all in with chris hayes, transcript 8/21/17 trump address - all in one solar street light

Show: date with Chris Hayes: guest of August 21, 2017: Leon Wolfe, Wesley Clark, Reuben Gallego Chris Matthews, MSNBC host: Chris Hai(
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Chris Hayes, MSNBC host: all in tonight.
The president in danger is trying to change the subject.
Tonight, more protests, bad polls for a month, and more talk about primary elections.
Unidentified woman: Do you think he will be the party's nominee in 2020? SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R)
Maine: it's too hard to say.
Hayes: The US president is ready to address the nation.
Then, in reverseTrump anti-
Hate Rally in Boston.
Unidentified men: these ideas will die in the sun today. We have won.
The attack on the White House by Steve Bannon has begun.
Donald Trump, Mr. President of the United States of America.
Bannon came late. You know that.
Hayes: Why is the secret service saying they can't pay agents because of Trump's family trip.
TRUMP: Excuse me. Excuse me.
Hayes: everything is starting now. (END VIDEO CLIP)
Hayes: Good evening. This is Chris Hayes.
The president will address the nation tonight in almost all reports, a low point during his tenure.
Just a week later, the president's words and deeds left him largely excluded in the face of business, art and opposition from his own party leader.
Tonight, President Trump will appear on television screens across the country in an hour, setting out his plans to deploy American troops and American resources in the country's longest war in history.
The president returned last night from his work holiday in Bedminster, New Jersey, as most Americans were dismissive of his proposal for moral equivalence between the new president
Nazi demonstrators in Charlottsville and-
Racist protesters who challenge their message.
A new poll found that only 28% of Americans were in favor of the president's response to Charlottsville, and 56% did not.
There are many signs that the president is now widely regarded as unfit to engage in any event.
14 charities have canceled the planned funds.
Wedding at private club in Florida on Marcha-Lago.
The two business advisory committees and the presidential arts committee have been dissolved as the ceo and artist abandoned the president for the comments of charlottsville.
The president announced this weekend that he will skip the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors, as three of the five artists who are about to be honored have expressed specific intent to boycott or are said to be under consideration.
On yesterday's Sunday show, no Trump administration official defended the president.
According to Axios, the White House has not made serious efforts to convince officials to continue to understand the hosts of these shows, which will ruthlessly pressure guests to demand the president's response to charlottsville.
Instead, President Trump is represented by Jerry Hopwell Jr.
The head of the Gospel Liberty University decided to continue to defend Tegra, and now there are some graduates of Liberty University who have returned to their diplomas. (
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He said there are very good people on both sides.
Do you believe there are very good people on both sides?
Jerry Farwell, Jr.
President of Liberty University: I don't-he has inside information that I don't have.
I don't know if there are historical purists there trying to save some statues. I don`t know. (END VIDEO CLIP)
Hayes: under the constant influence of the president's speech, the Republican Party members are keeping a distance. (
Start Video Editing)SEN. TIM SCOTT (R)
South Carolina: As we look to the future, the president will be hard to lead if in fact moral authority is still compromised.
Collins: In this case, I don't think the president has met the criteria we expect the president to meet in this case. SEN. BOB CORKER (R)
He has not shown recently that he understands the character of the country. (END VIDEO CLIP)
Hayes: after tonight's speech on the way forward in Afghanistan, President Trump will travel to Phoenix tomorrow for a campaign-style rally.
The White House is preparing for an angry reception, especially if the president fails to complete a possible plan to pardon the notorious former Maricopa County sheriff, Joe alparo, he was detained for continued targeting and despite court orders to ban undocumented immigrants from doing so.
Meanwhile, a new NBC poll shows the president's approval ratings are now below 40% in three important swing states in the Midwest, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
When asked how the president's actions made some people say they were proud of only one of the four voters in those swing states, or six out of 10 said they were embarrassed.
Before President Trump spoke on Afghanistan's strategy, Democratic leader Ben Kardin of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee joined me.
Senator, what do you think of the president's speech during his presidency tonight? SEN. BEN CARDIN (D)
Maryland: Chris, as you pointed out, we have been fighting in Afghanistan for 16 years.
Our goal must be very clear, that is, we do not want Afghanistan to be a breeding ground for terrorists.
That means we need to have a government that can control the country and prevent terrorists from operating in the country.
I hope that our diplomatic activities will surge and cooperation in the region will surge to show that we cannot tolerate terrorists operating in Afghanistan.
Hayes: I mean, all of this, because the strategic objectives seem very reasonable, but we can't achieve them through two different governments within 16 years.
How do you think the president's speech tonight is 4,000 new President of the United States? S.
Will the troops change that?
Kadan: Well, I don't support the surge.
We tried it in the past.
