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Don Lemon Tonight

Showdown in Washington Trump Versus Pelosi; President Wants 2016 Surveillance be Investigated; Trump Announcing a $16 Billion Bailout for Farmers; U.S. Trade War with China; Virginia Farmer Comments on the President's Trade War with the Chinese. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired May 23, 2019 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[22:00:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: -- much as ever. Watch this case, the implications go way beyond Julian Assange.

Thank you for watching. CNN Tonight with D. lemon starts now.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: As the old heads used to say and they still do, boy, you have never lied. That means you are telling the absolute truth. We need a free press more than ever. That's why it's so important what we do. And I couldn't be prouder to be a journalist in this moment in time.

CUOMO: Listen, this has invigorated journalism, the period we're living through right now, mistakes are being made, we're seeing strengths and weaknesses but we've never needed it more and it's not about Assange. I'm not a fan. I don't like what his people said about me when the e-mails were dropped, they were wrong.

I was worried about this happening then. I was worried about the Espionage Act being expanded by government then and it's happening now. We have to look at the case on the merits of what it means for all of us, not just one guy.

LEMON: Can you imagine, though, where we would be without a free press? Especially, I say this every single night, especially if you actually read the Mueller report? Imagine if there was no free press telling you to read the report, here's what's in the report and you only heard what the government was saying about the report.

Imagine, there are people who do believe, you know, the summary and believe the president, total exoneration and all those things. But they haven't read the report. And that where would people be if we didn't give them the facts?

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: I know exactly where they'd be. You and I, we know one of the blessings of this business, sometimes it occurs, is that we've been all over the world.

The difference between a culture of freedom and not is a free press.

LEMON: Right. CUOMO: It is always in place if freedom is in place.

LEMON: Yes. You know, on a personal note, a serious note that you and I discuss is we also get attacked. And we also have to deal with, you know, false allegations, attacks, people yelling at you, people sending things to your home and you have to have security, none of which I've ever had to have in my life except for the last couple of years. And even with that I cannot imagine that there's anything else that I would like to do.

Sometimes I question it and say, my gosh, how much longer do I want to do this, how am I going to deal with all this madness, this craziness, every night, every day, but I don't think there's anything else that I'd rather be doing and nothing is more important than this, at least to me right now.

CUOMO: It's all worth it and then some, it's a good fight.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you, my friend. You had a very good show. I'm glad you, you know, imitated our sign.

CUOMO: Improved.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: Improved is the word you're looking for.

LEMON: Well, I am going to improve what you just did the last hour.

CUOMO: That's what I'm looking forward to, from my couch.

LEMON: Absolutely. Good to see you. See you tomorrow.

CUOMO: Good to see you.

LEMON: This is CNN Tonight. I'm Don Lemon.

And if you want to convince people that Nancy Pelosi isn't getting under your skin this really isn't be way to do it, roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think Nancy Pelosi understands the deal, it's too complicated.

She's a mess. Look, let's face it. She's disintegrating before us. It's a very, sort of a nasty type statement from an extremely stable genius.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK, the speaker tweeting, because that's definitely the way to get inside this president's head, tweeting "When the extremely stable genius starts acting more presidential, I'll be happy to work with him on infrastructure, trade and other issues." Now, let's be clear. The president's reaction is nothing to do with

trade or infrastructure or any other of the things that's -- he's supposed to be focused on. It's all about the man who is supposed to be the leader of the free world, absolutely losing it in public because the speaker of the house is shading him, because she's saying things like this, questioning who's in charge in the White House.

Then answering her own questions saying it must be the president because no responsible aide would let him behave the way he's behaving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI, UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Who's in charge? And he says he's in charge. And I suspect that he may be. And I suspect he may be even more since yesterday because I don't think that any responsible assistant to the president of the United States would have advised him to do what he did yesterday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Because she's saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: The White House is just crying out for impeachment. That's why he flipped yesterday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Because she's saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: The president's behavior in terms of his obstruction of justice, the things that he is doing, it's very clear, it's in plain sight, it cannot be denied, ignoring subpoenas, obstruction of justice. Yes, these could be impeachable offenses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:05:02] LEMON: Because she's questioning his fitness for office and hinting at the 25th amendment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: I pray for the president of the United States. I wish that his family or his administration or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country. But that's up to his family and his cabinet and his staff and the White House. This is not behavior that is -- rises to the dignity of the Office of the President of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Like I said, she's really getting under the president's skin so I guess it's no surprise that he is dangling a shiny object in front of you tonight.

