>>> DONALD TRUMP IS UNDER FIRE >>> DONALD TRUMP IS UNDER FIRE FOR CONTINUING OVER $100 MILLION FROM HIS MOST LOYAL SUPPORTERS. "THE NEW YORK TIMES" BUSTING HIS RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN FOR A SCHEME MIXING TRUMPâS OLDEST CON ARTIST TRICKS WHERE HE WAS CLEARLY TRAILING BIDEN IN THE POLLS AND THE MONEY RACE. THIS STORY MATTERS FOR SEVERAL REASONS. SURE, THEREâS THE BLATANT HYPOCRISY AND ETHICS OF CONTINUING YOUR MOST FERVENT SUPPORTERS, BUT THE CHEATING ALLEGATIONS UNTHOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN GEORGIA TO THE INSURRECTION THAT HAS OPEN CIVIL SUITS AGAINST TRUMP INCLUDING BY POLICE OFFICERS TO THIS SCHEME WHICH SHOWS HOW TRUMP TRIED TO MAKE UP HIS DEFICIT IN FUNDING BY TRICKING HIS OWN SUPPORTERS WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE DONATING ONCE TO BE SUCKERED INTO DONATIONS THAT WERE DOUBLE, TRIPLE OR OVER FIVE TIMES THE ORIGINAL WHEN THEY BECAME MONTHLY. THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN USING THIS VAT GEE TO BILK PEOPLE IN THE CAMPAIGNâS FINAL WEEKS. THE CAMPAIGN THEN SPUN THOSE DONATIONS WHICH BASICALLY SKIRT THE LINE OF FRAUDULENT INDUCEMENT INTO A NARRATIVE OF, THEY CAME, PUBLIC SUCCESS. THEY EVEN BRAG THEY GOT A RECORD $14 MILLION IN DONATIONS AFTER THE SO-CALLED MONEY BOMB. THE CAMPAIGN WAS SO DESPERATE, IT TOOK THE CON TO VERY BLATANT LENGTHS, AUTOMATICALLY ENROLLING DONORS INTO WEEKLY DONATIONS WHICH ENSURE WAY MORE MAGA FANS WOULD NOTICE AND THEY DID. THEY ACCUSED THEIR BE LOVED PRESIDENT OF OVERSEEING A FRAUDULENT OPERATION WHICH FORCED TRUMP AND THE RNC TO REFUND OVER $122 MILLION. YOU CAN SEE THERE WHEN THEY STARTED THE TACTIC AND HOW IT SOARED TO HAVE THESE DEMANDED REFUNDS, AND ITâS OVER SIX TIMES THE RATE OF THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN. WE CAN TAKE THIS STORY IN TONIGHT. WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE? DONALD TRUMP ANNOUNCES A BIG NEW PROJECT AND TOUTS HIS OWN SKILLS FOR WINNING AND MAKING MONEY. HE USES THE VERY PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM TO TAKE OR STEAL THEIR MONEY. WHEN THE PROJECT FAILS, HE RUNS OFF, LEAVING THEM TO HAVE TO WORK TO GET THEIR MONEY BACK FROM HIM. SOME DO. OTHERS DONâT. SO HE STILL MANAGES TO HOLD ON TO SOME MONEY HE TOOK FROM PEOPLE WHO, OF COURSE, HAVE FAR LESS MONEY THAN HIM. IF IT SOUNDS FAMILIAR, ALMOST EXHAUSTINGLY SO, ITâS LITERALLY THE PLAYBOOK FOR THE INFAMOUS TRUMP UNIVERSITY WHICH, REMEMBER, WAS A BUSINESS THAT GAVE OUT BUSINESS ADVICE WHICH WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. LIKE SO MANY CONS, IT DIDNâT PRAY ON DONALD TRUMPâS CRITICS OR DETRACTORS OR THE JOURNALISTS HE WANTS TO GIVE A HARD TIME. HE FOCUSED SQUARELY ON THE PEOPLE WHO LIKE TRUMP ENOUGH TO BECOME HIS OWN FINANCIAL PREY. >> AT TRUMP UNIVERSITY, WE TEACH SUCCESS. THATâS WHAT ITâS ALL ABOUT. WEâLL TEACH YOUR BETTER THAN THE BUSINESS