On Sunday’s episode of This Week, anchor George Stephanopoulos used his interview with Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton to continue to obsess over Donald Trump.
Following up on an issue raised in the previous segment with White House press secretary Jen Psaki over whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is mentally stable, Stephanopoulos asked Cotton if he agreed with Senator Marco Rubio that “something is off” about Putin.
Cotton didn’t take the bait, responding that he wouldn’t “play psychologist from 7,000 miles away.” Cotton turned the conversation back to the topic that mattered: “Ms. Psaki said that we all made the mistake of viewing Vladimir Putin as someone who sees the world through global norms. George, I never made that mistake. I have always seen Vladimir Putin as a ruthless dictator who wants to reassemble the greater Russian empire.”
This answer appeared to set the host off:
You've never made that mistake, it is true. You've been stalwart in your opposition to Vladimir Putin. That cannot be said for the leader of your party, Donald Trump. Last night he finally condemned the invasion. But he also repeated his praise of Putin, calling him smart. Earlier in the week he called him pretty smart. He called him savvy. He says NATO and the U.S. are dumb. Are you prepared to condemn that kind of rhetoric from the leader of your party?
“George, you’ve heard what I have to say about Vladimir Putin. That he is a ruthless dictator who’s launched a naked unprovoked war of aggression” Cotton responded.
The Senator also reminded Stephanopoulos and viewers watching at home that former President Trump was the one who supplied weapons to Ukraine: “Thankfully the Ukrainian army has anti-tank missiles that President Obama would not supply. That we did supply last time Republicans were in charge in Washington. That's why it's so urgent that we continue to supply those weapons to Ukraine.”
Appearing to get angrier that Cotton wouldn’t play his game, Stephanopoulos demanded to know why he wouldn’t “condemn Donald Trump for those comments?”
Cotton calmly, but firmly let Stephanopoulos know that “if you want to know what Donald Trump thinks about Vladimir Putin or any other topic I would encourage you to invite him on your show. I don't speak on behalf of other politicians. They can speak for themselves.”
Still not happy with that answer, Stephanopoulos asked Cotton about Trump for the third time:
You're a senior member of the Republican Party. Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. He said last night again, suggested that he would be running for President. When Fox News asked him if he had a message for Vladimir Putin, he said he has no message. Why can’t you condemn that? I feel quite confident that If Barack Obama or Joe Biden said something like that, you’d be the first to criticize.
In case Stephanopoulos didn’t hear his answer the last time, he calmly repeated: “Again, George. If you want to talk to the former President about his views or his message, you can have him on your show.”
Instead of changing topics and asking Cotton about the crisis in Ukraine, Stephanopoulos decided to continue asking Cotton about Trump, this time asking him if he would support Donald Trump if he runs in 2024.
Cotton replied that he’s “not worried about this fall's election right now, much less an election two years from now.” Reiterating that he’s “focused on the naked war of aggression that Vladimir Putin has launched in Ukraine," Cotton urged that “right now there's not a moment to lose. We can worry about electoral politics down the road.”
Undeterred, Stephanopoulos followed up one last time before ending the interview: “President Trump was out there talking about it last night. I simply don't understand why you can't condemn his praise of Vladimir Putin.”
“George again, I don't speak on behalf of other politicians. They can all speak for themselves. I'm delivering my message to you which I said has been clear whether Barack Obama was President, whether Donald Trump was President and now whether Joe Biden was President. That Vladimir Putin has been a ruthless dictator for years.” Cotton said.
Does George Stephanopoulos realize Trump has no ability to affect the situation in Ukraine one way or another? It’s clear the media cannot stop obsessing over Trump. Even during an international crisis.
This extremely biased interview was made possible by Fisher Investments & Vicks. Their information is linked.
