During an interview with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday, Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie pressed her guest on whether Russia “elected Donald Trump.” In response, Rice ripped apart the notion and lectured the NBC anchor: “I really don’t think that’s a good conversation to have.”
After asking Rice and her co-author Philip Zelikow about their new book on the Cold War, Guthrie began asking a series of questions about Russia which culminated in this: “When you look at the 2016 election and you look at how, relatively speaking, it was decided by a handful of votes in a few states, do you think it’s possible that Russia’s election interference actually worked? It actually elected Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton?”
Rice immediately called out the irresponsible conspiracy theory and let Guthie have it:
I don’t think there’s any evidence of that. And, you know, I really don’t think that’s a good conversation to have. I think that really does devalue the people in Wisconsin and Michigan and others who decided to vote for President Trump. Whether you like this president or not, whether you believe that he should have been president or not, let’s give the credit to the Americans who went out and voted for somebody who they thought would bring change.
Reflecting on Americans who supported President Trump in the election, Rice continued: “And the question is, are we going to be responsive to some of the messages that were out there....People who felt that they were disadvantaged by globalization, the unemployed coal miner in West Virginia, the opioid-addicted person in Pennsylvania, are we going to be responsive to those people?” She concluded: “That’s really the question we should be asking.”
Guthrie’s question was quite revealing, it betrays the fact that the liberal media, along with Democratic Party, believe that the 2016 election was illegitimate because Hillary Clinton lost.
Here is a transcript of the September 11 exchange:
8:41 AM ET
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SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: You write a lot about Russia in your book. You obviously are a Russia scholar, you know Putin. What do you think Putin thinks of President Trump?
CONDOLEEZZA RICE: Well, I don’t know that Vladimir Putin has any thoughts about anybody except the following: “I need to find a way to dominate, I need to find a way to humiliate.” That’s just who he is. He has decided that Russia needs an enemy, and it’s the United States. And it’s part of his domestic strategy also to hold his country together at a time when the economy is suffering, when people are starting to get a little tired of his leadership.
So whatever he thinks of the American president, he thinks that the United States of America is a good target for his animus and we’re going to continue to see that. I will say this, we’re going to have to find a workable relationship with the Russians, even under Vladimir Putin, but I believe we have put him in a difficult situation with the sanctions that have been placed upon Russia and he’s just, as I said, he needs an enemy and it’s us.
GUTHRIE: Do you think – either of you – think that Russia has been adequately punished for its interference and meddling in the election?
PHILIP ZELIKOW: The time actually for punishing Russia for interference in the election has now come and gone. We’ve done what we’ve done and it’s –
GUTHRIE: Is that a no?
ZELIKOW: It’s basically no use crying over stuff maybe we should have done two years ago. The focus now needs to be on how we protect the election next time.
RICE: Because – I will completely second that. Look, the first time that they interfered in our election, it was shame on them. If they do it again, it’s shame on us. We know a lot about what they’ve done. If we aren’t taking steps to prevent that, then that’s a problem that we are creating.
GUTHRIE: When you look at the 2016 election and you look at how, relatively speaking, it was decided by a handful of votes in a few states, do you think it’s possible that Russia’s election interference actually worked? It actually elected Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton?
RICE: I don’t think there’s any evidence of that. And, you know, I really don’t think that’s a good conversation to have. I think that really does devalue the people in Wisconsin and Michigan and others who decided to vote for President Trump. Whether you like this president or not, whether you believe that he should have been president or not, let’s give the credit to the Americans who went out and voted for somebody who they thought would bring change. And the question is, are we going to be responsive to some of the messages that were out there and do you hear me now? People who felt that they were disadvantaged by globalization, the unemployed coal miner in West Virginia, the opioid-addicted person in Pennsylvania, are we going to be responsive to those people? That’s really the question we should be asking.
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