,

00:23:45.320 look,

00:23:45.680 in six months

00:23:46.260 we'll see if Kim

00:23:46.960 does what he says

00:23:47.560 he's going to do.

00:23:48.300 If not,

00:23:48.820 I'm going to have

00:23:49.200 to say something else.

00:23:50.140 I'm going to have

00:23:50.500 to change my mind.

00:23:51.480 He told a joke.

00:23:53.960 I'm going to come up

00:23:55.200 with an excuse

00:23:55.680 to explain it

00:23:56.440 or something.

00:23:57.280 But what he's

00:23:58.340 signaling there

00:23:59.000 is,

00:23:59.720 okay,

00:24:00.600 in a year,

00:24:01.360 I sure would like it

00:24:02.320 if we don't need

00:24:02.840 that joint military

00:24:03.620 exercise.

00:24:04.420 Because by the way,

00:24:05.160 we only need

00:24:05.660 these provocative

00:24:06.340 exercises if North

00:24:08.540 Korea is provoking 0.99

00:24:09.580 us and saying

00:24:10.120 they're going to

00:24:10.780 blow up the world

00:24:11.680 of nuclear weapons.

00:24:12.780 That's why we

00:24:13.380 have to show them

00:24:14.220 that we've still

00:24:14.740 got giant planes

00:24:15.520 that can blow 0.96

00:24:16.220 them to smithereens.

00:24:18.600 Also,

00:24:19.120 by the way,

00:24:20.240 this handshake

00:24:20.980 did not come

00:24:21.500 cost-free

00:24:21.960 to North Korea.

00:24:22.940 They're saying,

00:24:23.420 oh,

00:24:23.680 well,

00:24:23.900 it put him

00:24:24.420 on the world stage

00:24:25.100 with the president

00:24:25.640 and that's a big

00:24:27.280 propaganda win.

00:24:28.880 I don't know,

00:24:29.640 maybe.

00:24:30.200 I mean,

00:24:30.480 he's already

00:24:30.880 been elevated

00:24:31.540 to these levels

00:24:32.580 of running a country.

00:24:34.680 He does run

00:24:35.220 his own country,

00:24:35.940 right?

00:24:36.400 But this handshake

00:24:37.840 doesn't come

00:24:38.240 cost-free.

00:24:39.140 Information is

00:24:39.740 very tightly controlled

00:24:40.740 into and out

00:24:41.880 of North Korea.

00:24:42.940 Now we have

00:24:43.580 images of Kim Jong-un

00:24:44.940 palling around

00:24:45.820 with Donald Trump,

00:24:47.080 talking about

00:24:47.640 friendship between

00:24:48.760 him and Donald Trump,

00:24:49.820 a new era.

00:24:50.800 We're going to let

00:24:51.160 the past

00:24:51.600 be the past.

00:24:52.720 That undoes

00:24:53.680 a lot of

00:24:54.120 North Korean

00:24:54.600 propaganda.

00:24:55.320 There's been

00:24:55.660 propaganda throughout

00:24:57.000 North Korea

00:24:57.520 for the past

00:24:58.340 70 years

00:24:59.140 about how

00:24:59.820 America's

00:25:00.480 this evil country 0.99

00:25:02.780 and we're going to

00:25:03.300 come,

00:25:03.580 we're still at war.

00:25:04.380 They're the enemy, 0.97

00:25:05.100 they're inhuman, 0.99

00:25:07.060 and now you see

00:25:08.200 this picture

00:25:08.680 and they're

00:25:08.960 palling around,

00:25:09.760 right?

00:25:10.260 And Donald Trump

00:25:11.260 is the big guy

00:25:12.000 in the room.

00:25:12.580 Just physically,

00:25:13.300 he's this giant guy

00:25:14.500 compared to

00:25:15.140 short,

00:25:16.040 fat, 1.00

00:25:16.260 little rocket man. 0.95

00:25:17.100 He's smiling,

00:25:18.160 he's calling 0.90

00:25:18.780 Kim fat in the room. 0.93

00:25:20.560 It's hard to undo

00:25:21.440 those images too.

00:25:23.100 It's hard to undo

00:25:23.760 those images

00:25:24.240 and those cut against

00:25:24.960 a lot of North Korean

00:25:25.680 propaganda.

00:25:26.560 So even that,

00:25:27.760 which is the only

00:25:28.540 possible win

00:25:30.280 that North Korea 0.95

00:25:31.320 could say they got here,

00:25:32.460 even that is a

00:25:33.220 double-edged sword.

00:25:34.480 But this is the

00:25:35.180 big lefty argument,

00:25:36.100 right?

00:25:36.240 The big lefty argument

00:25:37.140 is optics.

00:25:38.400 They say,

00:25:38.700 oh, the optics

00:25:39.320 just didn't look good.

00:25:41.520 I don't know why

00:25:42.240 they didn't look good.

00:25:43.140 Oh, the optics

00:25:43.980 of Donald Trump

00:25:44.780 standing there

00:25:45.420 with it didn't look good.

00:25:46.420 And this is my

00:25:47.280 central argument

00:25:48.240 about the left.

00:25:49.220 The left cares

00:25:50.040 about the appearance

00:25:50.780 of the thing

00:25:51.360 rather than

00:25:52.160 the thing itself.

00:25:54.160 So, you know,

00:25:55.240 they say,

00:25:55.860 who cares if it works

00:25:56.780 in practice?

00:25:57.700 Does it work

00:25:58.480 in theory, right?

00:25:59.500 That's their argument.

00:26:01.200 Bad optics.

00:26:02.200 Bad optics for whom?

00:26:03.260 Who is this bad optics for?

00:26:04.860 This is another

00:26:05.600 central premise

00:26:06.580 of bad optics, right?

00:26:08.380 It's this prejudice

00:26:09.260 of the left.

00:26:10.180 The left thinks,

00:26:11.020 oh, we would never

00:26:11.840 be duped

00:26:12.340 because we're smart people.

00:26:13.480 But those rube, 1.00

00:26:14.520 idiot masses, 1.00

00:26:15.200 they can be duped 1.00

00:26:16.360 by optics.

00:26:18.060 That's the premise

00:26:19.320 and that's the prejudice.