SCHOOLS WILL TEACH YOU. I THINK THE BIGGEST STEP TOWARDS SUCCESS IS GOING TO BE SIGN UP AS TRUMP UNIVERSITY. >> STUDENTS SAY TRUMP UNIVERSITY DIDNâT DELIVER. THE UNIVERSITY USED HIGH-PRESSURE SALES TACTICS AND NEVER SOUGHT REAL ESTATE SUCCESS. >> TRUMP U. WENT BUST JUST LIKE THE TRUMP RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN. WHILE TRUMP LIED AND CLAIMED HEâD NEVER PAY THOSE STUDENTS BACK, AS YOU SAW REPORTED THERE, HE ULTIMATELY WAS FORCED TO IN COURT FOR $25 MILLION. JUST AS "THE NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTS, THIS TEAM FINALLY ENDED WITH TRUMP GIVING BACK OVER $100 MILLION. WITH TRUMP, SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN THE MOST DANGER ARE HIS LOYALISTS BECAUSE THATâS HOW THESE CONS WORK. TO PARAPHRASE STEPHEN STILLS, WITH CON ARTISTS, THEY ALWAYS CON THE ONE YOUâRE WITH. THIS IS BROUGHTER THAN THOSE PEOPLE. TRUMP USED THIS TRICK TO BASICALLY GET AROUND CAMPAIGN FINANCE RULES WITH A $100 MILLION CASH INFUSION IN THE CAMPAIGN HOME STRETCH WHEN EVERY DOLLAR COUNTED AND HE AND BIDEN WERE SEEMINGLY IN A CLOSE RACE IN MANY STATES. AS WITH SO MANY OTHER THINGS OVER THESE PAST FOUR YEARS, THE QUESTION IS OT NOT ONLY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, BUT WHERE THE NATION AND OUR RULES AND LAWS WANT TO DO ANYTHING TO PREVENT THIS TYPE OF THING FROM EVER HAPPENING AGAIN. WE HAVE TWO SPECIAL GUESTS TONIGHT TO DIG INTO THIS AND THE IMPLICATIONS. JOINED BY MAX BOOTH, "WASHINGTON POST" COLUMNIST WITH REPUBLICAN EXPERIENCE IN THE PARTY PRE TRUMP AND JOAN WALSH, NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT FOR "THE NATION." GOOD TO HAVE YOU BOTH HERE. >> THANKS, ARI. >> JOAN, I QUOTE STEPHEN STILLS WITH NO DISRESPECT TO THE TRANSMUTATION OF THE ORIGINAL SONG BECAUSE IT IS DANGEROUS TO BE A TRUMP SUPPORTER. IT IS ACTUALLY DANGEROUS TO YOUR POCKETBOOK AND A LOT MORE, WHETHER YOU REALIZE IT OR NOT. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF JUST THE SHEER SCALE OF THIS FRAUDULENCE AND ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU CAN DO THIS IN AMERICAN POLITICS. IS THAT FAIR? IS IT A GOOD IDEA? >> ITâS NOT FAIR. ITâS NOT A GOOD IDEA. WE ALL KNOW THAT SITTING HERE. I HAVE TO SAY, THIS MAKES ME SO RELIEVED HEâS GONE, ARI. BECAUSE I CAN ACTUALLY FEEL OUTRAGE AT THIS STORY, WHEREAS I FEAR SIX MONTHS AGO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ANOTHER CASE, WELL, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? CON THE ONE YOUâRE WITH, TRUMP UNIVERSITY, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. IT DOES MATTER. ETHICALLY IT MATTERS. IT MATTERS AS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS MAKING THIS ALLEGED TURN TO EMBRACE ITS BLUE COLLAR ROOTS. WE NEED TO CALL OUT AT EVERY MOMENT THAT THEY HAVE THIS BLUE COLLAR SET OF LIES, BUT THEYâRE ALWAYS SCAMMING BLUE COLLAR PEOPLE. AS A REPORTER, AND I KNOW YOU FELT THE SAME