WEBVTT - Steve Schmidt explains Donald Trump’s plan to destroy democracy

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<v Speaker 1>This weekend, there is an extremely chilling story in the

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<v Speaker 1>Washington Post. It is imperative that you read it, comprehend it,

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<v Speaker 1>and share it. There has never been paragraphs like this

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<v Speaker 1>written in a major American newspaper, descriptively after eight long years.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the practice of journalism. There are no qualifications,

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<v Speaker 1>just straight factual reporting about what it is that Donald

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<v Speaker 1>Trump seeks to do. I'm going to read directly from

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<v Speaker 1>the story. Donald Trump and his allies have begun mapping

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<v Speaker 1>out specific plans for using the federal government to punish

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<v Speaker 1>critics and opponents should he win a second term, with

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<v Speaker 1>the former president naming individuals he wants to investigate or prosecute,

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<v Speaker 1>and his associates drafting plans to potentially invoke the Insurrection

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<v Speaker 1>Act on his first day in office to allow him

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<v Speaker 1>to deploy the military against civilian demonstrations. In private, Trump

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<v Speaker 1>has told advisors and friends in recent months that he

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<v Speaker 1>wants the Justice Department to investigate one time officials and

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<v Speaker 1>allies who have become critical of his time in office,

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<v Speaker 1>including his former chief of Staff John Kelly and former

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<v Speaker 1>Attorney General William Barr, as well as his ex attorney

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<v Speaker 1>Ty Cobb and former Joint chiefs of Staff Chairman General

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<v Speaker 1>Mark A.

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<v Speaker 2>Millie.

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<v Speaker 1>According to people who have talked to him, who, like others,

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<v Speaker 1>spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations,

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<v Speaker 1>Trump has also talked of prosecuting officials at the FBI

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<v Speaker 1>and Justice Department. A person familiar with the matter said

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<v Speaker 1>in public Trump is vowed to appoint a special prosecutor

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<v Speaker 1>to go after President Biden and his family. The former

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<v Speaker 1>president has frequently made corruption accusations against them that are

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<v Speaker 1>not supported by available evidence. To facilitate Trump's ability to

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<v Speaker 1>direct Justice Department actions, his associates have been drafting plans

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<v Speaker 1>to dispense with fifty years of policy and practice intended

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<v Speaker 1>to shield criminal prosecutions from political considerations. Critics have called

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<v Speaker 1>such ideas dangerous and unconstitutional. Please understand the urgency of

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<v Speaker 1>this moment. This is a moment of national emergency. Donald

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<v Speaker 1>Trump is defeating President Biden in the swing States where

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<v Speaker 1>the election will be decided. If Donald Trump is elected,

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<v Speaker 1>it will end the American Republic as we know it.

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<v Speaker 2>It will end American democracy.

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<v Speaker 1>The men should be taken literally and seriously, and he

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<v Speaker 1>is saying something directly that he would deploy the United

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<v Speaker 1>States military into America's streets to patrol and occupy our towns,

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<v Speaker 1>our villages, our boroughs, and our cities, to aim weapons

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<v Speaker 1>at American citizens protesting and asserting their First Amendment rights.

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<v Speaker 1>What Donald Trump intends to do is to cite the

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<v Speaker 1>Insurrection Act. He'll use it as a basis to effectively

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<v Speaker 1>establish martial law. Will the military say no to this

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<v Speaker 1>illegal order, what will happen. We will be in a

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<v Speaker 1>profound constitutional crisis. We will be on the edge of

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<v Speaker 1>civil war because some of us will never submit to this,

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<v Speaker 1>because we are Americans. We are a link in a

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<v Speaker 1>chain that extends back to two hundred and fifty years

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<v Speaker 1>when the Minutemen assembled on the greens at Lexington and Concord,

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<v Speaker 1>when the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River. We are Americans,

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<v Speaker 1>and we will never let this experiment be taken from

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<v Speaker 1>us by this vile, despicable man full of malice in

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<v Speaker 1>his heart. For all this moment in American life has

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<v Speaker 1>been coming, he's been building. The situation is worsening. The

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<v Speaker 1>extremism is hotter, it's more dangerous, it's better organized, and

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<v Speaker 1>it has a plan to take political power and to

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<v Speaker 1>reduce the republic to nothing in six short months. We

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<v Speaker 1>know we live in an age of cowardice. Every single

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<v Speaker 1>member of the Republican Party at one time looked at

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump when the cameras were off. They said he

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<v Speaker 1>was crazy. When the cameras were on, they got back

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<v Speaker 1>in line. When Liz Cheney sat in the secure room

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<v Speaker 1>after the insurrection and pointed a finger at the television.