We won't win a military victory in Afghanistan.
We should know that what we need to do 16 years from now is to build a society that can protect its people so that there will be no outside groups and terrorists that thrive in this country.
So what I hope the president can lead is, how will we strengthen diplomacy, and how can we protect Afghanistan from terrorist attacks?
It won't be about you. S.
Military presence.
This does not solve the problem.
Hayes: in a broader sense, I mean, there is this strange side-by-side relationship this evening, and the president of the United States, after coming back from his vacation this week, is politically severely condemned, abandoned by the ceo and artist, as the head of state of the country, give a speech on the most important issues of life and death, war and equality.
You-do you think the president is a credible messenger of such an important thing at this moment?
Cardan: The president must have failed to represent American values.
His comments on Charlottsville are outrageous.
He tried to make a new-
Nazis and white supremacists and those who protested their existence.
Too outrageous.
The president has lost his place in representing the strength of the United States and our values.
So I think it's going to be a tough sale not only in the US but certainly globally.
Hayes: throughout the weekend, we 've seen more and more people even describe senior government officials talking about the president as if they themselves don't think he's right.
You should see everything we kill.
Do you think there is a strange consensus on this?
This is a tragic situation, you know.
We have people who serve at the White House who say they are there to prevent damage.
You want the president there to advance the values of the United States and the progress of our country, and people want to serve at the White House in order to help in this regard.
People at the White House seem to be trying to control the damage caused by the president.
This is undoubtedly a healthy situation for our country.
I must tell you that this White House has not only lost the confidence of the American people, but in his own party, you will see more and more Republicans keeping a distance from President Trump.
Then you will see President Trump criticizing members of his own party.
I think this is a very, very dangerous situation because the progress of the United States will come out of the presidency.
What do you mean by the word danger?
We are losing our chance.
We need global cooperation and counter-terrorism.
We need cooperation from other countries.
We need a president who is credible when he meets with world leaders.
Over and over again we have seen the president say something untrustworthy.
So he put America in danger.
Hayes: Okay.
Senator Ben Kardin, thank you for your time tonight.
Kardin: Thank you.
Hayes: Jennifer Reuben, a conservative columnist for The Washington Post, and Michael Steele, a former RNC chairman and MSNBC political analyst, joined me.
Michael, what do you think of this moment during Trump's presidency?
To some extent, it seems to be an attempt to change the topic.
If they're talking about 4,000 people, it doesn't seem like a major change in the strategy of the future, but at the same time, in some ways, it's the most important issue the president is dealing.
Michael Steele, political analyst at MSNBC and former RNC chairman: that's true.
In a sense, Chris, this is the president's reset on multiple levels.
This is certainly a reset on the domestic side that can change the conversation that started with charlottsville.
But it is also a reset in terms of the focus and position of foreign policy.
This is a very humble attitude.
From the beginning of the government, the chaos, especially about how we deal with the chaos of our allies.
So now, I think the president has the opportunity to stand in front of this country and articulate his understanding and vision of Afghanistan, where he wants to go next.
He has been in the record criticizing his predecessor's handling of Afghanistan, talking about the lives and wealth wasted there.
Now on his watch.
He hopes to invest more in American life and wealth in this engagement.
So now we all need to understand what that means and how that fits into broader policy?
So this is not something that the president can follow.
He must have some clear rules on his next goal in Afghanistan.
Hayes: Speaking of Michael, Jennifer, what impressed me was that in some ways, it would be more enlightening if the president faced problems on this particular topic rather than reading-reading the statement.
What do you think about resetting the word?
Jennifer Rubin, conservative columnist for The Washington Post: First of all, I think it's terrible for us, our allies, to improvise because he obviously doesn't have the ability to do that.
You're right. it would be nice if a president could talk about these issues fluently.
We don't have that yet.
I think it's really hard in terms of reset.
The two presidents are more capable than he is trying to make Afghanistan stronger, but they don't.
This requires a lot of trust in his judgment, and for those around him, more troops, better strategies or some combination will make a difference.
I don't think he has this right now.
If he said the sky was blue, people would not believe him.
He had pushed it forward just a few days ago.
He was talking nonsense about General Pershing poisoning bullets with pig blood.
This is the kind of nonsense he said.
Should our allies trust him?
Should they have confidence in him or the American people?
I think this is a very dangerous situation.
If they do this just to distract them from the bad week of last week, I think it's a mistake.
I think they should wait until he has more control over the situation and perhaps has the ability to really convince some people.
Now, I don't think there will be any difference in anything he says.
Hayes: Well, as far as Jennifer is concerned, Michael, I mean, they have a speech tonight and the Web is taking it.
Again, this is a speech about the longest war in the country's history.
