Back to episode — Episode 2517 A Conversation With Michael Ian Black
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oes not say they had an office at Twitter. And it says the FBI social media specializing task force born after the 2016 election expanded to 80 agents and collaborated with Twitter to hunt down election meddling by foreign actors. Now I don't have a problem with any of that and I'm not sure why you do. Well let me give you an example. There were a lot of things that were censored through that pro…
← Previous segment →aves it out too. Do you notice that it's not in his quote? Don't you think it would be relevant for Biden to have said at the same time he said that he said I condemn totally the racists because that would mean not a moral equivalence?
Yes. However what I think you're ignoring is the larger context in which all of this took place and it goes back to the beginning of his campaign which I think you know. When Trump came down the escalator and called immigrants rapists and murderers and he said and I'm sure there are some very fine people. Now when I take that statement what I hear is most of the people coming into this country illegally are rapists and murderers and some I assume are very fine people. So what do you take away from that statement?
Well so I think you're doing that absolute thing again. When Trump ran for office he said I use a lot of hyperbole which is exaggeration. He didn't say that in his announcement speech. Hold on let me finish my point. When he came down the escalator introducing himself as a candidate for the presidency of the United States he did not say I use a lot of hyperbole. So forgive me when I say they're sending rapists and murderers and some I assume are very fine people. So I'm not quite sure what you mean. So separately you I don't think it matters he said at the same time it's something he said that you know is true. Point. I don't think I've ever heard. I mean he probably it's entirely possible he has. I don't think I've ever heard Trump say I use hyperbole and exaggeration to make a point.
Yeah he does. And he wrote a whole book about it. The Art of the Deal. It's all about you know big first offer and bring the show. So he's actually quite famous and he says that I'm a salesperson for the country which means you know I'm going to exaggerate. So what is we shouldn't take Trump's words? No. I'm saying this is a reading comprehension issue. That my reading comprehension when somebody who says I exaggerate about everything and he said it so clearly it's there's a whole book about it. That when he says something like they're bringing murderers and rapists and some fine people I say oh there's another one of those exaggerations to make it sound like it's a little worse than maybe it is. But directionally people who like Trump have come to learn that directionally they like where he's going more security at the border but they don't really take the literal stuff too seriously. They don't take. Well his supporters don't. So but I do understand why that would be a problem if you took it literally.
Now here's a prediction. When I talk to people about the fine people hoax and they find out for the first time that it was a hoax and that it was a piece of Biden's campaign I predict...
I'm not granting that it was a hoax. I'm what I'm granting is what you did say which is that he did say I totally condemn Nazis and white supremacists. I will grant you that he did say that. Hold on please let me finish. What I'm not granting you is that it was a hoax in the sense that it was reported. In my memory and maybe you have counter examples that will jar my memory it was reported. I never heard anybody report that Trump said Nazis are very fine people. Also I will repeat that it's not a hoax because when you look at it in the totality of the context of the Trump campaign it was all came within a larger discussion about Trump's racial attitudes.
Okay. So here would be the way the right would interpret what you just said. Okay. And whether it's right or wrong this is how we would interpret it. We meaning people who are different opinion. Right. I'm actually a Democrat but my but you just said how we would interpret it so I'm just trying to get clarification on who we is. We the people on the other side the right. So you're on the right. Got it. The right as well as Snopes. So Snopes is a fact checker but I'm just trying to understand that you're saying you're on the right but so but let me get drilled down. So Snopes says...
Wait I don't want to get past this point because you keep saying I'm a registered Democrat but then you say we on the right so I'm trying to understand whic
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h it is. I'm a registered Democrat who on the right who agrees with a lot of things. So you're a conservative Democrat. I don't like the label myself. I actually said you're a Democrat. You just literally labeled yourself for clarification. I'm a Democrat so that I don't get on a list of Republicans because that sounds dangerous at the moment. That's another conversation. But your Democrat is on…
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