00:26:21.000 Oh, it's bad optics.

00:26:22.260 What do you mean?

00:26:22.580 What are you saying

00:26:22.980 bad optics?

00:26:23.980 What you're saying

00:26:24.520 is it's not actually bad

00:26:25.660 but it looks bad 1.00

00:26:26.540 to stupid people, right? 1.00

00:26:28.680 Everybody else 1.00

00:26:29.280 is so much stupider 1.00

00:26:30.300 than we, 1.00

00:26:30.980 we blessed few

00:26:32.280 in the media,

00:26:33.340 you know,

00:26:33.600 and that's why

00:26:33.980 the bad optics matter.

00:26:35.180 That's totally wrong.

00:26:37.060 In real life,

00:26:38.580 the actual people

00:26:39.460 who get fooled

00:26:40.000 by optics

00:26:40.620 are precisely

00:26:41.360 the people

00:26:41.780 who worry

00:26:42.260 about those optics

00:26:43.080 so much of the time

00:26:44.480 in the mainstream media.

00:26:45.980 This is why

00:26:46.420 Donald Trump

00:26:46.840 communicates so well, right?

00:26:48.380 People understand

00:26:49.240 what Donald Trump means

00:26:50.260 and the mainstream media

00:26:51.480 worry about the optics.

00:26:53.140 All the theoreticians,

00:26:54.380 they worry about the optics.

00:26:55.860 You know,

00:26:56.020 Donald Trump announced

00:26:56.760 his presidency

00:26:57.360 or his presidential campaign.

00:26:59.280 He said, 0.74

00:27:00.060 Mexico's sending criminals 0.99

00:27:01.180 over the border.

00:27:02.860 Now,

00:27:03.120 the mainstream media,

00:27:04.220 the Never Trump movement,

00:27:05.240 they all worry.

00:27:06.000 They said,

00:27:06.280 oh, the optics.

00:27:07.440 People said,

00:27:07.780 what was wrong

00:27:08.280 with what Trump said?

00:27:09.080 He said,

00:27:09.500 well,

00:27:09.820 it's not that it was wrong

00:27:11.020 exactly,

00:27:11.900 it's that the optics

00:27:12.700 were bad.

00:27:13.740 People knew what he meant.

00:27:15.460 Americans knew what he meant.

00:27:16.580 They are sending criminals

00:27:17.380 across the border.

00:27:18.560 Not everybody's a criminal,

00:27:19.780 you know,

00:27:20.000 but they are.

00:27:20.380 There are a lot of crime

00:27:21.140 comes across the border

00:27:22.520 from Mexico.

00:27:23.520 First of all,

00:27:23.940 by definition,

00:27:24.600 illegal immigration is a crime. 0.99

00:27:26.020 Also a ton of drugs.

00:27:26.920 Also a ton of gang members.

00:27:27.900 Also MS-13.

00:27:29.160 Speaking of MS-13,

00:27:30.320 that animals remark,

00:27:31.700 he said,

00:27:32.300 MS-13,

00:27:33.040 they're animals.

00:27:33.620 And they said,

00:27:34.300 oh, the optics.

00:27:35.640 Oh, the optics.

00:27:36.180 It sounds like

00:27:36.740 he's calling immigrants

00:27:37.600 animals.

00:27:40.720 No, it doesn't.

00:27:41.440 He didn't say that.

00:27:42.260 Well, yeah,

00:27:42.520 but it's maybe 1.00

00:27:43.180 idiots would think that. 1.00

00:27:44.560 Right. 1.00

00:27:44.800 But you,

00:27:45.600 mainstream media, 1.00

00:27:46.300 you are the idiots. 1.00

00:27:47.580 The people are not the idiots. 1.00

00:27:49.700 You are the idiots. 1.00

00:27:50.960 And finally, 1.00

00:27:52.760 the final,

00:27:53.760 because we'll have to move on.

00:27:54.820 We've got to get Sean Spicer on. 1.00

00:27:55.980 The final stupid media narrative here 1.00

00:27:58.120 is that this was reckless, 1.00

00:28:00.740 impulsive.

00:28:01.480 It was driven by ego

00:28:02.660 and narcissism. 0.74

00:28:03.900 It's reckless.

00:28:04.620 What was he doing?

00:28:06.060 Donald Trump has been

00:28:06.880 explaining this for decades.

00:28:08.140 He's been talking about

00:28:08.760 doing this for decades.

00:28:09.560 Here's Donald Trump

00:28:10.200 explaining precisely

00:28:11.060 what happened in 1999.

00:28:13.960 North Korea is totally 0.62

00:28:15.000 out of control.

00:28:15.840 And would you rather

00:28:16.520 have a very,

00:28:18.020 very serious chat

00:28:19.120 with them now?

00:28:20.560 And if necessary,

00:28:21.920 you might have to do

00:28:22.940 something fairly drastic.

00:28:24.500 Or would you rather

00:28:25.340 have to go after them

00:28:26.380 in five years

00:28:27.020 when they have more

00:28:28.180 nuclear warheads

00:28:29.140 and missiles than we do?

00:28:30.400 You go in,

00:28:31.080 you start negotiating.

00:28:32.180 And if you don't stop them

00:28:33.280 from doing it,

00:28:33.720 you will have to take

00:28:34.600 rather drastic actions.

00:28:35.920 Because if you don't

00:28:36.560 take them now,

00:28:37.620 you're going to be

00:28:38.040 in awfully big trouble

00:28:39.120 in five years from now

00:28:40.080 when they have more

00:28:40.660 missiles than we do.

00:28:41.920 We're a bunch of saps. 0.64

00:28:43.380 What if the North Koreans 0.99

00:28:44.500 don't play ball,

00:28:46.080 develop a nuclear capability,

00:28:48.760 go forward with

00:28:50.000 their missile development?

00:28:51.880 Does the United States

00:28:52.900 act unilaterally?

00:28:53.920 Excuse me.

00:28:54.440 If spoken to correctly,

00:28:56.860 correctly,

00:28:57.880 they will play ball.

00:28:59.500 Look on another front

00:29:00.540 what happened recently

00:29:01.640 where Clinton has asked

00:29:03.600 our trade,

00:29:04.440 our so-called trade partners,

00:29:05.580 to come so we can

00:29:06.520 renegotiate some fairness

00:29:07.740 into trade, right?

