01/18/18 01/18/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> what we are not talking about as we begin season two of trump: the white house reality show, is what the administration is doing to our government and how it affects you. we're so busy about his tweets and crazy behavior and racist comments, that we're missing there are termites he set loose into our government that are eating away at its structure. your health, your safety, your job, your savings -- all of those things are being put at risk by policies that are going unnoticed, just like termites inside the wall of a house. amy: "it's even worse than you think: what the trump

administration is doing to america." by pulitzernew book prize-winning journalist david cay johnson looking at president trump's first year in office. as trumps own chief ofl john kes boss uninformed, we will look at how trump is transforming the nation by slashing taxes on the rich, gutting the nation's regulatory system, and closing the nation's borders. and we will hear what president trump has to say about our guest david cay johnston. pres. trump: he is a weird dude. he has been following me for 25 years. obviously, he has not done so well. always a hit. i guess he hasn't done a very good job. amy: today, pulitzer prize winning journalist david cay johnston for the hour. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!,

democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. congress is lurching toward a government shutdown as republicans failed to reach agreement on a bill that would keep federal agencies funded past friday. much of the debate centered around the fate of the more than 700,000 so-called dreamers, immigrants who were brought to the u.s. as children. theyemocrats have said won't vote for spending bill unless it includes protections for the dreamers, while republican leaders have instead focused on a short-term bill that would keep the government open for a month. this is white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders. >> the president certainly does not want a shutdown. if one happens, i think you only have one place to look, and that is to the democrats who are holding our military and our national security hostage by trying to push through other policies that have nothing to do with the budget. we would like to get a budget

deal done, a two-year budget deal done, a clean budget deal, then focus on negotiations. following that deal with finding a permanent solution to daca and responsible immigration reform. amy: sanders remarks came as white house chief of staff general john kelly went to congress and met with the congressional hispanic caucus, reportedly telling them that trump's harsh anti-immigrant positions during the campaign were uninformed. "the washington post" reports kelly acknowledged to lawmakers the u.s. would never be able to construct a wall along the entire u.s.-mexico border. this is illinois democratic congressmember luis gutierrez speaking after wednesday's meeting with kelly. >> i would like to have had a proposal that we could consider to move forward and to break the logjam. that is not what happened today. we reiterated time and again, how deeply we feel about the future of our dreamers and how that is a non-negotiating point

for us. they are either in the proposal, or there isn't a proposal. amy: kelly also reportedly said the president is committed to a , butnent solution to daca the president has struck a different tone. trump wrote -- the migrant support group no more deaths says u.s. border patrol agents routinely vandalized or confiscate humanitarian aid left by activists near the u.s. border with mexico can't condemning order crossers to die of exposure or dehydration in the harsh sonora desert. in a report released wednesday, the group found between 2012 and 2016, border patrol agents emptied nearly four thousand -- 4000 gallons of water left for migrants in the desert, while confiscating food, emergency medical blankets and other aid. no more deaths also says border patrol agents frequently target the group's volunteer activists.

in detroit, michigan officials with ice have deported long-time resident and immigrant rights activist jorge garcia. video filmed by the immigrant rights group michigan united shows jorge garcia's sobbing as he hugs his wife cindy and two children during an emotional goodbye on monday, as garcia prepared to board a flight to mexico. supporters of the garcia family silently look on, holding signs reading, "stop separating families." jorge garcia was brought to the u.s. as a 10-year-old child in 1981, making him too old to qualify for a deferment under daca. federal immigration officials agreed wednesday to move immigrant rights activist ravi ragbir to a new york immigration jail from a florida detention center where he's been held since he was detained last week

following his check-in with ice. ravi ragbir's detention sparked 's detentionir sparked a peaceful protest on people beingt some arrested by police, including members of the new york city council. community members continue to call for ravi ragbir's release. to see our interview about his gottlieb bycase with his wife y yesterday, you can go to democracynow.org. in youngstown, ohio, palestinian-american immigrants rights activist is on hunger strike after he was detained by ice and 20 would be deported. he was arrested at his check-in even though the agency granted him a last minute stay 10 days prior when congress member tim ryan intervened on his behalf. his case rounders the reloaded

he of his first marriage to an american citizen in 1979. since palestinians remain stateless, he faces possible deportation of jordan. he is a longtime activist who successfully fought deportations for some two decades. jeff flakehill, warned yesterday president trump's attacks on the media are threatening american democracy. speaking from the senate floor wednesday, flight blasted trump's declaration and 2017 that the u.s. media are the enemy of the people. a mr. president, it is testament to the condition of our democracy that our own president uses words spoken by joseph stalin to describe his enemies. it bears noting that so fraught with malice was the phrase "enemy of the people," that even the khrushchev for bait its use telling the party the phrase of an introduced by stalin for the purpose of "annihilating such

