tv Anderson Cooper 360 CNN July 26, 2017 5:00pm-6:00pm PDT
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right down to blowing the press a kiss. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> and thanks for joining us. anderson is next. good evening. thanks for joining us. an effort to repeal obamacare failed in the senate today and the president continued his attacks on his attorney general. we begin with the president's pro-noens munlt nouncement on a decision -- >> three tweets out of the blue. no official public announcement. no explanation of what will happen to the thousands of transgender troops serving in afghanistan and elsewhere.
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will they get picked out? today, no answers to that question. sarah huckabee sanders could not or would not answer questions about whether current service members will be removed. >> the president has a lot of support for all americans and certainly wants to protect all americans at all times. the president has expressed concerns since this obama policy came into effect. but he's also voiced that this is a very expensive and disruptive policy, and based on consultation that he's had with his national security team, came to the conclusion that it erodes military readiness and unit cohesion, and made the decision based on that. the decision is based on a military decision. it's not meant to be anything more than that. >> at a white house event an attempt to get clarity from the president later went ignored. people in the military? >> she's very rude.
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>> so all we have on this policy change that will profoundly affect thousands of service member's lives are the president's three tweets, which mention the tremendous medical costs and disruption, having transgender service members in the military. what he means by disruption is really anybody's guess. but keeping them honest on the tremendous medical costs, last year a study commissioned by the defense department estimated those costs to be between $2.4 and $8.4 million a year. again, the high estimate is $8.4 million, and as "the washington post" points out, the military spends $41 million a year on viagra. as per sarah huckabee sanders' insistence this was a military decision and nothing more, keeping them honest, if that is true, why were the heads of the four branches of the military caught off guard? beyond that, there's a politics issue and perception issue that can't be ignored. politico reports the sudden transgender ban was in part an
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effort to save a house spending bill, a bill in jeopardy because of gop infighting over the issue of the government paying medical costs for transgender troops. and a political reporter quotes an official as saying the ban would force democrats in rust belt states to own the issue, defending transgender service members in the 2018 elections, which the white house believes would hurt those democrats. either motivation amounts to uses transgender as political pawns. and it's no coincidence the president did this when he's getting criticism from conservative supporters for bashing jeff sessions, essentially throwing red meat to conservatives. >> lbg strvegs stat is starting
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donald trump very much. you tell me, who's better for gays, tell me, who's better for the gay community and who's better for women than donald trump? believe me. the lbgt community, the gay community, the lesbian community, they are so much in favor of what i've been saying over the last three or four days. as your president, i will do everything in my power to protect our lgbtq citizens. >> as you know, president trump never served in the military. some lawmakers who did have weighed in, including john mccain who said regardless of gender identity any american who wants to and is able to serve should be treated as the patriots they are. earlier, i spoke with senator tammy duckworth, who was shot down in iraq and lost her legs and partial use of her right arm.
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senator, cnn is reporting tonight that the service chiefs who represent the four branches of the military were caught off guard by the president's twitter announcement. >> this is very, very typical of this president who blunders forward in areas where he has no expertise. i've said before, he is not fit to be commander in chief and his tweet shows that he has reinforced my opinion of him. >> when the white house says this was purely a military decision, having transgender people serve disrupts military readiness and unit cohesion, do you believe that? >> i do not believe that, anderson. we've had transgender people who have served in tens of thousands have served over the course of our military's history. i don't know why the president is doing this. if anything, what he's doing is disruptive to unit cohesion. >> is this about politics or just appealing to his base? >> i would think this is about appealing to his base, it's not about military readiness. and the facts and figures he
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quotes are blatantly wrong. he says it's going to be too expensive when the cost estimate for the health care of transgender people is around in 2015, 2016, $5.6 million. the pentagon spent $41 million on viagra in that same time period. so there are other places that you can cut if you want to talk about cost. >> white house has no answer to the question what's going to happen to transgender members currently serving. does that make sense to you? i would think that would have been something that was figured out before announcing this. >> well, isn't this typical of this administration, anderson? frankly, they move forward, they have not found anything out. they just come one these harmful for our nation.ually are and in this case, harmful for the greatest military on the face of the earth. our military men and women who are willing to die to protect the values deserve far better than this type of policy, especially one that's not been