He will probably hold a campaign-style rally in Phoenix tomorrow night to pardon apayor.
Any idea you know, new-you know, more presidents and so on, they 've cut this off through their scheduling choices.
Steele: that's it.
But let us hope that he will not be pardoned tomorrow night, for it will certainly spoil everything for tonight.
There is no doubt about this.
I am sure you know that General Kelly, chief of staff, is working on this issue and, again and again, stressing to the president the importance of creating a message, an important message about foreign policy, one, in a broad sense, afghanistan, you know, Madam.
Ruben's point of view is that the American people can trust, because you are right, and if, you know, tomorrow's president comes out and goes to core politics in a way you know, I think Jennifer is right, it's ruining everything he's done today.
In the end, it takes away from anything our allies can rely on, the American people can rely on, and if you want, the idea of doubling efforts in Afghanistan will become more suspicious than it is now.
Hayes: as far as Michael is concerned, Jennifer, I mean, in my opinion, there is a democratic issue here, a small one.
President Obama is actually reducing US intervention in Afghanistan.
This is one of his few consistent policy positions.
This 38%-year-old president, who was not trusted at home, was also carried away by the inertia of what he said he was going to undo, in my opinion, this is an example of one of the worst two world scenarios we might be entering.
Rubin: of course.
You know, the president has done something drastic in the media because he thinks that we have somehow deprived him of his credibility and in some way deprived him of his legitimacy.
He did this to himself in words and deeds, which shows that you know that when you need the American people most, when you need them most, I think they support the president and understand him, believe him, it's not there.
It is a very dangerous moment for the United States, and someone is in this position.
Hayes: You know, Michael, the honor of deciding to withdraw from the Kennedy Center is, in a way, trivial and pointless to be tied to the life and death of the army, but it's a symbolic dimension, I was impressed by this, what an amazing statement it was.
I mean, the president is here.
This is the source of the word he did.
He presided over something, but he couldn't do it.
Yes, I was very disappointed.
I really think that when the president did something like this, he just planted so many seeds for those who opposed him. Show up.
You know, you put on your big boy pants and walk into the crowd and you show up.
You make it very clear that I am the president of the United States.
I'm here to celebrate these honors.
I'm here to celebrate this moment.
It's one of the few times you can get the party crazy and fight the media.
I really think Miss president
Serve himself-when he does this, he will do harm to himself.
Hayes: Jennifer Rubin and Michael Steele, thank you for your insight tonight.
Next week, after these terrible events in Charlottsville, another alt-
Protest Right to Boston, the surprising scenes of the opposition forced the president to tweet and delete over and over again after the twominute break. (
Business break)
Hayes: A week after the horrific violence and racism in Charlottsville, some of the same groups gathered again in Boston last weekend for one such --
Called freedom of speech assembly (INAUDIBLE)
For alt-
The right to oppose their agenda and counter-protest.
It is worth noting that alt-
On the terrace of the Boston public area, dozens of people far exceeded the anti-demonstrators who marched to end white hegemony, thousands of people.
In some cases, members of the larger population are working to maintain peace. (
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Unidentified men: So what did they do?
What did the crowd around them do?
Nothing. I'm just calling him.
I just wanted to make sure he was okay.
We circled around. Yes.
He has freedom of speech. We use ours.
I want to make sure that the idiot is safe because he is an American citizen like me.
Now they're in.
Yes, it's good for all three of them. We won, we won. Look around.
We won, okay? We`ve won.
Do you think the rally will be held?
Do you think it will continue?
I can't-yes, they should. Let them speak.
Tell them what they think.
Their ideas are ridiculous.
Their thoughts are stupid and they will die.
Their thoughts will die in the sun today. (END VIDEO CLIP)
Hayes: of course, the president is at T. V.
We see something different happening, we think.
Weibo seems to be a lot of
Boston police instigator
The police look tough and smart.
But soon after, Donald Trump tweeted a message of healing, softening the tone.
Our country has been divided for ten years, but it will come together again.
Sometimes, protest is needed for the sake of the heel-that is the heel-
We will. So (INAUDIBLE)
Trump deleted the tweet, it took 20 years, it may have been thorough for decades, but missed the heels, the third attempt, 36 minutes after the first tweet was released, he finally nailed dozens of "I want to applaud the protesters in Boston who oppose prejudice and hatred.
"Now talk to me about the president's evolution, Christina Greer, a political science society professor at Fordham University, and Karen Finney, a former senior spokeswoman for the Hillary Clinton campaign team.
What do you think about the first tweet that looks very Donald Trump and the second one that doesn't look quite like the tone change between his tweets, but I think considering the week they wake up, is this interesting after Charlottsville?
Christina greer, professor at Fordham University: Well, we know who Donald Trump is.
