NBC's Lauer to Trump: How Do Republicans 'Run Against a Recovering Economy?'
Seeing little hope for Republican chances against Obama in November on Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer put this question to Donald Trump: "Isn't any Republican nominee going to have a problem, and that is, by all indications, the economy is getting stronger. So if you're the Republican nominee, how do you run against a recovering economy? How do you say, 'I'm not up with that'?"
Trump, on to promote the upcoming season of The Celebrity Apprentice, tempered Lauer's assertion: "A lot of things will happen prior to November. Gas prices could go through the roof, based on what OPEC is doing to us and lots of other things. Now the economy, they say, is a little bit better now. But they also predict it's going to get worse before the election....I want the economy to do well. But you have to see what happens. And you see how fluid it is."
Here is a transcript of the February 16 exchange:
8:36AM ET
MATT LAUER: Donald Trump, good morning, nice to see you.
DONALD TRUMP: Well, nice to see you, Matt.
LAUER: As always when you're here, let's hold on the show for a second, let's talk a little politics, okay?
TRUMP: Fine.
LAUER: You endorsed Mitt Romney with your usual flair. He held a series of fundraising calls, I think on – yesterday, he did. You were a part of that.
TRUMP: Right.
LAUER: Are you going to play a major role in Mitt Romney's campaign?
TRUMP: Well, I'll do what he wants me to do. They raised a lot of money yesterday, I raised a lot of money for him yesterday. He's a good man, he's working hard, and I hope it all catches on, it should.
LAUER: What's with Rick Santorum here? In the last 48 hours, Rick Santorum has surged into the lead or tied in four national polls. This is not good for the guy you've endorsed. Why can't Mitt Romney close the deal?
TRUMP: It's an amazing thing. But Rick Santorum, if you look at it, he lost his election in Pennsylvania, running as a sitting senator, by 19 points. So the people that knew him best turned him out and they let him go. Locally, he did even worse. So, I mean, when you think of it, what's going on? It's hard to believe. Mitt Romney's a good man, he's got some great ideas, strong on China, strong on OPEC. I don't get it. I don't see why he's not catching on better.
LAUER: Aren't – Isn't any Republican nominee going to have a problem, and that is, by all indications, the economy is getting stronger. So if you're the Republican nominee, how do you run against a recovering economy? How do you say, "I'm not up with that"?
TRUMP: A lot of things will happen prior to November. Gas prices could go through the roof, based on what OPEC is doing to us and lots of other things. Now the economy, they say, is a little bit better now. But they also predict it's going to get worse before the election. I hope that's not true, frankly, because I love this country, I want the economy to do well. But you have to see what happens. And you see how fluid it is. Somebody's winning by 30 points, next week they're losing. That can also happen with Obama and whoever ultimately runs against Obama.
LAUER: Alright, fair enough.
(...)
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Comments
Matt Liar, Some People Call You....
Submitted by Motormouth KOS on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:18pm.
The male Anne Curry.
There is no way to measure your abject stupidity, so the best approach is to let you just talk and the idiocy pours forth.
Do you ever watch QVC? Or maybe the Ron Popeil commercials?
I think you could be better off selling the Pocket Fisherman or the Veg-o-matic than you are trying to pose as a serious political commentator.
Free advice, Bozo
The Obamination... A crisis leading to a catastrophe..(please donate to MRC)
The problem is they do sell
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:37pm.
The problem is they do sell the public on the lies they sell. The proof is 2008.
Indeed!
Submitted by Morganfrost on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:18pm.
There IS a slight improvement in the economy! This will allow Obama to boast that his policies have clearly not completely wiped out the American dream, the US economy and our status as a world power. What on earth will republicans be able to say to that?
Where is 50% PROMISED deficit reduction by end 1st term MattLiar
Submitted by MaximusBraveheart on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:32pm.
What happened to Lion Trump in his response? Pretty lame. Yes this 16% unemployment is just GREAT! BS how they take off people who stopped looking or fell off the dole.
Rs need to respond strongly to total BS. Something more in the spirit of this (we ain't going to take it no more!) - Nugent destoys Piers Morgan on gun issue (LOL!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OzJbpA8_wl4
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
If you think that the economy is getting better
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 2:01pm.
you're either a fool or a troll. Have you heard the expression "COOKING THE BOOKS"? GALLOP puts the unemployment a 9 percent. The way that number is generated is a joke. The people that have given up are not part of the statistic and on top of that the number is Seasonally adjusted (AKA COOKED).
U.S. No. 5 in Global Competitiveness, Falls Third Year in a Row
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 2:17pm.