individuals" who disagreed with supreme leader. this alone should be the source of great shame for us in this body. especially for those of us in the president's party, for they are shameful, repulsive statements. amy: on capitol hill, democrats are preparing a bill that would formally censure donald trump over racist comments in which the president reportedly called african nations, el salvador, and haiti s-hole countries. but said the four letter word. the effort is being led by new york congressmember jerrold nadler and commerce member cedric richmond, chair of the congressional black caucus. it comes as several democratic lawmakers have announced they will skip the state of the union address january 30 over trump's racist remarks. among them are congressmember earl blumenauer of oregon; frederica wilson of florida, pramila jayapal of washington; maxine waters of california; and

john lewis of georgia. in the israeli-occupied west bank, israeli forces shot and killed a young palestinian man overnight in the town of jenin after a firefight that left other palestinian and two israeli soldiers. the man was identified as ahmed jarrar, a hamas fighter and son of a palestinian man killed by israel in 2002. his family said today he escaped in the two other palestinians were killed and the attack. meanwhile, the head of the united nations' agency for palestinian refugees made an urgent appeal for funds wednesday, after the trump administration canceled 65 million dollars in annual contributions to the agency, known as unrwa. in gaza, residents say they could soon starve unless international donors step up to fill the funding gap left by president trump.

>> we will be lost. it will be a catastrophe. people will be stealing from each other. we will suffer to provide food. people will kill each other. >> what should i do? should i sell one of my kids or sell my kidney? what should i do? should i go in steel or work at the desk work as a spy? amy: in cairo, the arab league met wednesday for a two-day conference, where leaders condemned the trump administration for cutting funding to unrwa, and for recognizing jerusalem as israel's capital. meanwhile, an israeli military judge has ordered a 16-year-old palestinian girl to remain jailed while she awaits trial on 12 charges, including assaulting a soldier and incitement to violence. ahed tamimi was arrested in december after viral video showed her slapping a soldier near her home in the occupied west bank. the incident came just after ahed tamimi learned her 15-year-old cousin, mohammed tamimi, had been shot in the head by an israeli soldier with

a rubber-coated steel bullet at close range. the shooting shattered the boy's skull and jawbone, forcing doctors to put him into a medically induced coma and leaving him permanently disfigured after extensive surgeries. on wednesday, defense lawyer gaby lasky said israel's military had determined that ahed tamimi was too dangerous to be released. >> the court did not accept any of the arguments brought by the defense regarding the fact there are two different sets of laws in the occupied territories depending on if you are israeli or a palestinian, and the fact that the convention of the rights of a judge should be applied in the occupied territories as well. amy: in russia, the office of the human rights group in the north region of ingushetia was burned in an arson attack on wednesday. surveillance video shows masked men climbing a ladder and setting fire to thoffices of the group "memorial," which has angered russian officials by

reporting on torture, disappearances, and punitive house burnings in neighboring chechnya. the arson came as a court in chechnya ordered the head of memorial to be jailed for two months while he faces drug charges that could see him imprisoned for up to 10 years. oyub titiev says police planted marijuana in his car in order to manufacture his arrest. titiev's predecessor natalia estemirova was kidnapped and murdered in 2009, a crime for which no one has been arrested. in ethiopia, authorities released a senior opposition , fulfilling part of its pledge to release political prisoners. dr. merera gudina was jailed in 2015 after speaking to the european parliament in brussels about human rights abuses against the oromo people. this is gudina addressing a large crowd of supporters outside the prison addis ababa where he'd just been released.

>> as far as we can and as far as we know, let's continue our people struggle to all of the peaceful and legal means available. we demand the government freed remaining political prisoners to they can also be free like us. amy: since 2015, the oromo have staged massive nationwide protests against the ethiopian government. the protests were initially sparked by the government's plan to lease a forest to private developers. ethiopian forces have responded with a brutal crackdown against the oromo protesters, killing hundreds of people. in nigeria, a suicide bomb attack struck a crowded market in the northeastern city on wednesday, killing at least 12 people and leaving dozens of others injured. authorities said as many as four female suicide bombers were involved in the attack. similar attacks have been blamed on boko her wrong, which is