00:29:09.220 They don't show up.

00:29:10.200 They say we're not coming.

00:29:11.500 Why would Germany show up? 0.97

00:29:12.820 Why would France show up?

00:29:13.900 Why would Japan show up? 0.99

00:29:15.220 They've been ripping

00:29:15.820 this off for years.

00:29:16.860 So why would they come here? 0.98

00:29:18.260 It's ridiculous. 0.97

00:29:20.200 It's interesting that

00:29:21.700 these old clips

00:29:22.980 do shed a lot of light

00:29:23.900 on Donald Trump's thinking

00:29:24.880 because he's thinking

00:29:25.960 about this.

00:29:26.660 Essentially,

00:29:27.060 he pivots at the end,

00:29:27.640 he's just talking about trade,

00:29:29.100 right?

00:29:29.340 He goes from talking about Korea

00:29:30.300 to talking about trade

00:29:30.960 because he views these things

00:29:32.080 as trade negotiations,

00:29:33.520 as business negotiations.

00:29:34.660 And this is Donald Trump's strength.

00:29:36.600 First of all,

00:29:37.160 what else are we going to do, right?

00:29:38.480 These other strategies

00:29:39.400 haven't worked.

00:29:40.780 So why not give this a shot?

00:29:42.580 What's the loss?

00:29:43.400 The loss is nothing

00:29:45.600 that Kim doesn't

00:29:46.540 basically already have

00:29:47.620 and nothing that can't

00:29:48.280 be revoked.

00:29:49.020 But this is Donald Trump's strength.

00:29:51.600 Donald Trump negotiates

00:29:52.620 with the worst people

00:29:53.580 on earth, right?

00:29:55.300 The idea to not meet with Kim

00:29:57.960 is one of fear.

00:29:59.240 Oh, I fear.

00:29:59.880 What if this may lead

00:30:01.000 to this optic

00:30:01.680 and that doesn't...

00:30:02.700 Just do it.

00:30:04.140 Just do it.

00:30:04.780 Just do it now.

00:30:06.260 And then if that doesn't work,

00:30:07.620 we'll do something else, okay?

00:30:08.580 Just don't be afraid.

00:30:09.820 Stop being so fearful

00:30:10.680 and just try something.

00:30:12.240 But this is Trump's strength.

00:30:13.620 He negotiates

00:30:14.140 with the worst people on earth.

00:30:15.560 These real estate guys

00:30:16.780 in New York, 0.96

00:30:17.560 mobsters, 0.74

00:30:18.180 literally mobsters.

00:30:19.060 If you want to do

00:30:19.540 New York real estate,

00:30:20.280 you have to talk to the mob

00:30:21.180 and you certainly did

00:30:22.220 in the 70s and 80s

00:30:23.260 before Rudy Giuliani,

00:30:25.040 Donald Trump's lawyer,

00:30:25.880 cracked the mob in New York.

00:30:28.320 Reality television,

00:30:29.560 I mean TV,

00:30:30.260 those people are...

00:30:31.080 Trust me,

00:30:31.380 I see them all the time

00:30:32.200 in Hollywood. 0.96

00:30:33.060 They're like the worst people 0.99

00:30:34.180 on earth. 0.98

00:30:34.960 And politics, right?

00:30:36.440 So he deals with these people

00:30:38.340 and he's negotiating

00:30:39.400 in a way that you would talk

00:30:43.060 to thugs,

00:30:43.900 in the way that you would

00:30:44.480 talk to gangsters.

00:30:45.640 And that's what literal gangsters

00:30:47.520 are in New York real estate

00:30:48.480 and it's what Kim Jong-un is. 0.99

00:30:49.900 He's a gangster 0.99

00:30:50.520 and Trump is talking to him 1.00

00:30:51.600 like a gangster 0.82

00:30:52.180 and we'll see what comes from it.

00:30:53.840 It's certainly a step

00:30:57.100 in the right direction.

00:30:57.820 To call it an amazing win

00:31:00.440 is obviously premature

00:31:02.100 and to say that this is possibly

00:31:04.720 the end of the world

00:31:05.420 is also clearly wrong.

00:31:07.260 This was a step

00:31:07.800 in the right direction.

00:31:08.700 If it goes in the wrong direction,

00:31:10.280 we'll pull it back.

00:31:11.500 Nothing lost.

00:31:12.720 Those sanctions

00:31:13.220 are still in place.

00:31:14.380 We still have the position

00:31:15.180 of strength.

00:31:15.800 We've got to bring Sean Spicer on

00:31:16.920 to talk about all this 0.77

00:31:17.780 ridiculous media spin.

00:31:19.220 I spoke with Sean last night. 0.59

00:31:21.200 We're going to have him

00:31:22.440 after the break,

00:31:23.140 but I'm sorry

00:31:23.580 if you're on Facebook

00:31:24.180 and YouTube.

00:31:25.560 Sorry, guys.

00:31:26.260 I don't know what to tell you.

00:31:27.320 You've got to go to

00:31:27.720 DailyWire.com right now.

00:31:29.340 DailyWire.com.

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00:31:42.240 Many are called,

00:31:42.860 but few are chosen.

00:31:45.200 And also today,

00:31:46.380 we've got a great show

00:31:47.320 coming up later on today.

00:31:48.700 It's going to be

00:31:49.140 a Father's Day special

00:31:50.380 broadcast on the Daily Wire.

00:31:52.440 It's going to be

00:31:53.080 the big boss,

00:31:54.220 Ben Shapiro,

00:31:54.800 Andrew Klavan,

00:31:55.700 leader of the multiverse,

00:31:56.900 myself.

00:31:57.800 We're going to have

00:31:58.380 Zoe Rachel,

00:31:59.600 a longtime friend

00:32:01.020 of all of us

00:32:01.600 and of the show,

00:32:02.340 and international television

00:32:03.780 and film star,

00:32:04.480 Nick Searcy,

00:32:05.300 Peabody Award winning.