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thought out. >> i want to play for our viewers something the president said just last night which was directed to veterans some remarks he made. >> you carried out your duty with honor, kournlgs acourage a devotion. and with your sacrifice, you earned our freedom. in my administration, we will always protect those who protect us, believe me. we will protect you, because you have protected us. >> is there some irony in that? he said that yesterday. is the president today protecting people who protected us? >> i think that his tweet today made a lie of what he said last night. >> you know, axios spoke to someone in the white house about this decision who said this forces democrats in rust belt states to take ownership of the issue, saying blue collar voters who might not look kindly in opposition to this move from the president, you're from a rust belt state. how do you respond to that? >> when i'm out in my home state of illinois, and i travel with
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people or talking about the promises that he has not kept, and they're not talking about this issue. they're talking about the fact that he's allowing the dakota access pipeline to be made with foreign steel, steel made in russia. they're talking about the fact that he spends $3 million a weekend to go to mar-a-lago at a time when we have counties in the southern part of my state that don't have enough sheriff deputies who are on duty. people are not talking about this issue. >> so to the thousands of transgender members serving now in the military, what can you say to them tonight? >> i will be fighting on their behalf. and what i'm going to say to them and to the american people is that when i was bleeding to death in my helicopter after that rpg ripped through cockpit of the aircraft, and an american came to save my life, it didn't matter to me if they were gay, straight, if they were transgender. it object mattnly mattered that
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the uniform of the united states military. if you're willing to serve this country in uniform and willing to lay down your life to protect it, you deserve to do that. and so many more americans, including our president, has never worn the uniform. i will stand up and fight for the transgender and all of our military men and women. >> senator, appreciate your time. thank you. joining me now is my panel. dana, is this just about politics, to try to either distract from the russia or jeff sessions or the health care news or feeding red meat to the base? >> it's almost impossible to imagine that it isn't. now, white house sources denied that today, but it does defy any sort of logic that there is any other reason. you know, there are some reporting that -- and some questions about whether it was conservatives in the house who were reaching out to the president to try to get him to do this himself, so that they --
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because they felt like they were going to lose the issue legislatively as part of the budget. that is possible. again -- >> what they were focusing on was more medical costs, not a total ban on transgender people. >> that's right. and so that brings me to the next -- to the next point, is that even people who were reluctant to have taxpayer dollars pay for any kind of medical treatment for a transition, they did not expect that the president would just full-on reverse this -- allowing -- or put a ban on transgenders in the military. not anybody on capitol hill. according to barbara starr, the people, despite what the white house is saying, who are in charge of this, who wear the uniform, and so it was a real stunner. never mind the question of how he did it. just random tweets without any interpretation with that, without any explanation, without
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any -- never mind a policy paper explaining why. it was absolutely kind of impulse policymaking at its best. >> jeff toobin, legally, the president, can he do this? because a lot of people who were transgender in the military were essentially encouraged last year under the obama policy to come forward and identify themselves and now those who have come forward and identified themselves, i assume under this policy can maybe be fired. >> there certainly will be lawsuits, no doubt about it. the aclu has put out a call for potential plaintiffs who want to bring cases. the problem with challenging this change, and obviously we're going have to see precisely how it's spelled out and applied, is that courts give the military a great deal of deference in terms of how they organize themselves, what they view as militarily necessary deference issues like
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unit cohesion. there's a great reluctance of courts to second guess that. that's why most of the don't ask, don't tell challenges failed. it was only when congress and the president, president obama, changed the policy that the policy changed. the courts were not nearly as helpful as they were on same-sex marriage. so i think lawsuits here, they will certainly be filed but likely to be long shots. this is a political and military issue, more than an issue for the courts. >> matt, is this more about politics more than military issues? >> i think -- look, there is an argument, we've had this before with gays in the military about unit cohesion and whether or not we're focused on social engineering versus military readiness. but i don't think that's what this is. it's this was -- seemed to come out of nowhere, and the only rational is political. i think the most -- you listed a
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few of the scenarios. the most compelling for me is that you finally now have conservatives, people like breitbart and newt gingrich and others, who are pumping the -- saying lay off of jeff sessions. ann coulter, rush limbaugh. and now donald trump does something that's social conservatives, that cultural warriors would love. seems coincidental to me. >> the white house told the administration was thrilled that this was getting so much coverage from the media. does it distract whether it's russia investigation -- >> i think so. the sad thing is transgender people have become the new boogeyman for social conservatives. now i guess they've lost the battle on gay marriage. now they've moved on to transgender people. you can see in the way this came out that there was no serious argument the transgender people are causing any problems in the military. it's that the cost is too much.
