← Deadline: White House
Deadline: White House
"A man with no intelligence experience"
00:41:28
June 5, 2026, 5pm: Nicolle Wallace on the reason Donald Trump chose Bill Pulte to become his acting Director of National Intelligence.
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- [00:00]
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- [01:07]
Donald Trump
And it's an acting position. It's not a permanent. He's not going to be permanent because, you know, I don't think he'd want to be permanent. But he's a very smart guy and he may find out some things about the rigged elections, et cetera, et cetera. I think he'd like to do it. I'd like to. I think he wants to do it very much. Got a lot of energy, but we hope you'll be very good.
- [01:29]
Nicole Wallace
Hi again Everybody. It's now five o'clock in New York. There you have it. In between naps, the explicit and said out loud reason Donald Trump chose Bill Pulte, a man with zero, zilch, no intelligence experience, to become his acting Director of National Intelligence to, quote, look into rigged elections about which we repeat, Bill Barr, John Durham, every Republican who has looked at this has said there is zero evidence of any election rigging or voter fraud across multiple investigations across multiple states. Donald Trump said he is now though going to bring the housing guy on to find what Brad Raffensperger and Brian Kemp and Steve Doocy and Bill Barr and John Durham and Mr. Rosen and the list goes on and on and on. Couldn't find Pulte. A housing guy temporarily appointed in an acting capacity is going to find it. Today in a revealing new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump gave even more insight into what he has asked Pulte to do during his short position as an acting Director of National Intelligence in America. Quote. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Friday, Trump said He has privately told Pulte that he believes the Office of the Director of national intelligence, or ODNI, which oversees 18 federal intelligence agencies and units, is unnecessary and or too big. I'd like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn't be there, trump said, pointing to holdovers from the Biden and Obama administrations. Asked whether he is calling on Pulte to fire people, Trump said he wants him to start that process, adding that his eventual nominee to serve in the role permanently should continue that work. So from the man who originally had zero respect for the work of the men and women of the United States intelligence community, beginning in his first term, with a highly offensive speech he made in front of the CIA, in front of the wall where stars of people who die serving their country, literally, namelessly. That's why there are stars on that wall instead of names, Trump started talking about his election win. Who can forget this moment?
- [03:52]
Donald Trump
People came to me. Dan Coats came to me and some others. They said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be
- [04:07]
Nicole Wallace
because I have Dan Coats and Vladimir Putin. To now fast forward to an apparent wholesale firing of the very people who worked for Dan Coats across the very agencies that are supposed to keep our country and our country secrets safe. It's where we begin the hour with some of our most favorite experts and friends. Former Director of the CIA, our senior national security and intelligence analyst John Brennan is back. Also back with us, former assistant special agent in charge of the FBI and national security and intelligence analyst Michael Feinberg's back. Also joining us, legal analyst Barbara McQuaid. She's a former U.S. attorney, now a law professor at the University of Michigan. She also has a brand new book out called the Fix God Do We Need Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob Style Government. We'll get to the book in a second. Director Brennan, I start with you. Every time you think that the Trump story can't get more diabolical, he does something like put Bill Pulte in charge of the intelligence agencies.
