Trump's Iran War Admission Will Cost Him w/ Don Lemon
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Fast Politics w/ Molly Jong-Fast on YouTube
Fast Politics w/ Molly Jong-Fast
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Transcript
Speaker 1: Welcome, welcome, Don Lemon.
Speaker 2: Hi, Molly Jungfass.
Speaker 2: I'm on Fast Politics, finally.
Speaker 1: I'm so happy to have you, and I'd love to be on Lemon Live, two of my favorites.
Speaker 1: So let's talk about this letter.
Speaker 1: Donald Trump has a war powers.
Speaker 1: It's a war powers.
Speaker 1: I think it's a sort of war powers act, some kind of.
Speaker 1: And basically, it's the same as everything this administration has said over the last two days,
Speaker 1: which is Israel made us, Saudis wanted it,
Speaker 1: we had to do it to distract from the Epstein files, discuss.
Speaker 2: Well, basically he's saying now he wants to alert Congress of airstrikes now,
Speaker 2: but after he has already, right, am I correct,
Speaker 2: after he already leveled attacks against Iran.
Speaker 1: And a girl's school.
Speaker 1: I saw a photo of them like digging up mass graves for these children.
Speaker 2: Yeah. And as we are recording this, six U.S. servicemen have already died.
Speaker 2: And we are in the very early days.
Speaker 2: That girl's school happened, I believe, within the opening hours of this, you know, attack on Iran.
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course it's a distraction from the Epstein files.
Speaker 2: But I think it goes beyond that.
Speaker
2: And as I've been discussing on my show with folks, yeah, everyone
believes that, you know, the Epstein files were heating up.
Speaker
2: They were not, I mean, as if it could get any hotter, but they were
not going out of the headlines no matter what they tried to do.
Speaker 2: including bringing Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton in for some bogus testimony.
Speaker 2: If you watch that, it was a farce.
Speaker 2: But also just a distraction from other things that's happening in this country,
Speaker 2: which I believe were distractions from the Epstein files, and that went bad, i.e. what happened in Minnesota.
Speaker
2: Remember, what happened in Minnesota was all started because this
guy, Nick Shirley, went there and said he was uncovering fraud.
Speaker 2: They sent people to Minnesota, and then people ended up dying.
Speaker 2: And so they can't get out of their own ways.
Speaker
2: They create these problems because they're trying to deflect, and
then they come up with solutions, and those solutions become even bigger
problems for them.
Speaker 2: And that's where we are right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's a really good point.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's this sort of law of unintended consequences, and we keep seeing that again and again.
Speaker
1: And I think this is a pretty interesting moment, because yesterday
we had this incredible testimony from Bill and Hillary, four and a half
hours each.
Speaker
1: It was so interesting to me. One of the things that I was really
impressed with in her testimony, and this is something we've seen again
and again with her, is that she just is able to be enraged in a way that
I, you know, as women, for women tends to be that rage is not, you
know, we get in a lot of trouble when we're angry.
Speaker 1: We're not sort of, you know, the culture sort of says in a million different ways, you're not supposed to be angry.
Speaker 1: And yet she is able to, you know, the rage she has is just sort of effervescent and amazing.
Speaker 1: And listening to her is very inspiring in my mind.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, I relate to that because you're not supposed to be the angry black man either.
Speaker 2: Right. Because people interpret your ire differently than than others.
Speaker 2: But I would you know, you can call it rage.
Speaker 2: I call it righteous indignation. And no one is righteously indignant better than Hillary Clinton.
Speaker 2: And she has every right, as I said, that's why I said righteous, to be indignant about it because
Speaker 2: they're questioning her about Pizzagate and she doesn't even know Jeffrey Epstein and her
Speaker 2: relationship with Howard Lutnick. And it's like, wait a minute, Howard Lutnick is in the Trump
Speaker 2: administration. And she tried to explain to them at the time, I was a senator in New York. Howard
Speaker 2: or a leading voice, a leading person at Cantor Fitzgerald,
Speaker 2: and lost many employees and friends, including his brother.
Speaker 2: And so if I have communications with him, it is about that.
Speaker 2: It's not about the Epstein files.
Speaker 2: And it's just outrageous.
Speaker 2: When you look at the firepower, so to speak, meaning brainpower
Speaker 2: and intelligence of a Hillary Clinton versus Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace,
Speaker 2: there's no comparison.
Speaker 2: And look, I think them releasing this video, well, them doing it is a cell phone.
Speaker 2: But this video is even more of a cell phone because they look really bad.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: She comes off very well.
Speaker 1: She does.
Speaker 1: She comes off really well.