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and yet, they spend -- the military spends less than 1% of their budget dealing with health care costs, of their health care budget dealing with health care related to transgender people. they spend five times as much on viagra. so even the argument they're putting forth is false. it's not that costly in terms of their budget, which is massive. >> i want to add to what you said on the politics side of this. that when you have a president who is 35%, basically he's got his base, that is still supporting him. and the fact is, and i was -- i spent a couple of days on capitol hill this week. you see the republican anger about what the president is doing to jeff sessions, who effectively brought donald trump, the conservative base, handed it to him, when he endorsed trump back during the campaign, and so now you have the president trying to reach out and say no, no, don't be mad
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about that, please, please. remember, i've got you on this. >> april, to kirsten's point, this was an argument made about allowing african-americans to serve in the armed forces equally in units that weren't segregated. it was made about gays and lesbians. and now it's on transgender people. >> you hit the nail squarely, anderson. in 1948, harry truman abolished segregation in the u.s. military. he abolished it. and the federal government, that was the first piece of the federal government to really start opening up to others. and for this to happen now, many years later, it's sad. this is a community, anderson, i'm sure as you know, there are many people who are very concerned. and i brought up a question today in the white house briefing room, that kind of played off of major garrett's question about health care for transgender military personnel. and there was a concern when
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president-elect donald trump was basking in the glory of his win over hillary clinton. many in the transgender community were concerned about aca changing over to trump care, what it would look like with gender reassignment. they said, if we got the top done now, how could we get the bottom done? we don't know what tomorrow brings. so this community has been concerned about this president for a long time. and now this just adds more fuel to the fire, and going back to your original point, it seems like it is red meat for his supporters, but it's also a deflecti deflection, i believe, from the big issue. this is a real issue, but it is deflection. he likes to throw things out there when something is bigger than he wants. >> we're going to continue the conversation next. also, the president publicly criticized his attorney general again in a new tweet that also mentions, you guessed it, hillary clinton. i'm ryan and i quit smoking with chantix.
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s.e.a.l. what is the impact, do you think, for those service members who are transgender who are serving and have been serving honorably? >> well, just like you said, they've been serving honorably. they've been in war zones, back and forth a few times. they're my friends. those are the people serving on our front lines of american freedom and liberty. and now they're going to be told they're going to be rejected and unworthy to serve? that's a huge slap in the face. and they have contracts. so there's going to be a lot of repercussions. you think it's expensive to pay for a few things for these individuals. this is going to get expensive really fast. >> the rest of my interview coming up later. right now, we're back with my panel. christine, is this just about politics, about kind of shoring up the base at a time when he's getting heat from the conservatives? >> i do think about it's about politics, and that is even sadder to me, because what we had this morning was the president of the united states, after he said in the campaign he would stand with the lbgt
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community, saying he would stand with the transgender community, to wake up this morning and say transgender americans are unfit to serve. they can't be in the united states military. so it's absolutely politics. it's to distract all of us from russia, to throw red meat to the conservatives. and that makes it even more un-american, to attack americans, to send a message to transgender children, who have one of the highest suicide rates, that they're not worthy. even if they're willing to die for this country, it's repugnant enough. but to do it for cheap votes makes it nothing short of un-american and disgusting. and before jeffrey lloyd raises it, it took barack obama way too long to do this. i was as opposed every year he didn't do this as i was against him and gay marriage. so i don't want to get some trump pivot that we were easier
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on trump and clinton, because we were not. and that is only more disrespectful to what he's done to transgender americans today. >> so jeff, we have thousands of transgender men and women who have come forward because they believe the u.s. had changed its policy. is it fair to them, for the president to just wake up today and suddenly it seems like any preamble or public discussion say they're going to be kicked out of the military? >> anderson, it sounds like he was having this discussion with his military advisers. i don't know, but certainly that's the way it sounds to me. >> nobody is say bring that discussion was. because it seemed like the four heads of each branch of the military were caught off guard. >> i don't know. but let me say this, i hate to disappoint my friend christine, but on a scale of -- >> low bar, jeffrey, low bar. >> when you -- wait, when you think of that rally in youngstown last night, the president didn't say this there. if there were a time to maximize
