The Catherine Herridge Interview
SIMPLE & QUICK: POTUS 45 has many complaints, offers no solutions
Always gregarious, the President is especially verbose today. It is apparent that the 45th Commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces is rattled by his own campaign’s internal polling. This agitation is no doubt being exacerbated by Trump’s presumed 2020 opponent’s recent stump speeches and clear vision for America’s future.
So much so in fact that before today’s impromptu White House Rose Garden stump speech, Donald John Trump sat down and spoke at length with CBS News senior investigative correspondent, Catherine Herridge. This particular interview with the President will age like milk.
In the interview, Mr. Trump maintains that American Civil War monuments and the Confederate flag are “freedom of speech issues— like Black Lives Matter.”
Signaling that he is okay with his supporters flying the Confederate States of America battle flag at his 2020 Presidential campaign rallies, Trump said, “Listen, I know people who like the Confederate flag and they’re not thinking of slavery.”
When asked by Herridge why he thought so many black and brown people die at the hands of American police, Donald Trump said, “So do white people.” The President furthered that, “even more white people die by police.”
The President did not, however, suggest or offer any solutions or remedy after admitting that American citizens are killed by their local police.
In discussing the on-going coronavirus pandemic and his Administration’s national response, POTUS blinked. On governors, and their mandating face coverings in particular, the President further walked back his aggressive anti mask stance, saying, “[governors] can have their own guidelines- and follow the CDC guidelines, which say to wear masks.”
He continued his retraction in stating, “If it’s necessary, I would urge [Americans] to wear a mask.”
When asked if it is okay that Americans are waiting seven days for coronavirus testing results, the President says he believes that “no other country tests like us.” President Trump insists, “I could say that it’s working too much. That it’s working too well. We’re doing testing and we’re finding thousands and thousands of cases.”
Regarding the reopening of schools, the President told Catherine that Los Angeles and San Diego school districts announcing their campuses will remain closed in the fall is a “terrible decision.”
In the CBS interview, The Donald complained that, “a decision like that is politics. Because we’re starting to do very well in the polls. Because I’m for law and order. I’m for strong business. Our jobs are coming back at a record level like we’ve never seen anything like it— record level! We’re heading up! It’s turning out to be the V just like I built it once before— the strongest economy ever! I’m doing it again!”
After exclaiming that “we must open schools,” the President did not detail how he believes the nation’s school districts should safely return to full in-person operations in the next 90 days. Trump proposes parents should “put someone else in charge” of their schools if the person now wants to keep classrooms closed. The President then walked around the growing CDC school opening guidelines controversy, while still insisting that new documents will be released on that soon.
When the President was asked if Phase 2 of trade talks with China is dead, he snapped, “I am not interested in taking with China.” Mr. Trump asserts that “We made a great trade deal. But as soon as the deal was done— the ink wasn’t even dry and they hit us with the plague. Okay?”
On holding China accountable for the pandemic outbreak, POTUS squelched in so many words not unlike the rest of his blundering interview, “You’ll see. It’s not for you, it’s for me.”