October 11, 2018

“Devin Nunes Should Get the Medal of Honor”: Trump Calls Into Fox News, Again

Lowlights from a rambling, 40-minute interview.

Hours after wrapping up a late-night interview with Fox News’ Shannon Bream on Wednesday, President Donald Trump was back on the phone with the network Thursday morning for another wide-ranging interview that touched upon everything from Eric Holder to his potential 2020 Democratic challengers.

At one point, Trump suggested that his congressional ally Rep. Devin Nunes should receive the prestigious Medal of Honor, the military’s highest decoration for service members, despite Nunes having never served in the military. The eyebrow-raising proposal came during a rant about former FBI director James Comey and the special counsel’s ongoing Russia investigation.

“If this turns out as everyone thinks it will, Devin Nunes should get the Medal of Honor,” Trump said. “What he’s gone through and his bravery, he should get a very important medal. Maybe we’ll call it the Medal of Freedom.” When asked about Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Trump appeared to signal that he was waiting until after the midterms to remove him. “I want to get the elections over with,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

The president also claimed without evidence that the New York Times may have authored last month’s anonymous op-ed that described efforts by his staff to thwart some of his worst impulses. Shortly after that false assertion, Trump backpedaled, adding that his suggested theory “probably” wasn’t the case. In the same exchange, Trump appeared to inadvertently undermine his initial dismissal of Bob Woodward’s explosive book, Fear: Trump in the White House, by railing against one of Woodward’s biggest alleged sources, former economic advisor Gary Cohn.

“It looks like Rob Porter and Gary Cohn were the sources, at least two of the sources, for that book,” anchor Brian Kilmeade said. “How does that make you feel?”

“It could have been. I was very good to both of them,” Trump said. “You know Gary Cohn, I could tell stories about him like you wouldn’t believe.” He continued: “Don’t forget, Gary Cohn never thought we could ever make this deal with Mexico and never thought in a million years that we could make the deal with Canada.”

The rambling interview concluded with a special presidential birthday message for Fox News’ Ainsley Earhardt’s father.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93lHxRUP2uY&t=33s

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