00:32:06.260 We're going to all be there

00:32:07.020 hanging around,

00:32:08.160 smoking cigars,

00:32:08.920 drinking scotch,

00:32:09.460 and talking about

00:32:10.320 the importance of fatherhood.

00:32:11.800 That's going to be on

00:32:12.340 later today.

00:32:12.860 Be sure to tune in for that.

00:32:14.740 Okay, we're going to

00:32:15.300 bring on Sean Spicer,

00:32:16.180 then we'll tie this

00:32:17.080 all back together

00:32:18.080 on this day in history,

00:32:19.240 but we'll be right back.

00:32:20.340 Okay, so I talked

00:32:33.720 to Sean yesterday.

00:32:34.540 Sean Spicer,

00:32:35.480 really cool guy,

00:32:36.500 former spokesman

00:32:37.740 for the president,

00:32:38.800 White House press secretary.

00:32:40.000 He's got a new book

00:32:40.740 coming out called

00:32:41.520 The Briefing,

00:32:42.720 and I usually read the book

00:32:44.300 before the interview.

00:32:45.080 The book,

00:32:45.440 it really is not out yet.

00:32:46.620 I don't have an advanced copy of it.

00:32:47.940 It's coming out next month,

00:32:48.880 but talking to Sean,

00:32:50.560 I've talked to Sean

00:32:51.000 about what's in the book.

00:32:51.880 It sounds really interesting.

00:32:52.900 I can't wait to read it.

00:32:54.200 By the way,

00:32:54.800 that Father's Day special

00:32:55.600 is going to be at

00:32:56.120 4 p.m. Pacific today

00:32:57.780 and 7 p.m. Eastern.

00:32:59.420 Be sure to tune in for that.

00:33:01.140 And here's our talk

00:33:02.640 with Sean Spicer.

00:33:03.940 Sean, thank you for being here.

00:33:06.100 Thanks for having me.

00:33:06.920 So you had the hardest job

00:33:09.120 on planet Earth,

00:33:10.680 a White House press secretary,

00:33:12.600 spokesman for the

00:33:13.640 president of the United States.

00:33:15.520 How would you rate

00:33:16.600 your tenure at the White House?

00:33:18.400 You can be a letter grade,

00:33:19.820 numerical,

00:33:20.560 Siskel and Ebert,

00:33:21.280 thumbs up.

00:33:22.000 How do you think that you did

00:33:23.220 looking back on it now?

00:33:25.480 You know,

00:33:26.040 I think that

00:33:27.000 considering the nature

00:33:28.500 of Trump's presidency,

00:33:29.740 that he was a disruptor,

00:33:31.400 that this is a guy

00:33:32.160 who didn't come at this

00:33:32.920 with a group of political loyalists

00:33:35.060 that a lot of people

00:33:36.500 have had in the past,

00:33:37.480 I think we did really well.

00:33:38.820 When you look at

00:33:39.400 what we accomplished

00:33:40.200 in the first six months

00:33:41.220 and the groundwork

00:33:42.560 that that laid

00:33:43.380 to things like tax reform,

00:33:45.360 you know,

00:33:45.800 I think it really was

00:33:47.220 a disruptive time,

00:33:48.380 but it also was

00:33:48.960 a productive time.

00:33:49.980 Absolutely.

00:33:50.580 I certainly agree with that.

00:33:52.060 Can you take us

00:33:52.840 behind the scenes

00:33:53.920 a little bit?

00:33:54.600 I've always wondered

00:33:55.420 about that job

00:33:56.160 more than the chief of staff,

00:33:58.120 more than even the president,

00:34:00.280 what it is like

00:34:01.220 in that pressure cooker

00:34:02.060 for the press secretary.

00:34:03.480 What does a typical day look like?

00:34:05.660 It's a great question

00:34:06.860 because I think

00:34:08.680 there's a question of

00:34:09.740 what does the job

00:34:10.620 normally look like

00:34:11.460 and what does it look like

00:34:12.480 under a Trump administration?

00:34:13.680 Because one of the things

00:34:15.340 that I did

00:34:16.020 is really speak

00:34:17.440 to a lot of my predecessors

00:34:18.620 and try to understand

00:34:19.800 the battle rhythm of the day,

00:34:21.160 what happens,

00:34:22.160 the process

00:34:23.020 that they all undertook.

00:34:24.260 And that was vastly different

00:34:25.380 under Trump

00:34:26.020 because,

00:34:26.720 you know,

00:34:27.940 for the most part

00:34:28.860 throughout my career

00:34:29.600 and throughout the career

00:34:30.180 of most press people,

00:34:31.160 you're advising

00:34:32.180 the principal

00:34:33.120 as far as what to say,

00:34:34.520 when to say it,

00:34:35.260 and, you know,

00:34:35.960 even what platform to use.

00:34:37.460 With Trump,

00:34:38.420 he's pretty much

00:34:39.440 the lead

00:34:39.860 on a lot of those things

00:34:40.800 and that's a very

00:34:41.520 different dynamic.

00:34:42.360 And when it came

00:34:44.080 to the briefing,

00:34:45.160 obviously the intensity

00:34:46.380 and scrutiny

00:34:47.260 during the Trump administration

00:34:48.600 was vastly different

00:34:50.240 than it has been

00:34:51.120 under any previous administration.

00:34:53.040 And so,

00:34:53.720 the job in itself

00:34:54.660 is very,

00:34:55.340 very different

00:34:55.860 than it was in the past.

00:34:59.740 And part of the,

00:35:00.820 you know,

00:35:01.060 you mentioned the book earlier,

00:35:02.780 I walked through

00:35:05.180 a day in the life,

00:35:06.120 what it used to be like

00:35:07.140 to get ready every day.

00:35:08.200 And the only way

00:35:09.040 to really,

00:35:09.680 you know,

00:35:09.840 the short end of it

00:35:10.540 is it was like

00:35:11.240 getting ready

00:35:12.400 for a final exam

00:35:13.460 every day.

00:35:14.840 Well, you know,

00:35:15.560 I really look forward

00:35:16.540 to reading it.

00:35:17.400 I always try to read the book

00:35:18.920 before the interview,

00:35:19.880 but I don't have a copy yet,

00:35:21.060 so I'm eagerly looking forward

00:35:22.740 because it sounds really good.