Speaker
1: And I think that's a really good point about how, first of all, the
fact that Letnick is being questioned about but not being interviewed.
Speaker
1: When he's in those files again and again and again and he signed an
LLC and CBS reported that they did business together, right?
Speaker 1: that Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein had some kind of business together.
Speaker 1: And there are photos of Lutnick and Epstein that the Justice Department took down from the website.
Speaker 1: Like, if that isn't suspicious, I don't know what is.
Speaker 2: I want to get back to the world.
Speaker 2: And they had business together, Molly, though, real quick.
Speaker 2: They had business together after Jeffrey Epstein lied about, he said, you know, about his,
Speaker 2: he said, I cut my relationship with him after I visited his house and it was very creepy.
Speaker 2: And then years later, they strike up a business deal together and he ends up going to Epstein,
Speaker 2: island, I believe, right, on the plane with his family. It's just crazy. And then also you have
Speaker 1: Lutnick with the emails with the nanny, right? That the nanny, which is like, I mean, if a Democrat
Speaker 1: did this, people would be losing their minds. I want to get back to the CBS war powers resolution
Speaker 1: notification that Donald Trump has done. By the way, talk about Democrats getting caught on the
Speaker 1: back foot. Last week, we saw Ro Khanna and Thomas Massey tried to do a War Powers Act.
Speaker 1: Hakeem was like, wait till this week. They should have done it last week.
Speaker 2: They should have done it last week. And yeah, always. And there are real concerns
Speaker 2: about the Democratic leadership. As you point out so accurately, they always seem to be on their
Speaker 2: back foot. And we need a little bit more a proactive mindset and nature with the Democrats.
Speaker 2: And look, Molly, I think you know this. I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican either. I'm an
Speaker 2: independent. But I feel like the Democrats are the only party right now. The Democratic Party
Speaker 2: is the only party right now fighting for democracy. Not always doing such a great job at it, but
Speaker 2: anybody who's fighting for democracy and who believes in the Constitution, our Bill of Rights,
Speaker 2: then I'm on that side.
Speaker 2: So they could be a bit more proactive
Speaker 2: and have a bit more righteous indignation.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's right.
Speaker 1: And I think Ro Khanna is a really good example
Speaker 1: of just being on it, right?
Speaker 1: He's a Democrat and he just sort of very,
Speaker 1: and we've seen this with Robert Garcia too,
Speaker 1: who's the ranking member of Oversight,
Speaker 1: just relentless.
Speaker 1: And in fact, but I want to get back
Speaker 1: to the War Powers resolution for a minute
Speaker 1: because I have now have it.
Speaker 1: The CBS News, by the way, you'll remember CBS News,
Speaker 1: lost 25% of its audience because it now has,
Speaker 1: it is now part of the Barry Weiss empire,
Speaker 1: has obtained the War Powers Resolution notification
Speaker 1: President Trump sent to Congress today on February 28th.
Speaker 1: That's like four days into the strikes, okay.
Speaker 1: It outlines the missile air defense targets that were hit,
Speaker 1: acknowledges it's not clear how long operations may last.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 2: He said, despite my administration's repeated efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution in
Speaker 2: Iran's malign behavior, the threat to the United States and its allies and partners became
Speaker 2: untenable.
Speaker 2: That's what he said.
Speaker 2: But this is sort of retrofitting what was supposed to have happened into it four days
Speaker 2: later.
Speaker 2: So perhaps if the Democrats have been more proactive, as you said, but yeah, look, people
Speaker 2: are still dying.
Speaker 2: I think, look, it's an effort, but it's not a good faith effort.
Speaker 2: It's not a good faith effort at this point.
Speaker 2: A good faith effort would have been to go to Congress who really does, should have the
Speaker 2: war powers, the powers of the purse.
Speaker 2: There's a reason that the Congress is in the first amendment of the Constitution.
Speaker 2: And in the Constitution, the beginning starts with the Congress.
Speaker 2: The Congress is really sort of the thread that runs through the entire Constitution to hold it together.
Speaker 2: But Donald Trump just ignores them.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And it's interesting to listen to Marco.
Speaker 1: Yesterday, Marco gave a little presser on the Hill.
Speaker
1: And he said, first of all, he said Israel told us to get involved in
this, which, by the way, if you said that, Jonathan Greenblatt would
say you are an anti-Semite.
Speaker 1: But Marco said it because it's factually correct.
Speaker 1: And I was sort of blown away by that.
Speaker 1: But then he also said, you know, Trump doesn't need more power.
Speaker 1: You know, he doesn't need to come to Congress.
Speaker 1: He can do whatever he wants.
