-Well, it looks like President Trump is trying his hardest
to get impeached again, and prosecuted, after he called up
the Georgia secretary of state and pressured him to illegally
overturn election results and lots of Republicans
are fully onboard. For more on this,
it's time for "A Closer Look." ♪♪ Well, it's 2021 and,
as predicted by the pundits, things have finally
calmed down and the only question
left facing America is, "What are the late night hosts
going to talk about, now that Donald Trump --"
What's that? Who did he call? The Georgia secretary of state?
What for? Begging for votes?! But says who? It was recorded?! But how could someone
record a call? Oh, right, because it's 2021 and anyone can record
a phone call and, if you're a notorious liar
who misrepresents phone calls all the time,
you should probably assume you're being recorded
from here on out? Yeah, but how long a phone call?
An hour?! But, still, that means Trump
talked for, what, 30 minutes? 59 minutes?! Okay, but so what?
It's Trump being Trump, right? -A dozen Republican senators and at least 140
House Republicans plan to dispute next week's
Electoral College certification. The president's attorney
Rudy Giuliani called the Department
of Homeland Security to see if it was possible for them to seize
voting machines. -If there's
evidence of fraud and it's substantial
and significant enough to affect the results
in a particular state, then those election results
would have to be set aside. -January 20th
cannot be changed. That's constitutional. But this whole
certification thing, the days can be changed.
-Well, it can be changed,
actually. -Peter Navarro.
-We can go past that date. We can go past
that date. -Some of the
president's allies, including his former National
Security Advisor Michael Flynn, have suggested declaring martial
law to force new elections. -Bombshell recording of a phone call
revealing President Trump pressuring an election
official in Georgia to overturn his defeat
to Joe Biden. -This is something far worse than occurred in Watergate. -Damn it, I really thought this
year was going to be different. I'd already started writing
down jokes about budget reconciliation and how Joe Biden's
secretary of state looks like, I don't know,
a guy waiting in line at the store? Hope they had the mints
you liked, buddy! What -- I don't know, The point is virtually the
entirety of the Republican Party has started off the year
by making it clear -- in case it wasn't
clear before -- that they're actively trying
to destroy democracy. Also, this story was
yet another reminder that, while we do a big countdown
and watch a ball drop, the beginning of new years tend to be a lot like the year
that just ended. It's like the break between
rounds in a boxing match. Sure, we got to sit on a stool
for a few minutes and sip water, but now it's right back
to concussion central and, predictably,
2021 is picking up right where 2020 left off, with Trump
and the Republican Party callously refusing
to do anything about the raging pandemic
that's killed 350,000 Americans, or the botched vaccine rollout, choosing, instead, to focus
on their unhinged attempts to light our democracy on fire. And we have to be clear-eyed
about this. It's not just Trump.
They're all in on it, even if they're
conspicuously silent. They got their judges
and their tax cuts and this is the price
they were willing to pay. You don't get to take part
in a bank heist, then issue a statement
afterward that says... Now, we're going to go
through the entire phone call in a minute because it's,
you know, like insane and likely criminal, but, first, it's important
to be straightforward about what we're witnessing here
from the Republican Party. This isn't just a matter
of political ambition eclipsing the shared commitment
to Democratic principles, although there's certainly that
at play here, too. It's not that Republicans
like Josh Hawley or Ted Cruz don't care about the
consequences of their actions. They do. They want
to dismantle democracy. It's an active goal
of the Republican Party
and has been for years,. The same party
that spent decades trying to stop people from voting, through voter ID laws
and poll closures and requiring felons
to pay court fines and trying to toss out
legal mail ballots is now trying to erase
the votes of their opponents, not because they think
their votes are illegitimate, but because they think their
opponents are illegitimate. We need to be clear about that. If your coworker at Chipotle
spends years asking if he can wrap you in a tortilla
and cover you in salsa and sprinkle cheese
on your head, you can't be surprised if you turn on the news one day and see him arrested
for eating a guy. "Not Cannibal Gary!" And the Republicans who voted to acquit Trump
when he was impeached for basically the same thing
are complicit, too. Remember when Maine Senator
Susan Collins voted to let Trump off the hook
for trying to extort Ukraine to help him cheat in the
election, then said this? -I believe that the president has learned from this case. -What do you believe
the president has learned? -The president
has been impeached. That's a pretty big lesson. -That should go down
as the fourth-worst prediction
in history, after "People are going to love
this 'Cats' movie," "I think the Zune
is going to take off," and "The gift of the season
is this 'Cats'-themed Zune." Of course, that prediction was
absurd on its face at the time, but it's especially pathetic
in hindsight. Trump is incapable
of learning lessons because he doesn't inhabit
our shared reality. That's clear on the tape. Trump thinks he's Al Pacino in "Glengarry Glen Ross," but, listening to the audio of his phone call,
it's clear he's Jack Lemmon in a phone booth,
begging for the good leads. You have to listen to the
entire, hour-long thing. I mean, you don't have to.