- [05:15]
John Brennan
Well, Nicole, as we've said many times before, Donald Trump's reckless moves are unsurprising. And you know, we've talked over the past number of years about how Trump has been following the authoritarian playbook, not just the cult of personality and the brazen and wide scale corruption, but gaining control of the instruments of government and governance. And the intelligence security services are the ones that I think he has feared most, which is why he put people like Cash Patel in charge of FBI and Todd Blanch in charge of the Department of Justice. And now with someone like Bill Pulte, who, as you pointed out, doesn't have any intelligence experience whatsoever and is putting him in there basically as an attack dog, as a pit bull, to see what he can find and put between his teeth to be able to misrepresent, I think, the facts of the Russian interference in elections and trying to make the case that the 2020 election where Joe Biden was elected was rigged. I think Bill Pulte is somebody who is going to, you know, salute, you know, smart Trump and do what he wants, but it's highly demoralizing to the workforce. It just shows that Donald Trump has total disregard for the value and the worth and the professionals in the intelligence community. And so, again, this is just another indicator that Donald Trump is trying to gut those institutions that really help keep this country safe and secure. And he doesn't care about the impact on national security, he again, is going to continue to do whatever it is that's going to advance his own personal, whether it be his personal political fortunes, financial fortunes, his brand, or whatever else. And gutting the institution of the Director of National Intelligence, I think, would be such a bad move. As you point out, we have 18 intelligence agencies that need to be orchestrated, and there really is a requirement that you have somebody of integrity, of experience and qualification who is able to conduct the orchestra of the US Intelligence community. And so I really am quite fearful, and I know that my former colleagues who remain in the community are quite fearful about what lies ahead.
- [07:17]
Nicole Wallace
Michael Feinberg, let me just try to dismantle some of the bullshit I've heard from Republicans lately. I was in the government when this post was created. I think John Negroponte might have been one of the first people to have this job, and it was to oversee all the intelligence agencies. And people like General Hayden were at nsa. George Tenet, I think, was the director of the CIA. And some of the spin from Republicans is that you can put a lunatic like Bill Pulte, the housing guy there, is his third official job in the executive branch, because the people doing the work at the other agencies. It's not a different group of people, though, who are worrying about cyber threats from Iran or terrorism threats from isis. It's the same group of people. And if you have a jackass like Bill Pulte overseeing or looking over your shoulder, the people who are supposed to protect the Homeland, which the Republicans who have expressed this theory of the case have, have suggested to me lately. Those people will be distracted because Bill Pulte is suddenly rifling through their files, looking at, I don't know, the Italian space laser insane theory from 2020, trying to avenge Donald Trump's humiliating defeat. Just talk about how small and how vital the work of the national intelligence agencies is.
- [08:33]
Michael Feinberg
It's incredibly vital because it is essentially, to quote an old movie about the intelligence community. They're not usually the aggressive ones in government. On the contrary, they are the ones who are providing the executive branch with the information needed to stop wars. At a time when the world is more dangerous than ever before, when we have multiple near peer rivals threatening our interests. You want an intelligence community that is going to, as much as I hate this phrase, speak truth to power. You don't need an intelligence community to tell you when you're right. You need them to tell you when you're about to make a mistake. And if your number one qualification is fealty and sycophancy to the president, you're not going to get that. And there's one other really deleterious effect of this nomination or this appointment. You know, in economics, there's Gresham's Law, which is that good money drives out bad and, you know, in the intelligence, or bad money drives out good in the intelligence community, bad leadership drives out good leadership, because the people take on those roles at the FBI, the CIA, the Fort. Other places, they're principled, they're patriotic, they're idealistic. And when they see somebody come in taking a wrecking ball to the agency's ability to manifest and epitomize those qualities, they realize it's not somewhere they could work anymore. And all of a sudden, you get a lot of lackeys. And as I said earlier, you get people who are not going to tell the President when he's wrong and the president's gonna make bad decisions. That's not a risk we can take in this geopolitical landscape.
- [10:32]
Nicole Wallace
Well, I mean, Michael, we just. The New York Times is reporting that that is what happened in the meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu and the entire national security team that they gave him one set of assessments, Netanyahu gave him another, and he didn't go with the recommendations or the feedback or the reaction to Netanyahu's presentation that his own cabinet advanced or sought to object to. I should say they didn't really oppose him publicly. But what does this moment look like for national security professionals? Before Pulte gets there, it seems like they already have the opposite of the wind at their back.
