Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 07:03 pm
Donald Trump’s appearances on CNN’s State Of The Union and CBS’s Face The Nation were total disasters for the presumptive Republican nominee after both networks used the interviews to call out his lies.
Video of Trump on CNN’s State Of The Union:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
The trouble began for Trump after he repeated his claim that he always opposed the Iraq war.
Transcript via CNN’s State Of The Union:
TAPPER: Can I just say one point on that? I have looked so long and hard for any evidence of you…
TRUMP: I will give it to you. 2004, they had newspaper articles.
TAPPER: But — but — right, but the war started in 2003.
TRUMP: It did.
And — but you know what? You look at — I did an interview with Howard. And that interview was the first time I was ever asked the question. Don’t forget, I was an entrepreneur. I’m a real estate person, asked me the question.
TAPPER: But didn’t you — didn’t you say to Howard that you thought it was a good idea?
TRUMP: No, I — this was before the war started, long before the war started.
TAPPER: Right. TRUMP: And it was a very like, well, I don’t know. First, nobody
ever asked me the question.
You know, when you’re doing what I did, nobody was talking about a lot of the questions that you ask me today. And I was — I sort of said, like, well, I don’t know, maybe — I don’t know.
By the time that started, I was totally against it. And from 2004 on, there’s a lot of proof of that, because, as you know, there was articles in magazines.
TAPPER: Yes.
TRUMP: There was a lot of articles.
TAPPER: Yes, a year after the war started.
Things weren’t any better for Trump on CBS’s Face The Nation where host John Dickerson called out Trump’s lie about opposing intervention in Libya.
Video:
Transcript via Face The Nation:
DICKERSON: Let me ask you about Libya. You have been highly critical of Libya and Hillary Clinton. You were also for military action to oust Gadhafi and military action to take care of
TRUMP: When you say supported it, I supported Libya?
DICKERSON: Yes, you supported
TRUMP: I did? Where do you see that?
DICKERSON: In a video blog from 2011, you said:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Now, we should go in. We should stop this guy, which would be very easy and very quick. We could do it surgically, stop him from doing it and save these lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: That`s a big difference from what we`re talking about.
DICKERSON: But you were for intervention.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Again, I`m
But
DICKERSON: But you were for intervention, just to clear that up?
TRUMP: I was for doing something, but I wasn`t for what you have right now.
….
DICKERSON: This is one of
TRUMP: I didn`t mind surgical. And I said surgical. You do a surgical shot and you take them out.
But I wasn`t for what happened. Look at
(CROSSTALK)
DICKERSON: But you said you were never for intervention.
TRUMP: I was never for a strong intervention. I could have seen surgical, where you take out Gadhafi and his group.
It used to be rare for the media to fact check Trump in real time on any show, but a week after his press conference where he attacked the press, it happened twice on the same day. What happens when the press sits Trump down and calls him out on his lies and contradictions is that the Republican gets exposed.
Some members of the mainstream press aren’t allowing themselves to be steamrolled anymore, and the result is that Donald Trump is bombing in these interviews. Trump immediately goes on the defensive when challenged, and he can’t hold up to the slightest bit of scrutiny. The press is finally starting to figure out that Donald Trump is a paper tiger, and the free ride is over for the soon to be Republican nominee.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
