Robert Costa

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“Where Do You Start The Movie?”

April 3, 2016 in Excerpts, Politics | Permalink

Donald Trump, equal parts George Steinbrenner and George Wallace, has made it clear that there will be riots if he doesn’t get the GOP nomination. There will likely be riots even if he does. There’ll be riots.

The cancerous candidate sat for an interview with Bob Woodward and Robert Costa of the Washington Post, and while it doesn’t make Trump answer for his racist and xenophobic comments and peculiar policy positions, it is fascinating as a psychological portrait of a delusional megalomaniac who doesn’t even understand his own motivations. His extremely logorrheic explanation of why he entered politics isn’t exactly analogous to Ted Kennedy’s famous waterloo when he was unable to express why he wanted to be President during his 1979 joust with Jimmy Carter, but I think it does confirm suspicions that Trump impetuously entered the race because he’s an unhappy man whose need for attention can’t be sated. Thanks to a perfect storm of GOP craziness, he wound up the clear frontrunner, even if his path to delegate majority is increasingly difficult to find.

If it succeeds as a personality profile, the interview fails on other grounds. One passage that’s somehow making news is a Trump prediction the Post reporters were remiss in not effectively addressing. It’s this:

“I’m talking about a bubble where you go into a very massive recession. Hopefully not worse than that, but a very massive recession.”•

If it sounds familiar, that’s because Trump periodically releases such sky-is-falling mouthfarts which almost always turn out to be wrong. Here’s another one from 2012:

Billionaire Donald Trump says the U.S. economy is poised for “massive inflation” and is warning investors to take steps now to protect themselves.•

Someday the hideous hotelier will be correct in a stopped-clock-being-right-twice-a-day fashion, but it won’t be because of any knowledge. Woodward and Costa should have pushed back at this proclamation.

The opening:

Bob Woodward: 

And the real first question is, where do you start the movie of your decision to run for president? Because that is a big deal. A lot of internal/external stuff, and we’d love to hear your monologue on how you did it.  

Donald Trump: 

Where do you start the movie? I think it’s actually — and very interesting question — but I think the start was standing on top of the escalator at Trump Tower on June 16, which is the day — Bob, you were there, and you know what I mean, because there has. . . . I mean, it looked like the Academy Awards. I talk about it. There were so many cameras. So many — it was packed. The atrium of Trump Tower, which is a very big place, was packed. It literally looked like the Academy Awards. And . . .  .

Bob Woodward: 

But we want to go before that moment.

Donald Trump:   

Before that? Okay, because that was really . . .  .

Bob Woodward: 

Because, other words, there’s an internal Donald with Donald.

Robert Costa:

Maybe late 2014 or before you started hiring people?

Donald Trump: 

Well, but that was — okay, but I will tell you, until the very end. . . . You know, I have a good life. I built a great company. It’s been amazingly — I’m sure you looked at the numbers. I have very little debt, tremendous assets. And great cash flows. I have a wonderful family. Ivanka just had a baby. Doing this is not the easiest thing in the world to do. People have — many of my friends, very successful people, have said, “Why would you do this?”

Bob Woodward: 

So is there a linchpin moment, Mr. Trump, where it went from maybe to yes, I’m going to do this? And when was that?

Donald Trump:

Yeah. I would really say it was at the beginning of last year, like in January of last year. And there were a couple of times. One was, I was doing a lot of deals. I was looking at very seriously one time, not — they say, oh, he looked at it for many — I really, no. I made a speech at the end of the ’80s in New Hampshire, but it was really a speech that was, it was not a political speech. But because it happened to be in New Hampshire . . .  .

Bob Woodward: 

And that guy was trying to draft you.

Donald Trump: 

And he was a very nice guy. But he asked me. And he was so intent, and I made a speech. It was not a political speech, anyway, and I forgot about it.

Bob Woodward: 

And that was the real possibility? Or the first . . .  .

Donald Trump: 

Well no, the real possibility was the Romney time, or the Romney term. This last one four years ago. I looked at that, really. I never looked at it seriously then. I was building my business, I was doing well. And I went up to New Hampshire, made a speech. And because it was in New Hampshire, it was sort of like, Trump is going to run. And since then people have said, Trump is going to run. I never was interested. I could almost say at all, gave it very little thought, other than the last time, where Romney was running.•

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“He Needs To Cool It”

November 2, 2015 in Excerpts, Politics | Permalink

Donald Trump.

Donald Trump.

Syphilis.

Syphilis.


