Lawrence On 'The Cancer On The Donald Trump Presidency' | The Last Word

WATCH. >> THANKS, RACHEL.
>> THANKS, LAWRENCE. >>> WELL, PRESIDENT TRUMP LASHES
OUT. WELL ALL KNOW THAT.
AND HE HAS BEEN DOING THAT FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
PROBABLY SINCE CHILDHOOD. HE STARTED LASHING OUT AT ME
PERSONALLY SIX YEARS AGO WHEN I CALLED HIM A LIAR AS SOON AS HE
OPENED HIS MOUTH ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE.
WHEN HE BECAME A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, HE LASHED OUT AT
MEXICANS, AT MUSLIMS, AND OF COURSE EVERY DAY AT THE NEWS
MEDIA. HE HAS CONTINUED LASHING OUT AT
THE NEWS MEDIA, RELENTLESSLY. AND HE HAS CONTINUED THE TRUMP
PRINCIPLE OF LASHING OUT AT ANYONE WHO GETS IN HIS WAY.
ANYONE WHO CAUSES HIM A PROBLEM. AND THAT TENDENCY TO LASH OUT AT
HIS OPPONENTS AS BECOME THE CANCER ON THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY.
THAT IS WHAT I THINK THE CANCER ON THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY IS.
THE PRESIDENT HAS TAKEN THAT TO THE POINT WHERE HE BEGAN TODAY
BY LASHING OUT AT THE PERSON WHO HE CHOSE AS HIS DEPUTY ATTORNEY
GENERAL, PRESIDENT TRUMP NOMINATED ROD ROSENSTEIN TO BE
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL. AND THEN THE REPUBLICAN SENATE
CONFIRMED ROSENSTEIN BECAUSE THE PRESIDENT ASKED THEM TO CONFIRM
HIM. TODAY THE PRESIDENT ATTACKED ROD
ROSENSTEIN. AND SO AS WE APPROACH THE SIXTH
MONTH OF THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY, DONALD TRUMP'S IMPULSE, HIS NEED
TO LASH OUT HAS DONE NOTHING BUT >> FOR THE SECOND MORNING IN A
ROW, THE PRESIDENT CONFIRMED VIA TWITTER OF COURSE THAT HE IS
UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.
BUT THIS TIME HE DECIDED IT WAS ALL THE FAULT OF THE PERSON WHO
THE PRESIDENT CHOSE TO BE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL.
PRESIDENT TWEETED I AM BEING INVESTIGATED FOR FIRING THE FBI
DIRECTOR BY THE MAN WHO TOLD ME TO FIRE THE FBI DIRECTOR!
WITCH HUNT. HERE IS WHO PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS
TOLD HIM TO FIRE THE FBI DIRECTOR.
>> REGARDLESS OF RECOMMENDATION, I WAS GOING TO FIRE COMEY.
KNOWING THERE WAS NO GOOD TIME TO DO IT.
AND, IN FACT, WHEN I DECIDED TO JUST DO IT, I SAID TO MYSELF, I
SAID, YOU KNOW, THIS RUSSIA THING WITH TRUMP AND RUSSIA IS A
MADE-UP STORY. >> THIS RUSSIA THING.
SO THE PRESIDENT TESTIFIED TO LESTER HOLT NOT UNDER OATH THAT
THE DECISION TO FIRE JAMES COMEY WAS DONALD TRUMP'S OWN DECISION.
HE DIDN'T NEED ANYONE TO TELL HIM TO DO IT.
BUT HE DID ASK ROD ROSENSTEIN TO WRITE A MEMO OUTLINING WHAT WAS
WRONG WITH THE WAY DIRECTOR COMEY HANDLED THE HILLARY
CLINTON E-MAIL INVESTIGATION. AND SO WHAT THE PRESIDENT IS NOW
SAYING IN THAT TWEET IS THAT ROD ROSENSTEIN THROUGH THAT MEMO
TOLD HIM TO FIRE THEHE FBI DIRECTOR, THAT IT WAS ALL ROD
ROSENSTEIN'S IDEA. THE WHITE HOUSE HAS NOT REFUTED
ANY OF THE MULTIPLE REPORTS SAYING THE PRESIDENT'S
SON-IN-LAW JARED KUSHNER, WHO THE PRESIDENT BELIEVES IS TRULY
BRILLIANT, TOLD HIM TO FIRE JAMES COMEY.
REPORTS INDICATE THAT JARED KUSHNER MADE THE COLOSSAL
POLITICAL MISTAKE OF TELLING THE PRESIDENT THAT THE DEMOCRATS
WOULD LOVE IT IF THE PRESIDENT FIRED FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY.
IF THE PRESIDENT CAN NOW SEE THAT FIRING THE FBI DIRECTOR IS
WHAT PROVOKED THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR'S INVESTIGATION OF
THE PRESIDENT, IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE THAT THE
PRESIDENT WOULD BE DISSATISFIED WITH ANYONE WHO TOLD HIM TO FIRE
THE FBI DIRECTOR. SO WHY ISN'T THE PRESIDENT
FIRING JARED KUSHNER, HIS BELOVED SON-IN-LAW, WHO TOLD HIM