It's pretty awful. But you could, if you had
like an hour to kill. The president
of the United States sounded like
an inveterate gambler, begging his bookie
to float him for one more race. [ As Trump ]
I just need 11,000 bucks. I got a great horse.
He's a sure thing. His name is the Cataract Comet. And there's one moment,
in particular, that really stayed with me,
that I can't get out of my head. When the president -- excuse me,
the president un-elect -- was speaking with the Georgia
secretary of state's general counsel,
whose name is Ryan Germany, and then, the president said
this very bizarre thing -- I feel as though
I have a good read on what the president
is doing, most of the time, because it's safe to bet on the most morally corrupt
of the options, yet I truly don't know
what he was doing when he told this man,
"You have a nice last name." Was he snidely implying
that this lawyer was un-American because his last name
was Germany? Was he threatening
his last name, Mafia-style? [ As Trump ]
Nice last name. Would be a shame if anything happened to it. You'd just be Ryan. Going to be tough to get mail
with no last name, Ryan. Was it white supremacist
flirting? [ As Trump ]
Germany?
That's a lovely name. I like that name.
Uber alles. Or was it an actual attempt
to complement, in an effort to sweet talk him,
in hopes that the lawyer for the Georgia Secretary
of State's Office would say, [ Southern accent ]
"Well, my goodness, Mr. Trump! You have set my heart aflutter
with your silver tongue. Now, exactly how many votes did
you say you would be needing? Trump's combination
of drowsiness and frantic energy are on display in full force
throughout the call. It's like he just had a meal
of turkey stuffed with Red Bull. At one point,
Trump told Raffensperger that he was damaging
the Republican Party for the upcoming
runoff election. Vote negative? Well,
at least Trump's subconscious is paying attention to COVID. It's tempting to think
Trump is unique because he's an unhinged buffoon
who cajoles and threatens and admits his criminality
out loud. Meanwhile, his minions,
guys like Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson, cosplay as noble statesmen
and use lofty rhetoric to achieve the same
corrupt goals. -We've seen,
in the last two months, unprecedented allegations
of voter fraud and that's produced a deep,
deep distrust of our democratic process
across the country. I think we in Congress
have an obligation to do something about that. We have an obligation
to protect the integrity
of the democratic system. -We are not acting to thwart
the democratic process. We're acting to protect it. The fact of the matter is
that we have a unsustainable state of affairs
in this country where we have tens
of millions of people that do not view these
election results as legitimate. -Now, when Republicans, 74 million Americans, have concerns
about election integrity, we're supposed to just
sit down and shut up? I mean, somebody has
to stand up here. You've got 74 million Americans
who feel disenfranchised, who feel like their vote
doesn't matter. -Ted Cruz definitely
would've been the lawyer representing the city
in Salem v. Witches. [ As Cruz ]
We keep hearing
there's no evidence that these girls are witches,
but I say, why not throw them in the river,
so we can know for sure? Republicans think
the election was rigged because you guys keep
telling them it was rigged. These guys would yell, "Echo,"
into a canyon and then tell you that someone
across the canyon is yelling, "Echo." And, now,
you want an investigation into whether
the election was rigged because people believed you
when you lied and said the election
was rigged? Also, haven't we
done this already? I mean, what was that weird adult puppet show with Rudy
and Chardonnay Charlotte? You want us to hear more
about this nonsense? Look, the local weirdo can take
five minutes at a town meeting to talk about how
he saw Bigfoot, but, at some point,
he has to yield the floor, so we can discuss potholes
or, I don't know, the [bleep] pandemic. Also, stop with this [bleep] about the 74 million Americans
who feel disenfranchised. What about the 81 million
Americans who voted for Biden, who you're currently trying
to disenfranchise? Maybe we need a committee
to look into their concerns. Hey, we could even
call witnesses. Maybe the Georgia secretary
of state or his lawyer could testify before Cruz's
dumbass electoral commission. [ As Cruz ]
The committee now calls
to the stand Ryan -- and I will ask the court
to maintain their composure -- Germany.
