Précis
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“My best advice for everyone is to strap in…” Former
Trump Adviser
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An incisive exploration from the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners
program of how President Donald Trump will wield his
power.
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“This is a man who defies all tradition and all
precedent. He is operating on his own rules, on his own instincts and I
think a lot of people are having trouble keeping up.” Former US Assist.
Secretary of State
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Through interviews with key players in the Trump
camp and the Republican Party, the program examines the political earthquake
rippling across America.
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“It makes a lot of people nervous…I think there’s no
question.” Former US Assist.
Secretary of State
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Reporter Michael Brissenden draws on his experience
during his time as the ABC’s Washington correspondent to explain just how
revolutionary the presidency of Donald Trump is.
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“I first came to Washington as a correspondent just
after the inauguration of Barack Obama. America’s first
black president took office promising hope and change … But this is the real
watershed moment. Donald Trump’s change is disruptive and
confrontational.” Michael Brissenden
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He talks to those who know Trump well, asking how we
should read the President’s actions.
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“Donald Trump warned us from the very beginning that
he’s going to break some eggs and that’s you know…that’s what he’s doing.” Former
Trump Advisor
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And explores what a Trump presidency means for key
issues like climate change and foreign policy.
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“In our recent history, and perhaps throughout our
entire history, we’ve never had a president come into office with such an
unpredictable style of communication and with such alarm among our closest
allies and friends.” Former National Security Adviser
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Trump supporters are still savouring the President’s
victory.
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“We’ve needed change for a long time. We’re
going to get it now. America’s going to be number one again and we’re
going to get that change and we’re going to get what we want.” Trump campaign
worker
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While Trump’s opponents vow to fight him every step
of the way in Congress and in the courts.
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“If
the new administration and the Republican majority in Congress thinks that
this is going to be easy for them to pull the rug out from under
Americans that have made that progress, they’re sadly mistaken.” Senior
Democrat Congresswoman
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Washington, DC. Night.
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Music
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00:10
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN, REPORTER: It's a glittering
celebration of American democracy. The night of the inaugural balls, when
Washington dresses up to honour the peaceful transition of power. A political
tradition that is itself a source of great national pride. All across the
capital supporters are putting on their black ties and their formal frocks
and making their way into town.
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00:18
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Caputo travels in car
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Michael Caputo and his wife are among them. He's
watched the rise of Trump all the way to his touch down as president elect in
Washington DC.
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00:43
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Caputo and wife in car
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MICHAEL CAPUTO, TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: He came off the
plane and he was standing up there waving and I knew that look on his face. I
knew that look on his face. The look said this plane is garbage. What have I
got myself into, because on his plane the toilet bowl is gold, you know.
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00:54
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DC Traffic. Night. Caputo in car
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Actually, Michael Caputo knows
Donald Trump's motivations better than most. He was a senior advisor to the
new president and ran his campaign in the New York primaries; he’s known and
worked with him for many years. And he knows this is exactly where Trump
expected to be.
MICHAEL CAPUTO: I think it's one of the few times in
American history where everything will change, and I don't think everything
has changed in America because of a presidential election since the 19th
century,
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01:17
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Caputo 100%. Super:
MICHAEL CAPUTO
Trump campaign advisor
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and I think it's episodic in ways we don't even know
yet. But I do know that from very instant he's inaugurated a lot of things in
Washington and the United States are going to change immediately.
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01:47
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DC Traffic. Night
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We're all in for a helluva ride. I mean I think my best
advice for everyone is to strap in. Donald Trump warned us from the very
beginning that he's going to break some eggs and that's what he's doing.
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02:01
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Brissenden into car with Trina
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN:
‘Your limousine awaits.’
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN:
Trump campaign volunteer Trina Philips has been waiting a long time
for this moment.
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02:13
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In car
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‘So how are you feeling about tonight?’
TRINA PHILLIPS, CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER LEADER: Very, very
excited. It is part of history that I never thought I'd be able to
experience, so it’s really good.
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02:20
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DC Night. Trina to inauguration ball in car
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The inaugural ball is a long
established tradition, it's the way it's always been done here. But there's
little else traditional about Donald Trump and his approach to the job, and
that's just the way his most ardent supporters like it.
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02:30
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TRINA PHILLIPS: I mean we've needed change for a long
time. We're going to get it now.
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02:48
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Trina 100%. Super:
Trina Phillips
Campaign volunteer leader
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America's going to be number one again and we're going
to get that change and we're going to get what we want.
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02:52
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DC. Night/ Armed services ball
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Music
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02:57
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Trina Phillips' first stop is the
armed services ball.
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03:04
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Trumps enter ball
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Donald Trump is there. It's one of many inauguration
balls she will attend tonight.
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03:08
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Trumps dance at ball
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The President attends many of the balls but not all of
them, at least not in person.
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03:17
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Gays for Trump inaugural ball
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For the first time this year there's even a Gays for
Trump inaugural ball.