known for kidnapping women and girls and forcing some of them to carry out attacks. north and south korea wednesday said athletes from the two countries will march together under a single unified flag at the opening of next month's winter olympics in pyeongchang, south korea. the two countries also women's ice hockey players would compete together on a single korean team. the thaw in relations came as president donald trump blamed russia for helping north korea skirt international sanctions, telling reuters in a wide-ranging interview that he was ordering more defensive and offensive missiles to be deployed to the region. in south asia authorities in , burma and bangladesh say they've agreed to a plan that would see some 650,000 rohingya muslim refugees repatriated to burma over the next two years. since last august, vigilantes backed by burmese soldiers have staged attacks on rohingya, unleashing rape and murder while burning hundreds of villages to the ground in what the u.n. high

commissioner for human rights has called a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. at a sprawling refugee camp in cox's bazar, bangladesh on wednesday, many residents said they will only return to burma if they receive justice for crimes committed against their community. >> they must give us compensation for the muslims they killed, for looting and destroying our fields and cattle. houses.t return our if they show justice to us, then we can go back. we, muslims, are ready to go back to the country but they must give us our rohingya rights. amy: former photographer with the department of energy is seeking whistleblower protection, saying he was fired for documenting collusion between the trump administration and a coal company executive. simon edelman says he was fired after he leaked photographs of a meeting between energy secretary march 29 rick perry and coal magnate robert murray, showing the two embracing at a meeting at the department of energy

headquarters in washington, d.c. murray has said he played no role in drafting a department of energy rule subsidizing coal and nuclear power plants. but a photo clearly shows a letter drafted by murray and addressed to energy secretary rick perry touting an action plan. medical experts said wednesday results from donald trump's recent physical exam show the president has high levels of cholesterol in as at serious risk of heart attack. the assessment came a day after white house doctor ronny jackson declared trump to be in excellent mental and physical health. asked by "the new york times" whether president trump is in perfect health, stanford university cardiologist dr. david maron replied, "god, no." and woody allen's adopted daughter, dylan farrow, is speaking out, saying she's hurt and angry that her claims of childhood sexual assault by allen have been disbelieved for years. farrow says allen molested her in 1992 when she was just 7

years old. this is dylan farrow speaking with host gayle king of "cbs this morning." >> someone said this to me, she was to bring woody allen down, she is caught up in the #metoo movement. she is tried to bring him down. >> why shouldn't i want to bring him down? why shouldn't i be angry? what shouldn't i be hurt? why shouldn't i feel some sort -- outrage that after all of these years being ignored and disbelieved and tossed aside? amy: dylan farrow's appearance on cbs came a week after actor mira sorvino publicly apologized to dylan farrow in an open letter, saying that she will never work with woody allen again and regrets her past roles. she joins a growing list of

actors and actresses who have appeared in woody allen's films who are now publicly supporting farrow, including greta gerwig, rebecca hall, and timothee chalamet. in a statement, woody allen denied the allegations, writing -- "even though the farrow family is cynically using the opportunity afforded by the time's up movement to repeat this discredited allegation, that doesn't make it any more true today than it was in the past. i never molested my daughter." dylan farrow is the sister of ronan farrow, who was the journalist who helped to bring down harvey weinstein. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. nermeen: and i'm nermeen shaikh. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. uninformed. that was the word white house chief of staff john kelly used to describe his boss president trump on thursday.

according to "the washington post," kelly told members of the congressional hispanic caucus that some of trump's hardline immigration policies, including his call to build a wall along the entire southern border, were uninformed. kelly said -- "certain things are said during the campaign that are uninformed." during the same meeting, kelly reportedly said -- "the president is committed to a permanent solution to daca" -- the deferred action for childhood arrivals. but the president has struck a different tone. on twitter this morning, trump wrote -- "the wall is the wall, it has never changed or evolved from the first day i conceived of it." in an interview with reuters, trump also criticized a proposed bipartisan deal on immigration and border security as "horrible" and "very, very weak." this comes as the government could shut down on friday if a funding deal can not be reached. amy: the possible government shut down comes as president trump is preparing to mark his first year in office on saturday.

