Donald Trump is talking to a LOT of podcasters these days.
The latest was Shawn Ryan, a former Navy Seal who has built a massive following on YouTube. (Speaking of which, subscribe to my YouTube channel!)
Most of these interviews are largely ignored by the mainstream media because they are hard to find and even harder to transcribe.
Luckily for me — and for you! — I have access to the Listening Post’s transcripts. And they managed to get the transcript of the Trump-Ryan interview for me.
I went through the whole thing, line by line.
This is one of a few posts each week I put behind the paywall. That’s because I am really the only person working to find and analyze the actual words of Trump as well as Kamala Harris and other prominent politicians.
It’s hard work but I think important work. If you want access to these lines pieces as well as all the other content I am creating, become a paid subscriber today! It’s $6 a month or $60 for the year.
To the Lines!
“A made-up story was made up by a magazine. And I think it was The Atlantic, which is a radical left magazine.”
Trump is referring here to Jeffrey Goldberg’s piece in which he reported that Trump had repeatedly been disdainful of American soldiers who had been killed while in service to the country. John Kelly, who served as Trump’s chief of staff, confirmed that Trump had referred to servicemen killed as “suckers” and “losers.”
“Who would say it? Who would say it? Nobody would say it. A stupid person or a person that's mentally ill.”
Ahem.
“And, you know, as you know better than anybody, I rebuilt our military.”
“I.”
“I had the best relationship with the military of any president and respect the military more than anybody.”
How would one quantify this?
“They don't even have sources. They make things up out of thin blue like a storyteller.”
The “they” here is the media. And, no, they don’t.
“But the low, the one confirmation was a guy that I fired, a terrible, stupid person, actually, that couldn't do the job well. And I fired him and he sort of confirmed it.”
Trump means John Kelly. Who not only spent a year and a half as his chief of staff but also is a retired Marine general. Usually “terrible, stupid” people don’t rise to that level of achievement.
“And I would think that if people heard that, I think if I heard that, maybe I'd believe it if I was in the military.”
Trump avoided being drafted for the Vietnam War because of bone spurs in his foot. The daughters of the podiatrist who “diagnosed” Trump said he did so as a favor to Fred Trump.
“They're sitting there and they heard the story put out by this real rag that's failing badly, losing a lot of money.”
The Atlantic announced in March that it had reached 1 million subscribers and was profitable.
“I mean, they have an expression for it. I won't use the expression, but it's a bad expression. It's when they ask you a question that no matter how you answer it, it leaves a telltale stain.”
10. “Under Biden slash... This woman, this woman is a she's a communist, I guess. I mean, and I look at action. I don't look at words.”
“This woman.”
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