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03:24
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Trump impersonator performs at ball
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TRUMP IMPERSONATOR: But it's a big movement, it's a
beautiful movement, it's a bold movement. It's a big, beautiful, bold
movement. I even trademarked it. I call it Donald Trump’s big beautiful BM.
And a big beautiful BM is something that crooked Hillary just didn't have I’ll
tell you that much.
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03:35
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And may god bless the United States of Trump. It’s all about you…
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Strangely, as divisive as he seems
to be, Donald Trump has managed to unite some disparate groups.
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03:57
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Trina dancing at Gays for Trump ball with
Scott
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Trina Phillips who founded Military Spouses for Trump
is also a keen participant at the Gays for Trump occasion.
SCOTT PRESLER, GAYS FOR TRUMP: The American people are
fed up,
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04:09
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Scott 100%. Super:
SCOTT PRESLER
Gays for Trump
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we have had enough. We are tired of our jobs going
overseas, we are tired of being overtaxed, we are tired of an insecure
border, we are tired of 50,000 homeless veterans, we are tired of our
veterans not receiving the healthcare that they need, we are tired of not
having a good education system for our children. There are so many things
wrong in America and those problems are not being addressed.
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04:21
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Scott
coming out of the house wearing placard, jogging
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Gays for Trump was initiated by 28
year old Scott Presler - a gay man unafraid to speak his mind or flaunt his
political colours.
SCOTT PRESLER: Whenever I go for a run I wear a
backpack on me that says Gays for Trump. I know it's a little crazy but I
have fun with it and I have people that throw things at me from their cars.
That's violence,
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04:46
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Scott 100%
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that's actually a felony if you throw a projectile from
a car.
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05:13
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Scott cleaning car
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Scott Presler is in no doubt about
the significance and the impact of this moment.
SCOTT PRESLER: This is America's Brexit. This was our
independence from an oppressive, gluttonous, obtrusive government. We won our
independence on November 8, 2016.
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05:16
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Scott 100%
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We don't need a soft spoken gentleman. We need a pit
bull, and that's what Mr. Trump is.
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05:34
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Inauguration footage
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Music
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05:43
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DONALD TRUMP: I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear
that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States.
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05:58
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: An inauguration is usually a moment
of humility, a chance to bridge the divisions of the campaign and to begin
the process of governing with a speech to inspire, to heal and reassure.
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06:09
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But as he did in the campaign, and now in the office
itself, Donald Trump has signalled his approach will not be constrained by
convention.
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06:26
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DONALD TRUMP: This American carnage stops right here
and stops right now. From this day forward it's going to be only America
first, America first.
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Trump's inauguration speech was
dark and foreboding, a continuation of his campaign theme of a nation on the
brink.
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06:32
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JENNIFER RUBIN, CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST WASHINGTON POST:
The most chilling from my perspective was his evoking the phrase
"America First". That has a
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07:11
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Rubin 100%. Super:
JENNIFER RUBIN
Conservative Columnist, Washington Post
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very dark meaning in the United States. It goes back to
pre World War II years, Charles Lindbergh and other isolationists really
showing sympathy towards Adolf Hitler and wanting America to stay out of the
war, that mentality which does not see America as an international leader,
which does not see democracy as a value to be protected and to be defended.
That is a very chilling sort of phrase and people say, "Well, maybe he
doesn't know what that means", and I think that's preposterous, I think
he knows exactly what that means and how serious he is about that, how that
translates into policy, I think is going to be the defining issue of the next
however long he's in office.
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07:17
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DC Time lapse. Night
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Music
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08:05
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Jennifer Rubin is what you might
call an establishment conservative. A well respected and well connected
columnist with the Washington Post. She had hoped that the gravity and
significance of the office itself might somehow temper Donald Trump.
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08:09
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Ext. White House. Night
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But if anything his first few weeks in the White House
have shown that's not going to happen.
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08:24
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Rubin working in office
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JENNIFER RUBIN: We are in extraordinary times, his
behaviour, his ideas, his manner of governing is unprecedented in American
politics. He seems to be really a loose cannon
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08:30
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Rubin 100%
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and I think it really cements the division that we have
in this country between people who love him and love this show and think he's
just showing everybody up, and those people who look aghast at this and say
this man is not all there and he's going lead, not only the country, but the
world, into some very dangerous directions.
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08:45
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Trump montage. TV interviews/Press statements
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BARBARA WALTER:
Are you really going to build a wall?
DONALD TRUMP:
Yes.
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09:05
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INTERVIEWER:
You’re now the president, do you want water-boarding?
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09:07
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DONALD TRUMP: We
are going to get the bad ones out
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09:10
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DONALD TRUMP: You’re going to see things happening over
the next few weeks. Oh, you’re going to be so happy.
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09:12
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DONALD TRUMP: Measures to keep radical Islamic
terrorists out of the United States of America. We don’t want them here.
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09:18
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DONALD TRUMP:
The drug deals and gangs and gang members and cartel leaders. The day
is over where they can stay in our country and wreak havoc.
