In an exclusive phone interview with Donald Trump on Wednesday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt grilled the President-elect on his use of Twitter, fretting: “I have not seen you backing off fights on Twitter. In the time since you were elected, you’ve targeted the cast of Hamilton, The New York Times, China, Boeing, the media, and SNL. Is this proving to be a habit that you're finding a difficult time breaking?”
Trump pushed back: “No, I think I am very restrained and I talk about important things....And frankly, it's a modern day form of communication....Between Facebook and Twitter, I have, I guess, more than 40 million people.” While praising the social media platform, he worked in a jab at the liberal media: “I get it out much faster than a press release. I get it out much more honestly than dealing with dishonest reporters because so many reporters are dishonest.”
Lauer began the exchange by asking about Trump being selected as Time magazine’s Person of the Year: “...as [Time magazine editor-in-chief] Nancy Gibbs has said this year and in the past, the magazine has always been willing to say it was a person who influenced events for better or for worse. So just confirming, you see this as a compliment, not some kind of condemnation?”
Referencing the publication’s cover story labeling him the “President of the Divided States of America,” Trump replied:
Well, as an example, when you say ‘Divided States of America,’ I didn't divide them. They're divided now. I mean, there's a lot of division. And we're going to put it back together and we’re going to have a country that's very well healed....But to be on the cover Time magazine as the Person of the Year is a tremendous honor.
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Lauer revisited the topic near the end of the interview: “I mentioned to you that it says ‘Person of the Year,’ it’s got your picture, and then sub-headline is, ‘President of the Divided States of America.’ You referenced that a little while ago. What would you have written as a sub-headline?” Trump reiterated: “Well, I think putting ‘divided’ is snarky. But again, it’s divided – I'm not president yet. So I didn't do anything to divide.”
Promoting the magazine’s latest issue in a segment just prior to Trump’s call-in, Time’s Gibbs justified the negative headline: “You know, the Person of the Year, as we always remind people, is the person who has had the greatest influence on events for better or worse. And the fascinating thing this year is I've never seen so much agreement over who had the most influence or the most disagreement over whether it was for better or worse.”
Lauer followed-up: “Do you take a stand whether it was for better or worse as a magazine?” Gibbs dodged: “The voters took their stand and are continuing to argue about it and I think will be arguing going forward....We find ourselves in a particularly unusual place as a country this year in the way this election unfolded.”
In sharp contrast, in 2008, Time unequivocally gushed over President-elect Barack Obama being named Person of the Year.
In addition to scolding Trump for tweeting, Lauer lectured him on criticizing Boeing’s $4 billion contract to build a new fleet of presidential aircraft: “You picked a fight 24 hours ago with Boeing about the new Air Force One project and the cost of that project...shortly after you made those comments, the market value of Boeing dropped about a billion dollars in a matter of minutes before rebounding later in the day....After you criticized Boeing, The Washington Post has a headline today saying ‘Corporations are unnerved in this country.’”
Trump dismissed the Post article: “I think that's just The Washington Post. Because no matter what you do, they'll never say good. And what happens is they're so unnerved that the stock market has hit an all-time record since I've been elected....So I don't know how somebody says that, you know, people are unnerved. It's just the opposite.”
One amusing moment came later in the exchange, when Lauer rushed to the defense of NBC’s Saturday Night Live and it’s Trump-bashing:
LAUER: But on a lighter note, can we agree, President-elect Trump, that at this stage it would be better for you to simply stop watching SNL, as opposed to watching it and then complaining about it?
TRUMP: Well, I hosted SNL when it was a good show, but it's not a good show anymore. First of all, nothing to do with me. There's nothing funny about it. The skits are terrible.
LAUER: So why do you keep watching it?
TRUMP: I like Alec [Baldwin], but his imitation of me is really mean-spirited and not very good. I don’t think it’s good. And I do like him, I like him as an actor, but I don't think that his imitation of me gets me at all, and it’s meant to be very mean-spirited, which is very biased and I don't like it, so I can tweet that out.
LAUER: But you can't bring yourself to stop watching it?
TRUMP: No, look, frankly, the way the show is going now, and you look at the kind of work they're doing, who knows how long that show’s going to be on? It's a terrible show.
LAUER: I think it’s gonna do okay.
Here is a full transcript of Lauer’s questions to Trump in the December 7 interview:
7:34 AM ET
MATT LAUER: We are joined now by Time's Person of the Year, President-elect Donald Trump. Mr. Trump, good morning.
DONALD TRUMP: Good morning.
LAUER: Last year, when Time did not choose you as Person of the Year and chose Angela Merkel, you said, “Time Magazine will never pick me as Person of the Year.” They proved you wrong. How do you feel about this?
(...)
LAUER: I'm interested to hear you say that because as Nancy Gibbs has said this year and in the past, the magazine has always been willing to say it was a person who influenced events for better or for worse. So just confirming, you see this as a compliment, not some kind of condemnation?
TRUMP: Well, as an example, when you say “Divided States of America,” I didn't divide them. They're divided now. I mean, there's a lot of division. And we're going to put it back together and we’re going to have a country that's very well healed....But to be on the cover Time magazine as the Person of the Year is a tremendous honor.