00:35:24.780 And I agree,

00:35:25.480 obviously,

00:35:26.420 the Trump administration

00:35:27.220 is just a different beast

00:35:28.920 than these previous administrations.

00:35:30.720 I thought you handled

00:35:32.020 yourself wonderfully.

00:35:33.260 I was a big cheerleader

00:35:35.100 of Sean Spicer

00:35:37.040 and Sean Spicer.

00:35:37.960 I knew there was one.

00:35:39.080 I knew there was one out there.

00:35:40.460 Yeah, right.

00:35:41.100 You know,

00:35:41.280 it's funny.

00:35:42.020 Can I tell you a funny story

00:35:43.360 that you just brought that up?

00:35:45.060 I've been at an event

00:35:47.300 for my son

00:35:48.260 in the last hour or so,

00:35:50.100 and I walked in

00:35:51.200 and one of the other parents said,

00:35:52.800 gosh,

00:35:53.660 that tweet you put out

00:35:54.880 about Trudeau

00:35:55.560 was hysterical.

00:35:56.920 And I said,

00:35:57.920 are you being serious?

00:35:59.520 Because you know

00:36:00.240 that's not me, right?

00:36:01.660 And they were like,

00:36:02.320 what do you mean?

00:36:03.620 I was like,

00:36:04.260 you're following

00:36:05.100 a parody account.

00:36:06.200 That is,

00:36:07.580 a lot of people will,

00:36:09.080 I'll see those tweets

00:36:09.960 all the time.

00:36:10.620 And I think the reason

00:36:11.540 the parody works so well

00:36:12.820 is because the account

00:36:15.540 of Sean Spicier

00:36:16.680 or the,

00:36:17.540 you know,

00:36:17.720 the spicier version,

00:36:19.220 it actually does channel

00:36:20.760 a lot of that spirit

00:36:22.320 you brought to it.

00:36:23.240 I mean,

00:36:23.520 I actually always,

00:36:24.420 I always felt you were,

00:36:25.640 I felt you were far kinder 0.99

00:36:27.580 to those blood sucking leeches 0.98

00:36:29.300 in the media 0.99

00:36:29.900 than they deserved it all.

00:36:31.440 I thought,

00:36:31.860 you know,

00:36:32.080 you handled them very well.

00:36:33.940 Do you have any regrets about them?

00:36:36.640 I found they would always try

00:36:37.900 to gin up these fake gaffes about you.

00:36:40.740 Like,

00:36:41.040 you know,

00:36:41.400 you were lost in the bushes

00:36:42.660 or something,

00:36:43.440 or you made a completely

00:36:44.940 accurate statement

00:36:46.080 about the number of people

00:36:47.340 who viewed the inauguration

00:36:48.360 and they would pretend

00:36:49.360 like you were saying

00:36:50.160 these crazy things.

00:36:51.420 Do you have regrets about that?

00:36:52.740 Do you wish you had,

00:36:53.620 I don't know,

00:36:54.740 been harder on them or something?

00:36:56.780 Well,

00:36:57.080 there's a lot of interactions

00:36:58.200 that,

00:36:59.080 that I've had,

00:37:00.060 you know,

00:37:00.420 whether it's personal

00:37:01.240 or professional,

00:37:01.820 when I'll look back and say,

00:37:03.280 you know,

00:37:03.560 could I have been better at that?

00:37:04.600 And I think just because

00:37:05.640 there,

00:37:06.640 you know,

00:37:06.840 it's a lot of the advice

00:37:08.340 that I look back on

00:37:09.940 was stuff that,

00:37:10.720 you know,

00:37:11.120 most of our moms teach us. 1.00

00:37:12.540 Right.

00:37:12.740 Two wrongs don't rake a right

00:37:13.940 just because they said

00:37:14.720 it doesn't mean you do too.

00:37:15.940 And,

00:37:16.040 and,

00:37:16.640 and so there were times

00:37:17.640 when I think,

00:37:18.480 um,

00:37:19.340 I,

00:37:19.600 I probably let them get a, 0.70

00:37:21.600 let them get the better of me

00:37:22.680 once in a while,

00:37:23.400 or I,

00:37:24.160 we escalated too quickly,

00:37:25.260 but you're right.

00:37:26.420 I mean,

00:37:26.580 there were times when I,

00:37:27.440 I looked at and I thought to myself,

00:37:28.740 wait a second,

00:37:29.160 the job of the press secretary

00:37:30.340 is to speak on behalf

00:37:31.880 of the president

00:37:32.400 of the administration

00:37:33.080 of the American people.

00:37:34.340 Uh,

00:37:34.660 and it was too often

00:37:35.380 that I had to talk about myself

00:37:37.000 and that's,

00:37:37.580 that's not a good place

00:37:38.780 to be as a press person.

00:37:40.200 Right.

00:37:40.640 And well,

00:37:40.940 this gets to a real question

00:37:42.520 because there seems to be

00:37:44.040 this media crack up

00:37:45.480 in the last few years.

00:37:46.640 In the old days,

00:37:47.640 the networks dominated.

00:37:49.160 Republicans had to play

00:37:50.200 with these guys,

00:37:50.860 even though they were

00:37:51.380 quite hostile.

00:37:52.560 Now we have all

00:37:53.100 of these other outlets.

00:37:54.040 We have Twitter,

00:37:54.520 we have live streaming.

00:37:55.780 You've been in

00:37:56.720 Republican communications

00:37:57.860 for a long time.

00:37:59.220 You know,

00:37:59.420 people know you primarily

00:38:00.280 as the press secretary.

00:38:01.820 You were communications

00:38:03.040 director for the RNC,

00:38:04.640 House Budget Committee,

00:38:05.760 chief strategist

00:38:06.400 of the RNC.

00:38:07.080 You've known them

00:38:07.800 for a long time.

00:38:09.280 Uh,

00:38:09.460 this question has two parts.

00:38:11.180 Should Republicans

00:38:11.980 still talk to outlets

00:38:13.400 that are hostile to them,

00:38:14.760 the New York Times,

00:38:15.820 or should we,

00:38:17.060 uh,

00:38:17.300 tell these lefty mouthpieces

00:38:18.920 to go pound sand?