on that same day, anti-trump protests will he held in scores of cities to mark the first anniversary of the historic women's march. well, today we spend the hour looking at trump's first year in office with a journalist who has been covering donald trump since 1988. we are talking about the pulitzer prize winning journalist david cay johnston. the founder of dcreport.org. last year, johnston made international headlines when he obtained two pages of president trump's 2005 tax return. johnston's reporting on trump's taxes led the president to say this about our him. pres. trump: i know the reporter is a weird dude who has covered me -- he has been following me for 25 years. obviously, he has not done so well. he is been following me in a negative fashion for 25 years. always a hit. and i am president, so i guess

he hasn't done a very good job. amy: well, david cay johnston joins us in our studio. bookhis week with his new called "it's even worse than you , think: what the trump administration is doing to america." welcome to democracy now!, david. you have been covering donald trump for over 30 years. you heard what he had to say about it. look where you are and the he is today. but you also been covering president trump through this first year. can you talk about, as we move into the first anniversary of his a not eurasian am a what has surprised you most since this is a man you have known back to his early days as a developer going bankrupt in new york. donald hasn't done anything that has surprised me. the video said he would be completely arata, his racism would come out, that he would try to find an excuse to use nuclear weapons because during the campaign he said "i know

more about isis than the general and of course her going to use nukes." then they announce they are loosening up the rules on tactical nukes. it will take out a block am a not a city. possibly operates -- authorizing for cyberattack. amy: just to reiterate, using nuclear weapon attack for a cyberattack. >> right. hopefully, the military will not follow orders to do this. determined, if he can figure out how to do it, to provoke war. what helps strengthen your position if you are a dictator in waiting? which is what donald is. but some kind of incident that will the public and focus people away from his crazy, racist, uninformed ignorant behavior. nermeen: why do you think he needs to strengthen his position ? do you think he feels he needs to because his position is weak?

>> the donald is aware that he has a large audience out there that is not supporting him and it is growing. his own base -- he has seen that it is eroding. donald trump is an unhappy human being. b glad you're not donald trump will never know a day of joy and contentment in his life. recognizes all to donald trump is the greatest human being of all times. he wants people like orrin hatch, the greatest president of all times. he wants adoration. nermeen: you say what establishes them is his presidency is about trump period full stop. nuclears issue of using weapons, going back to the meeting of the joint chiefs of staff as he is briefed on nuclear weapons if we have them, why don't we use them, and "the wall street journal" reporting just in the last days this issue

of the pentagon planning to develop two new sea-based nuclear weapons. "the near times" saying the pentagon preparing for potential war with north korea. this is very interesting. as north and south korea come closer together, we will have a unified team at the olympics list of president trump is trying to amp up the opposition to an war with north korea. >> one of the interesting things, there been surveys of military officers and they show the officer corps of the united states military is very troubled about trump. good military offers are diplomats who want to avoid war. they're not supporting him. the one good piece of news out of this is, i don't think donald trump can get the military behind him to take over the country. nermeen: but do you think he can get the military behind them sufficiently to carry out a tactical nuclear strike? >> that is the troubling part. what if perhaps we are provoked

into something and he is clearly trying to provoke. things like "my button is bigger than your button." nermeen: what would constitute a provocation for him? >> that i don't know. it would have to be enough you would have the military behind him to do something, something we would not expect. remember, the whole point of nuclear weapons is they are defensive. nobody invades a country has nuclear weapons. we would never have invaded iraq if it had nuclear weapons. isald things their purpose to use them. he does not even understand their purpose. that they are defensive. amy: we're going to go to a break and then come back to dedicate johnson, the pulitzer prize winning investigative reporter. previously with "the new york founder and editor of dcreport.org. johnston's biography of donald trump is titled "the making of donald trump." his latest book is just out

titled "it's even worse than you think: what the trump administration is doing to america." when we come back, the tax bill, surly something david cay johnson is next part about, has been touted as the one main piece of legislation that trump has actually successfully gotten passed, what actually did happen in the last year. tremendous amount when it comes to deregulating the agencies of this country that protect the nation's land, air, sea, and people. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. is david for the hour cay johnston on this eve of the inauguration of president trump

a year ago. we thought we would back at this last year with the pulitzer prize winning journalist whose book is out this week. it is called "it's even worse than you think: what the trump administration is doing to america." nermeen: david, we spoke earlier about the threat, the possibility that trump would actually use tactical nuclear weapons. this comes, as you point out in the book, the largest number of administrative position and ambassadorial post possibly for any u.s. president have been left empty by the trump administration. first of all, could you talk about the position that have not been filled and the fact the ones that have been filled you call political termites, and what the consequences are of the u.s. not having an ambassador in so many countries? >> donald trump was not prepared to win the election. he did not have people in place.