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this politically, it was right then and there when all the television cameras, including cnn, were on him and in front of thousands. he could have done that. i honestly don't think this issue registers with most americans. good lord, i saw a poll during the campaign that said abortion didn't even register, and that used to be the hot button issue of all hot button issues. >> you don't believe this has anything to do with politics, that it just happens to come at a time when conservatives are critical of the president for his treatment of jeff sessions, when health care is in doubt, and the russia investigations t? >> i don't think this resonates. while we're on the -- >> you don't think transgender are the easiest people to pick on in this society -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> these are human beings, jeffrey. why does that cease to matter to
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trump supporters? these are american human beings. and he just woke up and threw them under the bus. >> while we're on the subject, anderson, i want to make one point. i'm learning from you tonight that the federal government is paying for -- what do i want to say -- >> viagra? >> thank you, thank you. anderson, they have no business doing that either. what is the matter? and to hear people say well, it's not a lot of money. i used to work on the house budget committee staff for a congressman -- >> you're suggesting president trump should ban viagra in the u.s. military? does he have the backbone to ban viagra in the u.s. military? >> i hope he does. i would be with him. >> viagra is $46 million. all of the erectile dysfunction drugs come in at $90 million. that is not my greatest concern,
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erectile dysfunction, for a host of reasons. but i understand some of my brothers have challenges and i want to support them to live a full life. >> jeffrey, i'm joking, but i'm not. really, medical coverage is about medical need. and that's a medical need. people serve -- you know what, jeffrey? people serve, they risk their lives. some of them tragically die and they get medical courage and -- >> they don't need viagra. >> who are you to say a man in the military doesn't need via a viagra? i'm not going to say that. >> the american military got along for 200 years without viagra and suddenly this is a necessity? >> what you're arguing is back in the old days people were impotent and it was okay. [ overlapping speakers ] >> you're arguing that viagra is
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not something people should be prescribed? >> all i'm saying is pay for it yourself. don't have -- >> so the headline is jeffrey lord tells u.s. military, pay for your own viagra? >> yes. how about that? >> because you have nothing rational to say about the transgender ban. you have put yourself in a more ridiculous, anti military position, because there is no defense, no defense for the -- >> you're making it sound as if viagra is for social use, like going out to disco and popping viagra. there are legitimate reasons people take this. from what i've read. it just seems like don't you argue that our military members should get the best medical care they can get and have the best lives with their families as possible. >> or is the new trump care parcelling out what heroes get?
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>> we're in the business in america of providing the basics or people, not in the business of perfecting everybody's sex life. i'm sorry, it couldn't happen any way. >> this is an absurd argument and the real issue here is that donald trump, for no military reason, the department of defense secretary is on vacation. the pentagon admits they were blind sided. he woke up this morning, we don't know why, but if it's because he's a hateful man and hates transgender americans, that's enough. if it's for political reasons, it's even worse. this is a bad day for lgbt americans, but this day will not stand. and if donald trump thinks 147 characterks beat the transgender community, he is, again, wrong and doesn't know what he's stirred up. >> we've got to take a break. >> i'm not saying they shouldn't be allowed to serve.
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but if the premise is that the government pays for everybody's medical expenses, this is part of the problem. it goes for beyond the military and being transgender. >> the president is saying that they should not be allowed to serve. any way, we got to take a break. breaking news on health care. the senate rejects a full obamacare with no replacement after seven gop rejections in the vote. detail on that in a moment. onald i would always answer hispanic. so when i got my ancestry dna results it was a shocker. i'm everything. i'm from all nations. i would look at forms now and wonder what do i mark? because i'm everything. and i marked other. discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com.