Here's the shiny object, OK, announcing that he is directing the intelligence community to assist his hand-picked attorney general who's proven to be pretty adept at doing the president's bidding to cooperate with Barr's investigation into what he's calling surveillance activities during the 2016 election.

Shiny object. Look over here, look over here. And if you're still wondering what this is all about, just remember this moment. This is when the attorney general brought -- bought into the president's baseless conspiracy theory that his campaign was spied on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not suggesting, though, that spying occurred?

BARR: I don't -- well, I guess you could -- I think there's a spying did occur, yes, I think spying did occur.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Distract and deflect. Look over here. Over there. And I guess it shouldn't be surprising that this president would resort to a dear leader style moment today. With one aide -- you got to watch this, one aide after another, stepping up to say yes, Mr. President, you're right, Mr. President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Kellyanne, what was my temperament yesterday?

KELLYANNE CONWAY, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISOR: Very calm.

Mr. President, why would you have to raise your voice? You said when you're done, your future acts, come back and we'll talk about infrastructure. You made that very clear.

TRUMP: You're always a straight talker. You were in that room yesterday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sir.

TRUMP: What was my attitude when I walked in? Did you hear a scream?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. You were very calm and very direct.

TRUMP: Larry, were you at the meeting?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Mercy (Ph) is right. Kellyanne is right. You were very calm and you laid out the case.

TRUMP: Hi, Sarah, we're just talking about the meeting. You were there yesterday, just out of curiosity, you were there, what was my tone yesterday at the meeting?

SARAH HUCKABEE-SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Very calm. I've seen both and this was definitely not angry or ranting, very calm and straightforward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: They're so thirsty, I'm parched, I've got to take a drink. Can you imagine if your boss asked you to do that? I'd be like, that's your business. Don't ask me. You deal with that.

But you know what, that is the only way to talk to this president, at least if you want to keep your job. You've got to praise him; you have to agree with everything that he says. It's not the first time we've seen a televised display like this. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, Mr. President, and just the greatest privilege of my life is to serve as vice president to a president whose keeping his word to the American people.

ALEX ACOSTA, UNITED STATES LABOR SECRETARY: Mr. President, it's my privilege to be here, deeply honored and I want to thank you for keeping your commitment to the American workers.

TOM PRICE, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HUMAN AND HEALTH SERVICES: Mr. President, what an incredible honor it is to lead the Department of Health and Human Services at this pivotal time under your leadership. I can't thank you enough for the privilege you've given me and the leadership you've shown.

REX TILLERSON, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Mr. President, thank you for the honor to serve the country. It's a great privilege you've given me.

REINCE PRIEBUS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: On behalf of the entire senior staff around you, Mr. President, we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that you've given us to serve your agenda and the American people.

SONNY PERDUE, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: I want to congratulate you on the men and women you've placed around this table. This is a team you've assembled that's working hand in glove for the betterment of America. I want to thank you for that. These are great team members and we're on your team.

STEVEN MNUCHIN, UNITED STATES TREASURY SECRETARY: Thank you, Mr. President. It was a great honor traveling with you around the country for the last year and an even greater honor to be here serving in your cabinet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I can't even look at you. I can't even look at that. How embarrassing is that? By the way, like more than half of those people are gone, Priebus, Tillerson, Mattis, Price, anybody else? Shulkin. They're all gone. You're so great to work for. But yet I don't want to work for you so I'm going to leave. How embarrassing.

[22:10:07] That was nearly two years ago. Tom Price has resigned. Since then. Under fire. Reince Priebus, as I said, pushed out. Rex Tillerson, infamously fired by tweet.

