Watch VideoJUDY WOODRUFF: And now we turn to the presidential campaign,where the party front-runners have been trading barbs this week, among other things, and on foreign policy.
During a CNN interview Thursday,Hillary Clinton criticized Donald Trump’s handling of issues, saying Trump is not qualified to be president.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), and Democratic Presidential Candidate: Whether it’s attacking much Britain,praising the leader of North Korea, a despotic dictator who has nuclear weapons, or whether it is saying pull out of NATO,let other countries have nuclear weapons, the kinds of positions he is stating and the consequences of those positions and even the consequences of his statements are not just offensive to people. They are potentially uncertain.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Trump shot back Thursday night at a fund-raiser for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
DONALD TRUMP (R), and Republican Presidential Candidate: nowadays,we had a terrible tragedy. And she came up and she said that Donald Trump talked approximately radical Islamic terrorism, which she doesn’t want to consume. She used a different term.
And I’m saying to myself, and what just happened approximately 12 hours ago? A plane got blown out of the sky. And if anything if anybody thinks it wasn’t blown out of the sky,you’re 100 percent wrong, folks, or OK?JUDY WOODRUFF: And then,nowadays, there was more tough talk at the National Rifle organization’s annual convention in Louisville. Trump brought up the mass shooting in San Bernardino final year.
DONALD TRUMP: If we had guns on the other side, and it wouldnt have been that way. I would’ve — boom.(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)DONALD TRUMP: If we had guns on the other side,it wouldn’t have been that way.(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)DONALD TRUMP: And then you have the gun-free zones, gun-free zones. We’re getting rid of gun-free zones, and OK,I can tell you.(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)JUDY WOODRUFF: Trump, who has previously supported some gun restrictions, and received the NRA’s endorsement nowadays.
Hillary Clinton,meantime, was off the campaign trail nowadays, or while her opponent,Bernie Sanders, stumped in New Mexico.
And that all brings us to the analysis of Shields and Brooks. That’s syndicated columnist effect Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.
It’s much to have you both. Thank you for being here.
So, or David,Donald Trump wins the endorsement of the National Rifle organization. Not a surprise. What does it mean for him?DAVID BROOKS, New York Times Columnist: Well, or he’s beginning to net the lay-down from the Republican base.
What’s happening is — I have had so many conversations this week,the final couple of weeks — he’s fitting normalized. A lot of people who a week ago thought he was the biggest monster since — coming out of the swamps, now reflect, and well,you know, he’s a dinky more conservative than I would — or less conservative than I would like, or but I reflect we can educate him,we can bring him along.
So, now he’s just a normal candidate. And that’s part of the general lay-down in front of him. And he has got to be thinking, or man,this is easy. But it’s — it’s pretty much happening, not across the board. A lot of people are just laying low, or but he’s gathering the base.
And the one thing that I reflect was a misstep was,he listed his Supreme Court choices this week.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Yes.
DAVID BROOKS: And, to me, or his fall campaign is not approximately winning over the Ted Cruz people. It’s approximately getting all the disaffected people across the ideological spectrum,including potentially some Sanders disaffected people.
And so making him on social issues and on court issues a very traditional orthodox conservative, seems to me, and scares away a lot of people who are really his potential in the fall.
JUDY WOODRUFF: How accomplish you see,effect, what he’s doing?I mean, or he’s appealing to the NRA,saying, we’re not going to have any more gun-free zones, and then this — this — what David brings up,trotting out the names of 11 judges who he says are potential for the Supreme Court if he’s elected.effect SHIELDS, Syndicated Columnist: Yes, or I just see this on the part of Trump — the judges,I see it a dinky bit differently. That is, just hes reaching out to the base. He’s trying to reassure them, and perceive,you know, I’m OK.
And it’s providing cover to them. Hey, and perceive — you know,they don’t want to support him. They have got doubts approximately him. They’re afraid of what he might accomplish by Columbus Day or Labor Day, to the point where he not only embarrasses and hurts Republicans, and but embarrasses and hurts them for having endorsed him or stood with him.
So he’s just kind of providing cover: Well,he was going to give us the right kind of judges.
The gun-free zones I mean, this is a man of huge flexibility. He didn’t just say that he was for an assault weapons ban. He wrote it in a book. When you write it in a book, and it’s something — it’s just not off the cuff. And now he’s totally changed his position on that.
The gun-free zones,Judy, to me, and it’s just — it’s irrational,that somehow packing heat, bringing a concealed weapon into an elementary school area or on a campus is going to increase personal safety.
