July 13, 2017

Trump’s First Non-Fox News TV Interview in 2 Months Could Not Have Been Softer

“I want you to know there are thousands of thousands of people praying for you all the time.”

Steve Helber/AP

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In his first televised interview since May not on Fox News, President Trump sat down with the controversial televangelist Pat Robertson. For a little context, in the past Robertson has said same-sex marriage “doesn’t bring forth anything except disease, apparently, and suffering,” and he has described the “feminist agenda” as something that “encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.” 

So as soon as the interview with the host of The 700 Club begins, it’s clear that Robertson is going to give the commander in chief one of his toughest grillings. “I’m so proud of everything you’re doing,” Robertson gushes at the start of the segment, which aired Thursday. 

The 25-minute-long interview with Robertson is one of less than a handful that Trump has given since news broke that his son, Donald Trump Jr., knowingly met with a Russian lawyer who was offering to share incriminating information on his father’s opponent Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr. was told the lawyer was acting on behalf of the Russian government, which was offering the information as part of its support for his father’s campaign. Robertson, though, doesn’t even mention the bombshell news.

Here’s a quick look at some of the lowlights that came out of the televangelist’s mouth:

  1. “It looks like to me lowering the corporate tax to get us in line with the rest of the world is, again, a no brainer. Can you get that one through?”
  2. “I’d like to make a prediction. If you get healthcare and tax reform, you’re guaranteed another 4 years in office if you want it.”
  3. “I appreciate so much what you’re doing. By the way, the evangelicals of America voted 83 percent in the last election for you. I want you to know there are thousands of thousands of people praying for you all the time and holding you up.”
  4. “You met for the first time face to face with Vladimir Putin. George Bush had once said he stared into his soul and came away satisfied. What do you think, can we trust him?”
  5. “There seems to be a visceral hatred of you in the part on the left, and they won’t quit. Does it bother you?”

You can watch the hard-hitting interview below.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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