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repeal and delay bill in a 45-55 vote. cnn's ryan nobles joins us from capitol hill. we're expecting senate democrats to offer amendments. now chuck schumer has changed course. what do they plan? >> reporter: make no mistake, this is a pr stunt by democrats. they don't have the votes to pass these amendments, but it's an important part of the process, because it gives them the opportunity to get republicans on the record on a number of different issues related to health care. what we thought was going to happen is when the 20 hours of debate on this bill ends sometime tomorrow, that democrats would begin offering up hundreds of amendments related to health care, forcing republicans to take a vote on some of these issues. but late tonight, senate minority leader chuck schumer announced that's not what democrats are going to do. they're not going to offer any amendments until they see chapter and verse of what republicans plan to offer in this so-called skinny repeal, which would expect to be a
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scaled down version of obamacare repeal that they hope can get 50 republican votes and eventually get this bill to a conference committee. so we don't know how this is going to play out tomorrow, and how republicans will handle this situation, but this is certainly a much different course of action than what we expected from democrats. >> the straight repeal, the republicans tried that today of obamacare, that failed. what comes next? >> reporter: what comes next is this final eight hours of debate that we expect sometime tomorrow. and then it's going to be almost a staring contest between republicans and democrats. will democrats begin the amendment process, offering up this variety of amendments that they have at their disposal. or will republicans finally come to the table with their full skinny repeal? at this point, it's just conceptual, anderson. we've not seen any written language connected to this proposal. we just heard what republican aides are planning. we don't even know if it's been written yet, and perhaps we'll find out that tomorrow.
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>> ryan nobles, appreciate your reporting. joining me now is my panel. dana, this so-called skinny repeal, does that version have the best chance of passing? >> yes. it doesn't mean it's going to pass. but it has the best chance, and the reason is because it doesn't make significant cuts to medicaid expansion, to effectively giving help to millions and millions of americans who couldn't afford health insurance before. that is the primary reason you see opposition from republican senators like susan collins of maine, lisa murkowski of alaska, and on and on and on. so that is the reason it has the best chance. you know, the problem for the republican leadership is that by getting those senators on board, then you lose some of the conservatives who say wait a minute, this isn't what i signed up for when i promised to repeal obamacare. there's so much of it that would
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still be in play. so it's up in the air, but by far the best chance. >> kirsten, the question is what happens when it gets to the house? you have chairman of the house freedom caucus who said it's dead on arrival. >> this is a little bit of a kick the can situation, where they can get something passed and get it to the house to go into conference and go back to the table trying to hash this out again. because the skinny repeal just repeals the employer mandate and the medical device tax. so it's not really what conservatives want. that said, it will send -- if it did pass in the house, it will send the insurance market into complete turmoil, because obamacare doesn't work without the mandate. >> jason, does it seem to you like republicans are just kicking the can down the road with these votes? is there a clear endgame here? >> i think it's worse, anderson. the team player as a republican in me would probably say we need
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to pass this skinny repeal, which first of all, i don't speak skinny very well. but we have to go and pass something so that we can go to conference and come together and come up with some bill that we can pass both houses. that's not what is going on here. we're getting bamboozled. we have a president who will sign a repeal of obamacare. we have a president who will sign a repeal and replace of obamacare. and so the fact that we can't get a bill through the senate after all these senators ran for election, saying that they would repeal and replace obamacare is a disgrace. first they told us we had to have the house. so we give republicans the house. then we said the senate, so we give them the senate. now we have the presidency. this is a big shell game by the big government republicans who are scared to go and reduce the size of government. look, the exchange and the way the subsidies, the way we're paying for health care in the medicaid expansion, we can't afford it. it's distorting the markets and
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ruining our health care system. and the fact that republicans in the senate won't deal with this now is just absolutely embarrassing. >> there's a lot of democrats who will agree with what jason is saying. the republicans have been running on this for years and years and voted on this multiple times. >> and a lot of republicans agree with jason. having said that, and i think jason would admit this, if the skinny obamacare repeal and replace bill would actually pass the senate and somehow miraculously get through the house, you bet president trump would sign it, right, jason? >> well, again, let's assume they can get something through, because the conservatives in the house are saying it's a nonstarter on that end. but again, what we have to have here is something that's fundamentally going to go and change the way that obamacare is ruining the health care system. we have to do something about the medicaid expansion. we have to change the way the subsidies and get something if we're going to help lower income americans, get something to where it's more of a tax credit. we can't go into that much
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detail right now. but the system, as it's currently set up, just fundamentally won't work. premiums are going up. >> none of these republican plans address that. they just don't. >> i think there are some of these plans that do help. i think the ted cruz amendment is probably the best step in the right direction, where that will lower some premiums and lower some of the costs. i think that's the best step. but look, this whole shell game that we're seeing right now, as someone who works so hard to elect some of these problems, it's frustrating. the president launches another attack on jeff sessions. how president trump views loyalty, next. um... i'm babysitting. that'll be $50 bucks. you said $30. yeah, well it was $30 before my fees, like the pizza-ordering fee and the dog-sitting fee... and the rummage through your closet fee. are those my heels? yeah! yeah, we're the same size...in shoes. with t-mobile taxes and fees are already included, so you get four lines of unlimited for just $40 bucks each.
