Anderson Cooper blasts Republican guest who claims he knows why Donald Trump makes wild remarks
Anderson Cooper cursed on air at a Republican lawmaker who claimed Donald Trump made outlandish statements because he was a New Yorker.
The CNN host’s interview with ex-California Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado quickly derailed on Wednesday.
Military leaders under the Trump administration have sharply criticized the former president over his conduct in his top job and over whether he was fit for a second term.
They include his chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, who claimed he made insulting comments about soldiers, and then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, who called him “fascist to the core.”
Anderson Cooper cursed on air at a Republican former lawmaker who claimed Donald Trump made outlandish statements because he was a New Yorker
Maldonado claimed that military figures like her thought Trump was a good president when they worked with him and only criticized him afterwards.
“A lot of these people, Anderson, if they work for him, he’s a good guy,” he claimed, despite none of them ever saying so.
“They don’t come after President Trump until after they leave, or if they’re fired, one of the two.”
This led to a heated exchange with Cooper and his other guest, Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein, who asked Maldonado if Trump was a fascist.
Maldonado denied this, so Bernstein rephrased his question and asked, “Is he saying fascist things?”
“He’s a New Yorker. He’s a fighter, he’s a leader,” Maldonado replied as he led Cooper on his way.
“You’re from California. The kids in the Central Park Five were actually New Yorkers,” Cooper said.
“So the idea that Donald Trump is a New Yorker and this is what New Yorkers say is just nonsense.”
The CNN host’s interview with ex-California Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado (second from left) and Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein (left) quickly went off the rails, while his third guest Ana Navarro managed to stay above the fray.
Maldonado claimed that military figures like her thought Trump was a good president when they worked with him, and only criticized him afterwards
The Central Park Five were five black teenagers who were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in 1989, and who were ultimately exonerated through DNA in 2002.
“I’m from California and we look at New York, as you know, they’re fighters. They are strong. They tell it like it is. They will say it out loud,” Maldonado insisted.
Cooper replied, “But that’s a comic book. I mean, again, there are eight million people in the city.”
Maldonado also claimed during the argument that Trump had not changed, so it was the military leaders who changed their tune.
“They went to work to help America, to help President Trump, and suddenly they have a disagreement. They move on. And then he is a ‘fascist’, he claimed.
Cooper argued that they likely went to work for Trump (or in Milley’s case were simply promoted to the position) so they could temper Trump’s worst impulses.
“So you believe that the highly decorated General Milley, General Kelly, who was chief of staff, whose son died serving this country, you believe that they are making things up,” he said.
Then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley called Trump ‘fascist to the core’
Trump’s chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly (center), claimed the former president made insulting comments about soldiers
Maldonado denied that this was his point, or that he was accusing them of lying.
“Donald Trump in 2016 when he was running, you know, who he was, you know who he is. That’s who he is. Trump will never change,” he said.
Milley took issue with Trump in Bob Woodward’s book War and warned that he planned to use the military against his political opponents.
‘He’s the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so on, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person for this country,” he said.
Milley recalled in the book how Trump wanted to court-martial generals who spoke out against him.
Kelly claimed that Trump called decorated military veterans “suckers” and “losers” and refused to be seen with military amputees because “it doesn’t look good to me.”
He also described Trump as someone who “admires autocrats and murderous dictators.”