Read it and weep.
But you're right on the world power thing: everyone loves us more than ever and totally respects Obama, especially our historical allies who your boy has thrown under the bus.
That about it?
Sarcasm, anybody?
Submitted by Morganfrost on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 2:57pm.
Would those of you who just flamed me please re-read my post? This time, read it with your irony detectors switched "on." Sheesh.
My only defense is I admit I'm on a hair trigger lately!
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 3:03pm.
;)
Whether the economy
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 3:22pm.
is slightly better or really as bad as I think it is, the press will sell us nothing less that a shyte sammich until November. The economy will be presented so cheerfully that we'll think we're in the land of Unicorn factories, Rainbow powered love machines and Strawberry scented welfare checks.
I forgot, we're already living in that land.
Since the economy isn't
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:18pm.
Since the economy isn't recovering and it is just the drive-by media saying it is , it is an easy debate, just state the facts.
Bill Clinton ran against a recovering economy in '92 . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:20pm.
. . . and I may be wrong, but I believe he won the election.
exactly!
Submitted by merly1 on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:22pm.
And that was a robust economy in the last quarter of 1992........
The press forgot to mention the recovering economy
Submitted by JeffC... on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:26pm.
The media stories of the economy in 1992 was doom and gloom.
Then, after the November election when their favorite Bubba won, they reported the "unexpected" improvement in the economy in the summer and fall.
I guess the concept of the media's definition of "unexpected" when referring to economic matters meaning "doesn't jive with who we support" dates back to at least 1992.
Expect the opposite media coverage this year
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 2:08pm.
There will be lots of stories of the plant that rehired 100 workers, and to counter the Solyndra stench, we'll see some stories on thriving green companies.
But there are things the media can't control, like the price of gasoline at the pump, and the price of produce at the supermarket.
The financial matters that people deal with daily in their lives can't be spun away. Angst about not finding a job or the risk of losing one is not dispelled by White House press releases that predict rainbows just around the corner.
Here's an example today:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46401756
Now, the other media outlets can spin this, or ignore it altogether, but if your house is in foreclosure, or you know someone whose house is, that's going to affect the way you perceive the health of the economy.
But he ran that campaign
Submitted by Quasi-socialist on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 5:49pm.
with the complicity of the press to say no different. Just like the media got on board the "George W talking the economy down" message as well.
The secret is to see the complicity of the press in backing up the play on the economy that the Dems want to make.
Lauer
Submitted by mmilesll on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:22pm.
I just want to know, do any of these "journalist" ever check something out before they act like they know what they are talking about. The economy is NOT getting better. No bigger lie. nobama seems to think if I keep saying it it will come true. The Master Lock-"bring jobs back to the US" was 100 jobs. He turns down the Keystone Pipeline 20,000 plus jobs. Recovery starts at the top and you have to have a President who understand economics-this clown doesn't.
How about if we mention....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:39pm.
that the economic growth of the United States last year (2.8%) was behind such economic dynamos as Turkmenistan (9.2%), Zimbabwe (9%), the Maldives (7.9%), Papua New Guinea (7%), Namibia [Have you ever been to Namibia?] (4.3%), and Cameroon (3%).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_real_GDP_growth_rate_(latest_year)
Maybe we could throw in the actual inflation numbers? Nah, I'm not talking about the "relatively stable" figure of 3.8% commonly reported - which doesn't include those purely extraneous items "food" and "fuel" [sarc]. I mean the actual inflation rate of nearly 28%.
http://www.escapetyranny.com/2011/02/15/inflation-anyone-check-out-the-1...
Wait a minute! Back the truck up!
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:41pm.
Hasn't Obama just been going around saying he didn't know it was going to be this bad?
Simple. Republicans need to
Submitted by clancie on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 1:50pm.
Simple. Republicans need to speak the truth about the lousy economy and point how it's Obama's economy and his policies.
They need to pose the rhetorical question: . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 2:03pm.
. . . "Are you better off now than you were four years ago."
All Obama can do is claim that things would've been worse had he, Pelosi, and Reed not acted, and that's hard to do. Those who want to believe -- the Left, some minorities, etc. -- will buy it. Others, including many of the independents who voted for him in '08, are already turning away.
But if the GOP puts up a weak candidate (and right now, the front runners are all flawed), a lot of disenchanted voters may hold their noses and vote for Obama anyway.
Holding their noses?
Submitted by nanabanana on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 3:53pm.
Please, PLEASE say that won't happen!!
I don't know, its a tough choice..
