the crisis in Puerto Rico presented Donald Trump with the opportunity to
step up and embody one of the most significant roles of a president during
a time of national crisis the role of comforter in chief during times of
tragedy whether natural or man-made Americans have looked to their
presidents for hope and reassurance and how presidents respond for better or
worse can wind up defining their legacies Ronald Reagan rose to the
occasion after the Challenger disaster in 1986 George W Bush was praised for
his bullhorn addressed to first responders after 9/11 though he was
later condemned for his flyover after Hurricane Katrina President Obama
offered hugs and reassurance to the people of Joplin Missouri after a deadly
tornado there in 2011 and then we have Donald Trump the president who responded
to a desperate plea for help in Puerto Rico with mean tweets joining me now is
michelle bernard president of the bernard center for women politics and
public policy Corrine jump here senior advisor for moveon.org
media and political analyst Steve Adubato and Republican strategist and
then Siegfried and thank you all for being here I'm gonna start with the
ladies here at the table and I'll go to I'll go to you first to read on this
Quinnipiac has a new poll out that has some pretty dire numbers for the Donald
Trump of the way he is performing his presidency thus far and it was taken you
know so a lot of it is during this era Maria period 56% say that he's not fit
to be president that's not different than when he was running on those who
say they are embarrassed to have a best president 51% majority say they're
embarrassed to have him as president 57% disapprove of the overall job he's
doing and fifty fifty seven percent disapprove of the overall job that he's
doing so these are not good marks they're not you know they're not good
marks do you think that Donald Trump changes any of these numbers by the way
that he's performing visa vie hurricane Maria or is this just the way it's gonna
be for for this is just him it's definitely just him it's who he is I
mean just when you think the president hits rock bottom he finds a way to take
it even lower and I think when you look at Puerto Rico it really brings out the
worst toxic brew of Donald Trump which is the racism
which is incompetence and also just the the egomaniac that he is and that's what
we're seeing I mean we were talking about 3.4 million people who are really
trying to survive and and fighting for their life they have no medicine the
food is running out there's no water no electricity and this is what he does
from a luxury resort right tooth and then talking to the poles as well like
he's making money hand over fist what he's doing every time he's at golfing at
his resort and he has no shame about it but yet he's ok with attacking the mayor
from the 18th green that's what he does Michelle you know it's interesting that
uh just it just so happens that the attacks on the mayor of San Juan a woman
of color happened to come a year to the day after Donald Trump went on our
tweets from attacking Alicia Machado also a Latina who was the former Miss
Universe he does seem to have a reflex when it comes to women of color yeah
yeah with all women but particularly with women of color I mean the way that
he has attacked her is just absolutely like revolting you know I was speaking
with a tenured professor from Howard University last night who's a
psychologist to try to get a grasp on what it is we're dealing with
yeah with Donald Trump she's he's not her patient she's never spoken him but
she watches the news like everyone else and she's explaining to me the level of
narcissism that we see in this man and the fact that the country has to deal
with it and it's that narcissism that led him to attack the mayor of San Juan
San Juan and I don't know if you see but their photos all are online you know
with pictures of them at the exact same time yeah he is hitting the ball on the
green just in ways saving in water yes saving wild water Rico yeah and they
don't have to question yourself is it because she's a woman is it because
people speak Spanish there is it because he made me was not sure that these are
actually Americans and that Puerto Rico is you know a territory of the United
States government I mean whatever it is it is absolutely repulsive this makes
the response to Hurricane Katrina look it makes like Katrina look good yeah
like it was just sweet people trying to do their best and couldn't do it this
looks intentional yeah and I think with Katrina the idea what
was sort of indifference or incompetence here where it seems to be you know
malice yeah you know you you you you're you know you write about leadership this
is what your book was about this is a lot of what you talked about and Donald
Trump is of course the President of the United States and so it's sort of the
person who's in this position of supposed to you know sort of unify the
country in moments like this but this was his Treasury secretary explaining
why instead of doing that he attacked the mayor of San Juan this was his
Treasury secretary trying to explain that to us call me the press
you mentioned the governor but you're not mentioning the mayor why did he
attack the mirror she's in a situation of a pretty desperate situation and seem
to lack a little bit of empathy for the situation at the time why did he do this
well I think as you know when the president gets attack he attacks back
and I think the mayor's comments were unfair given what the federal government
is done Steve is that a good enough explanation when you're talking about