But in spite of that the former secretary of state is another one getting under the president's skin, telling the House foreign affairs committee this week that Putin was more prepared than Trump for their meeting in Germany.

The president in a classic I know you are, but what am I moment, tweeting this, calling his former secretary of state dumb as a rock. Didn't he call me the dumbest man on TV or something like that? Yes, I guess. Welcome to the club, sir.

Said he's dumb as a rock and totally ill prepared and ill equipped but then he hired him. I don't know. This from a man who once said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have a very talented man, Rex Tillerson.

As you know, Rex, our secretary of state, has done an incredible job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Wait a minute, didn't he just say dumb as a rock and totally ill prepared, ill equipped? OK. Don't forget, too, that the president certainly hasn't -- that was before Tillerson privately called him a moron, right? He certainly hasn't done that.

Actually, Tillerson reportedly called the president f-ing moron. But I digress. This is really happening, people. The president will say whatever he has to say to distract you from his critics, whatever he has to say, someone he praised five seconds ago, and within those five seconds they say something that is not flattering of him, then they become the dumbest, stupidest person ever.

He'll distract and deflect with one shiny object after another in sequence until you get confused, like, my gosh, that's just one thing after the other so you can't focus on one thing at all.

So, you heard what Nancy Pelosi said that set him off yesterday, you have to wonder, what is he hiding? Because he seems to be really, really rattled by the speaker of the house. Is all of this just an attempt to change the subject?

That's a really good question for the Republican and former Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, after the break.

[22:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, it started as a press conference highlighting a $16 billion bailout for farmers but it didn't take long today for President Trump to veer into lashing out, and name calling and trying to misrepresent the Mueller investigation's findings, he then doubled down on refusing to work with Democrats until the multiple congressional investigations he face come to an end.

So, joining now to discuss is the former Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, and actually one of my favorite people to talk to. I have to be honest on the air. So, it's good to have you on. Let's talk about this.

I want to get your thoughts first on the timing and then the substance of the president's announcing today that he is giving the Attorney General William Barr authority to declassify and release information about the 2016 election interference. Is he trying to change the subject? What's going on here?

FMR. GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH): Don, I can't -- I mean, it's just like a circus. Right? I mean, of course he's trying to change the subject because people have told him that what he did the other day just -- first of all, I think it reinforced the views of people who have think his behavior's been terrible.

But it's beginning, I think also those who sort of sat on the fence they look at something like that and they go, boy, that doesn't -- that is just not right. And, you know, in name calling and all this.

I have to tell you, Don, I was with a couple buddies the other day and they're all successful guys and I'm saying why is it that your friends who are successful, they have been great in business, they've earned a lot of money, why do they look the other way? I mean, they wouldn't have somebody in their organization that was behaving like this. And --

LEMON: What did they say?

KASICH: These guys are at a loss. They're at a loss to explain it. They said well maybe it's self-interest, that some people have more money so they're happier so the market goes up, people have more money in their pocket and they're willing to look the other way.

That's not the way they treat their kids, it's not what they try to teach their kids, and Don, you know, it's just a bizarre thing.

LEMON: Yes.

KASICH: And, look, I've known -- I have had a chance, my dad carried me on his back but I've had a chance to meet every president from Nixon all the way up, every one of them. I've never seen anything like this. And I've always believed you respect the office of president.

But when this guy is like going around a room saying, hey, how did I do? You know, I was calm and all that. You know, I was the governor and there are 11.5 million people in the state. I don't go around the room and say, some people say I look like Harrison Ford, do you think I do? How about you? Do I look better than him?

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: It's really just unbelievable.

KASICH: It's bizarre.

LEMON: But I think you're right. I've been saying this for a while when I hear people talk about the tax break or how much money. These are wealthy people and I just look at them and I say, how much money do you need? How much money does it take for you to lose your soul and to go --

(CROSSTALK)

KASICH: Well, there is another side to this, Don, another side to this. Hold on, there's another side to this. You guys pointed out, you know, look how much we're in debt now.

LEMON: Right.

