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How Donald Trump tried to court the Atlantic – and why the liberal magazine landed an interview
Hell hath frozen over: At the White House the other day, Donald Trump «was launching a charm offensive, directed mainly at Goldberg,» as in Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief. «There was none of the name-calling or hostility he regularly levels at our magazine.»
That’s according to Atlantic reporters Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, who wrote the magazine’s cover story, which was posted yesterday.
For all the insights gleaned from the interview, nothing is more fascinating than how it came about.
They called the president on his cell phone. (Wha? Who do I have to court to get that? The reporters ain’t saying.)
Trump says he did the initial phone interview to see if the liberal magazine could be fair.
PRESIDENT TRUMP TELLS THE ATLANTIC HE RUNS THE COUNTRY ‘AND THE WORLD’
So I’m here to pronounce that the entire, seemingly endless piece is fair. The president hasn’t taken a shot at it on Truth Social, at least so far.
He has, however, ripped new polls from the «Failing New York Times» and «ABC/Washington Post» as «FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS,» saying they should be «investigated for ELECTION FRAUD, and add in the Fox News Pollster while you’re at it.» His lowest approval rating, in the Post-ABC survey, was 39 percent.
Meanwhile, we may now look back on Trump’s 2024 victory as inevitable, but after Jan. 6 it was anything but. On the cell call, «The president seemed exhilarated by everything he had managed to do in the first two months of his second term.»
President Trump recently gave an interview to The Atlantic. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
And then came the transaction: «As ever, Trump was on the hunt for a deal. If he liked the story we wrote, he said, he might even speak with us again.»
Goldberg describes the session: «What I found in this particular meeting was a Trump who was low-key, attentive, and eager to convince us that he is good at his job and good for the country. It isn’t easy to escape the tractor beam of his charisma, but somehow we managed, and we asked him what needed to be asked.
«But squaring Trump the Charmer with the Orcish Trump we more frequently see is difficult…Trump posted on the social-media platform he owns that Ashley is a ‘Radical Left Lunatic’ (she is not) and that Michael ‘has never written a fair story about me, only negative, and virtually always LIES’ (also false). It is our task at the Atlantic not to be bullied by these sorts of attacks.»
STATE OF WAR: HOW TRUMP IS FIGHTING A 9-FRONT BATTLE
The most interesting Trump sound bite is his comparison of the two terms:
«The first time, I had two things to do—run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys. And the second time, I run the country and the world.»
Parker and Scherer did many other interviews, such as with Steve Bannon. «Our reality is that we won,» and he cited the conspiracy theory that the FBI had incited the crowd on Jan. 6. The reporters said that was simply untrue.
«Now, here’s the interesting thing,» Bannon said. «Who’s won that argument? I think we have…
«This time it’s ‘Hey, f**k you, Greenland’s ours…When you’ve come back from such long odds, you clearly feel, ‘I can do anything.’ »
What about the four criminal investigations, including the conviction on the weakest one – Alvin Bragg’s hush money case? Trump says his numbers kept going up.
INTERVIEWING DONALD TRUMP: A LAST-MINUTE BLITZ AND NEW CLOSING MESSAGE
«Shockingly, yes,» Trump said. «Normally, it would knock you out. You wouldn’t even live for the next day. You know, you’d announce your resignation, and you’d go back and ‘fight for your name,’ like everybody says—you know, ‘fight for your name, go back to your family.’ …Yeah, it made me stronger, made me a lot stronger.»
He also said in the phone interview: «I got indicted five different times by five different scumbags, and they’re all looking for jobs now, so it’s one of those things. Who would have thought, right? It’s been pretty amazing.»
After the 2016 election, Trump told oil executives at Mar-a-Lago:
If I’m not president, you’re f***ed. Look at your profit-and-loss statements. You realize what would have happened to you if she was president? What’s wrong with you?») She was Kamala Harris, of course.