00:38:20.940 And second,

00:38:21.760 are there any good journalists

00:38:23.200 that you would still recommend?

00:38:24.720 These guys are doing hard work.

00:38:26.500 They're not just partisan hacks.

00:38:27.940 Two great questions.

00:38:31.600 On the first one,

00:38:32.720 yes,

00:38:33.040 we should talk to them

00:38:33.960 because you don't

00:38:34.940 cede ground.

00:38:35.700 You don't grow the audience.

00:38:36.960 You don't allow people 1.00

00:38:38.040 to hear conservative ideas

00:38:39.460 if you ignore them.

00:38:40.960 I believe,

00:38:41.920 just like,

00:38:42.560 you know,

00:38:42.940 that if you look at

00:38:43.960 what the church does

00:38:45.120 in terms of missionaries,

00:38:46.280 the idea is to go out there

00:38:47.780 and to spread the good news.

00:38:49.160 And I think if you are

00:38:50.000 a social and fiscal conservative,

00:38:51.600 then part of what you want to do

00:38:53.320 is go out there

00:38:53.840 and explain to people

00:38:54.520 because what happens

00:38:55.500 more than anything

00:38:56.560 is a lot of these

00:38:57.920 mainstream outlets

00:38:58.720 either,

00:38:59.180 you know,

00:39:00.120 cover conservatives

00:39:00.920 in a very nasty way

00:39:01.920 or don't cover issues

00:39:02.840 of importance.

00:39:03.980 And so by being out there,

00:39:05.840 it allows people

00:39:06.540 who might be watching

00:39:07.300 and say,

00:39:07.720 hey,

00:39:07.800 I never thought of that issue

00:39:09.140 in that way

00:39:09.800 or I never knew

00:39:10.960 that I shared the views

00:39:12.660 of,

00:39:13.020 you know,

00:39:13.180 a particular person

00:39:14.020 who might be espousing them

00:39:15.060 on a policy

00:39:16.420 or what have you.

00:39:17.100 And so I think

00:39:18.040 it's a great way

00:39:18.580 to grow the movement.

00:39:19.760 And secondly,

00:39:20.620 yeah,

00:39:20.780 there are a lot

00:39:21.340 of great reporters

00:39:22.040 in that briefing room.

00:39:24.100 And,

00:39:24.380 you know,

00:39:24.860 the interesting thing is,

00:39:26.520 and I actually have

00:39:27.380 a part in the book

00:39:28.200 where I talk about this,

00:39:29.460 where there are

00:39:30.200 some really good reporters

00:39:31.320 at a lot of reputable outlets.

00:39:33.080 It's not,

00:39:33.920 it's not always just

00:39:35.100 the broad brush,

00:39:36.200 the Washington Post,

00:39:37.120 the New York Times

00:39:37.720 or whatever.

00:39:38.340 There are good reporters

00:39:39.400 at a lot of these institutions.

00:39:41.900 And what I want to do

00:39:42.980 is make sure 0.85

00:39:43.420 that we call balls

00:39:44.220 and strikes better,

00:39:45.320 that we call out

00:39:45.960 the bad reporters

00:39:46.860 and then we praise

00:39:48.220 the good ones.

00:39:48.800 Because when we just say

00:39:50.280 fake news

00:39:51.180 or the New York Times

00:39:52.780 is horrible,

00:39:53.820 then we sort of dismiss

00:39:55.700 the ones that are actually

00:39:56.680 doing a decent job.

00:39:58.260 And I think what has

00:39:59.160 really killed things

00:40:00.000 is two things.

00:40:00.660 One is social media,

00:40:02.060 where reporters

00:40:02.840 almost act as if

00:40:04.340 people don't have

00:40:05.100 Twitter accounts themselves

00:40:06.340 because they express

00:40:07.520 these opinions

00:40:08.180 and things

00:40:08.940 that really expose

00:40:11.160 their liberal bias.

00:40:12.820 And second

00:40:13.360 is the need

00:40:14.320 for a lot of these reporters

00:40:15.540 to get on television

00:40:16.660 will make them say

00:40:17.940 and do outrageous things

00:40:19.380 to sort of

00:40:20.360 get themselves booked.

00:40:22.420 That makes perfect sense.

00:40:23.880 That, you know,

00:40:25.220 the sensationalism

00:40:26.600 of it,

00:40:27.740 obviously,

00:40:28.440 not every reporter

00:40:29.620 is just Jim Acosta

00:40:31.060 who I believe

00:40:31.700 is played by Will Ferrell

00:40:33.060 these days on television.

00:40:35.160 You know,

00:40:35.500 there are people

00:40:36.320 at these outlets

00:40:37.280 who aren't just the editors.

00:40:38.580 They're all doing work.

00:40:39.740 And I agree.

00:40:40.300 I think it might be

00:40:41.140 something about

00:40:41.620 our Catholicism

00:40:42.760 that we just are

00:40:43.420 perfectly willing

00:40:44.500 to talk to anybody

00:40:45.800 and go into

00:40:46.820 the belly of the beast.

00:40:47.740 But I have taken

00:40:48.960 too much of your time.

00:40:49.760 You've got to run.

00:40:50.700 You are with your family

00:40:51.860 right now.

00:40:52.400 That's another important thing.

00:40:53.340 Thank you.

00:40:53.460 You know,

00:40:53.700 the funny thing is

00:40:54.280 after reading your book,

00:40:55.880 I really felt inspired.

00:40:58.240 You know,

00:40:58.380 people ask me all the time,

00:40:59.220 why did I want to write a book?

00:41:00.000 And I just felt

00:41:00.660 your book really laid out

00:41:02.800 a lot of the policies

00:41:03.880 that I think were so key

00:41:05.880 to the Democrats'

00:41:07.540 current state of being

00:41:08.340 that I just needed

00:41:09.300 to kind of put

00:41:09.840 my thoughts to paper.

00:41:11.340 But I think it was

00:41:12.460 a lot more writing

00:41:13.420 than you probably did, though.

00:41:15.340 Well, perhaps,

00:41:16.080 although I did a lot of research

00:41:17.480 and I will say, Sean,

00:41:18.560 I always knew you were

00:41:19.260 a gentleman,

00:41:21.240 but now I know

00:41:22.040 that you're a scholar as well.