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09:28
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MICHAEL CAPUTO: Donald Trump is deliberately
confrontational, he does it on purpose and in fact
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09:38
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Caputo 100%. Super:
MICHAEL CAPUTO
Trump campaign advisor
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when I was trying to convince him to run for Governor
of New York, he insisted that he wanted to run for President of the United
States and he told me then how he was going to win. He told me, he says,
"I'm going to say things that are going to be absolutely newsworthy
because of the way that I say them,
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09:43
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Montage. Trump statements footage
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I'm going to say things that are going to attract all
the news attention and nobody else
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09:58
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Caputo 100%
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and none of the other candidates are going to have any
oxygen left in the room".
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10:01
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Trump statements
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DONALD TRUMP: They said what do you think about
water-boarding and I said I like it a lot and I don't think it's tough
enough.
MICHAEL CAPUTO: And when the news dies down and they
start turning the cameras on the other candidates, I'll say something
outrageous again
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10:04
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Caputo 100%
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and when I do, eventually each one of these candidates
will drop away and that's how I'm going to win the election.
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10:16
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Trump statements
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DONALD TRUMP: And I said, I’ll answer that question.
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10:21
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Clip. 1988 Oprah Winfrey interview with Trump
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OPRAH WINFREY: I know people have talked about whether
or not you wanted to run. Would you ever?
DONALD TRUMP: Probably not.
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Over the last three decades, Trump
has often flirted with the idea of running for President.
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10:23
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OPRAH WINFERY: You’ve said though, that if you did run
for president you believe you’d would win?
DONALD TRUMP: Well I don't know.
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10:33
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I think I'd win. I tell you what, I wouldn’t got in to
lose. I’ve never gone in to lose in my life, and if I did decide to do it, I
think I’d be inclined, I would say that I would have a hell of a chance of
winning...
GWENDA BLAIR, BIOGRAPHER: When he first started talking
about it out loud, I mean who
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10:38
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Blair 100%. Super:
GWENDA BLAIR
Biographer
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knows, maybe when he was, you know, five years old, but
out loud in 1987 after he'd written a book called 'The Art of the Deal' and
it was kind of maybe I'll be president or maybe I should run and kind of
marketing for his book. And so he printed some bumper stickers, he went to
New Hampshire, gave a few speeches. It didn't really go very far, but then he
did the same thing five more times and the last was 2015 when he really
decided to go for it.
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10:50
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Helicopter overhead
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11:22
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Blair on street in DC
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: On Inauguration Day Gwenda Blair
came to Washington to witness history. She's been documenting this most
extraordinary American life for more than 20 years.
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11:26
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Photos. Trump with his father
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She has written two biographies of Trump and his
family. Donald Trump's greatest influence was his father, Frederick.
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11:37
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GWENDA BLAIR: His father raised his kids to be killers,
the boys that is. The girls -- one of his sisters told me --
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11:45
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Blair 100%
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they were never in line for taking over the company.
That wasn't on the table. But the boys, they were supposed to be killers and
Donald took that to heart.
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11:53
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Photo. Trump with his father
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: But Gwenda Blair says Donald
understood something even his father didn't.
GWENDA BLAIR: From the minute
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12:01
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Trump buildings
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he first started building in the 1970s he was pretty
far ahead of the pack with the idea of celebrity branding. Getting your name
to be a value added thing, getting your name to be worth more than anything.
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12:08
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Capitol building
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Donald Trump was even able to spin
his multiple bankruptcies to his advantage.
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12:10
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Trump signage on truck
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GWENDA BLAIR: He's been remarkably adept at framing
everything as a success.
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12:27
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Blair 100%
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Four corporate bankruptcies, that was a successful
thing to do because he was gaming the system and he did indeed game the
system, used his losses to write off his own income tax for nearly 20 years.
So he's always looking for a way to reframe it; to turn it into a success.
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12:35
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Clips. The Apprentice
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12:55
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GWENDA BLAIR: The whole Apprentice, the last piece of
his career prior to running for president, of being this reality TV show star
where he was every week in people’s living rooms, being a boss, being the guy
in charge, being the guy who hired people, fired people,
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13:01
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Blair 100%
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setting them against each other, setting up conflict
between them, making them very competitive, standing back deciding so that
there were not loyal to each other. They'd be loyal to him.
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13:17
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Trump with family
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: And it's clear to all of those who
know him that family is where the loyalty lies. And the most loyal of all are
his children.
GWENDA BLAIR: He's really got in mind a dynasty
situation there
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13:27
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Blair 100%
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and these are who he trusts. These are the people that
he sees as loyal to him. Loyalty is super important. Everybody else is an
outsider.
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13:42
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Photo. Trump and family
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Music
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13:50
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Trump has five children to three
wives. Donald junior, Ivanka and Eric from his first marriage, Tiffany from
his second,
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13:55
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Melania and Barron Trump at inauguration
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and 10-year-old Barron from his third and current wife
Melania.
