NBC's Matt Lauer: Do Republicans Ignore Occupy Wall Street 'At Their Own Peril'?
Updated [12:28 ET]: More analysis and full transcript added. Lauer goes after Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan.
In an interview with Donald Trump on Wednesday's NBC Today show, co-host Matt Lauer cautioned Republicans against rejecting the far-left Occupy Wall Street movement: "There are people in the streets here in New York. In other cities around the country and around the world. Does the Republican Party, if they ignore the Occupy Wall Street group, do they do so at their own peril?" [Audio available here]
Trump turned the question around and saw the protests as a bad sign for Democrats: "I think so. But I also think it's very bad for Obama and he's feeling it. I really believe ultimately it's more dangerous for President Obama." [View video after the jump]
Update:
Earlier in the segment, Lauer ran through the GOP candidates with Trump and was particularly critical of Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan: "A lot of conservative economic experts say it's a disaster....would you agree with a lot of conservative experts who say that this takes the burden completely off the wealthy and puts it squarely on the shoulders of the poor and the middle class?"
At one point, Trump praised Cain for "putting something out there." Lauer responded: "So if he puts it out there and it's wrong, just because it's something, does that make a difference?"
Here is a full transcript of the October 19 interview:
7:12AM ET
MATT LAUER: Donald Trump flirted with a White House run a little earlier this year. Since then, a steady parade of GOP presidential hopefuls have made their trip to New York to meet with him. And on Tuesday, in an exclusive interview, I asked Trump to explain just what happens at those sit-downs. When you sit down with these people, what do they want? Do they want your money? Do they want your megaphone? Do they want your stamp of approval?
DONALD TRUMP: They want an endorsement. And the reason is that I really believe I bring a lot of people. When you look at what's going on, I bring a lot of people.
LAUER: What do you want from these meetings? Do you want to be the king-maker of the Republican Party?
TRUMP: No, I don't. I want this country to be great again. This country is in such trouble. I want this country to be great again.
LAUER: I was surprised because recently you participated in a teleconference town hall for Michele Bachmann. Now, this to me seems to be a little bit crossing the line. No longer are you just meeting and greeting, this seemed as close as you've come to endorsing a candidate and participating in her campaign. Are you endorsing...
TRUMP: No, not at all.
LAUER: ...Michele Bachmann? Why not?
TRUMP: She's a really nice woman. She was up, she had breakfast with me. She said, "Would you do me a favor, it's not an endorsement. Would you do a teleconference?" I said, do I want to do it, no. Will I do it, yes.
LAUER: Let's do a little kind of Republican candidate word association or laundry list here. So let's talk about Michele Bachmann. She started off with a lot of attention.
TRUMP: Right.
LAUER: Fell to the bottom of the pack. Can she win?
TRUMP: Very tough. I think it's going to be very tough. And I told her that. I even said it during her conference. She said what she believes but I think when Rick Perry came in, it was hot. He was hot as a pistol and he really knocked her off the perch.
LAUER: Since you bring up Rick Perry. He has lost more than half of his support in the last eight weeks. What happened to him?
TRUMP: I think he did poorly in the debates and Rick Perry is a much different person in person than he is – in fact, he called me and he was talking so forcefully and so strong and so good, I said why can't you do that during the debates? He said, "Debates aren't my thing."
LAUER: Herman Cain is now, according to some polls, the front-runner on the Republican side. And yet, some call him, as they called Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, the flavor of the month. Is Herman Cain the flavor of the month?
TRUMP: No, I think he's got great substance. The fact is, he's a really – he's got a great personality. He's got a great way about him and people relate to him and 9-9-9, whether you like it or you don't like it-
LAUER: And a lot of people don't. A lot of conservative economic experts say it's a disaster.
TRUMP: A lot of people don't, but you know what? Right, but Matt – but it's something, okay. It's something. He's putting something out there. Other people are putting out 97-page reports-
LAUER: Wait, wait, wait. Do you agree with 9-9-9?
TRUMP: No, I don't agree with it.
LAUER: So if he puts it out there and it's wrong, just because it's something, does that make a difference?
TRUMP: He's not just catering to me, he's catering to a lot of people. And they understand the simplicity of it. It's simple. It's concise. It's easy to understand. Now, I will say this. I think the sales tax part of it is very tough. Now, do I like being brought down to 9%? I love it. Will sales tax affect me? Not too much.
LAUER: So would you agree with a lot of conservative experts who say that this takes the burden completely off the wealthy and puts it squarely on the shoulders of the poor and the middle class?
TRUMP: Well, I think he's going to amend it. I think he's going to – I don't think he's completed it. Now, he says he has experts. I said – I told him, by the way, "You've got to come through with these experts."
LAUER: Could you vote for Herman Cain?
