Monday on CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper, the show's host engaged in a mind-bogglingly ridiculous back-and-forth with Donald Trump's campaign advisor, Michael Cohen. It was with regard to the GOP frontrunner appearing to mock reporter Serge Kovaleski's physical disability, a condition called arthrogryposis. Here's how the back-and-forth ensued:
Jake Tapper: "He (Donald Trump) said, 'You gotta see this guy,' and then mimics his injury."
Michael Cohen: "Mr. Trump donates millions and millions of dollars, each and every year, in order to combat disabilities, in order to combat cancer. Whether it's children, he donates millions of dollars every year. Mr. Trump is not the type of individual that's gonna make fun of of somebody's disability. He wouldn't know this guy prior to this entire nonsense."
Tapper: "But we just saw him do it. We just saw him make fun of his disability."
Cohen: "He was being gesticulate, which Donald Trump is. And he was basically showing the exasperation of a reporter that's pulling back on a story and basically saying something like, 'Now I don't remember.'"
Later in the interview, this exchange occurred:
Cohen: "I've worked for Mr. Trump now for a long time, and I can tell you that Mr. Trump's memory is fantastic. I've never come across a situation where Mr. Trump has said something that's not accurate (with regard to the "thousands upon thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering during the 9/11 attacks)."
Tapper: "Seriously?"
Cohen: "Do you know, Jake, how many people have covered Donald Trump in the past? Thousands upon thousands."
Tapper: "How many with that disability? I would guess one."
Cohen: "Do you really think that Mr. Trump remembers this specific reporter? Mr. Trump himself said that he does not remember this reporter."
Tapper: "You said he has a fantastic memory. 'Michael, he said, 'This was written by a nice reporter. He said it was written by a nice reporter, you gotta see this guy.'"
As Jake Tapper said, "Seriously?" Let me get this straight... Donald Trump claims to have one of the best, if not the best memory in the world. When speaking to his advisor, Michael Cohen, Trump seems to remember speaking to a reporter with a rare disability, yet after he openly mocks this reporter during a speech and gets called out for it, he suddenly doesn't remember this reporter after all. Is that right? Based on all this information, it seems all but certain Donald Trump is either BSing he has a great memory after all, BSing he didn't remember this reporter with a disability, or as is often the case with him, is BSing about all of the above. I'm going to go with C) on that one.
I think my favorite quote from the interview was how Michael Cohen tried to justify Trump's actions during his speech by saying this:
"He was being gesticulate, which Donald Trump is. And he was basically showing the exasperation of a reporter that's pulling back on a story and basically saying something like, 'Now I don't remember.'"
Given that expert level of dancing by Trump's political advisor, expect him to provide the following justifications in the future:
Setting: Trump mocks a deaf person
Michael Cohen: "He was only covering his ears and saying, 'Blah blah blah, I can't hear, I sound stupid,' because he knows there's a stark difference between hearing and listening. Donald Trump doesn't want to just hear the noise of the crowds; he wants to look each person in the eyes and actually listen to what they have to say."
Setting: Trump mocks a homeless vet
Michael Cohen: "I can explain this. The reason Mr. Trump spoke at the rally dressed in a ripped up camouflage jacket, dirty jeans, with dirt all over his hands and face, as he said, 'Look at me! I fought for this country but now live on the street. I hear voices in my head and no one wants to go by me because I stink," is because he wants the people to know, even though he may be a billionaire, deep down, he's like everybody else. He puts his pants on one leg at a time, goes about his day like anyone else, and he's not afraid to get down and dirty when it comes to getting things done in Washington."
Setting: Trump mocks a blind person
Michael Cohen: "The only reasons Trump put shades on, started moving his head back and forth, and pretended to play the piano is because the man loves music, first of all, but he also has a very very rare eye condition, which leaves him more prone to wearing sunglasses no matter where he may be: indoors, outdoors, awake, asleep, day, night, playing poker, or even playing Chutes and Ladders."
https://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/cnns-jake-tapper-calls-bs-on-trump-crusader-still-insisting-he-wasnt-mocking-reporters-condition/
Jake Tapper: "He (Donald Trump) said, 'You gotta see this guy,' and then mimics his injury."
