Rachel Maddow on Matt Whitaker: Six things to know about Trump's pick to be NATO ambassador

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Rachel Maddow Show Episode: Rachel Maddow on Matt Whitaker: Six Things to Know About Trump's Pick to Be NATO Ambassador
Release Date: December 12, 2024
Host: Rachel Maddow, MSNBC

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Introduction

In this episode of The Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel Maddow delves into the controversial nomination of Matthew Whitaker as the United States Ambassador to NATO. Released on December 12, 2024, the episode provides a critical analysis of Whitaker's qualifications—or lack thereof—and explores the implications of his appointment for U.S. foreign policy and the broader political landscape.

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Overview of Trump's Nomination Strategy

Rachel Maddow begins by scrutinizing President-elect Trump's approach to selecting cabinet members and key governmental positions. She highlights the apparent lack of traditional vetting processes, including omitted FBI security clearance checks and minimal background investigations.

Rachel Maddow [01:01]: "As the President elect chooses his nominees for the Cabinet and other big jobs in the US Government, he has apparently decided to go commando, just kind of wing it and not do traditional background checks or vetting on the people that he has been nominating."

Maddow raises concerns about the transparency and accountability of this nomination process, questioning how the American public can trust individuals appointed without thorough scrutiny.

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Six Key Points About Matthew Whitaker

Rachel Maddow structures her critique around six critical points concerning Matthew Whitaker's suitability for the NATO ambassador position:

1. Lack of Diplomatic Experience

Maddow underscores Whitaker's complete absence of experience in diplomacy, foreign policy, or any international relations roles—key qualifications for a NATO ambassador.

Rachel Maddow [01:45]: "Matthew Whitaker does have experience as a college football player... But there is nothing at all in his professional, personal or life experience to suggest that he has any qualifications whatsoever for this big and important job."

2. Athletic Background Overstated

While Whitaker's college football tenure at the University of Iowa is mentioned, Maddow criticizes his embellishment of this aspect, including false claims of being an "academic All American."

Rachel Maddow [03:15]: "He decided he needed to dress it up a little bit after he graduated... But it was not true. But he nevertheless put this false academic all American claim on the website of his law firm..."

3. Association with Fraudulent Enterprises

Whitaker's involvement with World Patent Marketing, a company later exposed as a fraud, is a significant point of contention. Maddow details how Whitaker was part of the advisory board and participated in promotional activities for the company.

Rachel Maddow [05:10]: "Matthew Whitaker appeared in promotional materials for World Patent Marketing... The company was ultimately shut down by a federal judge in order to pay more than $20 million for being a scam and a fraud."

4. Controversial Tenure as U.S. Attorney

Maddow recounts Whitaker's tenure as U.S. Attorney in Iowa, focusing on his unsuccessful prosecution of the state's first openly gay state senator, which ended in a swift jury acquittal.

Rachel Maddow [07:30]: "Matt Whitaker brought a criminal prosecution of the state's first gay state senator. He prosecuted him for extortion, but the prosecution did not succeed... The jury took a grand total of 90 minutes to unanimously acquit the guy."

5. Questionable Roles Post-Attorney Position

After his role as U.S. Attorney, Whitaker led a mysterious advocacy group with undisclosed funding sources and served as a paid commentator, where he criticized the Mueller investigation and called for the prosecution of Hillary Clinton.

Rachel Maddow [09:00]: "Whitaker had to revise his financial disclosure forms five different times... He reportedly advised the Trump White House on how they really could get Hillary Clinton prosecuted somehow."

6. Donald Trump's Public Denial of Knowing Whitaker

Perhaps the most striking point Maddow makes is Trump's public denial of knowing Whitaker, despite the latter's significant role within the administration.

Rachel Maddow [10:58]: "Donald Trump: I don't know Matt Whitaker."
Rachel Maddow [11:00]: "To be clear, this was not during Matt Whitaker's hubba hubba hiney big boy toilet time machine years..."

Maddow highlights the embarrassment this caused for the Trump administration when Whitaker was appointed Attorney General, revealing a disconnect and possible lack of awareness within Trump's inner circle.

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Donald Trump's Affirmation and Public Confusion

Rachel Maddow reflects on a moment where Trump reiterates his claim of not knowing Whitaker shortly after the nomination, emphasizing the administration's troubled narrative control.

Rachel Maddow [11:57]: "Donald Trump: I don't know Matt Whitaker."

This denial occurred amidst growing public and media scrutiny, exacerbating doubts about Trump's decision-making process in appointments.

