Good morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos wasn't the least bit skeptical while questioning Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa about their ant-Trump book on Monday. In fact, Stephanopoulos eagerly accepted Woodward and Costa's pathetic, partisan defense that Joint Chief of Staff General Mark Milley was justified in tipping off China, because Trump was just that dangerous.
Stephanopoulos laid the groundwork for justifying Milley’s quite possibly treasonous behavior, by touting those supporting him: “While some have called on President Biden to fire Milley, Biden is standing by him,” he noted before quoting former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen and Milley himself calling the remarks to China, “routine.”
Turning to Woodward, Stephanopoulos asked if he thought, “you were documenting treasonous behavior?” But Woodward has a history of attacking Republican presidents in office with anonymously sourced books. So he wasn’t bothered by the alleged encounter. Milley was the hero here.
“No. Not at all. I guess the best way to answer that is to tell you what we found,” he began, tying the January 6 riot to the reason Milley was concerned Trump was going to use nukes, and explaining how he briefed four other people about his actions.
Woodward and Costa tried to argue Milley wasn’t subverting chain of command and let others in a private backchannel know about the calls. Stephanopoulos didn’t push back on that but gave fuel to the notion that America was in dire peril under Trump. “[B]ut were the Chinese right to be so concerned? Is there any evidence that President Trump was actually contemplating some kind of military action?” he asked.
Even Costa admitted Milley didn’t think Trump was taking America to war but he reasoned that our foreign adversary needed to be reassured:
Based on our reporting, Chairman Milley did not believe President Trump wanted to go to war, but it was his assessment, his conclusion based on intelligence and other briefings that the Chinese were highly alarmed by what happened on January 6th. What Chairman Milley was trying to do as we show in the book was contain a national security emergency, and as Bob said, he was reading people in...
Stephanopoulos seemed comforted by that answer, confirming Milley “wasn’t going rogue.” Woodward insisted Milley was “trying to contain a situation, and a president he believed was in serious mental decline.”
Again, making serious and unsubstantiated claims about the president being crazy doesn’t even warrant pushback at ABC, it's become routine for the media.
After spending all that time discussing unfounded claims from the book about Trump was deranged and trying to “decertify” the election, Stephanopoulos asked the duo how America was still in “peril.” Which was just a setup for the journalists to complain that Trump could run in 2024:
STEPHANOPOULOS: It clearly is. We only have a few seconds left. Final words of the book, peril remains. What is the peril?
COSTA: President Trump's conduct alarmed everyone -- nearly everyone in his inner circle, his administration. He could very well run for president in 2024, and this system, the American system tested all the way to the brink could be tested again.
The media has a history of trumpeting anonymously sourced, salacious claims against President Trump, particularly by Woodward. You can contact GMA’s advertiser Stanley Steemer at the conservatives fight back page here.
Read the transcript below:
Good Morning America
9/20/21
STEPHANOPOULOS: We are looking forward to that, but first, Bob Woodward and Rob Costa.Authors of the explosive new book, “Peril.” This is their first broadcast interview since their book rocked Washington and the world with its headlines. Here's a look at the highlights.
According to Woodward and Costa, President Trump's top military adviser, joint chiefs chairman General Mark Milley called China just four days before the election worried that China thought President Trump would launch a military strike. He told his Chinese counterpart, ‘the American government is stable. If we're going to attack, I'm going to call you ahead of time.’ Milley also called China two days after the January 6th riot saying, quote, ‘things may look unsteady, but that's the nature of democracy. We are 100% steady.’
Milley never told the president about those calls, and Trump now says that if the account about Milley is correct, then I assume he would be tried for treason. While some have called on President Biden to fire Milley, Biden is standing by him.
BIDEN: I have great confidence in General Milley.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Former joint chiefs chairman admiral Mike Mullen told Martha on "This week" calls like these are not unusual.
MULLEN: I’m encouraged by the fact that the line of communication is there.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And on Friday Milley who is scheduled to testify next week before the arms services committee told the Associated Press that calls like are ‘routine’ adding, ‘I think it's best I reserve my comments on the record until I do that in front of the lawmakers who have the lawful responsibility to oversee the U.S. Military.’
We are joined now by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. Bob let me begin with you. It's not just the former president using the word treason. Senator Marco Rubio talked about treasonous behavior in his statement as well. As you reported on Milley's talks with the Chinese, did you think you were documenting treasonous behavior?
BOB WOODWARD: No. Not at all. I guess the best way to answer that is to tell you what we found. Two days after the insurrection of the Capitol was a moment of maximum tension, and Milley talked to a back channel, top secret back channel --
STEPHANOPOULOS: But others were on the calls right?
WOODWARD: Pardon?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Others were on the call, right?
WOODWARD: I don't know if others were on the call. What we do know and report which I think is significant here, after the call, he then gave a full briefing to four people, Gina Haspel, the CIA director said to her, ‘watch everything. 360.’ Talked to Paul Nagasani who heads the national security agency who does worldwide eavesdropping and said ‘needles op’ which is an expression: ‘Listen everywhere.’ He talked to the chiefs, the head of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and said ‘full-time’ watch everything, and then he called the admiral in charge of the region in the Pacific and canceled -- asked him to cancel operations that the Chinese might see as some --
STEPHANOPOULOS: Concerning.
WOODWARD: -- Provocative. So there's nothing hidden about this. It is a top secret back channel.
STEPHANOPOULOS: We also know, Robert, that other officials were making calls to their Chinese counterparts as well, but were the Chinese right to be so concerned? Is there any evidence that President Trump was actually contemplating some kind of military action?
COSTA: Based on our reporting, Chairman Milley did not believe President Trump wanted to go to war, but it was his assessment, his conclusion based on intelligence and other briefings that the Chinese were highly alarmed by what happened on January 6th. What chairman Milley was trying to do as we show in the book was contain a national security emergency, and as Bob said, he was reading people in. While these calls with General Li were held on a top secret back channel, they were not secret. This is not someone working in isolation. He was reading people in.
STEPHANOPOULOS: He was not going rogue.
WOODWARD: He was not going rogue. He was reading people in throughout the military community trying to contain a situation, and a president he believed was in serious mental decline.
...
STEPHANOPOULOS: It clearly is. We only have a few seconds left. Final words of the book, peril remains. What is the peril?
COSTA: President Trump's conduct alarmed everyone -- nearly everyone in his inner circle, his administration. He could very well run for president in 2024, and this system, the American system tested all the way to the brink could be tested again.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And you guys have done it again. Peril, Bob Woodward, Robert Costa is out right now.