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president trump is not backing down from his one-sided feud with attorney general jeff sessions. he posted these tweets this morning -- >> the president's outrage is a big reversal from the campaign when he seemed grateful to get sessions' endorsement, who was the first sitting senate tore support him. as we've seen loyalty, according to the president, is important to him. >> we could use some more loyalty. i love loyalty. loyalty can be a wonderful thing. loyalty is very important. i'm loyal to a fault, i'm loyal. i'm a loyal person. loyalty.
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you know, some of these people have like a 10% loyalty, meaning if they sneeze in the wrong direction, they're gone. >> well, many now believe the president now wants sessions gone. joining me now is michael dantonio, and jack pitney, who wrote an article called "trump the disloyalist." you write in your piece that sessions should not be surprised by trump's behavior toward him. >> trump is a guy who has betrayed contractors, customers, vendors, and wives. his wire careentire career is a train of betrayals. so why sessions should think he's different and special is a mystery. he should have been more aware of trump's history. >> michael, you wrote the book on trump. what does loyalty mean to trump? >> not very much. it falls in one direction, toward him. >> you have to be loyal to him. >> absolutely. and everything is transactional.
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so if you done one thing wrong, if you don't demonstrate a reversal the next day, you're out. if i were to channel the president, what i would say about him is that he's a back stabber. he's a fair weather friend. he's a coward. this is a guy who won't stand by the people he's made a commitment to and who have made a commitment to him. but this is nothing new about him. as jack said, he wasn't loyal to two lives. he's on his third. i think he's doing pretty well there. but he's stiffed thousands of bond holders who invested in trump casinos. all these contractors, the people who signed up for trump university. one after another. i mean, political parties, he was in the reform party, then a republican, a democrat, to you a republican again. where is the loyalty here? i think it all runs in one direction. >> jack, is this just politics? when push comes to shove, is anyone in politics loyal? suspect everything based on
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self-interest or furthering a political agenda? >> in politics there is a sense of loyalty. you stick with a party, you stick with commitments. and in the place where is i've worked in albany and washington, d.c., the highest praise you can give to a politician is that that person is a straight shooter. yeah, sometimes people fall off the loyalty wagon, but in general, you just don't see the kind of behavior, the kind of massive dishonesty and disloyalty we see with donald trump. >> it is fascinating, michael, in an interview with the wall street journal just yesterday or two days ago, president trump questioned sessions saying like it wasn't so much a loyal thing, he basically saw the size of my crowd in alabama and got on board because he just wanted to be amongst me. >> one other thing, the president is not loyalty is the facts. sessions won 97% of the vote the last time he ran. he didn't need any coat tails and he didn't look at these crowds and say, i want some of
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that. >> he had a secure seat and he had seniority as a senator. >> he had more of what donald trump wanted than what donald trump could give to him. so the president very eagerly accepted sessions' endorsement, paraded him around the south, really around the whole country, and i would argue that a lot of people voted for president trump because of the endorsement of jeff sessions. so now we see this playing out in congress with the former senator. and now the attorney general getting lots of support. >> michael, the irony is, jeff sessions not only early on was the first senator to support trump, but is more ideal logically connected to the president. the people that the president has around him now are campaign officials for other candidates. >> well, donald trump doesn't care about trumpism. he only cares about donald trump. the principles, the idealology,
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the policies, none of that matters. all that matters is his narrow, direct self-interests. that's what we're seeing with his treatment of jeff session, which from a policy standpoint doesn't make sense at all. >> thank you both. still to come, she was a navy s.e.a.l. for more than 20 years and left the military and came out as transgender. i'll speak to kristen beck about today's ban, next. when heartburn hits fight back fast with new tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum new tums chewy bites. over the course of 9 days sthe walks 26.2 miles,. that's a marathon. because he chooses to walk whenever he can. and he does it with support from dr. scholl's. only dr. scholl's has massaging gel insoles that provide all-day comfort to keep him feeling more energized. so he even has the energy
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activate your within. ask your doctor about once-weekly trulicity. we have no details from the white house about how the ban announced on twitter today will affect thousands of transgender military members who are currently serving. but we can speak to people who have served honorably and heroically. kristin beck was a member of the navy elite s.e.a.l. team. she later came out as transgender. we did a documentary about her journey in 2014. here is a quick clip. >> it's got to be so sad to think that for 20 years you have to -- that you have this incredible bond with these people you're fighting with. >> yes. >> and you want it to be the closest bond imaginable. and yet you can't really let yourself be yourself.
