Elisabeth Bumiller
Appearances
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
Correct. And this will have to be sorted out, obviously, as Charlie said, by the Supreme Court because it's going to reach the Supreme Court. The question I have about it is if the Supreme Court rules in Trump's favor, that means the next president who might be a Democrat also has these incredible king-like powers. So Republicans, be careful what you wish for.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
And they don't seem to be objecting, which is what is so extraordinary. He says he wants to get rid of the entire education department that was created by Congress. You just don't hear anything much out of the Hill. I mean, there's the Democrats are protesting, but nothing else. Right.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
Well, in 2017, Norman Lear, the late Norman Lear, but he was very much alive then, said he would not attend this annual gala at the Kennedy Center that awards lifetime achievement awards to people who have contributed to the culture of the nation.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
And Norman Lear said he would not attend the White House reception ahead of time because Donald Trump had threatened to cut off all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
Yes. And so then less than two weeks later, Charlottesville happened. Trump said there were fine people on both sides of that. Another honoree said she was not going to attend the White House reception.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
Yes. And so Trump just said, I'm not having the reception. And he would not attend the Kennedy Center Honors that December. He was the first president in 40 years not to attend. And he never went the entire four years of the first term. Hmm. And so who knew the resentments he held close to him?
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
Well, now we know because he quickly, within weeks of his new administration, installed himself as the new chairman of the Kennedy Center. He fired the president and removed all of the Biden appointees on the board and installed his own in a matter of days. To what end, though? Well, he said it was because of all the drag shows at the Kennedy Center targeted at children.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
We think he was referring to one that was a drag show for gay youth. But the point is there are more than 2,000 events at the Kennedy Center every year. There have been a handful of drag shows and only one that we could find that was aimed at children. And also, I would just like to point out that the Kennedy Center is, for the most part, it's changed a lot in recent years, but it's traditional.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
It's opera. It's ballet. It's the symphony. There have been country music festivals there. There's been jazz. There's been rock. It's not what you would call a risky avant-garde art house, to say the least.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
There's certainly a real drive among conservatives to try to become a more dominant culture in the United States. They have lived for years in the shadow of the liberal Hollywood elite. It was very hard for Trump to get people to perform at his first inaugural. It's still hard to get A-list celebrities to come and perform to his White House. And They're resentful. They feel shut out.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
But now they said, you know, we're going to be cool now. So there's a lot of that going on, I think, with this.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
Well, what previous leaders have done is just declare crisis, you know, that everything is terrible, but I am here to save you all. And that would include the three things we've talked about. I mean, Trump, he had trouble in the first term because he had too many people from the old order, the establishment, but they're gone now. And you can see it's basically Trump and Elon Musk.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
So I do think it's part of his playbook to be the kind of leader he would like to be, to be basically the king he would like to be.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
A complete rewriting of history. Putin invaded Ukraine three years ago. That is a fact. It was not Zelensky's fault. Zelensky did not cause his country to be invaded. This is a classic Trump MO. It's just that the whole world knows it's wrong, but it would seem to be part of a deliberate strategy.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
Well, if you want to make a deal with Putin, you need to cast Zelensky as the villain here.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
Sure. He didn't say that explicitly, though. But that is certainly a view of many people in the foreign policy establishment. History is split on this so far about whether it was a good idea or a bad idea. But there are people— For NATO to contemplate letting Ukraine in. Yes. But the other thing I wanted to say was this is very helpful to Trump.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
to promote this rewriting of history because it's worked for him in the past. Look at how many people think that he won the election in 2020. Look at how many people now think that January 6th was a day of peaceful protest. Yeah. So it works.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
How the U.S. deals with Europe specifically. That is the great difference here. It's moving closer to Russia and moving away from Europe. And I think we all know that there was complete panic at the Munich Security Conference last week about that. If you talk to any European official, they are beside themselves with what is happening and preparing for a future without the United States.
The Daily
Trump 2.0: Rewriting Histories
Absolutely. And look, the Biden— Is he kind of right? Yes, he is sort of right because the Biden administration was obviously moving in this direction. But there was always the view that Ukraine would be part of any kind of settlement. And this is just completely casting Ukraine out. And there also is a sense among the Europeans that we are totally on our own. Hmm.