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Conclusion

Rachel Maddow wraps up the segment by reiterating the six critical points about Matthew Whitaker, underscoring the concerns regarding his nomination as NATO ambassador. She emphasizes the importance of transparency and proper vetting in governmental appointments, questioning the potential impact of Whitaker's lack of qualifications on U.S. foreign policy and national security.

Rachel Maddow [12:00]: "But there you have it. Six things to know about your new proposed Ambassador to NATO. Matt Whitaker this has been a Rachel Maddow Show Public Servant announcement."

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Key Takeaways

• Insufficient Qualifications: Matthew Whitaker lacks diplomatic, foreign policy, and military experience essential for a NATO ambassador.
• Questionable Integrity: His association with fraudulent enterprises and embellishment of athletic achievements raise integrity concerns.
• Controversial Legal Actions: Whitaker's unsuccessful prosecution of an openly gay politician and his subsequent roles indicate a pattern of contentious public service.
• Administration Discrepancies: Trump's public denial of knowing Whitaker highlights possible internal miscommunications and mismanagement within the administration.

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This comprehensive analysis by Rachel Maddow serves as a critical examination of Matthew Whitaker's nomination, urging viewers to consider the broader implications for governance and international relations.

Transcript

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[Rachel Maddow]

As the President elect chooses his nominees for the Cabinet and other big jobs in the US Government, he has apparently decided to go commando, just kind of wing it and not do traditional background checks or vetting on the people that he has been nominating. Initially, it was no FBI security clearance background checks, apparently no substantial vetting by his transition team. It's not even clear that anybody was doing any casual googling of some of these folks. No looking them up on the Internet machine. That's too much time wasted. Trump has also said he expects the Senate to go into recess to not hold confirmation hearings for his appointees either, and we will see if he gets what he wants there. But if that's the overall plan here, how much will the American people get to know about who these people are that are going to be in charge of the U.S. government? I mean, how did any of them even punch their ticket with Trump to get picked for these jobs? Well, in the absence of any real vetting the way it's supposed to go, here is a Rachel Maddow SHOW Public servant announcement, because maybe this at least can help. Today, it's Trump's pick to be NATO ambassador, a man named Matthew Whitaker. In case you run into him on the street, this is what he looks like. He's a large man, quite perfectly bald. He kind of maybe looks like he played football in college. That is because he played football in college. More on that in a moment. But here are six things to know about Matthew Whitaker, Trump's nominee to be NATO ambassador. Number one, I mentioned the job he's up for is NATO ambassador. Well, does he have any experience in being an ambassador? No. Of being any kind of diplomat? No. Of having anything to do with diplomacy in any way? No. Anything related to foreign policy? No. Anything foreign at all? No, no, no, no. And no. NATO is a military alliance though. So perhaps he was chosen for his military experience. No. He also has no military experience whatsoever. So that's basically a clean sweep. There is nothing at all in his professional, personal or life experience to suggest that he has any qualifications whatsoever for this big and important job. So that's one thing number two I mentioned. Matthew Whitaker does have experience as a college football player. He in fact played tight end for the University of Iowa, which is a very impressive thing. That said, it was not impressive enough in Matt Whitaker's own eyes. And we know this because he decided he needed to dress it up a little bit after he graduated. After he was gone from the University of Iowa, he started telling people that he had been an academic All American while he was at Iowa and that would be a very big deal if it was true. It was not true. But he nevertheless put this false academic all American claim on the website of his law firm on his failed application to become a judge in Iowa. The U.S. justice Department even put it in their own press release about him when he was leading a federal prosecutor's office in the George W. Bush administration. Matthew Whitaker also put this fake credential, this academic all American thing, on a resume that he sent to a scam company. I call it a scam company because it was ultimately investigated by the FBI and shut down by the government as a fraud. That company itself is thing number three to know about Matt Whitaker. This is a video that shows what it's like to time travel. At least that's according to a company called World Patent Marketing. World Patent Marketing put out the time travel video, but they do a lot of things. Let's say you have an idea for an invention, a time travel machine, sure. But also maybe an inflatable thing that you stuff under the couch to keep things from rolling under the couch. Or let's say you want to invent a little net for the back of your cell phone case to hold your headphones. Let's say you think there should be a toilet manufactured specifically for men with large dangly bits larger than can fit into a run of the mill toilet. You think there's a niche in the market out there for guys who need a special extra masculine toilet. Let's say you have invented a pair of jeans that artificially enhances the look of your rear end. Which is