Submitted by dyardley on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 10:48pm.
Vote for the known evil failure currently residing at 1600 Pennsylvania. OR Vote for a 'perceived flawed' candidate that loves his country, loves his family, believes in a higher power and can't possibly be as bad as we have now. I know which way I'll vote and it won't be the current failure and liar.
If Republican candidates are "flawed"
Submitted by Quasi-socialist on Fri, 02/17/2012 - 6:34pm.
what's Obama, presider over the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression, for which he 1) seizes a private company, 2) spends nearly a trillion on payback to the unions and subsidizing a down economy. And takes to golf like Nero to a fiddle.
I am just waiting for gas to
Submitted by ricklail on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 2:06pm.
I am just waiting for gas to hit 4 bucks a gallon around here and we'll see the economy take a nose dive. Diesel fuel goes up everything goes up because it you got it at the store it was brought to you by truck that burns either diesel or gas.
not just trucks
Submitted by dmacleo on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 3:50pm.
locomotives too.
and container ships running bunker fuel too.
When the economy "recovers"
Submitted by NJRightWinger12 on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 2:07pm.
Someone please let me know, ok? Im struggling to stretch every dollar, but O'bozo is making it harder and harder each day. But if Louser says its recovering, then I must be in good shape, right?
Never, Ever.
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 2:30pm.
I have been watching the MSM report on the state of the economy since the 1970's. I have never seen so much cheer leading about how the economy is improving then I have seen in the last six months or so. When we had unemployment under 5% six years ago or thereabouts, the MSM had nothing but negative things to say about where the economy was heading. Now, "Happy Days Are Here Again!"
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Where's Matt, Diane, et al...
Submitted by EddieB on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 3:22pm.
Seems to me they were all concerned before when gas prices were skyrocketing. Now {crickets}
I'm spending $300 per month more on gas now and all they have to say is how great the economy is getting.
Are they fooling anyone??????
Yes, Santorum lost big in 2006...
Submitted by Conservator on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 4:09pm.
...as did the GOP with an election that resulted in a sweeping victory for the Democratic Party which captured the House of Representatives, the Senate, and a majority of governorships and state legislatures from the Republican Party - a true shellacking.
In addition, when you focus on Santorum's loss by 18 points, it's important to recall his opponent was the popular pro-life and moderate Bob Casey, Jr. Casey had been a Pennsylvania state official since 1997. If Trump is going to go after Santorum based on loosing his Senate seat, I think it's important to recall that Donald wasn't a registered Republican in 2006.
Lastly, I find it amusing that the guy who wouldn't show up for the Newsmax debate that Trump was schedule to moderate, is the person that Donald has endorsed; Mitt Romney. Santorum and Gingrich had agreed to participate in the debate. But in the end, wealth is more important than ideology. If you want to laugh, just ask Trump why he endorsed Romney. He never answers that question based on Romney's record - Trump says things like he's smart and he likes him.
However for conservatives, Romney just doesn't seem to be one of us. The NYT published a good article about this:
Conservative Pundits Find Romney Disengaged, and Say That’s Puzzling - Thursday, February 16, 2012
If it was 2004 and GW Bush
Submitted by Smartypants on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 4:40pm.
If it was 2004 and GW Bush was President with the exact same economic stats and outlook we have today, rest assured the economy would be portrayed as an absolute mess. We'd be hearing about rising gas prices, unregistered unemployment, unemployed workers who have given up, homelessness, starving children and general mayhem on a daily basis. The msm remains a powerful force in spreading dogma. Collectively, they turned a strong economy into a bad one during Bush's term simply by telling everyone they really were miserable--many believed them. When the economy did crash in 2008, largely due to the subprime mortgage fiasco that had nothing to do with Bush's tax policies, they convinced the nation that it was all Bush's fault and that his tax policies led to the mess.
Media may have helped trigger 2008 crash
Submitted by MaximusBraveheart on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 5:18pm.
With the LSM talking down the economy and talking up high gas prices, I think they may have played a role in forcing this whole fiasco upon us, or, accelerated it into the end of Bush's term vs. the next term. Once the house starts to crash, it is hard to hold it back, until the gravity has done its work. LSM are quite worse than the criminal element! They portray to be a good force but are bloody traitors feeding us lies.
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
I don't know how anyone can
Submitted by goon on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 4:43pm.
I don't know how anyone can say that there is a recovery... That it self is funnier than heck.
Exactly what economic recovery is Matt Liar referring to?
Submitted by Dave. on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 10:57pm.
Because there sure as Hell isn't one underway here.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November