Donald Trump’s first post-inaugural televised interview aired last night, and it was really something else.
Here are a few quotes:
- “I have spoken as recently as 24 hours ago with people at the highest level of intelligence. And I asked them the question, ‘Does it work? Does torture work?’ And the answer was, ‘Yes, absolutely.'”
- “…you have to understand, I had a tremendous victory, one of the great victories ever.”
- “Look, Barack Obama — if you look back — eight years ago when he first ran — he was running for office in Chicago for we needed Chicago vote.And he was laughing at the system because he knew all of those votes were going to him. You look at Philadelphia, you look at what’s going on in Philadelphia. But take a look at the tape of Barack Obama who wrote me, by the way, a very beautiful letter in the drawer of the desk. Very beautiful. And I appreciate it. But look at what he said, it’s on tape. Look at what he said about voting in Chicago eight years ago. It’s not changed. It hasn’t changed, believe me. Chicago, look what’s going on in Chicago. It’s only gotten worse.
But he was smiling and laughing about the vote in Chicago. Now, once he became president he didn’t do that. All of a sudden it became this is the foundation of our country.” - “I have a lot of respect for the people in the CIA.
That speech was a home run. That speech, if you look at Fox, OK, I’ll mention you — we see what Fox said. They said it was one of the great speeches. They showed the people applauding and screaming and — and they were all CIA. There was — somebody was asking Sean — ‘Well, were they Trump people that were put–‘ we don’t have Trump people. They were CIA people.
That location was given to me. Mike Pence went up before me, paid great homage to the wall. I then went up, paid great homage to the wall. I then spoke to the crowd. I got a standing ovation. In fact, they said it was the biggest standing ovation since Peyton Manning had won the Super Bowl and they said it was equal. I got a standing ovation. It lasted for a long period of time.”
You should go read the entire transcript yourself, it’s astonishing.
But let’s focus on his attacks on the press, because there were many:
“People loved it. They loved it. They gave me a standing ovation for a long period of time. They never even sat down, most of them, during the speech. There was love in the room. You and other networks covered it very inaccurately. I hate to say this to you and you probably won’t put it on but turn on Fox and see how it was covered. And see how people respond to that speech.”
“That speech was a big hit, a big success — success. And then I came back and I watched you on television and a couple of others…(a)nd they tried to demean…Not you personally but your network — and they tried to demean the speech. And I know when things are good or bad. A poll just came out on my inauguration speech which was extraordinary that people loved it. Loved and liked. And it was an extraordinary poll.”
“That was some crowd. When I looked at the numbers that happened to come in from all of the various sources, we had the biggest audience in the history of inaugural speeches. I said the men and women that I was talking to who came out and voted will never be forgotten again. Therefore I won’t allow you or other people like you to demean that crowd and to demean the people that came to Washington, D.C., from faraway places because they like me. But more importantly they like what I’m saying.”
“…I think you’re demeaning by talking the way you’re talking. I think you’re demeaning. And that’s why I think a lot of people turned on you and turned on a lot of other people. And that’s why you have a 17 percent approval rating, which is pretty bad.”
DAVID MUIR: I called the author of the Pew report last night. And he told me that they found no evidence of voter …
(OVERTALK)
DAVID MUIR: … fraud.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Really? Then why did he write the report?
DAVID MUIR: He said no evidence of voter fraud.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Excuse me, then why did he write the report?
(OVERTALK)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: According to Pew report, then he’s — then he’s groveling again. You know, I always talk about the reporters that grovel when they wanna write something that you wanna hear but not necessarily millions of people wanna hear or have to hear.
I know I am repeating myself here, but I find these attacks on the press for doing their job — REPORTING FACTS — to be utterly terrifying. Trump wants to kill the free press, and his lackeys are already declaring it dead. American journalism not dead, it’s just calling out his lies for what they are, and like the government agencies he is terrifyingly in charge of, he’s trying to silence them for reporting the truth.
This Vulture writer suggests that the problem Trump has with the media is that he thinks journalists should be publicists pumping out great reviews: “Trump’s relationship with journalism is, even at this early stage of his presidency, weirdly bifurcated. Negative press infuriates him; journalists, to him, are publicists, and publicists who sully his reputation are failing at their jobs and therefore must be either punished or retconned out of existence in a world in which (here’s the bifurcation; see today’s press release) everything he is doing is deeply appreciated and winning widespread media praise!” Coming from his background as reality show clown and celebrity, this makes a great deal of sense.
The only news source Trump trusts, as he makes clear in this interview, is Fox News, so much so, he is parroting their reporting in his completely unadvised tweets. But think about what that means: aside from Fox News all but being anointed State Media, do we really think it is a good idea for, say, foreign governments to know where our President is getting all of his information?
Oh, and ABC is rescheduling When We Rise, its upcoming LGBT movement miniseries, to make room for Donald Trump’s address to Congress. This is a metaphor.
Hooray! You got through all of that without throwing yourself out a window!