- [11:14]
Michael Feinberg
I mean, I guess we're going from near despair inducing to existential dread causing bad. And it's going to get worse. The intelligence community, because of the movies, people think it's all what you refer to as pipe hitters. People with special operations experience who are jetting around the world alternately in tuxedos or tactical equipment and overthrowing governments. That is not remotely what they do. They are PhD holders. They are people who acutely understand social science research methods. They are people who speak multiple languages, who understand how to use cultural norms to recruit somebody to want to work with the United States. There are more soft skills than hard skills and there's more intellect than brawn. There's a place for both, but the former is overwhelmingly more important. And intelligent people, patriotic people, don't want to work for partisan idiots. I don't know how to put it more straightforward than that. And not only do they not want to do the work, they can't do it because people like Bill Pulte or Tulsi Gabbard or Cash Patel or John Ratcliffe don't want to let them.
- [12:41]
Nicole Wallace
Yeah, yeah. It's about as blunt as that. Barbara McQuaid, let me read you from this letter to the Senate intelligence committee from 28 former service secretaries and retired general and flag officers who served under every American President from JFK to Biden. Quote, the appointment of an ill suited acting director could materially harm U.S. national security. Any prioritization of political considerations over strategic imperatives cedes advantage to our adversaries. So do errors of judgment arising from insufficient expertise. Our men and women in uniform rely upon the quality and integrity of intelligence gathered and analyzed by the 18 agencies under the director's jurisdiction. With U.S. forces engaged in active operations abroad, there's no margin for error. Every sort of frame of you would think that at a moment of war we wouldn't do something this reckless and crazy is gone in 2.0, right? Of course, this is the moment that Donald Trump will pick a person who runs the housing agency to go run ODNI for a short period to go pursue his election conspiracies. But the reality is, for those of us living on Earth One and for the men and women of the military who live on Earth one, whether they like it or not, this is who will be in charge of the agencies while their lives are at risk in the Middle east and around the world.
- [14:08]
Barbara McQuaid
Yes, and as that letter points out, there's really two big concerns here. One is the lack of experience. Even though the Director of National Intelligence, by statute is supposed to be someone with extensive intelligence experience, we get Bill Polti, whose experience has all been in the housing industry, no experience whatsoever in intelligence. And for all the reasons we just heard, that's an incredibly dangerous thing, especially at a time when we are at war with a country that the US Considers a state sponsor of terrorism. So it's incredibly dangerous to put someone there. President Trump has said, well, it's only for seven months. Seven months. So much can happen in seven months. That's a very long period of time when it comes to national security. But the other threat that that letter highlights is not just his lack of experience, but his political motivations. We have seen Bill Pulte be the one who, when he is in possession in his housing jobs of documents that he can dig through and try to project mortgage fraud claims on people that he knows President Trump is looking to go after, like Adam Schiff and Letitia James. When he is sicking the US Government on Adam Schiff and cheering him on to go after Jerome Powell, we see that Bill Pulte is, at his core, a political actor, not a public servant. And so we now have this dual threat of a lack of experience and someone who is motivated by pleasing his boss politically in one of the nation's most sensitive national security positions.
- [15:45]
Nicole Wallace
Director Brennan, the Wall Street Journal adds this. Quote, the President said he wants Pulte to release more classified documents related to issues such as the 2020 election. Asked what kind of documents Pulte should release, Trump said, quote, I would say everything. He should look at everything and make a determination, end quote. What. What is he talking about and what could possibly released?
- [16:10]
John Brennan
Well, if past is prologue, we've seen previous DNIs, Tulsi Gabbard and John Radcliffe, who's in that position, selectively release and selectively redact documents that misrepresented the facts and gave a false impression of actually what transpired and happened in years past. And so I could see Bill Pulte and his lackeys going into the files and seeing what he could in fact, release in a way, again, to misrepresent the facts. Again. This is somebody who has no sense of the importance of intelligence and what he can do to not just the morale of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, but also to the mechanisms, the processes. By law, the Director of National Intelligence is the President's principal intelligence advisor. It's the person who oversees the production of the daily Presidential Daily Brief the pdb. This is an amazingly sort of important position that has a lot of authority and power if a person chooses to wield it in an inappropriate manner. And I think by all accounts, Bill Pulte is very not just unqualified, but as Barbara pointed out, there seems to be a real concern about his trustworthiness and he would not qualify for any security clearance on the previous administrations. The way he abused his access to personal records in the Federal Housing Authority certainly would be disqualifying. And a director of national intelligence supposed to have the highest clearances and have access to all sensitive information that is inside of the intelligence community.