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14:04
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Trump with sons and Ivanka
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The two older boys Donald and Eric are deeply enmeshed
in the trump business, but of all of them his daughter Ivanka is the most
influential.
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14:08
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Trump with Ivanka
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MICHAEL CAPUTO: The one person who would call Donald
Trump's office, and he would always take her call, is Ivanka, and when
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14:17
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Caputo 100%. Super:
MICHAEL CAPUTO
Trump campaign advisor
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Ivanka was in the room with her father it just seemed
that things moved along smoother.
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14:26
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Ivanka posing for pics
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Her advice and counsel was something that he values
above and beyond any other advisor.
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14:31
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Caputo 100%
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I think he wouldn't be president today if it weren't
for his children.
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14:38
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Photo. Ivanka and Kushner
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The other family member who has
emerged as an important player is Ivanka's husband - the millionaire property
developer Jared Kushner.
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14:42
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Kushner with Trump and family
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He has been appointed senior advisor to President
Trump.
MICHAEL CAPUTO: Donald Trump sees himself
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14:53
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Caputo 100%
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in Jared Kushner and he listens to him.
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15:02
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Kushner and Trumps at inauguration
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GWENDA BLAIR: Donald sees in Jared himself really, even
perhaps more than he sees himself in his own sons who are at the Trump
organisation. They're supposedly going to be running it while Donald is in
the White House, but
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15:06
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Blair 100%. Super:
GWENDA BLAIR
Biographer
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Jared seems to be, it looks like that's who Donald sees
as his true apprentice. He's a very sharp shrewd guy, pulled off a very large
real estate deal in Manhattan just down Fifth Avenue from Trump Tower at a
very young age and the building is not called the Kushner building, not
called the Kushner Tower, but except for that it was the kind of move that
Donald I'm sure really applauded.
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15:21
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Time lapse. DC Inauguration day
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Donald Trump has already shown he's
transferring the same techniques he's practiced in a life of corporate
conquest to the art of governing.
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15:55
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JENNIFER RUBIN: In business, Donald Trump was infamous
for taking an outlandish, extreme position and thinking that was the opening
bid as it were.
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16:09
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Rubin 100%. Super:
JENNIFER RUBIN
Conservative Columnist, Washington Post
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It's different as president because people take every
word you say, at every instance, quite literally.
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16:20
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Fire truck/Trump hotel
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Donald Trump doesn't draw a line
between business and politics. The Trump presidency is challenging more than
just the expectations of the political establishment –
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16:26
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Brissenden to camera outside Trump hotel
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it’s also challenging the laws of the nation and the
constitution. Donald Trump's businesses, both here and abroad, throw up
numerous conflicts of interest. One of the most public examples of this, is
this building here in Washington, the new Trump Hotel, leased from the
government by the man who now leads the government.
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16:37
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Ext. Trump hotel
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NOAH BOOKBINDER, LAWYER, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBITY AND
ETHICS IN WASHINGTON: He's essentially landlord and tenant of this property,
so it means that on the
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16:55
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Bookbinder 100%. Super:
NOAH BOOKBINDER
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
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one hand he's got a duty to do the best he can for
American taxpayers, on the other hand he has a duty to make as much money as
he can for his business, and those two interests are not compatible, it's the
textbook definition of a conflict of interest.
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17:00
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Bookbinder in office
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Noah Bookbinder is one of a group
of bipartisan ethics lawyers who are arguing that this president presents the
nation with an unparalleled constitutional crisis.
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17:15
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NOAH BOOKBINDER: This morning our organisation filed
suit against the against President Donald Trump for violating the
constitution.
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17:26
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Bookbinder 100%
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Our constitution says that an official, government
official, including the President, is not allowed to accept payments or money
from foreign governments. Donald Trump, by continuing to maintain ownership
of his businesses is clearly violating that, whether it's through diplomats
staying at his hotels, foreign government owned companies leasing space at
Trump Tower in New York, foreign governments giving favourable treatment to
development projects of his all over the world.
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17:34
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Trump
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DONALD TRUMP:
They don’t want presidents getting tangled up in minutiae…
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Donald Trump says he has no case to
answer.
DONALD TRUMP: So I could actually run my business. I
could actually run my business and run government at the same time. I don't
like the way that looks, but I would be able do that if I wanted to.
NORMAN EISEN, OBAMA ETHICS ADVISER: Like so much else
that he says, not accurate. Starting with the Constitution of the United
States, our most fundamental law.
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18:07
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Eisen 100%
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It has a conflicts provision that applies to
presidents. It's called the emoluments clause, just a fancy eighteenth
century word. What it means is the President is not allowed to get cash or
other things of value -- benefits -- from foreign governments, because it
would create a conflict of interest. The founders of the United States were
so concerned about this that they put it in the constitution.
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18:33
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Photo. Eisen with Obama
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Norm Eisen - an ethics advisor to
Barack Obama, is also one of the lawyers party to the suit against the
president.