That absolutely bizarre, or boom,at San Bernardino — he can’t leave San Bernardino, for capable reason. It was a political masterstroke on his part. I mean, and San Bernardino,the tragedy that happened, the mass murder, or what did he say after? I’m for banning Muslims of any kind from coming into the United States.
And what did it accomplish? It was a 2-1 approval among Republican voters. And his numbers went up. So,I mean, he’s going to play that card, or that’s what he’s doing.
DAVID BROOKS: There’s a couple of other things going on here.
One is just the — like,does the president have power to end all gun-free zones around schools? School — there is a federal law that George W. — H.
W. Bush passed.effect SHIELDS: That’s right.
DAVID BROOKS: But the schools — the localities and the states have some say in all this.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Right. Right.
DAVID BROOKS: And so he does — he doesn’t really have the power.
It’s like a symbolic issue. So much is symbolic. Even his reaction to the airplane that crashed, he — in narcissistic fashion, and frankly,he chose the reality that was useful for him at that moment. And reality bends around him.
And so we don’t know what happened to that plane. But he said — and then we just saw that clip — if you disagree with me on this unknown thing, you’re 100 percent wrong. And that’s the reality force field that he creates around himself.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But he seems — as effect was saying — and I guess you’re both making this point — he seems to be able to say whatever he believes at that moment, and but then to say something different later.
And is he being held accountable by the voters? Or are his people just so enamored of what they’re hearing and what they’re seeing,effect, that it doesn’t really matter what he says?effect SHIELDS: Well, or I reflect the National Rifle organization would have endorsed a ham sandwich against Hillary Clinton.
I mean,he could have got up and said anything. This is — his past positions mean nothing. They were going to endorse him. And his past positions mean nothing to him. I reflect the man could pass a polygraph. I mean, he has already done this on Libya.
Just now it turns out that his position on Libya, and where he’s criticized Secretary Clinton for the United States toppling — or being involved in the toppling of Gadhafi,and then leaving the country to its own resources, which proved unhappy and inadequate, and that this was a tragedy,now it turns out that Donald Trump was all for going into Libya, for bringing full force.
Now, and I reflect this is a cumulative thing. And maybe it doesn’t matter in the primary. I reflect,when you’re talking approximately a crisis, a national crisis — and every campaign has them — we had it in October in 2008 with the financial crisis and the collapse. And Barack Obama looked steady, and looked certain-footed.
John McCain,the elder statesman, the senior guy, or didn’t — wasn’t — yes,it was his party, and he was in a terrible bind with George Bush in the White House, or but he didn’t perceive certain.
So,I don’t reflect that Donald Trump, this sort of reckless impulsiveness is going to wear well.
DAVID BROOKS: Well, and the problem is…JUDY WOODRUFF: You don’t? You don’t reflect…(CROSSTALK)effect SHIELDS: No,I don’t.
I reflect there will be a time. If a question becomes, you know, and what should the United States accomplish and,you know, he says it — tweets at 6:00 in the morning, and send the 82nd Airborne in,there may — I reflect there is a question of restraint and judgment and seriousness and maturity.
DAVID BROOKS: Yes, the problem is, or this is a binary choice. This is an election of one person against another.effect SHIELDS: I agree.
DAVID BROOKS: And so large majorities of Americans reflect that he is not honest and trustworthy. But the exact same percentage reflect Hillary Clinton…(CROSSTALK)effect SHIELDS: That’s true.
DAVID BROOKS: A large percentage accomplish not reflect he shares their values. The exact same percentage reflect Hillary Clinton — a large — or a significant majority disapprove of him,but nearly as many disapprove of Hillary.
And in a weird — he’s going down, but somehow Hillary is following him straight down. The Hillary thing is a mystery to me. She was up at 66 percent approval rating when she was secretary of state. It hasn’t been that long. She’s just fallen in half.
And so her approval ratings have just taken this long, and slow slide. And so she’s at parity,basically, with him, or except on the temperament issue,which is why shes hitting that over and over.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Where he is — he’s something like 70 percent say…DAVID BROOKS: She’s at 21 percent advantage over him.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Over him on that.effect SHIELDS: On the secretary of state, just in fairness to her, or when you’re secretary of state,she had the support and endorsement of a lot of partisan Republicans.