00:41:23.560 So I look forward

00:41:24.380 to reading yours.

00:41:26.360 There were a couple.

00:41:27.300 At some point,

00:41:28.020 we have more time.

00:41:28.640 I want to debate

00:41:29.300 a couple of the issues

00:41:30.460 that you raised in there.

00:41:31.940 Right around the 200-page mark,

00:41:33.500 I thought you got into

00:41:34.180 some pretty meaty stuff.

00:41:35.300 It does.

00:41:35.960 It's an esoteric reading, too.

00:41:37.940 So we'll really have to go

00:41:39.140 into the different layers

00:41:40.100 that we have there.

00:41:41.160 But I suppose that'll be

00:41:42.040 for a future episode.

00:41:43.460 Sean, thank you so much

00:41:44.640 for being here.

00:41:45.180 I really appreciate it.

00:41:46.360 And I'll talk to you next time.

00:41:47.640 You bet.

00:41:48.000 Thank you.

00:41:49.720 Gotta love that guy.

00:41:51.060 So the book, by the way,

00:41:53.140 is The Briefing.

00:41:54.320 I look forward to reading it.

00:41:55.880 I've got a pre-order

00:41:57.500 and it's going to be great,

00:41:59.700 I'm sure,

00:42:00.240 because Sean Spicer

00:42:01.620 was there at the moment,

00:42:03.420 you know,

00:42:03.680 at this moment

00:42:04.360 of this colossal

00:42:06.320 new administration coming in.

00:42:08.320 And he dealt with the press

00:42:09.080 really, really well.

00:42:10.820 You know, it's funny

00:42:11.560 because a lot of people

00:42:12.440 criticize him

00:42:13.000 for being too harsh

00:42:13.660 on the press.

00:42:14.320 I think he was far

00:42:15.000 too nice to them.

00:42:16.680 But I thought he did

00:42:17.800 a really good job.

00:42:18.680 Look forward to reading the book.

00:42:20.080 Before I let you go,

00:42:21.240 we only have a couple minutes

00:42:22.060 here at the end,

00:42:22.580 I do want to point out

00:42:23.400 something on this day

00:42:24.080 in history

00:42:24.540 related to this Kim summit

00:42:26.160 because people aren't

00:42:27.560 drawing the connection

00:42:28.500 and it's because

00:42:29.420 as with so many things

00:42:31.980 that come around

00:42:32.960 with Donald Trump,

00:42:33.780 they're looking just

00:42:34.740 at the surface level

00:42:35.700 and they're not seeing

00:42:36.960 all the little jokes

00:42:38.000 and all of the little coincidences

00:42:39.440 that happen underneath it.

00:42:41.220 So let's get to

00:42:42.280 this day in history.

00:42:43.660 On this day in history

00:42:47.660 in 1987,

00:42:49.840 Ronald Reagan

00:42:51.220 went to Berlin

00:42:52.680 and gave a very famous speech

00:42:55.220 to a Soviet dictator,

00:42:56.420 Mickey Gorbachev,

00:42:57.320 to tear down this wall.

00:42:59.480 The Kim summit

00:43:00.080 took place

00:43:00.780 on the same day.

00:43:02.920 Now it seems like

00:43:03.420 it was yesterday

00:43:03.940 because, you know,

00:43:04.780 it was in Singapore

00:43:05.300 and we're here

00:43:05.980 in the United States,

00:43:07.420 but this was June 12th.

00:43:09.280 So the Kim summit

00:43:10.160 took place on June 12th.

00:43:11.500 Tear down this wall

00:43:12.580 took place

00:43:13.140 on June 12th.

00:43:14.540 This could be a coincidence,

00:43:15.920 but it's a pretty big coincidence

00:43:16.880 and you've got to remember

00:43:17.720 the people around

00:43:18.500 Donald Trump,

00:43:19.380 the people setting up

00:43:20.320 this summit

00:43:23.020 with North Korean dictator

00:43:25.540 Kim Jong-un,

00:43:27.040 these are pretty

00:43:27.820 sophisticated people

00:43:28.920 who've been around politics

00:43:30.200 for a very long time.

00:43:31.460 Now I think Donald Trump

00:43:32.320 is pretty smart as well,

00:43:34.060 but a lot of people,

00:43:34.980 they say, 0.99

00:43:35.220 oh, he's a dummy. 1.00

00:43:35.940 He's a dummy. 1.00

00:43:36.760 They don't, 1.00

00:43:37.280 they fail to realize,

00:43:38.320 by the way,

00:43:38.740 that all the really

00:43:39.540 successful presidents 0.98

00:43:40.360 have played dummies. 0.97

00:43:41.560 Ronald Reagan did it. 0.83

00:43:43.280 Bill Clinton actually did it.

00:43:44.960 George Bush did it.

00:43:46.580 They forget that part.

00:43:48.100 But even if you think

00:43:48.960 that Donald Trump 0.99

00:43:49.460 is a dummy, 1.00

00:43:50.020 all the people around him 0.98

00:43:50.820 are pretty sophisticated.

00:43:51.780 Mike Pompeo,

00:43:52.880 John Bolton,

00:43:53.500 these are guys

00:43:54.220 who were around

00:43:55.280 during the Reagan years

00:43:56.180 and it's really hard

00:43:57.520 for me to believe

00:43:58.000 that that is a coincidence.

00:43:59.340 And it's,

00:43:59.660 by the way,

00:44:00.080 both of those speeches,

00:44:01.220 the summit

00:44:01.760 and the tear down

00:44:02.440 this wall speech

00:44:02.980 were about the exact same thing.

00:44:05.200 It was an appeal

00:44:05.980 to renew arms reduction talks.

00:44:08.580 Here is Ronald Reagan

00:44:09.360 at the Berlin Wall.

00:44:11.040 There is one sign

00:44:12.600 the Soviets can make 0.98

00:44:14.120 that would be unmistakable,

00:44:15.880 that would advance

00:44:17.800 dramatically the cause

00:44:20.080 of freedom and peace.