WAY, WHEN EN YOU READ A STORY THAT STARTS WITH SOMEONE IN HOSPICE CARE BEING SCAMMED OUT OF HIS MONEY AND HE DIES BEFORE HE CAN GET IT BACK, THATâS A REALLY GOOD STORY, BOTH AS A NARRATOR AND ALSO AS A TRUTH TELLER. ITâS ABYSMAL, DISGUSTING, ALSO NOT TERRIBLY SURPRISING, BUT WE STILL HAVE TO BE OUTRAGED. >> MAX. >> THATâS COMPLETELY RIGHT. ON ONE LEVEL IT IS SHOCKING AND HORRIFIC, BUT ON ANOTHER LEVEL, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT. TO ME WHAT IS THE MOST SHOCKING AND HORRIFIC THING HERE IS DONALD TRUMP HAS BEEN AT THIS FOR SO LONG, WE ALL KNOW HIS GAME. YOU THINK ABOUT HOW MANY EXPOSES HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED ABOUT WHAT TRUMP IS UP TO. THEY WERE PUBLISHED BEFORE HE BECAME PRESIDENT, WHILE HE WAS PRESIDENT, THEYâVE BEEN PUBLISHED SINCE HE BECAME PRESIDENT. NONE OF IT MAKES ANY DIFFERENCE. THERE WAS A POLL THAT CAME OUT IN THE LAST DAY SHOWING 80% OF REPUBLICANS CONTINUE TO APPROVE OF DONALD TRUMP. I CAN GUARANTEE YOU, EVEN IF YOU FORCE-FED EVERY REPUBLICAN IN AMERICA TO READ THIS "NEW YORK TIMES" EXPOSE OF HIS SHODDY, UNETHICAL FUND-RAISING TACTIC, IT WOULD NOT MAKE ONE IOTA OF DIFFERENCE. AS HE SO FAMOUSLY SAID, HE COULD SHOOT SOMEBODY ON FIFTH AVENUE AND IT WOULDNâT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE. IN SOME WAYS HEâS TRULY THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CON ARTIST IN AMERICAN HISTORY. IT DOESNâT MATTER HIS CON IS EXPOSED. ITâS EXPOSED REPEATEDLY AND HE MAINTAINS HIS SUPPORT. THE LEVEL OF GULLIBILITY, THE CONSULT-LIKE FOLLOWING HE HAS BUILT IS TRULY SOMETHING WITH VERY LITTLE PRECEDENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY. IT SUGGESTS HE COULD STAGE A COMEBACK IN THE NEXT ELECTION. >> LET ME JUST SAY MAX KNOWS WAY MORE ABOUT THIS THAN I DO, ABOUT THIS PARTY THAN I DO. I WANT TO SAY AT SOME POINT HE HAD LIKE 95 OR 97% SUPPORT GETTING DOWN TO 80% IN PROGRESS. WEâVE GOT TO APPRECIATE -- TAKE THE SMALL WINS. APPRECIATE THE PROGRESS WHEN ITâS MADE. IâVE SAID THIS SO MANY TIMES BEFORE, I HATE TO SAY IT AGAIN. BUT I DO HAVE TO FEEL LIKE SOMEBODY IN HOSPICE CARE WHO LOVED THIS PRESIDENT AND GOT SCAMMED BY HIS AND HIS RELATIVES AND THE OTHER PEOPLE IN THAT STORY, AND THE MANY, MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN THAT STORY WHO ARE TELLING THEIR FRIENDS, AND NOW PERHAPS GOING BACK TO CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS BECAUSE THEY WERENâT ENTIRELY ON TOP OF IT AND BEING LIKE OH, MY GOD, THIS HAPPENED TO ME, TOO. I DONâT KNOW. I KEEP HOLDING OUT HOPE THAT WEâRE GOING TO GET -- WE GOT THE 95 DOWN TO 80. WEâRE GOING TO GET THE 80 DOWN TO 55? I DONâT KNOW. >> 75%. >> MAX IS SHAKING HIS HEAD, AND WE WELCOME DIALOGUE HERE, MAX. GO AHEAD AND EXPRESS YOUR DISAGREEMENTS. >> A, WE HAVE JUST SEEN TRUMPâS CULT FOLLOWING WILL NOT DESSERT HIM AFTER HEâS PRESIDED OVER 400,000 COVID DEATHS AND THE STORMING OF THE