Michael Cohen: "Mr. Trump donates millions and millions of dollars, each and every year, in order to combat disabilities, in order to combat cancer. Whether it's children, he donates millions of dollars every year. Mr. Trump is not the type of individual that's gonna make fun of of somebody's disability. He wouldn't know this guy prior to this entire nonsense."
Tapper: "But we just saw him do it. We just saw him make fun of his disability."
Cohen: "He was being gesticulate, which Donald Trump is. And he was basically showing the exasperation of a reporter that's pulling back on a story and basically saying something like, 'Now I don't remember.'"
Later in the interview, this exchange occurred:
Cohen: "I've worked for Mr. Trump now for a long time, and I can tell you that Mr. Trump's memory is fantastic. I've never come across a situation where Mr. Trump has said something that's not accurate (with regard to the "thousands upon thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering during the 9/11 attacks)."
Tapper: "Seriously?"
Cohen: "Do you know, Jake, how many people have covered Donald Trump in the past? Thousands upon thousands."
Tapper: "How many with that disability? I would guess one."
Cohen: "Do you really think that Mr. Trump remembers this specific reporter? Mr. Trump himself said that he does not remember this reporter."
Tapper: "You said he has a fantastic memory. 'Michael, he said, 'This was written by a nice reporter. He said it was written by a nice reporter, you gotta see this guy.'"
As Jake Tapper said, "Seriously?" Let me get this straight... Donald Trump claims to have one of the best, if not the best memory in the world. When speaking to his advisor, Michael Cohen, Trump seems to remember speaking to a reporter with a rare disability, yet after he openly mocks this reporter during a speech and gets called out for it, he suddenly doesn't remember this reporter after all. Is that right? Based on all this information, it seems all but certain Donald Trump is either BSing he has a great memory after all, BSing he didn't remember this reporter with a disability, or as is often the case with him, is BSing about all of the above. I'm going to go with C) on that one.
I think my favorite quote from the interview was how Michael Cohen tried to justify Trump's actions during his speech by saying this:
"He was being gesticulate, which Donald Trump is. And he was basically showing the exasperation of a reporter that's pulling back on a story and basically saying something like, 'Now I don't remember.'"
Given that expert level of dancing by Trump's political advisor, expect him to provide the following justifications in the future:
Setting: Trump mocks a deaf person
Michael Cohen: "He was only covering his ears and saying, 'Blah blah blah, I can't hear, I sound stupid,' because he knows there's a stark difference between hearing and listening. Donald Trump doesn't want to just hear the noise of the crowds; he wants to look each person in the eyes and actually listen to what they have to say."
Setting: Trump mocks a homeless vet
Michael Cohen: "I can explain this. The reason Mr. Trump spoke at the rally dressed in a ripped up camouflage jacket, dirty jeans, with dirt all over his hands and face, as he said, 'Look at me! I fought for this country but now live on the street. I hear voices in my head and no one wants to go by me because I stink," is because he wants the people to know, even though he may be a billionaire, deep down, he's like everybody else. He puts his pants on one leg at a time, goes about his day like anyone else, and he's not afraid to get down and dirty when it comes to getting things done in Washington."
Setting: Trump mocks a blind person
Michael Cohen: "The only reasons Trump put shades on, started moving his head back and forth, and pretended to play the piano is because the man loves music, first of all, but he also has a very very rare eye condition, which leaves him more prone to wearing sunglasses no matter where he may be: indoors, outdoors, awake, asleep, day, night, playing poker, or even playing Chutes and Ladders."
https://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/cnns-jake-tapper-calls-bs-on-trump-crusader-still-insisting-he-wasnt-mocking-reporters-condition/
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