the president united states joy I want to trying to control the emotions the
feelings I have right now screw politics this is not about
politics it's not about Democrats Republicans conservatives or liberals I
happen to be a Roman Catholic doesn't matter what religion you are whether you
believe in religion the human side of this the human pain and suffering that
we all see in Puerto Rico 3.4 million people suffering the fact that the
president United States chose to attack mayor Cruz of San Juan forget about
where she's coming from politically he attacks her and says she's been pushed
by Democrats to say nasty things about Trump the insanity of that while people
are suffering to make this about himself as he said by other people before the
golf thing speaks for itself he talked about optics of firing you know one of
his cabinet members for optics because of private planes look at those optics
right now look at those pictures I say to every Trump supporter around this
country I don't care if you think that we're the progressive liberal Trump
bashing media ask yourself what those optics tell you ask yourself if those
pictures tell you that we have a president that gives a damn about people
who are suffering forget about who praises him and who criticizes him rise
above it and so for his second to say when he gets attacked he attacked
back I wasn't a big fan of Barack Obama in a lot of situations when he got
attacked he rose above it when he got attacked
he found the good in people and tried to bring them together this is a president
who gets a plus for divisive this and a big F for bringing this nation together
and in my book leadership is about bringing people together in the worst of
times and yet and yet you know there for some people there's a sort of a method
to the madness right lin-manuel Miranda's father at least Miranda a
former longtime public official in New York and of course they being both are
Puerto Rican and so and very proud wrote a piece in the New York Daily News in
which he he said to Donald Trump speaking to him we all know what the
president is really doing throwing red meat to the only supporters he has left
who feast upon his insults about minorities the Republican Party members
of it they're very few that have said much in response to what Donald Trump
has done is it because they too are in thrall to that same base who they know
this is going to be popular with yes they are a little bit scared of blowback
from the base but let's look at what's going on here what is happening in
Puerto Rico and with the president's disgusting tweet attacking the mayor of
San Juan yesterday it's a symptom of a larger overall problem the president is
isolated impotent and has an overblown sense of grievance and this is extending
to everything he feels he needs to be getting credit for things he shouldn't
be getting credit for because he has very few accomplishments he's becoming
isolated in that congressional Republicans largely ignore him and just
don't even talk about him or honor his requests from the White House he has no
real legislative track record he has only executive orders to show for what
he's done as a president and he's got a further divided nation at the same time
when we look at what he was saying yesterday I'm it sounds like a valley
girl oh my god there in gray I mean why don't they appreciate me there's just
this conspiracy we have a high school girl as president of the United States
essentially who's trying to make it all about him in his ego as opposed to the
fact that 55% of the people in Puerto Rico have drink don't have drinkable
water 90% don't have cell service and only 5%
have electric power the White House did drop the ball in the second week on
Puerto Rico and the optics are very bad and deserve
so but it's now all about how people don't appreciate the very great things
that are going on there I think the word he used impotence I think is really
important here and it's key I mean if you think about the optics the mayor
there was no direct attack on Donald Trump and the woman humbles herself and
goes on on worldwide television and is begging for help to save lives and the
best that he could come back with was an attack and statements that they want us
to do everything for them you know it's not a direct attack they're saying
10,000 troops is not enough people need water people need food people need to be
evacuated please help us and so right so you have to question yourself are we
really looking at what happens when when and when a man like Donald Trump feels
impotent this is the best he can give the country the country deserves more
yeah it's be quickly joi real quick Sunday morning people across this
country many of them go to church they worship they don't but they have a sense
that it's Sunday for all those Trump supporters when he spoke to the
evangelicals and tried to quote try to quote the Bible terribly ask yourself
what Jesus would have done ask yourself what any decent person would do that is
not what the president is doing people need to check themselves and ask
themselves why they're defending this president at this time with so many
people suffering and just asking begging for help this is not political it's
humanitarian or in the case of a lot of members of the Republican Party in
Washington just being quiet and silent about it on the shelling Kareem will be
back thank you guys very much we'll be back a little bit Steve Adubato and
Evans Siegfried thank you gentlemen thank you
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