Giuliani Calls Biden A "Moron" & "Mentally Deficient Idiot"; Corker: Republicans In "Cult-Like Situation" With Trump; Trump Falsely Blames Democrats For Separating Families
WHITFIELD: All right, President Trump's personal lawyer is launching some very personal attacks at a potential adversary in the 2020 presidential election. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Rudy Giuliani called Former Vice President Joe Biden a moron and mentally deficient idiot. Last night, Giuliani attempted to clarify those comments to CNN's Chris Cuomo.</s>RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: I didn't mean that. I mean, he's dumb. I think Joe's last in his law school class. Joe --</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: He wasn't last but he was low.</s>GIULIANI: Actually, he was second to last and the guy died and he ended up last.</s>CUOMO: We had it as a different number, but he didn't do well. I'll give you that.</s>GIULIANI: And he had a plagiarism problem at law school. He had a plagiarism problem at as a senator which I think indicates something even about character. Constantly making faux pas.</s>CUOMO: But why talk about Joe Biden?</s>GIULIANI: Well because, obviously, I'm asked, would he be a formidable candidate? I said, no. He'd be somebody that I think the President would like to run against. He never did well as a national candidate. President did fabulously as a first-time national candidate.</s>WHITFIELD: Arizona Senator John McCain's daughter is coming to Biden's defense. Saying on Twitter, "I am disgusted by Giuliani's abhorrent and idiotic comments about Joe Biden. Joe Biden is one of the great political leaders of all time. One of the truly decent men left in politics and someone my family has looked to for strength during the most difficult time in our lives." Joining me right now to talk about this, CNN Political Commentator and GOP Consultant John Thomas and CNN Political Commentator and Democratic Strategist Dave Jacobson. All right, good to see you both.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to be here.</s>WHITFIELD: And finally, in the flesh, love it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Appreciate it.</s>WHITFIELD: OK. So John, you first, what are your thoughts about Giuliani's comments? Why do this?</s>JOHN THOMAS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, I would love Joe Biden to run. Many of the points that Giuliani made, primarily Joe Biden can't take the moral high ground in a Trump versus Biden argument. He has trouble with the truth. He got caught for -- He got caught for plagiarism both in law school -- not, you know, plagiarizing a sentence but five pages of plagiarism for getting the site.</s>WHITFIELD: But trouble with the truth doesn't seem to be standing in the way --</s>THOMAS: No. But the point is he can't lob the standard attacks on the left at Donald Trump. He's having some questions about his only two issues. He's a gaffe machine. I think Donald Trump's going to nickname him sloppy Joe.</s>WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. So Dave, do you think Republicans or even more Democrats need to be coming to the defense of Joe Biden or at least comment about what Giuliani had to say?</s>DAVE JACOBSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, two things. One, sloppy has already been taken, there's sloppy Steve. Donald trump has already dubbed his former senior adviser. But, look, I think what this truly underscores is the fact that the Trump campaign machine is scared. They're desperate. They're scared. Joe Biden would be formidable as would a number of other competitive Democrats who were looking at a 2020 contest. The fact of the matter is, this is gutter politics. The Trump folks are not talking about jobs. They're not talking about health care. They're not talking about how they're going to fix our broken immigration system. What they're talking about is ripping apart children and families and that's not a winning message for 2020.</s>WHITFIELD: So what is going to be the winning message, John?</s>THOMAS: I mean, I think we run on the record that Republicans under the Trump administration have achieved. Our jobs numbers is largely what they're going to largely run on. And look, I think honestly a Biden/Trump stack up would be fantastic. Biden is known to be a gaffe machine. And I think -- I think Democrats are under the mistaken perception that Biden is tested. When you run for V.P., it's a completely different position than when you run for president. They say running for president is like the MRI of the soul. I just don't believe that Biden is up to the task. So I encourage him to run, along with the 20 other Democrats --</s>JACOBSON: But last time I checked, Joe Biden was under the microscope for eight years when he was vice president to President Obama. And so the fact to the matter is he has been in the --</s>THOMAS: He was not under the microscope. There was a love affair with the President and they were not looking at Joe Biden. And he's had his own awkward me too moments where he's kissing people for too long, awkwardly hugging them.</s>JACOBSON: I haven't seen a me too movement.</s>THOMAS: I think it's going to be very difficult for Biden. He is not going to have easy path here.