it was understandable in the beginning he did not fill a lot of positions, the also fired every u.s. attorney -- presumably to get rid of prepare are in new york where donald lived before being elected -- he fired every u.s. ambassador and then -- nermeen: how common is that? is younormal practice leave the ambassador -- whether it is it -- sometimes even a political it to you get a new person. they did not do that and they're not filling these jobs. saudi arabia, jordan, libya, egypt do not have a u.s. ambassador at this point. ambassador,e an when big trade and economic deals are being discussed in early stages of people are looking for where they're going to put money, we don't have anybody with years of the table. in many countries, it is important to know when the dictators, the son shows up or doesn't show up at a meeting, or

someone sits in a different place than they usually do at events. subtle things like that can signal what is going on. ofy and collect kremlinol the cold war era. has a very well run company. it had its own military no diplomatic corps. off in thee felt state department interfered. he has been in the middle of, "let's get rid of these people." inrican taxers have invested a lot of money. you have to really be smart, educated, and thoughtful to get in there. why would we destroy thisjewel of influence we have all over the world of soft power? overall, this is part of the effort to destroy our government.

two americans, this is our government. it is not the government, it is our government. donald trump is our employee. he is not a power unto himself. he took an oath to faithfully execute the laws. he is not doing that. amy: your point on rex tillerson is important him referred to as one of the adults in the room when it comes to north korea, the one president trump attacked when he said we want to back channel dreck we did north korea. you are saying that as ceo of exxonmobil, he did not want these ambassadors getting in his depopulatinge is the state department, but it is also supposed to be the place diplomacye toolbox of as opposed to the pentagon. diplomacy is a lot cheaper than war. let's keep in mind, most top military officers are very good diplomats. they don't want to have war. that is one of the reasons military is losing support over the military court. they're not going to go to war for his ego. amy: the ambassador to panama

all quit after trump's s-hole and go back to their huts comment, saying i can no longer faithfully serve him. >> look to trump appointed to the netherlands. hoekstra from western michigan. amy: former congressman. >> who said there are no go zones in the netherlands, they are burning politicians. he gets erin denies he says it. the dutch journalist have been much tougher than the american journalist and put his feet to the fire. why would you even appoint someone like that? the people they have appointed in some cases are not good choices. that goes to the other issue you hinted at earlier. they are appointing the best people to these positions. the housing of urban developing been carson believes the pyramid notiza are for grain and tombs. that the devos, who does she bring in to deal with the

student loan problems? the people from the companies that exploited the students. this is not even the fox and the hen house. this is the trump administration having the foxes design the henhouse. amy: let's go to the issue of student loans. you are in in tax law. yet certainly competently covered the tax law that was just passed and all things economic and financial. what about student loan? who is profiting now and who is losing out. companies, even ones that devos invested income are profiting from this. the real question we should be asking is why do we have student loans. when we were college-age, education was free. it was seen as an investment by the taxpayers and the future wealth of the country. we have turned it into this lending business. most of the loans and most of the soured loans are students who went to these private, commercial schools that provide not a good education. a number of them have closed.

instead of saying to the students, "boy, we are with you. we realize you got a bad deal," betsy devos education department has taken the sides of the bankers against the brains. erik trumpt this -- said a couple of days ago "my dad is all about green. all he cares about is money." that is what is a administration is done. donald trump ran for office on the platform i laid out in my trilogy on american economics of how the elites work taking care of themselves, promising to reverse that. he was going to drain the swamp. instead, yesterday washing -- washington dc into a paradise the elite. ordinary people are going to get a few crumbs. many of them will discover next year because of changes in the law, they will pay much higher state taxes and be worse off. they are already saying, "well,

we're going to have to cut programs." orrin hatch, one of the original sponsors of the children's health and churns program said, well, there's no money. there is money for billionaires to get tax cuts, but we're going to have children die because there is no money. that is immoral. and orrin hatch, who holds himself as a religious man with a this, is appalling beyond believe. the trump administration is perfectly comfortable with this. amy: president trump, just lasted for one term or less than that -- we will talk about that in a minute -- then what has he personally gained by this tax bill being passed, if he accomplished just that? >> he essentially cut his own through from 40% to 21% the more than 500 little businesses he owns. in the estate tax, he would have it eliminated at a date in the future. if he lives until then. if he had $10 million as he

claims, he would save around $4 billion. after he took office, he felt his net worth statement. it shows $1.4 billion. if you take a 50 million of that and double them come eager to less than $2 billion. in other words, donald trump doesn't have a never had $10 billion and there is not one shred of evidence that he even has $1 billion. it is a con. he is a grifter. he claims that, does not produce any evidence. back in 1990i broke the story that he was not a billionaire. he called me a liar for four months until he edward's records showing it a negative net worth. back and, you are worth more than donald trump, amy. amy: in addition to the way that trump is benefiting or could benefit from the tax bill, you speak at length in the book about the other financial upper parties that characterize this first year in office. could you talk about that, the other ways in which trump businesses for instance have

