In a blatant effort to dirty President Donald Trump’s administration during Wednesday’s CBS Evening News, anchor Scott Pelley interviewed Clinton and Obama administration official Leon Panetta and gave him free reign to discredit the President. After rattling off a long series of Trump’s dubious claims, the first question out of Pelley’s mouth was, “Is it appropriate to ask whether the President is having difficulty with rationality?”
Before Pelley started the video of his interview, he read off a list of the many titles Panetta had accrued over the years. But it read like a lifetime of work in service of partisan Democrats:
First, let us remind you why Washington listens when he speaks. Panetta was the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, White House of Chief of Staff under President Clinton, Director of the CIA when Osama bin Laden was killed, Secretary of Defense under President Obama, and is the co-founder of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.
In response to Pelley’s ridiculously loaded question, Panetta claimed Trump was scratching away at his trustworthiness and his credibility with the American people. “And when he says the things that he says, in particular, this allegation about wiretapping that has no bit of evidence to support it,” he bemoaned, “it raises concerns about trust in the President because there are one or two conclusions you draw.”
Panetta went on to warn that it would hurt Trump’s ability to rally the nation and the world to combat any serious threat to either. His first example was a militarily active North Korea, which recently conducted a military exercise involving simulated attacks on U.S. bases in Japan. But ironically, his second example seemed to punch a hole in former President Obama’s signature foreign policy action.
“What if the President decides that we have to take military as result of that, or what if we find out that Iran is actually developing a nuclear weapon that requires military action,” Panetta wondered about Trump’s readiness. Such a scenario was deemed impossible to occur under Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal, but apparently, it’s something that could possibly happen under Trump’s watch.
“He's got to stand up and tell the world and this country that that's required when indeed his credibility is now subject to question,” Panetta continued to smear, “I think that is raising the most serious danger with regards to the ability of this president to relate to a very dangerous world.”
And at Pelley’s behest, the former Obama official knocked Trump for not having any credibility on the Hill. “And if he's dismissed because somehow he's not relevant because people don’t think he’s really in touch with kind of reality and what's going on, then that could damage his entire agenda on the domestic front,” he asserted.
Panetta has a long history with CBS News and Scott Pelley. In September of 2014, Pelley spoke with Panetta about his criticism of Obama’s ISIS strategy. But back in 2012, Pelley conducted a cushy 60 Minutes report about Secretary of Defense Panetta where they talked about how he keeps in touch with his humanity, his family history, and collecting walnuts.
Transcript below:
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CBS Evening News
March 8, 2017
6:34:17 PM EasternSCOTT PELLEY: Well, today we wanted to get some insight into all of this from Leon Panetta. First, let us remind you why Washington listens when he speaks. Panetta was the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, White House of Chief of Staff under President Clinton, Director of the CIA when Osama bin Laden was killed, Secretary of Defense under President Obama, and is the co-founder of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.
[Cuts to video]
In the last few weeks, the President told his military that there are terrorist attacks no one knows about because the press covers them up. He's described the news media as the enemy of the American people. He has likened his own intelligence agencies to Nazis and now we have the wiretapping charge against President Obama. Is it appropriate to ask whether the President is having difficulty with rationality?
LEON PANETTA: Scott the coin of the realm for any president is trust. Trust of the American people in the credibility of that president. And when he says the things that he says, in particular this allegation about wiretapping that has no bit of evidence to support it, it raises concerns about trust in the President because there are one or two conclusions you draw.
One is that he says these thing knowing that they're not true in order to divert the public. And if he's doing that, he's misusing the powers of the Presidency. Or he truly believes that they are true, when indeed they’re not true, and he hasn’t tried to find out the truth, which then shows a real lack of judgment. Either way, I think it undermines and weakens the strength of the presidency in this country.
PELLEY: How is this calculated in Moscow, in Beijing, in Pyongyang, North Korea?
PANETTA: Well, that's the greatest danger. You know, in many ways we've seen the President say the things he's done and we often kind of move on. But the danger what if something should happen that requires the President of the United States to take action? For example, we're dealing with North Korea and the threats from North Korea. What if the President decides that we have to take military as result of that, or what if we find out that Iran is actually developing a nuclear weapon that requires military action? He's got to stand up and tell the world and this country that that's required when indeed his credibility is now subject to question. I think that is raising the most serious danger with regards to the ability of this president to relate to a very dangerous world.
PELLEY: And what about his domestic agenda?
PANETTA: In order for a president to be able to deal with members on the Hill, he's got to have credibility. And if he's dismissed because somehow he's not relevant, because people don’t think he’s really in touch with kind of reality and what's going on, then that could damage his entire agenda on the domestic front.
PELLEY: Secretary Leon Panetta, we appreciate your time. We are grateful. Thank you.
