ABC Grills Trump With Tough Questions, Provided Softballs for Dem Candidates in 2007
George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday lectured potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, indignantly telling him that he was only after "the facts." Four years ago, however, Good Morning America had few tough questions for the 2008 Democratic contenders.
At one point during the nine minute interview, Stephanopoulos pressed Trump 16 straight times on the so-called birther issue. The host demanded, "You said that you sent investigators to Hawaii and you said quote, 'They cannot believe what they're finding.' What have they found?" The ABC journalist repeated this particular question four times.
Stephanopoulos did hit Trump from the right a number of times, pushing, "Today, the head of the Club for Growth, a major group inside the Republican Party, has said you're just another liberal..." However, by March 26,2007, GMA had already devoted a 26 minute infomercial to then-candidate Hillary Clinton. Host Robin Roberts allowed Clinton to speak for 18 of those 26 minutes.
Rather than allowing Trump to talk unimpeded, as Mrs. Clinton experienced, Stephanopoulos constantly interrupted. At one point, during a discussion of the birth certificate, the businessman complained, "George, they have co-opted you." He then defined "they" as "Obama and his minions."
Much of Trump's critique of journalists did not make the on-air interview. But a transcript on ABCNews.com shows that Trump also reminded, "Did you look at Tony Rezko? Did you look at [former Obama business associate] Tony Rezko?...I don't think you look at [Obama] properly."
So, while conservatives may have appreciated Stephanopoulos' probing on Trump and abortion, the morning show certainly didn't provide the same scrutiny to Democrats in 2007. (Another GMA town hall, on July 16, 2007, donated an additional 38 minutes to then-candidate John Edwards.)
A partial transcript of the April 19 segment, which aired at 7:04am EDT, follows:
DONALD TRUMP: There’s a real question about the birth certificate. There’s a real question about the- his own- his own citizenship.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: There- there is- there is no question. He's got a certificate of live birth that is recognized by the State Department.
TRUMP: George, George, I know exactly what you're getting at.
STEPHANOPOULOS: The facts!
TRUMP: But for some reason- no, they’re not the facts. He doesn’t have a birth certificate or he hasn’t provided. He’s given a certificate of live birth. It’s a much different instrument.
STEPHANOPOULOS: A certificate of live birth meets the standard in the State Department for anyone's citizenship.
TRUMP: George-
STEPHANOPOULOS: There were contemporaneous reports in two newspapers.
TRUMP: George, they have co-opted you.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Given the- no, those are the facts sir.
TRUMP: George, they’ve co-opted you.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Who’s they?
TRUMP: It’s not- obviously, Obama and his minions. They have co-opted you. A certificate of live birth is not the same thing by any stretch of the imagination as a birth certificate.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It’s what the State Department recognizes as the standard birth certificate. In 1961, two Honolulu newspapers.
TRUMP: Let him show the birth certificate. And by the way, this is not, this is not a big focus of my campaign.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You don’t believe it’s why you’ve gone to the top of the polls?
TRUMP: My big focus is China and OPEC and all of these countries that are just absolutely destroying the United States. This is not a big focus.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But, Mr. Trump, you say it’s not a big focus of yours as long as you continue to raise questions-
TRUMP: George, you make it a big focus. Let's see what happens. Let's see what happens. But a certificate of live birth and a birth certificate are very different things.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You said that you sent investigators to Hawaii and you said quote, "They cannot believe what they’re finding." What have they found?
TRUMP: We're going to see what happens.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What have they found?
TRUMP: It's none of your business right now. We're going to see what happens.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Have they found anything?
TRUMP: We're going to see what happens.
STEPHANOPOULOS: What have they done?
TRUMP: We're going to see what happens.
STEPHANOPOULOS: When?
TRUMP: George, next question, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You refuse to accept that the President was born in the United States.
TRUMP: I hope he was. I’m not looking-- if I should run and if I decide to go. And I end up getting the nomination, I don’t want to use this as an issue. I hope that by that time it’s totally solved.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Today, the head of the Club for Growth, a major group inside the Republican Party, has said you're just another liberal, focusing on-
TRUMP: A liberal?
STEPHANOPOULOS: A liberal.