KASICH: You know who's going to pay for this? My daughter Emma who's watching tonight. My daughter Reese. I know she's at home. Emma is with me tonight. She's -- Emma, thank you for paying for the bills that we're ringing up. You know, it's not right to do this to our kids.

And nobody's dealing with it at all, Don, the debt is going to drown us and wreck this economy and people -- nobody down there wants to pay attention to it. Give you another one. So, they wanted to get rid of all Obamacare, not reform it, it's taking 20 million people off of health care. That's not acceptable.

[22:20:06] So, you know, I just don't understand, you know, it can't just be about money in your pocket. There's got to be something greater than that that gets you motivated.

LEMON: Yes, well --

KASICH: I've given up thinking he's going to clean up -- clean up the way he's acting.

LEMON: He's not. He's not.

KASICH: I gave that up a while ago.

LEMON: It's never going to happen. It's never going to happen. But the reason I do it is you have to point it out, because you can't keep -- you can't keep -- I hate to say always normalize it, but you just cannot become numb to it where it's just every day, OK, fine, he's doing that, as a journalist you've got to point it out.

KASICH: No. I think --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: As someone with a voice in a platform, you've got to point it out. Doesn't mean that you're going to think that he is going to change but still, you have to point it out.

KASICH: Don, I've been talking -- yes. I've been talking about this for years. Remember, I didn't vote for the guy, I didn't endorse him, I didn't go to the convention but I also want to say that Nancy Pelosi and the way the Democrats conduct themselves now is really important. If they want to get into impeachment the country doesn't support that, so they better be careful and you're not going to win on this alone.

LEMON: Let me get this question in because --

(CROSSTALK)

KASICH: You've got to have some policies.

LEMON: This question is where you're going. So, the president is refusing to even sit down with Democratic congressional leaders until these investigations end and these investigations could be --

(CROSSTALK)

KASICH: That's just absurd.

LEMON: But it could outlast the Trump presidency.

KASICH: Great.

LEMON: So, then what does the rest of his term look like? And then, so what do we do? What do Democrats do? What does America do?

KASICH: I think they have a right -- look, it's not just Democrats, it's Congress. Congress has the right to do oversight. And, you know, the Congress, not just the House, but the House and the Senate together, they're equal to the power of the executive. And the House has a right to do this.

And when he says they shouldn't do it, you know, I think what this got down to, Don, was this, people felt that when Mueller was done that kind of be the end of it. Either he would say nothing or he would say this is where the goods are, and the president's in trouble.

Instead, it's been -- it's not been that way. It's an ongoing and continuing situation. And I've got to tell you for a leader, for a president, this is hard. This is withering criticism.

But you know, when you're in that job you've got to take the heat. What did Truman say, if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

LEMON: Get out of the kitchen. So, they -- so Congress has the right --

(CROSSTALK)

KASICH: I'm not going to negotiate stuff with you.

LEMON: Congress has the right to pressure the president for oversight of these issues, is that what you're saying?

KASICH: Yes.

LEMON: Yes.

KASICH: Yes, of course, oversight is a part of it.

LEMON: You served in Congress --

(CROSSTALK)

KASICH: And you can't say if you're going to do -- you can't say this. I'm -- if you're going to do oversight, I'm not going to do -- I'm not going to have a meeting with you on anything and then storm out of the room.

LEMON: OK.

KASICH: That's not what leaders do.

LEMON: I got 20 seconds left. I got 20 seconds left, Mr. Kasich. You served in Congress with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in your experience is she someone who can put differences aside and get things done?

KASICH: Well, I personally have always gotten along with her. She and I have always been able to communicate. We don't agree on a lot of things but I've always -- we got along personally and, you know, had a good relationship.

And you know, some of my Republican friends were so mystified by that. You know what, it's very possible to disagree with somebody but yet still like them and I like Nancy. You know, I'm not for her for president, but, you know, I don't know who I'm going to be for president. Right, maybe you.

I'm marking you down as undecided in regard to Trump, though.

LEMON: Listen.