Speaker 1: And I was reminded that Marco Rubio was, until very recently, a senator.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And he's part of the legislative branch.
Speaker 2: And they have completely given their power, just handed their power over to the executive branch.
Speaker 2: They've allowed the executive branch to usurp their power.
Speaker 2: and their jobs. So what need is there for a senator or a congressman if Donald Trump can do
Speaker 2: whatever he wants? And basically, Molly, that's what he said to them at the State of the Union.
Speaker 2: He looked right at the Supreme Court and said, I don't need you. There are other ways to get
Speaker 2: what I want to get as it relates to tariffs. So, you know, F you. And then he, you know,
Speaker 2: with Mike Johnson standing behind him, he said that he didn't need to go to the Congress
Speaker 2: to do any of it as well.
Speaker 2: And Mike Johnson stood up and applauded.
Speaker 2: - Right, right now.
Speaker 2: - Well then Mike Johnson, why are you there?
Speaker 2: It doesn't make sense.
Speaker 2: The whole thing about Israel is that
Speaker 2: none of what Marco Rubio said yesterday made sense
Speaker 2: as none of what Pete Hexeth said made sense.
Speaker 2: There's a regime change, but it wasn't intended,
Speaker 2: but there is a regime change.
Speaker 2: And he sounded like he was trying to be like a rapper.
Speaker 2: I was like, who are you?
Speaker 2: I don't know, say 50 Cent, what's his name?
Speaker 1: You're looking at the wrong person.
Speaker 1: But yes, I mean, there was quite a lot of bad.
Speaker 2: If I can make my point, sorry, Molly.
Speaker 2: If I can make my point, and they said,
Speaker 2: someone I had on yesterday made a very good point saying,
Speaker 2: because he said they had to do it
Speaker 2: because Israel was going to strike them
Speaker 2: and they didn't want the fallout from it.
Speaker 2: Then he's painting Israel as the preeminent threat
Speaker 2: in this scenario.
Speaker 2: And so someone pointed out,
Speaker 2: when does one country get to dictate
Speaker 2: another country's foreign policy?
Speaker 2: And it sounds like Israel is dictating America's foreign policy and how America reacts to in this situation.
Speaker 2: It's it's really something else.
Speaker 1: And The Washington Post is reporting that MBS had been lobbying for this.
Speaker 1: So that would mean that you have both the Saudis and the Israelis telling Donald Trump what to do.
Speaker
1: But I also want to point out another thing which I think is
important, which is the people who were tasked with these negotiations
were Jared Kushner, who has a ton of financial interests in the Gulf and
has no training and has never done this before.
Speaker 1: And Steve Whitcoff, who is a friend of Donald Trump's.
Speaker 1: I mean, like there are reasons that people have the have training to do things like this.
Speaker 1: I mean, discuss.
Speaker
2: Yeah. I mean, do you remember in the beginning during the first
administration when Jared Kushner was put in charge of Middle East
peace?
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: And look at where we are now.
Speaker 2: There's a reason, quite honestly, that someone like Marco Rubio has experience in foreign policy.
Speaker 2: He was a senator and now he's a secretary of state, which gives him even more credibility.
Speaker
2: He's even in a bigger part, I believe, is sort of that this is a
hybrid role, I believe, between the executive and the legislative
branch.
Speaker
2: And Marco Rubio does not understand, nor does he respect that or
appears to understand or respect that at this moment.
Speaker 2: Yes, there are reasons that we have generals, even though Donald Trump says he knows more than the generals.
Speaker
2: There's a reason that people go to war, become the career military
people so that they can become two, three, four star generals or more.
Speaker
2: And they have the experience that a Donald Trump doesn't have or
even, quite frankly, even a Marco Rubio doesn't have.
Speaker 2: But yes, there are people who are steeped in foreign policy, in diplomacy, and none of this seems to be diplomatic.
Speaker 2: None of their excuses are making any sense.
Speaker 2: The more they explain, the more confuse the American people.
Speaker 2: And I believe our allies and our nemesis around the world, I believe that they become even more confused.
Speaker 2: And you know the old saying, Molly, if you're explaining, which they're doing a lot of, you're losing.
Speaker 1: Yes, and I actually think about that a lot.
Speaker 1: Now, I think this is all exactly right now.
Speaker 1: We have just a few minutes left, and I want to devote it to the Christie gnome testimony.
Speaker 1: because I want to talk about this incredible testimony.
Speaker 1: And she's being interviewed by Kennedy.
Speaker 1: And it is just, you'll remember, super woke leftist,
Speaker 1: Senator Kennedy from the great state of Louisiana,
Speaker 1: who is neither woke nor a leftist.