-[ Murmuring ] Germany. That's a nice name.
That's a very nice name. I don't think I've ever heard
a name that sounds so terrific. I hope somebody
complements his name. [ Laughter ] These guys tried to use
lofty rhetoric to conceal
what they were really doing, which was the exact same thing
Trump was trying to do -- steal an election
and overthrow democracy. But, with this call
to Raffensperger, Trump ripped off the mask and revealed
what was really going on. He made it crystal-clear exactly
what those 140 GOP House members and a dozen senators
will be supporting on Wednesday. They're not standing up
for election integrity or trying to restore faith
in our democracy. They're petty henchmen
in a harebrained scheme to steal an election, hatched
by a deranged wannabe tyrant who talks like a Mafia boss
with a head injury. There's a real "Office" vibe
when you hear him saying -- [ As Trump ]
You can't do that to Ryan. [ Laughter ] Not sweet Ryan! But, seriously, it is about time someone gives this poor man
a break. After everything
he's accomplished. What have you done? He got into UPenn,
despite someone else jumping in and taking his SATs for him. Didn't get to fight
for his country in Vietnam because either his right
or left foot had bone spurs. It's private!
You can't ask him! Managed to succeed in business
with nothing but his grit and a million-dollar loan
from his father. The list goes on and on. That's definitely
what you heard, is definitely the voice of a man
who's been in debt before. He sounds like he's begging
the waiter at a steakhouse to let him skate on the bill. [ As Trump ]
Gary, please.
You know I'm good for it. My wallet's just a little light,
right after I bet it all on the Cataract Comet. [ Laughter ]
Bumped right into the wall. [ Fresh laughter ]
You'd think he'd remember
to turn left. I thought it was
an ironic nickname, like Cannibal Gary. He ate a guy? [ Laughter ] And, aside from the begging
and threats and cajoling, there were also the times
when it was clear Trump was deeply immersed in the details of deranged
conspiracy theories that you can only find
on Facebook and Newsmax and in the darkest recesses
of the right-wing Internet. At one point,
he kept asking, nonsensically, whether voting machines
have been replaced, including what he called -- and again, this is a very
common tech term, for people who know computers --
the inner parts. Shredded ballots,
moving machines, new machine parts --
just trying everything. It's like a guy
without a silver bullet brainstorming other ways
to kill a werewolf. [ As Trump ]
What about, uh, two regular bullets? Is that something
that might work? "There's no reason to think
that would work, sir." Now, so, I know Frankenstein hates fire. And, Frankenstein and Wolf Man
are dear friends. Do we think fire might work? Ryan? [ Laughter ] "No, sir." Oh, uh, look, Ryan! Uh, I'm the last guy
who wants to bring this up, but do we think -- do we think the werewolf
might die if we gave it COVID? And then, at another point,
he repeated some deranged lie about military ballots.