TRUMP: Me? A liberal? When somebody calls me a liberal, that is something I don’t think I’ve ever been called before.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But, in your book, the America We Deserve you wrote, "I’m a conservative on most issues, but a liberal on this one." You were talking about health care.
TRUMP: I want people to be taken care of. But not with Obamacare. Obamacare is a total disaster. Also, we’re in a much different time. We used to think, 12-14 years ago, we used to think we had a wealthy nation, we could take care of people. The fact is, we’re in a much different time now. The world has changed a lot.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you no longer support universal health care?
TRUMP: I support health care for people. I want people well taken care of. But I also want health care that we can afford as a country. We have a different country today. We can't afford things that we could afford or thought we could have afforded.
STEPHANOPOULOS: In that same book, you called for a net worth tax. 14.25 percent on people worth $10 million and more. You still support that tax?
TRUMP: Well, at a time, it would have paid off the deficit. I mean, you wouldn’t have a deficit, at that time. Unfortunately, the world has changed, today you can’t do it. Today, and I’m very strongly against tax increases. And the reason I’m-
STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you’re no longer for that tax?
TRUMP: No, no. I’m no longer for that tax, no.
STEPHANOPOULOS: At that time, you were also pro-choice. Now you say you’re against abortion. When did you change your mind on that?
TRUMP: I would say, you know, a while ago. Quite a while ago.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Why?
TRUMP: Because a number of cases, but in one particular case, I had a friend and I have a friend. And he would- did not want a child and his wife didn’t want a child. And they were going to abort. And they didn’t do it for very complicated reasons. And now they have the child. And it’s the apple of his eye. And he said, "Thank God." He changed also, by the way. "Thank God, I didn’t do it." And I’ve seen that, and I’ve seen other things. And I am pro-life.
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Comments
That was some fine lap dogging by George...
Submitted by NeoKong on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 12:26pm.
I almost thought he was going to attack Trump and start beating on his chest screaming " It's twue it's twue...leave him alone. You're ruining EVERYTHING !!! boo hoo hoo hooo..."
who was o'reilly lapdogging for...
Submitted by abeautifulperson on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 12:31pm.
...when o'reilly did that (attempted) gotcha session with obama?
that was weak, wasn't it?
Submitted by theduck6 on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 7:28am.
Maybe Bill was afraid of what happens when anyone doesn't ask softball or prescreened questions of the thin skin-in-chief.
I'm starting to think Trump is a Trojan Horse for Obama. His past contributions, associations and liberal leanings make him barely a republican and definitely not a conservative. Something stinks in Trumpmark.
TRUMP FOR 2012 woot woot.
Submitted by abeautifulperson on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 12:29pm.
i think he should also investigate whether the earth is round.
the dems may flounder and TRUMP may just be the best thing that happens for the dems.
btw, when someone goes on and on about how smart he is, how successful he is and implies how much he will fix everything, then he's going to get tested on his smartiness.
he needs to be grilled. he's the first presidential hopeful who is riding on a topic of denying the legitimacy of the sitting president. there's more grilling to come.
obama got it from o'reilly and did just fine (although o'reilly was disrespectful). trump better get used to it.
So exactly when did Obama get tested on HIS smartiness?
Submitted by SickofLibs on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 1:26pm.
Since you implied it was inevitable and all.
Well you only have to check BO's academic records to q
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 2:34pm.
see how brilliant he is. Oh, I forgot, they're sealed as well. Take away the teleprompter and he is a bumbling fool.
"obama got it from o'reilly
Submitted by MightyMouth on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 11:58pm.
"obama got it from o'reilly and did just fine"
Got what? A bootlicking, like BOR did with Jesse Jackson?
If any of you liberal commies think Bill O'Reilly means anything to the conservative movement then dream on idiots! BOR is about BOR as much as Obama is about Obama or Trump is about Trump.
Goose & Gander
Submitted by Caringwhiteguy on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 12:49pm.
I'd like to see any MSM interviewer question Mr. Obama the way the local guy at Channel 8 Dallas/Ft.Worth did. The most amazing part of the interview comes at its conclusion when the angry, petulant President hectors the reporter. http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/President-Obama-talks-with-News-8--1...
The President has a paper thin skin. Thank God the guy didn't ask him about his ears.
