In an astonishing 30-minute segment, Donald Trump called in to Fox & Friends on April 26, 2018, to rant, vent, yell, interrupt, and blurt out some things that may place him in further legal jeopardy. He starts out slowly, but he quickly builds to an increasingly angry, out-of-control tone. As you watch, you get a sense that he’s talking this way because he feels at home, and therefore unfettered and unguarded, with his sycophants on Fox & Friends. And in that comfort zone, he escalates into a scary, epic rant—so out of control that even his Fox buddies squirm and try to help him out by cutting the interview off.
The rantiest part starts at about 9 minutes in, and it just gets worse and worse. This is Trump unbound, talking to his intimate friends, unfiltered, unrestricted by a teleprompter. The “interviewers” can’t get a word in. They actually try, weakly, but he talks over them, his tone getting louder and angrier as he continues. The “conversation” gives us insight into how he must rant in White House discussions, where actual policy is made and executed. Frightening.
He manages, too, to reveal some information that is sure to make both Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller and Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avanatti sit up and take notes: He admits that he spent an overnight in Moscow [which, according to James Comey’s notes, Trump said he did not.] He acknowledges that Michael Cohen represented him in the Stormy Daniels affair [which Trump has previously denied]. He asserts [a nice word for his aggressive speaking style] that Michael Cohen handled only a “tiny fraction” of his legal work [which would mean that most of what was seized by the FBI raid on Cohen would not contain attorney-client privileged information, as Trump has previously claimed.] He threatens the Justice Department [the most worrisome–for our legal and checks-and-balances system–of all].
See for yourself, if you can stand it. And enjoy the end, when Fox hosts try to get the hook and get him offstage. Even they are embarrassed about what this rant reveals about Trump.