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18:58
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Exteriors. Trump hotel
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NORMAN EISEN: It's much bigger than just hotel rooms.
People are taking out entire floors. They're having large gatherings, these
are individual events that are hundreds of thousands of dollars, and collectively
millions of dollars of business from foreign governments
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19:08
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Eisen 100%
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When you're doing that with those large sums, of course
that's an emolument.
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19:25
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Time lapse. DC Night, including hotel
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The Washington hotel is just one of
many potential conflicts of interest arising out of Trump's sprawling
business empire,
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19:31
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Trump gold courses.
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which includes golf courses and hotels around the
world.
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19:42
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Trump playing gold/Police security detail
outside Trump Tower
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Music
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19:46
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: As well as hotels, the President
has Trump Tower in New York, the biggest tenant is the state owned Industrial
and Commercial Bank of China.
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19:53
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Trump and others in Trump Tower
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He owns a 30 per cent stake in a partnership that
borrowed more than a billion dollars from lenders which included the Bank of
China.
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20:01
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Eisen 100%. Super:
NORMAN EISEN
Ethics advisor to Barack Obama
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NORMAN EISEN: By continuing to own his businesses, he
is first of all raising the question is he doing deals from the Oval Office
to benefit the people, including these people in the rust belt of America,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, who've been terribly damaged by the
economic dislocations of recent decades. Is he helping them or helping himself?
When he sends our men and women into battle to conflict, when he threatens or
deploys American force, it's going to be the same question. Are they going
abroad to defend a Trump golf course or to defend American national interest,
whenever one of his properties and he's got 'em all over the world is on the
one side of or another of a conflict?
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20:11
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White House exterior. Night/Trump building
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: After relentless public pressure,
Trump handed over the day to day running of the business to his sons. He says
he’ll keep an arm's length but has refused to divest himself. He says he
simply doesn't need to.
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21:01
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MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: In the end the courts will decide.
If they do rule against the president and the president still refuses to budge,
that could spark another crisis.
NOAH BOOKBINDER: I mean at that point
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21:17
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Bookbinder. Super:
NOAH BOOKBINDER
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
|
you have a president who is essentially asserting that
he doesn't have to follow the law. And I truly don't know how that resolves
itself. Right now, we have a dispute about what the law is. But if it goes to
a situation where courts say that the law is clear and he needs to follow it
and he says no, I'm not quite sure how that plays out. That would be
unchartered territory in the country.
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21:31
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Caputo 100%
Super:
MICHAEL CAPUTO
Trump Campaign advisor
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: So what do you say to the ethicists
who are really combing through this and say this is unacceptable,
constitutionally unacceptable?
MICHAEL CAPUTO: I say see you in court, because I mean
I understand that the clauses that people are quoting, I'm not a lawyer, but
Donald Trump is surrounded by some of the best lawyers in the world
|
22:00
|
Trump outside hotel
|
and they believe he's obeying the letter of the law. If
he doesn't follow the liberal spirit of the law, so be it, that's politics.
|
22:19
|
Caputo 100%
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: So it will be challenged won't it?
MICHAEL CAPUTO: I think absolutely. Donald Trump's
third breath every day will be challenged, he will be challenged on every
front.
|
22:29
|
Women’s march
|
WOMEN [chant]: Yes we can! Yes we can?
MICHAEL BRISSEDEN: And the challenging began on his
first day in office when hundreds of thousands of women marched on the capital.
|
22:35
|
|
The protests cascaded around the nation, an estimated
3.3 million people took to the streets, said to be the largest day of
demonstrations in American history. Protests challenging Trump's presidency
have become a regular occurrence across the country.
WOMAN PROTESTOR: I really feel that our president, our
new president Trump does not reflect
|
22:54
|
Woman protestor
|
my beliefs, the beliefs of my family, the beliefs of my
loved ones and the majority of the country. 2.9 million more people voted for
Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump and I don't accept him as my president.
|
23:19
|
Woman protestor #2
|
WOMAN PROTESTOR #2: I am here because I abhor
everything that Donald Trump stands for. I don't want to take up two hours of
your time but he is against the planet, he's against women and he is against
what America stands for.
|
23:42
|
Woman protestor #3
|
WOMAN PROTESTOR #3: We are here to stand up for all the
people he dumps on, who don't have a voice, who can't stand up to him and his
bullying. That's why we are here, for human rights, women's rights,
everyone's rights.
|
24:23
|
Protestors
|
WOMAN PROTESTOR #4: The level of hate in this country
has always been here. Trump, what he did, is served it up, made it public and
made it normalised, he normalised hate.
|
24:45
|
Woman protestor #4
|
So I think what is happening tody is historic. I’m
hoping that after a few years from now I can look back on this day and say
this is where it all started.
|
24:53
|
March passes by Brissenden
|
|
25:02
|
Brissenden to camera at march
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: I first came to Washington as a
correspondent just after the inauguration of Barack Obama. America’s first
black president took office promising hope and change - 'Change has come to
America' he said. But this is the real watershed moment. And Donald Trump's
change is disruptive and confrontational. Many say that's just what the
country needs but others -- many others -- are afraid, anxious, and
uncertain.