If Stephy can go after Trump that way, why should Obama be off limits? What's fair for the goose is fair for the gander.
Are you among the smug and knowledgeable, who dismiss
Submitted by im41 on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 12:52pm.
certificate talk as far right extremism?
If so, tell us why you are so sure.
Dazzle me with your knowledge!
it's a contrived distraction at best
Submitted by theduck6 on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 7:33am.
I'm more incredulous that there are really only two constitutional prerequisites to be President and you don't have to document either. How the hell does that make a damned bit of sense regardless of who you are? I assumed you had to prove age and bithplace as if you were getting a passport. I was, apparently, sadly mistaken.
Huh?
Submitted by mandrake on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 12:59pm.
I am having a little trouble understanding the following exchange..What was Trump saying ???
"
STEPHANOPOULOS: So, you no longer support universal health care?
TRUMP: I support health care for people. I want people well taken care of. But I also want health care that we can afford as a country. We have a different country today. We can't afford things that we could afford or thought we could have afforded."
Sorry.
Submitted by The Vet on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 12:24am.
I will translate it to Canadian.
TRUMP: I support health care for people eh. I want people well taken care of eh. But I also want health care that we can afford as a country eh. We have a different country today eh. Put on your Toque eh. We can't afford things that we could afford or thought we could have afforded eh. Don't be a suckie eh. Can I borrow a toonie eh? I want to get a double-double eh."
I love it!
Submitted by NL207 on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 12:33am.
ROTFLMAO.
Typical of George
Submitted by Mary Louise Turner on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 1:09pm.
Should you be shocked? Remember, George Stephanopoulos is a Clinton hack, and for him, asking tough questions of Dems is impossible...
Media apprentice season 1
Submitted by TerryWest on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 3:30pm.
The left wing MS media have been trying to bully in a GOP candidate to feed on so they don't have to keep exhausting themselves shoring up the President, so now they have one at last in their sites.
I find it amusing Trumps baiting and using their desperation and eagerness to show off their hunting skills to his full advantage.
I don't take Trumps run seriously but I'm glad his numbers are up so that this show continues.
The Donald
Submitted by kinijane on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 2:35pm.
Its time Trump puts away the birth thing (if he can,he got his point across) if hes serious its time for
him to put the rest of his agenda out there, like his ideas on China, the middle east and so forth. Lets see what else he's got..
Say what you well
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 2:40pm.
It was fun watching Trump stand up to all georgie boy's attempts at intimidating him and harassing him. You could see how georgie was having a problem when he leaned into Trump saying "The Truth". It was amusing to say the least.
Twist in your shorts little man.
It really is fun watching
Submitted by celator on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 5:28pm.
It really is fun watching Trump twist MSM weasels like Stephie into a hairball.
If I were the R leadership or a presidential candidate wanna be, I would watch and learn from Trump's tactical approach.
Look past Trump's politics, etc., for the moment and watch him as though he were conducting a seminar on how to take the fight to the radical left. Get in Obama's face, call Obama out for all his policies and lies, point out Obama's daily pratfalls. Do it with a smile and a twinkle in the eye. Get some backbone, say "screw you" to the MSM.
tough on trump
Submitted by ladeflippinda on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 4:49pm.
Tough questions need to be asked of the Donald. He's dangerous.
Trump 2012
Submitted by E.S.Blofeld on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 5:27pm.
This will be quite interesting to see who supports The Donald. I've always thought of The Donald as an attention whore. I hope he gets the nomination with a debate front and center at Trump Plaza. I could see his Campaign Slogan- "Hey Obama, you're FIRED!"
The laughs keep rolling!
Ernst
"Isn't it pretty to think that way?"-EH
Trump running for President
Submitted by mostlymoderate on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 5:51pm.
Trump running for President would be fabulous. A lot of African Americans seem to really admire Donald Trump and his ability to make money. I have even heard the hip-hop establishment use the name Trump in various songs that glamorize money and power. That means a diluted vote for Obama, who is basically making already-poor people even poorer.
This will dilute the 92% African Americans that voted for Obama last time purely on the basis of race :) All we need now is for Michelle to take a few more of those million dollar vacations to Spain to make everybody in the black community feel inferior and ignored.