- [17:40]
Nicole Wallace
It's remarkable. I mean, we cover these things as though nothing can stop them. Republicans can stop it before we get off the air at 6 o'.
- [17:48]
Barbara McQuaid
Clock.
- [17:48]
Nicole Wallace
And we just cover them this way because we know that they won't, but can't say we didn't try to warn them. Director Brennan, thank you for that and for starting us off this hour. Michael and Barb, stick around. When we come back, Republicans had a chance to act. They had a chance to kill Donald Trump's politically toxic and morally reprehensible $1.8 billion slush fund when Trump called beautiful. That would potentially put taxpayer dollars in the pockets of his criminal allies and they took a pass. So now we're learning more about the staggering number of January6 insurrectionists who have gone on to commit more crimes. We'll bring you that reporting next. Also ahead, would somebody get this man a Diet Coke or a triple espresso? That's Donald Trump slumped over in a chair and seeming to be asleep in another White House meeting he convened and his press office walked the cameras into. Also ahead, Trump's heavy eyelids are proving triggering to his press aides their desperate attempts to downplay the frequent snoozing that we can all see with our own eyes. Later in the hour. Dead in White House continues after a quick break. Don't go anywhere.
- [18:59]
Political Commentator
Foreign.
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Nicole Wallace
real and what's not real.
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- [21:04]
Nicole Wallace
For weeks, Senate Republicans have been complaining about the so called anti weaponization fund, the one that would potentially put taxpayer dollars in the pockets of Donald Trump's criminal allies and up to and including violent insurrectionists who beat up cops. But when those same Senate Republicans were given an opportunity to kill that thing they've been complaining about, they didn't do it. Last night, during their marathon voting session, they refused to take any opportunity to formally and permanently block Donald Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund. And considering the last word we heard from the administration on the matter was Trump calling it, quote, a beautiful thing and his attorney general refusing to put in writing that he was going to kill it. The fate of the fund is very murky right now. Today we're getting a clearer and even more disturbing picture of why all this might matter. A lawfare study reveals that almost 1 in 16 insurrectionists subject to the President's clemency order has been arrested for and charged with and in the vast majority of cases, convicted of other crimes, at least some of which were actively enabled by Trump's clemency actions. We're back with Michael and Barb. Go figure the people who pooped in the Capitol, tased and beat up cops, went on to molest children and commit other crimes. I guess I'm not surprised. MICHAEL FARNBERG I'm just galled that Senate Republicans, three of whom Trump ran out of the Senate by primarying them, didn't have the, you know, what's to block the slush fund?
- [22:48]
Michael Feinberg
Yeah, look, there's this weird thing that's been happening ever since January where any time a Republican in Congress rhetorically faints in the direction of even criticizing Trump, everybody gets their hopes up and assumes that maybe this is the moment where they remember that they are a co equal branch of government and they frankly show some sparks. But every time it happens, we have our hopes betrayed because at the end of the day, they choose to back down and not risk suffering the same fate as John Cornyn or any of the other individuals who Donald Trump has seen fit to primary. And there's a real irony in this case, because this sort of recidivism is the very thing that all these same conservative Republicans used to rail against. These are the same people who thought three strike laws were a good idea. They support sentencing enhancements. They believe in making release more difficult and attempting to slow the pace of criminal justice reform. What we're really seeing is they're okay with those policies when they're leveraged against minorities or the lower classes or any socioeconomic group of which they are not a part. But when it comes to their political allies, they are willing to grant every grace conceivable without any justification.
