On Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer actually grilled White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on President Obama's tax hike proposal: "During the President's last press conference of 2014, he was asked how he might be able to work with the new incoming Republican-controlled Congress and he said, quote, 'The tax area is one area where we can get things done.' And now he's proposing a middle class tax cut paid for with a tax hike on the wealthiest Americans that just about everyone says cannot pass this congress. So why is he going this route?"
As McDonough attempted to defend the futile and controversial move, Lauer interrupted: "But Denis, it can't pass. And nobody says it can pass. People say it's dead on arrival. Isn't it a political maneuver, some kind of a trap to simply get Republicans in a bad spot as the 2016 election approaches?"
Wrapping up the segment, Lauer pressed McDonough on the President's failure to attend an anti-terror rally in Paris: "The White House has admitted it made a mistake in not sending a high-level representative. Can you just tell me what the thoughts were like and what was said in the Oval Office when these images were being broadcast across the world of forty or so world leaders arm in arm in the streets of Paris and our president was not there?"
McDonough tried to insulate Obama from criticism by taking the blame: "You know, Matt, we've said that we regret we didn't send somebody more senior than our ambassador. That rests on me, that's my job. I regret it in particular because the melee that ensued..."
Tuesday's CBS This Morning also featured an interview with McDonough, but only featured two bland questions from co-host Charlie Rose about Obama "going on the offensive."
The full five-minute interview was posted online for CBS's digital news service. One question that did not air on the network morning show was fellow co-host Norah O'Donnell pressing the presidential staffer in a way similar to Lauer:
Denis, it's tax time, everybody's getting ready to prepare their taxes. And of course everybody wants a simpler tax code. The President's making some new proposals. Why would he make them public and make proposals that are so at odds with the Republicans that control the majority rather than calling them first and trying to work out some sort of compromise?
Co-host Gayle King managed to counteract O'Donnell's challenging question by lobbing a ridiculous softball: "Mr. McDonough, there's news this morning that the approval ratings are going up. President Obama always seems so confident and calm what really ticks him off?" McDonough had no troubled hitting the slow pitch: "What really ticks him off is when we've got decent, very hard-working people in this country who feel that the deck is stacked against them."
None of the CBS anchors asked McDonough about the Paris controversy.
Here is a full transcript of Lauer's January 20 interview with McDonough on Today:
7:05 AM ET
MATT LAUER: Denis McDonough is the President's chief of staff. Denis, good morning to you.
DENNIS MCDONOUGH: Good morning, Matt.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: President Obama's New Goals; Chief of Staff Previews State of the Union]
LAUER: Nice to see you. During the President's last press conference of 2014, he was asked how he might be able to work with the new incoming Republican-controlled Congress and he said, quote, "The tax area is one area where we can get things done." And now he's proposing a middle class tax cut paid for with a tax hike on the wealthiest Americans that just about everyone says cannot pass this congress. So why is he going this route?
MCDONOUGH: Look, I think what the President is saying is that the middle class economics that we've pursued since 2009 have gotten us to where we are. You heard Peter just talk about it, which is more and more Americans are feeling satisfied or feeling better about the economy. There's still yet to be – work yet to be done and that's what he wants to talk about tonight. So we outline a series of middle class tax cuts. And what the President is saying – and by the way, we pay for them.
LAUER: But Denis, it can't pass. And nobody says it can pass. People say it's dead on arrival. Isn't it a political maneuver, some kind of a trap to simply get Republicans in a bad spot as the 2016 election approaches?
MCDONOUGH: Matt, the President's run his last campaign. What the President is saying is that any tax reform ought to make sure that it benefits the middle class. We ought not avoid the working families of this country who have seen over the course of the last three decades not only are costs going up, college costs, everything else, but their wages are stagnant. So the President has a proposal very concrete to invest in the economy – in education and training that middle class families need to see those wages grow.
Now, you could do one of three things, Matt. You could either not do those policies, and that may be the Republican goal, or you could do those policies and not pay for them and add to the deficit. Well, we've reduced the deficit by two-thirds since we took office.
LAUER: Let me move on-
MCDONOUGH: Or three, you could do those things and pay for them in a responsible way. That's what the President is proposing. If the Republicans have other ideas to focus on the middle class, let's do that. So far we haven't heard them, but we welcome that debate.
LAUER: Let me move on to Syria. There's a report in The New York Times this morning that says that the administration may be subtly shifting its policy in Syria given advances of ISIS and frustration over progress there, that the administration may no longer feel that the immediate removal of President Assad is the only way to move forward there. Has there been a shift in policy?
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: The U.S. and Syria; Chief of Staff On Reported Strategy Shift]
MCDONOUGH: Look, a lasting resolution in Syria is gonna require Assad to leave. He's lost legitimacy to lead, as the President has said numerous times. We're willing to work with our partners there in Syria and in the region, as well as other international partners, to make sure that that happens. But, you know, the timing of that will be something that will be worked out in a political resolution. That's how things like this get resolved.
LAUER: But do you see any scenario under which President Assad would remain a part of the Syrian government for the long-term?
MCDONOUGH: I do not.
LAUER: Alright, and let me just ask you one final question about Paris last week. The White House has admitted it made a mistake in not sending a high-level representative. Can you just tell me what the thoughts were like and what was said in the Oval Office when these images were being broadcast across the world of forty or so world leaders arm in arm in the streets of Paris and our president was not there?
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Presidential Faux Pas?; White House Chief of Staff on Paris March "Snub"]
MCDONOUGH: You know, Matt, we've said that we regret we didn't send somebody more senior than our ambassador. That rests on me, that's my job. I regret it in particular because the melee that ensued after that has covered up and, you know, obfuscated the very good progress that our intelligence agencies, our law enforcement, FBI, and DOJ, and all the cooperation they're undertaking not only with our French counterparts, but with our European allies across the board to confront this threat. That's what we ought to be focused on. Unfortunately, the decisions I made obfuscated that effort. We're going to continue to make sure that we're focused on that and we're working with our friends to make sure that something like this does not happen again.
LAUER: Denis McDonough. Denis, thank you for your time this morning. I appreciate it. We'll all be watching the speech tonight.
MCDONOUGH: Thanks so much, Matt.
LAUER: Alright, and you can see the State of the Union address at 9 Eastern, 6 Pacific Time, right here on NBC.