Referring to the criminal cases against him – including the charges brought forth by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trump said «it made [him] stronger.» (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP / Trump-Vance Transition Team)
One turning point: When he went to East Palestine, Ohio after the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals, while Joe Biden didn’t do squat.
On the Kennedy Center: «I didn’t really get to go the first time, because I was always getting impeached or some bulls**t, and I could never enjoy a show.» So he fired the Democrats and made himself chairman.
All right, enough quotes. Wait, one more that captures the tone of the piece:
«I got 38 percent of the male Black vote. Nobody knew that was possible. That’s a lot. I got 56 percent of Hispanics. How about that one? Every county along the Texas border is Hispanic. I won every one of them.» Though every single number he cited was wrong, the general thrust of his observation was correct.»
The reporters chronicled how things have gone south for the president, especially on tariffs and the economy, and how he pressured Hill Republicans into backing his nominees with primary threats.
SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES
After the March phone interview, the reporters tried Trump’s cellphone again. Just got voice mail. But at 1:38 am, he tried them back. No message.
Trump believes he can win over even his worst enemies. In 2015 or 2016, I watched him make a beeline in the New York green room for Karl Rove, who was very rough on him. At worst, he thinks, he can neutralize the person. Or soften him or her up for the next time. He enjoys the challenge.
The mainstream media almost uniformly can’t stand Donald Trump. He does invite some of his own negative headlines, while providing unprecedented access, but much of the press is back in Resistance mode.
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Still, the Atlantic’s original pitch is undeniable, that he’s «The Most Consequential President of the 21st Century.»
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Oversight chair demands Jean-Pierre, other former WH staff testify on alleged Biden mental decline coverup
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An influential House committee is demanding that former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and three other former top White House staffers appear before Congress to testify about the alleged cover-up of former President Joe Biden’s mental decline.
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has been on the hunt for who was making decisions in Biden’s inner circle during the president’s apparent mental decline.
On Friday, he sent letters to Karine-Pierre and former White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, former senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates and former special assistant to the president Ian Sams, demanding they present themselves for transcribed interviews with the oversight committee.
The letters are part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into the alleged attempted cover-up of Biden’s decline and the potentially unauthorized issuance of sweeping pardons and other executive actions by senior White House officials usurping Biden’s presidential authority.
JILL BIDEN’S ‘WORK HUSBAND’ REFUSES TO TESTIFY ON JOE’S MENTAL DECLINE
Former President Joe Biden, accompanied by former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, jokes about taking so many questions during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House Oct., 4, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
In his letters, Comer says the committee believes that the four top Biden staffers have «critical» information on «who made key decisions and exercised the powers of the executive branch during the previous administration, possibly without former President Biden’s consent.»
The letter to Jean-Pierre stated that as White House press secretary and a top Biden confidante, «you were not only near the president daily, but you were ‘alongside the ranks of the president’s top confidantes.’»
«Your assertion, on multiple occasions, that President Biden’s decline was attributable to such tactics as ‘cheap fakes’ or ‘misinformation’ cannot go without investigation,» wrote Comer.
He said that «if White House staff carried out a strategy lasting months or even years to hide the chief executive’s condition — or to perform his duties — Congress may need to consider a legislative response.»
REP COMER ON A HUNT FOR BIDEN DECISION-MAKER IN THE ADMIN’S ‘INNER CIRCLE’
Former President Joe Biden, left, and first lady Jill Biden arrive on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Aug. 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Comer set interview dates in late August and early September and gave the four senior officials until July 4 to confirm they would comply with the demands voluntarily or if they will «require a subpoena to compel your attendance for a deposition.»
Jean-Pierre, Zients, Bates and Sams are the latest former Biden senior officials to receive a congressional summons from Comer as part of the Oversight Committee’s investigation into the alleged cover-up. The chairman also issued subpoenas to Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, and Anthony Bernal, former assistant to the president and senior advisor to the first lady, after they refused to appear before the committee voluntarily.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Comer said that «as part of our aggressive investigation into the cover-up of his cognitive decline and potentially unauthorized executive actions, we must hear from those who aided and abetted this farce.»