- [24:18]
Nicole Wallace
Barbara McCoy, let me show you what Liz Oyer, a former pardon attorney, had to say about this. One of the January 6th insurrectionists went on to molest a child. I mean, will you just talk about sort of the two, the dangers to society of both categories of criminals, there's
- [24:37]
Liz Oyer
actually more than one. There's actually a couple of January six insurrectionists who are back in prison now for very serious offenses involving the sexual exploitation of children. One of them actually tried to bribe the children, two children that he sexually assaulted, to keep it quiet by telling them that he was going to give them a cut of the money that he was going to get from the January6 compensation fund that was coming his way. It's really grotesque. These are, these pardons are being handed out as rewards to people who show political loyalty. And that is reckless because it disregards the safety of American people, including children who've gone on to be harmed by these people who are pardoned by Donald Trump.
- [25:23]
Nicole Wallace
BARB the Harris campaign conceded after the election that the in some cases disinformation. But the videos that Trump would play at his rallies about the crimes that people in this country illegally carried out were politically effective. And I just wonder what you make of the fact that the same political coalition is now not hair on fire about crimes being carried out against small children and money promised to them from a compensation fund that hadn't even been created yet that they voted for last night, or at least didn't stop.
- [26:05]
Barbara McQuaid
Yeah, it's absolutely appalling, Nicole. I mean, even the pardons, it's shocking to me that we didn't see more pushback at the time those pardons were granted because it wasn't a case by case pardon, as happens in most instances. It was a blanket pardon for anybody who was convicted of the January 6th conduct. And include, of course, among them are many people undeserving who are very dangerous. And now they're poised to perhaps collect reparations for being convicted for that very conduct. It's appalling to me that we see members of Congress not taking action. They could do it in an instant. They could say appropriated funds may not be used to compensate these individuals. They have a lot of power of the purse here. And to just take Todd Blanche's word for it strikes me as very foolish and naive way to operate. The other thing about that deal, Nicole, that has not been walked back is the part where Donald Trump gets immunity from IRS audits and civil claims for his back taxes that he has never revealed to the public. There are some estimates that he owes up to $100 million in back taxes. And there's been no talk of walking that part of the settlement back. So I think that Congress has the ability to specifically legislate in this space. They should do so whether it's part of some other bill or the 702 FISA renewal, whatever it is, even a standalone bill, they have the power of the pers. They should act like it.
- [27:41]
Nicole Wallace
He could get half a Gold Ballroom if he just paid his tax liability. Let me read from your important new book, which goes a long way toward explaining why Republicans act the way they do. You write this. Trump has often been accused of operating like an authoritarian who seeks to maximize control. That may be true, but Trump's approach to power during his second term has also made him resemble something else, a mob boss. Trump exhibits many of the same characteristics as the corrupt defendants I encountered during my career as a federal prosecutor. Like the head of a crooked political machine or a criminal organization, Donald Trump uses power not just to lead but to dominate. He makes threats or applies pain to his targets, forcing them to beg for mercy. And once they accede to his power, he controls them. How do you write with this parallel, which I agree with? Kind of a bad mob movie, though. But how do mob organizations ultimately collapse?
- [28:44]
Barbara McQuaid
Well, there are many ways, but I think it requires collective action on the part of the victims. One of the goals of the mob boss or the corrupt political actor is to control and silence and to isolate their victims, to squeeze them and pinch them and get them to beg for mercy and to bend the knee. The way to counter that kind of strategy is for people to band together their strength in numbers, to speak out, to not pay the price. Because the mistake so many victims of extortion make is that they pay the extortionist thinking that if as long as I go along with the demands, he'll leave me alone. And of course, that's never the case. What happens is they just come back from war. They realize that you're an easy mark and that if they keep asking for more, you have no recourse. So standing together, resisting, speaking out truth to power, as Michael used earlier, is essential for defeating organized criminal mob bosses.