|
25:04
|
Protest march
|
|
25:28
|
Bonnie Bellow at march
|
Bonnie Bellow was one of those who travelled to
Washington to protest. She was formerly head of Public Affairs at the
Environmental Protection Agency.
|
25:32
|
Bellow
|
BONNIE BELLOW, FORMER EPA PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR: I am
marching because I am really concerned about climate change. It is an issue
that is of critical importance for us and for the next generation and we have
to get out. And I am so excited there are so many people who feel the same.
|
25:45
|
Time lapse American flag
|
Music
|
26:00
|
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Bonnie Bellow is most concerned
about Scott Pruitt - the man Donald Trump has picked to head the
Environmental Protection Agency.
|
26:05
|
Pruitt in Trump Tower
|
Pruitt is just one of a number of deliberately
provocative appointments made to key cabinet positions. In 2011, Scott Pruitt
as the Attorney General of Oklahoma joined 27 other states that sued the EPA.
He is one of those who disputes the science of climate change.
BONNIE BELLOW: It's hard to imagine
|
26:13
|
Bellow 100%. Super:
BONNIE BELLOW
Former EPA public affairs director
|
that the intention of putting Scott Pruitt in place is
not to, is not to, if not destroy the EPA, to bring it to its knees and
control it in a way that will ultimately be very destructive. Otherwise why
would you choose somebody who has sued the very agency they’re being asked to
lead to take that position. So I cannot think of any other scenario.
|
26:37
|
Caputo 100%. Super:
MICHAEL CAPUTO
Trump campaign advisor
|
MICHAEL CAPUTO: If Scott Pruitt does not change the EPA
I’ll be drastically disappointed as will so many people among Trump’s base.
Our EPA has run amok. Our EPA is creating such problems for so many different
industries that they're killing jobs every time they draw a breath. The EPA
is absolutely out of control. And the idea that our country is willing to,
you know, make changes that have a negative impact on our economy and kill
jobs while China and India aren't required to do the same things, that's not
the kind of America that Donald Trump believes in. It's not the kind of
America his voters believe in. It's not the kind of America we're going to
have any more.
|
27:05
|
Misty Virginia landscape/Industrial landscape
|
Music
|
27:51
|
Road sweeper
|
ROAD SWEEPER: We're cleaning up after Obama for what he
done to our county. He closed us all down from working the mines.
|
28:01
|
Road sweeper #2/GVs Logan
|
Music
|
28:09
|
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The road to Trump's victory runs
through the busted industrial heartland of America. The rust belts of
Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania and the once prosperous mining towns of
Appalachia, where the loss of jobs has entrenched intergenerational poverty
and dislocated families and communities. In the 1980s, towns like Logan were
vibrant, bustling and prosperous.
|
28:16
|
|
ROGER HORTON, UNITED CITIZENS FOR COAL: It's close to
the Depression era - it really is. Our local bakery,
|
28:45
|
Horton 100%. Super:
ROGER HORTON
United Citizens for Coal
|
a lot of their new, and old, patrons are now relying
upon food stamps to come in and buy their bakery goods. A lot of the local
mom and pop hydraulic and machine shops have closed down.
|
28:51
|
Logan GVs
|
They're not selling cars like they were. You don't find
people buying recreational vehicles or buying properties. If you just look
around, you see houses for sale everywhere. People aren’t able to sustain
their mortgages.
|
29:08
|
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: West Virginia is coal country
|
29:35
|
Brissenden to camera on street
|
and it's been in decline now for decades, but Obama era
regulations and a shifting energy market have devastated towns like this. All
Donald Trump had to do was promise to bring back coal. This used to be
democrat territory, but this time nearly 70% of voters voted for Donald
Trump.
|
29:37
|
Trump campaign speech in Virginia
|
DONALD TRUMP:
West Virginia Coal Association just endorsed me…
BILL RANEY, WEST VIRGINIA COAL ASSOCIATION: Trump
brought the message. I've never seen, first of all, that many people in the
civic centre and I've never seen them more enthusiastic and more hopeful and,
you know, there was just a sense of confidence among all of them.
|
29:55
|
Raney 100%. Super:
BILL RANEY
West Virginia Coal Association
|
It was emblematic of the hope that everybody has that
we can get back to where we need to be.
|
30:16
|
Raney and Brissenden en route to coal mine
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Bill Raney is taking me to see a
coal mine - one of only 76 out of 300 that were once open in this district.
Like a lot of people here, Bill Raney was once a Democrat - but that was a
long time ago - another life time. Driving through the valleys of West
Virginia with him - what they call around here the hollers - it's clear who
he blames for the devastation of his community.
