Philippe Reines has a well-earned reputation as one of the most odious operatives in politics. No wonder Hillary Clinton made him a close adviser!
Reines is the guy who taunted Donald Trump, Jr., writing that every time he was intimate with his wife, she was fantasizing about a former Latino boyfriend.
Even Chelsea Clinton found Reines' comment "vile."
Reines turns up regularly on CNN This Morning, and on today's show said:
"Donald Trump is about as complicated to some of us, and to me, to figure out as a clogged toilet is to a plumber."
Reines took his scatalogical shot in the context of a discussion about Trump's naming his campaign manager Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff. Remind us, Mark Cuban: what did you say about Trump not liking "strong, intelligent women" around him?
Reines wished "good luck" to Wiles, because "it's going to be worse"—presumably compared to Trump's first term—because he' "older, more cantankerous, and more stubborn."
Reines also disparaged Wiles' abilities. He noted that whereas she traveled on the plane with Trump more than campaign managers traditionally do, she wasn't able to prevent Laura Loomer from getting on the plane, "So we can't say that she effectively did x,y, or z."
When host Kasie Hunt came to Wiles' defense, saying "Well, she did get her off the plane," the ungracious Reines dismissed it as "a pretty low bar." You know what else is "pretty low," Philippe?
Reines and Hillary. Made for each other!
Here's the transcript.
CNN This Morning
11/8/24
6:08 am ETPHILIPPE REINES: If you go back to Elliot's term: adult in the room, by implication that means the other people in the room are children. So it's unfortunate, we're right back to this, where there has to be someone who can, whatever term you want to use, control, corral.
Yes, it is a little strange for a campaign manager to be on the road so much, but we should see it for what it is. It's not, it wasn't a move out of power, to be close to the president, but out of fear. What happens when he listens to Corey Lewandowski? What happens when Laura Loomer gets on the plane?
This guy's not any different. But congratulations to her. Good luck to her. Because this is going to be a doozy. It's going to be worse. But let's not pretend or hopefully not go through months of, what Trump are we going to see? Molly just said it: let Trump be Trump. He was Trump. We're gonna see that no matter who works for him.
. . .
This isn't any great Rubik's cube to figure out. I mean, Donald Trump is about as complicated to some of us, and to me, to figure out as a clogged toilet is to a plumber.
I mean, we've seen it. It hasn't happened in 130 something years where someone had it, lost it, and come back to it. But we've seen it. And he's older, and he's more cantankerous, and he's more stubborn.
You know, why was Laura Loomer on the plane? Susie Wiles was the campaign manager. So we can't say that she effectively did x,y, or z --
KASIE HUNT: Well, she did get her off the plane, which doesn't happen, and didn't happen with Lewandowski in Florida.
MATT GORMAN: No it didn't.
REINES: It's a pretty low bar. But okay.