TO FIRE THE FBI DIRECTOR? WHY ISN'T THE PRESIDENT FIRING
EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WHITE HOUSE WHO TOLD HIM TO FIRE THE FBI
DIRECTOR? WITH EVERY CONGRESSIONAL HEARING
DURING THIS YEAR OF INVESTIGATION, THERE HAVE BEEN
TWO KINDS OF QUESTIONS. THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE CLEARLY
IMPORTANT IN THE MOMENT THAT THEY ARE ASKED ON THAT DAY OF
THE HEARING. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS THAT
EVERYONE RECOGNIZED INSTANTLY ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
AND THEN THERE IS THE OTHER KIND.
THE OTHER KIND OF QUESTION IS THE QUESTION THAT SUDDENLY
BECOMES IMPORTANT SOME TIME AFTER THE HEARING, DAYS AFTER
THE HEARING SOMETIMES, LIKE THIS QUESTION THAT SENATOR JOE
MANCHIN ASKED OF ROD ROSENSTEIN ON TUESDAY.
>> MR. ROSENSTEIN, COULD YOU BE TERMINATED WITHOUT CAUSE?
>> YES. >> AND WHO WOULD APPOINT YOUR
REPLACEMENT AS YOUR POSITION NOW, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL?
>> THE PRESIDENT. >> SO THAT'S A POSSIBILITY.
>> ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, SENATOR.
>> I UNDERSTAND. >> ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
IT LOOKS LIKE ROD ROSENSTEIN REALLY KNOWS THAT ANYTHING IS
POSSIBLE IN THE JOB HE HAS NOW. ROD ROSENSTEIN MIGHT TERMINATE
HIMSELF FROM SUPERVISING THE TRUMP INVESTIGATION.
IT WAS ARI MELBER, LET'S ALL REMEMBER THIS NOW THAT IT HAS
BECOME THE SUBJECT OF THE DAY. BUT IT WAS ARI MELBER TWO NIGHTS
AGO, TWO WHOLE NIGHTS AGO WITH RACHEL MADDOW WHO FIRST RAISED
THE ISSUE THAT COULD FORCE ROD ROSENSTEIN TO RECUSE HIMSELF
FROM THE INVESTIGATION. >> ROD ROSENSTEIN IS ACCORDING
TO THE EVIDENCE WE HAVE VERY LIKELY A WITNESS TO WHAT WE CAN
CONFIRM TONIGHT, WHAT WE'RE BEING SEEN REPORTED TONIGHT IN
THE FIRING. HE MAY HAVE TO RECUSE.
>> SO -- I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU THERE WITH MY EXCLAMATION OF
SURPRISE. BUT YOU'RE SAYING IF MUELLER'S
INVESTIGATING TRUMP FOR POTENTIAL OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
IN HIS FIRING OF COMEY, IF ROSENSTEIN SHOULD REASONABLY
EXPECTED TO BE CALLED AS A WITNESS FOR THAT PART OF THE
INVESTIGATION, HE CAN'T OVERSEE THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION AT
ALL. HE WOULD HAVE TO RECUSE.
THAT WOULD PUT RACHEL BRAND IN CHARGE OF OVERSEEING THE
INVESTIGATION? NUMBER THREE PERSON AT DOJ?
>> EXACTLY. >> THE LESSON THERE IS THAT IF
YOU WATCH "THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW" YOU ARE GENERALLY AT LEAST
TWO DAYS AHEAD OF THE REST OF THE GENERAL MEDIA.
TODAY ABC NEWS IS REPORTING THAT ROD ROSENSTEIN PRIVATELY
ACKNOWLEDGED TO COLLEAGUES THAT HE MAY HAVE TO RECUSE HIMSELF
FROM THE MATTER. THE REPORT SAYS THAT ROD
ROSENSTEIN RAISED THE POSSIBILITY OF HIS RECUSAL
DURING A RECENT MEETING WITH RACHEL BRAND, THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT'S NEW ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, WHO WOULD BE
NEXT IN LINE TO SUPERVISE THE TRUMP INVESTIGATION.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS REPORTING TONIGHT THAT THE
PRESIDENT'S TWEETS MIGHT BE HIS MOST CIVILIZED FORM OF LASHING
OUT. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS
TRUMP ADVISERS AND CONFIDANTES DESCRIBE THE PRESIDENT AS
INCREASINGLY OVER THE INVESTIGATION, YELLING AT
TELEVISION SETS IN THE WHITE HOUSE CARRYING COVERAGE, AND
INSISTING HE IS THE TARGET OF A CONSPIRACY TO DISCREDIT AND
POTENTIALLY END HIS PRESIDENCY. THE DAILY BEAST REPORTS HE IS
FURIOUS AT ROSENSTEIN, BUT THE LIST OF HIS PEOPLE WHO ENRAGE
HIM IS EVER GROWING.

Lawrence On 'The Cancer On The Donald Trump Presidency' | The Last Word | MSNBC

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