Reward yourself by watching Seth Meyers and Retta get all day drunk:
I’m going to be honest, because I posted so late yesterday, there’s not much TV news to talk about this morning. So, lets watch this video of Oprah coming unglued when her hero, Mary Tyler Moore, surprises her on her show (you should watch the whole thing, but the moment comes at the 2:40 mark):
A show that significantly influenced her, Obama says, was “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” She recalls watching it with her family over dessert when she was 10 years old, along with a Saturday night lineup that also included “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” and “The Carol Burnett Show.”
“She was one of the few single working women depicted on television at the time,” Obama says. “She wasn’t married. She wasn’t looking to get married. At no point did the series end in a happy ending with her finding a husband — which seemed to be the course you had to take as a woman. But she sort of bucked that. She worked in a newsroom, she had a tough boss, and she stood up to him. She had close friends, never bemoaning the fact that she was a single. She was very proud and comfortable in that role.
“I was probably 10 or 11 when I saw that, and sort of started thinking, ‘You know what? Marriage is an option. Having a family is an option. And going to school and getting your education and building your career is another really viable option that can lead to happiness and fulfillment.”
Cloris Leachman’s farewell to Mary Tyler Moore is sweet and heartbreaking. As is Dick Van Dyke’s:
Obviously The Mary Tyler Moore Show was groundbreaking for women in so many ways, but don’t forget she blazed some trails on The Dick Van Dyke Show, too, namely by wearing pants.
Mary Tyler Moore influenced so many of your favorite shows including 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Friends. And James Burrows — Mr. TV himself — says: “I wouldn’t have a TV career if it weren’t for Mary Tyler Moore.”
And in return, Television is going to honor her: Gayle King is hosting a special, Mary Tyler Moore: Love is All Around, that will air tonight on CBS; Sundance is running a The Mary Tyler Moore Show marathon, as is MeTV; PBS is going to rerun the documentary, Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration; and ABC will air a special 20/20 on Friday, devoted to Mary Tyler Moore.
In Other Television News:
Does Sonequa Martin Green’s casting on Star Trek: Discovery mean that Sasha is doomed on The Walking Dead? Probably, but we have to go through this whole charade pretending that she’s not.
Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler are the ones responsible for making the Taylor’s marriage so awesome on Friday Night Lights.
So Charlie Sheen is relitigating his feud with Chuck Lorre for some reason.
Pilot News:
ABC has given Zach Braff a pilot order for his comedy, Start Up, about a guy who quits a good job to start his own business.
ABC also ordered a comedy from Daveed Diggs as a rapper who decides to run for mayor as a stunt but ends up elected. TOO CLOSE TO REAL LIFE.
WATCH THIS
Supernatural: The Winchesters are back! Winter premiere. 7 p.m., The CW
Grey’s Anatomy: Time for a fun field trip to a prison! Winter premiere. 7 p.m., ABC
Riverdale: This is that dark Twin Peaksy Archie series everyone is talking about. Series premiere. 8 p.m., The CW
Scandal: The election results are here. Winter premiere. 8 p.m., ABC
How to Get Away With Murder: So how are they going to get away with murdering [SPOILER]? Winter premiere. 9 p.m., ABC
Mary Tyler Moore: Love is All Around: A tribute to a television icon. 9 p.m., CBS
Late Night: Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Danny DeVito, Brit Marling, Ciro Ortiz, Jon Bellion Late Night with Seth Meyers: Timothy Olyphant, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Nelly Furtado, Darren King Jimmy Kimmel Live: Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Momoa, Kehlani Conan: Chris Hardwick, Cody Jinks The Daily Show: Laurence Fishburne Watch What Happens Live: Bryce Dallas Howard, Blair Underwood
| THURS | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Grey’s Anatomy (new) |
Scandal (new) |
How to Get Away With Murder (new) |
| CBS | The Big Bang Theory (repeat) |
The Great Indoors (repeat) |
Mary Tyler Moore: Love is All Around (new) |
Pure Genius (new) |
| CW | Supernatural (new) |
Riverdale (new) |
News/Local |
| FOX | Hell’s Kitchen (new) |
My Kitchen Rules (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Superstore (repeat) |
Superstore (repeat) |
Chicago Med (repeat) |
The Blacklist (repeat) |
How can this really be happening????
I don’t know, Franci, I honestly have no idea how any of this can actually be happening. Let me know if you find out.
-T
The first amendment has been under attack for a long time, by liberals as well as conservatives. For example, I was labeled a “racist” because I expected an African American VA worker to show up at work and meet his job description. I was not allowed to use the word, “Competence.” That’s offensive.
This isn’t a liberal or conservative issue. This is the fact that the President of the United States does not believe in the freedom of the press. I would be this outraged if a Democratic President called the media “very dishonest people,” have their spokespeople call blatant and flagrant lies, “alternative facts,” and allow his counselors to order the media to “shut their mouths.” Any American who believes in and understands the importance of the First Amendment should be profoundly alarmed by these developments.