U.S. CAPITOL. THIS RECENT POLL JUST SHOWED THAT MORE THAN HALF OF REPUBLICANS BLAME ANTIFA FOR WHAT HAPPENED ON JANUARY 6th. THIS IS A PARTY THAT IS VERY DEEP IN DENIAL, VERY DEEP IN AN ALTERNATIVE REALITY. THE OTHER POINT I WOULD MAKE HERE ABOUT THESE SHODDY AND FRAUDULENT FUND-RAISING PITCHES, ITâS NOT JUST DONALD TRUMP. THE WHOLE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS DOING IT IN MANY WAYS SINCE THE 1970s, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS BECOME THE CAPTIVE OF THE FUND-RAISING INDUSTRY, INITIALLY WITH DIRECT MAIL. THIS IS A LOT OF WHATâS DRIVEN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO THE RIGHT. MICKIE EDWARDS, A LONGTIME REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN FOUNDED CPAC, HAD A GREAT EXPOSE IN THE BALL WORK WHERE HE SAID CONSULTANTS WORKING FOR HIM WERE TRYING TO PUT THESE CULTURAL WAR PITCHES INTO THE FUND-RAISING PITCHES BECAUSE THATâS WHAT GOT THE CASH REGISTERS RINGING. HE TOOK THEM OUT SAYING IâM ABOUT LOWER TAXES, BEING STRONG IN DEFENSE. BUT THE CULTURAL ISSUE WON. THE REASON THEY WON IS BECAUSE THEY GET THE MONEY. THEY LOOSEN PEOPLEâS WALLETS. THATâS WHY THE REPUBLICANS ARE IN A FROTH ABOUT DR. SUESS, ABOUT THE ALL-STAR GAME. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT EXCITE DONORS AND GET THEM TO PART WITH THEIR MONEY. TRUMP DIDNâT INVENT THIS SCAM. HE HAS MERELY PERFECTED IT AND TAKEN IT TO NEW LEVELS OF UNETHICAL CONDUCT. >> YOUâRE REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE PART THAT CARRIES OVER. TO MAXâS POINT, THIS GOES TO THE THAT QUESTION OF WHO IS REALLY RUNNING THE PRIORITIES, RIGHT? MAX, YOU ONCE UPON A TIME ADVISED ROMNEY AND OTHERS ON POLICY. IT SEEMS THERE ISNâT EVEN A PRETENSE, JOAN, OF PEOPLE GETTING UP AND TALKING ABOUT POLICY ON THE RIGHT, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, WHETHER YOU LOOK AT THE EXAMPLE OF THE LITERALLY NOT PUTTING OUT A POLICY PLATFORM FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE MODERN ERA UNDER TRUMP BECAUSE YOU DIDNâT NEED TO BECAUSE POLICY WASNâT IMPORTANT TO THE DOG WHISTLES, THE RACE ISSUE. WEâRE HEARING FROM JOHN BOEHNER WHO IS NOT A VERY CREDIBLE PERSON BUT SAYING, GOSH, WE COULDNâT KEEP THE PARTY TOGETHER ANYMORE BECAUSE IT WAS ALL ABOUT THESE BASE ISSUES. THE LAST POINT IâLL MAKE ON THAT, JOAN, IS THE GROUP COMPANY THAT WAS WORKING HAND IN GLOVE WITH TRUMP ON THIS WAS JUST ANOTHER FOR-PROFIT COMPANY. THEY DIDNâT CARE ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. THEY WERE TRYING TO GET A COMMISSION OF EVERY TRICK THAT GETS A FUND-RAISING DONATION, JOAN. >> RIGHT. THEY DID THIS RAISING MONEY FOR OTHER REPUBLICANS. YOU KNOW, MAX IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. THIS IS WHERE POLICY JUST WENT AWAY. POLICY, LOWER TAX RATES, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS DEREGULATION,
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