Donald Trump is the first tweet.
We know-we saw it when he came out, and he said, you know, both sides, both sides.
When he had a disastrous press conference, we saw this, we saw his tweets every morning, we saw him in the campaign, he said ten Mexican rapists and Muslims were horrible 20 or 30 years before that, when he talked about double axes and Latinos.
So the first tweet is Donald Trump.
The second tweet with a softer tone may have been written by someone else, or it may have been written by Donald Trump as he urged his daughter or son --in-law or his son.
Insert the name family member who is calling the check from this administration.
This is part of the problem.
We know who Donald Trump is and anyone who is still on the fence is either deaf, stupid, blind, stupid-you know, that whole-just allow yourself to ignore the truth of who this person is and the will of reality.
Hayes: Karen was really interesting in that poll.
Polls show that 28% of Americans approve of his reaction and 56% disapprove.
At the same time, however, the overall approval rate is like this, and it is clear that there are a number of people who disagree with what he said about Charlottsville, which does not prompt them to approve the president more broadly.
What do you think?
Karen Finney, a senior spokesperson for Hillary Clinton's campaign: Well, you see, I think last week was a huge wake-up call --
It should not be for many Americans.
I mean, we know that the extent of these hate groups and this hatred and prejudice has been screened among us for a long time.
We have frankly seen that after President Obama's election, the FBI and SCLC discussed the rise of these groups.
So you know, people shouldn't be surprised, and shouldn't be surprised, you know, at the end of the day, something happened in Charlottsville, because of course-I mean, it's terrible, it's terrible, I think we all hope it's not, but, I think it's been a long time and we certainly see President Trump talking a lot about it in the election.
I mean, you know, these are a lot of people who push him to win, and a lot of people who push him to win, and if you listen and watch his rally, he still does that, I think this is a reality in the United States, which should not be surprising to people.
So I think maybe the difference in some of the voting numbers is in a way that people realize that we're having a real problem in this country, in order to put him aside, we must all deal with this problem.
There can be no aftermath of the Charlottsville incident.
It has to be about what we are all going to do about it?
Hayes: So one way that has been concretized is that the president talks about statues and they will take off our beautiful statues with you, and I don't think people really care about the beauty of the statues, but a bunch of statues have been circulating all over the country.
New York Times (INAUDIBLE)
About the picture of the bunlian statue, you wrote a fascinating article and I have a new understanding of you.
You said-this is you from the Washington Post last week.
Robert E. I'm black.
Li is my relative.
His statue could not come down soon.
Why did you write that article? FINNEY: Yes.
Because I wrote a few things.
I want to raise personal narratives and personal stories and faces for the pain that I know our country is experiencing, and the pain that this narrative has caused and continues to cause.
You know, in the letter I'm talking about, you know, the journey that my own family took from a place of extreme hatred and prejudice, where, my own grandmother, you know, trying to convince my father not to marry my mother, because she said-you know, racial mixing is a sin, and in a place she becomes a very lovely grandmother, you know, we have actually been to each other's celebrations.
Long Travel is complicated.
It will be a complicated long journey for our country.
But I also think it's important to remember the symbolism behind these statues, and what they mean in terms of white supremacy, racism and prejudice in this country, and part of our heritage in history, we all need to think about it and move on.
Hayes: Speaking of that, and talking about Karen's liquidation of the statue, I see a lot of people saying oh, no, no-you know, after Charlottsville, as this week unfolds, don't be attracted by the topic of talking about statues.
That's what he wants you to say.
However, at the same time, when you see people in Boston coming out to protest in Boston, you know, the U. T.
Austin will remove the Jefferson Davis statue and other statues.
It seems to be a battle that people want because it's an important battle.
What do you think? GREER: Yes.
I think it's important because the difference is important.
These statues should come down because it is also important when they are posted.
They were brought up during Jim Crowe to further intimidate the blacks and others who believe in equality, right?
So, this is one.
Second, when Trump tries to change the conversation and starts talking about George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, I have a lot of problems with them as slave holders and a lot of things will happen in another episode.
However, they are not the same as Robert E.
Lee and stone wall Jackson
Jackson and Robert E.
Li is a traitor.
They tried to overthrow the government.
They should not have statues.
Therefore, the types of people who first made these proposals made them for specific reasons.
Hayes: Yes, we should have noticed that there was a fight all over the country, including a very interesting battle now in Tennessee.
The bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, who created KKK, is located in the state capital and is just one of many conflict sites.
Thank you to Karen Finney and Christine Greer for joining us.
Greer: Thank you.
Thank you, Chris.
Hayes: if the Secret Service is out of money, who will protect the president?