</s>JACOBSON: Look, he screams authenticity, right? But the fact to the matter is that when you bring up the issue of lies or perhaps having difficulty with the truth, it was Donald Trump that was reported on by The Washington Post who has lied over 3,000 times.</s>WHITFIELD: So both parties do seem to have a problem or there are problem areas as it pertains to the Republicans. You've got, you know, Senator Corker who just recently said, you know, there is like a cult-like following within the Republican Party of Donald Trump. Take a listen.</s>SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: We're in a strange place. I mean, it's almost, you know, I'm going to -- it's becoming a cultish thing, isn't it? It's not a good place for any party to end up with a cult- like situation as it relates to a president that happens to be purportedly of the same party.</s>WHITFIELD: So, John, you largely talking about the silence, you know, among the party, among party members and even as it pertains to not completely telling the truth. Not correcting the President.</s>THOMAS: You know, Senator Corker can call it cult like. It's called great approval ratings. That's what it is. It's called better approval ratings for Republican president than almost any of his predecessors. And Senator Corker can't understand why many of the GOP base are not aligned with him on issues like immigration and putting America first. And they like Trump's style. They like that he picks, but Senator Corker doesn't understand that.</s>WHITFIELD: And then as it pertains to Democrats, the problem sometimes is not being focused , you know, on what the message is. Looking less of just opposite anti-Trump. So what are the Democrats going to do particularly as we, you know, inch towards these midterms?</s>JACOBSON: Well, a couple things. I think you're right that there is not like a broad Democratic platform. We haven't seen that. I don't know that we necessarily need it. I think everything has to be laser focused by district. That's what we saw with Conor Lamb's election. And a district that Donald Trump won by 20 points. There wasn't a national message that he was running the Cotels (ph) up. He was running a micro-targeted campaign focused on local issues. So I think it's important that Democrats focus on that. That being said, John, I think the American people are looking for a check on Donald Trump. That's why the generic ballot is starting to take back up. Nuclear (ph) politics has a sort of 7.3 percent advantage. And Fox News just a couple weeks ago put out a poll having Democrats with a nine-point advantage for the generic ballot. So, it looks increasingly like the wind is at the back of Democrats. And when we come to the November elections, we have a good shot at taking back the House.</s>WHITFIELD: And as part of that silence, I mean, you know, seeing what happened to Mark Sanford. Some are saying because he was outspoken against the President that cost him.</s>THOMAS: Yes. Certainly --</s>WHITFIELD: But Jeff Flake isn't, you know, trying to run.</s>THOMAS: Well, largely because he knows what would have happened to him. He would have lost. That's right. A lot of these members are -- look, every politician, Democrat or Republican, is really concerned about one thing at the end of the day and that's the re-election. And these members understand if they buck the President and buck the President's agenda, voters are going to hold them accountable and they will primaried.</s>WHITFIELD: Dave, do you believe that is what happened with Mark Sanford? Or was it -- or could it have been the me too movement, you know, and the fuel behind it and people then thinking about, you know, his past transgressions and that payback has come now as a result?</s>JACOBSON: I think this is the year of the woman, right? And ever since the Harvey Weinstein scandal has broken, I think people are looking at elections and giving it a new perspective, right? But I think Mark Sanford lost potentially because of that, but also he is in a deep red district. And that is a Trump district that the President won overwhelmingly. I don't think that's necessarily the challenge for Republicans going to 2018. I think the challenges, if you look at the California 7, seven House districts where Hillary Clinton won but Republican currently has the district, right? Those are the swing districts that are going to determine whether or not Democrats take back the House, right? And that's why you're seeing that a lot of those House members trying to negotiate with Democrats on issues like immigration.</s>WHITFIELD: Right. And the case of Mark Sanford, he wasn't necessarily accused of anything that is in the category of me too, but I really speak of the empowerment of women at this time of me too. I think these transgressions of, you know --</s>THOMAS: And Sanford, in fairness to his opponent. Sanford ran a terrible campaign, so it was a combination of things.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it right there. John and Dave, good to see you. We'll see you again tomorrow and later on this afternoon right here in the House.</s>THOMAS: Yes.</s>WHITFIELD: Good to see you. All right. Coming up, in a week that saw President Trump praising Kim Jong-un, we look at the harsh reality behind those happy pictures of North Koreans cheering their leader.