EXCLUSIVE: COMER HAILS DOJ’S BIDEN PROBE AS HOUSE INVESTIGATION HEATS UP
A new book describes President Joe Biden’s cabinet meetings as «scripted» and «uncomfortable.» (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Care Can’t Wait Action)
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«President Biden’s inner circle repeatedly told the American people that he was ‘sharp as ever,’ dismissing any commentary about his obvious mental decline as ‘gratuitous,’» he said. «They fed these false talking points to progressive allies and the media, who helped perpetuate that President Biden was fit to serve.»
Jean-Pierre, Zients, Bates and Sams did not reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment before publication.
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New WHO report fails to rule out COVID-19 lab leak origin as China continues to impede investigation
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A World Health Organization (WHO) scientific advisory group on Friday released a report on the origins of COVID-19, concluding that available evidence suggests the deadly pandemic was caused by «zoonotic spillover,» either directly from bats or through an intermediate host.
The report from the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), which claims to be a panel of 27 independent, international, multidisciplinary experts, said that much of the information needed to fully evaluate all hypotheses has not been provided.
However, still citing a believed cause, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that «all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak.»
Members of the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease arrive at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. (Reuters/Thomas Peter. File)
FBI EXAMINING COVID-19 ORIGIN ‘COVER-UP’ AMID NEW STRAIN EMERGENCE: BONGINO
As the Wall Street Journal previously reported, the WHO’s COVID-19 origin findings come amid a pattern of suspicious activity.
The WHO traveled to China in early 2021 with British zoologist Dr. Peter Daszak, who was disbarred last year from doing work for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is accused of using American taxpayer dollars to fund gain-of-function research at the bat lab in Wuhan, China.
Once at the Wuhan lab, Daszak and others were allegedly blocked from doing any of the research necessary to investigate.
Security personnel stand outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (Reuters, File)
DR. MARC SIEGEL: TRUMP IS RIGHT TO BLOCK ‘DANGEROUS’ GAIN-OF-FUNCTION RESEARCH
As noted by the White House when highlighting a report from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, «The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2» publication — which was used repeatedly by public health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak theory — was prompted by Dr. [Anthony] Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated in nature.
The WHO said it had requested that China share hundreds of genetic sequences from individuals with COVID-19 early in the pandemic, more detailed information about the animals sold at markets in Wuhan, and information on work done and biosafety conditions at laboratories in Wuhan.
To date, China has not shared this information either with SAGO or the WHO.
A view of the Huanan seafood market, Feb. 9, 2021, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. (Getty Images)
TRUMP BANS FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ GAIN-OF-FUNCTION RESEARCH
«I thank each of the 27 members of SAGO for dedicating their time and expertise to this very important scientific undertaking over more than three years,» Ghebreyesus wrote in a statement. «… We continue to appeal to China and any other country that has information about the origins of COVID-19 to share that information openly, in the interests of protecting the world from future pandemics.»
SAGO published its initial findings and recommendations in a report on June 9, 2022. The most recent report updates the evaluation based on peer-reviewed papers and reviews, as well as available unpublished information and field studies, interviews and other reports, including audit findings, government reports and intelligence reports.
Those part of SAGO convened in various formats 52 times, conducted briefings with researchers, academics, journalists and others, according to the WHO.
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE:
«As the report says, this is not solely a scientific endeavor, it is a moral and ethical imperative,» Marietjie Venter, chair of the group, wrote in a statement. «Understanding the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and how it sparked a pandemic is needed to help prevent future pandemics, save lives and livelihoods, and reduce global suffering.»
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«The work to understand the origins of SARS-CoV-2 remains unfinished,» the WHO wrote in a statement. «WHO welcomes any further evidence on the origins of COVID-19, and SAGO remains committed to reviewing any new information should it become available.»
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