LAUER: You are now 30 days into your transition, you’ve made a lot of news. Last night you made it official that General Mattis is your choice for Secretary of Defense. Still open is Secretary of State, probably the premiere position in any administration. How close are you to making that call?
(...)
LAUER: Let me go back to Secretary of State for a second. I want to read off some of the names it’s been reported you're considering for that position. Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, David Petraeus, Bob Corker, and Ambassador John Bolton. Have you now crossed any of those names off your list?
(...)
LAUER: Let me go back to Mitt Romney. Is he still under consideration?
TRUMP: Yes, he is.
LAUER: Does he have a chance to become Secretary of State?
TRUMP: Yes, he does.
(...)
LAUER: So this isn't about some case of stringing him along as a – as revenge being a dish best served cold for the comments he made during the campaign?
(...)
LAUER: You picked a fight 24 hours ago with Boeing about the new Air Force One project and the cost of that project, which you cited at over $4 billion. And you went on to say this, “I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number.” Now, I read that as you saying that you think Boeing is perhaps taking advantage of the American taxpayer. Do you have any proof of that?
(...)
LAUER: You mentioned the head of Boeing that you spoke to your comments about Boeing – by the way, shortly after you made those comments, the market value of Boeing dropped about a billion dollars in a matter of minutes before rebounding later in the day. But your comments on Boeing came just a short while after an article came out where the CEO of Boeing was critical of your trade policies. So was this, in the end, about the price of those planes or was this about retribution?
(...)
LAUER: After you criticized Boeing, The Washington Post has a headline today saying “Corporations are unnerved in this country.” Let me go on to another subject – go ahead.
TRUMP: I think that's just The Washington Post. Because no matter what you do, they'll never say good. And what happens is they're so unnerved that the stock market has hit an all-time record since I've been elected and since I’ve been – since I won the nomination, number one, we did well – and after I won the election, you see what happened, I mean, in the history of our country there's never been an up this big after an election. So I don't know how somebody says that, you know, people are unnerved. It's just the opposite.
(...)
LAUER: Your transition team made some news yesterday on a conference call where it was announced – and I want to get your take on this – that you sold all of your stock holdings, and you did it back in June. Is it true and why are we just hearing about this now?...Why’d you sell all your holdings in June?...So why not announce it back in June when you were under fire for a lack of financial transparency?
(...)
LAUER: Speaking of things that are appropriate, shortly after winning the election, you gave an interview and you talked about your use of Twitter. And you said that you were going to be much more restrained as the president because you seemed to understand that perhaps having fights on Twitter would not be appropriate for the president. I have not seen you backing off fights on Twitter. In the time since you were elected, you’ve targeted the cast of Hamilton, The New York Times, China, Boeing, the media, and SNL. Is this proving to be a habit that you're finding a difficult time breaking?
TRUMP: No, I think I am very restrained and I talk about important things. I talk about, you know, as you know recently, China and the fact – we talked about their devaluation, we talked about and their building this massive military fortress in the middle of the South China Sea, which they're not supposed to be doing, and other things. And frankly, it's a modern day form of communication –
LAUER: Even when you're picking fights with it?
TRUMP: Between Facebook and Twitter, I have, I guess, more than 40 million people. And that's a modern-day form of communication. I get it out much faster than a press release. I get it out much more honestly than dealing with dishonest reporters because so many reporters are dishonest.
LAUER: On that subject, but on a lighter note, can we agree, President-elect Trump, that at this stage it would be better for you to simply stop watching SNL, as opposed to watching it and then complaining about it?
TRUMP: Well, I hosted SNL when it was a good show, but it's not a good show anymore. First of all, nothing to do with me. There's nothing funny about it. The skits are terrible.
LAUER: So why do you keep watching it?
TRUMP: I like Alec [Baldwin], but his imitation of me is really mean-spirited and not very good. I don’t think it’s good. And I do like him, I like him as an actor, but I don't think that his imitation of me gets me at all, and it’s meant to be very mean-spirited, which is very biased and I don't like it, so I can tweet that out.
LAUER: But you can't bring yourself to stop watching it?
TRUMP: No, look, frankly, the way the show is going now, and you look at the kind of work they're doing, who knows how long that show’s going to be on? It's a terrible show.
LAUER: I think it’s gonna do okay. Let me end where we started, Time magazine. I mentioned to you that it says “Person of the Year,” it’s got your picture, and then sub-headline is, “President of the Divided States of America.” You referenced that a little while ago. What would you have written as a sub-headline?
TRUMP: Well, I think putting “divided” is snarky. But again, it’s divided – I'm not president yet. So I didn't do anything to divide.
(...)
LAUER: I was fascinated to read in your interview that you say you actually talked to President Obama about some of your possible appointments...
TRUMP: I do.
LAUER: ...and the people you would surround yourself in the White House. Can you tell me specifically who you mentioned to President Obama that you’re considering appointing?...Just real quickly though, in one of those cases where you went to him with a specific person you had in mind for an appointment, did you go with his recommendation?
(..)
LAUER: President-elect Donald Trump, Time magazine's Person of the Year. Congratulations.
TRUMP: Thank you very much, Matt.