TRUMP: I could vote for anybody, anybody that we've been talking about, including Governor Romney, who's made a great impression at the debates. But I could vote for anybody over President Obama. President Obama has been a total and complete disaster.
LAUER: Mitt Romney's the EverReady Bunny. You know, for the last seven years we've been talking about Mitt Romney, he always close or near the top the pack. He's right there again this time. Can he win the nomination and the presidency?
TRUMP: Well, I think last time was different. I really do. I think this is a different age, this is a different time. I think the country is certainly in more turmoil than anybody has ever seen.
LAUER: There are people in the streets...
DONALD TRUMP: That's right.
LAUER: ...here in New York.
TRUMP: We haven't seen that in a long time.
LAUER: In other cities around the country and around the world. Does the Republican Party, if they ignore the Occupy Wall Street group, do they do so at their own peril?
TRUMP: I think so. But I also think it's very bad for Obama and he's feeling it. I really believe ultimately it's more dangerous for President Obama. But the Republican Party sees what's going on. I see what's going on. There is – this country, a friend of mine used an expression today and I'll use it, this country's blowing up. We're blowing up.
LAUER: You are never shy in expressing an opinion. So I want you to express a heartfelt opinion right now. You talk about the country as not great anymore and it needs to return to its greatness. Of the candidates you see out there on the Republican side right now, which one is most likely, in your opinion, to return this country to its greatness?
TRUMP: I don't want to say it. I will be saying that, Matt. I can't do that today.
LAUER: Why wouldn't you do it now and give somebody a leg-up?
TRUMP: Because I'm in the process – well, I would give somebody, I think, a very big leg-up. It's not fair to the candidates. I've told some that I will not be making a decision. They're all up here, they're calling.
LAUER: Sooner or later you got to dance with somebody.
TRUMP: I'm going to do it and maybe I'll do it with you, I just can't do it now.
LAUER: When do you think you might do it?
TRUMP: Sometime prior to the primaries.
LAUER: The question is how much impact will that have? Mr. Trump thinks it'll have a lot for one of the candidates.
ANN CURRY: Well, we'll find out.
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Comments
Matt
Submitted by Marsh on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 11:16am.
ignores Rogaine at his own own Peril.
No Matt, not bad for the Republicans
Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 11:33am.
But your cheerleading for them is a really bad sign for you and the democrats. The great unwashed masses have alternate news sources to find out what is really going on and most people know the truth now. The truth is these protests are supported by unions and the democrat party. No amount of lying and cover-up by your cronies in the so-called MSM can hide the truth.
No Matt, not bad for the Republicans
Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 11:33am.
But your cheerleading for them is a really bad sign for you and the democrats. The great unwashed masses have alternate news sources to find out what is really going on and most people know the truth now. The truth is these protests are supported by unions and the democrat party. No amount of lying and cover-up by your cronies in the so-called MSM can hide the truth.
trying to get the "they did it, too" marks?
Submitted by kata on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 11:49am.
Of course, if the protests morph into something really ugly they'll still use the excuse that they "had us ALL fooled". We were under the impression they were peaceful... they had drums and yoga! Blahblahblah...
NO-
Submitted by KornKing on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 3:16pm.
Lapdogs will try to portray it as justified..
Oh yeah. Not supporting
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 11:52am.
and amorphous group of freaks that are composed of 1960s burn outs, Nazis, Communists and several thug Unions, will REALLY hurt the GOP.
Only a moron could ask such a question. Oh right, Door Matt is an idiot.
We are so afraid of people
Submitted by Utherpend on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 11:56am.
We are so afraid of people who cant get a job and want to live with their parents forever, yep you have us all pegged Matt.
Ignore at its own peril?
Submitted by bkeyser on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 12:12pm.
Only if we ignore them the same way you ignore the three guys following you down a dark alley. If he means "not take them seriously" then -yes- ignore them. They're virtually to a person, idiots.
Yes Bk, ignore idiots*
Submitted by cajun2 on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 12:29pm.
No one wants to identify with a group of un- medicated mentally ill asylum escapees. No one wants to associate with dirty,stinky stoners. No one wants to meet people that the only thing they wash is their brain. If they have no respect for laws, for the safety of others, respect for the environment, lack self reliance, self discipline and have no meaningful goals in life beyond this afternoon, then why should we even bother.
These groups do bother me in some ways. They are causing much damage and financial burden in every city they are camped out at taxpayers expense. They do represent the worst elements of a spoiled entitlement mentality. And sadly, they represent the worst of the population that will one day be part of our future. I only pray that they are the 1%.
A one % er.
Submitted by upcountrywater on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 9:58pm.
1%
You Didn't Build That.