been benefiting in this last year? >> right after donald trump took the oath of office, there was a motorcade to the white house. unlike barack obama were people were on both sides of the street cheering, it was a pretty sparse audience. a lot of protesters. the motorcade stopped. the car they call the beast stops. what none of the tv networks reported was where it stopped. it stopped right in front of the do trump washington hotel. the family got out, took a turn on the sidewalk. to most people, even if they had said that, he would not mean anything. but if you want to curry favor with the trump administration, there was the signal. you book your event at our kuwaitis did. it has turned into a moneymaking machine after was predicted to fail. when the framers of our constitution set up this country, one thing they were worried about was integrity in the white house and integrity in

office. they knew there were kings in europe who were paid off by other kings. the word "emoluments" appears three times. the domestic emoluments clause is the president cannot receive compensation other than his salary and perks from the united states or any other, meaning the state governments and cities. every time trump goes to his properties, which is every third day, taxpayers are spending money to rent golf carts at full retail, to buy hotel rooms, ge meals. we're spending a lot of money at his property. nermeen: for trump and his secret service -- >> and local police. when the president travels, it is an enormous operation. nermeen: use that he spends honest one in three days -- you said he spends most one in three days? >> he said, i'm not going to play golf for four years. attacking obama. he is played far more golf than obama. someone said he is laying more

golf than tiger woods. his properties in ireland and scotland, his golf courses, he has to report their revenues and profits. they are big money losers, yet he claims there were the fortune which is one of the many reasons to believe it is all a con and he doesn't have the money he says he does. he needs the taxpayers to prop up his his mess. --can get foreign lobbyist he can get foreign and lobbyists to build up his. amy: center for, it's about haiti, nigeria, africa, being s-hole countries. people projected onto his international hotel down the street from the white house, not a d.c. resident? need a place to say echo try our s-hole -- spot of the word -- just as donald trump did.

folks this racist comment by donald is revealing because you see people lying and denying. as senator tom cotton, former -- wery officer, has said now know he told his staff that it was s-house instead of s-hole . lyingrry, that is called and denying. both offenses that can get you thrown out with the dishonorable discharge. shame on that senator and everyone else who is lying and denying for trump. be honest about who he is. if you support him, then be honest about what he says. nermeen: let's go to some of the people who have denied that trump made this comment. among them come his son. he talked about this earlier. eric trump denied his father used the phrase daca s-hole telling fox & friends that he couldn't possibly be racist because he only sees one color, green. >> my father sees one color, green. he cares about the economy.

he does not see race. he's a least racist person i've ever met in my entire life. nermeen: republican senators david perdue and tom cotton both flatly denied that trump used the term. this is senator perdue speaking to abc followed by face the nation host john dickersen questioning senator cotton. >> i'm telling you he did not use that word. it is aggressiveness representation. how many times do you want me to say that? >> senator, your view? >> i did not hear that word. isolated not here with senator durbin heard repeatedly. perhaps we should not be surprised by that. here is what i did here in the point. >> we did not hear the word or he was not said? senator graham also told senator is whatat this happened. senator flake was in a subsequent meeting afterwards where he was told by people in the meeting this happen. just to button that up, you're saying it did not happen or you just don't recall? >> i did not hear it and owe

sitting no further way from donald trump that dick durbin. i know it to durban has had about the president's repeated statements is incorrect. nermeen: there we had eric trump and then republican senators cotton and purdue. could you respond to that and also what you think that says about the extent to which republicans are rallying around trump? moneyyou're totally focused, which donald is, does not exclude being a racist. that is ridiculous. described allas black people as being poor not having an education and living in ghettos. i thought about my next-door neighbor, a millionaire owner of two factories who is black. donald is the most racist person we've ever had in the white house, at least in the last 100 years. something cotton set is very important. cotton did essentially what bill clinton did when he was said

famously "it depends on what your definition of "is was going is if you had sex with monaco win ski." -- monica lewinsky." instead it wass-house of s-hole. if you think what bill clinton did was wrong, and i do, tom cotton is just as bad. this is the man who wants to be president of the united states. he is lying and the nine. amy: we're going to come back to break and come back to our discussion and what would have happened to the agencies that protect the land, the water, the air, the workers of this country. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh.