Speaker 1: He basically asks her why she has spent so much money.
Speaker 2: Well, it says here that he confronts her on the $200 million.
Speaker 2: $220 million spent on TV ads?
Speaker 1: Let me read it. Here we go.
Speaker
1: Okay, so who asked Noam to square her concern for government
spending waste with the move to spend $220 million on TV ads that
feature Noam prominently?
Speaker 1: Noam says she went through the legal process for the ads and that Trump knew she was making them.
Speaker 1: Noam, the ads were effective.
Speaker 1: Kennedy, they were effective for your name recognition.
Speaker 1: It puts the president in a terribly awkward spot.
Speaker
1: One of the people you picked, Safe America Media, was formed 11 days
before you picked them, and the head is married to your former
spokesperson.
Speaker 1: How bad must it be?
Speaker 1: How corrupt must they be for John Kennedy, Louisiana's foghorn leghorn, to do this?
Speaker 2: I don't say must they be.
Speaker 2: I think we know.
Speaker 2: I think we know that they be.
Speaker 2: we can we can see it i mean honestly it all played out to us and it's still playing out
Speaker 2: from the horrible videos that we're seeing of people being dragged and pulled out of their homes
Speaker 2: and the testimony that's happening now with um people being pulled out of the shower in their
Speaker 2: underwear and american citizens and they have the wrong people and her answer to that is when asked
Speaker 2: should american citizens be treated this way or pulled out of their home she goes in every law
Speaker 2: enforcement operation or activity, they are basically saying that there are casualties,
Speaker 2: not being able to admit that. We saw her standing in front of a jail cell or prison cell full of
Speaker 2: people with shaved heads and in uniform or in prison garb. Some of them were American citizens.
Speaker 2: Some of them were not violent people. They made them out to be. We've seen her on the boats,
Speaker 2: on her photo shoots in makeup, full hair and makeup,
Speaker 2: and that's why they call her Ice Barbie.
Speaker 2: We've seen all of the things.
Speaker 2: We've seen her horrific behavior when she called Alex Preddy a domestic terrorist,
Speaker 2: and then in this hearing that you and I are discussing now,
Speaker 2: just lied about it to Senator Richard Blumenthal and saying,
Speaker 2: or either it was Amy Klobuchar, saying,
Speaker 2: I didn't do that when all you have to do is run the soundbite back.
Speaker
2: Now, I have a bit of experience lately with federal agents, and I
will tell you, not all of them are created the same.
Speaker
2: The people who are out there snatching people up off the streets
with 47 days of experience are not the career professionals who I
believe are embarrassed by this administration.
Speaker 2: And they don't want to be associated with those ICE goons that should not be in any position of power.
Speaker 2: So we know it's bad. We see it. The evidence is there in front of our eyes.
Speaker 1: Yeah. You want to talk a little more about where you are in your situation with this?
Speaker 2: Well, everyone, look, I'll talk to you about what's out there. I mean, look, it's still ongoing.
Speaker 2: This administration is, you know, I don't think that they're going to stop.
Speaker
2: They're going to try everything that they can, as they say, every
trick in the book, because that's all they have is tricks. Right.
Speaker 2: You know, there have been, you know, motions filed and whatever.
Speaker 2: But so we're just in the middle of the legal process right now.
Speaker 2: And so it's just playing out. And that's all I really know.
Speaker 2: I have good representation.
Speaker 2: I rely on my representation and my attorneys to do whatever they need to do legally.
Speaker 2: And then I go about my life and I live my life and I go on, you know, fast politics and I do my show.
Speaker 2: And I just continue to be hopefully a good steward of the First Amendment and freedom of the press.
Speaker 2: This is much bigger than me, Molly, as you know.
Speaker 2: This is ramifications for all of us and anyone who operates under the First Amendment.
Speaker
2: And if an administration can decide what stories that we should be
able to cover as journalists, then we've lost the plot.
Speaker 2: And they are trying to do that.
Speaker 2: You see what they've done with the White House media, with the White House Corps.
Speaker
2: You see what they've done at the Pentagon, where they are getting
people to sign statements or sign agreements that they have to show them
things that they want to produce or that they want to publish.
Speaker 2: It's outrageous.
Speaker 2: And it is un-American.
Speaker 2: It is against the Constitution.
Speaker 2: It's against the Bill of Rights.
Speaker 2: It's unpatriotic.
Speaker 2: And so that's where I am right now.
Speaker 2: I am standing for the First Amendment, for freedom of the press, and for all journalists,
Speaker 2: not only in America, but for all over the world.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Don Lemon.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Molly Jung Fast.
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