- [29:42]
Nicole Wallace
It's an important book. It's an important conversation to keep having. We'll keep having it with you. Barbara McQuaid, thank you for being here. Michael Feinberg, thank you for all your appearances this week and for being here today. The book is the Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob Style Government. It is available right now. It is must read. We played a clip there with my latest podcast guest on the Best People. That was my conversation with former DOJ Paul pardon attorney Liz Oyer. It is part of this latest episode of the Best People. You can listen to the whole episode right now. It's available for premium subscribers. Today. You scan the QR code to sign up for full access. The episode will be released for everybody on Monday. When we come back, dababy sweeping. Donald Trump apparently conked out in yet another White House meeting just days before his 80th birthday. The newest episode is raising a whole host of questions about his fatigue and health and vigor. It's our next story. Don't go anywhere.
- [30:56]
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- [32:54]
Nicole Wallace
if
- [32:55]
Political Commentator
there's one thing we know about Trump, it's that he's a keen judge of character. He's always paying close attention to the habits and qualities of the people around him. We've all seen him in meetings, razor sharp, laser focused, locking eyes with everyone around him, carefully scrutinizing every word and every gesture, taking the true measure of the men and the soon to be fired women who make up his administration. Sure, to you it looks like he's asleep, but everyone looks like they're sleeping when you're so woke.
- [33:28]
Nicole Wallace
It's undeniable at this point. It's an obvious punchline. He's a laughingstock. Undeniably, justifiably. But it's also deeply alarming. And it's unprecedented behavior, not just from a sitting American president, but from a leader of anything. And it happened again yesterday, in the middle of the afternoon during the White House's own press event in the Oval Office. And I cannot articulate clearly enough. The cameras are only inside the Oval Office when the White House press officers bring them into the Oval Office. They only get to stay until the White House press staffers take them out. With cabinet members flanking him, Trump slouched in his chair, either bored or just riveted and incapable of staying awake for that which he found riveting. But we'll go with bored by what his EPA administrator was saying. He just shut his eyes and dozed off in front of the cameras. We'll let you watch.
- [34:33]
Political Commentator
For so many Americans, clean, beautiful coal is their source of heat, of energy, of warmth, of a job, an economy, a community, a family, as regulation after regulation after regulation, trying to strangulate out of existence coal to destroy it. Enter President Trump. The Democrats were running for power to sit at this desk and to leverage that power to destroy these communities. Enter President Trump.
- [35:06]
He doesn't even stay awake when they
- [35:08]
Nicole Wallace
talk about him, which is new, for lack of a better word. And we'll let you reach your own conclusion about what this means again, whether he's bored or whether he's sick or whether he's tired or whether he's old. But he's definitely not awake. At a White House meeting scheduled by the White House, alerted by the White House press office at 3pm in the afternoon. The White House, for their part, they're usually like, yeah, we're corrupt. What are you gonna do about it? In this case, that's not their posture. They're triggered and, like, out of their mind about this viral moment. One of the press officers said his eyes are literally open. That's true. Like every 11 seconds, they, like, flutter open. So you know he's alive. Trump is one week shy of his 80th birthday. He's been caught sleeping more than a handful of times during major public appearances at the White House, including during a meeting with his entire cabinet and a ceremony meant to give out an award for physical fitness. I want to bring in the managing editor of the Bulwark, our contributor, Sam Stein. With me at the table, Democratic strategist and Columbia University professor, political analyst Basil Smichel. Sam, I mean, there's an argument, I guess, that if he's asleep, he can't do anything scary. But he seems to obviously have endurance issues, wakefulness issues, alertness issues, and for all of the years of ramming down our throat, wow. He's energetic, he's getting things done. Strong and wrong is better than whatever it was right and not a bully, whatever that political trope was. He's wrong and asleep now.