Donald Trump wants you to believe he’s not such a terrible guy, the way a drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea would like you to think it’s merely syphilis. Sure, you’ll have ulcerous lesions on your genitals, but you won’t develop any tumor-like balls of inflammation in your liver if you’re promptly treated with penicillin. That’s what gonorrhea would have you believe.

The hideous hotelier also recently tried to convince Nevada Republicans that his candidacy isn’t only about celebrity. Holy fuck, what else does he have? Valuable foreign-policy experience gained in Westchester?

From Jenna Johnson and Robert Costa at the Washington Post:

“It’s not about being a celebrity,” Trump said. “It’s about having a view that’s captivating the people in this country, because they’re tired of being taken advantage of, they’re tired of being stupid, they’re tired of having their leaders be outnegotiated on every single deal. They’re tired of it. They’re tired of having China rip us off on every trade deal — and Japan and Mexico and everybody else. They’re tired of it.”

Absent from Trump’s speech was the usual blizzard of barbs about his opponents, such as questioning Carson’s religion, mocking Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for profusely sweating or accusing former Florida governor Jeb Bush of being “low energy.” Trump instead praised Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) for their strong debate performances the previous night. The only time he mentioned Carson was to describe how they partnered up to pressure CNBC to limit the debate length.

And Trump thanked former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who barely made it onto the debate stage, for defending him the night before when debate moderators asked the governor to comment on Trump’s morals.

“There aren’t a lot of people that would do that,” Trump said. “He had a perfect opportunity to talk about himself, and he didn’t do that, so he’s a special guy.”

The softened tone was welcomed by many in the audience.

“He needs to cool it,” said Les Birch, 77, a retired elevator builder who lives in Carson City and defends Trump’s policy positions in Facebook conversations but doesn’t weigh in on Trump’s critiques of other candidates. “He needs to stop attacking people personally.”•

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“Republicans Will Be Affected In A Big Picture Sense”

October 3, 2013 in Excerpts, Politics | Permalink

Robert Costa, the National Review editor who was interviewed by Ezra Klein about the government shutdown, just did an Ask Me Anything at Reddit on the same topic. A few exchanges follow.

______________________________

Question: 

How long should we expect this to last and how will it affect my average day?

Robert Costa:

Anywhere from 1-2 weeks, but always remember, the situation is very fluid and a few key variables (Boehner buckling, Senate Democrats becoming divided) could quickly move the debate in a certain direction and break the logjam. If it does last 2 weeks, the talks will likely be folded into negotiations on the debt limit, which is set for Oct. 17. The standoff affects your day if you work or interact with the federal government in any way. Some parts of the government have been shuttered, while others are open, but with limited operations.

______________________________

Question:

If Boehner were to crack under the pressure, will there be a call for him to resign as speaker by the 30-40 hardliners you’ve written about?

RobertCosta:

I don’t think it’d be so much about whether he’d resign, but whether he could convince his conference to go along with him as he attempts to craft a larger bargain with Democrats on the debt limit. As I wrote about last night, unity within the conference is Boehner’s first and most important objective. Since the House GOP has such fragile internal politics, he spends a lot of time shoring that up. And because he knows he has a limited hand, I doubt he “cracks,” but he’s certainly trying to navigate through this while 1) keeping GOP members together, and 2) making sure the GOP isn’t totally blamed.

______________________________

Question:

If the shutdown lasts for 2 weeks and the debt ceiling gets tied into negotiations what percentage of the Republican House caucus understands how catastrophic a default would be?

Robert Costa:

Most of the conference is well aware of the consequences of default. In fact, over the past few years, the House GOP leadership has actually hosted private meetings for members about what default means and why it shouldn’t happen. But, at the same time, Republicans are very eager to get some kind of 2011-esque concession from the White House and Senate Democrats on the budget, when they were able to pass legislation that led to sequestration. Of course, the political climate then was different, due to the GOP having recently won the House, but the GOP is hoping for a similar outcome this time, and you have leaders like Paul Ryan publicly talking about a larger agreement being possible. I’m still skeptical though, since most Republicans are unwilling, at all, to bend on taxes, and Democrats aren’t exactly scrambling to cut a big deal with Boehner, who they think is in a weakened position.

______________________________

Question: 

Republicans won’t be affected by this though since most of them are in secure districts after recent gerrymandering. Nothing will really change until after 2020 when the next Census occurs IMHO. From listening to the news, only one Republican representative is in a district currently deemed a toss-up in the 2014 elections, everyone else is secure.