if you want to sign up for our daily digest newsletter, you can text the word democracynow to66866 and you'll get our daily headlines and news alerts that we send out every day. to davidwe're speaking cay johnson, author of the new book "it's even worse than you think: what the trump administration is doing to america." let's go back to february. this is president trump speaking a month after he took office. pres. trump: we're cutting regulations bigly. we are cutting them by massive amounts. left ao industry just week ago they were here in a same room and they're very happy with what we're doing. everyone is. financial industry. we're having a lot of different industries. we're cutting regulations. about every industry, and fact, i can't think of anything that we are not.

nermeen: could you talk about what trump has done two different agencies? in your book you talk about several. let's start with the epa. >> the epa is run by scott pruitt who hopes to become a u.s. senator in oklahoma that has vowed to destroy the agency. staff members are not allowed to use certain words, not allowed to be going to scientific conferences. the investment the taxpayers have made an expertise and knowledge is being wasted once again. in the regulatory environment, they are basically allowing polluters to get away with all sorts of stuff. by the obamaove administration to stop taking the toxic residue, the coal ash from power plants, turning it into a slurry with water and then you put it into a pond next to a river. as we know in south carolina i think it was in several other places, some of these old dikes broke and run the drinking water for weeks and months, killed all of the wildlife.

the trump administration basically saying to polluters, "go ahead and pollute." what is pollution? it is a way to jack up profits by taking costs you should andor to clean up your mess spewing them onto everybody else. so of course profits for companies like that will go up because they are being allowed to make you or your children get other illnesses because of the pollution. how does that make us better off? that makes us worse off. the problem is, you're not going -- he is not going to get asthma tomorrow. the former photographer seeking whistleblowing protection. and simon elements that he was after leakingred after

photographs. but there is the story of ferc the next day ruled against trump in his subsidizing of cold. >> they did but there's a chapter in my book about how the electricity markets in america, which by design raise prices and don't lower them, are going to continue to worsen. this example that comes from the leaked photographs is very revealing of the fact that truth is a very fungible issue innocent ministration. when it comes to electricity prices in this country, everybody pays for electricity. one of the common things we have, like the weather, this is an administration that is all out for the people who make profits.

it isn't interested in consumers or businesses whose profits are diminished if they have to pay excessive electricity prices. nermeen: this goes to the question that you also point out in the book that despite -- we're just been through, you pointed out, as you do in this book, this litany of policies that trump has implemented in this first year of his administration, which have actively worked against the so-called forgotten man that he pledged to help. but despite that you say in the book, he still has the support of a large number of the people who voted for him. so why do you think that is? and you think that is likely to change? >> if you only got your news from breitbart and fox and similarly mendacious pseudo-news organizations, you would believe that donald trump is the great savior. god, not amag demagogue.

and journalist like me, we hate america, and the words of omarosa manigault newman, "bend our knee." amy: who has also been thrown out. >> that's true. but we don't bend our knee to unit states. of ou he is our employer. part of the problem is, there has been a 40 year attack on honest journalism in this country and there are people who bought into that. unfortunately, what they're relying on our outfits that just make stuff up, that trump himself has relied on soviet propaganda outlets. and so that is the reason i think people -- the second part is i said trump ran for office on economic platform i had laid out and i said anyone who runs on this will get elected. well, it happened. the bottom 90% of americans made less money in 2012 than they did in 1967, the year i graduated from high school.

the bottom 90% of americans have real grievances. they are in debt. they are in trouble. it is because of these little changes bit by bit that take money out of the pockets and put it in the pockets of rich people that nobody knew about until i dug them out of the law. anger.trump gather this he is not helping the forgotten man, he has forgotten the forgotten man. amy: what about workers? what about those people don't realize how many workers die a year in this country, not to mention -- >> 4800 people roughly die at the job a year. many employers operate just as they should. the reason we have regulations is for the bad conduct people. august 17, the last date the trump administration posted on the internet the death of a worker, august 17. they stopped for a while putting up press releases about people dying. the way to shame companies who had workers who died because of financial penalties are minimal. in fact, it is often cheaper to

have workers die. reported that at dcreport. they cut the number of safety inspectors. they are clearly corralling the safety inspectors and making it clear you few want to have a job, you're going to limit your behavior. they cut wage and hour inspectors. the number of police inspectors that congress mandated a minimum number four, they are below it. hiring. not donald trump took a note to faithfully execute the laws. he is not doing that. he is in violation of his oath of office. i'm not arguing that every regulation -- i used to teach regulatory law to third-year law students. there are many that we can change or get rid of and make that are, but that is not what they're doing. they're taking those things that will benefit their friends, especially in the fossil fuel industry, and illuminating or not enforcing the law for those regulations meaning ordinary