BILL RANEY: The last eight years have been absolutely
miserable with the Obama administration.
|
30:23
|
Raney 100%
|
The guy that's been there for the last eight years has
taken our jobs and, you know, every bit of that was done without any
congressional approval or endorsement, it was all done by executive order, by
policy, by regulation, agency behaviour that's under the control of the
president.
|
30:58
|
Car at coal mine
|
He kicked the props out from under us. So yeah, it's
going to take a while to get it back, but we can get back.
|
31:16
|
Trump Virginia campaign event. Dons miner’s
helmet
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Donald Trump told the people of
West Virginia what they wanted to hear. He is going to make America great
again. Regulations will be wound back and coal will reclaim its position as
the key energy provider.
|
31:27
|
Coal mine
|
Senior Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz claims it is a
false promise.
DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, CONGRESSWOMAN: If he's
relying on coal, then that is sending out false hope to people who
|
31:45
|
Wasserman Schultz 100%. Super:
CONGRESSWOMAN DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ
Senior Democrat
|
really need to have solutions, both in terms of job
training so that they can move in another direction,
|
31:58
|
‘Coal Blooded’ sign on pick up truck. Town GVs
|
away from the obsolete jobs that they have lost. Or we
need to help them move into another form of energy that generates the kind of
movement we need in our economy.
|
32:06
|
Coal mine
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: To reach that position, though,
requires a degree of acceptance that firstly climate change is a significant
threat and that coal use should be phased out. And you won't find too many
people here who think like that.
|
32:20
|
|
BILL RANEY: Is the jury still out in my mind as it
regards climate change and CO2?
|
32:34
|
Raney 100%. Super:
BILL RANEY
West Virginia Coal Association
|
Absolutely it is. And we need to have a long, long
discussion about that before we have any kind of dramatic regulations such as
we've had the last eight years.
|
32:40
|
Men walking down railway track
|
ROGER HORTON: You read the bible, the bible will tell
you point blank there are always going to be spring, there's always going to
be summer, there's always going to be fall and there's always going to be
winter.
|
32:49
|
Horton 100%. Super:
ROGER HORTON
United Citizens for Coal
|
We, as people, can impact the environment, there's no
doubt about it. We can impact it in a good way or we can impact it in a
negative way. Coal is not the main culprit.
|
33:01
|
Coal mine
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Donald Trump once joked that
climate change was a Chinese hoax, and he threatened to cancel the Paris
Agreement. But climate change is just one fight that President Trump has
picked in his first weeks in office.
DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: With millions of supporters
who
|
33:11
|
Wasserman Schultz 100%
|
are not going to go down without a fight on the hard
fought accomplishments that we have made. And if the new administration and
the Republican majority in congress thinks that this is going to be easy for
them to pull the rug out from under Americans that have made that progress,
they are sadly mistaken.
|
33:36
|
Man busking with trumpet
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The reality is the Republicans now
have an iron grip on government. For the next two years at least they control
the House, the Senate, and the White House.
|
33:57
|
Trump alighting from plane
|
For the moment, the group that he's already defined as
the real opposition is the media.
|
34:11
|
Trump press briefing
|
DONALD TRUMP: Go
ahead… Go ahead. No, not you. Your organisation’s terrible. Your
organisation’s terrible. Let’s go… Go ahead. Quiet. Quiet…
JENNIFER RUBIN: Usually to begin with there is a honeymoon
period for the president. That is clearly not happening. We're onto the
divorce before the marriage, forget about the honeymoon.
DONALD TRUMP:
You are fake news… Go ahead.
JENNIFER RUBIN:
Obviously, his
|
34:17
|
Rubin 100%. Super:
JENNIFER RUBIN
Conservative Columnist, Washington Post
|
relationship with the press, or anyone else who chooses
to put forth a different information stream, is going to be very hostile.
|
34:42
|
Trump press briefing
|
DONALD TRUMP:
Again, I don’t have to do this.
JENNIFER RUBIN:
And he has already I think just inflamed the media and is at war with
them, and we don't know how that's going to turn out, frankly.
|
34:31
|
|
DONALD TRUMP: You’re fired. Goodbye everybody. Goodbye.
|
35:02
|
Trump Twitter page. GFS o/lay of Tweets
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Donald Trump uses Twitter as a way
of bypassing the traditional media channels. The pronouncements by Twitter
have thrown global diplomacy into turmoil.
MICHAEL J GREEN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO GEORGE W
BUSH: In our recent history and perhaps throughout our entire history,
|
35:05
|
Green 100%. Super:
MICHAEL J GREN
National Security Advisor to George W Bush
|
we’ve never had a president come into office with such
an unpredictable style of communication and with such alarm among our closest
friends and allies.
|
35:21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trump on balcony at inauguration
|
DAVID J KRAMER: I certainly hope that after assuming
the awesome responsibilities of being president of the United States, that
Mr. Trump proves me and the other critics wrong,
|
35:38
|
Kramer 100%. Super:
DAVID J KRAMER
Assistant Secretary of State to George W Bush
|
and I think that would be good for everybody, Australia
included.
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: But you're worried?