00:44:22.760 General Secretary Gorbachev,

00:44:25.160 if you seek peace,

00:44:28.020 if you seek prosperity

00:44:29.480 for the Soviet Union

00:44:30.800 and Eastern Europe,

00:44:32.860 if you seek liberalization,

00:44:34.620 come here to this gate.

00:44:38.040 Mr. Gorbachev,

00:44:39.760 open this gate.

00:44:41.340 Mr. Gorbachev,

00:45:02.200 Mr. Gorbachev,

00:45:07.580 tear down this wall.

00:45:10.180 What a speech.

00:45:15.460 And a line written,

00:45:16.480 by the way,

00:45:16.860 I think,

00:45:17.140 by Peter Robinson,

00:45:18.260 who also has

00:45:19.020 the great show

00:45:19.740 on Common Knowledge.

00:45:21.560 Tear down this wall.

00:45:22.840 Ronald Reagan

00:45:23.260 applies two techniques here.

00:45:25.060 He's harsh there,

00:45:26.160 right?

00:45:26.400 Tear down this wall.

00:45:27.380 Tear down this wall.

00:45:28.100 He's also nice.

00:45:28.880 If you seek peace.

00:45:29.960 And he was nice

00:45:30.600 to Gorbachev,

00:45:31.340 he would flatter him.

00:45:32.320 He would shake his hand.

00:45:33.260 He would pat his back.

00:45:34.180 Here's just a little clip

00:45:35.220 I pulled up on the internet

00:45:36.280 of Ronald Reagan

00:45:37.080 flattering dear old Gorby

00:45:38.700 and the significance of that.

00:45:40.480 Today,

00:45:41.120 we are commemorating

00:45:42.640 an event that is

00:45:43.600 highly symbolic.

00:45:45.040 Ronald Reagan

00:45:45.740 and Mikhail Gorbachev

00:45:47.120 shook hands

00:45:48.420 on the step

00:45:49.380 you see behind you.

00:45:51.320 It had all started

00:45:52.620 right here

00:45:53.260 with a handshake

00:45:54.560 that changed history.

00:45:56.700 They shook hands.

00:45:57.920 This is, you know,

00:45:58.640 when we look back

00:45:59.660 at history,

00:46:00.240 we sometimes remember it

00:46:01.420 in a very distorted way.

00:46:03.180 We just remember

00:46:03.720 Reagan bearing down,

00:46:05.200 tear down this wall.

00:46:06.300 But there was also

00:46:07.500 the friendliness

00:46:09.540 to Mikhail Gorbachev.

00:46:10.960 We just remember him saying,

00:46:12.100 we're going to build up

00:46:12.740 Star Wars,

00:46:13.460 SDI,

00:46:14.140 we're going to run you 0.97

00:46:14.820 out of the arms race,

00:46:15.560 right?

00:46:15.760 We forget that Ronald Reagan

00:46:17.120 was begging for the abolition

00:46:18.600 of nuclear weapons

00:46:19.540 with the leader

00:46:20.880 of the Soviet Union,

00:46:22.080 stormed out of a meeting

00:46:23.060 because they couldn't

00:46:24.680 abolish nuclear weapons.

00:46:26.580 There are two sides of this,

00:46:27.780 and there have to be two sides

00:46:28.960 to these negotiations.

00:46:30.320 The harsh,

00:46:31.060 the credible threat

00:46:31.660 of violence,

00:46:32.360 the tough guy,

00:46:33.540 and the diplomatic niceties

00:46:35.720 and the diplomatic flattery

00:46:37.400 and the handshaking

00:46:38.060 and the back patting.

00:46:39.020 So far,

00:46:39.800 that's what we're getting

00:46:40.460 out of this.

00:46:40.960 That's a good day.

00:46:41.780 That's a win.

00:46:42.800 Might all go wrong tomorrow

00:46:44.160 and then in six months

00:46:45.340 Trump is going to come up

00:46:46.340 and say it was all wrong.

00:46:47.340 That's going to be

00:46:47.680 all over again.

00:46:48.640 But for today,

00:46:49.700 this is a good move

00:46:51.440 in the right direction

00:46:52.140 and we should be

00:46:53.340 happy about it.

00:46:54.700 Not thrilled,

00:46:55.600 not popping champagne,

00:46:57.020 just happy.

00:46:57.820 It's a good step

00:46:58.420 in the right direction.

00:46:59.560 Take yes for an answer,

00:47:00.740 people.

00:47:01.120 Come on.

00:47:02.080 Okay,

00:47:02.660 we've got some really crazy shows

00:47:05.620 coming up this week.

00:47:07.040 I don't want to ruin it for you,

00:47:08.640 but we decided

00:47:09.600 my first week

00:47:10.260 after the honeymoon

00:47:10.860 is just going to be

00:47:11.520 this insane week.

00:47:13.260 It's going to be pretty wild,

00:47:14.300 so be sure to tune in tomorrow

00:47:16.080 and through the rest of the week.

00:47:18.160 In the meantime,

00:47:18.780 I'm Michael Knowles.

00:47:19.480 This is The Michael Knowles Show.

00:47:20.380 Get your mailbag questions

00:47:21.180 in for Thursday.

00:47:21.900 I'll see you tomorrow.

00:47:28.560 The Michael Knowles Show

00:47:29.940 is produced by

00:47:30.760 Senia Villareal,

00:47:32.340 executive producer

00:47:33.220 Jeremy Borey,

00:47:34.420 senior producer

00:47:35.140 Jonathan Hay,

00:47:36.280 our supervising producer

00:47:37.540 Mathis Glover,

00:47:38.860 and our technical producer

00:47:39.860 is Austin Stevens,

00:47:41.460 edited by Jim Nickel.

00:47:42.980 Audio is mixed

00:47:43.700 by Mike Coromina.

00:47:45.280 Hair and makeup

00:47:45.940 is by Jesua Olvera.

00:47:47.860 The Michael Knowles Show

00:47:48.640 is a Daily Wire

00:47:49.400 Forward Publishing production.

00:47:51.040 Copyright

00:47:51.460 Forward Publishing 2018.

00:47:57.780 The Michael Knowles Show

The Michael Knowles Show - June 12, 2018

Ep. 166 - The Kim Summit： Reality vs. Fantasy (ft. Sean Spicer)

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