workers are going to be hurt. amy: what about president trump's sanity? doctor on democracy who , theyale psychiatrist has been speaking with a lot of congress members. you are one of the few reporters who has followed donald trump for decades, well over 30 years. what have you observed about him and do you think he will serve out this term in office? >> just short of 30 years. it will be 30 is in may. from wrong? right of course he does. he is at times delusional. he makes stuff up. he does it his whole life. what i do is rely on, thanks to someone else who found this out, the standard in the army field manual for which military officers you promote. there is a set of standards in conduct. do you have empathy?

do you listen? do you take responsibility? do you consider options? trump always says "we have no other choice." if donald trump had not dodged the draft and become a military officer in the vietnam war era, he would never have been promoted above junior lieutenant by the standards. he lacks all of the basic qualifications that have been worked out by the army for promoting officers. as to his cognitive function, the test? is on the internet. donald trump could have looked it up ahead of time. i don't find that at all as positive. when i first met donald, he could speak in coherent sentences. when he isn't reading, when there is not a teleprompter or piece of paper, you'll often see donald only speaking aptitudes. google it's beautiful. it's beautiful. he doesn't remember names. he does not see people. we all have come to to -- i am almost as old as donald. there's a normal rate of

decline. clearly, donald is sick nearly significantly lower. he doesn't read. it has been reported really spends five hours a day being president, and that includes lunch. if you doesn't know anything of presented with these complex issues, of course he's going to have to find some way to cope with it. you just makes stuff up and talks in adages. nermeen: you say his cognitive abilities have suffered a precipitous decline, that he is in violation of his oath of office. good you, then on the debate that continue about whether he can and should be impeached? you suggested not only could he bb10 chile desk that he additionally bmps, but he could face criminal prosecution? >> it doesn't work in less

donald suddenly takes his close says martians are coming. only the democrats get control of the house and the senate will he be impeached. and he will be of that happens. here's the problems. if you are going to impeach him over the russians and you go back and carefully read being careful you know rob goldstone sent to donald trump, jr., they were already cooperating with them. it says as part of russia's effort to help you. "hey, we would like to help you," that is "here's the next development." if you remove donald trump because of the russians, then do you have to remove mike pence? "hey, we would like tothey knew that hillary clinton would push to make -- putin to give up crimea and other things. if you remove mike pence as well, then a democrat, nancy pelosi, becomes president.

some will screen this is a coup d'etat. were that to happen, whoever is speaker, presumably make it was, with a, caretaker of president until the end of office. i'm not going to run for office. but i will not run for office and i will not be involved in the campaign whatsoever. the only honest way to do this. impeached, the democrats don't take back the house and the senate, it in 2020 he will be challenged by republicans. electionsged."g again, even if he george mcgovern in 1972, he will say the same thing "it was illegitimate." he is saying now, "hillary clinton really did not win the election." trump out of office, he

will go around the country for mending violence and revolution. the reason we know this is during the campaign, he would point to people and say "be that guy up. i will pay your legal bills." remove from office, unable to announce just unable to do what richard nixon at the end of the day was a patron who understand he had to resign for the welfare is notcountry, he richard nixon. he will say the government is illegitimate and make trouble. that is why is there going to impeach him, they need a plan to indict him, convict him, and send them to prison. there's so many crimes that donald trump has committed. most successful criminals never get convicted. trump has confessed. he spent years deeply, deeply entitled with a major cocaine trafficker in ways that make no sense unless they were in business together. amy: we're going to leave it there. david cay johnston, pulitzer

prize-winning investigative reporter, his new book "it's even worse than you think: what the trump administration is the trump administration is doing

today i'm going to prepare my fabulous, festive zucchini lasagna dinner. now, this menu features fresh zucchini, picked right from the garden, and it's deliciously authentic-tasting with a healthy twist. ♪ jazzy, you're gonna be healthy ♪ ♪ with the jazzy vegetarian ♪ jazzy, so snazzy ♪ we're gonna cook something healthy and light ♪ [scatting] ♪ jazzy, so snazzy laura: so join me in the kitchen right now. ♪ we're gonna cook something healthy and light ♪ that's right. today i'm going to prepare one of my absolutely favorite dishes and that's my festive zucchini lasagna, which is a delicious dish with a healthy twist. i'm going to show you how to make zucchini noodles, and then our first course is a simple-to-make but fancy-to-serve carrot and orzo soup.