KASICH: I think you have not made up your mind yet.

LEMON: It's not for me to make up my mind on the president of the United States or give whatever my political beliefs. I'm not a political person.

But listen, I don't care who you are, what party you belong to, if you do right for the country, you work with other people, you do good things, I don't care --

KASICH: Don --

LEMON: -- what is it, D and R and I behind your name.

KASICH: I just did --

LEMON: I've got to run, though. KASICH: I did a eulogy -- I know. I did a eulogy at Ron Dylann's (Ph)

funeral, very liberal Democrat. I was proud to be there. We were good friends. We didn't always agree but when we did, we fought like crazy together for the good things. Thanks for having me again.

LEMON: Yes. And you didn't say, you didn't say I'm not going to work with him, never going to have John Kasich on the show. You know what I'm saying?

KASICH: No, I don't want anything to do with you.

LEMON: Thank you, sir.

KASICH: That's wrong. Thank you.

LEMON: Have a good one. It's good to see you.

Does the president's behavior today show that he is unraveling or the, quote, "extremely stable genius he says he is?"

[22:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know what? It is now open warfare between President Trump and Nancy Pelosi and she's really getting under his skin, you have to admit, Trump calling her a mess. Pelosi saying that he's throwing a temper tantrum and needs an intervention.

But tonight, it looks like the president is resorting to his favorite tactic, and that's distract and deflect.

So, let's discuss now. Frank Bruni is here. Chris Cillizza, and April Ryan. April is the author of "Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House." She's standing in the front, pick me, pick me. Remember? You guys don't remember that in first grade?

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER AND EDITOR-AT-LARGE: I do.

LEMON: And the teacher would say, don't do that, I'll call on who I want to.

Good evening, everybody, good to see you. Chris, I'm going to start with you. President Trump tonight signed a memo directing the intelligence community to cooperate with the attorney general and declassify information related to the 2016 surveillance, the 2016 surveillance.

Do you smell a distraction tactic here from what's been a very bad week so far from this president?

CILLIZZA: Yes, I mean the timing is, let's call it, curious. In some ways it's codifying a lot of what already we knew Donald Trump was doing via Bill Barr. Bill Barr has said that he is looking into this. We know he's appointed a guy in Connecticut to sort of oversee parts of this probe.

So, this is all about Donald Trump's belief, off-stated. It is important to note, off-stated but not factually backed currently, that the actual --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Do you -- do you think he believes that or he knows that --

CILLIZZA: Yes.

LEMON: -- it's just a -- he knows that conspiracy theorists and propagandists --

(CROSSTALK)

CILLIZZA: Well, that's, Don --

LEMON: -- in his party and on Trump state run TV say that so he has to say it himself? Come on, rational people don't believe that.

CILLIZZA: No. Right, I agree with that last thing that you said, but I don't know that Donald Trump, therefore, doesn't believe it. He has shown any number of irrational traits over his time in office.

[22:30:05] Look, does he believe it wholeheartedly? I don't know. But I don't know that if you give him a lie detector test, I don't know that he would fail it -- this. I think he convinces himself of things. He does not require facts, obviously, to be convinced of those things.

So yes, to answer your basic question, yes, I do think Donald Trump understands how the media works. He understands this has not been a good week for him, this getting him back, this gets him right into the wheelhouse of the base, which is that there's a huge deep state conspiracy. Bill Barr and Donald Trump are going to expose it. And they're going to do so using every tool at their disposal.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: It's the deep state, OK. So Frank, let's keep our focus on today's events, because the president is attacking Nancy Pelosi and saying this about himself. Let's play it again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am an extremely stable genius, OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So come on, I mean, who does that?

BRUNI: The president of the United States. That's what's so unbelievable here. The proof that he's not a very stable genius is he's saying it. You wouldn't do it. But he just -- when he says stuff like that or when he says I am running the most transparent administration or any of those things. That's not just the clue.

It's the proof that he knows the opposite to be true, and that he's worried that all of you know the opposite to be true. And he's got a salesman hat on, and he's just saying if I say this enough, you know, with enough conviction, maybe I can make it so, you know?