It was so off-the-rails, even his own aides and lawyers who were on the call
went dead silent. [ Laughter ] [ As Trump ]
You guy-- you guys, I-I think you might
all be on mute. Can we check? Can we check to make sure
Ryan's not on mute? [ Laughter ] You guys? [ Laughter ] That was like getting high and telling an embarrassing
story at a party. You know, like when someone
mentions karaoke and then you say, "Oh, yeah.
I know what you mean. One time, I got wasted and I try to sing
'Baby Got Back,' but then I vomited
and slipped on my own vomit and split my pants and farted. We've all been there, right? Right? In the vomit. Farting. Debbie, you have --
You haven't?" There were even times
when Trump himself couldn't keep his lies straight.
At one point, he seemed to exhaust himself
and just drop the pretense. I just like to imagine
what everyone else was doing on the other end
of the phone call while Trump was rambling
like a lunatic for an hour. It's like when you put
your grandpa on speakerphone while you do household chores
and then, he just casually confesses
to a crime in the middle. "So, anyways, the golf club
got mad at me for not fixing my divots,
so I complained to the manager and told him my arthritis
has been acting up and I can't find
my hernia donut, so I killed your grandmother
and the A.C. isn't working. Alright, talk to you later." Although, personally, I think
my favorite part of the call was when Trump repeated
yet another conspiracy theory, this time claiming that people
had moved out of the state and illegally voted in Georgia. When our friend Germany
explained that, actually, those people
had moved out years ago, then legitimately moved back
to Georgia and voted legally there, Trump dismissed
that idea as ridiculous. -[ Laughing ] There's
that silver tongue again. [ As Trump ]
You mean to tell me people
actually missed Georgia -- Georgia -- so much,
they moved back voluntarily? That burning backwater [bleep]? I'd rather be dead
than move to Georgia. And then, if I was dead,
I'd vote for Biden. Ryan. [ Laughter ] Ryan, have you looked -- have you checked
if dead people -- Ryan -- Ryan. Ryan, I'm just talking
to you now, Ryan. [ Laughter ]
This isn't for Brad. Ryan, I just need 11,700 votes. Ryan. [ Laughter ]
Ryan's on mute again. And it's important to note
that Trump was not the only White House official
on this call. His chief of staff,
Mark Meadows, tried, at one point,
to broker an agreement to let Trump's team look at data they were legally not allowed
to have access to, despite the fact that they've
lost about 60 court cases and that the votes
in Georgia were certified after being recounted
three times. And, at one point, Meadows
slyly tried to insinuate that everyone agreed
they should investigate the president's
conspiracy theories, before Germany shot him down. He's like a teacher who doesn't
want to talk to a parent about her son's
math grades anymore. "Look, I don't think
he's an "A" student who needs to recognize
his potential, but I'm happy to sit down
with you to show you exactly how [bleep]
he is at fractions." Meadows, Hawley, Cruz,
officials at the highest levels of the Republican Party,
are all complicit in this. And, as for Trump, what he did here very much
looks like a crime, for which he should be
both impeached and prosecuted. Raffensperger
even suggested today that the Fulton County
district attorney wanted to investigate it. There's a Georgia state law
against... ...and there's a federal law that makes it a crime
when someone... Look, I'm no lawyer, but that sounds exactly
like what Trump did. It's almost like they wrote
the law specifically with Trump in mind. "Should we add anything
about not being able to close an umbrella? Will that make it clear
who we're talking about?" Just because the GOP's attempt
to steal this election isn't going to work, this time, doesn't mean
it won't work in the future. Unless there are consequences, they're just going to keep going
until they succeed and Democrats need
to remember that and do something about it now. Even if Trump fades away --
which I doubt -- he's not alone. The Republican Party,
as a whole, is a threat to democracy. That's the lesson, here,
and it's... -A pretty big lesson. -This has been
"A Closer Look." ♪♪ God's Love We Deliver
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