To read the relevant transcript click expand:
ABC’s This Week
2/27/2022
9:30:09 a.m. EasternGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We saw this announcement from Vladimir Putin this morning that he's put his nuclear forces on a state of heightened alert right now. You saw my exchange with Jen Psaki. Is Vladimir Putin acting in a rational manner? Is it mentally there or as your colleague Senator Rubio said something is off right now?
SENATOR TOM COTTON: George, I'm not going to play psychologist from 7,000 miles away. I will say this, what Vladimir Putin said on Monday night is not a surprise. He published the exact same arguments about Ukraine in an essay last summer. That's why I've been urging the administration to take the threat that Putin posed to Ukraine and international peace and stability seriously, imposing these sanctions weeks and months ago, to start sending these missiles and weapons and ammunition to Ukraine weeks ago.
Ms. Psaki said that we all made the mistake of viewing Vladimir Putin as someone who sees the world through global norms. George, I never made that mistake. I have always seen Vladimir Putin as a ruthless dictator who wants to reassemble the greater Russian empire. And he took the imperial ambitions he's always had and what he perceived as hesitancy and indecision on the part of the west and went for the jugular earlier this week. Thankfully the brave Ukrainian people are fighting back and every day they can hold out, George. They continue to stiffen the spines of leaders in the west. So we need to urge them on and we need to continue providing them the weapons they need to fight back.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You've never made that mistake, it is true. You've been stalwart in your opposition to Vladimir Putin. That cannot be said for the leader of your party, Donald Trump. Last night he finally condemned the invasion. But he also repeated his praise of Putin, calling him smart. Earlier in the week he called him pretty smart. He called him savvy. He says NATO and the U.S. are dumb. Are you prepared to condemn that kind of rhetoric from the leader of your party?
COTTON: George, you’ve heard what I have to say about Vladimir Putin. That he is a ruthless dictator who’s launched a naked unprovoked war of aggression. Thankfully the Ukrainian army has anti-tank missiles that President Obama would not supply. That we did supply last time Republicans were in charge in Washington. That's why it's so urgent that we continue to supply those weapons to Ukraine.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Why can't you condemn Donald Trump for those comments?
COTTON: George, if you want to know what Donald Trump thinks about Vladimir Putin or any other topic I would encourage you to invite him on your show. I don't speak on behalf of other politicians. They can speak for themselves. I speak on behalf of Arkansans. Who I talked to this week and who are appalled by what they saw in Ukraine and they want me right now to fight in Washington to support those brave Ukrainians.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You're a senior member of the Republican Party. Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. He said last night again, suggested that he would be running for President. When Fox News asked him if he had a message for Vladimir Putin, he said he has no message. Why can’t you condemn that? I feel quite confident that If Barack Obama or Joe Biden said something like that, you’d be the first to criticize.
COTTON: Again, George. If you want to talk to the former President about his views or his message, you can have him on your show. My message to Vladimir Putin is quite clear. He needs to leave Ukraine unless he wants to face moms and teenagers with molotov cocktails. And grandmothers and grandfathers with AK47s for years to come. I'm speaking on behalf of Arkansas who want me to send that message to him.
STEPHANOPOULOS: If Donald Trump runs again, can you support him?
COTTON: George, I'm not worried about this fall's election right now, much less an election two years from now. I'm focused on the naked war of aggression that Vladimir Putin has launched in Ukraine. Right now there's not a moment to lose. We can worry about electoral politics down the road.
STEPHANOPOULOS: President Trump was out there talking about it last night. I simply don't understand why you can't condemn his praise of Vladimir Putin.
COTTON: George again, I don't speak on behalf of other politicians. They can all speak for themselves. I'm delivering my message to you which I said has been clear whether Barack Obama was President, whether Donald Trump was President and now whether Joe Biden was President. That Vladimir Putin has been a ruthless dictator for years. Too many people have not taken the threat seriously. And that's why you see the images we see in Ukraine now. And where we need to focus is on stopping that aggression, supporting the Ukrainians as best we can.