LEMON: Frank, you're a very smart person.

BRUNI: I am a very stable genius.

LEMON: But you're a very smart person. And people often tell me I love his analysis. He's so bright. He's so -- you don't say that about yourself, do you?

BRUNI: No, I worry...

(CROSSTALK)

CILLIZZA: Frank is always texting me his IQ. Frank is always texting me his IQ. Don't believe him.

BRUNI: This Trump/Nancy Pelosi show, I think, has gotten fascinating.

LEMON: How so?

BRUNI: Because she takes such a different tact than he does. So when attacks her, he just hurls crude insults. He's blunt. She's doing something I think much more withering, and it's how she's getting under his skin, which is she is pitying him. She's like poking at his potency. She saying poor thing, you need a prayer, you need an intervention. And I guarantee you that's driving him nuts.

LEMON: So April, let's bring you in, because listen. You're there all the time and you're closer, you know, at least in proximity than most of us. So we saw the rant. What are your sources telling you? What are you seeing about this un-rattling that we're all witnessing?

APRIL RYAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, my sources are telling me, and I mean sources very close to the president in the inner circle. They're telling me not only did the president get upset about the cover-up, but what was worse was the fact that Nancy Pelosi said I pray for the president. I couldn't believe that they said the president went ballistic. He felt like she was rebuking him.

And now, the president is going in on her. And he cannot stand Nancy Pelosi's strength. And when you look at President Trump versus Nancy Pelosi, they're actually equal, minus the fact that she's a woman. She's wealthy like the president. And she is powerful like the president, and neither one will back down. But here's the problem.

Nancy Pelosi, as she says, she's going to pray for the president. The president continues to throw these barbs. This is not entertainment. This is about humanity. This is about people's lives. And it's now -- politics is now the new entertainment. This president is showing that he is limited when it comes to the office of presidency.

Distractions, some might even say, wag the doll with Iran. And then barb Nancy Pelosi instead of doing the people's business.

LEMON: Chris, the Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer responded to the president's assertion that he was calm in yesterdays meeting, tweeting this, he said I would describe his demeanor as agitated. And this is what the minority leader told me last night. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): He did not even sit down. He stomped into the room and began this diatribe, mainly aimed at leader -- at Speaker Pelosi, saying she said cover-up. Now, that's been said many times before, saying they're investigations. We've had these investigations ongoing even three weeks ago when we met. And he spoke very pointedly, very unkindly, and then he stalked out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So Chris, didn't sit down, stalked out. And yet today, the president makes his aides back up his version of events to say that he's calm. I mean, listen. Regardless of what happened, pulling his staff in, it's kind of pathetic.

CILLIZZA: Yes. So two things, one, I take Chuck Schumer at his word. I don't see really why he would lie. Two, we have the evidence of what Donald Trump's demeanor was like. He did this press conference/speech in the Rose Garden where he was not calm. He was clearly frustrated. He's, you know, flailing the paper around that has a bunch of not proven facts and some outright misstatements on it about the Mueller report.

[22:35:02] He's basically sort of anger tweeting but in verbal form. So that's number one. And number two, this just touches on the point Frank made, which is when you are smart -- I tell my 10-year-old this. The smart people in the class don't walk around and say how smart they are. The most athletic kid doesn't go around and say how athletic he or she is. The richest kid, hopefully, doesn't go around and talk about how much money their parents have.

The person who was calm doesn't go to the people who work for him in a public setting and put them on the spot and say I was pretty calm, right? Like, I mean, I am a pretty great guest, right Don? I mean, that's the point, right? Like we would never do it because it's super awkward, and you know that whatever you're getting -- any reasonable person knows whatever you're getting there is being said out of that awkwardness. You don't do that. It's called overcompensation. It's just not all that complicated.

LEMON: Here's the thing. You don't do it in public.

RYAN: It's called insecure.

LEMON: Right. You may say to a friend, right, if I'm talking to you or whatever -- look, I know I am really good at my job and I deserve to be better compensated or I deserve that promotion. I know I am really good at it, but you don't go out in public and say that to everybody you work with. I deserve this. I am really great. It's just really, really strange behavior.