- [37:05]
Sam Stein
Yeah, I mean, look, I don't begrudge an 80 year old for taking the occasional nap. God knows I Take the occasional nap. But I'm not president and I'm not taking a nap while I have my deputies and my cabinet officials flanked around me telling me how great I am. So it is optically a very odd situation. And then on top of that, to your point, Nicole, this is a guy who ran and literally like two minutes ago, I was watching his event in Wisconsin, was talking about how his predecessor in this role, Joe Biden, was always asleep. And as Heilman always says, you know, everything's a confession with this guy and he's very sleepy on the job. The reason the White House obviously is quite sensitive about this versus everything else is that they've created this public perception of him as this kind of raging bull who's just going to steamroll his opponents, who never tires of energy. And from all we know is he, he is up at crazy hours at night. He has a doom scrolling habit, obviously, because he posts at all odd hours. But maybe that's the problem, is that he's not sort of getting the actual rest that you probably need. And it's creating these optically confusing moments and politically problematic ones, which is why the White House reacts so violently against anyone who points it out.
- [38:21]
Nicole Wallace
There are questions about his health. He goes to Walter Reed a lot. Here's Dr. Oz responding. No question about that.
- [38:33]
Political Commentator
If the President's in such perfect health, why does he keep going back in for checkups?
- [38:37]
Dr. Oz
I think he likes the results. He does really well. He aces the test every single day. And I do actually believe that he is curious to make sure everything is going in the right direction. He's a very meticulous person in so many ways that are often underappreciated.
- [38:57]
Nicole Wallace
He aces the test every single day. Why is he taking the. What test is he taking every single day?
- [39:02]
Political Commentator
Yeah, it's a really good question. What test is he taking? And do we actually even believe the results when they're reported? You know, I'm looking at the images that you're showing and I'm watching him in the Oval Office with those young kids. If those kids were dozing off in class the way he is in the
- [39:20]
Nicole Wallace
Oval Office, Child Protective Services gets called. Yeah, I mean, it's like first a note home and then like, does your kid not have a place to sleep? It's serious.
- [39:29]
Political Commentator
And as a Gen X, they're probably paddled, but can't do that anymore. Right. But no child could go to class without a teacher or a parent intervening if they're behaving that way. But yet we're giving at least a good chunk of this country is giving the president free reign to behave that way in front of others, with control of the bureaucracy in the way that he has it. And yeah, I remember all of last year when a lot of this, the same of language was thrown at Joe Biden and lamented the fact that so many Democrats were so quick to engage in the same kind of language about their own president. And we see how that turned out. And I'm not saying that it wasn't warranted, but if it was warranted then, it is absolutely warranted now. And I'm, you know, in an earlier segment, someone talked about Congress doing their job. Congress is watching this, let alone the people that are in the Oval Office that work directly for him. But Congress is watching this and just letting him do whatever that he wants. He is solely in whatever the polling's saying. He is still solely in control of his party. He may not have appeal outside of that, but he's still in control of his party and they will continue to cede control to him even as they watch him be Mr. Melatonin all day.
- [40:45]
Nicole Wallace
We'll show you Marco Rubio's primal scream to be the person that inherits the MAGA universe. We have to sneak in a short break. We'll do that next.
- [41:07]
Marco Rubio
I've never seen him fall asleep. On the contrary, the guy doesn't sleep, which is a big problem because he calls me at 2 in the morning. He calls me at 5 in the morning.
- [41:13]
Political Commentator
I'm going to show you in a moment a video that shows you just lied to Congress.
- [41:18]
Marco Rubio
Oh, okay.
- [41:19]
Political Commentator
So this is a video of a Cabinet meeting, literally from last month, where Donald Trump is sleeping. While you are talking, please show this
- [41:28]
Marco Rubio
video coalition of countries that line up behind the peace deal, behind the board of peace. And it's still every day is a challenge, but it's been driven personally by the president. It's the reason why we're involved in this whole Ukraine, Russia conflict. That's not our war. It's not the president's war. This war started. It never would have happened if you'd been president. But this war is going on and the president is trying to end it.
