I can hardly stand to listen to him right now so I understand if you don’t want to watch the above. But here’s the transcript which is still horrifying but somewhat easier to take. And excerpt:
Burns: The most. You’re right. Um, your team has been going back and forth between Putin and Zelenskyy with various drafts of his peace deal. Which country right now is in the stronger negotiating position?
Trump: Well, there can be no question about it. It’s Russia. It’s a much bigger country. It’s a war that should’ve never happened. Frankly, it wouldn’t have happened if I were president, and it didn’t happen for four years. Uh, I watched that taking place, and I said, wow, they’re gonna cause some problems here. And it started and it, uh, could’ve evolved into, uh, World War III, frankly. I think it’s probably not gonna be happening now. I think if I weren’t president, you could’ve had World War III. I think you would’ve had a much bigger problem than you have right now, but right now it’s a big problem. It’s a big problem for Europe. And they’re not handling it well.
[…]
Burns: On Sunday, your son, Donald Trump Jr., responded to a reporter’s question about whether you will walk away from Ukraine, and your son said, I think he may. Is that correct?
Trump: No, it’s not correct. But it’s not exactly wrong. We have to … you know, they have to play ball. If they, uh … if they don’t read agreements, potential agreements, you know, it’s, uh, not easy with Russia ’cause Russia has the upper … upper hand. And they always did. They’re much bigger. They’re much stronger in that sense. I give Ukraine a lot of … a lot of … I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the, you know, bravery and for the fighting and all of that. But you know, at some point, size will win, generally. And this is a massive size, uh … you … when you take a look at the numbers, I mean, the numbers are just crazy.
This is not a war that should’ve happened. This is a war that would’ve never happened if I were president. So sad millions of people are dead, many, many soldiers. You know, last month they lost 27,000 soldiers and some people from missiles being launched into Kyiv and o … Kyiv and other places. But, uh, what a … what a s … what a sad thing for humanity.
You know, this doesn’t affect us. Uh, the … our country is no longer paying any money ever since Biden gave them $350 billion so stupidly. And you know, if he wouldn’t have given it, maybe something else would’ve happened.
Burns: But you, sir ..
President Trump: But Putin has … had no respect for Biden, and he had no respect for Zelenskyy, didn’t like Zelenskyy. They really hate each other. And part of the problem is they hate each other really a lot, you know. And it’s very hard for them to try and make a deal. It’s harder than most. I … I settled eight wars, and this … I would’ve said this is the ninth. This would’ve been the easiest one, I would’ve said, or one of the easier ones. I mean, I settled one … one that was going on for 36 years. Uh, I settled Pakistan and India. I settled so many wars. I’m very proud of it. And I do it pretty routinely, pretty easily. It’s not hard for me to do. It’s what I do. I make deals. Uh, this one is tough. One of the reasons is the level of hatred between Putin and Zelenskyy is tremendous.
[…]
Trump: You know, think of it, if our election wasn’t rigged … there was a rigged election. Now everyone knows it. It’s gonna come out over the next couple of months, too, loud and clear ’cause we have all the information and everything. But if the election wasn’t rigged and stolen, uh, you wouldn’t even be talking about Ukraine right now.
Blah, blah, blah. He actually thinks Putin has respect for him which is just hilarious. And yes, virtually all he has to say is that it isn’t his fault, like the 12 year old whiny little bitch he is. It’s pathetic.
He got very agitated when Burns noted that some of his supporters don’t like the fact that he’s spending too much time on foreign policy and blathered angrily about the trillions and trillions he’s supposedly bringing back.(He is not) He said he didn’t think anyone would say that is really a supporter.
Burns asked him again about the economy and this is what he said:
Burns: But … but I do want to talk about the economy, sir, here at home. And … and I wonder what grade you would give your economy.
Trump: A-plus.
Burns: A-plus?
Trump: Yeah, A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.
Burns: Well, it’s interesting because I … I talked to a supporter of yours. Her name is Melanie from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. And she loves you. She gave you overall an A-plus-plus grade. But here’s what she said about the economy. She said, “Groceries, utility, insurance, and the basic cost of running small business keep rising faster than wages.” She also says that not enough is being done. Mr. President, this is one of your supporters.
Trump: Okay. Good. And I’m … I love her because you said I got an A-plus on everything, I guess. I don’t know. But here … here’s …
It goes on with more whining about how none of this is his fault and some lies about how great everything really is.
Good luck with that. He’s headed to Pennsylvania today where he will get a tongue bath from his most ardent supporters and I’m sure the media will interview them and conclude that he’s actually massively popular. I’m sure it will be the same old greatest hits. But from what we understand, this is what the White House has decided will win the midterms for the Republicans:
I’m sure all those Republicans are thrilled to be yoked to a senile, orange clown with a 38% approval rating. Go for it!