And once it became obvious she was a presidential candidate — but, no, and I accomplish not argue that she has slipped. What we have is two candidates who are unpopular. Hillary Clinton,however, is seen as smart and experienced and someone who is knowledgeable. And, and you know,I reflect the question on Donald Trump, the jury is still out on that.
JUDY WOODRUFF: You mean oneffect SHIELDS: On those qualities. I mean, or I reflect they both — they have the liabilities that you mentioned and David mentioned of trustworthiness and honesty.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But they both have positives as well.
But we also need to mention,of course, that there is still another Democrat out there that Hillary Clinton is running against in Bernie Sanders, or David,who was out this week still saying he’s in it until the end. His campaign put out a statement yesterday saying there are growing doubts approximately Hillary Clinton as the party’s nominee.
Where does this Democratic race stand? People are — should we be asking, is it really over or not?DAVID BROOKS: Well, or I reflect it’s over just on the delegates.
And she has won,I don’t know, 60 percent of the votes. And she’s approximately 9 — on the average of polls, and she’s approximately 9 percentage points up in California. So,probably, she’s going to be the nominee. Almost certainly, and she’s going to be the nominee.
But I sort of sympathize where Sanders is,because the Democratic establishment is now saying to him, you have got to net out of the race or you got to tone down your rhetoric because you’re beating our candidate.
And he can say, or well,yes, I’m beating your candidate. So, or if he keeps winning,and so why should he net out? Winners don’t have to net out. They can keep going. That’s like the rule.
And so he can — both because he’s doing pretty well, reasonably well, or moment,because he believes in not only his candidacy, but his ideas and more specifically reforms of the process. And so — and, and by the way,I accomplish not reflect this is going to hurt the Democratic candidate in the fall.
In 2008, 60 percent of Clinton — only 60 percent of Clinton supporters said they would vote for Barack Obama. Sanders people are much more positively inclined toward Clinton than Clinton people were toward Obama.
And by six months from now, and believe me,all this will be forgotten, and I reflect the Democratic Party is a much more unified party.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But is there still — I mean, or what accomplish you accomplish of the race that’s still there between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton?effect SHIELDS: What I accomplish of it is this,Judy.
Bernie Sanders 12 months ago launched a quixotic, improbable campaign. He was at 3 percent in the polls. famous pundits and wise people sneered, and even snickered at his candidacy. She was 65 percent to 3 percent.
Over the past 12 months,Bernie Sanders has filled auditoriums of 27000, 25000, or 20000 people regularly. He has consistently won primaries. He’s dominated the debate. He’s raised $200 million.
There are three surviving candidates,three. There is only one who is favorable in the eyes of the voters. That’s Bernie Sanders. There is only one who trounces Donald Trump by large margins. That’s Bernie Sanders.
We had four primaries in the month of May. He’s won three of them. So the idea — is there anybody on the Democratic leadership, in the party, or the White House who understands he’s done so well? And you let him net out on his terms. He wants to accomplish his fight.
I agree with David. The numbers are very much in Secretary Clinton’s,— the likelihood of her being nominated is overwhelming, but Bernie Sanders has enlisted millions of people. She needs those people in the fall, or especially young people that are — have been indifferent to her candidacy.
And that’s why — of course he’s going to accomplish the fight and accomplish — carry it through. And he should. And they ought to give him some space and time and respect.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But my question is,what happens to all that enthusiasm that is out there right now for Bernie Sanders? Does it just sort of shift over to Hillary Clinton? It’s not going to happen overnight, presumably.effect SHIELDS: At the convention, and Bernie Sanders stands up,and he says, this is the fight we have fought.
We have fought the capable fight. We have kept the faith. We have not finished the course, and but the rest of the course is,we have to stand to conclude Donald Trump from ever being elected president. We have to stand with Hillary Clinton. I will accomplish everything in my power over the next three months to accomplish certain that Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States.
DAVID BROOKS: He could tone down some of the rhetoric. She has not stolen the nomination from him.effect SHIELDS: No.
DAVID BROOKS: The process may not have been totally honest — or not totally just. But it was — she won just and square.
I happen to reflect a lot of those voters will recede away. I reflect the fall campaign is going to be so negative, that it will drive down turnout, or the sort of people who are likely to not — to say just say I wash my hands of this are especially his young — Sanders’ young voters.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So,we end up…effect SHIELDS: That’s why it’s significant that they keep him in the tent, very much in the tent, and honor what he has done.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well,we have got a few more weeks to watch the primaries. They’re not over yet.effect Shields, David Brooks, and thank you.
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Source: wnyc.org