The head of the Secret Service is looking for an answer to this question, and the story follows. (
Business break)
Hayes: just seven months after Trump became president, the Secret Service ran out of money in a high-profile interview with USA Today.
The chief of the Secret Service, Randolph "Tex" Alles, said that more than a thousand special workers have reached the federal government's annual salary and overtime allowance limit.
Two things have intensified the workload of the Secret Service.
The president goes to a property in Florida, New Jersey or Virginia almost every weekend.
In addition, the White House under Trump has an unprecedented number of people under protection, 42 people are protected, including 18 family members of 31 people during the Obama administration.
However, after the USA Today article, the director of the Secret Service issued a press release stating that the issue was not an issue that could be attributed to the protection requirements of this government, it is a problem that has continued for nearly a decade, because the speed of operation has generally increased.
Keep in mind that the Secret Service has to pay for certain properties that Trump has used, such as, you know, the rent for renting a golf cart on one of his courses is $60,000.
The Secret Service usually pulls out the Trump Tower command post in a leasing dispute with President Trump's company. Another Trump-
The controversy could save the government some money, and chief strategist Steve Bannon is no longer working at the White House.
Bannon started his first week outside today. That`s next. (
Business break)(
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I like Mr. Trump. Bannon.
He is a friend of mine. But Mr.
You know, Bannon came late.
I went through 17 senators, governors, and I won all the primary elections. Mr.
Bannon came much later than this. And I like him.
He is a good man. (END VIDEO CLIP)HAYES: Mr.
Bannon is now back in Breitbart, where he is already felt.
According to Vanity Fair magazine, Ban Nong quickly turned on the day he left.
"Why don't you sound happy?
A friend asked Bannon that the news of his death caused a stir on the Internet.
Bannon replied, because we are going to war.
Today alone, Breitbart attacked President Trump's upcoming Afghanistan plan and once again attacked National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster.
Of course, Breitbart is already trying to destroy McMaster, which raises the question, will it get worse?
Sherman believes that if Trump deviates from his position under the influence of Kushner and Gary Cohen, the inflection point will be.
A senior said if this happens
The staff at Breitbart said, "We are ready to help Paul Ryan fight for impeachment votes.
Here's how big and how big Steve Bannon's impact on the Trump White House is, Leon Wolfe, chief editor of the fire.
This is a famous quote from Bannon, "I think"-an interview with The Weekly Standard.
"I feel very bad," he said. Now I`m free.
I got my weapon back.
Why do they all talk like this?
Someone said it was like 13-year-
When playing Xbox Live, the old people talk rubbish.
Leon Wolfe, the fire: Well, I mean, look, you can't blame Trump for talking about Bannon like this before Bannon arrives.
But it must be like-minded in this regard.
This has always been the case with Bannon.
I don't-I think it would be good for the whole country for Bannon to leave the White House.
But there is a reason why many of my center-right friends are still shocked.
Even a lot of people who don't like Bannon, like me, look at who is in Trump's core circle right now.
It's Cohen, it's Ivanka, it's Jared, three Liberal Democrats in New York, and then a group of pro-military men who don't have ideological bones in their bodies.
A lot of people are thinking now, where will the conservative voice in the White House come from?
I mean, Bannon is not one-he's more of a populist, you know, but he's more right than any of those people.
So they want to know who will be the one in Trump's core circle if Anthony Kennedy, quit tomorrow, and he will say you have to nominate someone like Gossage.
Your base is asking for it.
If you don't, they will betray you forever.
Wolf: I don't know who that is.
This question is interesting, right.
So, I heard this conservative, the one on the right, and now I'm worried, like who is he listening?
His final contact with institutional rights has disappeared.
Do you think-do you think it is possible to see people like Breitbart moving to the president or the people they rally for help, who turn to the president in the same way?
Oh, of course.
You know, from what I know about Bannon, he is definitely a very strong person.
I do think that if he tends the way I think the presidency will go, where you have an increasingly tough position, because he now has a lot of military generals in his core circle, which is very inconsistent with the United States, his focus is on tonight's speech, and he will let us go further in Afghanistan. Who wants that?
Even on the right, I know that not many people really want to live up to our commitments in Afghanistan right now.
On the domestic side-I mean, it looks like his presidency will become more left-leaning --
Wing version of George WBush.
If that's the case, I can definitely see Breitbart's people turning to Trump.
Hayes: Well, I don't think those who deal with immigrants who were deported by ICE and those who watch the Paris withdrawal disagree with that.
But I understand what you mean . . . . . . Wolf: It's not where he's been, where he's going.
I think there may be a real pivot point in the direction the White House is going to take.
I don't know what it is politically good for him, but Trump is another person with plasticity.
He has no core of mind.
He did not know much about these issues either.
So, in our lifetime, perhaps in history, he relied more on advice than any president.