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<v Speaker 1>When Donald Trump came on and said we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>hold him accountable, the entire room, Republicans and Democrats, all

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<v Speaker 1>members of Congress stood and cheered together. But the Republican

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<v Speaker 1>inside did and hold the Liz Cheney did. Isn't it

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<v Speaker 1>com Code Warning today. Overwhelming numbers of Democrats. When the

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<v Speaker 1>cameras are off, they say that Donald Trump is going

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<v Speaker 1>to be elected, that Joe Biden can't beat them. When

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<v Speaker 1>the camera's on, they say something different. Let me ask

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<v Speaker 1>you a question. Do you think that's misinformation? Or is

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<v Speaker 1>misinformation only something that happens on Twitter?

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<v Speaker 2>You see?

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<v Speaker 1>What is it that you should call the conversation that

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<v Speaker 1>takes place between the American media and America's elected officials

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<v Speaker 1>that is secret, hidden, off the record, completely different when

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<v Speaker 1>the camera light is on than when the camera light

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<v Speaker 1>is off. Why is there such a commitment from America's

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<v Speaker 1>power class to bullshit all of you good people about

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<v Speaker 1>the things they know to be true and are obviously

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<v Speaker 1>staring us all in the face.

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<v Speaker 2>Why you know it's true?

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody in America knows there's something deeply wrong.

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<v Speaker 2>There are dark clouds coming.

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<v Speaker 1>The crisis of faith in our democracy has become a cancer.

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<v Speaker 2>Fear is everywhere.

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<v Speaker 1>And when you marry fear and hopelessness with a demagogic

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<v Speaker 1>dictator want to be like Donald Trump? Disaster is at hand.

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<v Speaker 1>There is a question that must be asked, how could

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<v Speaker 1>it be that Donald Trump could conceivably be winning any state?

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<v Speaker 2>Why?

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<v Speaker 1>And the answer is something that has to be put

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<v Speaker 1>on the table. Bidonomics was the biggest political mistake by

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<v Speaker 1>way of branding since eighteen ninety six, when the first

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<v Speaker 1>modern presidential campaign took place, and the result of this

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<v Speaker 1>is a collapse of support with black voters, Hispanic voters,

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<v Speaker 1>young voters. They don't believe the economy is good. In fact,

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<v Speaker 1>they believe it's terrible, and the power class of the

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<v Speaker 1>country has decided the best way to deal with this

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<v Speaker 1>reality is to have an argument with the American people

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<v Speaker 1>telling them they're wrong. Americans are defined people, and they

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<v Speaker 1>don't particularly like being yelled at by their politicians and

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<v Speaker 1>the most powerful people in the country told constantly to

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<v Speaker 1>sit down, shut up, be quiet. No, the American people

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<v Speaker 1>are trying to send a message and it's not being heard.

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<v Speaker 1>And the result of the deafness is Donald Trump is

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<v Speaker 1>poised to take power, and if he does, he will

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<v Speaker 1>hunt his critics, seek to imprison them in mass. There

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<v Speaker 1>will be violence in our streets. And as someone who

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<v Speaker 1>is one of the ones that will be hunted and

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<v Speaker 1>may be imprisoned for asserting my First Amendment rights to

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<v Speaker 1>stand up against this insanity, I say no. This country

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<v Speaker 1>will not go gently into that good night swallowed by

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<v Speaker 1>the ransod Trump organization. This corrupt man must be brought down.

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<v Speaker 1>He must be defeated with toughness, forcefulness, directness. Fighting back

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<v Speaker 1>against his billion dollar propaganda networks is the communications challenge

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<v Speaker 1>of a lifetime. And here's the simple truth. The Biden

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<v Speaker 1>White House isn't up for it, not even close. So

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<v Speaker 1>I'll leave you with this on the screen. Take a

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<v Speaker 1>look at these polls. Linger over them. The election is

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<v Speaker 1>a year away and there is nothing new to learn

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<v Speaker 1>about either of these men. The American people know who

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<v Speaker 1>President Biden is a good man, and they know who

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump is a terrible man. The terrible man is

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<v Speaker 1>beating the good man, and that's the most terrible thing.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, it's a catastrophe, and we have to stop

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<v Speaker 1>it as a people coming together so we can move

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<v Speaker 1>on and we can move forward and past this terrible

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<v Speaker 1>era of American life.