We're not ignoring them,
Submitted by ex buff e-dub on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 12:25pm.
We're not ignoring them, we're entertained by them.
Lauer is an imbecile
Submitted by Bill Brasky on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 12:25pm.
The Republicans have not ignored the protestors, but it wouldn't matter much if they did. I doubt many of them would ever vote Republican anyway. The ONLY obvious political danger is for democrats to align themselves with these illiterate dregs of society. That just shows the regular, sane folks out there that it is the democrat party that is the party of extremists and nut jobs. It's going to be a landslide loss for Obozo in 2012.
Very doubtful, Matt, but tell
Submitted by ant on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 12:29pm.
Very doubtful, Matt, but tell me, how did vilifying the TeaParty work out for Dems in 2010?
Not so well, ant.
Submitted by ghidorah15 on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 2:03pm.
Considering the losses the Dems suffered last year, any person with half a working brain would think maybe they should avoid using such tactics again. Alas, these people have proved through their actions that they don't even have that much working gray matter. They're all about doing the same stupid thing over and over and expecting different results - which, unless I miss my guess, is the definition of insanity. Good news for us, not so much for them.
(Incidentally, my name really is Matt, but I hate that this guy has it as well. His ilk are a living insult to everybody's intelligence.)
Agreed, ghidorah.
Submitted by ant on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 2:50pm.
The obviously ignored 'peril' and the danger of making the same mistakes over and over is to be a useful idiot for the Communists. Things never end well for them when the Communists attain power. Unless I'm mistaken, almost everyone perceived as an enemy to Communism (including their useful idiots) in Cambodia were executed in one night.
The demos and riots of the mid to late 60s and early 70s...
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 1:45pm.
I guess the MSM is forgetting that the demonstrations and riots of the mid to late 60s and early 70s, and the backlash against those events by the "silent majority", contributed greatly to support behind, (the far from conservative), Nixon. How did the term "silent majority" even come to be? It's because the majority of Americans grew tired of the constant barrage they were getting from the media, regarding hippies, malcontents,draft dodgers, and rioters.
The MSM should be wary of the puff jobs and glorification currently under way of the OWS people.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Dose the leftist media in the
Submitted by TerryWest on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 2:12pm.
Dose the leftist media in the selling and constant cheerleading of OWS place themselves in peril? Is the movement so over exposed by them that anything less is considered ignoring?
It's not just republicans who have nothing in common with those squatting in chaotic disarray and demanding free stuff, the majority of Americans are tuned out and cannot relate as they struggle to pay their bills, fill their cupboards and survive in this economy.
It's clear the MSM even with their full time advocating are getting frustrated at the lack of movement in the so called movement.
The efforts to refocus blame and responsibility just hasn't resonated and they cannot accept it.
President Obama alleged that
Submitted by Agnostic on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 2:23pm.
President Obama alleged that bourgeois elements were entering the government and society at large, aiming to restore capitalism. He insisted that these "revisionists" be removed through violent class struggle. America's youth then responded to Obama's appeal by forming OWS groups around the country. The movement then spread into the military, urban workers, and the Democrat Party leadership itself. It resulted in widespread factional struggles in all walks of life....
Only the names have changed: Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution - long live Mao
trump also likes the clintons
Submitted by dmacleo on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 2:25pm.
and he likes the way present laws protected him during bankruptcies.
so who the hell cares what he thinks.
Matt LAuer
Submitted by rwnewsnut on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 3:25pm.
"Does the Republican Party, if they ignore the Occupy Wall Street group, do they do so at their own peril?"
Did Matt ask whether the Democratic Party, if they ignore the Tea Partiers, do they do so at their own peril?
The answer would have been - yes. The Democrats lost big in 2010 because they did not recognize the Tea Partiers as having legitimate grievances.
They demonized the Tea Partiers instead.
Mass Media Projection Blitz
Submitted by Diesel on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 4:27pm.
They so desperately want to project this garbage on us. Any GOP candidate who falls for this alinsky bull$hit deserves to lose! Ignore these media hacks and let obama go down in flames with his phony OWS protest, aka obama 2012 campaign stunt.
Did you notice
Submitted by indyeight on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 6:14pm.
What is up with the Illuminati pyramid in the background? Subliminal message telling who is really running the world?
Are You Smarter Than a Fence Post?
Submitted by LibertyAtStake on Wed, 10/19/2011 - 9:19pm.
The new game show starring Matt Lauer.
d(^_^)b
http://libertyatstake.blogspot.com/
"Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive"
They bring in every freak
Submitted by jessieH on Thu, 10/20/2011 - 9:55am.
They bring in every freak they can find, pay them $600.00 a week to protest, sing, chant, whatever, and NBC promotes it like it wasn't choreographed. Sickening display by the media.