The advice he was given would not be the kind of person who would advise him to continue on many of these paths.
Hayes: You know, Breitbart has always been like this-I mean, in some ways-you know, it's just a website, you know, I think, it has a relatively large audience, and while it has a particularly large role to play, I think, in the description of the Trump era, so does Bannon-you know, he's a website publisher.
He did many other things before.
I guess my question is, how much influence does it really have when he enters the presidency?
I don't know if I can answer this question.
But I know that if Breitbart asks the president for help, there is a real feeling that, you know, in the conservative media, it must be a bit rash as a front-line person who criticizes the president.
In any case, he is still welcomed by 75% Republican voters.
You know, criticizing Trump in print or online will get you some negative reaction from your audience.
Hayes: I saw a euphemism flashing on your face. WOLF: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Definitely.
But I mean, if Breitbart does it outside that makes it easier for others in the field to breathe and be a little more honest about what Trump is doing.
Hayes: It's an interesting point that they can change the dynamics in conservative media where people are afraid or wary of criticism if they do it themselves. WOLF: Yeah.
I think this is probably the biggest impact of feeling it.
Hayes: OK, Leon Wolf, thank you for taking the time tonight.
Waiting for the president's prime minister. time remarks.
He's posting a question about-
Faced with one of his most consistent policy positions.
What we can expect.
In addition, the first thing, the second thing reaches the whole immediately after the rest. (
Business break)
Hayes: The first thing tonight, very cool scientific activities across the United States: Total solar eclipse puts some areas in total darkness, just like this moment in Colombia, South Carolina
Satellite images show millions staring at the shadow of the moon along this rare and awe-inspiring spot, streaking over the United States.
Exciting celestial moments
I watched it from Brooklyn with the crowded New Yorkers on the street, and my colleague Rachel Maddo watched it outside NBC studios with these two jabbinis (ph).
Members of Parliament demonstrated their strengths.
Four generations of bushes held a party.
Even the president watched it on the balcony of the White House.
But everyone knows that there is only one rule for a solar eclipse, only one, and you have a job during the solar eclipse.
The president's extended lesson on what should not be done is the second thing in 60 seconds. (
Business break)
Hayes: Today, President Trump stared at the solar eclipse without glasses to protect his eyes, and one of his assistants below shouted, don't look, there may be a lot, many Americans know better, but still can't completely stop themselves from stealing the Sun's spectacular harmful light.
But it is reported that the president got two scoops of vanilla ice cream with his pie instead of a spoonful of others.
So it doesn't seem enough to look at the sky today.
He's just a little more.
Although the staff did not advise him, he persisted. (
Business break)
Hayes: in a few minutes, Donald Trump will become a rare prime minister.
To deliver a national speech on Afghanistan, the longest-lasting war in the United States. S. history.
According to a White House statement, the president will provide the latest progress in U. S. involvement in Afghanistan and South Asia, with reports that he may authorize the deployment of up to 4,000 soldiers, which is in addition to $8,400. S.
Troops and about 6,000 soldiers from NATO allies.
The announcement came after a campaign of criticism of the war in Afghanistan, one of the most consistent policy positions held by Donald Trump. (
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What are we doing there?
These people hate us.
We're going to blow up anyway?
What do you say we do there?
We spent hundreds of billions of dollars on this nonsense, trillions of dollars.
What are we doing?
We have no money.
We are a debt country.
We can't build our own schools, but we build schools in Afghanistan.
I tell you, our thoughts are too far away.
I mean, it just shows the leadership of this country, we just don't have it. (END VIDEO CLIP)
Hayes: of course, there are nearly 20 tweets that go back to Barack Obama's first term, which belittle the war effort and call for American troops to go home.
For example, this time in 2013, "We wasted a lot of blood and wealth in Afghanistan.
Let's go out. their government has not appreciated.
"Or this one two years ago," said Ron Paul, right to waste our lives and money in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Pentagon correspondent for NBC, Hans Nichols, is here to help us fill the gap.
I think the question is-how did he move from that position to the one he announced tonight?
Hans Nichols, commander of the NBC Pentagon: Well, his generals found him, Chris.
I mean not just the general, but the Marine Corps.
The troika he suggested.
This is General Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and now John Kelly, former chief of staff of the Marine Corps.
He lost his son in Afghanistan.
Then Minister Mattis, himself, General Marine.
You know this persuasion happened at dinner and breakfast.
There is a lot of informal dialogue.
In some ways the generals have been willing and now the secretaries are willing to put up with some abuse, that is, the president says we are losing and I want to fire the general there.
No, sir, they said.
Mr. President, that's not right.
So someone might argue that this is persuasion-they are colleagues of the general
The generals chose union.
Elected president.