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>> it's definitely tough. and when you say, it's strength and honor, that's one of the ones we do, when we shake hands, we say "strength and honor." that's still what i gave true. i gave true brotherhood. i did my best. 150% all the time. and i gave strength and honor. and my full brotherhood to every military person i ever worked with. >> i spoke with kristin beck just before airtime tonight. >> kristin, the white house press secretary was repeatedly asked what will happen to those transgender members currently serving, will they be forced out, and she couldn't answer that question. i know you have transgender friends currently serving. what are they saying? do they know what's going to happen? >> i don't think anyone knows what's going to happen. you keep seeing all the heads of staff, every staffer, every branch in the military are totally blindsided. this is unusual for such a major policy shift. >> what is the impact, do you
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think, for those service members who are transgender, who are serving and have been serving honorably? >> just like you've said just then, they've been serving honorably. they've been in war zones, back and forth a few times, a few of them. they're my friends. those people serving on the front lines of american freedom and liberty. now they're going to be told they're going to be rejected and unworthy to serve? it's a huge slap in the face. and the ha they have contracts. there's going to be a lot of repercussions. you think it's expensive to pay for a few things for those individuals? this will get real expensive, real fast. >> the president tweeted, the military cannot be burdened with the costs. what do you think taking transgender military members of out of the service look like? you talk about disruption, to use the president's word. >> that's the word, disruption. one military friend in the army, she speaks farsi, arabic and
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five other languages. she's been in the war zone a couple of times, back and forth. she's immensely capable. how will you replace that person? i can give you dozens of accounts of people were that kind of experience. people like me serving in the military, you can't replace a senior chief, you can't replace all that experience. you're talking about huge disruptions. >> the president, according to the white house press secretary, that it erodes military cohesion. that's an argument that's been made, frankly, for, you know, whether or not to have african-americans serving in the military, and whether to have openly gay people serving in the military, gay and lesbian people. does it affect unit cohesion? >> you brought up the exact points. this is the 1950s, going back to segregation, you're going to the don't ask,l era.
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diversity makes us stronger. diversity is what we need. it's same thing. these are excuses. this is some kind of -- something's going on. it has nothing to do with unit cohesion, readiness, or their capability. it's nothing to do with that. >> undoubtedly there are members of the military who are not comfortable having transgendered individuals serving with them. when you were serving, you weren't open to your fellow s.e.a.l.s. what do you say to those who say, well, look, if some members of the military are upset about it, then it is going to affect cohesion? >> the thing they're overlooking is what really is at that lowest level, at the company or platoon level? once you start serving with folks, if you sit around me for a couple of hours, let's go out on the ranch, we'll do some shooting, you'll find i'm the same person. they're basing their data,
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they're basing their emotions on misinformation. they're basing their emotions on a fantasy of a person in a pink boa. that's one picture of transgender. but transgender is also me. transgender is this picture. don't base all your data on one thing. i'm transgender. i'm capable to serve. i can serve right now. i'll do it with great capabilities that would surprise you. they're giving up a lot. it's a catastrophe. >> kristin beck, i appreciate your time, thank you. >> thank you, anderson. up next tonight, the latest from the white house on the transgender ban, and more. so we sent that sample off to ancestry. my ancestry dna results are that i am 26% nigerian. i am just trying to learn as much as i can about my culture. i put the gele on my head and i looked into the mirror and i was trying not to cry. because it's a hat, but it's like the most important hat i've ever owned.
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as is so often the case in the trump presidency, today's story was told in tweets. another attack on attorney general jeff sessions, we'll talk about that throughout the hour. but there was one big difference. a policy announcement that transgender people would be banned from serving in the military. no public announcement, no explanation as to how it will affect currently serving troops. just three tweets and nothing but the tweets. jeff zeleny is at the white house with the latest. what do we know about this ban other than what was tweeted? >> reporter: anderson, that's all we know this evening. the president sent out those urgent messages early this morning saying, look, you know, the military service will not
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