Progressives are jumping all over Donald Trump over comments he made about illegal immigrants during a presidential campaign event. Macy’s, Univision, and NBC Universal have all severed ties with the candidate and real estate mogul, and New York City officials have said they will review their contracts with The Donald. But amidst all the controversy, many polls are showing Trump near the top. Could all the negative attacks end up hurting him? Glenn has the story and reaction on radio.
Start listening about 6 minutes into today's podcast:
Below is a rush transcript of the segment, it may contain errors:
GLENN: Can I just tell you something? I have lost complete faith in the American people. Just today, I went to two websites. I open up the website. And, you know, I go to the internet, and I first click on Drudge Report. And the Drudge Report has, Donald Trump surging in polls.
PAT: Yeah.
GLENN: Okay. He's number one. Is he number one now in Ohio?
STU: No, he's number two, I think.
PAT: Two in Ohio.
GLENN: Behind Ben Carson? What I saw was a poll that said, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and -- and then -- who was it? Scott Walker.
STU: Let's see.
GLENN: That's what it was on the Drudge Report.
STU: Scott Walker leads the Republican field with 18 percent. Ben Carson tied with Trump for second.
GLENN: Okay. Where was that?
STU: That's Ohio.
GLENN: Okay. That's Ohio. Okay. So -- and I'm thinking to myself, Donald Trump -- Donald Trump? Then I click over to the HuffPo to see what they're saying. They're all on Bernie mania. And Bernie Sanders has the biggest crowds ever. And I'm thinking to myself --
PAT: Biggest ever for a socialist or just biggest ever, period?
GLENN: So if this country decides to look and say, you know what, I don't know, it's either Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders, I am moving anywhere -- anywhere --
STU: I'm moving to North Korea if that's the case.
GLENN: Oh, my gosh, North Korea?
PAT: They have cool hotels.
GLENN: My gosh, what is wrong with us?
STU: I'm, by the way, opening this up to the entire audience. Willing to bet you any amount of money, any individual person, any amount of money that I can possibly afford, that Donald Trump will not be the Republican nominee and Bernie Sanders will not be the Democrat nominee.
PAT: He will not. We saw this last time.
STU: I'm open. @worldofStu, tweet me if you have an offer for a wager because I will accept all of them up to any amount I can afford. There is a 0 percent chance that Donald Trump is the nominee.
PAT: That is true. That is true. We need to keep this in perspective. Remember the time someone jumped in the race --
GLENN: Zero. This is what my wife said --
PAT: -- and they started making noise, and they went straight to the top.
GLENN: I know. But for the love of Pete, really? For the love of Pete.
PAT: Yeah, even Donald Trump. I know. I know. People are just grasping at straws.
GLENN: I actually think, because Paul Begala said, you know, this Donald Trump surge in the polls, it tells me that God is a Democrat, and he has a great sense of humor. And I thought to myself, that's the way I would view it too. Because that's the way I view Bernie Sanders. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Because Bernie Sanders is a full-fledged socialist.
He's going to push Hillary -- there's no way he's going to win. He's going to expose the Democrats for who they really, truly are. Socialists.
PAT: Yeah. Yeah.
GLENN: He's going to push Hillary Clinton -- not that she needs very much of a push, but he's going to push her left. So I look at that and say, that's ridiculous. Thank you, Lord. That's the way they're looking at Donald Trump. Thank you, Lord.
STU: I don't think it's the same way. What you're saying is true. Obviously, I think both sides -- I get a kick out of Bernie Sanders. But the reason why I think Bernie Sanders is different because Donald Trump is just a joke.
GLENN: Yes. Yes.
STU: He's half, I'm going to tax people's bank accounts and half I'm going to say crazy things about Mexicans and I'm going to be outspoken and make a lot of crazy statements. Bernie Sanders is just articulate what Democrats believe.
GLENN: Yes.
STU: He's just not afraid to say it.
GLENN: I agree. Bernie Sanders is not crazy. He's just a full-fledged socialist.
STU: Right. And so is Hillary Clinton. But she doesn't say it. You know, he's just being honest. Donald Trump is not being honest about what Republicans believe. I'm sorry, Republicans do not believe you should tax the wealth out of people's bank accounts.
GLENN: And Donald Trump does.
STU: And Donald Trump does. He has actually supported that policy. He supported all kind of crap. He's a protectionist. Is that what the Republican Party is? I don't think it is at all.
GLENN: I don't know what it is anymore.
PAT: It's not that. I mean, Donald Trump is -- he's a reality TV star, and he's a guy who knows how to get attention.
GLENN: He's as serious as I would be -- no, I contend I would be more serious running for president.