- [41:50]
Political Commentator
You are literally talking about issues of war and peace and Donald Trump is sleeping right next to you.
- [41:57]
Marco Rubio
No, he's not.
- [42:00]
Nicole Wallace
It depends what your definition of sleeping is. A guy with his eyes closed, resting his neck and not talking isn't sleeping in my book. What is wrong with these people, Sam?
- [42:13]
Sam Stein
I mean, again, it's just they can't admit that in this case, the emperor has no clothes, that he does doze off. And, you know, if you're Marco Rubio, wait, at least, why did I, why did I open that Pandora's box? Nicole, in this case, look, it obviously is problematic that he's sleeping, especially when they're discussing what's happening in the Iran war. But Marco Rubio's goal, as is the case with anyone who works in the Trump cabinet, is to never admit that the president makes any error, let alone that he falls asleep. So Marco Rubio has to sit there in a committee hearing and say, you know, that everything that we saw, whether it's a doze or asleep or a quick snooze, whatever you want to call it, just didn't happen because this is a prolific man who's up at all hours of night calling him with the greatest ideas you could possibly have, breaking through all the toughest conundrums across the world, and also posting on truth social at 3am
- [43:07]
Nicole Wallace
it's only a matter of time, though, Basil, before Marco Rubio realizes that the whole country has seen Donald Trump asleep. And the answer from Marco Rubio, and I bet him a year's worth of donuts delivered to his door every morning that at some point in time his answer will be, damn right, he sleeps. And he sleeps because he's so smart and he's so good and his brain runs like, as hot as an AI center. He's gotta sleep.
- [43:29]
Political Commentator
Yeah. You know, every time I think about Marco Rubio, and since my Knicks are playing tonight, I'll use a basketball term, he's probably most improved player in the
- [43:39]
Nicole Wallace
Trump orbit in Trump's eyes. Not in a view of the democracy in Trump's eyes.
- [43:44]
Political Commentator
Because I think about the little Marco going back to 2016, and then here he is, you know, on center stage running wars on behalf of America while the President is sleeping. So, yeah, we're going to be hearing a lot more from Marco Rubio and his, you know, his angling to be President 2020.
- [44:03]
Nicole Wallace
Very J.D. vance, Sam Stein, Bezos, Michael, thank you both for staying away during this segment. When we come back, it's not just the Kennedy center building itself, where Donald Trump's name has been all ordered removed, will explain. To any kid that ever took candy out of the bins and their parents made them go and give them back. This story will resonate in a massive blow to Trump's huge ego. Kennedy center lawyers who are now complying with the judge's order, forcing his name to now be taken off the building. Send a memo to employees that's been obtained by the Atlantic. In it, they break the news that it's more than just the name on the building that has got to go back. Quote. This includes email signatures, email communications, letterhead, website brochures, promotional materials, press releases, signs, references and contracts, and any other agreements and every other reference to the quote. Trump Kennedy center, the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial center for Performing Arts or similar name has to go back. You have to give it all back. You have to take it all down. It also broke down guidance for each department's responsibilities in complying with this very specific undo everything order. Those working in development, campus planning, and archives, for instance, have been instructed to immediately update all their templates, agreements, forms, and policies to remove Donald Trump's name. Meanwhile, facilities and marketing were given a deadline of June 12 to update all physical and digital signage. We will keep a close eye when those letters actually get scraped off the outside of the building, and we'll bring you those images immediately. One more break. We'll be right back. Thank you so much for letting us into your homes for another week of shows. We are so grateful.
- [46:21]
Stitch Fix Advertiser
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- [46:28]
Political Commentator
Wow.
- [46:30]
Nicole Wallace
No photos, please. I'm just a regular dad who happens
- [46:32]
John Brennan
to have a stylist.
- [46:33]
Nicole Wallace
I really look my best when someone
- [46:35]
Political Commentator
else makes the decisions.
- [46:36]
Nicole Wallace
Hey, we can all see you two way mirrors.
- [46:40]
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