And this is also strange what he's doing, Frank. He's describing Nancy Pelosi as a mess. He's calling her Crazy Nancy. And Gloria Borger pointed out that this is very similar to how he described Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She's unhinged. She's truly unhinged. And she's unbalanced, totally unbalanced. If short-circuit Hillary Clinton ever gets elected, it's only going to be worse. It's going to get worse. Hillary is an unstable person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You forget those things, right? It's a pattern.

BRUNI: Well, to me, it wreaks of sexism. You know, women on the even keel. They can't keep it together, and it's classic Trump projection. He's calling these other people exactly what he is in reality. One last thing, Don, when he said Nancy Pelosi doesn't understand trade, I mean that's pure sexism. That's the old women aren't good at math. That's where that comes from. And he's showing his generation and he's showing his bigotry there.

LEMON: Well, she's living in his head rent-free. Thank you, all. I appreciate it. The president is making all sorts of claims about his trade war with China, but the fact is it's hurting the very people he's promised to help. And we've got the figures to prove it, facts first, next.

[22:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The president today announcing a $16 billion bailout for farmers being hurt by his trade war with China. He also falsely claimed that it will all be paid for by tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It all comes from China. We'll be taking in, over a period of time, hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs and charges to China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So that is just not how it works. That's not how this works. And we're going to explain why in this segment. Remember, we've heard the president make promises like this before, sounds a whole lot like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have said many times that the American people will not pay for the wall. Mexico will pay for the wall. Mexico's going to pay for the wall and they understand that. Mexico is going to pay for the wall. Who's going to pay for the wall? Who?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Who's going to pay for the wall? No, you are. Thank you, though. But you are. And you, the taxpayer, you're going to foot the bill to bail out the farmers, just like you did when the president approved the $12 billion farmer bailout last year. The funds for that came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And you're paying for the tariffs, too. China doesn't pay anything.

That's because businesses that import goods from China pass on the cost of the tariffs to you, the consumer. Just this month, retailers like Walmart, Macy's, they said they're going to raise prices. Other companies like Target, Home Depot, AutoZone, Nike, and Adidas warn that they might have to pass on the costs of the tariffs to consumers.

Surely, you shop at one of those, because I know I do at a couple of them. Everybody does. One study says that tariffs will cost the average American household $831 a year. But you don't have to take it from me. This is a member of the Trump administration admitting that consumers will feel the pain less than two weeks ago. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is U.S. businesses and U.S. consumers who pay, correct?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, to some extent. I don't disagree with that. Again, both sides, both sides will suffer on this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Both sides will suffer on this. Talks with China have stalled, so there is no resolution in sight. And the Trump administration is threatening to tax every import from China. That would affect the price of cellphones. We all have one of those. You're watching me on a television, cameras, in all, $540 billion of goods that come into this country.

One study says that could cost the average family of four, $2,300 a year. Now, as for the farmers, the president says they're on team Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I love them and they voted for me, and they love me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:45:07] LEMON: Well, but many claim the help they're getting isn't enough, and they know exactly who to blame.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a band-aid over a gaping wound. You know, what we really want is to just -- we want trade deals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He better hurry up and start producing a little bit, because this negotiation I am seeing so far has not panned out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The geopolitical turmoil that the president has thrown into the mix over the last year, the markets just don't have anywhere to go. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you vote for Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did. I'll never vote for him again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, I am going to speak to another farmer who's being hurt by the president's trade war. And that trade war isn't the only thing hurting him. John Boyd Jr. is a farmer and the President of the National Black Farmers Association. And he's a victim of a recent hate crime. He's got a story you need to hear, next.

[22:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: John Boyd Jr. is a Virginia farmer and President of the National Black Farmers Association and a critic of the president's trade policies. Policies that caused China to retaliate with stiff penalties on goods like soybeans, hurting American farmers. Well, this week, Boyd found himself the victim of a shocking incident.