perhaps a callback to the best and most famous Laverne and Shirley episode of all time. You remember the one about the hubba hubba hiney. Nevermind what your invention is. This company, World Patent Marketing, will tell you they can patent your idea. They can get it to market. They can make you rich. Rich beyond your wildest dreams. You should therefore send them money. You should send them lots of money, tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars so they can provide this service for you of making you rich off your invention. Why should you trust them to not just take your money? Why should you trust that they will actually do all these things with your invention idea and in fact make you rich? Well, you can trust them because of their advisory board. Their advisory board of very influential, very successful, very powerful people. People like a professor of time travel. Hence the World Patent Marketing video showing what time traveling really looks like. Also, the former Miss Rhode island, also a karate world champion. Also Matthew Whitaker, former U.S. attorney from Iowa. Matthew Whitaker appeared in promotional materials for World Patent Marketing. He was mentioned by name in the scripts the company used to recruit its next victims. I mean customers. Matthew Whitaker, even himself wrote this email threatening that there might be serious criminal consequences if this particular unhappy customer went ahead with his plans to file a complaint about World Patent Marketing with the Better Business Bureau. Needless to say, it is not a crime to complain to the Better Business Bureau. But it can be a criminal matter to defraud people of their life savings while promising to market their inventions when instead you're just pocketing their money. And the scam, Big Ding a Ling toilet time travel company that paid Matt Whitaker to be on their advisory board. That company was the subject of a federal criminal investigation by the fb. It had its offices raided by federal agents and it was ultimately shut down by a federal judge in order to pay more than $20 million for being a scam and a fraud. So that's three thing number four. Before Matt Whitaker ended up at the Big Ding a Ling toilet fraud company, the thing for which he was best known was probably his time serving as U.S. attorney in Iowa. And the thing he was best known for doing as the U.S. attorney in Iowa was a failed, super controversial prosecution of Iowa's first ever openly gay politician. Matt Whitaker as U.S. attorney brought a criminal prosecution of the state's first gay state senator. He prosecuted him for extortion, but the prosecution did not succeed. The jury in fact took a grand total of 90 minutes to unanimously acquit the guy who Matt Whitaker prosecuted. That 90 minutes that the jury took included the time they took off for lunch when that super controversial prosecution blew up. The local press in Iowa went full lights and sirens on Matt Whitaker. The Des Moines Register said in an editorial, quote, was this prosecution a product of poor judgment, inexperience, misplaced zeal, or partisan politicking? Perhaps all of the above. That's thing number four. Thing number five. After his time as U.S. attorney and after his time at the big ding a ling toilet fraud, Matt Whitaker became the head of a mysterious advocacy group funded almost entirely by undisclosed donors. He was also a paid commentator on cnn Aw whereupon he came to the attention of the Trump administration for criticizing the Mueller investigation, for endorsing the criminal prosecution of Hillary Clinton for something, email something, something, Russia something. It was never quite clear what the crime was, but definitely prosecute her. That performance for Matt Whitaker was enough to get him his out of the blue appointment to be Chief of Staff to the Attorney general in Trump's U.S. justice Department. Once he was there, Whitaker had to revise his financial disclosure forms five different times. Once he was there, Matt Whitaker reportedly advised the Trump White House on how they really could get Hillary Clinton prosecuted somehow, or at least criminally investigate it somehow for something. Which brings us to thing number six. Last but not least. Actually, this one's my favorite. The last thing to know about Matt Whitaker, the guy Trump has now inexplicably chosen to be America's Ambassador to NATO, despite the fact that he has zero qualifications for that job. The last thing to know about him is that Donald Trump once publicly pretended that he had no idea who Matt Whitaker was.

[Donald Trump]

I don't know Matt Whitaker.

[Rachel Maddow]

To be clear, this was not during Matt Whitaker's hubba hubba hiney big boy toilet time machine years. This was not even in the early days of the Trump administration when Matt Whitaker was just a staffer at the Justice Department. Right? This was two days after Donald Trump handpicked Matt Whitaker and publicly named Matt Whitaker to be his new Attorney General. It was a major embarrassment for the Trump administration when Trump named this guy nobody had ever heard of to be Attorney General. It didn't take long for people to start connecting the dots that Matthew Whitaker was the same guy between the masculine toilet fraud company and the lying on the resume and behind what was viewed as a sham prosecution, as a U.S. attorney and all the other things about him. And so just two days after Trump publicly and proudly announced that he was putting this guy, Matt Whitaker in his cabinet this was Trump.

[Donald Trump]

I don't know Matt Whitaker.

[Rachel Maddow]

You do indeed, but it was too embarrassing to admit it. But there you have it. Six things to know about your new proposed Ambassador to NATO. Matt Whitaker this has been a Rachel Maddow Show Public Servant announcement.

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