MICHAEL J GREEN: I am indeed.
|
35:47
|
Photo. Kramer with Condoleezza Rice
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: David Kramer was an Assistant
Secretary of State and former foreign policy advisor to George W Bush.
|
35:55
|
Kramer on balcony on phone
|
He was one of 50 senior Republican national security
officials who signed a letter warning that Trump would be the most reckless
president in American history.
DAVID J KRAMER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE TO GEORGE
W BUSH: I am worried about our total realignment of our partnerships in the
Middle East.
|
36:02
|
Kramer 100%
|
I worry that we will align ourselves with the Russians
in dealing with ISIS, when the Russians, it might be won't deliver on that. I
worry that we will view Assad as a partner, when in reality Assad is not a
partner of ours.
|
36:22
|
Trump inauguration
|
And the whole relationship, how it evolves with Russia,
is arguably the biggest issue that I think is making people nervous. My hope
is that there will be a level of reassurance that comes about after a
settling in period.
|
36:40
|
|
And if there isn't, then we are really in a whole
different world. As one commentator said recently, this is the new abnormal.
|
36:56
|
Plane flies overhead/Kramer on phone
|
DAVID J KRAMER: I think each country that is a partner
with us in the Middle East would have to re-examine its approach.
|
37:08
|
Kramer 100%
|
I think it would be a terrible mistake for the United
States to align with Russia and with Assad. And so I think Australia and
other countries that have been with us from the beginning would have to take
a step back and try to figure out what approach to take as well. It would be
a massive realignment.
|
37:14
|
Time Lapse. DC. Night
|
Music
|
37:35
|
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: The president is also at odds with
his own intelligence community. He initially dismissed their conclusions
about Russian hacking in the election and he accused them of leaking a
damaging dossier on him. At least four agencies, including the CIA, are
investigating Trump's former campaign chairman and other associates, over
their links with Russia.
MICHAEL CAPUTO: I know
|
37:41
|
Caputo 100%. Super:
MICHAEL CAPUTO
Trump campaign advisor
|
Donald Trump well enough and I've known him long enough
to know there is no Putin-Trump connection, it doesn't exist.
|
38:07
|
Green 100%. Super:
MICHAEL J GREEN
National Security Advisor to George W Bush
|
MICHAEL J GREEN: Now he's saying he wants to build an
alliance with Russia and he's acting like there's some strategic principle
that underlies all this. And because of the Russian interference in our
election, and independent FBI investigations of the Russian activities, and
because so many on the Democratic Party side are saying he's illegitimate
because of that, once again politically he's doubling down with this idea
that he is doing all of this praise of Vladimir Putin and Russia out of some
grand strategic vision. So it's been shaped almost entirely by domestic
politics. There's speculation the Russians have something on him. That's pure
speculation. Frankly, Mr Trump has survived some pretty embarrassing
revelations. The Russians would have to have a pretty impressive dossier to
beat what's already out there that he's survived politically.
|
38:14
|
Trump. Inauguration day
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Donald Trump came to office
embroiled in numerous lawsuits. In the weeks since he was sworn in, dozens of
new court cases have been filed.
DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: President Trump himself has
still not released his taxes and says that he will not divest from his
businesses.
|
39:03
|
Wasserman Schultz 100%. Super:
CONGRESSWOMAN DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ
Senior Democrat
|
So he'll be profiting off of his businesses while
serving as president, likely in violation when he engages in foreign business
with the Emoluments Clause in our constitution. So the president is going, is
inviting controversy, inviting investigations, that I believe will ultimately
- if he continues down that path - cause him a tremendous amount of problems.
|
39:22
|
Kramer 100%
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Could it to lead to impeachment? Is
that likely?
|
39:50
|
Super:
DAVID J KRAMER
Assistant Secretary of State to George W Bush
|
DAVID KRAMER: It's a little early I think to be talking
about any impeachment scenarios. High crimes and misdemeanours are the
threshold for impeachment and I think it would take a very serious matter.
Appearance issues probably wouldn't cross that threshold. It would lead to
calls for investigations and calls for independent counsels.
|
39:53
|
DC. Night
|
Music
|
40:14
|
|
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Some pundits are speculating that
President Trump may not see out his four year term. While others think he
will make American great again. One thing they do agree upon is, under Trump,
America will never be the same.
DAVID J KRAMER: The President of the United States -
and this is hard for many people including Americans to understand - has the
authority to launch a nuclear strike.
|
40:18
|
Kramer 100%
|
Because the decision has to be made so quickly
depending on circumstances, there is no resort to congress to either try to
block it or to authorise it. And that is arguably the most powerful authority
any leader in the world could have. So I hope that a tweet from a foreign
leader, or some insult directed toward the White House,
|
40:42
|
Ext. White House
|
|
41:05
|
White House/American flag flying
|
|
41:08
|
Rubin 100%
|
|
41:14
|
Trump inauguration memorabilia
|
|
41:24
|
|
|
41:37
|
Out point
|
|
41:41
|