He found the n-word plastered on a trash bin at the entrance of his farm. And John Boyd Jr. joins me now. Thank you, Mr. Boyd.

JOHN BOYD JR., NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT: Don, thank you for having me.

LEMON: Thank you for coming on. So why do you think you were targeted?

BOYD JR.: Well, basically I think it's more of retaliation from the Trump. Administration, and it's retaliation from my strong positions against the tariffs. And the tariffs have really hurt the farmers like myself and other small scale farmers and African-American farmers who haven't received their subsidy payments from the government.

And the president has made a whole lot of promises, but very few of those things have reached farmers like myself. So every time I hear him making another announcement about more tariffs and more bailout money, it means bad news for farmers like myself. And you know, Don, it takes a lot of effort to go out and make a crop. And basically, what we're looking for is a fair price for our commodity.

And the president took away a 90 percent market for American farmers, soybean farmers. And they didn't open up other trade doors. And that's something that his U.S. trade representative could have worked on. The agriculture secretary should've been working on making more open markets for farmers like myself. And I've reached out to the president and asked him to meet about this.

I reached out to the secretary, the agriculture secretary and asked for a meeting. And Bloomberg asked him about my formal request to meet with them, the agriculture secretary. And he said oh, well, I meet with black farmers, you know, while I am out in my travels. But he hasn't met in a formal capacity. And I think that that's very disheartening. LEMON: Look, you don't need me. You can just keep talking for -- as

much as I am concerned, because I mean what you're saying is very compelling. I just have a couple questions for you. One, in all your years, did you ever have anything like this happen to you so boldly and so brazenly before you started speaking out about these policies?

BOYD JR.: Nothing like this. I have been called the n-word by agriculture secretary officials in the past. But Don, that was in 1998. And here we are in the year 2019. And when we turned into our farming, we saw that. And, you know, we have children and they saw those awful words printed there. You know the president ought to speak out against this. Here you have an African-American -- I have been on CNN before speaking about these kinds of things.

The president should condemn that type of racial epitaph printed anywhere in these United States. The president needs to show leadership on race and bring this country together. But yet, still the country is so far divided on race because the president of the United States doesn't do enough to bring us together. He's hurting our country right now.

LEMON: Let's talk a little bit more about policies, OK, John, a lot more if we can. So the president announced today $16 billion in aid for farmers. Do you think it will help?

BOYD JR.: Right. Not farmers like myself. Because right now, I still haven't received my payments from the last round that the president -- the $12 billion that he promised farmers. And generally, when the government gets involved and there's paperwork and unnecessary things that have to be filled out in order to participate in a certain subsidy. That means bad news for black farmers and small scale farmers.

Large scale farmers manage to fend their way through the system, and especially those farmers who have been very supportive of this president. And I am hearing that the president met with farmers this week. I didn't get an invitation. I didn't get an invitation to air some of the things that are concerning to black farmers and other small scale farmers alike. We didn't get a chance to sit down and meet with the president.

[22:54:55] And that shows the type of direction that the president wants to take this country. More division and more -- just because a person doesn't agree with you does not mean that they shouldn't be able to sit at the table with you and talk about solutions and what could help, you know, farmers across the country. And quite Frankly, Don, white farmers are hurting more than we are.

And I don't understand, for the life of me, why they aren't more vocal about the financial conditions that they're in. Because when soybeans were at an all time high at $16.80 a bushel, farmers were doing good. And here we are at 50 percent reduction at $8.00 a bushel, and farmers are still contemplating on supporting this president. How in the world can you vote for somebody when you are at an all time low?

And these farmers are going to end up in bankruptcy, committing suicide, and losing their farms. And they're still talking about supporting the president. And Democratic candidates that are watching this, you need to condemn those types of racial slurs. And you also need to come up with a plan to help small scale farmers like myself.

LEMON: John Boyd Jr., you've stated your case better than anyone could state it. We appreciate you coming on and you're welcome back any time. And I am sorry that you're having to deal with this -- and all farmers across the United States. Thank you so much.

BOYD JR.: Don, thank you for having me.

LEMON: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)