If you watch Fox News they’re actually spinning the shut down as a good thing and pro-Republican viewers tend to watch that channel for their news. Fox was just saying this morning “Wow, only 6% of the EPA workers are deemed essential and at work today, that really shows we could cut the other 94% and save the government money.” I wanted to punch my TV.

Robert Costa:

Republicans will be affected in a big picture sense: they may feel the burn next November during the midterms. But you’re right-for many House Rs and Senate Rs who come from deep-red areas, the pressure isn’t to come to the center, but to hold firm on the right and battle for concessions that during most divided gov’t eras would never seem plausible. But because the conservative movement has become such a strong force within the GOP, the expectations are stoked daily about what is achievable, and this creates major problems for the leadership in both chambers. They’re constantly pushing back against the idea that they’re “not doing enough” for the cause or conceding too much ground.•

 

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“Ever Since Plan B Failed On The Fiscal Cliff In January And You Saw Boehner In Near Tears In Front Of His Conference, He’s Been Crippled”

October 2, 2013 in Excerpts, Politics | Permalink

If members of Congress weren’t paid for days the government is closed and they had no way to recoup the money, there would be no shutdown. And if you’re not making a sacrifice, you’re not making a stand. Of course, the GOP is sacrificing something huge–its last claim to being more than a fringe party–but that sacrifice isn’t intentional. There are three possible reasons for the shutdown:

  • They Think They’ll Win. While this clearly makes no sense to you or I or anyone with any level of sanity, it’s possible that a party, cloistered from the majority or just good sense, thinks somehow Obamacare is going away because of this gambit. Not likely that too many of them believe it, but possible at least for some of the more flat-earth Republican reps. 
  • They’re Putting Personal Gain Ahead Of the Party. Oval office in 2016 be damned, the Republicans in Congress are more concerned with fundraising in their own districts so that they can remain in power. For a party that says it hates the government, these are people who will sell out any potential national ticket in the next national election to out-wingnut future contenders who might challenge them in primaries. This is almost certainly true to some extent.
  • They’re a Poorly Organized and Suicidal Party. I wrote several times during the 2012 Presidential campaign that I disagreed with the prevailing wisdom that Republicans would have no alternative but to return to normalcy if President Obama was reelected. (Obama himself used this reasoning during a debate.) That never was going to happen because it’s no longer a party based on strategy or reason. John Boehner has no authority because there is no authority in anarchy. The GOP is a protest party now and nothing more. And when tens of millions of Americans newly have health insurance with no death panels, no sky falling, this shutdown will be ever more damning. Until all power is lost, the GOP will not remake itself, will not be viable again. It’s not just common sense that works against them–it’s demographics as well.

The opening of Ezra Klein’s new Wonkblog interview with National Review journalist Robert Costa:

“Ezra Klein:

Walk me through the math of the House GOP a bit. Most people seem to think Boehner has around 100 members who largely back him and don’t want a shutdown, and it’s a much smaller group, a few dozen or so, who want to take this to the brink. So why doesn’t Boehner, after trying to do it the conservative’s way as he has been in recent weeks, just say, we’re voting on a clean CR now, as that’s what the majority of the House Republican majority wants?

Robert Costa:

Ever since Plan B failed on the fiscal cliff in January and you saw Boehner in near tears in front of his conference, he’s been crippled. He’s been facing the consequences of that throughout the year. Everything from [the Violence Against Women Act] to the farm bill to the shutdown. The Boehner coup was unsuccessful but there were two dozen members talking about getting rid of him. That’s enough to cause problems. Boehner’s got the veterans and the committee chairs behind him, but the class of 2010 and 2012 doesn’t have much allegiance to him.

The thing that makes Boehner interesting is he’s very aware of his limited hand. Boehner doesn’t live in an imaginary world where he thinks he’s Tip O’Neill and he can bring people into his office and corral them into a certain vote. So he treads carefully, maybe too carefully. But he knows a clean CR has never been an option for him.

Ezra Klein:

But why isn’t it an option? A few dozen unhappy members is an annoyance, but how is it a threat? Wouldn’t Boehner be better off just facing them down and then moving on with his speakership?

Robert Costa:

So there are 30 to 40 true hardliners. But there’s another group of maybe 50 to 60 members who are very much pressured by the hardliners. So he may have the votes on paper. But he’d create chaos. It’d be like fiscal cliff level chaos. You could make the argument that if he brought a clean CR to the floor he might have 100-plus with him on the idea. But could they stand firm when pressured by the 30 or 40 hardliners and the outside groups?”•

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