But to make you feel this, Chris, remember, I believe that at some point this spring, the son of the president --in-
By law, Jared Kushner and General Dunford flew to Iraq for a secret trip and received a lot of briefings along the way.
They managed to convince Trump of their world view, not just Jared Kushner.
Dina Powell and Secretary of State Mattis, who I have attended, are traveling in the Middle East.
They worked neatly together.
They chose the White House and convinced them that it looked like a troop increase.
Thank you for joining, Hans Nichols.
This is very enlightening.
Now with me is retired four-star Army general Wesley Clark and Arizona Democrat Congressman Reuben Gallego, who serves in Iraq.
Let me start with you, Congressman, we lost an AmericanS.
Last week, Sergeant Aaron R.
Butler, who was killed in battle last week.
He seems to have been killed by ISIS in Afghanistan. ISIS did not exist when we invaded.
Do you think we should extend this war? Reuben Geller ,(D)
Senator Arizona: At this point, we should not extend the war on what we are doing.
What we're doing now is basically trying to form a band.
The wound burst out.
The biggest problem is the terrible corruption of our partner, the Afghan government.
We have been trying to build, train and supply this army for 16 years but have not succeeded because at its core you have a corrupt government which is almost impossible.
What you need to do is let the Afghan government understand that we are not here to be a force for ever.
They need to master their own destiny.
They need to understand that we will withdraw and they need to be responsible for their own security.
I think what the president might do is actually just get us into a permanent war without any insight, without any criteria for success, and I guess unfortunately we didn't give up the war, I think this is a very unfortunate situation and if so many men and women will find themselves in the next few years.
Hayes: General Clark, congressman's comments sound like the president's comments on this precise conflict over the years.
You heard Hans Nichols talk about the way the general around the Pentagon and the president persuaded him not to do so.
Do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?
Army General Wesley Clark: I think it's a good thing that Donald Trump is exposed to the reality, but I don't think it's enough to just increase the army.
There must be a strategy.
Let's call it that the enemy must have a winning mechanism or a failure mechanism.
It involves diplomacy and economic development, the political development of the Afghan government, and more troops may be needed.
But if you only emphasize the power of the troops, we will never succeed in going out and someone will say, pull them out.
The fact is, we do have some interest there.
We don't want an uncontrolled space where ISIS can form and threaten us elsewhere or at home, and the way we work in this area is like this, we don't want to be pushed out by Iran, Pakistan or Russia because it affects other things we are trying to do.
So there is a threat to the interests here, but there must be a strategy.
What I heard tonight, from what the president said, is the strategy.
Not what the army level is.
Hayes: Let me ask. I want to follow up.
I want you to describe to me the institutional psychology here.
I remember when President Obama was conducting his policy review, the generals on the ground at the Pentagon were trying to give him a little bit of disruption.
There is a lot of controversy about this.
They want more resources and troops.
They want to keep the president in there.
You have set out the question about what strategy is and when we will cut our losses.
Why does the Pentagon seem so reluctant to do so systematically?
Clark: You know, Vietnam has left a long mark and no one wants to be the one to quit the war and lose it.
If we follow the way we operate in Korea, we may have different results in Vietnam, we stabilize there and then we keep the troops there.
So a lot of these generals, including me and many other generals who grew up in the shadow of Vietnam's experience.
Hayes: Interesting.
Clark: So they believe that if you stick to it, stick to it-but of course the problem is not-you just look at it through the military's eyes.
As members of Congress have pointed out, this is a series of bigger issues.
You have corruption, tribalism.
You have other countries.
You can't just focus on the army.
Hayes: Congressman? GALLEGO: Chris.
We need to remember.
This is not the decision of the generals.
This is the decision of politicians.
We are in charge of the Army. the president needs to make a phone call at this time.
At the same time, Congress needs to regain power from the president.
If the president is too much influenced by the Pentagon general, they have not made a decision that we think is in the best interest of this country, and we will continue to be in a permanent war, at this point, we need to exert our influence and supervision over the Pentagon.
Without any strategy or any final game, we can't continue in these permanent wars just so that some people can save their self, and said they were about being the man or the last force to quit.
This is an issue for President Obama, and now it is also an issue for President Trump, and I urge members of Congress to really start to reaffirm our authority, as members of the Armed Forces Committee, I certainly can't do that either.
By the way, I don't think it's a coincidence that the president will announce the news when the Senate and the House adjourn.
If this is a really serious proposal that is well thought out, we will be informed and have some hearings on it.
Instead, he rushed out.
This is not because Afghanistan is now much more dangerous than it was two weeks later, and more importantly, he is in a political predicament and needs to change the subject, so, they rushed to solve the problem with the consequences of the life of many potential men and women.