STU: You would be. You would be. The guy has half run for president 90 times because he likes the attention it brings. He's going down this road maybe for real this time. But there is, again, a 0 percent chance he wins this nomination. 0 percent. And we're going to play this back when he's the nominee and make me feel bad. But there's a 0 percent chance.
PAT: He's in trouble right now too. This is serious -- NBC already dropped him. Macy's just dropped his clothing line. The PGA is reviewing whether or not they're going to drop his golf courses from their tour.
STU: Wow.
PAT: New York City is reviewing whether they'll drop all their business relations with him. New York City and Donald Trump, they're practically one and the same. He has developments all over town.
GLENN: Yeah, but he's not the same anymore. Because they've just elected a socialist.
PAT: Yeah. I know. I know.
GLENN: So the socialists hate Donald Trump.
PAT: But can you imagine if New York City stops doing business with Donald Trump?
GLENN: Honestly I know this is a complete conspiracy theory and it's one that I'm just making up, and I want to make it clear, I'm just making this up. I'm thinking out loud here on crazy thoughts. But if I were the Democrats, I would have started the protest on Donald Trump because I would be like, you know what, if you start getting him thrown off of things, it will make him more popular with the right.
STU: It makes you want to defend him.
GLENN: Because it makes me want to say, you know what, Donald, I'm not for you, but I'm for you on that. What kind of world do we live in where you can't say anything? It's stupid what he said. I don't agree with what he said. But he has a right to say it and not be run out of so it society. What is wrong with us?
PAT: If he nuanced what he said just ever so slightly, there's no problem with what he said at all. He just said it inartfully. The excuse they always use, and he should have used it too. I spoke inartfully. I spoke inartfully when I said...
DONALD: When Mexico sends his people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you --
PAT: Does anybody argue, like is Carlos Slim coming across the US border illegally?
STU: Probably not.
GLENN: No.
PAT: The guy with $68 billion, is he coming across the US border? No. He's probably mostly right about that statement so far. The best in their society, the economically well off are not coming across the border illegally. We know that.
JEFFY: Our own reports show that they're expecting the gang members to be across the border.
PAT: Sure. And they are coming by thousands.
DONALD: They have lots of problems, and they're bringing their problems with them. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
PAT: Okay. If he would have just said, you know, there are some rapists, would he been in any trouble at all, instead of saying they're rapists?
GLENN: No. If he would have said, court records show that many of the people coming across are -- are undesirable in Mexico. They are people that raped over there and are raping over here. They have committed crimes over there and crimes over here. And that's well-documented. Now, sure there are good people coming across. This is -- this is just a bad way of saying what we all know to be true.
STU: There are obviously some people who come over who commit crimes. We know this to be true.
GLENN: We know it.
STU: That does not mean the vast majority of them are. But why should we be rooting for any? Right? We don't need additional crimes here. We're all set with our crimes. The people here commit enough crimes. We don't necessarily need some of Mexico's crimes too.
PAT: Exactly. That's the point. Because every time you mention the fact that an illegal alien has committed a felony. Well, Americans should -- right. And we have enough of that with our own citizens. We don't need other people's citizens doing the same thing here. We don't need that.
GLENN: So what do you think? So what happens to Donald Trump here?
STU: The thing I'm worried about is they're going to make this protest into a legitimate thing, and like New York City will cut off his business interests, which just entrenches him more in this campaign. I mean, if everything else goes away, this is all he'll have. And he'll sit here and just --
GLENN: Unless his advisers are saying, get out of this now.
STU: Well, I've always been on that bandwagon because eventually he has to turn over financial records, and I don't think he'll do that.
JEFFY: It's too late for him to get out now.
STU: You're right. He's getting to that point where he's entrenching himself.
GLENN: That's intense. That's intense. Because there will be a lot of people that will be for him, despite his progressive policies.
STU: Yeah, because at this point, they're seeing, guy who is outspoken. Not backing down. And that's it.
GLENN: And guy who is willing to say, you know, the president is Kenyan. You know what I mean?
STU: Right. Willing to say something incorrect. But still willing to say something that's controversial and not back down.
GLENN: Right. But there's a lot of people who believe that, many on the Democrat side, and nobody would say that. Well, because it was wrong, that's why. Because it was wrong.
STU: That's a minor part of the story.
GLENN: I know. But they don't believe anything anymore. People don't believe anything. So when somebody has the -- and then with everybody coming after him, they think, oh, see.
JEFFY: Yep.
GLENN: Oh, we're in trouble.
STU: It's just the climate we're in. It's weird. I was at the grocery store the other day and bought a delicious box of Triscuits. They were toasted coconut and sea salt Triscuits, which were delicious. And on the face, smiling back at me, was Martha Stewart. A woman who went to prison for an actual crime. She's the face of Triscuits. Okay?