Hayes: General Clark, can you imagine a timeline? From now on, ten years later, in the subsequent government, people will continue to work like this, not 9/11 American men and women who serve, fight and die in Afghanistan?
Clark: If you think about it, you think that American leadership is not very effective.
I am sad to see that we do not have an effective strategy in Afghanistan.
We have not cooperated effectively with Pakistan.
We did not deal effectively with Iran, Russia and India, who are also actors in the region.
With our own strength, we can be down-to-earth, but we have never invested resources, whether in the Army or in the civilian population, to do the job well.
We rely heavily on contractors who are overpaid and frankly undermotivated to do the work there.
It has been sad so far.
It lasted another decade, and it was unimaginable sadness.
Hayes: General Wesley Clark and Congressman Reuben Gallego-Congressman, I have to get out of this situation so that we can take the president's speech.
Thanks for joining the two.
As you can see in the Financial Times.
Myer military base, the president and some of his advisers and cabinet officials are surrounded by active members of the armed forces.
The president is only a few minutes away from his speech to the nation, which they call a new way forward in Afghanistan.
Rachel cherry picks up our report next time.
Moderator endrachel maddow: Thank you for your special coverage of our prime-time speech to the president tonight.
We know that on a night like this, you can basically have unlimited choices as to where to watch the president's speech, so thank you for choosing to be with us tonight.
The president will be speaking tonight at melburg, Arlington, Virginia, an Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery.
It's very, very close to downtown Washington, D. C. C.
It's basically just across the Potomac River at the Lincoln Memorial.
You can see what the room looks like tonight.
The president is expected to be on the podium in about five minutes.
Most of the cabinet members are here tonight.
Interestingly, the secretary of defense is out tonight, but you can see all the uniformed soldiers in the audience.
If this is a more predictable term, the White House has announced a rare prime minister --
On the same day, people across the country gathered to watch an amazing solar eclipse.
You may expect that the topic of the president's speech is to take advantage of what is happening today and the enthusiasm of the whole country --
Today, everyone is shocked by the mysteries of the universe.
In a more predictable presidential term, you can imagine tonight being a presidential speech announcing a future plan for a manned Mars mission or a return to the moon.
This is not what we have to face tonight.
We are told that we look forward to the president's announcement of his strategy for the war in Afghanistan.
The war began almost immediately after al Qaeda attacked the United States. S. on 9/11.
The war has not stopped since then.
This is the longest war in the United States. S. history. U. S.
The number of Afghan troops ranges from 100,000 in President Obama's first term to less than 9,000 today.
Tonight, 2012, five years ago, the current president clearly knew what he thought would happen to the war in Afghanistan, citing "Afghanistan is a complete waste.
It's time to go home.
Just five years ago tonight, August 21, 2012, Donald Trump.
But that was not his new idea at the time.
By that time, he had preached the same thing for a long time.
When U. S. troops reached their highest level in Afghanistan in 2011, he called the war in Afghanistan a waste of trillions of dollars, "when can we stop wasting money in Afghanistan?
As president and politician, Donald Trump is accused of being inconsistent on some important policy issues and sometimes not paying attention.
But in this war he has been holding on for years.
"It's time to leave Afghanistan.
This is not in your national interest.
This was sent on 2012. It's time to go out.
It's time to leave there. Get out now.
We should withdraw quickly.
Why do we keep wasting our money?
Even if he got some nouns wrong, such as Afghan, it was equivalent to American money.
Even if he messed up something, his point of view was clear from the beginning, and it was set in stone.
"Let's leave Afghanistan.
Our troops are being killed by Afghans.
We spent billions of dollars training there. Nonsense.
"We have wasted a lot of blood and wealth in Afghanistan. Let`s get out.
"We should leave Afghanistan right away.
Waste no more life.
"This is the way Donald Trump has talked about Afghanistan in public life for years.
For politicians, when Americans are still fighting and dying overseas, life-wasting rhetoric is often seen as the rhetoric of any politician.
But Trump has always stressed on this issue, even to the point where the language is used.
At least until he becomes president, he has only one consistent message about the war in Afghanistan, which is to end the war. End it now.
It ended yesterday.
This is a complete waste.
But since he became president, we really don't know if the idea is still working for him.
The only change we have seen since he took office was in the second week of April, when the United StatesS.
The second biggest decline in history
In a mountainous corner of eastern Afghanistan, there are nuclear bombs in the world.
We don't know why yet.
The reason is that the bomb, the mother of all the bombs worth $16 million, is necessary to blow up a complex deep hole in that part of Afghanistan.
Our army does have penetrating bombs designed specifically for underground targets, but the giant bombs they put in April are not that kind of bombs.
This is a report card in a hurry.
This copy may not be in final form and may be updated.
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